Detroit Lions Weblog

Peering Into a Murky Crystal Ball, Week 13 Preview

(The setting is a church confessional booth, soft chanting is heard in the background, the soft smell of burning candles and incense hangs in the air) 

Me:”Father, I have to share a mea culpa” 

Padre “Yes, My Son, tell me more…(with salacious anticipation)”

Me:”Father, I rooted for “Scruffy McFavre” and those awful Packers last night against the Cowboys, am I doomed to hell?”

Padre:” Your penance will be heavy, but I suggest you say seventeen Jon Kitna Hail Mary’s in the meantime….”

Silliness aside, rooting for the Packers is a clear sign of, what has now become an annual occurrence, the shifting of allegiances that occurs for most Lions fans as they grow to accept the fate of another failed, disappointing Lions season.  

As a coping mechanism, adapting your expectations for this football team is probably healthy.   This season, even after three straight losses, giving up on the Lions may still be a little premature.  They are still a wild card team, after all.  That being said, the Lions are in deep trouble at this point, and a road loss in Minnesota will likely be the final straw in their continuing off-the-rails-until-the-end-of-the-season demise.

It seems that many observers, like the Freep and MLive.com have already begun to reset their expectations, both are beginning to speculate about what the Lions may do at QB next season.  Again, not unreasonable, but the question that needs to be addressed ultimately is:Regardless of who the Lions may chase at QB, even if it means benching Kitna in ‘08, will it really matter if they don’t improve their offensive line play?

My good friend Whitey, posed an excellent question to me recently.   His question was this: After 11 games, given Joe Thomas’ stellar performance, What would the Lions have to package along with Calvin Johnson, in order to acquire Thomas from the Browns?

Obviously, the Browns would not part with Thomas, but supposing that they would, what would a franchise left tackle cost the Lions, in order to protect Kitna, Drew Stanton, Dan Orlovsky, Derek Anderson, Kurt Warner, or Gary Danielson, whomever it may be entering next season.  It will cost a lot, unless, Mr. 30-77, along with his scouting and talent evaluation staff, is able to do a better job in the ‘08 draft.

In my eyes, this is what they should do:

1)Investigate the availability of Jets MLB Jonathan Vilma

2)Trade WR Roy Williams to a contender, his contract will expire in ‘09, and it will likely be costly.  The Lions need desperately to add players and draft picks entering ‘08.

3)Stop the practice of patching together a veteran, journeymen offensive line during the offseason, placing a real primacy upon developing a legitimate, talented offensive line.

4)Find an honest-to-goodness, game-changing edge pass rusher, Kalimbared EdwardeVries just doesn’t cut it. 

In regards to this week’s game against the Vikings.   The Lions have not won in Minnesota for a very long time.   Still, it is difficult for me to wrap my head around the concept of a Tavaris Jackson-helmed Vikings offense, admittedly fueled by the lethal running back combo of Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor, actually being able to defeat Jon Kitna, if he isn’t on his back the entire day, and if Kitna is able to limit his turnovers.

In spite of their recent horrible stretch of play, the Lions are a better team than the Vikings.   Unfortunately, with a touch of inborn Lions fatalism, I just can’t expect them to play well enough, in a hostile Metrodome environment, with the Vikings on a two game roll, to salvage a victory.  In which case, the Lions free fall will likely find no bottom  this season, and their embarassingly awful stumble to the finish line will put the futures of Marinelli and Martz in Detroit under some reasonable, considerable doubt.

Vikings 24 Lions 17