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Peterson was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his three seasons in Seattle. The Michigan State alum will slide into Detroit's starting strongside linebacker spot and, paired with Ernie Sims on the weakside as the Lions continue to rapidly rebuild their miserable defense. There are implications here beyond immediate on-field payoffs, though.
My favorite thing about the Detroit Lions -- the team I grew up cheering for as a kid in Plymouth, Michigan -- is the way they absolutely refuse to admit how bad they are.
"Don't be trying to write us off," defensive captain Cory Redding warned, after the 34-21 loss. "We're good. We just didn't show up today."
Ah, yes. The Lions are good, they just decided not to show up for the first game of the season. Because that's what good teams do. Or something.
Look: The Lions stink. They will stink as long as Matt Millen is running the team, and Matt Millen will run the team as long as William Clay Ford is alive. So if you're a Lions fan and you know they're not going to give you any reason to cheer for them, it will cheer you up to laugh at them.
We can all rattle off the list of Matt Millen's biggest draft blunders over the years -- Charles Rogers, Mike Williams, Shaun Rogers -- but what does it take to ruin an entire draft? Look at the crop Millen plucked in 2003. The numbers:
11 - players selected by Detroit; 7 - players currently out of the league; 3 - players who did at least something positive in the NFL, though not necessarily for the Lions; 1 - player who's still a Lion.
Those are awful results. Cory Redding (#66 overall) is the only player remaining, and the best of the crop overall, and it's not like he's been an impact player himself.
Charles Rogers (#2) is obviously the pick that hurts the most. The other six no longer active are tackle Ben Johnson (#216), receiver David Kircus (#175), linebacker James Davis (#144), receiver Travis Anglin (#260), fullback Brandon Drumm (#236), and cornerback Blue Adams (#220).
Boss Bailey (#34) has been bust-ish himself, but at least he and Terrence Holt (#137) have made plays. Kircus and running back Artose Pinner (#99) haven't done anything worth noting, but at least they convinced more than one team to employ them, which is ... um ... notable, I guess.
So, yeah -- you're 2003 Detroit Lions draft class. A testament to incompetence.
NFL Offseason Roadmap is a series focused on the needs of NFL teams as they begin the offseason. 1. Offensive Tackle. A disaster zone. Forget the 54 sacks Jon Kitna took last year. As terrible and incriminating as it is, it doesn't even come close to scratching the surface of all the crimes against football the Lions' tackles have committed. Running backs dream of rushing for 2,000 yards; I don't think any offensive line wants 2,000 yards of penalties in a season, but the Lions looked like they were trying hard, particularly the tackles. Jeff Backus was terrible and, when George Foster wasn't riding pine, he was worse. Damien Woody did pretty well stepping in at right tackle towards the end of the year, but he looks likely to sign somewhere else this summer. So that leaves zero NFL-caliber tackles on this squad. As for answers, well, teams don't let starting quality tackles hit free agency, so they're kinda screwed if they want experience. While their 15th pick puts them out of the running for Jake Long, they could decide to go with Ryan Clady or Jeff Otah, the next tier in this class.
As Vonnegut might say in this instance: and so it goes. After a façade promising start to the season, the same ole Lions are back. The final piece in this ugly puzzle, dissension in the locker room, seems poised to finish off whatever diminishing hopes for the playoffs were left. In the wake of the 42-10 loss to the Vikings, so many fingers are being pointed you'd think Steve Zissou was involved.
Jon Kitna had something to say about it (of course), claiming that not all of his teammates were "in our boat," implying that the Lions aren't acting cohesively (and adding another dimension to my Zissou reference, thank you). Cory Redding didn't seem to take that one very well.
There's not on the offensive side of the ball. Coach is a defensive guy, so when he talks, he predominantly talks about the defense -- the defensive line.
"Joe didn't have a problem with it, it doesn't seem," Kitna said. "The first question out of his mouth was, 'Did you win?' I don't think it's really an issue."
In a statement, the Lions said they asked Cullen whether he was bothered by Kitna's costume. His response: "No, not at all. It's in the past."
Kitna was trying to win a costume contest at Mike Furrey's charity event, and would have given the prize -- a car -- to Cullen had he won. Even Rod Marinelli and Cory Redding supported the "everyone knew it was all in good fun" defense, though Kitna admitted he had no idea the vitriol it would produce in the media.
And, for all of those who think that Kitna might be able to dish it out without taking it:
Kitna, a devout Christian, laughed as he recalled how he was lampooned by a couple who dressed up as him and his wife, Jennifer, and thumped Bibles.
More people should take themselves as seriously as Cullen and Kitna.
