Kings Of the Urban Jungle

Today's discussion chances to be a dangerous one. For a franchise whose only consistency results from consistently deflating hopes, stoking any dreams, however measured or qualified, runs the risk of colluding with the captors at worst or extending a slow numbing of the extremities at best.

With that in mind, I promise to proceed with caution, Detroit Lions fans.

A common refrain for NFL teams toiling at the bottom is some variant on “things can't get any worse,” “there's nowhere to go but up,” etc, etc.

I would suspect eight years under Matt Millen would inspire a distinct disbelief in such cliches for Lions fans. And, while 0-16 might represent a historical low, vast improvements by no means follow logically.

While there have been big splashes on the NFL's free agency calendar thus far - Haynesworth to Washington, Houshmandzadeh to Seattle, TO to Buffalo - there's a lot to like in new coach Jim Schwartz's roster turnover. The Lions were terrible almost everywhere, from the game plans to the pass defense, from the blocking schemes to the d-line. Drastic upgrades required just about everywhere.

Outside of Calvin Johnson, not a single Lions player is untouchable. But Schwartz and GM Martin Mayhew have still identified the players that can help the team while they upgrade the talent behind and around them. Daunte Culpepper at quarterback, Jeff Backus at tackle, Dominic Raiola at center, Kevin Smith at running back, Ernie Sims at linebacker, Cliff Avril at defensive end.

It's not much of a nucleus, but it's a starting point. More important are the cuts, ridding the team of as many memories of 0-16 as possible. Jon Kitna, Leigh Bodden, Edwin Mulitalo, Cory Redding, Shaun Cody, and Mike Furrey all gone, all players supposed to perform at a high level that failed to do so for one reason or another.

In place of bloated contracts on veterans threatening to sink the team's payroll down the line, the Lions have bargain shopped through free agency. Solid corner Phillip Buchanon from Tampa is joined by Anthony Henry from Dallas in trade. Mercenary defensive tackle Grady Jackson provides an enormous stop gap in the defensive interior. Bryant Johnson from San Fran lines up some size opposite Calvin Johnson. And Maurice Morris from Seattle backs up Kevin Smith with experience.

These moves have created a bigger team, inside and at the corners on defense, in the backfield and at the wideouts on offense. Furthermore, all these moves represent solid if not spectacular upgrades over their departed counterparts. But, of course, the trade for Julian Peterson is a big leap forward on the depth chart surrounded by a bunch of careful steps.

Last week, I pondered the Julian Peterson trade from the Seahawks perspective, what Peterson's departure means for a defense that never quite lived up to its billing. Peterson certainly wasn't the problem, perhaps a glut of riches at linebacker and breakdown in front and behind him more to blame for Seattle's underachieving ways.

Facts are, Peterson's the all around kind of playmaker that should remind Schwartz of Keith Bulluck in Tennessee, not just with his range and strength, but also with his fiery play. The Lions defensive personality has been no more compelling than a houseplant these last few seasons. Peterson will do everything in his power to transform that. Where Peterson supplanted youth in Seattle, he will be asked to unburden it from unrealistic expectations in Detroit, giving Ernie Sims a more than capable mentor to follow.

I've been reluctant to call Detroit in 2009 or 2010. And before the Draft it's impossible to know what direction the Lions are heading in. It's not so much a question of Stafford or Jason Smith. It's everything that happens after. The Tennessee team Schwartz apprenticed under valued physical play, speed, and top measurables over unquantifiable notions like "heart" and "character." It may have saddled the Titans with Pacman Jones drama, but it also netted them Chris Johnson and a beastly offensive line.

Perhaps the Lions need to take a cue from crosstown neighbors, the Pistons. Despite playing up in Auburn Hills some twenty miles outside of Detroit, the Pistons embrace the rough and tumble identity of the city.

I'm not pushing for a Malice-at-the-Palace type incident, rather a team identity that emphasizes physical play and dangerous athleticism despite any loss of humility. Goodness, if anyone desperately needs swagger, it's the Lions and their fans.

Easier said than done. But Schwartz looks so far to understand that. There's something potentially very prescient when Zac at Throwing Into Traffic says of Detroit, "It's a 2008 Dolphins world." With one offseason, Bill Parcells turned Miami into a bigger and meaner team, a team that looked more lost in 2007 than Detroit did in 2008.

I don't want to sound the horns too loudly, but so far Jim Schwartz appears to get it. And we'll be keeping close tabs on it.