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| Authored by Curtis A. Clark - 26th July, 2005 - 3:38 am
 The title Paper Lions is floating around Detroit once again. This time it isn?t the story of a writer from Harvard with NFL aspirations. Instead it is all about potential. Potential, which to Detroit football, has never really amounted to much.
Their roster is littered with Pro Bowlers, top 10 draft picks, talent on both sides of the line, and a good coach. On paper this years Lions roster looks to be a top 5 team in talent. In reality, Lions fans know the truth. Too many times have they gotten their barbecue?s fired up for the start of a promising season. Only to see that season have Charles Rogers go down, their secondary fall to pieces, their coach call another run on first, throw on second, third and long series. To many times they have been reminded that it takes a quarterback 4 years to learn the West Coast Offense. That?s why until proven otherwise, this year Lions are still Paper Lions? they look good on paper.
Detroit football fans are great because they never lose hope. They have struggled through 40 years of ineptitude. The Barry Sanders years, which saw great entertainment and little else. The rough years under Marty ?we?ll take the wind? Mornhinweg. So at the beginning of this season, Lions fans do what they always do, get excited at the season that could be. Finally though, their patience may pay off.
This roster has no holes in talent, and maybe just enough leadership to finally overthrow the central division stalwarts. It also has no excuses.
If you look across the line at the Detroit Lions on offense you see only pro bowlers and top 10 draft picks at the skill positions. You see only savvy, experienced, dependable, offensive linemen. You see a quarterback taken number 2 in the draft that has been provided the luxury of three receivers all at one time rated the top in college football. You see leadership in Cory Schlesinger, Marcus Pollard, and Damian Woody. What you don?t see is results. They have, in two years, never shown consistency, execution, or poise. Now that they are healthy, a year older, and even deeper, this may be their year.
Lions fans, as usual, believe it is.
On defense you see the imposing defensive line. Featuring Pro Bowler Shaun Rogers, maybe the games best and most disruptive defensive tackle. You see pass pressure and run stopping in James Hall, last season sack leader. You see depth in, ?Big Daddy? Dan Wilkinson, rookie Shaun Cody, Cory Redding, and Marcus Bell. Creating one of the leagues best defensive lines. They also have a young and fast linebacker core. Their last two seasons second round picks Boss Bailey (Now Healthy) and Teddy Lehmen have shown flashes of brilliance. Stalwart middle linebacker Earl ?Hitman? Holmes adds leadership, and speedy role players Alex Lewis and James Davis round the unit out in depth. The secondary has great leadership in back to back Pro Bowl selection Dre Bly, the teams top defensive playmaker. They have sound corners Fernando Bryant, Chris Cash, and Andre? Goodman, who have been good, when healthy. They acquired rookie Stanley Wilson, vet R.W. McQuarters, and hard hitting Kenoy Kennedy to add a physical presence. Couple that with talks of possibly acquiring Ty Law and you can bet Matt Millen learned his lesson about secondary depth. With their health and new physicality they might finally be able to stop the run and defend the deep ball.
Their great special teams should also return. Kicker Jason Hanson is still in the friendly confines of an indoor stadium, where he became the teams all time scoring leader. Pro Bowl return Specialist Eddie Drummand will report despite not having a contract. The teams kick coverage unit should be faster and smarter with the all around depth the team is fielding this year. Punter Kick Harris is also slated to return, his net average was among the league lead last year.
The team is balanced, healthy, and hungry. Now they need to put it all together.
One of the most intriguing storylines will be Joey Harrington and his talented receiving core. The coaches for Detroit will have to try every trick in the book to get Charles Rogers, Roy Williams, and Mike Williams on the field at the same time. All three are double coverage talents that combined could have the opposing secondary losing a lot of sleep. If the Lions can take advantage of both William?s size, using them in motion, they could force teams to cover in in nickel almost every down. No linebacker can hope to cover either of the Lions slot receivers. That should allow the Lions to use their large receivers in blocking schemes on the edges against smaller corners, freeing Kevin Jones to the second level. That means fullback Cory Schlesinger will get a much needed rest, as the Lions spread the offense with Tight end Marcus Pollard in single back sets. All of this combines for a versatile offense that has a lot of weapons.
Because of this defenses are going to pressure Joey Harrington even more than in the past. Harrington has not been sacked a lot in his young career, but that statistic is not telling. He hurries the ball a lot, missing open receivers, resulting in his low passing percentage (56%). The key for Detroit is going to be blitz pickups by backs and poise by Harrington. If they get those two things, it will be a career year for Joey, and an exciting offence for fans.
The Defensive storyline is health. Although Charles Rogers injury has been the headliner, it?s the defense that has suffered set backs in the secondary and linebacker core. In his rookie season Boss Bailey had glimpses of real talent. Not a hard hitter, Bailey instead uses a nose for the ball and his incredible speed to pursue from the outside linebacker spot. He had 77 solo tackles, 6 pass defenses, and 1 interception in his rookie campaign. He really turned it on towards the end of 2003. Unfortunately he suffered a season ending injury in training camp the following year, missing 2004. The secondary has been a huge problem for Detroit. Starting their number 1 and 2 corners Bly and Bryant only 4 times together in 2004. To help alleviate this Millen has stacked the corner spot with depth. R.W. McQuarters and possible free agent Ty Law could easily fill the void if a starter goes down this year. Additionally, providing ?Big Baby? Shaun Rogers stays healthy, the Lions defense is looking as tough as always up front.
The question mark on defense will now be consistency. Can the young outside linebackers keep their inexperienced mistakes down? Will the addition of Kenoy Kennedy help intimidate receivers that have routinely beat Detroit deep the last two years? Can the loss of Robert Porcher?s leadership be replaced by the likes of Bly and Shaun Rogers? These questions will need to be answered in training camp and in the preseason before Detroit will know what their defense is capable of.
So what will all this talent that Matt Millen has acuminated be expected to do? Head Coach Steve Mariucci has his site set on a division crown. That may be a lofty goal with the new retooled Vikings and ever present Packers. But fans will want it to be higher. The Super Bowl is in Detroit this year, and what kind of pay off would it be for fans to see success like that, after their long wait for a winner.
The possibility of a Super Bowl birth is a great goal, but in reality this team should contend in the central. They have created a 4 year window to get it done. Most of their talent is signed for 4 more years counting 2005. They need a good showing to build momentum going into the remaining years of their young talents contracts. Anything short of 9 and 7 with a wild card birth should concern fans of this teams future. Joey Harrington especially. He has been under national media microscopes all off season. If he does not respond, expect Mariucci to quickly switch to back up Jeff Garcia. He has little choice as he needs to keep the rest of his teams heads competitive to stay in the race for a division title.
So are they Paper Lions? They have been in the past, but just like every year, this year will be different in the eyes of Lions fans. They will never stop believing, and it is about time players and officials reward their die hard dedication. It is up to the leadership positions of head coach Mariucci and quarterback Joey Harrington to make this team transition from paper, to playing field.
Curtis A. Clark
Resident Writer for Detroit Sports
RealGM_Detroit@hotmail.com |
