New face of the Lions

It's a done deal. The best team at being the worst has signed Matthew Stafford as the #1 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft for a record $72 million deal for six years. He will also receive a record $41.7 million in guaranteed money.

Woo hoo. This is great. Of course you have some bloggers complaining that he is being offered too much money and that the league ought to do something to prevent this, such as commissioner Roger Goodell said in this quote:

"It's not that I'm opposed to the rookies getting money, I think that's great. But I think the veterans that have proven themselves on the NFL Level deserve the bulk of the compensation. When a player is drafted and doesn't make it and he takes that money out of the system, that's a disadvantage to the other players in the league. That's what I keep trying to get across. We need to keep the money in the system and it needs to go to the veterans that deserve it. ... It's a relatively simple fix if we sit down and address it."

It's bad enough we have to deal with the anti-capitalistic salary cap in football, now we have people saying that teams like the Lions that have been woeful for over 50 years can't pay what it takes to draw in the player they think is the best shot at saving the franchise.

Yes, as new GM Schwartz said, "It's time to replace Bobby Lane." That's true. It is time. And, when Bobby Lane was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers to end his three championship career with the Lions, he cursed the lions that they would not win another championship for another 50 years.

Well, his curse is now over. Matthew Stafford was signed in year #51. And, as a further coincidence, Stafford graduated from the same high school as Bobby Layne: Highland Park High School in Dallas

For you faithful Lion fans who never give up hope, here is our hope: