FanHouse ShaunMcdonald

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

I'm going to do my best to avoid use of the phrase "Well, things can't get any worse," or anything like that. Really, I am. But it's worth pointing out that this is a true statement. Things are looking up for the Detroit Lions because they absolutely can't get any worse.

With two first-round picks and a ton of available cap space, a well-managed organization could make a significant dent in one year.

By now you've heard the news that Roy Williams was dealt to the Dallas Cowboys -- not that Roy Williams, but this Roy Williams (see image). Yes sir, the Lions opted to throw in the towel on their debacle of a half-century season and part ways with the former first-rounder. Meanwhile, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys swooped into to grab some more big-name talent under the same business model as the New York Yankees.

It all depends which side of the camp you're on when pegging one side the winner or the other the loser from a football perspective. However, there weren't just two teams affected by this deal. No sir, there were millions upon millions of teams affected by this deal. And that's where we come in with the fantasy spin. Yup, aside from just your fantasy team, there's a whole grocery list of players from both the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions that may have seen their fortunes change for the better or worse today.

Let's start with the Lions...

The NFL's trade deadline has come and gone, and despite a few rumblings yesterday, quarterback Jon Kitna remains a member of the Detroit Lions. For now. Just don't expect to see him setting foot on the field anytime soon, seeing as he's officially been placed on injured reserve, ending his season, as reported by Tom Kowalski.

The news came just minutes after the 4:00 PM ET trade deadline, which saw the Lions send wide receiver Roy Williams packing to Dallas for a boatload of draft picks.

With Kitna now on the shelf, and Williams catching passes for the Cowboys, the Lions will now turn their offense over to the scrambling abilities of Dan Orlovsky. It's all bad news for Calvin Johnson, as he's going to be dealing with the added coverage that comes with Mike Furrey or Shaun McDonald lining up opposite him, while his quarterback runs out of the end zone.

Settle in, Lions fans, it could be a long season.

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet The ...
Adam Sandler movie of the NFL: always entertaining, yet never really winning anything notable. Whether it's drafting a WR in three consecutive first rounds (slapstick/unrealistic comedy like Billy Madison or Happy Gilmore), putting together a highly productive offense in terms of fantasy football (funny, yet quasi-legit Big Daddy or Wedding Singer? Maybe?), or guaranteeing ten wins ("I'm gonna go legit with Spanglish!"); you'll always be entertained and they'll always avoid the playoffs. This year is no different. The former laughingstock of a division is now somewhat of a powerhouse, and the Lions are still a step behind even the obviously third-best Bears. If you want entertainment, though, they won't disappoint.

The Breakout
Calvin Johnson is ready to take the next step after becoming acclimated to the NFL in his rookie season. I love it when people proclaim a rookie to have freaky mad skills and then if he doesn't perform to expectations he's an afterthought one year later. That's a year of experience, man. Never a bad thing. He's ready to make the leap into fantasy stud-dom. You'll see.

I was pretty adamant in pinning yesterdays 16-10 loss to the Giants on Shaun McDonald, who fumbled and was then mostly responsible for two game-losing interceptions in the final two minutes. But like any decent team -- the 49ers don't apply in this instance -- no one in the Lions locker room was pinning the blame on McDonald except for Shaun himself.

Roy Williams put the loss on himself for making too many mistakes, including the inability to take advantage of blown coverage and extend for a catch with nothing but the end zone in front of him. That touchdown would have won the game like both of McDonald's chances could have. But the Free Press pins the loss on Mike Martz.

A few minutes earlier, Kitna heaved an end-zone prayer to McDonald that might have been a touchdown but was wrestled away by James Butler for a pick. And though Kitna maintained that was a great defensive play, Butler is 6-feet-3 and McDonald is 5-feet-10. Those plays work better when the personal stats are reversed -- as in 6-5 Calvin Johnson against 5-8 Kevin Dockery, which resulted in the Lions' only touchdown.

