Detroit Lions Weblog

Final Verdict on Lions ‘07 Season, Not Good!!!

The Lions pathetic loss yesterday, to an undermanned Packers team that had benched seven of it’s starters, was eerily reminiscent to the beginning of Matt Millen’s ill-fated 31-81 tenure as team president, where the team also lost in an embarassing fashion to the Packers.  Not only was the team’s 1-7 slide emblematic of Millen’s tenure, it represents a coming of full circle, since they will likely embark upon yet another rebuilding campaign this off season.

As we all expected, Off. Coordinator Mike Martz will likely be terminated within the week.  I am sure that Special Teams Coach Stan Kwan’s job may also be in jeopardy.   Given the ending of the ‘07 season, and all of the upcoming personnel changes that are likely going to occur, I implore you W.C. Ford’s, clear the decks!!!!   Make a complete clean sweep in the front office and coaching staff.

If you are unwilling to terminate Matt Millen, please force him to hire a consulting staff that would effectively limit his influence over the organization.   He can’t continue to destroy this football team unfettered.  All signs indicate, after seven abysmal seasons, that he is incapable of turning this organization around, in any fashion.

The players have done little to change the course of the franchise, either.   The general degradation of the team’s performance throughout the season is damning of the ENTIRE organization, not just the front office and coaching staffs.    Since the team is likely to see a near 50% turnover in personnel this off season, it’s a perfect opportunity to begin with a clean slate.

Final Grades:

Offense: C-

QB’s: Jon Kitna C, Kitna was a good team leader.   His performance trailed off as the season unraveled.  He is clearly no long term answer.

RB’s Kevin Jones C, T.J. Duckett B-, Tatum Bell C-, Aveion Cason B

If there was a more under-utilized group of backs in the league, I want to hear who they were.   Unfortunately, a poor offense and defense rendered the Lions one-dimensional in most games.  Even with a change of philosophy offensively, I would be comfortable with all of these players returning next season.

TE’s: Sean McHugh B-, Casey FitzSimmons C, Tight End is another invisble roster position.   McHugh and FitzSimmons were useful in limited duty.

WR’s: Williams B, McDonald B+, Furrey C+, Johnson C.   The Lions had no discernible plan in how they were going to include all of these players into their offense.   They never had a clue how to utilize Johnson and his vast abilities. Johnson appeared to be both distracted and frustrated as the season unfolded.   Matt Millen, there will be a special place in football purgatory reserved for your decision to draft four first first-round receivers in such a short amount of time.

 OL: D-, Backus D-, Mulitalo C-, Raiola C+, Peterman C-, Foster  F, Scott C, Woody C-/B.   The Lions embattled offensive line plain sucked, but with this caveat.  The design of Mike Martz’s offense was of little or no assistance to their glaring deficiencies.   Martz’s hubris in regard to this situation is a deservedly terminable offense.  Needs a near complete overhaul.  Where are you Joe Thomas????

The Lions offense had no tangible identity as the season progressed, it’s failings, coupled with a terrible defense, were reflective of the team’s 1-7 finish, not it’s improbable 6-2 start.

Defense: D

DE’s: Edwards F, DeVries B-, White C+, Alama-Francis Inc., Smith C

Until the Lions find a consistent edge rushing DE, the Tampa 2 zone defense will allow opponents to complete nearly 70% of their passes and the Lions defense will remain a cruel joke.

DT’s Rogers D, Redding D-, Cody D-, Moore C-, The supposed foundation of the franchise, the defensive tackles were too infrequent contributors to be considered as  valuable members of the organization as they were.  If the Lions retain Marinelli, and Tampa 2, the defensive personnel will have to be almost completely overhauled.

LB’s Bailey D, Lewis D, Lenon C-, Lehman D, Sims B-  The heart of Millen’s failure on defense.   He has repeatedly missed providing the organization with talent and depth here. The coaches rave about Alex Lewis, but his inability to displace Boss Bailey speaks volumes.

CB’s: Fisher D. Bryant D, Wilson, Jr. D, Smith D, Edwards D-

In a defense where the athletic abilities of the CB’s are somewhat downplayed, the Lions CB’s were a resounding disaster.  They were not strong in run support and were horrible tacklers, their most prominent role, by design.

