One Way to Rule Them All

In the coming months the Detroit Lions Braintrust will be pouring over stat sheets, reviewing videotape and speaking to college coaches about players that they may be interested in. But before that is done, it is imperative that Matt Millen and new head coach Rod Marinelli establish an identity for this team. Will they be aggressive? Will they use a Cover 2 defense? Will they retain the West Coast Offense and add a vertical dimension that has lacked in the past or will they do away with the WCO playbook entirely? In order to attract free agents and to properly identify which college players will fit this team properly, this 'infrastructure' must be firmly established. No players want to sign with a team caught in a maelstrom of uncertainty. What has lacked on this team is a 'One True Direction'. Matt Millen wanted a tough, aggressive approach to the game. That means the attitude has to be established in practice. Steve Mariucci was notorious for running 'soft' practices with little to no contact. Millen wanted a more vertical offensive attack, Mariucci was conservative to a fault and barely ever allowed a deep pass to be thrown when it wasn't warranted. In the past Matt Millen has signed and drafted talent, but has failed to identify them as good fits for the team. This is an art that teams like Pittsburgh, Denver and New England have been able to draw from to create winning franchises. While the approach that Rod Marinelli announced in his introduction press conference seemed like a good first step, it simply won't be enough. The Lions have to get all the coaching pieces of the puzzle in place and become a unidirectional organization, at least for appearances sake to prospect players interested in joining this team.

Rod Marinelli has stated that he feels building the lines is what must come first, and I can't say I disagree. We all know how disappointing the offensive line was this past season. Whether it was from poor coaching, poor scheming or poor play we can't say for sure. Suffice to say there was some of all three involved in the debacle. I am not sure that spending draft picks on linemen will help this team in 2006, but one can argue that the right picks can step in and have immediate impact. Khalif Barnes, Rob Pettiti and Anthony Alabi are all players who gained significant playing time as rookies in 2005, and certainly improved the performance of their respective teams offensive lines. None were first round picks in a draft that wasn't believed to have great talent at the offensive tackle position. So do the Lions really have to spend a first round pick to upgrade the offensive tackle position? I guess by this example the answer is no. And in a draft rich with offensive tackle talent, the right thing to do may be to wait until after round one.

But before it all happens, the Lions new head coach must create the identity of this team. And the current players need to do more than just accept it. They need to embrace the change and focus their attentions to what must be done rather than making points in the media.