Posted by ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert
Last winter, as you might recall, we offered 16 suggestions for fixing the Detroit Lions. Now, at the request of @AgentSmiddy (via Twitter) and others, we’re going to open the door for everyone to evaluate, dissect and offer proposals for their improvement and continued edification.
Now is a good time for this exercise. The Lions are entering their bye, and coach Jim Schwartz has planned a full week of practice and meetings aimed at addressing a 1-5 start. In the big picture, the Lions have now lost 28 of their past 30 games dating back to 2007.
“A lot of times you get to the bye week,” Schwartz said, “and you like to take a breath and refresh and come back with a clean slate and good frame of mind and make your push for the final 10 games. That’s not going to be our attitude this week. We have some urgency. When you start 1-5, I don’t think we have time to take a breath. We don’t have time to refresh and those kinds of things. We’re going to be on the practice field this week. We’re going to work. We’re going to be in the meeting rooms hard. The coaches are going to be here late, and we’re going to look really hard at our first six games and evaluate how we got to 1-5 and make plans to get out of 1-5.”
I think most of us would agree that Schwartz has limited resources and options for in-season improvement. Rebuilding the Lions will be a long-term process. But that shouldn’t stop us from weighing in. For the rest of this season, what do you think the Lions can or should do to elevate their win total? And based on what you’ve seen, what do you think their top priorities should be heading into the offseason?
I’m looking for some serious discussion, so keep the cheap shots to yourself. (Or, if you must, at a minimum.) To focus your thoughts, I’ve provided a snapshot below of the Lions’ 2009 performance. Look for a representative sample of your suggestions, along with my own take, by Friday morning. Have at It.
Last winter, as you might recall, we offered 16 suggestions for fixing the Detroit Lions. Now, at the request of @AgentSmiddy (via Twitter) and others, we’re going to open the door for everyone to evaluate, dissect and offer proposals for their improvement and continued edification.
Now is a good time for this exercise. The Lions are entering their bye, and coach Jim Schwartz has planned a full week of practice and meetings aimed at addressing a 1-5 start. In the big picture, the Lions have now lost 28 of their past 30 games dating back to 2007.
“A lot of times you get to the bye week,” Schwartz said, “and you like to take a breath and refresh and come back with a clean slate and good frame of mind and make your push for the final 10 games. That’s not going to be our attitude this week. We have some urgency. When you start 1-5, I don’t think we have time to take a breath. We don’t have time to refresh and those kinds of things. We’re going to be on the practice field this week. We’re going to work. We’re going to be in the meeting rooms hard. The coaches are going to be here late, and we’re going to look really hard at our first six games and evaluate how we got to 1-5 and make plans to get out of 1-5.”
I think most of us would agree that Schwartz has limited resources and options for in-season improvement. Rebuilding the Lions will be a long-term process. But that shouldn’t stop us from weighing in. For the rest of this season, what do you think the Lions can or should do to elevate their win total? And based on what you’ve seen, what do you think their top priorities should be heading into the offseason?
I’m looking for some serious discussion, so keep the cheap shots to yourself. (Or, if you must, at a minimum.) To focus your thoughts, I’ve provided a snapshot below of the Lions’ 2009 performance. Look for a representative sample of your suggestions, along with my own take, by Friday morning. Have at It.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Kevin Seifert
Seifert joined ESPN.com in 2008 after covering the Minnesota Vikings for the Minneapolis Star Tribune for eight years. He lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and children.
You must be signed in to post a comment