How about it Lion fans, don't you love the irony? Here is a column about what is wrong with my beloved team on the opening weekend of the NFL Playoffs. Let's face it, we and the team itself have plenty of time on our hands. The real question is: Is there enough time in the off-season to fix this mess? Nope, and it isn't looking like the Lions will be anywhere near being contenders any season soon.

Where to begin? The top of course. I am not sure how many teams need the overhaul that the Lions do. In today's NFL, things change quickly. We have seen 4-12 teams turn it around and win the Super Bowl the following season. With Lion fans already some of the most optimistic in sports today, things like that don't help matters. Sports is a cliche driven entity. Most of us hear the same old story in every interview given, be it a player or coach. The one phrase that has erupted into all sports from its origin in the NFL is "make plays." Sounds simple, doesn't it? It isn't.

This Sunday morning, watching ESPN's Sports Reporters, Bryan Burwell made a very good point, and one that everyone should remember when looking at a 6-2 team that goes 1-7 down the stretch. He mentions the playoff game between the Redskins and Seahawks. The Skins, with all due respect (and us Lion fans better), became what they were. A team that eked into the playoffs with a journeyman career back-up was just that. My point is, the 1-7 record Detroit is what they are. A 7-9 team full of disappointment and disarray. They aren't any closer now than they were at 3-13. Only one place to begin, and that is at the top.

Ownership/Front Office

William Clay Ford loves this team. We all do. And in the same fashion; blindly. The fact that he hired former television analyst Matt Millen is not the point here. Its the fact that he keeps him. The novelty has not only worn off, it has eroded beyond the surface of the earth. It isn't working. It wasn't working after his first contract expired, and Ford gave him an extension. I know that Ford Motors is struggling, but are the woeful Lions going to provide that much of a tax break?

Sell the club Ford. Perhaps new ownership can fathom the concept of a 31-81 performance record. Your auto empire needs you, it hasn't been to the playoffs either. The most important lesson here? Car people belong in NASCAR, not the NFL. New ownership would bring in football people, or at least, accomplished football people. Scouting, player development, all areas need upgrading. Even the 1-15 Dolphins landed the Tuna to run the show, while the Lions just continue to smell like one. Millen was won Super Bowls as a player, but his playing days are gone. Parcells has won them as a coach. He turned around the Jets who were 1-15 the year before he got there. Got the idea? Hire football people.

Coaching

Its a nice concept. bring in a no-nonsense, military man who says all of the right things. Rod Marinelli coached with Tony Dungy, Monte Kiffin, Lovie Smith, and Herm Edwards. The problem (and I know all weren't available) is that the Lions don't employ any of them. Last season's defensive coordinator, Donnie Henderson, had experience too. They fired him and hired Marinelli's son-in-law Joe Barry.

The result? Last in points allowed (27.8 per game) and last in yards allowed (377.6 per game). Marinelli is heralded as a defensive line expert. With some assistance from the front office, the team threw a record contract at defensive tackle Cory Redding. He finished the season with one sack in the second to the last game and 37 tackles. Shaun Rogers, although he recorded his best sack season at seven, went nine games of 14 played without a sack and finished with 26 tackles on the season. He is woefully unmotivated and out of shape. Kalimba Edwards was resigned to a $20 million deal two seasons ago and finished with 3 sacks while being inactive the last five weeks. Jared DeVries, inactive for the first two weeks of the year, was clearly the Lions best defensive lineman with 6.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. Where is the expertise? Marinelli and Barry maybe qualified, as I am not, but I'm not seeing the dynamic here.

We can all agree that Mike Martz has had some success. The problem was is that he was basically head coach, part two. The offensive players did not report to Marinelli, and therefore, did not fear or truly respect him. The formula was simple, and not improbable, Marinelli, a defensive specialist would handle improving the defense while the guru Martz would handle the offense. What happened was, the team had two personalities, and inevitably, the locker room was divided. As Martz walked out the door, he admitted they didn't run the ball enough. Thanks for thinking of that now.

