Bigger Is Better... Well Maybe It's Just a Better Idea.

April 22, 2009, Will the Detroit Lions apply for a Stafford Loan? Or perhaps they will trade for some Cutler-y or maybe just maybe they will opt for a young man who shares his name with a former President of the United States.

How rewarding is it to take a quarterback with the No.1 overall draft pick? It can be very rewarding, just ask the Dallas Cowboys (Troy Aikman, 1989), the New England Patriots (Drew Bledsoe, 1993) or even the Indianapolis Colts (Peyton Manning, 1998).

The three of them own a combined five Super Bowl Rings (Aikman with 3 victories and  both Manning and Bledsoe with one). Bledsoe wasn't even the starting QB for his lone Super Bowl ring. That honor belongs to a former sixth round pick who by himself has three super bowl rings.

Since that '89 draft where Aikman went first overall, ten quarterbacks have gone No.1 overall. Other than Bledsoe & Manning, only one othe player has led their team to a Super Bowl victory, Eli Manning.  The irony behind that stat is that Manning didn't lead the team he was drafted by to victory.

Sure Manning forced his way out of San Diego, but in the end, he's got the ring and the Chargers can't get past the Patriots. whom Manning and the Giants defeated in perhaps one of the biggest Super Bowl upsets of all time. 

Matthew Stafford may be the real deal; then again, he may not be. Let's flashback a few months. If Sam Bradford and or Colt McCoy had entered the NFL draft; would Stafford still be the best QB on the board? Probably not.

So if you're coming off an 0-16 season, do you really want a leader who very easily could have been the third best prospect at his position? No!

With Stafford no longer an option, perhaps you trade the pick to the Denver Broncos in exchange for disgruntled quarterback, Jay Cutler. It's going to cost more than just that number one pick to acquire Cutler; so hypothetically, we'll throw in a third and fifth rounder as well. Three draft picks for a quarterback with a career record of 17-20 and has "a stronger arm than John Elway."  We know Cutler has a bigger ego then Elway and coming off an 0-16 season and hiring of a new coach, do you really need an underachieving leader with a big head?

The answer again is no.

With an additional first round pick this year and what picks you'd save from not executing that trade, you could find a few good prospects that may become mainstays for your franchise.  Let's face it at 0-16, you've got more than one hole to fill. Sure Daunte Culpepper isn't the long term answer, but the fact of the matter is that with McCoy, Bradford and Tim Tebow coming out next year; your options at quarterback are much better than this year's class.

There's not a Stafford and now there's no Cutler, so what do you do Detroit? Do You follow the Miami Dolphins blue print and build from the inside out.

Jake Long dominated the Big 10 in his four years at Michigan. His success carried over to the NFL as he was named to the Pro-Bowl as a rookie. Orlando Pace was a No.1 overall pick and was a mainstay on a Rams offensive line. An offensive line that helped produce one of the most potent offenses of all time, "The Greatest Show on Turf". As good as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, LaDainian Tomlinson and Adrian Peterson are, it's the big guys up front who are the unsung heroes of their success.

Eugene Monroe is gifted in the size department at 6'6 315 lbs. What you don't hear much about is how nimble he is on his feet. Nimbleness leads to solid run blocking and what's the best way to take pressure off your quarterback? Run the football. Just take a look back at Ben Roethlisberger's first Super Bowl victory. He didn't have to throw the ball forty times and when he did it didn't turn out well for the Steelers. He simply turned around and said, "Here you go, Willie and here you go, Jerome."

Monroe isn't just a left tackle but has also spent time playing right guard. Can Matthew Stafford play tight-end in addition to quarterback? No. When you're building from the ground up, you need versatility. Taking Monroe gives you a big body on either side of the line that can open up running holes as well as protect your quarterback as he had twenty-five games in which he didn't allow a sack. Ask David Carr how he'd have like to have twenty-five games where his left tackle didn't allow him to get sacked?