It’s time for me to give out my grades to the Lions offensive squad. It’s not really that pretty. Some of the less than stellar grades are directly related to expectations at the beginning of the year. Bottom line is that the as a unit, the offensive line did not perform up to expectations and were a disappointment. Let’s get to the grades…

Quarterback: B-

Jon Kitna certainly threw for a lot of yards this year (over 4000), but his other stats weren’t quite as impressive. He completed 63% of his passes this year, which was fair, but his 20 interceptions with only 18 touchdowns was horrible. Throw in all of his fumbles and you have way too many mistakes for a veteran quarterback to be making. Too many of those mistakes were in the Red Zone and cost his team points.

I give Kitna credit for early in the season getting the Lions off on the right track. During the first half of the season, the Lions certainly looked like his team. He was able to rally and focus them on the task at hand. He appeared to be a true leader for the team. However, when things went South in the second half, he started running his mouth and said some stuff a leader shouldn’t say. He was unable to get the guys back on track.

Running Back: B-

This grade may not be entirely fair due to the game plan of Martz, but the Lions didn’t really have a running game. Why in the World did we bring in Tatum Bell during the offseason. He was a complete flop, though I don’t really know if he was given a chance. Kevin Jones fought back from his injury this year and showed some moments of why the Lions drafted him a few years back. TJ Duckett was hot or cold. Some games he couldn’t do anything and other games he looked unstoppable. I suspect if the Lions had a more balanced attack during the past season, this grade would have been somewhat higher.

Wide Receivers: B

The Lions drafted heralded wide receiver Calvin Johnson in the last draft and big things were expected from the offense this year. Calvin had a more than respectable year, but most of it was in the first half of the season. Like many rookies, he appeared to tire and fade late in the season. Hopefully, he does some serious conditioning in the offseason and comes back ready to light it up next year.

Mike Furrey led the team in receptions last year. This year, he ended up as the fourth receiver statistically. Roy Williams was expected to exert himself as a big play receiver. While he did have a few plays, they were not of the big play variety. He often seemed to run the wrong route or drop a ball at the worst time. Roy will be a force in this league, but I think the thing he has to overcome most is himself. If he convinces himself he wants to be one of the elite receivers, he can be. Sean MacDonald was the surprise receiver this year leading the team in receptions. Unfortunately, there were too many times where he caught the ball and then gave up yards and first downs by running backwards trying to make something happen. He needs to just lower his head and get a few more yards.

Offensive Line: D

This is where the Lions offense failed the most. The offensive line was the most porous in the NFL giving up a league leading 63 sacks. Yup, that’s right, 63 sacks. That’s just about an average of 4 per game. That puts an incredible amount of stress and pressure on the quarterback. The line also failed to be consistent in the running game. Some games they opened up some holes and others they did nothing. In the past, I have thought pretty highly of Backus, but he had his worst year as a Lion. George Foster, who was acquired with Bell, was a complete failure. The bright spot was how well Damien Woody stepped in at right tackle in the last quarter of the season. One can only wonder what might have happened if he had started the season there. Unfortunately, Woody is a free agent this year and is likely to not return though he isn’t against it.

Offensive Coordinator: C-

It’s no secret that Mike Martz likes to pass, but to have games where you only attempt 8 runs is crazy. And those games were not out of range early forcing the Lions to throw. We just came in to some games with game plans that I just didn’t understand. I wouldn’t have minded us throwing more than running, but it shouldn’t be as lopsided as it was with the Lions this year. I actually respect Martz and his football savvy, but he just wasn’t right for the Lions. I don’t know if he and Marinelli ever saw eye to eye. I think he failed to react to the way his offense was playing. While giving up all those sacks, Martz kept doing the same thing instead of altering his game plan to best utilize the teams strengths.

The Lions concluded this football season on a sour note. In the final game of the season, they lost to the Green Bay Packers 34 -13. The worst part of the loss was that for half the game or so, the Packers played a lot of second and third stringers and the Lions continued to play the starters and yet we could do absolutely nothing.

Our vaunted offense continued to sputter against the Packer backups - very sad indeed. While prior to the game their was much speculation and rumor about Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz being fired or let go, there still has not been a formal announcement to that effect. I think the Lions need it though to move forward. Its obvious that the Martz show in Detroit was not a success. Personally, I feel that Kitna needs to leave town with him in order for this team to continue to build on the improvements made this year. I would be surprised, however, if Kitna is not back next year.

What bothers me the most about this season and the way it played out is that if you had asked me before the season what I thought about a season where the Lions would go 7 and 9, I would have called it a success and definite progress. However, with the 6 - 2 start, and then to close the last have at 1 - 7, it leaves a very sour taste in your mouth. I cannot call it a successful season because of that finish. There are probably more questions to be answered this off season than there was last season. Still, I am hopeful.

The Lions made a definite statement at home this year. They made Ford Field a true home field advantage. Now, we need to figure out how to play some football on the road. If we can make similar road progress as we did at home this year, we might have a season.

Some key players stepped up and made themselves known this year. Ernie Sims was stellar at linebacker. Kevin Jones and TJ Duckett showed a solid one two punch at RB when they were healthy. Calvin Johnson, though he faded like many rookies late in the season, showed some brilliance at WR. Damien Woody looked pretty good when he moved over to right tackle - too bad it was so late in the season.

Other players showed themselves to be a problem for the future. Jeff Backus gave up the most sacks in the NFL. Jon Kitna had more interceptions than touchdowns. None of our cornerbacks can cover worth a damn. Kalimba Edwards got his big salary during the offseason and disappeared - so much so you may never see him in a Lions uniform again. Shaun Rogers is in poor shape and not capable of dominating a game anymore.

This should be an interesting off season! Happy New Years!