Readers Write, and Letter-Perfect Observations
Ask Mike | by Mike O'Hara | 04.6.2009/2:25PM
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As a lead-in to answer some e-mails, these are my thoughts on a Monday afternoon – three hours before the Tigers open the season in Toronto, and five hours before Michigan State plays North Carolina for the NCAA basketball championship:
1. Based on a combination of the latest information available, gut instinct – never wrong, of course – and a grand dose of logic, I make Matthew Stafford the likely candidate to be the Lions’ first draft pick.
A week ago, I did my first mock draft, projecting what teams should do on the first round.
This is a mini-update, and I still think the Leos should draft a quarterback. But the difference, a week later, is that I think it’s what the Lions “will do” as opposed to “should do.”
I make it 65-35 that Stafford is the Lions’ guy. The other 35 percent goes to linebacker Aaron Curry of Wake Forest. A quarterback is the face of a franchise and the most important player. A linebacker makes plays. An offensive tackle – Jason Smith or Eugene Monroe – is a good player to have, but not on a Lions team that needs impact at several positions.
2. When the Denver Broncos made it known that they were putting quarterback Jay Cutler on the trading block, there was wide-spread speculation that the Lions would make a strong pitch. As it turned out, only Chicago, Tampa Bay and Washington were serious bidders. The Jets and Lions, among others, weren’t in the running.
3. I don’t see where the Tigers are better than 2006, better than 2007 or even better than last year. They have the look of a fourth-place team.
4. I participated in only one NCAA pool and had Michigan State going to the championship game – and losing. But not to North Carolina. Using my logic-gut instinct formula, that makes Michigan State a winner tonight.
5. Looking out the window and seeing that blanket of snow here on the northern reaches of the city of Detroit, I find it odd that there is more snow for the Final Four than there was for Super Bowl XL three years ago.
6. I’ll say one thing in defense of the Detroit City Council, which seems to get more outrageous every day. Which of Metro Detroit’s other city councils gets covered every day? Flat Rock? Rochester? Romulus? Ferndale? Warren? Any time I see a city council meeting on television, everyone’s yelling at each other. The big difference with Detroit is, it gets covered every day. That doesn’t make them right, or excuse unprofessional conduct, but it explains why so many people are aware of it.
And now on to the e-mails – starting with a comment on a line I wrote recently about the Lions – how they’re keeping their plans “closer to the vest than one of Pamela Anderson’s wet T-shirts.”
Doug O on the Pam Anderson T-shirt line: “Excellent, Mike. Love your new “freedom” writing your own blog instead of the paper and the rules you must follow? I suspect more saucy writing on your blog to follow.
Doug: Thanks. I’m working on a followup – something to do with the naked reverse.
TM asks why the Lions haven’t spent more on free agents: “What sense does it make to save all this money? Why not spend it? Teams like Dallas, New England, etc. have stars of their own that they can spend money on and spend money on high-profile free agents, yet the Lions don’t have any stars to speak of and yet they don’t sign any high-profile free agents. What good is the money if you are not going to spend it?”
TM: The free-agent route—Damien Woody, Dre Bly, even Dewayne White – didn’t work in the past. They need to develop a team through the draft. They picked up a big contract when they traded for linebacker Julian Peterson, and also ate a big part of Cory Redding’s signing bonus in the process. The Lions always have spent to the cap limit.
Paul from Harbor Beach weighs in on the Pistons’ trade for Allen Iverson: “When Joe D made the trade for AI, I was extremely skeptical. I decided to give Joe D the benefit of the doubt and wait awhile to see how it would shake down. Joe D is an exceptional exec and I thought, in the long run, it would work out. However, it didn’t. I am not casting stones at Joe D for this move, but it didn’t work out as well as everybody thought it would.
“I know that this frees up salary-cap money for next year, but I have a hard time believing that Joe D had that in mind when he made the trade. I think he was looking at a quick shot-in-the-arm to jump start the team and make the Pistons one of the top contenders for the championship. I thought it was kind of ironic that AI was selected to go to the All Star game – and so was Chauncey Billups. As far as a Pistons MVP goes, Antonio McDyess should get serious consideration.
Paul: Two things. First Dumars wanted a scorer and an expiring contract to have salary-cap space for next year. He got half of that – the contract – from Allen Iverson. The trade didn’t work. McDyess does not warrant “serious” consideration for the Pistons’ MVP. He should have the “only” consideration.
Bill from “down under” isn’t thrilled with drafting Stafford: “You say draft Stafford. Mel Kiper Jnr says draft Stafford and so do others. What is the issue here? Is the NFL stage leaving town and the one last remaining hope for a franchise quarterback on board?
“You know the Lions have more holes than a colander and they do, at least, have three quarterbacks on the roster. So go get a Jason Smith and a Robert Ayres etc. Strengthen either side of the line and you might even see the defense on the gridiron less often next season and the offense being more productive.”
Bill: The first pick isn’t their only pick. They’ll get other players with their other picks, but none as important as the quarterback. Why wait? Get him now, and get the ball rolling. Better yet, get it spiraling.
From William, who wants to trade the first pick: “The Lions should trade the No. 1 pick in the entire draft to the Broncos in exchange for both of their firs-round picks in the 2009 draft.”
William: Sorry, but I had to cut off some of your e-mail. The Broncos didn’t want the No. 1 pick. Too expensive. That ends any deal.
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