S’s: Kennedy C-, Bullocks Inc., Alexander C, Blue B-  The Lions safeties were active, by necessity.  Though they were rarely burnt deep, again by design, they allowed to teams to methodically dismantle them with their poor tackling.

The Tampa-2, against the weaker teams around the league was mildly effective.  When it came time to face a higher quality of opponent, the Lions defense was a complete failure, capped off by losing several games by 3 or more TD’s.   In order for the Lions to become even competitive, something needs to be done here.

Special Teams D-, except for Jason Hanson and Nick Harris, who get B’s.   The special teams is supposed to be a dependable, barely noticed aspect of the game.  The Lions poor coverage units dogged them all season.

The outlook is not good.   Rod Marinelli was unable to stem off the Lions 1-7 slide.  Much like Mariucci’s 6-10 season, prior to his dismissal, I see the Lions completely falling apart next season. This will ultimately lead to a new coaching staff, personnel, and philosophies to be implemented, yet again.

Week 17:Lions Vs. Packers

The Lions are highly unlikely to face the Packers starting lineup for long in this game.  Given the road struggles the Lions have had, especially in Lambeau, if the Lions are ever going to garner a difficult road victory, this will likely be their best opportunity.

In the case of the Lions, and their paradoxical world, a victory will actually be damaging, since  a victory is ultimately going to affect their draft slot for the ‘08 draft. Even if they achieve a victory in Green Bay,  it would essentially be meaningless at this juncture.

That’s exactly why I think the Lions will keep quixotically jousting at windmills, and eke out another close victory against a Craig Nall/Aaron Rodgers(?)-lead Packers team.   Meanwhile, Brett Favre will wander casually around the sidelines, wearing a stocking cap and a huge grin,  as he remains centrifugally the star of the game, as the game broadcasters wax on about all things Favre-ian.

Lions 24 Packers 17

Lions Achieve Meaningless Victory, Off Season Beginning Already?

The Lions, after gaining an early 19-0 lead, eked out a close victory Sunday against the lowly Kansas City Chiefs, who have lost eight consecutive games.  If there is any stronger indication of just how bad a team the Lions have become in ‘07, their inability to secure a victory with a 19 point advantage, and their fielding of an impotent offense, defense and special teams are all the evidence I need.

That is why, other than Kevin Jones injury and a nice game from T.J. Duckett, there is little to discuss about with this Sunday’s Lions performance.   With Jones’ future completely up in the air due to his knee injury, it may be time for Matt Millen to extend T.J. Duckett a ‘08 contract offer, since his asking price has likely increased given the severity of Jones’ injury and the likelihood that Duckett’s strong performances this season, with extremely limited opportunities, haven’t gone unnoticed throughout the league.

Rumors are already growing that Lions Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz will likely “retire” or be fired upon completion of the season this Sunday. Jon Kitna, ever the loyal soldier, has come to Martz’s defense stating that he believes that any involuntary removal of Martz would be a big mistake.  I tend to disagree with Kitna, the Lions offense has no tangible identity and Martz’s design, with all that it offers, hasn’t been productive enough to warrant his return.

Regardless of how the Lions perform in Lambeau this Sunday, where they haven’t won since 1991, the Lions off season will begin rapidly this year.   Given the colossal flame out that they undertook down the stretch, it would be unreasonable to expect anything different, in my opinion.

Week 16 Preview:Lions Vs. Chiefs, As If it Matters Or Anyone Cares

After last week’s road blow out loss to the Chargers, Lions fans are increasingly more likely to be contented braving mall mayhem, in order to finish their last minute Xmas shopping, as opposed to watching the Lions flail away miserably for a victory in an entirely meaningless game, unless draft positioning counts of any importance.

In which case, the Lions should be trying to lose out, and accomplish the ignoble task of losing eight straight games.   As we all know, in the paradoxical world of the Lions, they are just as likely to win the next two as lose them.

