For the Detroit Lions, Progress Starts With a Purr

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Maybe the Detroit Lions have finally figured it out. 

So far this off season, the Lions have made some strikingly sane moves.

First, they dealt defensive lineman Cory Redding for linebacker Julian Peterson.  Obviously, this is not a transformational move in itself, but it improved a weakness in the defense (the linebacker corps), and moved a perpetual underachiever in Redding.

Secondly, they kept their word on the draft. 

Okay, there were some questionable draft picks chosen by the kitties, but that happens every year.  What was striking was that coach Jim Schwartz and general manager Martin Mayhew actually showed a plan and stuck to it.  They promised to draft the best available players, regardless of positional need, and that is exactly what they did.

It also showed that Schwartz has at least some power over the moves that are being made.  The evidence of this is the Lions second-round pick, safety Louis Delmas.

Why does this represent a Schwartz pick?  Because Schwartz is a veteran of the AFC South, a division that features the Indianapolis Colts. 

Why is this significant?  Because the player that essentially makes the Colts' defense is safety Bob Sanders, a player to whom Delmas is often compared. 

Additionally, Schwartz' former team, the Tennessee Titans, spent big money bringing in their own impact safety, Chris Hope, from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Schwartz realizes that a big-hitting safety can not only help the run defense, but can help intimidate typically timid wide receivers in the defensive passing game. 

Thirdly, the Lions signed free agent linebacker Larry Foote.

Outside of Detroit, this signing has been received as a mild curiosity at best.  When you lose 16 games in a season, most of your moves will be quietly ignored—and with good reason. 

However, this signing is a big one in Detroit.  It shows how versatile Schwartz can be by bringing in a player that does not necessarily fit in his system. Foote has been a 3-4 linebacker all of his career. In Detroit he will be asked to be a "Mike" linebacker in a 4-3 system. 

Furthermore, it is a signing that shows a new direction for this team.  During the Matt Millen years, Detroit typically brought in players that were either over the hill (Bill Schroeder), overrated (Az Hakim), or no longer hungry (Damien Woody), at least in a football sense.

Foote is still young (28) and fairly underrated, given the fact that he played in the shadow of NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison in Pittsburgh.  Additionally, he is still hungry—and unlike Woody, his hunger is for playing time, not cheeseburgers.

Foote is eager to prove that he is a three-down linebacker, capable of stepping back into coverage and making plays. As a result, he took a relatively small contract with only one year guaranteed. He wants to play his heart out and earn a bigger deal. 

This is excellent news for the Lions given that even if he only plays one year, he will bring a winning attitude into a losing culture.  He has, of course, won two Super Bowl rings with the Steelers.

Oh, and by the way, he wants to play for Detroit. Foote is a Detroit native, and even before he was released from his contract. he began courting the Lions. 

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