Nobody’s laughing at Lions now
Underdogs take on Saints tonight
His contract was up, the Lions had just set an NFL record for futility and Stephen Peterman had a decision to make. Sign a five-year deal to stay in Detroit after a nauseating 0-16 season, or at 27 try to cash in with a contender for what might be his last big freeagent payday.
Peterman sat down with new Lions coach Jim Schwartz, who gave Peterman a glimpse into his philosophy and promised, “We’re going to do this the right way, so plan on being here awhile.” Peterman, like a handful of other longtime Lions who signed new contracts or extensions that offseason, was convinced a turnaround was finally in the cards.
“Coming off 0-16 was bad, but once you hit bottom, the only way you can go is up from there, and we’ve definitely done that,” Peterman said. “And we’ve done it pretty quick, too.”
In three years, the Lions have gone from league laughingstock to NFC wild card and will play their first playoff game in 12 years tonight against the New Orleans Saints. They’re big underdogs, but capable of beating anyone and seemingly built to last.
“I think you see it now in our league, the means exist where you can turn your fortunes around with sound draft picks, with a good plan in free agency and an organization that’s on the same page,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “And I think that we’ve seen that with Detroit.”
When Schwartz was hired in January 2009, the Lions were amid the most miserable decade in NFL history. From 2001, when Matt Millen became general manager, through 2008, they lost 97 of 128 games. They made six straight top-10 draft picks, squandered most on washouts like Charles Rogers and Joey Harrington, and were largely bereft of veteran talent when Millen was fired three blowouts into 2008.
The Lions’ rise to Super Bowl contender — No. 6 seed or not, that’s what you are when you’re in the playoffs — began almost immediately after Millen left. Martin Mayhew took over as interim GM, fleeced a first-round draft pick from the dallas cowboys for Roy williams at the trade deadline and convinced owner William Clay Ford Sr. he deserved the gig full time.
Mayhew, who spent years under Millen in the front office, and fellow management holdover Tom Lewand, who assumed Millen’s duties as president, fired Rod Marinelli and much of his coaching staff. They broomed the locker-room of everyone but a few corner stone pieces and re-signed a few veterans — Peterman, centre Dominic Raiola and kicker Jason Hanson among them — to long-term deals.
The two biggest additions came in that first off-season, one of which was hiring Schwartz, then the Tennessee Titans defensive co-ordinator.
With the first pick of the 2009 draft, the Lions drafted Matthew Stafford. After two injury-filled seasons, Stafford, 23, delivered one of the finest statistical seasons of any quarterback. He set franchise records for passing yards (5,038), touchdowns (41), completions (421) and attempts (663), and joined Dan Marino, Drew Brees and Tom Brady as the only members of the 5,000-yard club with a 520-yard, five-td game in the regular-season finale Sunday at Green Bay.
Schwartz, Lewand and others credit the Lions’ resurgence in part to an influx of talent that wasn’t around during the Millen regime, with Stafford being the most notable example. And even Millen agrees.
“The whole thing comes down to one guy and one guy only,” said Millen, now an analyst with ESPN.
Although Stafford has led the way, this year’s playoff berth isn’t his doing alone. Calvin Johnson, a Millen draft pick, has emerged as the game’s most dominant receiver and has a host of other offensive weapons by his side, including tight end Brandon Pettigrew. And defensively, the Lions have a nucleus of homegrown sack leader Cliff Avril and 10 other starters added by Mayhew.