The Chiefs have suffered through an equally laborious and pathetic season.   They are not as good of a team as the 6-2 Lions, but they may be a close draw with the 0-6 Lions.  At any rate, they do feature some of the Lions achilles’ heels.  TE Tony Gonzalez, check.  Gonzalez will likely have a field day exploiting soft spots in the Lions cover-2. DE Jared Allen, check.   Does anybody really want to see Allen end Jon Kitna’s career as he blows by Jeff Backus all day?  With opposing QB’s completing 70% of their passes, this is likely to be a coming out party for Brodie Croyle, or Damon Huard, or whomever the Chiefs decide should be their starting QB (is Steve Deberg available?).

Since the Lions still have talent (according to Marinelli) and Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry doesn’t understand why the defense has struggled, I am left feeling that the current Lions coaching staff has become just as clueless as their many predecessors, and we are quite likely to see an extra special leonine effort from the Lions this Sunday.  Chiefs 20 Lions 15

One embarassing road loss left in the miserable Lions ‘07 season, Yeah!!!! Happy Holidays, embittered Lions fans

Astounding Lions Statistics, Roy Williams on IR, MLB prospect Buster Davis Activated

The Lions, as we all are incredibly aware , have accomplished the improbable in 2007. 146 teams have begun their seasons 6-2, of which 111 have been able to keep things together just enough to garner an eventual playoff spot(76%). The Lions six game losing streak is far from unprecedented, but I think that when the final bell tolls on their 2007 season, the fact that they began 6-2 will be quickly forgotten due to their poor finish. 

The Lions have allowed opposing QB’s to complete 70% of their passes this season.   Part of this is purely schematic.   The Lions version of the Tampa-2 zone allows for teams to have a higher completion percentage, due to their safeties playing deep in an attempt to prevent the long ball.  In the Lions case, with their lack of a consistent pass rush, they have been punished severely by opposing offenses.

Earlier in the season, the Lions were the recipients of a desirable schedule, against teams who turned the ball over too much.  Since that point, with up an uptick in the quality of their opponents, they have not been the beneficiaries of the high frequency of turnovers and mistakes necessary for them to continue to win.

The reasoning behind playing the Tampa-2 zone is that most teams, lead by poor or inexperienced QB’s, will eventually make costly mistakes which, if you can successfully limit damaging big gains, will in theory lead to victory for the defense.  Turnovers are partially the result of the scheme, partially the result of luck, and mostly a direct result of the quality of your opponent.  

The Lions have unfortunately not been able to compensate defensively for the higher quality of opponent that they have been playing of late.  With a better pass rush, and a little more luck, they may not have lost six straight games.

The Lions placed Roy Williams on the injured reserve today.   Odds are better than 50% that Roy Williams has played his last downs as a Lion, especially considering that his value will likely never be higher than during this off season, in a poor wide receiver draft and given that his contract expires after 2008.  The salary cap ramifications of keeping Calvin Johnson, Williams, and et al will be strained heavily by Matt Millen likely attempting to fix his other mistakes, er– astute personnel decisions, in releasing players like Kalimba Edwards and Shaun Rogers.  The decision to release expensive players likely will exert an influence throughout the Lions entire roster.

If their is an upside to the news of Williams being placed on IR, it is that MLB prospect, and fellow former Seminole with Ernie Sims, Buster Davis, will be placed on the active roster from the practice squad.  Davis, who was a ‘07 third round draft pick who was released by the Arizona Cardinals, is worthy of a look, at least.  Whether he purely serves a role on special teams, or works his way into the playing mix, remains to be seen.

In regards to Williams and Kevin Jones, and their future contract status, “Killer” Kowalski has written an excellent article about how they, given that they are two of Matt Millen’s best and most productive draft selections, are both worthy of contract extensions.   I tend to agree that the Lions should consider keeping them, with the corollary that both are on board with whomever the current coaching staff is, and are clear that they are remaining in Detroit to win, and not just collect a paycheck, likely so MANY of their counterparts have been wont to do.

Williams could possibly fetch the players or draft picks necessary to offset some of Matt Millen’s mistakes.   What Millen needs to accomplish, should he decide to trade Williams, and is able to sucessfully, is getting more than pennies on the dollar in exchange for Williams with a weak upcoming wide receiver draft.   I realize that this is expecting a lot from Millen, especially considering the outcome of his blockbuster Dre Bly for Tatum Bell, George Foster, and Johnny “WHO?” Baldwin trade this past off season.

