Sir Winston Churchill on The 2010 Detroit Lions: Part II

The man through whom a special relationship was borne and fostered between two great nations during some of the darkest days of the 20th Century left us some of the greatest inspirational quotes in all of history.  I’ll take a look at the 2010 Detroit Lions through a purview of three quotes by Sir Winston Churchill and how they apply to this year’s team.  This is Part II in my Churchill series.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/420137-sir-winston-churchill-on-the-2010-detroit-lions-part-i

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

Ain’t that the truth.

By about the eleventh game of the 2008 Detroit Lions campaign, it became clear to me that the professional football team I had cheered for all of my life was going to “roll a donut” and go winless on the season.

I remember plenty of chatter around the Detroit Lions Internet scene regarding the number of fans who were practically mortified at the notion that the club wasn’t going to win a single game that year. 

Oh well.

If you’re loyal to the Honolulu Blue and Silver, it doesn’t matter.

The 2008 Detroit Lions were crowned “OwenXVI Champions” for their winless perfection under the guidance and leadership of Matt Millen and Rod Marinelli.

The words of The Great Leader come immediately to mind for me:

Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. —Matthew 15:14

Unfortunately, it wasn’t just Rod and Matt ending up in the ditch; they took down the entire franchise.

The lads in Allen Park are ready to throw that “OwenXVI Champions” crown on the scrap heap.

Success and failure provide the spectral ends from which to travel along an arduous, and unforgiving continuum.

Let’s take apart Sir Winston’s quote in their three natural sections.

Success is not final.

When we think about some of the great dynastic franchises in football —Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Dallas, San Francisco, and New England —we think of teams who literally “reigned” over the league with multiple NFL championships within a defined period of time.

Even though these franchises have reached the penultimate goal of hoisting the Lombardi trophy on numerous occasions, in time, the team that “once was” becomes “no more” and the cycle invariably begins again.

And although the 1972 Miami Dolphins were once able to deliver a season of perfection, they were unable to match their accomplishment of a perfect season ever again.  The New England Patriots were recently denied football immortality when the NY Giants ruined their perfect season attempt by beating the Patriots by a field goal in Super Bowl XLII.

Every franchise, every coach, and every player is striving for success in the NFL.  The promotion of Martin Mayhew to general manager in the post-Millen era is one step in striving for success. The hiring of Jim Schwartz, Gunther Cunningham, and Scott Linehan is another. From the top down, every member of the Detroit Lions organization is striving for success.

The results of the 2010 campaign will tell us where the franchise is along the “failure enroute to success” continuum.  Tripling the team’s win total from last season would be a solid step in the right direction.

Failure is not fatal.

I have always been a fan of the quote, “That which does not kill us only serves to make us stronger.”

After the past two seasons of Lions football in Detroit, there is plenty of impetus from which to derive tremendous strength for Lions leaders, players, and fans alike.

In looking back at the Detroit Lions’ performance since 1996, the club has finished either last or next-to-last in the division, with a lone playoff appearance in 1999.  While “failure is not fatal”, it certainly seems to be “long lasting” in Detroit.

If anything, many of the projected starters for the 2010 Detroit Lions are predicting a trip to the playoffs.  The Lions players presently on the roster sound like a group who is ready to face the next challenge and rise to the occasion.

It is the courage to continue that counts.

The Detroit Lions team that I remember watching during 2008 seemed to wear down rapidly over the course of the season.  As the season wound down, it didn’t appear as if every Detroit Lions player was giving his all; rather a cloud of despair, depression, and defeat lingered over the once-proud franchise.

“Answering the ring of the bell” is what we’re talking about, and in 2008, the club just kept hitting the “snooze” bar.

With tremendous turnover all the way around, the 2009 Detroit Lions set out to distance themselves from the winless 2008 campaign, and in week three were able to beat the Washington Redskins at Ford Field by the score of 19-14.

Thanks, Jim Zorn!

The most courage displayed upon the field of play for the 2009 Detroit Lions came when QB Matthew Stafford used his athleticism to elude the Detroit training staff, and get back out on the field to lead his team to victory over the Browns.

What I like about guys like Louis Delmas and Jonathan Wade is that they are excited about their prospects headed into the 2010 season. Their outward display of courage regarding their inner belief for this team speaks volumes for how the club is about to turn their fortunes around.

“This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.”

Regardless my initial skepticism relative to the in-house promotion of Martin Mayhew to general manager, as an exhaustive external search was never conducted, I have found a certain degree of peace as I have watched the front office decision-making process unfold.

When the “new regime” was entering their first draft in 2009, their paradigm was, “We aren’t in a position to pass on talent.”

I don’t stack the Detroit Lions draft board any more than they stack mine, and without access to jugular, clandestine information, it is difficult sometimes to understand why the front office makes some of the choices they do come draft day.

In “daring” not to pass on “talent”, Mayhew, Schwartz, Lewand & Co. made Brandon Pettigrew the 20th overall selection in the 2009 NFL Draft.

I guess Michael Oher wasn’t a good enough blocker or something.

I suppose Clay Matthews III didn’t come from a strong family tradition, and I suppose he doesn’t know how to cover a receiver or sack the quarterback.

Perhaps Vontae Davis wasn’t the real deal and won’t develop into a starting-grade cornerback.

Yeah right, people.

This front office is daring to build an offensive firebase of operations from which to launch Linehan’s attack.  Their idea was to draft a tight end at taller than 6’5”, known mostly for his blocking, who would also be able to catch the ball and create a serious physical mismatch for prospective defenders.  Plus, Pettigrew was drafted as a “three-down” TE, meaning he wouldn’t have to come off the field, thus tipping the offense’s hand to the defense.

