Detroit Lions Needs for 2008 Season

Considering the fact that my two favorite pro sports teams both had monumental collapses in their second halves of the season I have been a little bitter watching the MLB and NFL playoffs. Without question the Mets collapse in their last two weeks of the regular season had a greater impact on me but in all sense of the matter I am a bigger football fan and think the Lions have a lot more needs and areas to fix.

That being said, I truly was never comfortable with the Lions this year, even after the 6-2 start. I knew from the start their defense was suspect. Especially in the secondary where there was not one single playmaker. The D-Line was definitely the strong point on the D however like other season's past the injury bug took it's toll. Sims continues to impress me a ton in the LB unit but as for the other two starting spots much improvement is needed.

On the offensive side of the ball, which was supposed to be one of the bests in the NFL, things never really clicked and got going. Jon Kitna can manage a game but he's not the guy I want in there when a game HAS to be won. He's dependable and that's it. Injuries to the receiving corp prevented the explosion we all were expecting from that unit and true to his reputation, Martz never allowed a running game to develop. The offensive line was one of the worsts units in the NFL and because of injuries there were only three constant starters. Backus and Raiola, and Mulitalo.

Our first offseason move of canning Martz was a step in the right direction but there are many other things the Lions front office must do.

The list of free agents we have is as follows, Unrestricted: RB’s T.J. Duckett, Aveion Cason, Tatum Bell, LB Boss Bailey, TE John Owens, CB Tony Beckham, S Idrees Bashir, CB Keith Smith, CB Travis Fisher, T George Foster, WR/PR Troy Walters, and G/T Damien Woody. Restricted: QB Dan Orlovsky, G Stephen Peterman, DT Langston Moore, CB Stanley Wilson, Jr.

There is not one single free agent this year that is a must to re-sign however there are several key guys who will contribute and make our team deeper and add veteran help. TJ Duckett is a viable #3 RB and did well in that role this year. The other Offensive Player we need to resign is Woody who made the move from Guard to Tackle and did well in the new role.

On the defensive side of the ball, Boss Bailey will never be a dominate LB but is a key contributor and in the right role should help a lot. Especially on the special teams. CB's Keith Smith, Travis Fisher and Stanley Wilson Jr. all have starting experience and provide good depth and the 3,4, and 5 CB spots. I see us keeping maybe one or two of them.

Now that our free agents our out of the way I'll briefly talk about where our team desperately needs the most help from the draft and the free agent market. First and foremost we need to address the defense. Getting a legitimate #1 and playmaking CB is a must and needs to be addressed. After that we need to get a starting MLB and that can run sideline to sideline and plug any running game up the middle. We need someone to help Ernie so he can have all the freedom he needs.

After addressing those two positions we need to get down and dirty in the trenches, where games are really won. Solid and athletic players are needed both on the O-line and D-line.

After that we do not have glaring needs but we do need to get better at several positions. We have not had a good TE in a while now. Getting a TE who can block and be dependable in the middle of the field to take pressure of the QB is always helpful.

More depth to RB and Safety is also needed and either getting our QB for the future or finding someone to push for the starting spot would be very beneficial.

More in depth analysis on what specific players from both the free agent market and the 2008 draft is on its way.