Rant/future/Team eval./draft/anthing else I think of

Haven't written a fanpost in a while, plus I'm hoping that if I shoot my mouth off enough this year, Mr.Yuille will let me play with the ones when fantasy football rolls around next year (Sean, I'm in the last year of my contract, if you don't play me I'm going to find another team...jk).  So this may be a long-winded post.  

RANT...  Long suffering Lions fans everywhere I think all will agree with this statement.  I'm tired of losing.  2-14 this year 0-16 last....worst team of the decade.  The list goes on and on.  I'm sick of being at the bottom of the league in most every statistical category, I'm tired of our season being over in November, and I'm tired of reading national news about the Lions on sites like PFT, flipping through the comments that read "who cares about the Lions" and "we may not have a team in Oklahoma, but at least we don't have the Lions" and all that other bullshit!  Since I don't know any McFlys nor have I recently hit my head on a bathroom sink and dreamt up the flex capacitor, changing the past is out of the question.  So, the question now becomes are we on the right track?  I, for one, will wear my jersey with pride and say HELL YES. 

FUTURE...Make no mistake, IMO, Swartz is the man.  And while a two game improvement isn't what we all hoped for, the foundation has already been set in place and will be built upon in April (the draft).  Stafford showed more than most of us expected, especially his heart, Delmas is everything we hoped for and more.  Levy was a pleasant surprise in the third and a force in the middle (led the team in tackles will manning the mike while foote was out with a, what else, foot injury).  Sammie Hill proved to be 24k when the rest of the league thought he was fools gold.  A very solid rotational player at the very least.  Some argue the Pettigrew pick, and they have a very valid argument.  I wasn't overly thrilled myself and I hope that he can work himself back to form after his ACL but I suspect we will disappointed next year.  I hope I'm wrong.  You could also argue the Brown and Williams pics.  These two players have a lot to prove this coming off season and I hope they spend a ton of time at Allen Park during their free time.  We'll see.  But even our seventh rounder was picked up off our practice squad.....which says something if you've followed this football team during the last decade.  I can't wait to see the progress of last years draft picks manifest itself.  It's still way to early to make predictions for next year, but I will be disappointed if we don't win six games in 2010.

The players listed above and the players we draft in April ARE the future.  People are going to be disappointed when we do nearly nothing in free agency.  We, as a team, haven't earned free agency.  By that I mean players worth being had don't want to come here unless they are over-paid.  NOT the way to build a team (Matt Millen).  We need to, and will be going the Green Bay route.  The draft is the future  I just hope the highlights of the seasons to come happen in January instead of April.

TEAM EVALUATION...I think the theme of this season has been our lack of player talent.  We hear over and over again about how the coaches are doing the best they can with what they have.  60% turnover from last year and our constant benching of players for not producing says it all.  We don't have that much to work with.  While I won't go into each player at each position, I will say that besides a few sprinkles of talent here, that we are hurtin' for certain.  I will drop a few crumbs of cornbread for you, Hansel and Grettel style. 

1.Calvin Johnson, the one player we have who is considered among the best at his position in the National Football League. He is a beast that gets triple teamed on a weekly basis. The talk about Calvin these days is getting him some help to take the pressure off of him and keeping him happy so he doesn't demand a trade.  Linehan wants an "eraser" opposite Johnson to make teams pay for the double and triple coverage, and I agree.  I just hope we don't draft one in the first three rounds.

2.Jeff Backus/Dom Raiola, affectionately known as Suckus and Rollover, are two steady lineman though they are not special by any means.  Raiola, aka swivel head, is small and uninspiring and Backus has allowed sacks and committed penalties at the wrong time for years.  Why even list these guys?  Because they aren't the problem.  How bad is it when I have to defend our "better" players? 

3.Our Linebackers.  Larry foote has been a blessing this year and I hope he sticks around.  He's a leader in the locker room and a good run defender.  Sims, as someone pointed out, is a player that has regressed each year.  Why, not sure.  But I do know that it's not for lack of effort.  He is a gamer (even though he may, every once in a while overrun a play) with a ton of heart.  He may be "undersized" but he hits like he's 50 lb's heavier.  Plus he finished the season strong and is in a contract year next year.  Julian Peterson is our overprice, former pro bowler who was quiet at the start of the season but turned it on when we started moving him around.  His problem is his HUGE contract.  I was happy to see Redding go and next year's salary won't be that big of a deal because of the lack of a cap, but he has to restructure or be cut/traded by 2011.  There is a good chance that one of these three will be gone next year and if I HAD to chose one, it would be Peterson packing his bags, if only because of the cost of keeping him. 

