Projecting the Detroit Lions' All-Time Offensive Starting 11

It's time for football again.

Finally.

Now we have real, current things to talk about. Free agency, training camp, preseason games, roster cuts, it's all here in a big blur. We're being so overwhelmed with league news, we won't know what to talk about a couple weeks from now.

But to commemorate the slow news time ending and the lockout lifting, how about just one more retrospective into Lions history while we wait for them to actually sign a free agent?

Particularly since the Lions figure to field one of their most talented offenses in team history in 2011, it seems only appropriate to take a look at what the Lions' all-time offense would actually look like.

Besides, I might need until next week to make my head stop spinning from this first week of training camp.

QB: Bobby Layne

This is the second-easiest call on this team.

Though Bobby Layne's career statistics were underwhelming, they were also typical of top-level quarterbacks in his era.

Perhaps more importantly, though, Layne was the best leader the Lions have ever had at any position, possibly on or off the field.

We're talking about a guy who was one of the last in the league to play without a facemask. A guy who kicked his linemen in the shins if they missed a block or may not have been sober an entire day for his entire adult life.

Yes, that guy was a leader. Why?

Because his teammates could trust him. Because everyone knew that if they did their jobs around him, they would win games. They would win championships.

And they did.

A popular adage about Layne was that he never lost a football game; he just ran out of time. He was John Elway before John Elway was John Elway. Hell, he was Elway before Elway was born.

That is of course, if Elway was a drunken, surly Texan who would have punched his coach in the jaw for suggesting he slide to protect himself.

On a completely unrelated note, if the Lions ever lost their minds and decided to convert to a Wildcat offense, Dutch Clark would have be absolutely prototypical.

Now let's all forget I ever even brought that up. It's making me sick just thinking about it.

RB: Barry Sanders

This is the easiest call on the team.

I think I've literally used up all the superlatives I possibly can to describe Barry Sanders.

There's nothing more I can say, and words can't adequately describe his play or what he meant to the Detroit Lions franchise, anyway.

Numbers don't really get it, either, but if you have any doubt as to Sanders' place as best all-time Lions running back, why not have a look at the Lions' rushing record books?

I'm sure you didn't need convincing, but that should do it anyway.

FB: Cory Schlesinger

How much do you want to bet Schlesinger busted a facemask on this play? It would only be one of many.

Schlesinger makes the list easy, assuming the list involves a fullback. You could make the argument that the traditional fullback position should be replaced with another running back.Though the traditional I formation is still widely in use, the use of a true lead-blocking fullback within it is beginning to wane in favor of speedier packages with two running backs.

In that case, Billy Sims edges out Nick Pietrosante for the other RB slot.

But enough about that, because there is a fullback on the list, Schlesinger is the guy, and it's not just because he blocked for the latest Lion to wear No. 20. It's because he and Bobby Layne would have been a couple of the meanest, toughest guys ever to share a backfield.

Neither man had any regard for facemasks. Layne never wore one, and Schlesinger practically never wore one without breaking it.

Both sacrificed their bodies without hesitating, even if it only meant a couple extra yards.

Both led the way for their teammates. Layne did it emotionally, Schlesinger physically and literally.

Both belong on the all-time Lions squad, on which players should be as blue-collar as they are talented.

WRs: Herman Moore and Calvin Johnson

Herman Moore: 6' 4", 38.5" vertical leap, 36.5" arm span.

Calvin Johnson: 6' 5", 44.5" vertical leap, 33.5" arm span.

Put it together, and you have two deep threats on the field that can catch the football more than 12 feet off the ground.

Has there ever been a defensive secondary capable of dealing with that?

How about if you factor in that both players are/were speedsters with soft hands and that Johnson might be the most agile player of his size ever to play?

The greatest argument to this might be that Johnson, entering only his fifth year, shouldn't yet be considered an "all-time greatest" anything, other than "All-Time Greatest Players Al Davis Missed in the Draft."

I can see that, but Johnson is poised to jump into second place in a number of categories in the Lions' all-time receiving list and should even surpass Moore as the undisputed No. 1 if he gets a contract extension.

Besides, Billy Sims played all of four-and-a-half seasons before his career was cut short by injury, and he makes tons of "All-Time Lions" lists. So why not Calvin now, with his fifth season on the way?

