(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
It couldn't get any worse for the Detroit Lions going 0-16 for the season. The Loins seemed to have a revolving door at quarterback all season long. Starting with Jon Kitna to Dan Orlovsky to Daunte Culpepper from the street and finally more Orlovsky.
In between the quarterback moves the Lions finally fired general Manager Matt Millon.Then the Motor City franchise also traded wide receiver Roy Williams to the Cowboys for a first round pick in 2009.
Despite all this second year wide receiver Calvin Johnson seemed to be unfazed.
With 1,331 yards receiving, 17.2 yards per catch and 12 touchdowns Johnson had one of the top seasons for any wide out in the league in 2008. This I find truly rare because even great receivers tend to have bad years when their team has everything go wrong for them.
But still Calvin posted the type of numbers that were top rate in the league. One has to ask themselves when considering Johnson for their fantasy football team, "if Megatron can play like that in 2008, he could do it any season."
Change has come to the 2009 Detroit Lions
This offseason Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz signed with the team as the new head coach. Then management let go of quarterback Dan Orlovsky and resigned Daunte Culpepper to start for the team in 2009.
Former first round pick wide receiver from originally the Cardinals Bryant Johnson signed on to be the No. 2 receiver in the offense.
They even got some defensive help by acquiring Linbacker Julian Peterson from the Seahawks and Linebacker Larry Foote from the Steelers.
The 2009 NFL Draft
With the first selection overall the Lions choose Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Matthew Stafford for the future. This strong armed QB while young should have the luxury of learning behind Daunte Culpepper.
This is key because it is very hard for a young No. 1 pick quarterback to make it in the NFL. Mostly because the supporting cast isn't very good and the coaching staffs tend to change from year to year. Just look at San Fransisco 49ers first rounder from 2005 QB Alex Smith.
This will be Simth's fifth season on the team and in five years he's had five different offensive coordinators!
Or how about poor David Carr with the Texans, he never had an offensive line and got beat to hell.
Even legends like Troy Aikman and John Elway struggled mightily in their early years in Dallas and Denver.
With the first round pick they acquired from Dallas in the Williams trade the Lions selected big Tight End Brandon Pettigrew from Oklahoma State. This will provide Stafford with a nice target over the middle other than Calvin to go to. Brandon has the tools to start right away and be effective in doing so.
But a young quarterback needs a good running game and the Lions have a capable runner in last years third round pick Kevin Smith. I know Smith was knocked in college for having an attitude but I liked his fire last season. Every week he did his best to try and help the Lions overcome their 0-16 run.
While he wasn't successful in avoiding that embarrassing record, Kevin showed people he is a future leader on this team. Not to mention that Smith can handle the rock as he toted the ball over 400 times in his final season in college. If Kevin is successful on the ground it will help ease the pressure for the young quarterbacks transition to the NFL.
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