Last Year:
In a move that put Matt Millen?s fingerprints all over the franchise, he boldly selected Joey Harrington with his first round pick last year. Nobody in the organization felt worse than the man who was originally supposed to be the future, Mike McMahon. Although McMahon was penciled in as the original starter, he was already splitting time in week two, and lost his job by week three. Immediately a sense of magic was felt around this team as they changed from a perennial doormat, to a somewhat competitive team. Joey Harrington?s poise and maturity got this team to believe as he consistently put them in a position to win at the end of their games. This Oregon alumni wasn?t used to losing and his passion to win filtered down to his teammates. With a successful coach and an up and coming quarterback the Lions might be the talk of the town in the year to come.
What we learned from Last Year:
With Mike McMahon being a distant memory, and Joey Harrington calling the plays, this team really started to turn things around. Now some people might be wondering what I?ve smoked to say that a 3 ? 13 team turned things around but I?ll explain my thinking. With the addition of Joey Harrington and Steve Mariucci to this team, the Lions have added something that they have lacked for a few years now. A winning attitude. Harrington and Mariucci are not used to losing, and instead of them coming on to this team and changing their mentality into a losing one, they?ve come to Detroit and changed the whole team?s mentality to a winning one. When you look at what the Lions did once Joey Harrington took over, you?ll see a very poor record. If you look inside the games you?ll see that Detroit played their opponents fairly tough down the stretch of their season. In his first start, Harrington and the Lions almost beat Green Bay. After that, besides a few blowouts, and one loss by eight points, and a one loss by seven points, the Lions played in six games decided by three or less. More importantly, besides one blowout at home, the Lions were in position to win almost all of their home games. Steve Mariucci has come onto this team and he has this team spitting out a new word. Playoffs. He wants practices run at a playoff intensity, drills done at a playoff-caliber tempo, and everything this team does to have focus and concentration. This team hasn?t considered the playoffs for years, but at least now it?s in their vocabulary.
What has changed?:
Defensively, this team has a lot of work to do. The secondary was junk. The safeties are hard hitting, but that is about it. At the corners they had nobody really to match up against the opponents #1 receivers. Heck they had nobody to cover opposing #2 receivers either. These young guys in the secondary really need to mature. A year after the Lions were criticized for overpaying for ex-St. Louis Ram Az Hakim, they did it again by bringing in Dre? Bly. This team desperately needed a playmaker in the secondary and that is what they got. Besides that, the defense isn?t too bad. The linebackers are pretty good. Chris Claiborne was a very underrated linebackers and losing him might be a mistake. Although he?s gone, Barrett Green and Boss Bailey look like a pretty good future for this team. And last but not least the defensive line is actually not too bad on this team. Robert Porcher and Luther Eliss are the studs, but Shaun Rogers, and Kalimba Edwards are also solid contributors. They need these guys to overachieve to mask their flaws in the secondary.
Surprisingly this team had fairly good special teams. With Eddie Drummond being such a productive rookie it allowed the wizard of Az to focus solely on his offensive skills. Drummond was one of the most dangerous returners last year and is very similar to Steve Smith from Carolina. His big returns gave this team consistent momentum shots in the arms to wake them up.
Now when I say this team will light up scoreboards this year, I?m not stuttering. Joey Harrington is going to continue to develop into one of the league premier quarterbacks and James Stewart will still be a very quiet 1000+ yards contributor to this offense but the bond that holds this offensive together is the O-line. The biggest part of Joey Harrington?s maturation process was the fact that he was given the time to make decisions in the pocket. This offensive line allowed the fewest sacks in the league. Thanks to that, Joey clearly showed he can make good decisions if he has the time. The biggest change to this team will be Charles Rogers. Why he is so important to this offense is because as of right now the wide receivers are out of place. Bill Schroeder is not a legitimate #1 receiver, but he is a good #2. Az Hakim is not consistent enough to be a #2 receiver but he is one of the best 3rd receivers in the league. If Charles Rogers fits into the 1 spot and balls like he can then defenses are going to have a very hard time defending this team. Add to that Joey?s favorite target pro-bowl tight end Mikhael Ricks and this team is very dangerous.
The pieces are coming together. A developing offense, a coach with a great track record and good home field advantage spells very good things for this team this year.
O/U 5.5:
Another comment that may catch you off guard is that the Lions are in a fairly weak division. The Bears are not much of a threat, with no Michael Bennett, Minnesota won?t be the same, and even Green Bay is dropping off. While these teams are declining, Detroit is on the rise. In a worst-case scenario Detroit should end up with 3 wins in their division (if not more). They can win shootouts, and with no solid defense in their whole division that is all that their games will be. Then they will need three more wins against: Cardinals, @Broncos, @49ers, Cowboys, Raiders, @Seahawks, Chargers, @Chiefs, @Panthers, Rams. Keep in mind that this team plays very well at home, and there is a possibility they will get a freebie if the Rams decided to rest some players in the last week of the season.
Fantasy Sleeper:
Don?t even think about drafting Mike McMahon because the only thing he?ll be sharing is his soap in the showers. This job is Joey Harrington and it?s pretty much his for good. This guy is a star in the making. He makes good smart decisions and with an improved receiving corps, and a year under his belt he is only going to get better. Especially if this team is going to be in a lot of shootouts this guy could be a steal in your pool. Just sit back, watch him pass the ball, and collect your fantasy points.
