Last year the
Lions were the 9th worst team in the NFL, and that is nothing to be
proud of. They struggled in every aspect of the game and looked like the
rebuilding Lions of 5 years ago.
But wait. Going
into the 2006 there seems to be very little change on the Lions squad. Besides
the addition of a few offensive linemen, a tight end, and a couple of
quarterbacks there seems to be very little else different.
So what exactly
has changed to give Lions Fans hope?
Let’s first
look at the new coaching staff. This is a stellar group of new coaches that have
shown they can contribute to winning programs in the NFL.
The new head
coach Rod Marinelli won a super bowl as recently as 2003 with the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers as the defensive line coach and assistant head coach. The “Genius”
Mike Martz got his nickname from his super bowl win with the 2000 Rams as the
Offensive coordinator. Last but not least Donnie Henderson won a Super Bowl in
2001 with the Baltimore Ravens as the defensive backs coach.
All 3 of these
coaches where considered for head coaching jobs way before the Lions signed them
up, and Mike Martz is coming to the Lions after being the head coach of the St.
Louis Rams last season
The recent
success of these coaches shouldn’t be over looked. These are coaches that have
won in the difficult salary cap era. The era of the athlete and his superego.
Weather it is Ray Lewis, Kyle Turley or Simeon Rice, these coaches have dealt
with their share of big egos.
Between
Marinelli (Tampa Bay 1996-05) and Henderson (Baltimore 1999-03; New York Jets
2004-05), their respective defenses have ranked in the NFL’s top 10 in total
defense a combined 14 out of 17 times, and in the top 15 in 16 of 17 seasons.
Included in that total are 11 top 5 rankings, nine top 3 rankings, and six top 2
rankings (per NFL.com).
Martz is no
slouch either. Between 1998 and 1999, he took the Rams from 4-12 to 13-3.
Overall, St. Louis has been in the top 10 in total offense during six of the
past seven years, ranking first over three-straight years (1999-2001)(per
NFL.com).
Now that is an
impressive resume for any coaching staff and by far the best I have seen in my
lifetime as a Lions fan.
Let’s take a
look at the defense. No big named players have been signed on the defensive
side of the ball so far in free agency, so if there are improvements they will
have to come from last year’s squad. Looking at the conservative nature of last
season's defense there is reason to think maybe a change in scheme and
philosophy may make a huge improvement.
Detroit ranked
20th overall last year in defense giving up whopping 322.4 ypg (yards
per game).
The Lions
defense in 2005 was ravaged with injuries at linebacker and the defensive back
position, so most will be surprised to find out that they ranked 13th
in passing defense giving up 194.9 ypg compared to 24th in run
defense giving up 127.5 ypg.
The Lions had 6
games, including the Bengal’s game, where they did not give up a pass over 20
yards. But the big plays in 2005 haunted the Lions. The Lions defense had 6
games where they gave up a play over 40 yards that resulted in a touchdown drive
and 3 games with an 80 yard passing play.
The Lion’s
faired poor on defense in 2005, so stopping the big play in 2006 will be huge.
The Lions will most likely be more aggressive and, God forbid I say it, maybe
even blitz. The more aggressive defense may not let the opposing team have the
time for all those big plays, but It is a fair assumption with some continuity
and the healthy linebacker and defensive back corp. the Lions could climb a
number of spots in 2006. Let's hope that number is 10 or more.
If you thought
the Lions defense did not measure up last season your going to need to sit down
to talk about the offense.
The acquisition
of a blocking tight end in Dan Campbell means better blocking for the running
game, but other than that most signings have been players who will fight for a
starting job or for depth. Signings like Rex Tucker puzzles some of us. Why
bring in an injury prone player in the hopes that he can turn it around here in
Detroit?
Now the two new
quarterbacks brought in fill some with hope and others despair.
When looking at
McCown and Kitna’s numbers they are only a moderate upgrade at best from the
quarterbacks on the 2005 roster. That leads most of the fans hoping that one of
these new guys has a stellar year or at least becomes the team leader, something
the Lions' have been lacking for many years.
Wait, there is
some good news!
The Lions
couldn’t do much worse than they did in 2005 when they were 6th in
the NFL in dropped passes, 23rd in pass completion, 26th
in ypg (178) 26th in rushing ypg (91.9) and 28th in points
scored per game. All those stats rank the Lions a 27th overall in
2005 on offense.
All I can say
about the Lions offense is it can’t get much worse. The team has dumped the
West Coast Offense and is heading towards the vertical passing game. There are
also two new quarterbacks for fans to pin their hopes and dreams on.
You can see the
stats, as I have, to draw your own conclusions.
My final
thought on the matter is this. These coaches have the talent to squeeze these
players and make them perform up to their potential.
The biggest
change on the Lion’s for 2006 is the coaching staff, period. A group of guys who
have repeatedly squeezed talent out of players and helped teams play their best
football yet.
Here is to hoping they can
do it for the Lions.