Only once during Pettigrew’s rookie season did he truly generate that mismatch, and that was when Stafford threaded the needle and zipped a pass that Brandon caught high on his left thigh with no time remaining in regulation, as the Detroit Lions beat the Cleveland Browns 38-37 (thanks, Mangenius!).

Over the past two seasons, there has been neither ease nor comfort for any stakeholder of the Detroit Lions.  None .  Since ease and comfort have been vacationing away from Detroit since 1957, Lions fans have become a cynical, skeptical, tough crowd. 

The time to “dare and endure” has both come and gone in certain respects.  Lions fans have “dared” to believe in past administrations, only to have their hopes crushed and sunk to the bottom of Lake Superior.

Dare we “dare” again?

Yes.  And the time is now.

“It is no use saying, 'We are doing our best.' You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.”

I’m sure this will be difficult for some, but did you know that the Detroit Lions actually qualified for the playoffs six times during the decade of the 1990s?

Pretty crazy, huh?!

Needless to say, Lions fans have not enjoyed that “problem” lately.

Detroit Lions fans are some of the smartest, most savvy football fans in the nation.  They know what they have in the wake of the departed Matt Villen.

What Lions fans witnessed was an aging owner turn over the reigns of the franchise to a slick-talking, would-be drinking buddy with a four-day “work week”.

Now that’s the recipe for success, by golly!

NOT!

“Our boy” Matt Millen GUTTED the franchise.  In eight years, Millen completely dismantled anything that remotely resembled an NFL franchise, leaving the roster devoid of talent and the fans madder than a wet hornet.

The question then becomes, “If Millen destroyed the club in eight years, how long will it take to rebuild it?”

Will it take as many years to rebuild as it did to destroy it?  Could the team be rebuilt in only half the time —four years?  Is there an outside possibility that the team could be put back together in only one-quarter of the time, a meager two-season rebuild?

If the front office, coaching staff, and players have anything to do with it, a two-year rebuild is all it will take to turn the Detroit Lions into a competitive football team heading into the 2010 season.

From a paradigm of pragmatism, my heart tells me I need to be patient while Kaizen Magician Mayhew continues to beat down every door in the NFL with his incessant approach (thank goodness!) toward enriching the Detroit Lions roster.

Yesterday’s signing of former Oakland Raiders special teams standout, LB Isaiah Ekejiuba, attests to the fact that Mayhew will not stop in his quest to constantly and consistently churn the bottom five of the Detroit Lions roster.

Thank goodness, Lions fans.  It’s about time.

At some point in time during the near future, the “dispensation of grace” will expire for Mayhew, Schwartz, Lewand & Co., and the franchise will need to begin to win games on a regular basis.

For the now, I think Lions fans would be pleased with a half-dozen-or-more victories during the 2010 season, a performance which will need to be further built upon going into the 2011 campaign.

There has been a major influx of talent added to the 2010 Detroit Lions roster, but saying “We are doing our best” won’t be sufficient. 

Seven of eleven starters on the defensive side of the ball will be new, an overhaul of more than 60 percent.  The new defense will have to stop opponents and get their points allowed under control.  Allowing close to 500 points per season will get us what we’ve been getting:  humiliated.  This defense must get their points allowed down to 300 or less.

“To succeed in what is necessary” has been an illusive task for many a Detroit Lions head coach.  Jim Schwartz was hired to lead the team all the way to a Super Bowl championship.  While I expect that to happen someday, it isn’t this day.

If the 2010 Detroit Lions are to succeed in doing what is necessary —winning football games —the offense, defense, and special teams must all fire on all cylinders.

The dismissal of Stan Kwan and subsequent hiring of Danny Crossman as special teams coach for 2010 speaks of the change Mayhew is looking to see in an improved special teams unit.  Get people better or get better people.

The addition of LG Rob Sims, TE Tony Scheffler, and WR Nate Burleson via trade and free agency should help the offense considerably.  The drafting of RB Jahvid Best will also contribute to the “high-octane”, “high-output” 2010 Detroit Lions offense.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/422188-with-all-cylinders-firing-detroit-run-game-should-be-improved-in-2010

In an attempt to upgrade defensively, the Lions signed DE Kyle Vanden Bosch, DT Corey Williams, CB Chris Houston, CB Jonathan Wade, and SS C.C. Brown.  The Lions also drafted DT Ndamukong Suh and CB Amari Spievey to improve the much-maligned defense.  Many expect one or two additional signings at either CB or LB as teams par down their rosters to the eventual 53-man limit.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/409373-the-whos-who-among-whos-new-on-defense-for-the-2010-detroit-lions

In terms of labeling or defining “success” from the perspective of a Detroit Lions fan, the 2010 team will need to win much more than the 2009 squad.

I think if the team is able to improve in 2010 by four wins over last year’s win total, the season could be termed a success.  Staying in every game from start to finish will also go a long way in forming a positive perception of success.

Should the 2010 Detroit Lions reach an eight-win season or beyond, there is no question as to whether or not the staff has been successful in turning around the direction of the franchise.  A playoff appearance would definitely be received as a success.

Regardless your paradigm as to what it would take to proclaim the 2010 Detroit Lions season a success, I think we can all agree that the majority of steps taken by the Detroit front office will yield a much more competitive team for 2010 that will surprise us all by year’s end.

It is time for the lads in Allen Park to succeed in doing what is necessary.

“Git ‘er done!”

HäMM ë R