Sunday is Joe Thomas Day at Ford Field
November 14, 2007 on 1:49 pm | In Uncategorized |Back in April, a sage football observer (”Hondo” Lehman, no relation to Teddy) and myself were standing upon the pristine Field Turf at Ford Field, anxiously anticipating who the Lions were about to select with the 2nd overall pick in the ‘07 draft.
Hondo, a smash mouth football purist, was very disconsolate about the possibility that the Lions were about to pass on selecting a valuable, franchise left offensive tackle in Joe Thomas, one of the more difficult to fill positions in all of football. I tried to assuage his discomfort by suggesting that the Lions had just drafted a player in Calvin Johnson, who would likely appear in multiple Pro Bowls, and potentially could become a Hall of Fame-caliber player.
I’m not going to be too quick to rush to judgment here, however, Sunday’s game against the Giants will likely provide the first tangible proof of whether the Lions may have made a serious mistake (or not) by selecting Johnson over Thomas.
The Lions bookend, turnstile tackles, Jeff Backus and George Foster (AKA “The Troublesome Twosome”), are facing their biggest challenge of the season against the Giants incessant barrage of stellar edge rushers: Osi Umenyiora, Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck, and Matthias Kiwanuka.
I have christened Sunday’s game Joe Thomas Day because I am going to repeat Kitna’s thoughts, at least once he regains consciousness, every time he gets sacked on Sunday, “Ugh…Grrmph…Should’ve drafted Joe Thomas.” In fact, every sack will be called a “Joe Thomas” and whenever George Foster commits a false start, I will say “Holy Joe Thomas”.
At any rate, as much as I jest, Calvin Johnson can really assert his worth as playmaker against a weak Giants secondary on Sunday. The Giants defense is exploitable, given the possibility that Kitna isn’t laying prone upon that very same Ford Field turf as the prescient “Hondo” Lehman stood upon eight short months ago pondering the Lions personnel decision.
(BTW–I hear Vegas is creating an over/under prop bet for Sunday’s game: Giants Sacks+Foster False Starts+Kitna Using Profanity(not the Lord’s name in vain, though)=12, whaddya think?)
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I would do anything to have a force on our line. I would be happy having a line which serves as a detternt Every time the Lions offensive line (the “Maginot Line” as I like to call them) show flashes of mediocrity, they fall into the abyss. I guess Millen knew what he was doing. After all, what impressive statistics can an offensive lineman put in the newspaper? Wait, I can name a few. Stat 1: total passing yards; Stat 2: total rushing yards; Stat 3: total sacks (the fewer the better); Stat 4: fewer turnovers (both fumbles and interceptions; Stat 5: Your quarterback will be starting the next week.
It all starts with the offensive line. You can either go into battle in a nice Humvee, but following the Iranian Revolutionary Guard or you can ride in a 1942 Jeep following the 82d Airborne (with a hat tip to a certain “Tall Talking” paratrooper). One’s going to a fancier ride to the grave while the other will give you a bumpy ride to victory. Marinelli surely knows this and he should have prompted Millen to choose Joe Thomas. Unless CJ turns out to be the next Jerry Rice, the Lions will regret not taking Big Joe.
That said, I hope Kitna lives through the upcoming onslaught. I have hope that the big men are up to the task Sunday. The Giants defense certainly aren’t a bunch of jokers.
As the Line goes, so go the Lions.
Comment by Hondo — November 15, 2007 #
Nice Work, Yukon. We don’t have any mustard gas at our disposal, either. The Giants secondary is exploitable, if Kitna has time. The lack of a healthy Kevin Jones only amplifies my consternation. Steve
Comment by Steve — November 16, 2007 #