What did the Lions do? Promoted Jim Colletto. We know quarterback Jon Kitna doesn't approve, his career was spiked by Martz's philosophy. He claims he will be a team guy here, but with a band-aid approach of Colletto and maintaining terminology is always going to leave the door open to comparison and criticism, good or bad. The basic failure of the Lion coaches is this: they have egomaniacs in charge who will not adapt to the talent they have and continue to try fit square pegs into round holes. Same with special teams coach Stan Kwan. The Lions were so pathetic and frightened of their own coverage teams, they began pooh kicking on kickoffs. Get accomplished coaches or suffer with people trying to "make their mark".

Players/Talent

Back to the basic mantra; you are what you are. Jon Kitna has NEVER been confused with the greats of the game at the quarterback position. Is he tough? Sure, and you have to be to play in Detroit. He has been beaten and sacked more than any quarterback in the last two seasons, and more than Peyton Manning probably has in his entire career. But let's face it, He's Jon Kitna, career journeyman. An ideal back-up, but simply not a quality starter in the NFL. The Lions are still in search of "the man", and last season's second round pick Drew Stanton needs a hug off-season. Personally, I don't believe he's it either and have seen early mock drafts with the Lions taking a quarterback.

Granted, Millen has had rotten luck in the NFL draft. Many laud the efforts and players after each draft and the Lions are simply snake bit. Is it all bad luck? No, it isn't. The scouting and personnel department are obviously missing the boat somewhere. But the Lions do have a knack for players, some Pro Bowl and/or star caliber, showing up in training camp and becoming horrible on the field. Charles Rogers and Joey Harrington were both heralded, but horrendous. We could have taken Randy Moss, we selected corner Terry Fair. We could have taken Brian Griese, we took Charlie Batch. Clinton Portis? Nah, we took Kalimba Edwards. Free agent Pat Swilling came over, got hurt and was gone after a couple seasons. Rich DeMulling was the best guard on the market when the Lions signed him from Indianapolis and playing in front of Manning. Stunk. Fernando Bryant, the same. Damien Woody, Super Bowls and Pro Bowls, disappointment. Something has to change. Is the players, the coaches, or the organization?

Kevin Jones, another tough and gritty player, but is injury prone and has to go. Roy Williams needs to focus and become the star he can be. He simply is not dedicated and thinks dropped passes are excused by the occasional spectacular game or play. What is going to happen to Calvin Johnson, regarded as THE BEST PLAYER REGARDLESS OF POSITION coming out of the draft this year? He began as under used, then injured, then dropping passes like everyone else. Mike Furrey, tough but a piece, not an answer, as is Shaun McDonald.

The offensive line is in shambles as well (what isn't). Jeff Backus played along side Steve Hutchinson at Michigan, but is above average at best. Tough and plays in every game, he is a run blocker. Notice how both Seattle and Minnesota have utilized Hutch? Run games. Look at what happen to the Seahawk ground game after his departure and how the Vikings have thrived after losing Randy Moss and Daunte Culpepper. They aren't asking Hutchinson to become a finesse pass blocker, like the Lions have asked Backus. They resigned him to a long term deal to keep misusing him? Is the same going to be done with Edwin Mulitalo, another prize guard that the Lions will ruin? Woody may or may not stay, so the line remains a mystery.

Solution

Ha, fooled you. If I had the answers to how to make the Lions a good football team, I would be a rich man. Here is what I do know as fact:

They cannot protect the passer. They cannot rush the passer. They cannot tackle. They cannot cover.

They match some talent with marginal players. But all teams do. Why can't Detroit find the mix? The have yet to even resemble the 1991 team, the last to win a playoff game. After seven seasons of Matt Millen, we just scored our first seven win season. If the fans could, we would fire Ford, period. With Ford at the helm, we have suffered. If he won't sell the team, he needs to keep reaching into the pool and get people in there who have won as a front office, who can hire people who have scouted and developed winning players, who can hire a coach who has won Super Bowls.

As woeful as it sounds, Detroit has to scrap it all and begin again. The one move that could be made that would even remotely energize this team and its fan base would be to axe Millen. He's hired three head coaches now, and all that's left is the decision makers. And Ford isn't going anywhere soon, so Millen has to.

He has to. Forget what I said, I hate the irony. I'm going to watch the playoffs.