| 04 December 2009
After taking a week off for the Thanksgiving holiday, the Lions Congregation has returned, with 2 bonus questions for your reading pleasure! All thanks to Reverend Spielman of The Church of Schwartz , who gathers together the best and brightest of the Lions' blogosphere to spew our thoughts regarding the latest news and notes about the worst franchise in professional sports.
Hey, someone has to watch this team. Might as well be me...and the rest of the Lions bloggers.
Let's get to work...
1. The Cincinnati Bengals of 2003/04 have a striking amount of similarities to the Lions of 2009. (Lewis=Schwartz, Palmer=Stafford, Ocho=Megatron, Rudi Johnson=Kevin Smith) The Bengals made the leap from doormat to mediocrity around that time. Take a look through the Bengals history in the 2000s. Is there anything we can learn from their path that can help us rise above their constant mediocrity in the future?
Sure, there's something we can learn. Here's 5 things I have deducted in order for the Lions to avoid a Bengals-like era of mediocrity.
- Draft better players.
- Draft better players.
- Draft better players.
- Draft better players.
- And let's not forget, draft better players.
2. Justin Miller, one of the better return men in the NFL, is now on the market. Do you want him to be a Detroit Lion?
Not especially. Miller's stats have been in decline for the past couple of years. He can't help out as a position player, as he's become strictly a kick return specialist.
Yes, Miller was a Pro Bowl selection...in 2006. That's eons in returner years. Kick returners, save for the occasional freaks of nature like former Lions Desmond Howard and Mel Gray, tend to be effective for only a few seasons. Very few.
For example, see Eddie Drummond. He was 1st team All Pro for Detroit as a return man in 2004. He was out of football after 2007. Going by Miller's bouncing around the league the last couple of years, he may be on the same track as Drummond.
This quote from an AP article about the Jets releasing Miller was quite telling: "There was some concern Miller lacked some of the explosiveness that made him a Pro Bowl pick in 2006."
A kick returner without his burst is just another guy. It looks like Miller may be just another guy at this point of his career. And don't the Lions already have enough of those sort of players already?
3. Who is one Lion you'd like to see play more, now that we're eliminated from the playoffs?
Drew Stanton, for a couple of reasons.
From the beating Matthew Stafford has taken this season, I doubt he's going to be playing every snap.
We already know Daunte Culpepper is out of Detroit the moment the season ends, never to return. We don't know all the details regarding his Thanksgiving Day hissy fit, but from what we saw on FOX, and read after the fact, Culpepper was not a happy camper because he didn't get a chance to showcase his "skills" on national TV.
Some skills. Culpepper has yet to win a game as Detroit's starting quarterback. He had his chance earlier this season when Stafford injured his knee, and failed miserably.
Culpepper is a short-timer. Stanton, on the the other hand, has been in Detroit for a couple of seasons, is under contract for 2010, and we still don't know if he's capable of being the Lions' number 2 quarterback!
When the opportunity arises, play the kid! Let's find out, once and for all, if Drew Stanton is an NFL caliber quarterback. There's no time...not like the present...but the next time Stafford is buried under an unobstructed pass rush.
Other than Stanton, there really isn't anyone who has earned or deserved playing time. There's no mystery player on the 53 man. If they have shown anything in practice, and knowing Jim Schwatz's tendency to shake up the lineup, most everyone on the roster has gotten, or will get, their shot.
4. Are you happy with Jason Hanson for next season? Or do you pursue other options in the draft/free agency?
Yes, Hanson has had what you could consider an off year, at least for him. 4 misses, all from 30+ out is surprising. But anyone expecting perfection, or even a season like last year, which was a close to perfect as you could get (8-8 from 50+ is both an NFL record, and insane), is expecting far too much.
Hanson's career FG% is 82%. He's a 77.8% this season. Slightly down, but still good. He's still in the upper echelon of NFL kickers at 39 years old. He still has a surprisingly strong leg, so kickoffs are not an issue. If Hanson kicked for a good or "name" team, he'd be more than just considered as one of the best (and underrated) place kickers of all time, there would be serious Hall of Fame talk. The numbers say as much.
There's much bigger and pressing issues the Lions have to solve via the draft and free agency than their kicking game. Such as improving all aspects of their defense, and improving the offensive line and wide receiver positions.
The Lions are in better shape than the majority of NFL teams with Jason Hanson as their kicker.
5. What's your prediction for Lions - Bengals?
It's going to start ugly and finish uglier. .I really can't see the Lions doing much of anything on either side of the ball.
Detroit's defense has no answer for Chad Ocho--Whatever He's Calling Himself Today--Cinco or the Bengals' powerful, punishing running game. Cincinnati should be able to run the ball all day, grind out huge amounts of clock, wear out an already undermanned and under talented Detroit defense, and name their score
Bengals 27 - Lions 10
To see what the rest of the Detroit Lions' blogosphere has to say, the good reverend will have all of the congregation's answers posted to The Church of Schwartz on Friday night.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
