Paris Lenon Signing Shows the Patriots Know Something the Lions Don't

I had been harsh, relentless, and unforgiving in my criticism of the 2008 Detroit Lions defense.

Central to that criticism has been the centerpiece of Detroit's now-defunct Tampa Two defense, middle linebacker Paris Lenon.

I had suggested (in print, no less) that Lenon would never play another down in the NFL. Indeed, I thought the closest he'd get would be a practice squad in Saskatchewan. If he wanted to stay in this country, he might be a great fit for the AFL this season.

Especially this season.

There is no way a linebacker with no coachability, awful instincts, and zero tackling ability would ever get picked up by any NFL team with a half-competent owner; not after being such a major part of a winless season powered by a historically bad defense.

So maybe the Raiders would give him a look.

Wait, what? The Patriots signed him? The New England Patriots? Of the NFL?

Paris Lenon is one of the great, underrated, untapped talents in the NFL.

If he wasn't before, he is now.

Frankly, love the team or hate them, there isn't any group of people in the NFL—anywhere—that I trust to evaluate personnel better than the Jedi Masters (or Sith Lords, if you're a Hatriot) in the war room in Foxboro.

Why?

They grabbed Hall-of-Famer-to-be Tom Brady in the sixth round of the draft.

They acquired a supposedly washed-up Randy Moss with a fourth-round draft pick, and he and Brady combined to set the NFL's single-season touchdown record at their respective positions eight months later.

They reached for Jerod Mayo with the 10th pick of the 2008 draft and enjoyed the Defensive Rookie of the Year the rest of the way.

They took Matt Cassel in the seventh round after a college career of being a second-stringer, and made him a strong Pro Bowl candidate (does anybody doubt that he and Philip Rivers deserved to go before Brett Favre now?) in one season of play.

Should I go on?

The point is, I've learned at this point in my life that if the Patriots sign a player, it means that he has talent—unbelievable talent and uncharted abilities impossible to detect with normal human eyes.

So, if Lenon is good enough to play for the Patriots, he's obviously better than I thought.

I will forget about his missed tackles, blown defensive assignments, overpursuits, underpursuits, terrible pass coverage, atrocious run stopping, underwhelming speed, poor agility, and my general impression that he does not actually know how to play football.

If the Patriots want him, he is obviously a football god, perhaps trapped within the Tampa Two scheme, the 4-3 defense, or the Lions organization.

Something is suppressing his true powers, and the Patriots know it. I don't know what it is, but I do know that when he takes the field in Foxborough, he will burst forth as a phoenix from the clunky, inhibited body he occupies now, blowing up plays in the backfield, pressing slot receivers, and running toe-to-toe with the likes of Moss and Wes Welker.

After all, it's not just Lenon. Cornerback Leigh Bodden has also joined the Patriots in the offseason after being cut by the new regime in Detroit.

That's two of 11 starters on the second-worst defense of all time now members of the New England Patriots, one of the best-run sports franchises in North America.

Now, there is some reasoning behind these pickups. Lenon provides depth at the inside linebacker position after third-round pick Tyrone McKenzie went down for the season.

Bodden fills a need at corner for the Patriots, and really, he wasn't bad, even before his upcoming breakout season with the Patriots. He was, after all, the only Lion in the secondary to record an interception last season.

The major gripe with Bodden is that he criticized the organization. Afterwards, Bodden was cut, as well as much of the organization. I'd call that a wash.

The scary thing is that Bodden is at least an average player now, so his post-Patriots performance should have him at the level of perennial Pro Bowler.

It's not often I admit someone is consistently smarter than me, especially about football. The Pats organization is an exception.

When a group of people reels off genius personnel move after genius personnel move, consistently under the radar, spinning Pro Bowlers from dirty straw, I just have to bow down and understand that they know something I don't. Always. About everything and everyone, including Lenon and Bodden.

So laugh now, friends, for you know not of which you speak. I, a Lions fan, will submit to watching Lenon and Bodden reach and surpass their potential in New England, even as my fellow fans laugh at the move.

By the end of the season, we will shake our heads collectively and wonder why those amazing players never looked like that when the Lions were busy losing 16 straight.

Alternatively, this could be like the time they signed Fernando Bryant.