Thursday,
July 27, 2006
Five out of Five
By
John Hoornstra
TLF Staff Writer
At the beginning of training camp I offer up my own list of five
reasons to be optimistic for the upcoming season
and five reasons why that optimism should be held
in check.
Reasons to be optimistic:
1. Mike Martz.
The last time the Lions fielded the best offense
in the league it was 1995 when the offensive
coordinator was Tom Moore (currently the offensive
coordinator in Indy). Since then we have seen the
likes of Maurice Carthon and Ted Tollner calling
the plays with less than spectacular results. Mike
Martz brings both hope and fear to the table with
his innovative mad scientist approach that led the
Rams to two Super Bowl appearances. While Martz's
aggressive approach to play calling is one of the
reasons his offenses are so good it also can be
his undoing as he has shown in the past that he is
prone to airing the ball out and neglecting the
running game.
2. Quarterback.
Call it addition by subtraction if you will. Last
years duo of Harrington/Garcia has been ditched in
favor of Kitna/McCown. While not a quantum leap in
terms of talent over last years starters Kitna
brings more of a steady hand to the helm and a
large dose of leadership. Something lacking from
the position for several years. Add into all of
this Martz's penchant for crafting pro-bowl
caliber QBs out of untouted players.
3. Ross Verba.
The Lions have lacked stability at left guard
since the departure of Jeff Hartings. Almost every
year we have seen a new starter brought in to fill
that void with less than spectacular results.
Verba appears to be the end to all of that. After
sitting out last year in a contract dispute with
the Browns Verba signed with the Lions and
reunites with his former O-line coach from Green
Bay Larry Beightol. Verba's presence should
significantly improve the Lions offensive line.
4. Larry Beightol.
As mentioned above offensive line coach Larry
Beightol formerly of the Packers was brought in to
improve a unit that had trouble in both pass
protection and run blocking last year. Under
Beightol's tutelage
Green Bay deployed one of the better units in the
NFL until free agency and injuries took their
toll.
5. Roy Williams.
Roy Williams enters his third season as Detroit's
undisputed number one wide receiver. The old adage
says that most NFL wide receivers hit their stride
in their third season and after hauling in 8
touchdowns in each of his first two seasons Roy
looks primed for a breakout season. Held back by
inconsistency and a lack of focus look for a more
focused and determined Williams to thrive in Mike
Martz's aggressive offensive approach. The only
lingering doubts are his ability to stay healthy
for an entire season but by all accounts he has
taken well to the new regimes rigorous
conditioning program.
Reasons to be concerned.
1. Linebackers.
The Lions have had trouble fielding the same three
linebackers over any span of time for a while now.
The steadiest linebacker we had, middle linebacker
Earl Holmes, was not re-signed and the two of the
three expected starters, Bailey and Lehman, will
begin camp on the PUP list. Adding to this is the
fact that Bailey is being penciled in as the new
middle linebacker, a position he has never played
in the pros and that any time missed during camp
will slow his development. Lehman is expected to
play the strong side but is still recovering from
a foot injury that cost him most of last year.
There is a battle for the starting weak side
linebacker position between incumbent James Davis
and this years first round draft pick Ernie Sims.
2. Inexperience.
The Lions are going through a complete overhaul as
the new coaching staff installs all new defensive
and offensive schemes. Do we have the players to
execute those schemes and how long it takes for
those players to become efficient in that
execution are two huge questions looming over this
season.
3. Pass Rush.
The Lions re-signed DE Kalimba Edwards this
off-season but made no other moves to find a DE to
improve the pass rush. Hall, Edwards, and Devries
are the top three DEs on the roster but none of
them are an elite pass rushing defensive ends and
if the Lions do not find away to put pressure on
opposing quarterbacks the inexperienced line
backing corps will be eaten alive by veteran
quarterbacks
who understand how to attack the vaunted "Tampa 2"
defense.
4. Health.
As alluded to before health is paramount for this
team for three reasons. One is to be able to
participate in camp to learn the new schemes being
installed. The second is to be able to play an
entire 16 game season at an optimal level. The
third being a lack of depth behind the starters.
The Lions are playing without a net so to speak.
The drop off from the starters to the backups is
steep in some areas and the team can ill afford to
lose any of its key players for extended amount of
time and expect to remain competitive.
5. Rod Marinelli.
What? Why do I have Marinelli listed here you ask.
Inexperience is why. Sure he has said all the
right things thus far and his attitude and
approach have been well received by the players
and fans but what remains to be seen is his
ability to coach this team on Sundays. History has
shown that the leap from position to head coach
hasn't been easy one in the NFL and Rod has been a
position coach during his entire career while most
NFL head coaches have paid their dues at one point
or another by being a coordinator along the way.
Sure it's a trivial thing but it does carry some
amount of weight as we head into the season and it
bears close scrutiny during the pre-season to see
how Rod actually manages the team under game
conditions.
