GM Martin Mayhew definately is a HUGE upgrade over Matt Millen and it showed last April.  QB Matt Stafford out of Georgia was the 1st pick of the entire draft last April.  He played in 10 games for the Lions and he completed 201 of 377 passes (53.3%) for 2,267 yards with 13 TD passes and 20 INTs (61.0 QB Rating).  He also carried  the ball 20 times for 108 yards (5.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs last season.  Stafford showed a lot of potential last season and the Lions will try to continue to build a offense around him.  TE Brandon Pettigrew out of Oklahoma State was the Lions’ other first round pick last April (#20 overall).  He played in 11 games for the Lions last season and he caught 30 passes for 346 yards (11.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Pettigrew’s season ended early due to injury but he showed a lot of potential for the Lions last year.  In the 2nd round (#33 overall) the Lions selected safety Louis Delmas  out of Western Michigan and he was quite a impact player for them.  He played in 15 games for the Lions last season and he made 94 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, he had 1 sack, defensed 8 passes and he picked off two passes (130 yards in returns) with one that he returned 101 yards for a TD.  The sky is the limit for him.  Linebacker DeAndre Levy was the Lions’ first selection of the third round (#76 overall) out of Wisconsin.  He played in all 16 games for the Lions last season and he made 85 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, he forced 1 fumble, defensed 5 passes and he had 1 interception.  Levy also has a huge upside giving the Lions four really solid players to build around but they still picked more players that helped them.  WR/KR Derrick Williams came to the Lions in the third round (#82 overall) out of Penn State.  He played in 11 games for the Lions last season in which he carried the ball 1 time for 4 yards and he caught 6 passes for 52 yards (8.7 avg).  Williams also returned 42 kickoffs for 931 yards (22.2 avg) last season.  DT Sammie Lee Hill was taken in the 4th round (#115 overall) out of tiny Stillman College.  He played in 13 games (12 starts) for the Lions and he made 26 tackles.  RB Aaron Brown of TCU was the Lions’ 6th round pick (#192 overall).  He played in 15 games for the Lions in which he carried the ball 27 times for 131 yards (4.9 ypc) and he also caught 9 passes for 84 yards (9.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Brown also returned 42 kickoffs for 951 yards (22.6 avg) last year.  Linebacker Zack Follett was selected in the 7th round (#228 overall) out of California.  He played in 12 games and he made 10 tackles.  He also returned 2 kickoffs for 12 yards (6.0 avg) as almost all of his P.T. came on special teams.  TE Dan Gronkowski was also picked in the 7th round (#255 overall) out of Maryland.  He played in 2 games for the Lions last season and he caught 1 pass for 4 yards.  The Lions picked OT Lydon Murtha (7th round, #228 overall) out of Nebraska but they cut him before the season started.  He played in 1 game (0 starts) for the Dolphins before ended his season on I.R.

GRADE FOR 2009:  A

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A+

21-year old Matt Stafford had his ups and downs as a rookie but I saw signs that he will be a impact player in the near future for the Lions.  He actually has a lot of the same skills as John Elway showed off as a youngster as he has a big arm and good mobility in the pocked and when running the ball.  Of course, it took a while for Elway to really gets things going in Denver and the Lions will need to get some offensive help for Stafford to reach his full potential.  He played in 10 games for the Lions this season and he completed 201 of 377 passes (53.3%) for 2,267 yards with 13 TD passes and 20 INTs (61.0 QB Rating).  Stafford also carried the ball 20 times for 108 yards (5.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs this year.  Look for the Lions to get more weapons at WR and RB for Stafford this off-season.

32-year old Daunte Culpepper wants to come back to the Lions next year but they should just say no.  Culpepper played in 8 games for the Lions this season and he completed 89 of 157 passes (56.7%) for 945 yards with 3 TD passes and 6 INTs (64.8 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 18 times for 91 yards (5.1 ypc) this year.  Culpepper has now played in 105 games in his NFL career and he has completed 2,016 of 3,199 passes (63%) for 24,153 yards with 149 TD passes and 106 INTs (87.8 QB Rating).  Culpepper has also carried the ball 514 times for 2,652 yards (5.2 ypc) with 34 TD runs in his career.  Culpepper has proven to be a very below average QB without him having Randy Moss to catch all of his bad passes.

25-year old Drew Stanton proved with little doubt this year that he is not a NFL QB.  He played in 4 games for the Lions this season and he completed 26 of 51 passes (51%) for 259 yards with 0 TD passes and 6 INTs (26.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 9 times for 33 yards (3.7 ypc) with 1 TD run this year.  Stanton has now played in 7 games in his career with the Lions and he has completed 35 of 68 passes (51.5%) for 378 yards with 1 TD pass and 6 INTs (36.3 QB Rating).  Stanton has also carried the ball 12 times for 53 yards (4.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Stanton was a local pick out of Michigan State but that doesn’t mean the Lions have to keep him around and watch him play like crap.

The Detroit Lions (2-14) ended their dismal season with a loss to the Chicago Bears (7-9) at home.  The Lions’ offense played hard and did a pretty good job putting some points on the board, but they got no support from their defense and the Bears’ easily outscored them.  Mathew Stafford was out for the Lions, and Daunte Culpepper did a decent job filling in for him.  Culpepper probably had his best game of the season, going 23/34 for 262 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception.  He got some support from his running backs, with Maurice Morris getting 65 yards on 16 carries and Aaron Brown getting 21 yards on only 3 carries.  It wasn’t enough though, because the Bears’ offense tore apart the Lions’ defense.

At halftime the Lions were only down 13-10, but they gave up 24 points in the second half and the Bears got an easy win.  They let Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler (who has struggled most of the season) go 22/36 for 276 yards and 4 touchdowns.  They also gave up 150 rushing yards to a Bears team that has been poor all season at running the ball.  This was another ugly season for the Lions, but it is an improvement from their 0-16 season a year ago.  They do have some things to be excited about, including the young Mathew Stafford who showed flashes of great play a few times this season, but the Lions are a long way away from being playoff contenders.

The Detroit Lions (2-13) have a good shot at getting their third win of the season as they host the Chicago Bears (6-9) on Sunday.  The Lions are still without Mathew Stafford, and with Drew Stanton throwing three interceptions last week the Lions should start Daunte Culpepper.  Whoever they start under center, they need to make sure they don’t turn the ball over as that has killed the Lions all season long.  Either way, the Lions will need a big day from their running back Maurice Morris.  The Bears give up 128 rushing yards per game, so Morris should find success.

The Lions secondary needs to be aware of Devin Aromashodu, who stepped up big time last week for the Bears.  He caught 7 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown, helping the Bears upset the Minnesota Vikings last week.  With Devin Hester out and possibly Johnny Knox too, Jay Cutler’s new favorite target is Aromashodu so if the Lions can shut him down it will bode very well for them.  They need to stop Bears’ running back Matt Forte too.  He has not had a good season, but he found a lot of success against the Lions earlier in the season with 121 yards and a touchdown, so they cannot let him have a repeat performance.  If they cannot stop those two, they will not have much of a chance against the Bears.

PREDICTION:  Detroit Lions 13, Chicago Bears 24