TE: Charlie Sanders

When looking for players to add to an "All-Time" team list, a good place to start is the Hall of Fame.

Ah, Charlie Sanders will do.

Do what, you ask?

Everything. Just like in his playing days.

Sanders was a dangerous receiving weapon, and in a time when tight ends weren't generally regarded as receivers first.

Of course, Sanders was also a vicious blocker. Really, he was the complete package. Incidentally, much of the same praise given to Sanders can be applied to Brandon Pettigrew as well, except it refers to the fact that Pettigrew has the potential to be as good as Sanders.

If Pettigrew has an illustrious career of 10 or more seasons like Sanders did, making the Pro Bowl in most of them, maybe he can supplant Sanders as the best tight end in Honolulu blue someday.

But I'm not saying anything of the sort about the kid after two seasons, and until that day comes, nobody else is even in Sanders' neighborhood.

OTs: Lou Creekmur and Lomas Brown

Offensive line is where it gets a little bit more difficult. Much of how we observe and judge offensive linemen is subjective.

Who did they block for? How long did they play? What was the rest of the line like? Did the team win?

Nobody has really figured out a way to accurately gauge offensive line performance, so all we can do is look back on how they're remembered.

With that in mind, I've chosen a Hall-of-Famer and a guy who made six consecutive Pro Bowls blocking for the most prolific offense in Detroit Lions history.

Between the two, they have 14 Pro Bowls and three championships (though the rings all belong to Creekmur).

No other tackle in Lions history has a list of accolades even anywhere close, so there's no question these two belong. The question is, who gets the start in which position?

Brown was a stalwart at left tackle for pretty much his entire career. Creekmur was the poster boy for versatility, playing tackle, guard and even a season at defensive tackle.

Therefore, Brown gets the start at left tackle, and Creekmur at right tackle. It's not a referendum of overall skill; it's simply because Creekmur has the versatility to line up wherever, whereas Brown has a specialized position.

OGs: Harley Sewell and John Gordy

For the sake of mixing things up and keeping it interesting, I've been trying to avoid throwing teammates together as much as possible.

But how can you separate John Gordy and Harley Sewell, arguably the most dominant guard tandem of the late 50's/early 60's?

Furthermore, who in the world do you replace them with?

Both these guys were multiple Pro Bowlers (seven between them), champions with the Lions and led the way for some of the best offenses in Lions history.

Sewell in particular (pictured) was all hustle and just the kind of hard-nosed, tough blocker one would expect in front of fellow Texan Bobby Layne.

Gordy joined the team later, but was still able to take part in the Lions' championship in 1957 as a rookie starter at right guard.

Just like old times, Sewell takes the left side, and Gordy takes the right. But it doesn't matter all that much, since both guys will see the other's side when delivering the powerful pulling blocks they were both known for.

C: Kevin Glover

Hands down the toughest call on this list.

How do you pick between Alex Wojciechowicz, Ed Flanagan and Kevin Glover?

Really, you don't. You just plug any one of them in and be happy about it.

It's impossible to compare the three directly, since all three played in drastically different eras.

Wojciechowicz was a two-way player through the 1940s, best-known for his five-foot-wide stance over the ball and his pass coverage skills as a linebacker.

Flanagan was a huge man who played 10 years steadily in the 1960s and 70s as the Lions' center, paving the way for some of their better years offensively in front of Greg Landry, Steve Owens and Mel Farr.

Glover, however, blocked for Barry Sanders. Glover blocked for the most prolific offenses in Lions history. He is the only starting center to win a playoff game in the Super Bowl era. He is one of five players to block for a 2,000-yard rusher.

Now I'll grant you that it's not Flanagan or Wojciechowicz's fault they didn't play in front of Sanders. And Sanders would have been successful with anybody on the line. Glover lucked out in that sense.

But Glover also earned his due respect. He played 13 seasons with the Lions, and to this day, he is sixth all-time in games played for the Lions.

Glover was a great leader, a hard worker and capped his career off with three consecutive Pro Bowl appearances. He gets the nod in my book by a slim margin.

You think it has to be Flanagan? You'll not hear argument from me. Wojciechowicz? Can't argue with taking a Hall-of-Famer.

But Glover is my pick on the virtues of longevity, toughness and the rest of the competition being too close to call.