Stafford is a Lion..and what should happen next

Now that it is official that the Lions are taking Matthew Stafford, I hope that the brain trust follows up and continues to transform the team.

By negotiating with Stafford and having a "plan b" in place, by offering a contract to Wake Forest LB Aaron Curry, that he accepted, that amazingly (insert eye roll here) was leaked to the press somehow.

I truly hope that Martin Mayhew, Tom Lewand and Jim Schwartz continue to be aggressive and upgrade this woebegone franchise.

There is no way they can turn this disaster that has been 40+ years in the making with today's draft, what they CAN do however, is start to turn things around.

What will be interesting to see starting in about 30 minutes, and then as the summer and fall develop, is how Stafford can react and adjust to the life in the NFL.

That will start the first time he makes his appearance in Detroit.

Lions fans made it clear, starting from the start that they did not want Stafford as the Lions first pick in the draft. That was no more evident than the press conference where the Lions announced the new uniforms and logo. Fans started chanting "We want Curry".

How does Stafford react to being under pressure, of not being the choice of the fans. Matthew, if you take my advice, please call Curtis Joseph, and Eric Hipple, talk to them about the "pressure" that fans in Detroit can and will place on you.

Now that Stafford is in the fold. Where do Mayhew and Lewand go from here.

What do they do to address the holes on the O-Line, and Defense with this draft.

I hope they go Defense with the next two picks, then address the O-line in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Get a decent CB, LB and S in this years draft, as well as O-linemen that can compete for jobs protecting Stafford.


Does Daunte Cullpeper get the majority of the starts, on the field, while the coaching staff guides Stafford to the starting nod, with a patient time table.

By that, I hope that Stafford doesn't see the field in 2009 at all. We have Culpepper, Stanton and Henson on the roster. Use 2009 as a "red-shirt" season for Stafford. Let him compete for the starting job for the 2010 season.

Its Draft time, lets see what happens.