In his fancy suit Sunday morning, wearing a Lions cap and posing for photographs, Calvin Johnson could have been Ernie Sims or Mike Williams or any number of Lions' first-round draft choices down through the years.
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That was until they handed him a regulation NFL ball and his massive hands made it seem like one of those little sponge footballs kids are handed as toddlers.
Johnson is a special talent. He is 240 pounds, but tall (6-foot-5) and lanky, not built like a lineman or a tight end. He runs like a receiver six or seven inches shorter and 50 or 60 pounds lighter. He is that gifted.
The moment the Lions drafted Johnson, the pressure on the franchise shifted to two people in particular — quarterback Jon Kitna and offensive coordinator Mike Martz.
The Lions should be strong offensively. Not only have they added Johnson, but running backs Tatum Bell and T. J. Duckett — a good inside-outside combination. They already had receivers Roy Williams and Mike Furrey, and back Kevin Jones. The question is whether Kitna can get them the ball consistently without turning it over constantly.
Quarterback is the most important position, yet it is the weak link in this offense.
The Lions' fixation with Kitna is puzzling. He has a long track record of mediocrity. At 35, it is doubtful he is going to improve. He threw for a lot of yards last season — more than 4,200 — but he was intercepted 22 times compared to 21 touchdown passes. He won just three games. The moments he had to come through late in games, Kitna invariably did not. It shouldn't have come as a surprise. He has been a 50-50 QB — the same amount of touchdown passes as interceptions — throughout his long career.
Kitna talks a good game, though. About leadership. About culpability. In that regard, he is the polar opposite of his predecessor as Lions' QB — Joey Harrington.
Although there was a point late last season when it did seem like Kitna was making excuses, his teammates and coaches view him as a standup player. The NFL isn't about fluff, though. It's about results. Kitna's have never been that good.
What do you think Marvin Harrison would have become with the Lions' QBs throwing to him instead of Peyton Manning?
In that sense, taking Drew Stanton in the second round was logical. The Lions do need to develop a quarterback, but in an ideal world, Stanton will step into an environment that dictates success not failure. That will be a much easier transition if Kitna is a lot better this season than he was last season. The last thing the Lions need is for Kitna to be awful. And for there to be, subsequently, clamoring for Stanton to take his place.
Head coach Rod Marinelli has this tendency to heap praise on Kitna. He has almost given him untouchable status. Kitna didn't have to compete with Josh McCown last season. Now McCown is gone to Oakland where he may very well start opposite Kitna in the season opener.
But is it Marinelli or is it Martz? Sometimes it is difficult to discern who the head coach is.
The Lions went into this draft badly needing defensive players, yet their first two selections were on the offensive side of the ball.
Martz's offense posted very good statistics given the dearth of talent in 2006, but his play-calling in the scoring zone was brutal. That needs to change with such exceptional — and large — receivers. It's true. It's going to be very difficult for the Lions contend given the sorry state of their defense, but they do have weapons on offense. Actually a lot of them.
The control centers are the quarterback and the offensive coordinator. As such, the success of this draft lies at the feet of Kitna and Martz.
Kitna has to prove his suspect reputation is unfounded, Martz that he is worthy of his sterling one.
Pat Caputo is a senior sports reporter and a columnist for The Oakland Press. Contact him at pat.caputo@oakpress.com and read his sports blog exclusively at Blog Central at theoaklandpress.com
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