As the NFL offseason progresses I've noticed one thing. Even though the Detroit Lions have changed coaches (again), the organizational philosophy remains the same. The team keeps trying to acquire offensive talent instead of trying to build on both sides of the ball.
The pick of tight end Eric Ebron and signing of wide receiver Golden Tate kind of proves my point. Jim Caldwell was hired as the new coach to help quarterback Matthew Stafford reach his potential and stop throwing so many game-killing interceptions. They hired Joe Lombardi away from New Orleans to try and make him into a Drew Brees clone.
While it's true that having a high powered offense will excite the fans, it's defense that will carry a team to the next level. Although the Lions went defense heavy on the last two days of the draft, the players picked aren't difference makers and will leave the Lions trying to finagle the salary cap and look for veteran help over the summer.
And some of the available help has seen better days. The Lions had needs and a tight end or receiver wasn't necessarily one of them. The only player that has me excited is Kyle Van Noy.
Just to illustrate my point, remember when Wayne Fontes went through multiple quarterbacks with the hope that one of them would lead the Lions to a Super Bowl? Fontes said it about Andre Ware, Rodney Peete and Scott Mitchell.
Over the years the team has always tried to draft weapons to surround their quarterback on offense. Matt Millen drafted heavily at the receiver position. If you go back to the 1980s, they tried to get players to complement Billy Sims.
Either the front office knows something the fans don't or they're just trying to be the smartest guys in the room. Ebron better turn out to be the truth because if he isn't and the rest of the players in the 2014 draft class are projects and hardly see the field, general manager Martin Mayhew needs to be fired.
If the team was serious about contending this season and beyond they would've drafted defense in at least three of the first four rounds of the draft and got some much needed help on that side of the ball.
