Detroit Lions: Death and taxes are the only ‘musts’ in this world
By Robert Jones
Now just as important as the player personnel decisions this regime will make this offseason, is understanding what steps this franchise has taken in building towards the ideal they have in their minds’ eyes.
There has been a lot of criticism of how Matt Patricia handled this team last season and how ‘little’ Bob Quinn has done to improve this team as he enters his fourth season in charge.
There are certainly arguments that can be made about both having failed in their responsibilities so far, but we must always remember to look at the big picture before any reasonable decision can be made.
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First of all, as I have said many times before, there is no legitimate criticism that can be made about Quinn’s stewardship as the Lions general manager. Are there players that he drafted or acquired in his first two years that haven’t worked out or are no longer on the team? Absolutely, but no general manager is 100% accurate in their player personnel decision.
But also, as I have pointed before, Quinn spent his first two season acquiring players that Jim Caldwell wanted. Not Matt Patricia. Today’s NFL is about specialization. There are truly only a handful of players in the league that would be a star in any system.
The fact that the Lions need to make many roster upgrades to meet the needs of Patricia’s system isn’t a condemnation of Quinn’s ability. Its merely a fact of life in the NFL today. Quinn’s biggest fault, literally, is that he didn’t bring in his own coach from day one when he was hired to run this team.
The Lions draft from last offseason was one of the most productive in the league and has provided them with talented assets to build on. Now Quinn has to continue to add quality players that can be the backbone of this team for seasons to come.
But Quinn isn’t the only one who needs continue to see his progress rise.