Now, this may seem like a poor and yet ridiculous idea to all of you, but I think that if we put a good o-line in front of Dan-O, he may be a very formidable starting QB. He has a great arm, and he has no trouble seeing over the line, and most importantly, he gets the ball to Calvin Johnson. I think that if we bring in Jordan Gross, and draft some good guards such as Herman Johnson or Duke Robinson, we could have ourselves a highly potent offense. Kevin Smith has shown us that he can start, and he's done it behind a poor o-line, Calvin Johnson has shown us that he can manage to get 100 yards off of garbage throws, and Dan Orlovsky has shown us that he can handle the offense. The team has done well in the games he has started and in most cases, the team has played better than the opposing team. If we can get a couple of decent o-lineman that can protect Dan, and maybe a serviceable TE, we may just have ourselves an offense that can put up close to 400 yards a game(250-300 passing and 100+ rushing).

I understand your optimism, but do you really think that any big time free agents are going to be able to go to Detroit? First the Lions have not been winning, so why would a decent free agent want to go there to begin with. Second, if they want to bring in good players they are going to have to over spend (kinda like the Royals have to do in baseball), but with the auto indurstry needing a government bailout it probably isn't wise for the Ford family to be investing so much money in the Lions.

As for Dan Orvlosky. You say that he has proven himself to lead this team. What has he done? He may have had two good games before getting hurt. I don't know if that is necessarly proving himself.

Orlovsky has shown that he can handle the offense and I think that he has done a better than average job this season in every game he has played in. I think that if we put a decent o-line in to protect him, he may be a top 5-10 QB. He has the height, size, arm strength, and mobility to actually be good. I think that some of his throws are erratic at times because he is under pressure, not because of his arm. I would bring him back for 2 more years and see how he does starting a full year. At the very worst, he's still better than Daunte.

If you pay them, they will come.

I think Culpepper may be the guy in Detroit.... You still need to add a couple of offensive linemen, but I think with the skill position players you have, Culpepper might be the best fit.


Defensively, I think they need to sign a couple of vocal veteran leaders (and overpay them, intentionally) and then use some of those early draft picks to get some players on that side of the ball. Have the FAs coach them up on the field. Build a team attitude, work ethic to become a new standard for the franchise.

It's worked in Atlanta.

But does the Ford Family have enough money to pay top dollar to bring free agents in? I know Atlanta did that with Michael Turner, but that was it. Plus Atlanta has had success recently. The Lions haven't been good in a while. (Last year doesn't count)

What I was saying before was, with the trouble that the Auto Industry is it can the Ford Family justify spending money on the Lions when their family business is in a lot of trouble?

I wouldn't be surprised if the Ford's look to sell the team in the future.

Let's slow down about Dan Orlavsky, he has enough arm, but not a great one, think mid 90s Brad Johnson, he has a decent football IQ and is sneaky athletic, where you have to build is both lines. Look at the Falcons, though much of the attention has been directed to Ryan and Michael Turner, and both have played at a high level, the real story of Atlanta's turn around is their offensive and defensive lines. Ryan has helped by not holding the ball as many young QBs would and Turner gets into and our of holes quickly, occasionally making his own hole, but the line play is dramatically better on both sides of the ball. Their still shaky secondary has been protected from the post-corner, digs and deep comebacks that gashed them last year and they are much better at getting off the field on 3rd down while their offense is converting on 3rd down. The front lines, build them and you will win.

quote name='Johanns21' date='Dec 16 2008, 3:05:24 PM' post='137551']
But does the Ford Family have enough money to pay top dollar to bring free agents in? I know Atlanta did that with Michael Turner, but that was it. Plus Atlanta has had success recently. The Lions haven't been good in a while. (Last year doesn't count)

What I was saying before was, with the trouble that the Auto Industry is it can the Ford Family justify spending money on the Lions when their family business is in a lot of trouble?

I wouldn't be surprised if the Ford's look to sell the team in the future.
[/quote]

If I every see you put that Culpepper is our best option or the answer as our future QB, I will laugh you off of this site. Culpepper's numbers have been pathetic, he is way overweight, he can't get the ball to Calvin Johnson, he has erratic throws, and he is slower than dirt. Orlovsky is just the opposite. He is mobile enough to escape tacklers, he gets the ball to Calvin Johnson, he is careful with the ball, makes good throws as long as the line holds up, and he puts up good numbers.