...Anyone else fucking love it?

Continue reading this post »

This tomfoolery with Best needs to stop. Seeing them taping his big toe downwards and then seeing him back on the field hobbling around was just sad. Try a fun experiment and just flees your big toe downward the next time you walk somewhere. Then imagine running and cutting, and keep in mind that this is without the original pain of the injury in the first place. Continuing to play him isn't doing him any good, and it's blatantly hurting the team. Just sit the kid down for a while.

In all fairness, it's all really a system of levers and pulleys in the end. There is no right answer, nor is there a wrong (at least until hindsight is the only criteria available by which to judge it). And one can always (and often does) analyze the options in any way that suits the theories and principles said individual is already predisposed to supporting.                                

That being said, I hear a lot of talk lately (again) about drafting talent as opposed to team needs. This is an ageless debate, and as I said, one that doesn't necessarily have a right or wrong answer in my mind until all is said and done. Of course the Lions could desperately use defensive players. I'd venture to call it a "need". And if a seemingly supreme talent (as Suh is so widely regarded) is available in the draft, and it happens to match up with our needs, there is no question about it. 

But the problem in logic for me lies after that hypothetical scenario is off the table. It astounds me that such a significant percentage of fans have been calling for the Lions to draft offensive skill positions within the first three rounds again. Don't get me wrong here; Of course it is my opinion that we certainly do need to add (or develop) a capable receiving threat other than Calvin, no question about it. While I do feel that a healthy and more experienced Pettigrew (and possibly other current players) will definitely alleviate some of the pressure that opposing defenses are able to place on the Lions offense, I don't feel that the current presence alone will draw ever sufficient attention to fix the underlying problems.
I personally do not feel that the RB position as it stands now needs to be addressed in the first half of the next draft, although of course I will always be happy to welcome any improvement in that area as well.

However- To this humble dullard, the acquisition of more offensive skill position players.. or "weapons", so to speak, is and will continue to be a negligent waste of talent and money until the offensive line is addressed adequately enough to give the team the opportunity to utilize those weapons efficiently. Among other admittedly glaring problems (such as the secondary), this is a familiar story that I feel I've seen play out in some way or another during every single year of my lifelong rampant fanaticism for this team. 

I read print and I hear other fans once again calling for the best available players as draft time nears, and preaching the many virtues of not reaching for position "needs". In clear-cut cases, it's a strategy that I am unable to argue with. But in most cases I believe there must be a somewhat liberal happy-medium employed between 'best available' and 'need'...   Because, quite frankly, after seeing almost an entire decade of 'best available players' who are no longer on the team, I believe the risk is universal regardless of the strategy. Even in the most basic usage of the words, I see my own opinion validated. "Best", in my opinion, is a purely speculative term when considering the uncertainty regarding the futures of NFL draft picks (both figuratively and historically). "Need" is..  well, wouldn't it be obvious? 

On a team where the needs seem to grossly outweigh the perceived luxury of glamourous picks, one would think that 'need' and 'talent' would mesh together slightly to create a much lower level of possible risk in the draft regarding the best players available, but history has no doubt proven otherwise. At this early juncture, the 2009 draft looks to have been a possible turning point for this era's Lions team. But what I really go into the offseason hoping to see, once again, is the cultivation of a new foundation for the team..  not more patches, and not more bells and whistles... 

A foundation.

There has been a lot of talk lately about what the Lions need to do with the WR position moving forward (and I'm going to go on record here and completely ignore the prospect of trading Calvin Johnson, because I personally believe it to be one of the most ludicrous suggestions that I've ever heard regarding this franchise).

Rather than debate whether or not they should gamble away the best player on the team (and possibly one of the best in the league in his prime, no less) for a lesser player or two and a question mark of a draft pick, I'm curious regarding your opinions of what the Lions need to do at the WR position to better utilize Calvin's ability and also help Stafford develop moving forward. Similar to always needing entire offensive and defensive lines, the WR position just seems to need to be perpetually addressed.

But do they need another big freak of nature on the other side? Do they need a slot receiver? It seems pretty well established that the current lineup was (once again) not worth the optimistic welcome they received. So do the Lions need to draft another WR, or can one be had from the list of FA's that Gyorick posted?

What say you?  

 

(For the record, what I would personally like to see them do to complement Calvin, is end up with a Wes Welker-type player. A consistent and consummate safety valve... 

He's a textbook slot-receiver who is surprisingly their #2 WR in essence, but he also fills the role of the primary receiving option when defenses focus too much of their attention on the big guy or send too much consistent pressure at the quarterback. His presence on the Patriots has both allowed Moss to get a break from the ridiculous coverage from time to time, and also allowed the passing game to continue to thrive when Moss is blanketed.

  The problem with this is that you just can't spot a Wes Welker. Hell, even Wes Welker didn't spot Wes Welker. He was an undrafted little fella who was neither exceptionally strong, nor unusually fast. Yet when he was given the opportunity, he showed that he had a knack for playing stronger and faster in the moments that he needed to, than his measurables indicated he could. He essentially 'wills' himself to play at an above average level, and you just can't teach that. Nor can you measure it at the combine.)

 

Who would be your ideal #2 WR for Calvin?