End of the NFL 2009 Draft is a Sad Time for Lions Fans

If I were a Detroit fan, I'd be wondering if I should see a professional headshrinker to ask why I wanted to take so much abuse. There was hope for a moment, with the NFL 2009 Draft in the close future. The Lions management team seems to like the losing side of life, however, because the way they spent their picks and their cash are nothing short of pitiful.

The Detroit Lions, who are famous for winning absolutely no games last year, spent all of their money on a young quarterback who will not be to live up to that salary this year. Matthew Stafford is a winner, all right: look at the guarantees he managed to negotiate for himself, but that is a long way from leading an NFL team from the position of biggest losers ever to winners.

Lions management then went on to not get what they really needed in the other four badly needed positions.

Brandon Pettigrew was the best of the bad choices. He's tall (6'5"). He's a good blocker. He is a pretty good pass catcher. Unfortunately, he also had some assault charges against him last January, so his character may be in question.

Safety Louis Delmas from Western Michigan is certainly not the man the Lions needed. Especially when USC linebacker Rey Maualuga was still available. Sigh.

Lions picked DeAndre Levy, an outside linebacker from Wisconsin. He started every game for the last three seasons at Wisconsin, and is good, but he's not bulky enough to be great in man coverage. They needed a good and big middle linebacker, but that isn't what they chose.

They picked Penn State's Derrick Williams in their third round. He's a return specialist who is small by NFL standards. He was listed on the roster as 5'11'' and 197 pounds. Which means he won't be available to try in some other positions, where the Lions have some ongoing holes. Of course he's good, he's on the Penn State team, but he's not consistent good enough in actual play. Again, is he really what a team who won nothing last year needed?

Fourth round got them a 330 pound defensive tackle from Alabama's Stillman College. Sammie Hill is big, but he isn't someone who's going to intimidate and dominate the line, so, again, I wonder if they got what they needed.

While I feel some indignation at how the Lions management is handling its team and fans, I feel much indignation over the position these young players now find themselves in. Maybe they will be able to recover when they become free agents, and are more able to put themselves into the positions where they could have used the talents they do have. None of these young players are in the best place for themselves, right now.

Well, the Lions should be famous. They are the losing team who doesn't care what the fans think. They can pick a losing lineup, and no one is going to stop them!