Point-Counterpoint

By George Eichorn and Scott Morganroth of the Detroit Monitor

 

 

George Eichorn:  So, I am supposed to believe that THIS Detroit Lions coach, Jim Schwartz, is supposed to be the right man at the right time. I think I will pass on any judgment on this man from Tennessee (Titans) until I see the coaching staff Schwartz names and the players that he helps the team draft and trade for. Oh yes, show me some regular season victories Mr. Schwartz also!

 

Scott Morganroth: I definitely believe the Lions got it right this time with Schwartz. The man has learned under Bill Belichick and Jeff Fisher plus his expertise as an excellent defensive coordinator will only improve Detroit’s woeful defense. Coming from a successful system with the Titans can only benefit the Lions because they’ve been proven winners the past several years. I hope one thing Schwartz does, is implement the same type of running attack has with LenDale White and Chris Johnson in addition to the same scenario the Carolina Panthers used with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. There has to be a runner in this draft that could work well with Kevin Smith.

 

Eichorn: Let’s face it, the Lions could not attract a tier one guy like Mike Shanahan or Bill Cowher to this franchise, not with the fact that they would not give a guy with a big name the autonomy which he would want on personnel moves. The Lions say they are still searching for personnel guy but who would want to come here under the present management and ownership?

 

Morganroth: With a record of 31-97 the past eight seasons, another record of 24-straight road losses plus this 0-16 season, you can’t! The only way to regain any type of trust is to find an experience football person to work with Martin Mayhew. The best choice is former Titans general manager Floyd Peters, who led Tennessee to it’s lone Super Bowl appearance.

 

Eichorn:  My sources tell me that the Lions are so worried about a huge fallout in season tickets and individual salea that they are going to extraordinary measures to woo loyal fans, including a sit down with execs Tom Lewand and Mayhew at Ford Field. They better be scared as fans are fed up with this lousy team. Two Losers Way is back in force with the last-place Lions and last-place Tigers sharing the same cross street at Ford Field and Comerica Park, respectively.

 

Morganroth: I don’t think it will be as tough to sell tickets as you do. Detroit is a sleeping giant and if the Lions put an entertaining product that leads to a winner, there will be sellouts and not blackouts. Ford Field seats 65,000. The Silverdome’s capacity was 80,000. The fans are sick and tired of not just losing but getting embarrassed. These people are rightfully upset because their hard earned money is being wasted on an indigent product.

 

Eichorn:  As far as the quarterback to lead the team in 2009, I would stay the course and stick with defense in the first few draft choices. Give Daunte Culpepper, Dan Orlovsky and Drew Staton one more year, let the fight it out in the off-season and in training camp, and then pick your number one guy. The Lions could take a sleeper in the draft at quarterback yet all the guy would do is ride the bench like Orlovsky has the last several seasons — until this season when he finally got a chance to play. I wonder if Mr. Ford has driven a Ford lately? Perhaps senior has his sights on Matthew Stafford of Georgia…after all, the kid does carry the family’s nameplate!

 

Morganroth: When your new coach makes reference to Bobby Layne, conventional wisdom tells you he’s looking for another quarterback not on this roster. I’d listen to offers and possibly trade the pick if I could still be in the top five selections and add a few more draft choices. The question is, are there any Troy Aikman’s, Eli and Peyton Manning’s that were drafted first overall which won a Super Bowl in this draft? I doubt it. The offensive line needs to be addressed and so does the defense. Glad I don’t have to make this decision. The Lions staff should go to church and get help from the man upstairs.Does it matter offense or defense? If it’s offense, the only way that I would draft a quarterback in the first round is to do what the Atlanta Falcons did and that’s play him. Matt Ryan did a great job leading the Falcons to the playoffs under a rookie head coach in Mike Smith. Ryan did a great job making Falcons fans?forget about Michael Vick and

 restored hope for this franchise that was a mess a year ago.

 

The only quarterback on the Lions roster that I would keep is Orlovsky. If he has the right players around him, he’ll be fine and he will be a good signal caller in the NFL. Stanton is injury prone and Daunte

Culpepper is washed up. Matt Stafford appears to be the top quarterback in this draft but if the Lions traded the top pick, went down a few spots and selected USC’s Mark Sanchez, got draft choices, then this could be a good move.

 

Eichorn:  Will anything at all wake up the Fords? This season was a complete disaster yet senior did not even clean house totally. Lewand and Mayhew got promoted and team executives appear to all be headed back to their jobs in Allen Park. Fans are very irate about this and they have a right.  Everyone needs to be held accountable for the 0-16 joke of a season.

 

Morganroth: Maybe it took an 0-16 season to wake-up the Fords. Now the Lions have hit rock bottom and there is only one way to go and that’s up. Last year the Miami Dolphins had a 1-15 record, added 45 new players on the 81-man roster that began in training camp, added free agents and draft choices and they finished 11-5. Having Bill Parcells didn’t hurt but the bottom line is the NFL is a league where teams can turn their fortunes around quickly unless you have a Matt Millen, who has no experience at his front office profession, botches up drafts, alienates talented players that want to leave, hires bad coaches, chased away Steve Mariucci and turns the Lions into the NFL’s version of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers.

Reach George Eichorn at geichorn@yahoo.com & Scott Morganroth at scottbullm33@comcast.net.

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