For Detroit Lions Fans, Hindsight Is Far from 20/20

Ignorance is bliss for the woeful Lions fans.

Every day that passes leads us one day closer to the Lions one true "Super Bowl", The NFL Draft. Having secured the rights to the No. 1 overall selection, meaning Detroit gets their pick of any draft eligible collegiate receiver, I mean, player that has declared, has already ushered in a great deal of speculation as to who the Lions should select.

Fans from all ends of the spectrum, yes the Lions still have fans, and in a sports town like Detroit, no matter how badly a team strives to be, the fans of Detroit will still unwaveringly follow, despite constant grumblings of their franchise's ineptitude.

These fans bark "ignore the high profile Quarterback with the high profile pick." "Build the trenches" they clamor, “Build the defense!” cries many others, and yet others still whisper the unwanted words of ”…you still need a quarterback” underneath their breath.

I recently heard one fan remark that had Matt Millen spent his time building the trenches instead of cornering the "Top 10 Receiver" market, the organization would be in a much better position than it is right now.

And while I agree that drafting a Wide Receiver in the top 10, four out of five years is ridiculous and inexcusable, this is a situation where hindsight is as blind as foresight.

Let us rewind to the 2000 NFL draft, the year before Matt Millen took over (despite the ignorance of most fans thinking it was before the 2002 draft when he took over and Joey Harrington was his first pick).

Detroit is coming off of a fairly decent year, they finished just outside the playoffs and were drafting No. 20 overall, and a year removed
from selecting a mammoth Left Tackle at No. 27 is 1999 (Aaron Gibson from Wisconsin).  

With the Lions on the clock they select Right Tackle, Stockar McDougle from Oklahoma. A tandem of highly touted Tackles in place.

Enter Matt Millen, and continued weight problems for Gibson (playing at around 370lbs.).  Gibson's weight and health issues prompt Millen to do the unthinkable, select an offensive Tackle for the third consecutive year by adding Michigan All American Jeff Backus at No. 18.

Followed by the second round selections of C, Dominic Raiola and DT, Shaun Rogers.  With the doubt that Gibson could resurrect his fledgling, but failing career and defeat the demons of his weight issues, the Lions appeared to have three out of five offensive line positions locked down for many years.

Combine future Pro Bowler Shaun Rogers with All-Pro Robert Porcher at RE, who was coming off of a year on 2000-'01 where he was voted to the Pro Bowl and the Lions trenches look like they are in good shape. I mean, three out of five Offensive line positions have been filled, and two out of four defensive line positions appear locked down, right?

Combine that with the fact that in the 2002 Draft, the Lions, despite adding QB Joe Harrington with the No. 3 overall selection, added another DE to the roster with the No. 35 overall selection when they took Kalimba Edwards, were now only missing three "trench" positions. A Defensive Tackle and two Guards.

In 2003 they responded by adding DT Cory Redding the No. 2 selection of the third round (No. 66 Overall), Matt Millen has proceeded to fill (or carry over) all but two positions, the Guards via the NFL Draft.

He also went on to draft other "trench positions" players such as Shaun Cody in 2005 (Round two Pick five), Texas Tech Guard Manny Ramirez(2007, fourth round), Texas Tackle Jonathan Scott (2006, fifth round), Hawaii DE Ikiaka Alama- Fancis(2007, second round), Boston College T Gosder Cherilus (2008, 1st round), Florida State DT Andre Fluellen (2008, third Round) and Purdue DE Cliff Avril (2008, third Round).

In his eight years in charge of the Lions, Matt Millen by my count proceeded to take 19 "trench players", 10 of which were all taken in the first three rounds of the draft. For those keeping count, using a traditional 4-3 scheme, there are only nine “trench positions” if you exclude a tight end (four defensive lineman, five offensive lineman)

Another cliché, Defense wins championship. It also applies to the Lions, who have been criticized for their constant additions to their offense and ignoring their defense.  But the truth of the matter is, when isolating a look to only the first three rounds (since these are the guys that should make the most immediate impact), Matt Millen has drafted 16 players on Defense to only 11 on offense.

So ultimately, you can complain all you want about how the Lions need to ignore the high profile skill positions and select gritty trench guys because that's how you build a team, or to ignore the offense because defense wins championships. But the truth of the matter is this; Matt Millen tried that more than anyone would like to admit.

And while drafting an offensive Tackle in the first round three consecutive years, and taking a wide receiver in the first round four out of five years is ridiculous, it was not so much Millen's draft practices that crushed this team into the NFL’s version of the great depression, but the players selected.

Poor scouting, which lead to selecting players like Charles Rogers over Andre Johnson and Mike Williams over Shawn Merriman.

Millen still focused on the defense and tried to put guys in the trenches. He just picked to many players that simply flopped at the professional level.  

Contrary to popular belief, rebuilding a team is accomplished not by selecting certain positions in the draft, but by selecting true players.

As we look forward to a new regime in charge and their first draft one must wonder what will they do? This team is starting from scratch, which means you need a face of your organization. And Detroit is in a position to add one, to both sides of the ball by selecting a true Franchise QB on offense and an elite ILB on Defense.

Both should be available to them with their first two picks, and both needs should be filled.

What good is a talent like Calvin Johnson, when he has the likes of Jon Kitna, Drew Henson, Drew Stanton, Daunte Culpepper, and Dan Orlovsky throwing him the ball? With all of that, he still put up Pro Bowl caliber numbers.

Imagine what he would do with a Tom Brady or a Peyton Manning throwing him the ball, an elite, accurate passer who will continuously put the ball in a position where he actually has a chance to catch it. 

While neither of the two quarterbacks sitting at the head of this years draft class truly excite me like a Sam Bradford would have, I feel it is a necessary demon to select Georgia’s Matt Stafford.

A modest turnaround for the Lions could net them a 6-10 record and put them to far out of reach to select Sam Bradford (the only franchise signal caller I see in next years draft) next year.

Stafford presents a unique blend of size, elite arm strength, three years starting experience, team leadership, good decision making skills and underrated mobility that is reminiscent of Ben Roethlisberger coming out of college. And lets not forget the rare fact that he comes out of a pro style offense run by Georgia.

With the skill at ILB coming out this year, Maualuga, Laurinaitis, and some viewing top linebacker Aaron Curry as a 4-3 inside linebacker, someone should fall to No. 20 to become the general of the defense.