Lions Needs and Luxuries

Needs and Luxuries: Detroit Lions

UPDATE: The Lions seem content to get rid of Shaun Rogers anyway possible. We will be lucky to get a 3rd or 4th rounder for him. Great.... Well this post is now worthless. I cannot wait to write about how stupid Matt Millen and William Clay Ford are.

Offense

QB: Jon Kitna/Drew Staton

RB: Kevin Jones

FB: Will we actually use one this year? Casey Fitzsimmons/Jon Bradley

WR: Roy Williams/ Calvin Johnson/Shaun McDonald/Mike Furrey

TE: Campbell/McHugh

LT: Jeff Backus

LG: Edwin Mulitalo

C: Dominic Raiola

RG: Petermann

RT: ???

Defense

DE: Dewayne White/????

DT: Cory Redding/Shaun Rogers

Linebackers: Ernie Sims/???/???

Safeties: Daniel Bullocks/Gerald Alexzander

CB: Fernando Bryant/Stanley Wilson/ ??

ST

K: Jason Hanson

P: Nick Harris

PR/KR: Furrey/Calhoun

Needs:

Oh, where to begin. This team could probably use an upgrade in every position available. However, they did show some promise. Maybe its not that far off, but it sure seems that way.

The first need is 20-30 pounds off of Shaun Rogers’ body. I really like this guy, he can be a force. But man is he a head case. He is clearly our best player and it would be in Millen’s best interest to keep him here blowing up Centers and guards. Marinelli needs to lay down the law on this guy and make sure he loses weight and can play more often than every other play. When Rogers played well, the Lions usually won. Just as equal to blame is Cory Redding. He is getting a huge paycheck and was not even close to worth it. Whenever Rogers was in the game, he was usually facing a double team, which should have allowed Redding to take advantage of the 1 on 1 matchups in the middle. Last year he played like a pro bowler (think that Atlanta game where he single handedly shut down Mike Vick), this year he played like crap. I certainly think that Redding can be that player we saw again, but he needs help. He needs Rogers to be a force and play almost every play. But he also needs help on the Ends.

Dewayne White was a nice surprise this year, until the triceps injury he sustained recovering a fumble (a perfect example of the Lions stupid luck with injuries). He is a lock for next year. If we can acquire a great DE through the draft or free agency, he could have a good year.

Which brings us to Linebackers. Uhhh.... This is by far the biggest need on the Lions. Our Middle linebacker must be the most hated player in Detroit (move out of the way Neifi Perez!), and we all know he can’t recover a fumble to save his life. Boss Bailey has never really done anything except take up space, but is okay in coverage. He is a free agent this year, but could be back and could be a decent option. Ernie Sims is a great weak side linebacker. He also is a lock. But if the Lions want serious help on defense they need some more guys who play like this guy does.

Secondary, is almost as bad as our linebacking corps. However, injuries were a problem in this area, so I am gonna be the one to cut them some slack. Fernando Bryant has been a solid corner who has played really well the last two years. I think he is a lock again to stay where he is. Daniel Bullocks was injured in the preseason and could have been much better player than Gerald Alexander (remember how Kevin Curtis made him look like he was running in glue?). Bullucks is a better pass defender than Alexander, while Gerald is a decent run defender. The problem is Kenoy Kennedy is also a better run defense guy. I don’t think the Lions will or can do much in this area. Safety will be played by those 3 in some combination; Bullock should be a nice addition though. The problem is corners. We have no corners who can play good man to man on good wide receivers. Marinelli’s scheme is a zone cover 2 coverage but it sure would be nice to have someone on the corner who can match up. I realize that Champ Bailey’s don’t come around all the time, but Asante Samuel does come around this year.

On offense the Lions need to figure out what they are going to do at running back. Kevin Jones is battling yet another serious injury, TJ Duckett is a free agent and is Brian Calhoun ever going to play for this team?

Obviously Offensive line is always a concern. The Lions will never admit Jeff Backus isn’t that great so he will stay, Mulitalo is a solid guard, and Steven Petermann played pretty well even though no one has ever heard of him. RT and C could certainly be upgraded. I like the passion Raiola plays with and Marinelli and Culletto seem to like him. I could see the Lions using a draft pick on RT, especially if they cannot resign Woody who played well at RT at the end of this year.

Lastly, the Lions need a new GM and a new owner, but that’s a topic for another day.

Luxuries:

Are there any?

I guess Wide Receiver is a luxury, especially now that Martz and his love of 4 wide receivers is gone. But the only player with any trade value is Roy Williams. Plus we all know how well Matt Millen pulls off trades (yes, we actually traded Dre Bly for Tatum Bell and George Foster). There are a lot of teams who would probable love a big #1 wide out, but a lot of teams won this year without a good wide receiver corp at all (Jacksonville, Tennessee, Tampa, Seattle), which could taint the value of a great player like Roy. Plus, is Calvin Johnson ready to be the primary option of this offense in his second year?

I guess you could call Quarterback a luxury, but neither Jon Kitna and Drew Staton have any trade value. By the way, what is with this love affair with Drew Staton? Does Matt Millen watch one college football game a year and it happened to be MSU-Northwestern in 2006? Just for the record, David Harris had a great rookie season for the Jets... (what was our biggest weakness again?)

Actions

The Lions have basically 7 picks. You might be able to get two more for trades of Shaun Rogers and Roy Williams, but the picks might be lower than what those players are worth. The Lions will be forced to find players in free agency. The problem is that Detroit has such a horrible history of being a joke in this league that we are probably the last place any top free agents want to play. We with either have to overpay or sign players that are not the best at their position. Here is my analysis anyway.

If the Lions are serious about winning and improving their defense, Asante Samuel is a must sign at any cost. Mike Doss or Marcus Trufant are okay players who might be available, but not even close to the shut down level that Samuel has reached. Samuel would make our secondary go from horrible to pretty good on paper. Stanley Wilson would be a very good nickel corner. Signing Samuel means that the Lions will not be able to sign really anyone else of any real value. The rest of the improvement will have to be through the draft.

The Lions need to sign or draft at least 1 linebackers and 1 defensive end in addition to adding a solid corner. My hope is that Vernon Gholston of Ohio State somehow falls to us, but it is very unlikely. Derrick Harvey is someone who will probably be around at pick 15 and a possibility. Otherwise, it could be very wise to grab Dan Connor in the first or Shawn Crable in the second (assuming Keith Rivers is gone before 15).

The Lions probably will not use a first or second round pick on DE considering they wasted that pick (yes, wasted. I know, I know i actually had the nerve to suggest Hawaii isnt known as a school where good DE’s come from) on Alama-Francis last year. The team and most scouts claim he is raw but has potential because he started playing football very late. So, sadly, we might have to suffer through another year of watching Kalimba Edwards get manhandled and never even touch an opposing quarterback’s jersey.

Some mock drafts slate us taking Jeff Otah from Pitt. He is 6-6, 340 with surprising mobility for his size. This could be a good pick, given how horrible our running game was last year, but I think the bigger need is Defense.

We could also take Aqib Talib from Kansas, if we can’t get Samuel. He was a great playmaker at corner for Kansas.

The fact is Millen really needs to remember where he came from. For some reason his philosophy as a GM is completely against what you would think an old defensive lineman would think. He goes after wide receivers and finesse players. Get some attitude in this team again. Go after big strong linebackers, and shut down corners. Make a splash Millen. If you cant get Samuel go after Lance Briggs. Bring in a big name who is proven. Stop falling in love with players who strung a few good games together right before their contract expired (Woody, Redding, Edwards, Demulling).