Detroit Lions: 5 Ways to Become a Respectable Football Team

1. Mix Up the Offense

At the beginning of the season, Coach Marinelli claimed that his team was going to run the ball to start the game. This brilliant tactic has not worked at all for the Lions, as they have been outscored 38-0 in the 1st Quarter this season. With one of the most talented receiving corps in the league, the Lions must become a pass heavy offense to win, however, this does not mean they have to abandon the run. Down in Miami, the lowly, talentless Dolphins have defenses guessing with their "Wildcat" offense. This formation puts the RB in taking the ball out of the shotgun, and the QB going wide as an eligible receiver. In the 16 times Miami has run this play in 2008, they have scored 5 TDs and maintained a top 10 rush offense. I'm not saying that Marinelli should put RB Kevin Smith as QB, but merely suggesting they use some creativity to spark the offense.

2. No More Rudi Johnson

RB Rudi Johnson was a perennial 1400 yard rusher in his days at Cincinatti. That was prior to missing a large portion of 2007 from a hamstring injury and being cut from the Bengals roster in favor of Chris Perry. When Rod Mairinelli made the ingenious move to pick up Rudi, he expected him to return to his old ways of torching defenses with incredible speed and agility. Instead, Johnson has become counter-productive for the Lions offense, a catalyst for numerous three-and-outs. With a talented young workhorse available in Kevin Smith, Rudi should be off the field more often than on it, relieving Smith only when relief is needed.

3. Free Some Cap Space

There is a lot of dead weight that the Detroit Lions are carrying, and unfortunately they are paying a lot of money for it. Letting go of Shaun Rogers last year was the first step to recovery, and already by next year Detroit should have over $15 million in spending money available. By getting rid of some other very overpriced players (I'm not going to name names), the Lions should be able to gather some good to great free agents and set a solid foundation for the future.

4.. Get Drew Stanton Some Playing Time

It is obvious that Jon Kitna is not the answer for this Lions team. The number of sacks he takes is almost as frustrating as the number of interceptions Joey Harrington threw when wearing a blue and silver helmet. With backup Dan Orlovsky not having a better year (passer rating of 32.3 in 28 attempts), it is clear something must be done. Fortunately, there is a second year player by the name of Drew Stanton that has all the tools of becoming a pretty good quarterback in Detroit. Pocket awareness and mobility is Stanton's greatest ability, as he ran for 1470 yards and 14 touchdowns his final three years of college at Michigan State, and Drew also can throw the deep ball. These features bode well for the Lions receivers Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams, as the more time they have to get open the better they perform.

5. Do NOT Draft Another Wide Receiver

In the NFL, each team can only have one, maybe two star wide receivers. There is no exception of this rule for the Lions, even though they tried to defy it. With huge talents Charles Rogers and Mike Williams already lost from the football scene, Detroit can ill afford to lose any more draft picks, especially their first rounders. I'm not going to say who the Lions should draft or what position, because they could use help in almost every area. It would just be a shame to see another great WR prospect lost on the sidelines of Ford Field.