Many mock drafts and Lions fans have the Lions taking an offensive tackle with either of (#1 and #20) their first round picks.  That is not likely what they will do.  Unless they are ready to cut or trade Jeff Backus.  They could see if he would move to guard but there isn't a guarantee he would or could do that anyway.

The Lions drafted RT Gosder Cherilus with their first round pick last year so they seem set at both tackle positions.  What they need is a pair of guards or guard/centers to strengthen the middle of their offensive line.  The guard/center position seems to be pa deep bunch as well.  In fact the middle of both offensive and defensive lines are in need of talent.

  The Lions have so many needs all around that selecting another Tackle this year would be border line like Millen drafting WRs, well not really.  They actually need to draft a WR which is somewhat mind-blowing and yet typical lions.

  One thing you can count on as a sports fan is the Lions being terrible and them playing on Thanksgiving.  For many years fans around the NFL have wanted the Lions game taken away.  However the Lions are the oldest tradition on Thanksgiving than any other team.  They started playing this game in 1934 and were the only organization (I use that term lighty) willing to play on that day.

 The Lions used to play the Packers for many of the early years but the Packers felt it was an unfair advantage for the Lions.  Fear not though, the Lions have only won one playoff game since 1957.

  Thanksgiving Day is the only game of the year the Lions are relevant anymore.  If it weren't for this game the NFL would have a franchise that has truly become irrelevant.   If the NFL took this game away and rotated the teams playing we would only end up with the same teams we see play almost every week on Sunday and Monday Night Football.  

Look for the Big Pilgrim.  He is a Hall of Fame inductee as a fan.  You cant miss him.  His name is Mark and he is the face of Lions fans. 

The Detroit Lions have defied physics. They have figured out how to blow and suck at the same time. They call it playing football. The Lions fired Matt Millen and things look to only get worse before it gets any better. The Lions were pathetic at home and played uninspired. The Lions were flatter than the crowd. The only reason they were is because Bears fans showed up in Detroit by the tune of over 20,000 fans at Ford Field. The Lions have sold out 51 consecutive homes games and aren't likely to sell any more out for a long time. The Club Level seats (middle deck) were only filled to 40-50 percent capacity. That is being generous on that figure as well. Somehow this game was a sellout to get on TV at the last minute. (Odds about Milen below)

The Lions played as if they were not in the same play book on offense yet again and actually looked worse after the bye week! They really didn't play well at all in any phase of the game and put forth a pathetic game at home. How is it that a team comes off of a bye week and comes back fresh only to get beat like a drum. They had passes thrown so poorly that not only were the WRs not there, there weren't even any defenders in the area to intercept it. Even the back up QB Dan Orlovsky threw a pass so bad the refs didn't call intentional grounding because he wasn't pressured!  They were horrible all day.

Rod Marinelli should resign this week. If he doesn't he should be fired. His son-in-law Joe Barry the defensive coordinator is even worse leading the defense to a last place ranking in two of two seasons. This year the Lions are giving up a league high 37 points per game! They have given up no less than 31 points in any game. He too should be fired.

Rod always talks about being accountable.  There is a reason why he has never been a head coach before arriving in Detroit and why he won't be after he leaves. In the preseason the Lions had several successful plays that included a run/play action bootleg pass. All the QBs ran it very well and scored points. Since the regular season this play may have only been used once! Rod has to go.

Rod still is not playing the young players that were drafted. It took a few weeks before the first round pick even got into a game. Not only are the Lions losing, they aren't even losing with the younger players to get game experience. This is only setting them back further. The players that are in have terrible body language as well.

Four games and four career days for opposing players. Week one Matt Ryan's first pro pass was a long passing TD and Michael Turner ran all over them. Week two Aaron Rodgers had a career day including a colossal Lions 4th quarter meltdown to the likes I have never seen before. Week three the former back-up J.T. O'Sullivan lights it up in a drubbing of the Lions pathetic defense. This time it was Kyle Orton having a career passing day that he will likely never sniff again until Detroit goes to Chicago later in the season.

