Free Agency, the Draft, & Uncomfortable Metaphors

As the Lions continue to improve the roster, I’m seeing reactions like these:

• If the Lions sign Chester Pitts, they won't have to draft Russell Okung!
• If the Lions sign Anthony Hargrove, they'll be out of the running to draft Ndamukong Suh!
• Now that Larry Foote has signed with the Steelers, will the Lions have to draft a true middle linebacker?

There seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding of the Lions' situation.  Their roster, remember, has been stripped bare of young veteran talent.  Outside of Calvin Johnson, maybe Ernie Sims, and a few career backups/specialists, the Lions have only the 2009 draft class to build around.  Think like this: who will be on this roster in five years?  Three years?  Heck, who’ll be on it next season?  “Larry Foote” is not, and probably never was, an answer to any of those questions. 

The Lions have a "hole" at left guard.  Neither 2007 4th-rounder Manny Ramirez, nor free-agent signee Daniel Loper, nor anybody else played the left guard position at a consistently acceptable level last season.  Therefore, the Lions are looking to upgrade at left guard for 2010:

"We had a revolving door at left guard last year and we need to settle that down this off-season. We need to find a starter and we need to get continuity,'' Schwartz said.

Would Chester Pitts represent an upgrade at left guard?  If he’s fully recovered from microfracture surgery by the start of the season, without a doubt.  He’s a 6’-4”, 310-pound former second-rounder, who’s started at both tackle and guard in his seven-year career.  By all accounts, he’s a wonderful, funny, multifaceted guy.  He’d be a great addition to the roster.

If, however, the Lions draft Russell Okung with the #2 overall pick, they'll be paying him thirty million dollars, guaranteed to protect Matthew Stafford for the next five-to-fifteen years.  They’ll be sinking a jawdropping amount of money into their three top offensive tackles.  If the Lions decide to draft Russell Okung, they’re not just investing in Okung, they’re charging off the fortunes they’ve sunk into Jeff Backus and/or Gosder Cherilus.

Chester Pitts, meanwhile, is fungible.  You can sign a Chester Pitts—almost 31, coming off an injury, talented-but-aging, versatile—any offseason you want.  There will be a Chester Pitts analogue, or possibly several, at every position, every single offseason.  Moreover, you can release a Chester Pitts at any time; he won’t command a lot of guaranteed money.

But drafting a player with a #2 overall pick?  That’s a massive investment.  If the Lions stand pat and draft Okung—or Suh, or Berry, or whoever—then that player must be a cornerstone of the roster for years to come.  If the Lions are convinced that one of those players is going to be a perfect fit for the team, on and off the field, with Hall of Fame upside . . . well, they’re going to take him, Chester Pitts be damned.

Even the big money thrown at Kyle Vanden Bosch and Nate Burleson doesn’t mean the same as drafting a guy #2 overall.  Those players are veterans, professionals, mercenaries.  They were brought in to immediately play at a high level—and if they don’t execute as expected, they’ll be gone the instant the team can replace them, money be damned (see Delhomme, Jake).

Here’s the bottom line, folks: “Building through the draft” doesn’t mean you take the best available guy at the position of highest need with every pick, thereby improving your roster via the draft.  It means you spend several years selecting and combining foundational players who’ll develop and mature together; building a core of talent that will last for years.  When the Lions—these Lions—select a player in the draft, it’s not a blind date; it’s a marriage.

Damned.*

*I just wanted to say "damned" again.

Technorati Tags: detroit lions,nfl free agency,nfl draft,nfl,russell okung,ndamukong suh,chester pitts,anthony hargrove

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TLIW Axe Hair ACTION Challenge: The Contest

Everyone who’s been reading, or following me on Twitter, knows I’ve been teaming up with AXE to give  away AXE Hair Action Challenge prize packages: a quality leather shaving bag full of AXE Hair products, and a Flip digital video camera.

As we approach the final challenge over at AXE’s site, I’m offering up one more of my own:

Tell me about a time when you were proud to be a Lions fan.

When was the last time you held your head up high?  Wore your Lions gear with pride?  Saw someone walking down the street wearing Lions gear and gave them a nod, or said “nice [jacket|hat|shirt]”?  When was the last time you shouted and high-fived somebody over something the Lions did?

What’s your favorite memory of being a proud Lions fan?  A big win?  A memorable Thanksgiving?  A moment shared with your family?  Attending your first game in-person?

I want you to write about this time, this moment, this memory, and tell me about it.  To enter, email me with the subject line “AXE Hair writing contest”, and in the body of the email include the full text of the story.  Also include how you’d like me to announce your name, e.g. “Person” from “Place”, or your commenting handle.  My address is up there in the “The Flamekeeper” widget at the top of the sidebar. 

The winner will receive an AXE prize package—and their story published for the world to see here on The Lions in Winter.

Technorati Tags: detroit lions,matthew stafford,axe hair action challenge,writing,blogging,contest

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Behind the Scenes: Going Meta

When watching Matthew Stafford's AXE Hair Action Challenge videos, I suspected the existence of an outtake reel—a reel which, if it existed, the world deserved to see.  I was glad to discover I my suspicions were well-founded, and the good people at AXE fulfilled their duty to the global populace.

I like blogging the way I blog: solo instead of team, independent instead of part of a network, as a hobby instead of full-time.  There’s a purity of purpose, and of content, that I think is rare and special.  There is, however, a downside: any time not spent writing is time I'm not writing.  Answering email is not writing. Tweeting is not writing.  Reading other blogs, and commenting on them, are not writing.  Finally, working on my site’s appearance is most definitely not writing.

Most of those things still connect with you all, still involve share my thoughts, and are satisfying to me and to you.  However, working on the site itself is isolated, solitary work that bears no fruit until the work is done.  Meanwhile, TLIW withers on the vine while everyone patiently waits for me to, you know, write.

So.

The current layout is far from perfect.  It roughly matches the vision in my head, but does so at the expense of being excruciatingly slow to load, kind of glitchy, and not particularly professional.  According to Google Analytics, an embarrassingly high percentage of people come here, go “BLEH”, and leave without reading or clicking on anything.

I'm trying to find a balance between "clean" and "my vision".  Fortunately, my vision is pretty clean, so it's just a matter of execution.  I'm trying to maintain the overall impression of the site, but make it much quicker and user-friendly.  If you want to track the evolution of the changes, poke your head in at http://tliwindraft.blogspot.com.  BE FOREWARNED:

• Nothing works.
• Nothing looks good.
• Nothing is decided for sure.
• Yes, I know.

That having been said . . . have at it!  Meanwhile, I'm going to be writing.

Technorati Tags: detroit lions,nfl,matthew stafford,axe,axe hair action challenge,blogging,blog

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