2006 record: 3-13 2006 Offense: People tend to hold the misconception that Detroit's offense last year was good despite their poor record, based on the presence of Mike Martz and Jon Kitna's 4,208-yard, 21-touchdown year. What those people are overlooking are Kitna's 22 interceptions and the Lions' dead-last run game, which averaged only 70.6 yards per contest. For some perspective, 21 individual backs averaged more. Including Edgerrin James. Who ran for the Arizona Cardinals. Embarassing? You bet.
2006 Defense: This is a unit that ranked near the bottom five in just about every major defensive category last year. Linebacker Ernie Sims and safety Daniel Bullocks both showed promise, but the star of the defense, Shaun Rogers, was underwhelming. The Lions have some new blood that, on paper, should improve the unit, but that's not exactly a task, either.
2006 Special Teams:Eddie Drummond (no, you're not getting the Bermanism) had a solid, unspectacular season as the Lions' main returner, and kicker Jason Hanson is a keeper (the Lions relied on a lot of field goals, and Hanson had the third-most in the league). Still, the Lions special teams was middle of the road, at best. Noticing a theme? I should have just heeded that old "If you can't say anything nice ... " saying and saved myself the last 20 minutes.
Marinelli seems to have built some capital with his guys. Mike Furrey, Redding and Shaun Rogers all have sung his praises.
"His relationship to me is second-to-none," Redding said Monday. "He's by far the best teaching coach, the best player's type of coach, the best everything that I've been around. ... I'm talking about when he looks you in your eyes, you know you're talking to a man of character, a man that you know whatever he says he's going to do."
Now it's on Marinelli's guys to repay him by performing well for him on the field.
A coach who earns his player's respect and trust can inspire a lot of positive production from any squad, no matter the talent. His public support of Redding and Furrey during their contract negotiations, and his tough love with Rogers, has proven to the Lions that Marinelli is willing to do what he asks of his players -- go to war for each other. Make all of the jokes about the Lions that you want, but that's significant. The more time that passes this offseason, the more I believe the Lions are going to be sneaky this year.
The Lions were finally able to sign WR Mike Furrey to a new 3-year contract. Furrey, who had 98 receptions in 2006, appears to be taking an expanded role within the organization. Many believe that Furrey has already spoken with Rams free agent WR Kevin Curtis about reuniting in Detroit. Curtis would also be reunited with his former Rams Head Coach Mike Martz, should he decide to sign with the Lions. I believe strongly that Furrey exemplifies the type of character and work ethic that the Lions have desperately needed in recent years. The Lions clearly need a dependable second outside receiver and it remains to be seen whether the Lions will pursuit another slot receiver, an outside receiver like Curtis and move Furrey to the slot role, or look in-house and give "Big" Mike Williams one final shot to prove that he can live up to past expectations.
Now that Furrey is signed, the Lions need to work overtime in trying to re-sign DE/DT Cory Redding, who enjoyed a break out season in 2006 as a devastating inside pass rusher. The Lions may have to resort to placing the franchise tag upon Redding (ala Jeff Backus) and begin negotiating a new deal later. The Lions would be devastated by the loss of Redding, that is certain. Rod Marinelli has already expressed a similar sentiment, stating that Redding needs to realize how integral a component he has become to this franchise.
Besides re-signing Furrey and Redding, the Lions have a lot of work ahead of them this off season, if they expect the team to improve. Signing Furrey was one major step in the right direction, hopefully it will be followed by a few more.
Something very odd is going on in Detroit this offseason: the Lions are actually showing signs of knowing what they're doing. The latest move reportedly has the Lions sending defensive tackle Cory Redding and a 2009 fifth-round to Seattle for Pro Bowl linebacker Julian Peterson.
My favorite thing about the Detroit Lions -- the team I grew up cheering for as a kid in Plymouth, Michigan -- is the way they absolutely refuse to admit how bad they are.
We can all rattle off the list of Matt Millen's biggest draft blunders over the years -- Charles Rogers, Mike Williams, Shaun Rogers -- but what does it take to ruin an entire draft? Look at the crop Millen plucked in 2003. The numbers:
NFL Offseason Roadmap is a series focused on the needs of NFL teams as they begin the offseason.
As Vonnegut might say in this instance: and so it goes. After a 
You hear that, Drew Sharp? All wrong about assuming Joe Cullen would have taken offense to Jon Kitna's Halloween costume. You remember that saying about assuming?
To get you ready for the season, FanHouse is previewing all 32 NFL teams. Here's Detroit's outlook.
Check the sky for pigs, because there's more positivity coming out of Detroit. The signing of Cory Redding is another sign that Rod Marinelli is improving the culture of the Detroit Lions.