Marinelli is Going to Have to Make Some Tough Decisions

Now that the Lions are more or less removed from legitimate playoff contention, the Lions coaching staff needs to begin to make some tough organizational decisions.   As significant as the de-activations of George Foster, Kalimba Edwards, and Tatum Bell all were, there should be more to come after Sunday’s loss.

The Lions are going to try with all of their might to eke out a home victory against the equally pathetic Chiefs this week.  Avoiding 10 losses would be significant, but what I believe is more important now, especially if Marinelli is going to be retained as head coach, is that the Lions go back to separating the wheat from the chaffe organizationally.

Starting with de-activating the disappointing Shaun Rogers(or put him on IR), the Lions should also consider benching Jon Kitna, and integrating more of their younger players throughout the lineup. Essentially, the Lions need to enter an evaluatory mode.  A cheap, late season victory, leading up to their now annual Lambeau Field ass-whipping, is meaningless at this point.

Rod Marinelli also has to re-discover who is truly on board with his plans.   At this point, the easiest thing for the players to do is to place the coaching staff firmly under the bus.   The finger pointing surely has started.   Their has been a tangible lack of effort of late, which if Marinelli is to remain relevant, has got to be addressed internally.

Last season, with a team full of street free agents and journeymen due to a rash of injuries (remember Clint “Sticky” Stickdorn), the Lions were able to garner an improbable road victory against the Cowboys.   I think that the Cowboys victory provided some hope, and the necessary momentum, to carry the Lions through this season’s first half.  

Unfortunately, they now appear to be running on fumes.  Had they won again improbably last week against the Cowboys, maybe things could have been different for this team.   At any rate, after six consecutive losses,  I want to see more of players like Gerald Alexander, Calvin Johnson, Ernie Sims, Ikaika Alama-Francis, Manny Ramirez, Brandon Middleton, et al and less of the team’s veteran players.  Would it hurt Millen to grab a few guys off of other team’s practice squads?  There is going to be more roster turnover this off season, why not get a head start?

Essentially, for the love of God, the Lions need to wave the white flag and look forward, so that they can avoid another horrific season, amid a string of so many of them.  The NFL is designed so that teams do not fail perennially.  Somehow, in spite if the league’s design, the Lions have failed with high frequency.   Will it continue into ‘08?   If they continue upon their current course, it most certainly will.

Welcome Back, Suckhole Lions!

The Lions have been giving alms to the patron saints of pipe dreams and lost causes all season.    In order to fully digest the magnitude of their six game (and running) second half losing streak fully, here are a few points to ponder:

1) During Matt Millen’s seven year tenure, in which the team has had an astounding 30-80 record, the Lions have had losing streaks of five games or more, eight times.

2)The Lions are 2-5 on the road this season.  In those five road losses, they have been outscored 214-69 allowing an average of 42.8 ppg in those games.  They have had three losses by more than 32 points!

3) The Lions are -82 in team points differential.  They have allowed 390 points to be scored, the most in the league, and have only scored 308 points to date.

Rod Marinelli has preached adherence to sound fundamentals, toughness, and teamwork as organizational principles.   In the six games since Mike Furrey’s unfortunate “the media can kiss our ass” comments, the Lions have revealed that they were the luckiest 6-2 team in the history of the league.   Given their poor second half performance, it is a surprise that they somehow managed to win all of those games early, in my eyes.

At any rate, the Lions are again at an unfortunate organizational crossroads.   At this point, avoiding double digit losses should be a major motivator, since so many of the supposed principles that the team was being built upon have fallen by the wayside.   That being said, how can anything positive be taken from winning 6, 7, or 8 games given the way this season has played out?

Rod Marinelli will likely be retained, even at six wins, the Ford’s will likely view the ‘07 season as a step, no matter how anguised, forward.   As much as I believe that Marinelli will be back, Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz and Special Teams Coordinator Stan Kwan are a near surety to become the season’s sacrificial lambs.

With the requisite pounds of flesh extracted, where will this franchise ultimately be headed in ‘08?  With their continued ignominous organizational path, why not fully clear house?   One of the great NFL minds, Bill Cowher, is out there.   The Ford’s should make a run at him.   All Cowher can do is say no, or more likely, no way in hell!!!

