Jim Schwartz Hinting at His First Big Mistake: Drafting a Quarterback First

With the first pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions select Matt Stafford, QB, Georgia.

It's not official, of course, but if you read between the lines, it appears Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz is primed to take a quarterback first in the draft.

"I think the important thing is finding the right person." Schwartz told the Detroit Free Press.

"I don't think you tie yourself into positions. Obviously there's a lot of needs. I think obviously the most important position on the team is quarterback. It's probably time to find a replacement for Bobby Layne."

Very funny, Jim.

If you believe the hype, the "right person" likely will be Matt Stafford.

The room will cheer upon his selection, since pundits nationwide are going to talk about how badly the Lions need a quarterback for the next three months, brainwashing Lion Nation into believing it's true.

Indeed it is, to an extent. The Lions have five quarterbacks on the roster, which essentially means they have none.

Daunte Culpepper was a mistake.

Dan Orlovsky is serviceable, but unimpressive.

Drew Stanton is obviously a Mike Martz guy who will never be given the chance to start a game, much less lead the team.

Jon Kitna, barring someone else's injury, will never start an NFL game again.

Drew Henson isn't worth the keystrokes I just used to type his name.

Yes, the Lions need a quarterback, but taking Stafford (or anybody) with the first pick is suicide, both for the Lions and for Stafford.

Who remembers the last Savior we drafted within the first five picks of the first round of the draft?

Exactly. Joey Harrington.

Why didn't Harrington ever develop into a legitimate NFL quarterback?

Some might say he was never good enough to begin with. I employ a different reasoning.

Harrington was forced into the starter's role in his rookie season after Charlie Batch was pulled, behind an offensive line that couldn't block for him, in an offense with no coherence. In other words, he was thrown in before he was ready, in the worst possible situation for a rookie quarterback, or any quarterback.

Somebody tell me, what is different now? Is any part of the team, other than Calvin Johnson's existence, better now than it was in 2003?

The 2008 season's win-loss record says no.

Lions quarterbacks have been tackling dummies for opposing pass rushers for a long time, and simply put, very little has changed.

There is no reason at all to think we are not equally capable of ruining Stafford as we are Harrington, Batch, Stanton, or any other young quarterback brought into the system.

For those who disagree, I have a challenge for you.

Take a football, lay on the ground, and try throwing the ball.

Now stand up and throw that same football. You'll find that throwing a football is much easier when standing upright.

Next, try hitting a moving target with that football while on the run. Make sure to give yourself only a two or three-second timer each play, then run into a wall.

Now try hitting that same target, standing still with a five-second timer. Much easier (and less painful), isn't it?

In case you're not grasping the analogy, I'll clear it up.

It doesn't matter if our quarterback is Bobby Layne, Rodney Peete, Dan Orlovsky, Matt Stafford, or Tom Brady. When your offensive line can't block for you, your running game can't get going, and your quarterback can't make good decisions.

Even Peyton Manning succumbs to bad decisions when constantly pressured.

Offensive line aside, I thought the Lions gave up the second-most points in a single season in NFL History in 2008. Why is nobody talking about defense?

This season should be about rebuilding both sides of the ball. The odds of the 2009 Detroit Lions making a 2008 Dolphins/Falcons-esque turnaround are slim. Neither of those teams went winless in 2007.

If the Lions want a quarterback this year, they need to wait until the third round or later to draft him, and until 2010 to start him.

Otherwise, you're putting a winning player into an unwinnable situation and setting the team further back in its decades-long rebuilding effort.