Detroit Lions Weblog

Off Season Changes Are Only the Certainty for the Lions

Former Houston Texans GM and CBS studio analyst, Charley Casserly, mentioned prior to Saturday’s Jacksonville/New England broadcast that the Lions will be actively shopping Shaun Rogers and Roy Williams for potential trade opportunities throughout the off season. In a nutshell, if Casserly is aware of this situation already, the Lions are going to have a tumultuous off season.

MLive’s Tom “Killer” Kowalski speculates that as many as 20-25 of the Lions 65 players on their season ending roster will be looking for work elsewhere next season. In an article entitled “Marinelli’s Off Season Should Be Busy”, he methodically delineates who he believes will likely return, who is definitely leaving, and who is probably on the roster bubble.

For the most part, I agree with Killer’s designations. Where I deviate from him is:

QB: If they choose to keep Kitna and Orlovsky, and continue to groom Stanton, Matt Millen will be just as grievously negligent as he was entering the ‘07 season. The Lions need another battle-tested, veteran QB, who, given the porous Lions O-Line, will be able to handle being thrust into any game, at any time. I wonder how firm a commitment the Lions will exhibit to Stanton, now that Martz is gone.

RB:Aveion Cason is not listed as a keeper by “Killer”, but as we’ve seen, he is always at the top of Matt Millen’s speed dial, since he has been available to them repeatedly over the course of several seasons. In regards to Jones and Calhoun, given their advanced injury histories, this would also not be a prudent move by Millen, either. I agree with retaining the monstrous FB Jon Bradley, even in a limited role. I also think that T.J. Duckett clearly exhibited that when he is paired with another more versatile type of feature back, that he could work well in the Lions offense. He also proved that he could work in tandem with a more traditional-type of 3rd down back, with Duckett as the featured back, if necessary. I still think that the Lions may need to bring an additional veteran into camp to compete with Calhoun, and compensate for any sort of prolonged recovery time for Jones.

OL: Fundamentally, if the Lions continue to stick with Jeff Backus as their starting LT, they will never improve. Backus is dependable, and incredibly MEDIOCRE!!! The Lions should move him to RT, bid adieu to Damien Woody, and make the selection or acquisition of a LT an immediate priority, especially considering the talent available to them in the ‘08 draft. Hopefully, the Lions will prove to have been able to mine more than just “fool’s gold” among young offensive lineman like Frank Davis, Jonathan Scott and Manny Ramirez. At the very least, one or two of them have to provide depth.

DL:Until the Lions find a legitimate edge rusher, the Tampa-2 defense will continue to struggle. I think that White and Alama-Francis are capable of filling the LDE spot just fine, but they need a Jared Allen-type of pass rusher to play the RDE spot. As frustrating as S. Rogers’ performance has been, their will be a major void in the middle of the Lions defense when he is gone. “Killer” also omits DT Shaun Cody completely, which likely speaks volumes to his future in Detroit, too.

LB:I am comfortable with Paris Lenon sliding over to SLB with Alex Lewis, who needs to take a big step forward this off season, especially if Lenon becomes more of a special teams/backup type of player. The Lions need to find a legitimate MLB who is capable of dropping into the deep middle of their cover-2 in pass coverage, and still provides stout, disciplined run-stopping skills.

DB’s:I am little surprised that Kowalski earmarks Wilson, Jr. as someone who is leaving. Wilson, Jr. is young and athletically-gifted, and deserves a Kalimba Edwards-type mountain of patience to see if he can eventually turn things around, given the high draft pick that was invested in him. Otherwise, I agree that the Lions secondary is deserving of a near-complete overhaul, especially if they can add a dynamic play maker to the mix.

Do Matt Millen, or Rod Marinelli for that matter, appear deserving of being in charge of another complete retooling of the Lions roster, which will ultimately be retooled again, upon Marinelli and Millen’s co-firings? The Lions are not going to just have to make minor moves this off season. By my account, they need:

A veteran QB, a veteran RB, a LT, RDE, NT, MLB, and likely, 2 starting CB’s, besides needing to add additional depth throughout the roster. (8 major players)

Killer’s list is more conservative, and probably more accurate, than mine. That being said, the Lions don’t resemble a team that nearly made the playoffs, especially with this expected turnover.

The Lions should investigate the potential availability of the Jets MLB Jon Vilma, who is returning from a knee injury, and DT DeWayne Robertson, both are not happy in New York’s 3-4 defense. Both players would fill immediate roster needs.

Joe Theismann’s recent assertion that Matt Millen is damaging other former players chances to become in charge of personnel decision-making for other NFL teams, should serve as a clarion call for the Ford’s. The Lions, and their current chief executive, are a joke. Theismann, who is currently unemployed, and is not above self-promotion, may have tangible proof that Millen has hurt former player’s chances.

With stellar football minds like Bill Cowher, Tony Dungy, and Mike Holmgren all potentially available, the Ford’s need to make a difficult, but aggressive decision for once. They need to make a statement to their fans that 31-81, and 51 years with just one playoff victory, have become unacceptable. Otherwise, expect more of the same 2-14/3-13 Lions redux, for the foreseeable future, that we have all grown accustomed to.