I think, sadly, the Lions will ultimately be happy and contented that the ‘07 season, especially with an addition of just one more victory, standing for progress.

In a nutshell, eight seasons without making the playoffs, especially with 07 playoffs within close reach after a 6-2 start, should have been enough to anger the Ford’s. Unfortunately, we will likely be stuck with Millen/Marinelli for at LEAST one more season, ugh!!!

Williams would reportedly have a preference towards returning to Texas, but given the right circumstances, or a large enough sum of money in a new contract, I expect that he would offer little resistance.

Williams is a much surer thing than any draft pick, but if you put him with the Texans, Cowboys, Titans, Ravens, Jaguars, Carolina, or Tampa–in particular I like your Tampa suggestion since Garcia and Roy have played together in the past–would all immediately benefit from Williams.

I think Miami and Atlanta would be less likely to commit to a player like Williams, since he alone wouldn’t put them over the top.

Dallas is the only team with two first round draft choices I believe, so they might be inclined to part with one. Team Williams, Owens, Witten and Romo and the Cowboys could be a Pats-like juggernaut .

Rest assured though, if the organization decides to move in that direction with Williams, Millen will screw this up, too.

There are only two trades I would like to see being made by the Lions:

1- Millen trades Williams for a first-round draft pick.

Atlanta and Miami could probably use an established receiver, but then again these two teams would need an established player at almost every position. Adding a good WR would not make them a better team and Roy Williams wouldn’t be too happy playing there. We know, they know, so they’ll use their high pick to draft a QB.

But there are some teams that could potentially “turn the corner” with the addition of a Pro Bowl wideout. There are some teams that are already competitive, yet lack the “special ingredient” that could bring them in the playoff. One team that quickly comes to mind is the Tennessee Titans.

The Titans have a potent ground game and a solid defense but their aerial attack could be better. Roy Williams would be an upgrade over Eric Moulds or Roydell Williams. The Titans would prefer adding a WR through a trade then draft one since the learning curve would be less abrupt. The franchise is riding on the shoulders of Vince Young. It is therefore mandatory for the Titans to provide him with the right tools to work. In addition, Roy Williams would be very happy to be traded to a team closer to his home.

The Titan’s first-round pick would enable the Lions to get an additional starter on defense. And we all know how important that is!

2- Millen trades Roy Williams to Tampa Bay

That trade would not worry me as much since it would have been masterminded by Marinelli.

Most of the succesfull “personnel addition” the Lions have made were thought-out by Martz or Marinelli. Furrey, McDonald, White, Fisher, Bradley, Mulitalo (through Coletto), Bashir, to name a few, all have connections to Marinelli (Tampa Bay) or Martz (St-Louis).

Tampa Bay needs a premiere wide receiver. They were very interested in drafting Calvin Johnson last April. They had to settle for Gaines Adams. They’re a competitive team that have made the playoffs by relying on a conservative offense and a perfectly executed Tampa-2 defense. Yet I dont think they have the makings of championship team. Their whole offense would benefit from a more reliable deep threath.

By trading with the Bucs, we would have the opportunity to add not only established players, but players who have already been taught the complicated defensive philosophy preached by Joe Barry.

In conclusion, I think the trade with Tennessee would be the most profitable in the long term since the quality of the player would probably be better. You wouldn’t get a former 1st-rounder with the Tampa trade. But the in the short term, the deal with Tampa would make the Lions at immediate contender.