In praise of Schwartz & Mayhew

My Lions posts are few and far between. In fact, when I post about the Lions, it tends to be a plea for fans to not watch. The franchise has been a black-eye on Detroit for decades, especially recently during the Millen Regime.

Yet, I did watch a few of the games this season. During a brief chat with my Dad on Saturday, we both agreed that this incarnation was significantly improved. And, lo and behold, they go out and absolutely demolish the Rams the next day. It was a dominant, impressive victory. Of course, the Rams are not top-tier competition. In fact, just last year, they were a dreadful 1-15. But we all know wins are hard to come by in the NFL, especially for the Lions. They showed on Sunday that they had the ability to pummel an opponent - an all-too-rare occurrence around these parts.

The Fords fired Matt Millen two years ago, so blaming him for the problems in 2010 seems a bit absurd. But the fact is that he is still responsible. The draft picks during his eight year reign should be the backbone of this team. From 2002-2006, not a single Lions draft pick remains. This is why people call the Lions an expansion team. GM Martin Mayhew and Jim Schwartz had to build the team from scratch. Yet, expansion teams at least get the expansion draft when they get to pilfer players from the other teams. The Lions had no such luxury.

So, the fact that Mayhew & Schwartz took a worse-than-expansion-team and turned them into a 2-game winner last year is notable. If they could win six games this year, Ford should give them new cars.

Let's look at the key plays from the St. Louis game:

- Opening kickoff - St. Louis tries to surprise the Lions with an onside kick. Amari Spievey is not fooled and calmly cradles the bouncing ball. Spievey was a 2010 draft pick.

- On an early drive, St. Louis threaten until Corey Williams forces a St. Louis fumble. The Lions' Alphonso Smith recovers the ball. Williams was a 2010 Mayhew free agent signing, and Smith was 2nd round pick of the Broncos in 2009. Mayhew acquired him in a trade this offseason in exchange for a 7th round pick.

- After St. Louis ties the score at 3, the Lions' Stefan Logan returns the kickoff 105 yards for a TD. The Lions never look back. Logan was claimed off waivers by Mayhew on September 7th.

- On the Lions next possession, Jahvid Best converts a 3rd and 8 into a 22 yard gain. Then Shaun Hill hits Calvin Johnson for a TD. Best was a 1st round Mayhew pick. Hill was a Mayhew free agent pickup, and Calvin was actually selected by Matt Millen.

- Next possession, the Lions score again on a Hill pass to Brandon Pettigrew. Pettigrew was a 1st round pick by Mayhew in '09.

- In the 2nd half, the Lions need just four plays to score yet again on a Shaun Hill pass to Nate Burleson. Mayhew picked up Burleson as a free agent this offseason.

- Early in the 4th, Jason Hanson nails a 48 yarder. Hanson was a 2nd round pick in 1992 by Chuck Schmidt (that one was just for fun).

- A few minutes later, Ndamukong Suh makes his first career interception. Suh, of course, was the #2 overall pick this year by Mayhew.

- On the Rams next possession, Alphonso Smith comes up big again, intercepting a pass, returning it to the house, and does his "Carlton (of Fresh Prince fame) Dance":

Other than Calvin Johnson, every single big play of the game was made by a Mayhew/Schwartz player acquired within the last two years. Even for a negative nellie like me, I've got to admit that's impressive.

How to build a team

The ghost of Matt Millen looms over Ford Field. In a recent interview, Millen's former XO (and current Lion GM), Martin Mayhew said:

"We want to look for the best players we can find without regard to what side of the ball that they play."

Mayhew manages a team that finished last in total defense the past three seasons. For a league built for parity, that's an amazing accomplishment. Yet, according to Mayhew:

"Philosophically, our position hasn't changed."

Was the 0-16 season not enough? Is Mayhew living in a large enough cocoon that he actually believes he's doing something right? Perhaps the stats don't speak loud enough. Hey, Mayhew,

YOU HAVE THE WORST DEFENSE OF ALL TIME.

Normally, a sane person could infer the main point from that statement, but you can't assume any person in the Lions organization is sane. So, I'll spell it out:

DRAFT A FRIGGIN' DEFENSE!

Sorry for the shouting. Pigheaded, macho stubborness gets to me. So does idiocy. Combine them all and you get the Lions management. To make matters worse, this draft has two players who - by all accounts - are the perfect fit for the Lions. At the top of everyone's board are defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy. With the number two pick, the Lions obviously have the opportunity to grab one of them. Not even the Lions can screw that up, right?

You'd be wrong. Why would the Lions take a talented player when they could trade down and draft a less-talented one? Hey, that strategy worked so well with Gosder Cherilus, right? To refresh your memory, the Lions had the 15th pick in the '08 draft. They traded down two spots (receiving a 3rd rounder as compensation). The player taken with the 16th pick was Pro Bowl cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. If the Lions opted for offensive tackle, they could've landed Branden Albert who went 15th to the Chiefs. No All-star, Albert at least is a bona-fide NFL starter, something that continues to elude Cherilus. And who did the Lions land with that 3rd round pick? RB Kevin Smith - soon to be waived.

I'm no draft expert. Heck, I'm hardly a fan of the NFL. Yet, it pains me to see inept folks drive this football franchise further into obscurity. These are the dark days for the City of Detroit. The people need a diversion, but the Lions are just one more reminder of how the city is failure.

For the love of all that is good, Martin Mayhew, draft Suh or McCoy. And then keep drafting defense until the final bell rings. You can't draft for talent, because your "talent scouts" clearly suck at identifying who actually has talent. Draft for position. Do the opposite of what your instincts tell you. Follow fellow loser George Costanza's advice. Order your chicken salad on rye, Mayhew!