My Calvin Johnson Blog

Now that the poor Detroit Lions have sunk to 0-12 after getting trounced by the Tennessee Titans on Thanksgiving ... and now that they seem poised to become the first 0-16 team in NFL history ... there are suggestions that they be included in the big federal bailout, especially since the owning Ford family is asking to be rescued with its auto company.

Alas, it seems unlikely that Congress will pull out its checkbook for the ailing Motown franchise, so it'll have to settle for help from me. Here's my big plan for fixing the Lions.

Step No. 1: Give the offense a chance. Don't tamper with it too much. The new arrival at quarterback, Daunte Culpepper, to me is just as good as any possible free agent acquisition, including Matt Cassel, who's fine in the Patriots' system but unlikely to duplicate his success elsewhere. Cassel also would cost far too much money ... better to invest it in other parts of the squad. Culpepper also is better than the top two college prospects ... Matthew Stafford of Georgia and Sam Bradford of Oklahoma. Stafford looks mechanical sometimes and Bradford hasn't been groomed in a pro-style offense. Both might be good NFL QBs but would they be great? Too much of a gamble.

I would hire a new offensive coordinator who would call plays for sensational wideout Calvin Johnson more than three times a game ... try 15 or 20. Johnson is the major threat, so use him. I would let Johnson and Culpepper and young running back Kevin Smith just work together and percolate ... form a winning bond.

Resolve the situation with Gosder Cherilus, the current No. 1 draft pick who's been a disaster ... par for the course for the Lions. He's basically a statue at right tackle, unable to move his feet to block pass rushers who've turned Culpepper into a human sacrifice in the pocket. If Cherilus can't improve at tackle in the minicamps, try him at guard. If he can't start there, cut him and move on.

And speaking of Cherilus ... how come Damien Woody was deemed inadequate last year at right tackle, but this year he's starting for the Jets, a much better team, at that same position? How could he be not good enough for the Lions but good enough for the Jets? If the Lions had kept him, they wouldn't have taken Cherilus, and they could have picked a premier running back like Felix Jones or Chris Johnson instead of an OK one like Smith.

Do NOT draft an offensive left tackle with the No. 1 selection, as is frequently suggested in the football Internet. If incumbent Jeff Backus would rate about a 90, let's say, and the newcomer would rate 100, sure, you've improved the team but you haven't improved it that much. Stick with Backus. Give the offense some continuity.

Step No. 2: Rebuild the team through this next draft exclusively on defense ... more important than offense in the frozen tundra NFC North. The Lions have four of the top 65 picks. If you use two on offense and two on defense, their impact is diffused. Use all four on defense so that you bring in a core of guys who would be committed to turning the team around.

Of the current players, I would start with another core of four ... DT Corey Redding, OLB Ernie Sims, CB Leigh Bodden and S Daniel Bullocks. All are good young players, or should be. Redding has a huge contract, Bodden was last year's big free agent signing, Sims and Bullocks were high draft picks. Challenge them ... give them high expectations of being the new leaders and motivate them to succeed.

Step No. 3: With the No. 1 overall pick, negotiate with the agents for DE Michael Johnson of Georgia Tech, DT Peria Jerry of Mississippi and MLB James Laurinaitis of Ohio State. The fast, powerful 6-foot-7, 260-pound Johnson swarmed through and around a good Miami team. The rampaging Jerry looked unblockable against LSU. Laurinaitis is a fiery, mobile hard hitter in the middle.

The Lions would be much better with any of these guys in a key position but I'd try hardest for Johnson. A premier pass-rushing end is the biggest difference maker a defense can have ... and the hardest to find. Imagine the Lions with one Johnson from Georgia Tech (Calvin) leading the offense and another Johnson from Georgia Tech (Michael) leading the defense. If nothing else, you could market these two. They'd be a big hit in Atlanta.

By the way, when I say all this, I do not pretend to be an expert. I never played the game. I do not know the X's and O's or the technical nuances to the nth degree. I just have two eyes and can watch these players on TV. And really, how can I as an amateur do much worse than the "experts" in the front office who've run the Lions into the ground?

Step No. 4: If the agents prove intractable with silly demands, don't cave in. Try something new ... try it the eBay way. Announce you will auction off the No. 1 pick with a contract for a certain salary and a certain signing bonus. Let the players (and their agents) apply.

So who would apply? Any player who didn't think he would be drafted high enough otherwise to get the same amount of money the Lions would be offering. Set the money level not outrageously high but high enough to attract a lot of good players to choose from. Beat the agents and run your own team; don't let the agents beat you and run your team for you.

Step No. 5: Let's think positive and assume the Lions successfully nab Johnson. They next have Dallas' pick (from the Roy Williams trade) probably late in the first round. It's possible OLB's Clint Sintim of Virginia and Brian Cushing of USC will still be around. They're both 6-3, 255. Either would be an excellent match opposite the smaller Sims in the linebacking corps.

Next comes the first pick in the second round, No. 33 overall. MLB Jasper Brinkley of South Carolina should be waiting. Here's a guy who's 6-2, 275 with a listed time of 4.75 seconds in the 40-yard dash. These statistics sound almost too good to be true ... but wouldn't you like a guy like that on your team patrolling the middle? I would.

Next comes the first pick in the third round, No. 65 overall. What would be wrong with DT Terrance Taylor of Michigan if he's available? He's a good run-stopper and he'd be motivated playing in his home state. I have never understood why the Lions have snubbed U. of M. products the way they have ... players like Lamar Woodley (young star with Pittsburgh), David Harris (young star with the Jets), Steve Breaston (young star with the Cardinals) or Shawn Crable (potential young star with the Patriots). None went in the first round and could have been picked up.

Step No. 6: So now, all of a sudden, we have eight young players to resuscitate a defense that after Game 12 ranked worst in the league in points allowed per game (32.8), worst in the league in rushing yards yielded per game (176.9) and second worst in the league in overall yards given up per game (394.3). These are "Animal House" numbers.

That leaves us a vacant DE spot, a CB and an S. I would gamble on players at these positions lower in the draft ... hope that one of them would turn out to be a gem as has happened for seemingly every other team in the NFL but the Lions ... and let them compete with the veterans in training camp.

OK, that does it. Mr. Ford, I'm available.