Feb 2, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas (88) is dropped buy Seattle Seahawks defense in Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
It’s a pretty bad Super Bowl when Joe Willie Namath’s fur coat is the star, and the next day you can barely remember any of the commercials or the game because it was so lackluster and boring. That would be the Lions’ ultimate disaster: to get to the Super Bowl after all those years and then turn in a performance like the Broncos did last night. The Same Old Lions were represented well when, on the first snap of the game, former Lion Manny Ramirez sent the ball sailing over Peyton Manning’s head and into the end zone for a safety.
I was rooting for Peyton to win the game, but that Seattle defense choked the life out of him. I know Peyton (he’s so good he can go by first name only) set a Super Bowl record for completions, but that’s because he was only allowed to throw for five yard patterns all day. I read this morning that 16 times, the number one defense has made it to the Super bowl, and that they won 13 of those contests. I don’t know about you, but that win has me thinking differently about the draft this year. To put the Lions problems in a nut shell, this offseason they need to shore up the back seven and get a couple of damn good receivers.
Last night was the unveiling of the new Baltimore Ravens – the Seattle Seahawks are the new bad-asses in town. It was remarkable when, at the end of the 3rd quarter (the game was a snorefest by then) people were already thinking about who should be the MVP of the game. Obviously, it was going to be someone on defense-but who? That defense was so good that it could have been any one of a half dozen guys. Wow, that’s what I want the Lions defense to look like.
Getting there starts with the draft, that’s why I’m really happy that Brian Xanders didn’t get that job in Miami. I don’t think it’s a fluke that the Lions had such a great draft, non-drafted players included, in his first year in town. Strictly from a draft perspective if I’m the X-man, I recommend to Martin Mayhew that we take a wide receiver high-first or second round-and draft another one low-5th or sixth round, then spend the rest of the draft on the back seven. Did you see how many Seattle defensive backs were taken in the fifth round? Richard Sherman .
We have months to talk about the draft, but to get the ball rolling, I don’t know if corners Darqueze Dennard of Michigan State or Justin Gilbert of Oklahoma St. are going to be rated high enough to be the tenth pick of the draft, plus Mayhew seems very reluctant to spend a top pick on a DB. Think about it, the back seven has been a problem for a while now, and he hasn’t spent a first round pick on one yet.
If Sammy Watkins is there, you run up to the podium as fast as you can, but I don’t think he makes it out of the top five. I’m starting to like this vision:
Starting outside linebacker for the Detroit Lions, Khalil Mack from Buffalo.