In a move that put Matt Millen?s fingerprints all over the franchise, he boldly selected Joey Harrington with his first round pick last year. Nobody in the organization felt worse than the man who was originally supposed to be the future, Mike McMahon. Although McMahon was penciled in as the original starter, he was already splitting time in week two, and lost his job by week three. Immediately a sense of magic was felt around this team as they changed from a perennial doormat, to a somewhat competitive team. Joey Harrington?s poise and maturity got this team to believe as he consistently put them in a position to win at the end of their games. This Oregon alumni wasn?t used to losing and his passion to win filtered down to his teammates. With a successful coach and an up and coming quarterback the Lions might be the talk of the town in the year to come.
What we learned from Last Year:
With Mike McMahon being a distant memory, and Joey Harrington calling the plays, this team really started to turn things around. Now some people might be wondering what I?ve smoked to say that a 3 ? 13 team turned things around but I?ll explain my thinking. With the addition of Joey Harrington and Steve Mariucci to this team, the Lions have added something that they have lacked for a few years now. A winning attitude. Harrington and Mariucci are not used to losing, and instead of them coming on to this team and changing their mentality into a losing one, they?ve come to Detroit and changed the whole team?s mentality to a winning one. When you look at what the Lions did once Joey Harrington took over, you?ll see a very poor record. If you look inside the games you?ll see that Detroit played their opponents fairly tough down the stretch of their season. In his first start, Harrington and the Lions almost beat Green Bay. After that, besides a few blowouts, and one loss by eight points, and a one loss by seven points, the Lions played in six games decided by three or less. More importantly, besides one blowout at home, the Lions were in position to win almost all of their home games. Steve Mariucci has come onto this team and he has this team spitting out a new word. Playoffs. He wants practices run at a playoff intensity, drills done at a playoff-caliber tempo, and everything this team does to have focus and concentration. This team hasn?t considered the playoffs for years, but at least now it?s in their vocabulary.
What has changed?:
Defensively, this team has a lot of work to do. The secondary was junk. The safeties are hard hitting, but that is about it. At the corners they had nobody really to match up against the opponents #1 receivers. Heck they had nobody to cover opposing #2 receivers either. These young guys in the secondary really need to mature. A year after the Lions were criticized for overpaying for ex-St. Louis Ram Az Hakim, they did it again by bringing in Dre? Bly. This team desperately needed a playmaker in the secondary and that is what they got. Besides that, the defense isn?t too bad. The linebackers are pretty good. Chris Claiborne was a very underrated linebackers and losing him might be a mistake. Although he?s gone, Barrett Green and Boss Bailey look like a pretty good future for this team. And last but not least the defensive line is actually not too bad on this team. Robert Porcher and Luther Eliss are the studs, but Shaun Rogers, and Kalimba Edwards are also solid contributors. They need these guys to overachieve to mask their flaws in the secondary.
Surprisingly this team had fairly good special teams. With Eddie Drummond being such a productive rookie it allowed the wizard of Az to focus solely on his offensive skills. Drummond was one of the most dangerous returners last year and is very similar to Steve Smith from Carolina. His big returns gave this team consistent momentum shots in the arms to wake them up.
Now when I say this team will light up scoreboards this year, I?m not stuttering. Joey Harrington is going to continue to develop into one of the league premier quarterbacks and James Stewart will still be a very quiet 1000+ yards contributor to this offense but the bond that holds this offensive together is the O-line. The biggest part of Joey Harrington?s maturation process was the fact that he was given the time to make decisions in the pocket. This offensive line allowed the fewest sacks in the league. Thanks to that, Joey clearly showed he can make good decisions if he has the time. The biggest change to this team will be Charles Rogers. Why he is so important to this offense is because as of right now the wide receivers are out of place. Bill Schroeder is not a legitimate #1 receiver, but he is a good #2. Az Hakim is not consistent enough to be a #2 receiver but he is one of the best 3rd receivers in the league. If Charles Rogers fits into the 1 spot and balls like he can then defenses are going to have a very hard time defending this team. Add to that Joey?s favorite target pro-bowl tight end Mikhael Ricks and this team is very dangerous.
The pieces are coming together. A developing offense, a coach with a great track record and good home field advantage spells very good things for this team this year.
O/U 5.5:
Another comment that may catch you off guard is that the Lions are in a fairly weak division. The Bears are not much of a threat, with no Michael Bennett, Minnesota won?t be the same, and even Green Bay is dropping off. While these teams are declining, Detroit is on the rise. In a worst-case scenario Detroit should end up with 3 wins in their division (if not more). They can win shootouts, and with no solid defense in their whole division that is all that their games will be. Then they will need three more wins against: Cardinals, @Broncos, @49ers, Cowboys, Raiders, @Seahawks, Chargers, @Chiefs, @Panthers, Rams. Keep in mind that this team plays very well at home, and there is a possibility they will get a freebie if the Rams decided to rest some players in the last week of the season.
Fantasy Sleeper:
Don?t even think about drafting Mike McMahon because the only thing he?ll be sharing is his soap in the showers. This job is Joey Harrington and it?s pretty much his for good. This guy is a star in the making. He makes good smart decisions and with an improved receiving corps, and a year under his belt he is only going to get better. Especially if this team is going to be in a lot of shootouts this guy could be a steal in your pool. Just sit back, watch him pass the ball, and collect your fantasy points.
