Crushing defeat leaves Lions season in ruins
The Lions weren’t going to make the playoffs. That’s been obvious since their Thanksgiving Day massacre at the hands of the Green Bay Packers. However the team did have the chance to finish the season 8-8 and provide at least some rationale for believing Rod Marinelli could get things turned around for the most dysfunctional professional sports franchise in the U.S. But being the Lions, they’ve dropped two games in a row that show the franchise isn’t ready to surrender its title as the worst NFL franchise.
No, the Lions have simply benefitted from the fact the NFL structure is set in such a way that a team that finished in the basement in the league one year can become a playoff team the next. While the Lions’ big turnaround looks like it will result in a 7-9 record, this year’s beneficiary of league parity could be the Cleveland Browns, who went 4-12 last season and are competing for a playoff spot. Here are some recent teams that turned their fortunes around in very short order.
New Orleans Saints
2005: 3-13
2006: NFC Championship Game
Chicago Bears
2004: 5-11
2005: NFC Divisional Playoff
San Diego Chargers
2003: 4-12
2004: AFC West Champion
Detroit’s competition for the tag as worst NFL franchise? That would be the Houston Texans, a franchise that has been around for all of 5 full NFL seasons, and the Arizona Cardinals, who beat the Leos earlier this season and are still contending for a playoff spot as they have a legitimate chance to go 9-7.
The last two losses punctuate the fact that the team playing inside Ford Field is the same old Lions. First they laid down for the Minnesota Vikings in a crushing 42-10 loss to a team that was fighting with them for a shot at a Wild Card berth in the playoffs. Then this afternoon they squandered what should have been a solid win over an 11-1 Dallas team that looks like a legit contender with Green Bay as the class of the NFC.
I’m sure some people will try to rationalize how the close loss to the Cowboys shows they are right where they need to be. Sure, you can say if just one or two breaks went Detroit’s way - Jason Hanson makes that 35 yard field goal or Paris Lenon falls on that fumble late in the game - they would have knocked off the top seed in the conference.
I think that misses the point. Close losses aren’t nearly as disconcerting in a league that makes every effort to make teams as evenly-matched as possible. They’re bound to happen. It’s the blowout losses to teams like Philadelphia, Washington, Green Bay and Minnesota that demonstrate just how poorly positioned the team is to compete game in and game out. And I think that’s largely due to poor talent evaluation and drafting, which must be laid at Matt Millen’s feet.
Rod Marinelli is a solid coach who can lead the team to a playoff berth. This is the first season with Joe Berry as the defensive coordinator and I think his defense will improve next season. With that being the case, the team will still be hamstrung by poor management. Bad draft decisions with excellent draft position have resulted in the team squandering the chance to add several cornerstones to the roster:
Left Tackle: Joe Thomas [2007 draft] or Jammal Brown [2005 draft]
Cornerback: Terence Newman [2003 draft]
Safety: Roy Williams [2002 draft]
Quarterback: Ben Roethlisberger [2004 draft]
Defensive Tackle: Casey Hampton [2001 draft]
Defensive End: Gaines Adams [2007 draft]
Clearly Ernie Sims and Roy Williams were good first round draft picks although you can question the decision to draft one receiver - let alone four receivers - with top 10 picks in the NFL draft. It simply goes to show how much Matt Millen has set the franchise back. And if you miss the boat with surefire picks at the top of the draft how are you going to utilize later draft picks to develop the depth that’s necessary when some of your starters inevitably get injured?
There should be some benefit that the Lions are beginning to reap as a result of going 24-72 over a six year stretch. Instead the team is thin on the offensive and defensive lines, doesn’t have a future QB waiting in the wings, and doesn’t have much depth in the defensive backfield. That’s going to make Rod Marinelli’s job that much more difficult next season, which will likely be his make or break year as the Detroit Lions’ coach.
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