Kevin Thomas Doesn't Have A Lot of Hope for the Lions

Figuring out the Detroit Lions is like trying to figure out the New Hampshire Debates. You hear what people are saying, but you just don’t know who to believe

Figuring out the Detroit Lions is like trying to figure out the New Hampshire Debates. You hear what people are saying, but you just don’t know who to believe and how much difference it makes, or if anybody can make a difference anyway.

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Perhaps I should discuss the Lions from my perspective. I have watched the Lions futility from the early 70’s and it is clear to me the Lions have become so pathetic, that a 5-0 loss to the Cowboys at the beginning of that decade, along with a missed field goal by Eddie Murray, some nice running by Billy Sims and Barry Sanders, and a modest win streak by Wayne Fontes has become, for the lack of a better phrase, the “glory days” in the last 37 or so years. That my friends, is scary. How can these Lions be continually so bad?

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Well, I believe everyone should share the blame from the owner on down. In a sense, it’s hard to blame the Fords too much because basically they write the checks of the players and staff and take advice on who to hire. Oops, that is where some blame falls on them. I’m sure whoever has been whispering in their ears thought that Steve Mariucci, Darryl Rogers, Bobby Ross, Gary Moeller, were pretty good head coaches—well, on the college level anyway.

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At this same time, someone was also whispering in the ear of the Fords and becoming enamored with all things San Francisco, except for one small problem, Bill Walsh, Jerry Rice, or Steve Young weren’t  a part of that package deal. Yet, Matt Millen arrived as did some of the old coaching staff and players, and the “Frisco Shuffle” was on. Except, nobody asked Millen if he had a clue about drafting. Or even hiring a coach, since even Marty Mornhinweg was lost on the sidelines throughout his tenure.

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Marty stuggled with timeouts, Bobby Ross wanted to have a fullback in the backfield,

(which upset Barry Sanders), Mooch was in over his head, Darryl Rogers asked what he had to do to get fired, and Moeller has never been the same since he had his issues at Michigan. Has it really mattered whom the Coach or General Manager is with the Lions?

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Never fear, the obsession with San Francisco soon wore off for the glittering promise of the Tampa-Two defense. After all, defense wins championships, doesn’t it? So Mr. Marinelli

was hired to inflict his punishment upon foes and has been positive about it, often blaming himself when the players can’t perform, or won’t perform, or think the playbook is too hard to learn (see Mike Martz later).

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The last few years have brought draft busts like Mike Williams and Charles Rogers which heaped criticism on Millen, and what did he do? He flipped the proverbial bird at everyone and drafted another wide receiver in Calvin Johnson. Hey, you have to give Millen credit for being courageous, and Johnson still has a chance to pan out …ah maybe. Yet, why would you draft big physical receiver in Martz’s small receiver spread offense?

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That seems to be the big question, nobody here has figured out if they want to have a spread offense or a power running team. Damien Woody has said the Lions coaches were in heated debates all year long? No wonder they were divided on the field after the fast start. If the coaches can’t get along, how can the players get along?  Some coaches wanted to run the ball more, and Martz wanted to pass often. This is where Marinelli needs to take heat. You

have to hire the right coaches for your system from the beginning to build continuity and he has already fired his first defensive coordinator and first offensive line coach last year, and has just fired his offensive coordinator this year. Does he really know what he is doing?

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Another problem here is that you have the inmates, or should I say some of the players, running the asylum, or should I say team. Dre Bly was the first to run his mouth about Joey Harrington. The offensive line kept blaming Harrington for sacks, but kept giving up sacks when Jeff Garcia was named the quarterback. Garcia was one of the first to point out the troubles in the Detroit dressing room and the continued division. After that, the offensive line coach was blamed for the sacks and he was fired. After more sacks this year, Martz was blamed and he was fired. Plus, these same players actually complained about the difficulty in picking up the offense. Anyone here feel sorry for them?

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The Lions had a chance to fix the offensive line or the running game through the draft. My suggestions at the time were to either draft left tackle Joe Thomas, and move Backus to the right side so he wouldn’t have to protect Kitna’s blindside, or else take Adrian Peterson, since Kevin Jones was coming back form an injury at running back. Instead they chose Calvin Johnson because they were told he was a can’t miss prospect. However, for the time being, it seems he can’t catch on this level either, not with any consistency, although he’ll be given a bye for being a rookie and having an ongoing injury.

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Roy Williams isn’t any better despite his All-Pro status. He has been running wrong routes since he has got here, and has been at odds with Kevin Jones since that day in Chicago a few years ago when Harrington and Williams weren’t on the same page on a pass in the end zone. People fear Williams has alligator arms and is afraid to take a hit, or his protecting himself for contract purposes. He also likes to spend a lot of time away from the team and in Texas, perhaps indicating he isn’t as dedicated as many on this team want. Jones isn’t any better, as he has pouted about not getting the ball in the running game all year long.

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The defense wasn’t any better, after replacing defensive coordinator Donny Henderson after last season, they hired Joe Barry and gave up 50+ points not once, but twice in a game. How many NFL teams do you see ever do that? Shaun Rogers started off as the MVP of the league until his weight and knee problems slowed him to crawl. Which brings up another question. Why was he allowed to rehab on his own? I blame the Lions for that, but at the same time, the Lions knew he would playing in spots all season long because of conditioning, so when he played well early, they accepted it. Yet when the team started collapsing in the second half of the season, all fingers were pointed at Rogers, especially after he was seen laughing with two Cowboys after a tough and emotional late season loss to Dallas. The truth be told though, Rogers at 70% is better than anyone else they have right now and yet the question is, can the Lions motivate him to get conditioned and also keep the fork away from his mouth? It may not matter.

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Yes my friends, I can talk about Lion futility all day long, and as I mentioned previously, it mirrors the ongoing politics of the day, where the question seems to be “change versus experience”. In the Lions case especially, it may not make a difference.