And that's pretty much it.  Sad.  Now, that obviously doesn't include any rookies from last year.  As excited as we may all be about (most of) them, they are still rookies so we still really don't know "who they are" as players.  There are also a handful players that I like that I won't list simply because it's more about me wanting them to do good than them actually BEING good.  As always for Lions fans, the bottom line is the only shred of hope we cling to is the future. 

2010 DRAFT...We've seen countless mocks already and I am by no means a college football junkie so I'm going to keep this section short and sweet.  In regards so Suh, STL WILL, IMO, take Suh first overall.  Not because they have to but because they will be scared not to.  Do they need a qb, yes.  But they will either look really smart or really stupid if they pass on Suh...and they won't get years to prove it was the right decision.  If they pass, they need the qb they choose to produce immediately because there fans will tear them apart if he struggles. 

At 1.2, I hope Suh is there, if not (and I may get blasted for this although the pick has increased in popularity) I would choose Berry.  To be honest, I've only watched highlights and bowl games but it seems that most think he would be the BPA if Suh is gone.  It's an easy cop-out BPA.  You can just leave it to the FO which leaves you neither right or wrong.  Personally, I don't get any joy out of trying to figure out whom we'll pick each round.  I love to pick favorites.  I like figure out who I like and then watch those players careers regardless of the team they play for.  I guess the many years of watching Millen screw up the draft and not taking the players I want has transformed the way I watch and think about it as a whole.

ANYTHING ELSE I THINK OF...

The Rooney rule should be removed.  We no longer live in a nation where most of the people are racist.  That ended many years ago and teams shouldn't have to interview a black candidatefor the job over a Hispanic, Middle eastern, or Irish for that matter.  People are people.  If the Skins want Shanahan, then let them have him.  If Tony Dungee decides to coach again and a team picks him as their HC without interviewing a white candidate, is that wrong?  NO.  They went after the guy that they wanted, not the race they want.. 

Free agency.  Not only will there be less players available because of the changes in eligibility, but our coaches have already said they will build this team through the draft.  Don't expect much.

Winney players that want to make more money or don't like the team they play for.  I touched on this in another fan post but it bears repeating.  Players like Josh Cribbs, Peppers last year, and Jay cutler.  Being an individual that doesn't make millions every year, I don't sympathize much.  I used the players above as examples for a reason.  Josh Cribbs is a very talented player that also just so happens to have three years left on his rookie contract.  He isn't hurting for money by any means but wants more or he'll refuse to play for the Browns.  My answer to Mr. Cribbs is too damn bad.  You signed the contract and became an NFL player.  Be proud of that because it's something no one can ever take from you.  Instead of bitching about how you don't make enough money, spend that time being the best player you can be so when you contract is up, you can make way more than you're worth.  Peppers is pathetic.  Worst than Cribbs.  At least Cribbs can say "that guy makes ten times as much as me and he's a chump" and he may be right once in a while.  Peppers gets paid with the best of the leagues DE's and he complains because he doesn't like tje team he's on.  TOO DAMN BAD.  YOU signed the contract.  You were an unrestricted free agent that went were you got the most money.  To Peppers' credit, he has changed his tune this year but only because things are going better for him at the moment.  Which leaves me w/ Jay Cutler.  The team choose to go a different route with the coaching staff.  He not only disagreed w/ this move but let everyone who would listen know about it.  He was such a whinney girl that his new coaches let the league know that he was up for sale.  Now, why did they do that as opposed to just keeping him and letting him deal w/ it....it's because he's a qb and they knew they could get the proverbial kings ransom for him.  So the fleeced DA Bears and have a much stronger foundation because of it.

So, if you're an NFL player be happy with where you are and with what you have.  You don't work at Mickey D's or Walley world.  You didn't have you pension cut in half by GM and you probably didn't loose you life savings in the housing market.  Be thankful and proud and keep the bitching to youself.

Well, my wife is giving me crap for writing all day when I should be cleaning the basement and if I ever want to have "relations" again, I better put down the keyboard and pick up the broom.  I apologize to anyone if my super long post offended and I'll check back soon  to hear the pod's thoughts. And above all else...

GO LIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS.  Sean, is this enough content to get in with the pod ones?