Detroit Lions: 2010 Will Be a Turning Point

For those of you that are Who fans, I paraphrase the song "Another Tricky Day" as the Lions end yet another tricky season.

Tricky indeed.

2009 brought a lot of optimism despite barely improving, talent-wise, over the 2008 version of the Detroit Lions.  Martin Mayhew and Jim Schwartz did a lot of roster shaking, so much that an unheard of 40 percent roster turnover occurred. 

Of course, no one would expect to keep their jobs after going 0-16, right?

Perhaps the only shining moment of 2008 was on Sept. 24 when Matt Millen was shown the door.  It gave Detroit Lions fans a lift but did little to inspire any improvement of the team. 

Rod Marinelli and his coaching staff immediately became lame ducks, and pretty much every player on the roster had given up with only four games into the season.

Mayhew was named the interim and then permanent GM of the Lions.  He did some flashy trades, most notably trading disgruntled wide receiver Roy Williams and a seventh round pick for Dallas' first, third, and sixth picks. 

The trade allowed the Lions to have six draft picks in the first four rounds.

Detroit's 2009 draft was, as is the Lions', mediocre.  Maybe a little better than that, but far from stellar. 

After taking Matthew Stafford with the first pick, there were some head-scratchers with the rest. 

A big surprise was taking Brandon Pettigrew with the second first round pick.  We can't consider him a bust just yet.  He was just starting to show his capabilities and live up to his potential until he went down with a knee injury after 12 games.

Other good picks were LB DeAndre Levy, RB Aaron Brown, and LB Zack Follet.  Perhaps the best pick of the draft was safety Louis Delmas, who played an MVP season for the Lions. 

Detroit Lions fans hope he can continue to play at a high level.

2009 was only marginally better than 2008.  But there were some great moments. 

The first being the long-awaited win over the Washington Redskins.  It wasn't a pretty game, but I'm sure Lions fans would take 7-8 ugly wins over 3-4 pretty ones.

Perhaps the most meaningful game was the Nov. 22 game in which the Lions prevailed 38-37.  The top two draft picks of 2009 teamed up to pull a come-from-behind win as Stafford hit Pettigrew in the back of the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.

In that game, Stafford was accepted by the Detroit Lions fans.  He avoided the team doctors wanting to take a look at his shoulder injury, ran back onto the field, and threw the TD to Pettigrew.

That touchdown was his fifth of the game, which made him the first rookie quarterback to toss five TD passes since 1950...almost as long since the Lions won a championship.

Pettigrew caught six passes for 72 yards, including the game winner. 

But the momentum failed to carry into the next week as the Lions came crashing back to earth at the hands of the Green Bay Packers.  Detroit lost the Thanksgiving Day game 34-12. 

In fact, the Lions went winless the rest of the season and secured the No. 2 pick of the 2010 draft.

Even before the season ended, there was already a lot of speculation about whom the Lions should draft and go after in the free agent market.  Heck, even I changed positions regarding the need for a left tackle to protect bonus baby Stafford when I saw just how inept the defense had become. 

I believe the defensive line had fewer than 10 sacks on the year. 

The secondary was a leaky boat, and no one brought a bailing can to stem the water. 

Outside of Louis Delmas, there wasn't a whole lot of consistency.  Combine that with a defensive line that can't fight its way out of a paper bag, and you have problems. 

One play stands out in particular against the Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers dropped back to pass and literally stood there for about 15 seconds before hitting Donald Driver for 68 yards. 

Fifteen seconds...it's inconceivable that an NFL defensive line can be held back for 15 seconds.  Rodgers had enough time to go get a hot dog and a beer before throwing that pass.

However the draft plays out, I do hope the Lions use this draft to build a defense rather than take the "best player available."  Sure, you may get the best player available, but if he's a running back or wide receiver when you need a defensive tackle or a defensive end, it does little to build a defense.

Let's hope the Lions brain trust keeps moving forward.  They took some baby steps forward last year, but now it's time to cut the umbilical cord and jump into the fire.

Otherwise, it's just going to be another tricky season for Detroit Lions fans.