Defensive Strength In The Middle

       Just sitting here knocking back a glass of some Jim Beam thinking about what I wanted to write my debut article about.  I figure being my first article I would go through just a quick history establishing some of my credibility in writing about football before going into what I really want to say. 

      A football fan since I could walk decked out in cough..cough...ugh Michigan maize and blue I learned and played football from a young age.  A four year varsity starting QB at my high school the first in the history of the school I earned a scholarship to play for Miami of Ohio.  Spring practice rolls around and boom blew out the cartilage in both knees effectively ending my football career. 

      NO I am not an ex pro or even a four year college player but I do know football as hopefully you will be able to see throughout my series of articles.  With all that out of the way let me get to what I really wanted to write about here tonight. 

      The Lions.  My Team, lifelong fan and season ticket holder no fair weather fan here.  With this first article I want to address some of the improvements I believe the Lions have made towards the defensive side of the ball and the process of rebuilding a dismal defense of the last 5 years.  I want to start with what I think are some of the strengths of the process the Lions are using to reach the ultimate goal which is of course the Super Bowl. 

        While doing my research for this article one thing keep sticking out to me about the defenses of the previous Super Bowl champs and it seemed eerily similar for each team and that is strength up front built in front of a strong middle of the defense.  Now let me explain this and why I love the way Mayhew and Schwartz are building this new look Lions D.  Key players up front, at the MLB, and at safety looks so similar on all the good defenses of the past decade. 

       Starting with last year's champs the Saints were built very strong up front with Will Smith, Sedrick Ellis and co. with a rejuvenated and strong Jonathon Vilma in the middle, and the strength up the middle capped off with Darren Sharper playing very good football at the safety spot.  Inexperienced corners with Jenkins, and Gay manning those spots.  This trend of strength in the trenches and through the middle of the defense seems to resurface with each and every good team. 

       The Super Bowl era of the Patriots with Wilfork, and Seymour playing good ball up front and Bruschi playing great at MLB and of course the hear and soul of the old Patriots D Rodney Harrison flying around at safety. 

       For even further evidence if need possibly the greatest defense since the 85 Bears the 2000 Ravens had a beefy front line with a monster in Ray Lewis in his prime in the middle and although not many remember no Ed Reed but another hall of famer in Rod Woodson leading the team from the safety spot. 

      What does all this mean for Lions fans people are probably asking right about now.  Well here it is I see the same pattern in drafting players and setting up this Lions defense that I see in Super Bowl champs of the past.  Now don't misquote me and say I think were a Super Bowl caliber defense right now because it's far from a sure thing but here's what I see. 

     A strong defensive front with Suh for the future, a Richard Seymour type player maybe not quite as good because of not being in his prime in Vanden Bosch, Williams, and others who either will step up or they will not ala Cliff Avril.  Moving on the MLB spot seems fully in the hands of Levy and whether he will become the next stud linebacker or not is up to him to prove but he has a nice foundation from last year to build on. 

     This takes care of the d-line and the middle of the second tier and leaves only the safety spot of the foundation of building through the middle left and of course any Lions fan will know what player that brings me to next.  Louis Delmas is a star in the making; quick, fast, agile, loves to hit and has a nose for the football Delmas has everything one is looking for in a safety. 

     With a foundation of Suh, Levy, and Delmas the strength up the middle of the Lions defense is starting to unfold itself and should be in place for the next 10 years barring injury setting the stage for a dramatically different defense in Detroit.