Lions Place 14th Member of Roster on Injured Reserve

With the recent announcement of G/T Barry Stokes and DT Marcus Bell being placed upon the injured reserve list, that makes 14 members of the Lions roster who have been lost for the season due to injury. One other player, G Ross Verba, would have already been placed on the injured reserve but his injury doesn't fit under the right parameters of an injury that would allow him to be placed on the injured reserve. How did the Lions get themselves into a situation where 15 players, who are obviously better and more experienced than the ones who have taken their place, are no longer on the active roster?

One theory may be the extra-physical nature of Rod Marinelli's pre-season camps have exerted an exceptionally heavy toll. That being said, I don't believe that this is the case. The Lions entered the regular season with only DE Bill Swancutt and S Idrees Bashir on the injured reserve. You would think a lot more players would have went down to injury earlier in the season if the camp had been too physical. To the contrary, with the high number of offensive and defensive linemen who have gone down to injury, and the additional knowledge that several of these players were being penalized for being overweight, conditioning of linemen on both sides of the ball seems to be a major issue which needs to be addressed this offseason.

G Damien Woody and DT Shaun Rogers have been both the recipients of fines for being overweight, and as a result of their weight issues, out of shape. Both players were considered cornerstone members of the franchise entering the season, but now might be considered organizational dead weight as the season plays out. Neither contributed much value this season and both provided a certain amount of embarrassment to the franchise. Rogers, who was suspended for four games for testing positive for a banned substance, and Woody, who allegedly stalked and harassed a Detroit-area woman who he had had an affair with, should probably receive the first ticket out of town after this season expires.

In regards to the injuries to players like G Ross Verba, T Rex Tucker and G/T Barry Stokes, the blame likely can be placed upon Matt Millen's shoulders. Admittedly, a veteran offensive line under the guidance of Larry Beightol appeared to be an upgrade over previous units. Instead, the checkered injury histories and journeymen nature of the players that Millen acquired have led to him having yet again a dice roll end up "craps". If anything, this situation proves beyond a shadow of a doubt, that if you don't want to end up with an inexperienced, NFL-Europe caliber offensive line by season's end, you have to make it an organizational priority to build your offensive line through the draft with young talent, as opposed to the mismatched, patchwork unit created by Millen.

The injuries along the defensive line, along with the lack of productivity from the members of that unit who have remained, also should emphasize the need to continue build a successful defensive line through the draft. It also highlights that Matt Millen's preeminent concern entering this off season, should be re-signing DE/DT Cory Redding, who has really thrived in his new role as a defensive tackle. If they were to lose Redding, they will be essentially starting completely from scratch next season.

As much as it is intriguing to see prospects like Stephen Peterman, Frank Davis, Johnathan Scott, Anthony Bryant and Corey Smith get their chance to prove their future worth to the Lions, as the season has few remaining positives to bear out, hopefully, the Lions might mine out some gold during their prospecting process. That being said, the current Lions situation is another sad reflection of how an organization with poor scouting and roster evaluation can generate it's own headaches, rather than alleviate them.