By JAMES COOK
jcook@record-eagle.com
March 31, 2009 12:00 am Chris Berman's "rumblin', stumblin', bumblin'" shtick applies to more than just defensive linemen awkwardly returning fumbles. It personifies Matt Millen's tenure with the Detroit Lions. Thus, the Lions were left with a crumbling roster that eventually went 0-16. Years of poor drafting and failed free-agent signings left the cupboard nearly bare. When he was an assistant to Millen, hopefully Martin Mayhew took copious notes on the failings of his boss. Hopefully, he won't duplicate them. Rule No. 1: You don't build around a quarterback. This should be evident from the Joey Harrington failure. Harrington came out of college as a highly regarded quarterback, but Detroit's total lack of talent around him ruined him. A Swiss cheese offensive line will do that, just ask David Carr. Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning and even Peyton Manning were drafted onto teams that weren't rebuilding. All those teams had solid building blocks. The quarterbacks were simply the top block. Detroit has few such blocks to support a young quarterback. The building blocks the Lions have to work with are Calvin Johnson, Ernie Sims, Kevin Smith, Gosder Cherilus and Cliff Avril. That's it. Beyond those players, there's little that has shown it's much above mediocrity -- at best -- to this point. That simply isn't enough for a quarterback to make a difference at this point. That is why Detroit must shore up the team with more talent before burning a high draft pick on a signal-caller. A cornerstone linebacker (Wake Forest's Aaron Curry) or left tackle (Baylor's Jason Smith) moves them in that direction. Rule No. 2: Invest in the trenches. After using high draft picks early in his tenure, Millen virtually avoided taking offensive linemen early for years, and Detroit's sieve of an O-line showed. Rule No. 3: Don't overpay for free agents. Blunders such as Bill Schroeder, Az-hakir Hakim, Brock Marion, Kenoy Kennedy, Fernando Bryant and a host of others really hurt. So far, Mayhew has shown admirable restraint in free agency, filling holes with bargain veterans until he can draft high-end replacements. Guys like Phillip Buchanon, Grady Jackson, Eric King, Daniel Loper and Maurice Morris aren't household names, but will be serviceable until Mayhew gets his chance to bring in better players through the draft. Yet the popular choice is a quarterback. After such momentous flops as Andre Ware, Chuck Long and Harrington, fans keep clamoring for the Lions to take a QB in the top 10 when the franchise isn't in the right stage. Luckily, fans don't make draft choices. Following these simple rules have set up a lot of franchises for runs at NFL glory. So far, Mayhew has played by the rules. But if he takes a QB at No. 1 overall, he can tear all that down.
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