Detroit Lions: To win or not to win, that is the question

Great coaches still need great players

The Life of a Detroit Lions fan seems to be divided between two annual occurrences. The first is the hope that this franchise will finally find the leadership that can mold it into a winner. The second is the hope for a good draft position to get that player we covet.

Yet in the end, the Ford family always seems to hire general managers or head coaches that simply don’t have a clue and then turn around and ignore the great players on the draft board that could really help the team only to draft a tight end.

Now, this is nothing against T.J. Hockenson who in his second year is on the fast track to becoming one of the NFL’s best young tight ends.

But when we think of bypassing Aaron Donald to select Eric Ebron or even considering the defensive talent on the board when Bob Quinn selected Hockenson despite the fact that the Lions defense didn’t have any play-makers and still doesn’t, it does make you think twice.

However, here we are once again on the merry-go-round of finding a new regime to re-build a team that has been rebuilding since 1957. All the hope that the fans have is not only invested in a desperate plea for Sheila Ford Hamp to hire the right general manager and the right head coach, but the desire for a prime draft pick too.

The Honolulu Blue and Silver faithful are hoping for a general manager who drafts dynamic, talented play-makers. Something this franchise has seen far too little of.

Sure we can point to Barry Sanders as one of the transcendent all-time greats and Calvin Johnson is one of the most dominant physical specimens to ever line up at receiver, but how many play-makers did they have as teammates?

Great teams not only boast sharp head coaches with schemes that look to be three moves ahead of their opponents, but they have talented players that can not only execute those systems but actually make plays by virtue of their abilities as game-breakers.

And now as we wait to find out who will be the Lions’ next general manager and head coach, we start to wonder what they will have to work with since all the best players are at the top of the draft, right?