This is when Joe Dumba$$ fan comes in. At one point in the 3rd quarter the Bears intercepted a tipped pass off of Roy Williams and took it back to the house for a pick six. I was with two Bears fans that could have been rubbing this game into our faces but they weren't. The fan behind us has the nerve to tell the Bears fans cheering for the teams interception for a TD that they need to sit down because they are ruining the game experience for him! Not the crap team on the field, the two fans cheering when their team made a play. This was the icing of the cake. Not only were the Lions pitiful so were a few fans. He didn't even realize he was ruining others games experience but telling them not to cheer.

What is next for the Lions? Exactly what they don't need to do AGAIN. First they have to find out what they have at quarterback. Is Stanton the future of the organization? They must find out. Second they have to find a new GM. They must bring in someone with experience.  Floyd Reese wants the job and has said he is interested. He is the former GM of the Titans for 12 years and produced 11 Pro-Bowlers. Third they have to find yet another head coach. There are a lot of guys out there who would take the job, but only a few that can handle a rebuilding team. Lastly they will have yet another top pick in the draft. The last thing this team needs is another rookie getting a monster contract killing the cap. They need to start stock piling the draft picks right now. Then we start yet another 5 year plan.

The good news, the Bobby Lane curse ends this week.

 Odds about Millen. He was the winningest player for his time period in the NFL. From the 1980 season to 1991 Millen won four Super Bowls and had more wins than any other player. But as a GM he is the losingest GM in history as well. Don't forget he started his regime with a 3 season streak without a road win at 0-24. He also had a coach go through a drive-thru buck naked.

 

 You would be hard pressed in most circles to find many who support the government bailout of Wall Street. We are essentially bailing out misdirected companies who took advantage of regulations to get richer while driving their respective companies into the ground. Now the number for the bailout is at $850 Billion. Well I may have a better idea.

Here is a package that Main Street America might like a little better. Why not give that money to Main Street instead. Not everyone gets money though. If we gave part of $850 Billion in check for to every single American citizen that would only be approximately $2800. According to the Us Census 2008 there are 305,320,715 people living in the U.S.

How about breaking it down a lot more. How about only tax paying citizens. If you pay yearly taxes and have dependants (claiming yourself is ok) then you get the bailout. That figure per tax paying citizen gets a lot bigger. How about getting a check for $20,000 if you pay taxes every year for no less than 2 years receiving as early as age 18. Then if you own a home another check for $25,000 and if you own a home and no one else can claim you as a dependant you get an additional $10,000. There would also be military bonuses as well.

We would save approximately $274 Billion dollars! Americans would have a lot of cash to spread around. They said the government stimulus checks helped the economy. They also said it wasn't enough. Well here you go! Now where is my check?

There would have to be a catch, right? There is. Part of the plan is to make it mandatory that you pay back any debt you have to creditors and lenders. However most Americans would have much better credit and some cash left to blow. Wall Street gets its money back from Main Street. It's a win win!

Okay so maybe that wouldn't work. But it sure sounds good to me. The hole in the theory is that it would be a bad idea for certain people to get this much money all at once. It probably wouldn't be a good thing to give a crackhead or a gambler $65,000. But hey if they are a tax paying citizen then they deserve it to. The other hold up is that it would never happen ever ever ever ever!  If it does you all better send me some cash for the idea!

 

According to an article in the Detroit News Bill Ford jr. says Matt millen should resign.  It appears that the son of the Lions owner reads my blogs.  Okay maybe not.  Here is what JR said: 

"It's embarrassing," Ford told The Detroit News Monday on the sidelines of the Detroit Economic Club. "The fans deserve better, and if I had the authority I'd fire the general manager."

No chit Sherlock!  If I had the authority I would have done it years ago! 

Also from the article in the Detroit News:

Ford Jr. is vice chairman of the Lions and son of franchise owner William Clay Ford, who purchased the team in 1964. Ford Sr. has final say on Millen, and his son has not intruded publicly on his father's domain.

The Lions can sit and stew over their 0-3 start during the bye week this week.  The Lions next play the Chicago Bears at home.  If Millen is not out by then you can guarantee the Lions fans will be protesting outside and wearing bags on their heads on the inside.  Stay tuned on this developing story.

It is time for Bill Ford jr to assert himself into this situation.  He may one day be the owner himself.  Is this the type of organizational nightmare he wants to inherit?  We will see.