Somehow Matt Millen has managed to keep his job in Detroit despite leading the organization to a 21-59 (.263) record in his 5 years as CEO, which is the worst in the NFL over that span. His first choice as head coach, Marty Mornhinweg, went 5-27 in two years. He then handed the team to Steve Mariucci, who did not exactly have control of the Terrell Owens-Jeff Garcia situation in San Francisco, only to fire him midseason last year (probably to save his own job). Millen also kept Joey Harrington around for too long, and inexplicably drafted a wide receiver with a top-10 overall pick 3 years in a row. Millen seems to have made some better decisions this offseason, and the Lions might be a lot better than most people expect.
The team clearly lacks discipline and leadership. Rod Marinelli and Mike Martz are committed to changing the attitude of the team, and have shown they are not pulling any punches. The players actually filed a grievance with the union against Marinelli saying the April minicamp drills were too physical. Marinelli and Martz have not backed down, however, and Mike Williams was twice sent home from minicamp for not practicing hard enough. Charles Rogers would probably be cut if it did not mean a charge of over $8 million against next year's salary cap. If Rogers and Mike Williams do not respond, the team seems content to use Corey Bradford (Houston), Scottie Vines, and Eddie Drummond to complement Roy Williams. Bradford is a capable second receiver, while Scottie Vines plays hard and is underrated. Vines started 11 games last season and had 40 catches with only 3 dropped passes. Martz plans to use the speedy Drummond as an Az-Zahir Hakim type player.
The offense also got rid of Joey Harrington and signed two of the better free agent quarterbacks in Jon Kitna (Cincinnati) and Josh McCown (Arizona). The last time Jon Kitna was a regular starter, he led the Bengals to an 8-8 record in 2003 (the team was 2-14 the season before). McCown went 9-10 as a starter the past two seasons in Arizona, while the rest of the starters were 2-11, so both players have decent track records of success with bad teams. The Lions signed 29 players in free agency, including 15 newcomers from other teams. Like Kitna and Bradford; none of the players are special, but they are hard-working guys that Marinelli hopes will assist in changing the team's mentality.
The offense also has a dynamic back in Kevin Jones. He broke out in the second half of his rookie campaign, rushing for 906 yards in the final 8 games. He struggled last year, but much of it can be attributed to starting the season without FB Cory Schlesinger due to injury and then struggling with his own injuries once Schlesinger returned. The offense could be very successful under Martz with Kitna running the show and Roy Williams and Kevin Jones as playmakers. The offensive line should be better under Martz as well. The team has a good LT in Jeff Backus, and LG Ross Verba (Cleveland) can still play. C Dominic Raiola is a decent player and RG Damien Woody went to the pro bowl in 2002. Kelly Butler struggled at RT last year and could be benched in favor of Rex Tucker (St. Louis) who has worked with Martz before.
The defense still needs work, but Marinelli spent 6 years in Tampa Bay and should be able to get the most out of what he has to work with in implementing the Cover 2 scheme. DT Shaun Rogers is one of the best tackles in the league and DE James Hall is a good player. If Marinelli can get youngers DT Shaun Cody and DE Corey Redding to play up to potential, the defensive line could be pretty good, especially against the run. First-round pick LB Ernie Sims (Florida State) will make an immediate impact at linebacker, and second-round pick Daniel Bullocks (Nebraksa) could push for playing time at free safety. SS Kenoy Kennedy played well last year. The defense still has major concerns with Fernando Bryant starting opposite Dre Bly at cornerback, and the team will struggle to generate a pass-rush.
Detroit has more talent than most people realize, and the key for this team will be if Marinelli can successfully change the attitude and work habits of the younger players. Marinelli had success on defense in Tampa Bay and Martz was the architect of a superb offense in St. Louis as a coordinator. If those two can put the pieces together, then Detroit has the chance to turn things around in a major way. It will be interesting to see how Martz meshes with the conservative Marinelli. Detroit has the potential to be the surprise of the NFC (or at least the NFC North), but it might realistically take a full-year under the new coaching regime for everything to come together.
Key Additions: HC Rod Marinelli (TB), OC Mike Martz (STL), QB Jon Kitna (CIN), QB Josh McCown (ARI), LB Ernie Sims (R), FS Daniel Bullocks (R), WR Corey Bradford (HOU)
Key Loses: QB Joey Harrington (MIA), QB Jeff Garcia (PHI), DT Dan Wilkinson
0 comments:
Post a Comment