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Friday Notes: Lions' Woes Go National

  • ESPN's Kevin Seifert compiled a list of 16 suggestions to fix the Lions.  I agree with him on basically all points.  Someone needs to send the article to William Clay Ford.
  • Also over at ESPN is an article by Seth Wickersham that is set one year from now.  The article takes the interesting approach of looking back at what turned the Lions into a winner in less than one season.
  • One final thing at ESPN is a list of "10 building blocks" for the Lions.  It is basically a list of 10 players that should be kept around to build this franchise into a winner someday.  The 10 players that should stick around, according to Matt Williamson, are Calvin Johnson, Ernie Sims, Kevin Smith, Cory Redding, Dewayne White, Cliff Avril, Gosder Cherilus, Leigh Bodden, Jordon Dizon, and Jon Kitna.  I agree with everybody but Dizon and Kitna.

    Dizon has barely cracked the lineup this season.  If he can't get decent playing time for a winless team, what does that say about his talent?  Although he has been injured during parts of the season, I don't really think he will contribute much in the future.  For Kitna, I think it's best for both he and the Lions if the two sides part ways.  I do think he is better than the other quarterbacks on the roster, but it just seems like it's time to move on.  Then again, it may be wise to keep him around depending on who the GM and coach are.
  • A crew from ABC's Good Morning America was in Allen Park earlier this week to film a piece about the winless Lions and ESPN was there yesterday.  When asked about the added attention, Rod Marinelli discussed a metaphor about how it is like elevator music.  I have to say, if Marinelli was half as good of a head coach as he is at telling metaphors, the Lions would be a pretty good team.
  • Daunte Culpepper has thrown passes the last two days, but he is doubtful for Sunday's game against the Saints.  Even if he was healthy, I would rather see Dan Orlovsky start.  Although neither are great options, Orlovsky seems less apt to turn the ball over.  Of course, he could very well go out and throw a bunch of interceptions on Sunday, but he seems to make less critical mistakes than Culpepper.  Well, at least when he's not running around his own end zone.
  • The NFL Network's Adam Schefter has a feeling that the Lions will get their first win of the season on Sunday.  I sort of felt the same way for a day or two earlier this week and almost picked the Lions to win.  I didn't, though, as I just can't confidently pick the Lions to win a game.  I'll gladly be wrong about this pick, but I just couldn't give myself enough reasons to select the Lions.
  • Archie Manning, who played for the Saints, has been on both the winning and losing end of a winless team.  The 1977 Saints lost to the Buccaneers in a game that was Tampa Bay's first win in franchise history.  Before that the Bucs had lost 26 straight games.  In 1980, Manning played for a Saints team that started the season 0-14, just like the Lions.  In the Saints' 15th game of the season, they beat the Jets 21-20 to get a win.  With so much experience with winless teams, Manning thinks the Saints have to be ready to play as hard as ever to avoid being the first team to lose to the Lions this season.

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