Detroit Lions Weblog

Not Much Happens in Allen Park During Lions Week Off

With the Lions biggest news items being that Drew Stanton may have overtaken Daunte Culpepper as Matthew Stafford’s backup and that Jon Jansen may replace the Daniel Loper/Manny Ramirez revolving door at Left Guard, it is a little surprising that the Lions actually achieved a sell-out(Oops, I thought I had read that a sell-out had miraculously occurred) for this Sunday’s game. The fact that Sunday’s game is eminently winnable supersedes the reality that their has been little done to improve the Lions fortunes during their bye week.

Where was the news of free agent try-outs, especially at QB, defensive line and the secondary? Why has there been so little update about the status of Matthew Stafford, who is at least practicing with the team, and Calvin Johnson, who is not? Admittedly, Jim Schwartz has proven that he is tight-lipped about injuries. I am a lot more surprised that we didn’t hear about bye week free agent workouts, especially a week after the NFL trade deadline, when the team clearly is deficient in it’s defensive personnel and faces potentially long-term injuries to Stafford and Johnson.

I realize that there is not much talent left unsigned, especially players who are remotely familiar (or could become so rapidly) with the Lions offensive and defensive schemes. That being said, Martin Mayhew’s standing pat after both the trade deadline and bye week, comes as a bit of a surprise.

Mayhew’s brief tenure has shown that he is not afraid to churn the team’s personnel. In fact, if there has been one thing that has defined Mayhew’s tenure, it is that he will make a deal and turnover whichever rocks necessary to try and find the Lions some additional talent. Are the Lions front office and coaching staff resigned to playing with the hand they have been dealt?

At this point, the Lions need to focus on gaining as many wins are possible. The current high watermark appears to be three wins, assuming they pull through to beat the St. Louis Rams and Cleveland Browns. The Lions need to be concerned about victories for their wayward franchise, much more than their 2010 draft position, for example. If this team is ever going to move forward and for Jim Schwartz to earn additional respect from his players, the team needs to find a way to exceed those three victories and take another game or two, especially given how bad the NFL truly is this season.

The Lions are amid nearly 10 teams (Tampa, Carolina, Washington, St. Louis, Kansas City, Oakland, and Cleveland) who are as bad as any in recent NFL memory. The Lions do have a ways to go as a franchise, but if the team improves even marginally under Schwartz in it’s remaining 12 games, it is very capable rising from out of the morass of awfulness that has become one of the more dubiously recognizable trends in the NFL this season.