Last week, the Lions' horrid rushing performance against the Cardinals really began to circle the drain when Shaun McDonald was dropped for a 15-yard loss on an end-around. This week (besides fumbling the ball), with the Lions down by six, Jon Kitna twice looked for McDonald in Giants' territory, both resulting in interceptions. On the first, he didn't bother fighting for an underthrown ball. On the other, he played a more active role, tipping the pass to Sam Madison, ending a game that resulted in some post-game smack.

"Yeah, it's more difficult because that is not a better football team than us," quarterback Jon Kitna said. "We gave them the football game."

Strahan took offense to Kitna's take on the game.

"I honestly thought in the first half that was one of the worst teams we played that was 6-3," he said. "I don't quite understand why Jon would say that. Maybe we'll see them down the road and if that's the case, we'll beat that a-- again."

There is no such thing as a sure thing, and the Arizona Cardinals made that extremely clear this afternoon.

Ken Whisenhunt told the fans and his players not to panic earlier in the week, and the team responded with a huge upset over the Detroit Lions. A game, that by all accounts, was over before it even began. Almost every single "expert" and "analyst" was ready to hand this game to Detroit, but that's why the players take the field. On any given Sunday.

For Arizona, Kurt Warner momentarily turned back time. Although it was looking bad early, he was able to rebound and end the game with 259 yards and three touchdowns. And part of Warner's rebound can be attributed to wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who seemed to be exactly where he needed to be at all times. He ended the game with eight catches for 74 yards and two touchdowns.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals defense was able to completely shut down the Lions rushing attack. And when I say shut down, I mean shut down. Detroit running backs combined for a whole -1 yard. And if you were to throw in Jon Kitna and wide receiver Shaun McDonald, the team totaled -16 rushing yards.

Next week the Cardinals travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals, while the Lions play host to the New York Giants.

Final Score: Cardinals 31 - Lions 21

To get you ready for week 10, FanHouse is previewing all 14 NFL games. Here is the Detroit Lions/Arizona Cardinals preview.

2007 Records:

Detroit Lions: 6-2 (2nd in NFC North)
Arizona Cardinals: 3-5 (2nd in NFC West)

Last Game(s):

Lions 44 - Broncos 7
Buccaneers 17 - Cardinals 10

When the Lions have the ball: With Kevin Jones running the ball like he did during his rookie season, the Detroit Lions have rounded out their offense and have arguably one of the best in the league. Jon Kitna could just toss the rock to Roy Williams and Shaun McDonald all day, or Jones could wrack up big numbers on the ground. Either way, this team can succeed if one threat it neutralized -- something that was unheard of in Detroit not too long ago.

For that reason, it's apparent that the Cardinals have tall task ahead of them. But if anyone is up for it, they certainly are. Despite their 3-5 record, they have one of the best defenses in the NFL. And their strong point? Well, that would be shutting down quarterbacks and big time receivers like Jon Kitna and Roy Williams.

A win over the Bears ... not as impressive as last year, but pay no matter: the Lions are 3-1, and hell hasn't frozen over. Yet. After three quarters, you'd have thought the teams were competing to pile up squandered opportunities.

In the first half alone, they combined for six punts, two blocked field goals, a lost fumble, an interception, and just 10 points. But in the fourth, down by 10, gut-check time, it was a big-play defense that came up with an interception, four sacks, and two forced fumbles. Against all odds, that big-play defense was the Lions'.

It also helps that Jon Kitna is playing great in spite of a terrible offensive line. In the last two games, Kitna has been sacked an inexcusable 17 times, six today. All he's done is throw for 693 yards, four touchdowns and just one interception. So take that, David Carr, you're out of excuses.

Kitna was largely shut down until the fateful fourth, when he shared the defense's second wind. He found Shaun McDonald and then responded to Devin Hester's amazingness with another scoring drive; the 15-yard touchdown strike to Troy Walters put the Lions up for good. Kitna was 20-24 for 247 yards and the pair of touchdowns, and it's officially time to start considering him amongst the top five quarterbacks in the league.