Is Detroit's Only Hope in the 2009 NFL Season to Play for Pride?

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Enter Detroit

Call me crazy—plenty do.  It is merely because I am willing to say what I think existentially. I argue hard, but I do not always invest my emotions into the argument (except on issues of bigotry).

With Detroit's group, I think that the Lions have at least a puncher's chance of an "interesting season."

Meaning that, they will not look like slop, but that their weaknesses will be identifiable. Sometimes, you cannot identify a team's weaknesses and thus they look like slop.

Believe me, I know. I am a Raider fan.

The Lions should start Daunte Culpepper, not Matthew Stafford.

If Culpepper can make the offense functional (but not flashy), then I think the Lions will be able to identify their weaknesses.

In Detroit, the Lions have a rising star in wide receiver Calvin Johnson as the Bengals had in the Receiver Formerly Known as Chad Johnson in 2003. 

Fortunately, for Calvin, they no longer have common initials with the same last name. Let's hope that the new C.J. does not eventuate into Calvin Ocho-uno. 

Added to that group will be wide receivers Bryant Johnson, Ronald Curry, Dennis Northcutt (also an RS), rookie Derrick Williams, and rookie tight end Brandon Pettigrew.

In running back Kevin Smith, I believe that the Lions have a solid runner who could perform as Rudi Johnson did for Cincinnati, while the Lions added blockers in the rookie Pettigrew and fullback Terrelle Smith, as the Bengals added a rookie blocker in Jeremi Johnson.

The true stickler for the offense is the offensive line. That led many to believe that Detroit should select an offensive tackle in the NFL Draft. However, Detroit did the right thing in the selection of Stafford in order to build around his learning curve.

I do believe however, that Detroit's best chance at a cohesive and stout line is to keep Raiola, Peterman, and Cherilus where they are. They should focus on the void at left-guard. They must determine whether left tackle Jeff Backus can still play as he did in 2007, or if they need to see what free agent and fellow left tackle Daniel Loper can do.

The solution for Detroit's void at left guard could require a creative one, such as veterans LT Ephraim Salaam, RT Jon Jansen, or LG Toniu Fonoti. The Lions will eventually need to replace them through the draft, by trade, or free agency, but I think that Detroit has enough for an efficient stopgap.

On Defense

Like the Bengals in 2003, the Lions have loaded-up on scrappy defensive players, and even feature some promising youth.

Detroit's promising youth on defense includes rookie S Louis Delmas, S Daniel Bullocks, LB Ernie Sims, pass-rusher Cliff Avril, rookie DT Sammie Lee Hill, DE Ikaika Alama-Francis, with depth in LB Jordan Dizon, LB Alex Lewis, S Kelvin Pearson, and rookie LB DeAndre Levy.

The Lions added CB Philip Buchanon, CB Anthony Henry, LB Larry Foote, All-Pro LB Julian Peterson, and DT Grady Jackson, along with holdover DE Dwayne White.

I am not sure about the futures of DE Jared DeVries and DT Chartric Darby.

Lions to Bengals

The style of Buchanon does remind me of Terrence Holt, a style defined by big plays as a ball hawk but deficient tackling. 

Henry compares well to Jeff Burris; Sims compares well to Brian Simmons; White compares well to Duane Clemons; Delmas and Bullocks compare well to Rogers Beckett and Mark Roman.

Peterson is better than Adrian Ross; Foote is not as good as Kevin Hardy. Jackson is not an identical of John Thornton but plays defensive tackle; and Avril is a questionable comparison to Justin Smith.

I think those players balance out.

I think Detroit's biggest questions marks on defense are Darby and the third cornerback spot for nickel formations (Eric King, Ramzee Robinson).  DeVries seems to be blocking the chances of Allama-Francis and Avril, two ends that I think could platoon at the position.

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