Detroit Lions Weblog

Is There Life After Millen?

After the improbable and unpredicted announcement of Matt Millen’s liberation from “football prison” last week, one is left to ask, what can we expect for the Lions thirteen remaining games this season?

The Lions new triumvirate of interim, front office figureheads, Mr. Lewand, Mr. Mayhew, and Mr. Saunders, will have few if any roster decisions to make as the season progresses.  They will be in charge of personnel decisions like replacing injured players, promotions/demotions from/to the practice squad, and potentially, with about a week and half remaining until the deadline, trade players from the Lions current roster.

In the opening press conference of the new regime, Mayhew said that had been little thought given of potentially trading players.  However, he stated, that if the right offer arose, nothing would be ruled out.

Prevarication aside, I believe that the Lions will be interested in shopping a few players.  I also think that Mayhew, in the interest of retaining player value, reasoned that it would be imprudent to expose his hand too soon, especially given the fact that he had just been promoted to a higher executive position in the organization.

I would expect, given the much publicized unhappiness of players like Jon Kitna and Roy Williams, and the relatively bulging depth of players that the Lions possess along their defensive line(11 players), that it would be no surprise if a team inquired about the availability of any of these players.

Rod Marinelli, the entire 53 man roster, and the practice squad are all, or at least should be, abundantly aware that the remaining thirteen games are important in preserving their NFL futures(within and outside the Lions organization).

The Lions season may not entirely be lost, either.   They just have to significantly adjust their metric which they will use to determine success.

Can Kevin Smith develop into a consistent back?  Can Gosder Cherilus emerge as an effective blocker?  Can the likes of Jordan Dizon, Ikaika “Kalimba 2.0″ Alama-Francis, and Cliff Avril make their presence’s felt on defense? When Drew Stanton eventually replaces Jon Kitna, does he show the  metier, playmaking ability, and unflappability to carve a major role within the organization?

The 75th Lions season is a major crossroad for the organization, which should help define if the organization remains interminably mired in the cycle of failure/rebuilding/failure or actually becomes credible and competitive.

Unfortunately, that may be all we have to look forward to, until Matt Millen’s eventual replacement gives their opening press conference.