FanHouse DewayneWhite

Rod Marinelli has accepted the torch from Bill Parcells and now can officially be referred to as Mr. "My Guy." Meaning, he likes players he knows and who he knows he can trust in the locker room and in his system. That's why you've seen so many ex-Bucs -- Jon Bradley, Chuck Darby, Brian Kelly, Kalvin Pearson, Corey Smith, Dwight Smith, and Dewayne White -- migrate north to join the coach in Detroit. It certainly wasn't for the city's majestic scenery.

So the natural question, when you see John Lynch -- who played the prime of a very good career with Marinelli watching from the sideline -- being freed from Denver, is whether he'll join that list.

Whether Lynch decides he wants to play again in the NFL or not, it seems as if he has a soft spot in his heart for Marinelli. Which isn't to say Lynch has interest in playing in Detroit. Which is good, because the Lions aren't interested in him.

Marinelli cites the team's depth at safety for staying away, which is sort of a valid excuse; the Lions actually do look good at that position. But if Lynch was still the even half of the Lynch that Marinelli used to watch everyday (or even half the Lynch of two years ago), the Lions would do whatever they could to find a way to get him on the field.

The truth is, Marinelli has turned away a couple of ex-Bucs (SEE: Rice, Simeon), so he's not sporting pewter blinders. At 36 and with an almost completely diminished skillset, Lynch simply has nothing of on-field value to offer the Lions.

Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.

Chargers Defense
Heading into this game, San Diego's defense ranked 17th against the run, and Minnesota's offense was 8th. That'll likely change. The 2008 Rookie of the Year (they might as well hand out the award), Adrian Peterson, rushed for 296 yards on 30 carries. Two. Nine. Six. He also scored three touchdowns, and nine of his carries went for more than 10 yards. I believe that's called dominating an opponent.

Before Purple Jesus happened, the Chargers had only allowed one rusher to break the century mark -- the Chiefs' Larry Johnson went for 123 in Week 4. And the best back in the league? He gained just 40 yards on 16 carries. One Chargers defender did have a good day, though. Too bad it happened on special teams.

Sorry, No Photos

So about them Lions -- they're for real.

The Broncos aren't really the cream of the AFC, or even the AFC West, or even Colorado (I think citizens spend their Sunday afternoons watching Tivo'd replays of Rockies games), but they're a decent enough team in what is considered the better conference, and the Lions absolutely crushed them.

Today, the Lions' march towards the Super Bowl the playoffs a 10-win season respect a .500 record something other than crippling embarrassment began in a big way.

Joke all you want about 'em, but the Lions scored 36 points and put together a late fourth-quarter comeback against a top five defense, and got big plays on both sides of the ball in the process. Moxie? Hard work? Resiliency? These aren't your father's Lions. These aren't anybody's Lions, actually.

But oh, did it look like the bottom was falling out, as Josh McCown led the Raiders on a 21-3 run in the second half that put them up 21-20 after going down 17-0. Lots of people expected the Lions to put up points, but the Raiders were downright frisky on offense as well and, actually, both groups resembled legitimate NFL squads. It's true.

To get you ready for the season, FanHouse is previewing all 32 NFL teams. Here's Detroit's outlook.

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.