Many teams are already vying for the first pick of the 2009 NFL Draft as the race to the worst record in the league heats up with two contenders still without a W. Detroit and Cincinnati have looked downright awful nearly half way into the season. With the road to perfection in the wrong direction paved by the infirmary, the only element separating the two and their complete and utter stench is that Cincinnati is without some key components on offense.
Carson Palmer's Injury
With Carson Palmer back to clipboard duties with an elbow injury that has been too painful for him to endure over the past two weeks and will most likely sideline him for the next couple of weeks as well.
Jon Kitna Done for the Year
The Lions have already axed their GM Matt Millen mid-season so it should come as no surprise that they have recently stirred up some additional drama by turning to their backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky with Jon Kitna shelved for the year with back issues and dealing out accusations at the front office for using his ailing back as an excuse to bench the 36 year old QB.
Common Issues
Both teams are also seemingly giving up on 2008 and moving toward ’09 and this started in the offseason in Cincinnati. The Bengals released their perennial Pro-Bowl tackle Willie Anderson in late August as well as the starting running back for the past few seasons in Rudi Johnson. This approach couldn’t have sat well with the guys in the locker room as evidenced in an interview with T.J. Houshmandzadeh conducted by ESPN.com’s James Walker after the Bengals parted ways with Anderson and Johnson. “I’m shocked, but I'm not shocked, if that makes any sense. I was shocked by Willie, but I wasn't shocked by Rudi because of what was going on prior.”
Rudi Johnson’s production had declined significantly in 2007, but 2008 was the first Pro Bowl in a run of five consecutive that Willie Anderson was not included on the roster. Anderson refused to take a pay-cut prior to the start of the season which prompted the Bengals to subsequently terminate the remaining years on his contract.
This basic dismantling of the key components of the team waited until recently to commence for the Detroit Lions organization. Despite the fact that the Lions summoned a king’s ransom for Roy Williams from the Cowboys in a first, third, and sixth round draft pick, the message to the players in the locker room may well have been that the 2008 season is a lost cause. With Williams being a potential free agent after the season anyway, perhaps management did what was best for the future of the franchise and Williams as well by trading him to Dallas who quickly inked the wide-out to a new 5-year, $45 million deal.
On the same day as this blockbuster trade went down, the Lions snuck Jon Kitna onto IR ending his 2008 campaign short which the quarterback claimed to be unjust. “’I really feel like I could have played last Sunday’” was the quote from Kitna on WJR 760’s “The Mitch Albom” show. With an inexperienced Dan Orlovsky at the helm for the rest of the year or the young Michigan State Spartan product Drew Stanton taking snaps, Detroit may be in a head to head race with Cincinnati for the bottom (or top) depending on if you are a glass half empty or full type of person.