The Lions should not be rewarded with any votes of confidence or glean any moral victories from their season.   To start 6-2, and blow it, is a sin worse than going 2-14 in my eyes.

By the way, where is Millen?   He has been conspicuous in his absence during the Lions slide, hasn’t he?   I kinda miss the revved up “f@ggot” and “devout coward” comments we used to get out of Mr. 30-80.  If the Lions are going to continue to suck year after year, the least Millen and the Ford’s can do is make the team more interesting.  

Marinelli’s comments are generally innocuous, and are certainly far from inflammatory.  The Lions pathetic performance has seemed to hardly cause a ripple internally, given the supposed expectations entering ‘07.

The Duel Enigmas of Shaun “Big Baby” Rogers and Kalimba “The Ghost” Edwards

As the Lions season continues to unravel, two key figures in their demise have been taking a lot of shots in the media, and deservingly so. In both cases, in a nutshell, rests the problem Matt Millen has had as a talent evaluator. By all accounts, each possess the tools necessary to pursue a long, successful NFL career. Instead, each is on the verge of, or at the very least, being jettisoned by a Lions franchise that has desperately needed for them to produce, consistently.

In Rogers, surliness and bulging waistline aside, the Lions possess a rare talent who, in spite of his selfishness, has often been quite productive. Unfortunately, Rogers is prone to prolonged disappearances performance-wise. He is incredibly agile and quick for someone who is pushing 400 lbs. Instead of committing to become a slimmer, more streamlined version of himself during the off season, he appears to have taken some of Coach Rod Marinelli’s special treatment(i.e. allowing him a wide berth in the off season training program to recuperate from his surgeries) to meaning that he is above maintaining a solid playing condition. If he wants to revisit the career demise of Gilbert “The Gravedigger” Brown, he is right on track.

The sad fact is, Rogers is among the most gifted players in the entire NFL, as his dominating early season performance readily demonstrated. Instead, as the Lions season continues to fall apart, Rogers has had to suffer shots from Dallas Morning News Rick Gosselin (”He’s way too heavy right now. He’s shortchanging the Lions and himself”) and Don Banks on SI.com, who designated Rogers as his runner-up on the online “All Bust” team, which seems like more of an insult than ACTUALLY making the “All Bust” team. Rogers has come forward stating that his recent poor performance is the result of a “slump” not poor conditioning, which is among the saddest cases of denial I have ever seen.

Kalimba Edwards, or the “Ghost” as I like to call him, has been a topic of mine before. He is the prototypical baseball five tool talent whose promise and performance never can align themselves at the same time. As an off season pet project of Rod Marinelli’s, who was supposed to be some sort of defensive line guru, Edwards has been a resounding failure.

The Detroit Free Press’ Nicholas J. Cotsonika wrote an excellent article “What’s With Kalimba?” where he calls Edwards the Lions “most confounding” player. Lions Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry states it best in regards to Edwards. “There’s a lot of people out there that look the part, that are smart, that are athletic, that can run, that can do all those things. The bottom line, especially in a position that he plays (in reference to Edwards), where you put so much onus on winning the one-on-one, you’ve got to do that. You’ve got to, and there’s no hiding that.”

Edwards reminds me of former Tigers first basemen, Carlos Pena. Both are intelligent, introspective individuals of high character who possess tantalizing athletic abilities to go along with their respective smarts. I would not be surprised if Edwards, like his counterpart Pena, will, or would have(had he signed with the Browns), enjoyed a career renaissance upon leaving Detroit. How you consistently distill the untapped ability of players like Pena and Edwards remains one of the great mysteries of sports, as Matt Millen will attest.

In regards to Millen, he needs to develop an ability to see through the proverbial “bright and shiny” prospective talent and assess a more complete picture of individual performance. Aside from drafting wide receivers, Millen has consistently missed on players who have immense talent, whom many other teams would have passed on drafting for one reason or another. In his time as team president, Boss Bailey, Teddy Lehman, Edwards, Rogers, Shaun Cody, Charles Rogers, Mike Williams, and DE Jonathan Taylor, are among the designates to this group. All that is really left to wonder is, who will be selected next by Millen to fall unto this underachieving class of talents?

Week 15 Preview: Lions Vs. Chargers, or Six in a Row!

The Lions played a surprisingly credible game last Sunday at home against the now 12-1 Cowboys. Amid a five game losing streak, it appears that the Lions have not entirely given up on their season and their long shot hopes for playoff contention. That being said, given the Lions performance on the road, especially during Matt Millen’s 30-79 tenure, it is difficult to imagine that the Lions will find the means to win on Sunday.

As far as playing the Chargers goes, they are far from the 14-2 Super Bowl contender they were in ‘06. They have battled internal enmity between Phillip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson, inconsistent play under the guidance of the mediocre Norvell Turner, and a confidence-laden defense that features a Super Bowl champions Ravens-style bravado, without the results to show for it.

As far as playing the Chargers goes, the Lions need to do their best to limit the damage done by an effective LaDainian Tomlinson. If they are able to keep him shackled, and maybe limit him to just one TD, they may have a legitimate shot. I believe that if you force Phillip Rivers to have to put the ball up to Antonio Gates, Chris Chambers, Vincent Jackson and company, the Lions may be able to pose a threat by returning to their ballhawking, turnover-generating ways from earlier in the season.

I also think that if the Lions can exhibit the balanced offensive attack that they did last week against the Cowboys, they will be able to control the clock and keep the Chargers off of the field.   The Chargers are likely without LB Shawne Merriman and DE Luis Castillo, which will help the Lions, and Jon Kitna, to feel a little more confident.  The Chargers still feature LB Shaun Phillips who can be nearly as disruptive as Merriman.

The Lions kickoff coverage unit has been a complete disaster.   The Chargers feature a capable returner in Darren Sproles who can completely alter the game’s outcome if the Lions coverage units aren’t effective.   The Lions can’t afford to have to concede the 40-yard line by pooching their kickoffs, either.

As excited as I was with the thought of the Lions capturing an unlikely upset against the Cowboys, Chargers, or Packers, as the season wears on, it seems to be increasingly less likely that the improbable will occur.

Team the Tomlinson 31 Lions 20

Exhume a Dead Horse, Beat It, and the Lions Saga Continues…..

Well, well, well….Mr. 30-79, you are about to reach another career milestone soon, aren’t ya?  30-80 will look nice and pretty, after next Sunday’s road loss to the Chargers, won’t it?  Did you know, that after Sunday’s disappointing loss to the Cowboys, that during Matt Millen’s tenure(seven seasons) the Lions have had losing streaks of five games or more, eight times?

Let that fully sink in.   The Lions are continuing to expand into uncharted territories of futility, with no end in sight.   Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press wrote an excellent article in his Sunday column about the difference between orchestrating a “plan” and making good decisions amidst that “plan”.

Clearly, Matt Millen has failed on all accounts as an executive.   During his tenure, we have seen the “West Coast” offense come and go, and may also see the “Tampa-2″ zone defense and the “Greatest Show on Nerf” both soon become extinct.   At some point, the hot new coach, with a supposedly unbeatable scheme, will not be able to provide the convenient solution, it will have to be generated from adequate decison making at the top of the franchise.

With the Lions staring at the possibility of losing players like Kevin Jones, Roy Williams, Shaun Rogers, Kalimba Edwards, George Foster, Fernando Bryant, Mike Martz, Stan Kwan, Damien Woody, and Tatum Bell, among others(?), in the near future, how can the Ford’s, with good conscience, anyways, allow Matt Millen to retool this franchise?

I am not going to buy that with patience, things are going to change.  Been there, done that.   The Lions pathetic end of season slide is likely a harbinger of more to come.   After a 6-2 start, and the subsequent five losses, does anybody actually believe that Rod Marinelli has the abillity to swim against the overwhelmingly pathetic tide of this organization?  Especially, given Matt Millen’s ability to have each and every decision he makes find a way to blow up his face?

In the meantime, it is more imperative than ever that Rod Marinelli start playing guys like Manny Ramirez, Ikaika Alama-Francis, Alex Lewis, Greg Blue, Ramzee Robinson, and the like to see what these guys actually can offer, and assess their future value, because their services may soon be required for the moribund Lions franchise.