Every week through the off-season NFL expert Mike Carlson will be putting each of the 32 NFL teams under the microscope, looking at their 2008 season and what the future holds. In his first Coast to Coast column, Carlson points out that the only way is up for the 0-16 Detroit Lions.

PRIME NEEDS: QB, OL, LB, WR/KR, THERAPY

If you're a Detroit Lions fan, the question is not whether the glass is half-empty or half-full. It's whether there's a glass at all! Face it, half anything would be good after Rod Marinelli 'Pounded The Rock (TM)' to the first 0-16 season in NFL history.

Marinelli did pound his way to a 4-0 mark in 2008's preseason, thus proving that Marinelli's 'hard work conquers all' merely needs to be rewritten to 'hard work conquers exhibition games'.

The team's regular season may have been summed up by the game in which now-departed QB Dan Orlovsky, in his first quarter as a starter, casually stepped out of the end zone for a safety, in a game the Lions eventually lost by two in Minnesota (they would later lose by four to the Vikes in Detroit). It wasn't like they had many other chances to avoid bizzaro-perfection: they came within a touchdown of the opposition only five times all season.

Marinelli's self destruction as the winless season progressed demonstrated some of his problems as a head coach. He turned into a bully, telling them they were 'not qualified' to question him. As one of the many coaches who never played in the NFL, he may have been stretching a point. When one reporter asked about his team's being 0-10, Rod snapped back, somewhat bizarrely, 'you're 0-10, I'm not 0-10, you're 0-10'. Maybe he was thinking that he was actually 1-17 in his last 18 games, because after a 6-2 start in 2007 (remember Jon Kitna 'guaranteeing' 10 wins?) the Lions went 1-7, making Marinelli 1-23 in his final 24 games.

The total collapse of his relationship with the press led to a reporter asking a smart-ass question about Marinelli's defensive coordinator/son in law Joe Barry; that Marinelli was always attributing his team's failings to 'poor execution' made criticism of his coordinators valid, but the question was a cheap shot. A cheap shot provoked by Marinelli's bullying, and by that time there was little question he was already a dead coach walking, but his reaction at his last presser, insulting the reporters and, shall we say, questioning their masculinity (at least the male ones) was boorish. He's better-suited to the defensive line, which is what he will be doing in Chicago, and, if the football gods really have a sense of humour, watch the Lions beat the Bears first time they meet next season.

The other good news if you're Marinelli is that, at 10-38 in his three seasons as a head coach, you still did better than Marty Mornhinweg's 5-27. That fact leads one to conclude that Matt Millen has an awful lot to answer for. Among the questions that spring to mind for Matt might be how the personnel he assembled were supposed to fit a Mike Martz offense, how a Martz offense was supposed to fit Marinelli's ball-control game plan, and how the Tampa retreads brought in (presumably on Rod's say so) were supposed to compete at the NFL level.

There's a new GM, Martin Mayhew, who, though he was part of the ancien regime, figures to take a different tack now he's in charge, and made his first good move during the season when he traded Roy Williams to Dallas for picks, including their 1/20 pick this year. Along with their own reward for the perfect season, it leaves them in a strong position to deal. Mayhew then showed his confidence by hiring Shack Harris after he was fired by Jacksonville. Harris has his own blind spots in player evaluation (see, for example, any number of tall and ineffective wideouts) but he goes back to Baltimore days with new head coach Jim Schwartz, and ought to help balance front office and coaching staff. Schwartz, regarded as one of the more cerebral coordinators while he was at Texas, learned his NFL under Bill Belichick in Cleveland and then in Baltimore under DC Marvin Lewis before joining Jeff Fisher in Tennessee. Surprisingly, he hired Gunther Cunningham as his DC, but remember Cunningham worked under him in Tennessee after leaving Kansas City; the defensive assistants will include Matt Burke from the Titans and Gunther's old assistant Bob Karmelowitz. Offensively, Scott Linehan will be the coordinator; he was with the Vikings along with incumbent Lions' QB Daunte Culpepper, whom he also brought in for a look-see in Miami.

Culpepper's status as incumbent was reinforced when Mayhew allowed Orlovsky to step out the back of Detroit, then traded erstwhile starter Jon Kitna, who was put on IR despite insisting he'd be ready to play before the season ended, to Dallas for CB Anthony Henry, a good deal for both teams. Without making any value judgements, let me just refer to the passer ratings of the three guys last season: Orlovsky 72.6, Kitna 72.2, Culpepper 63.9. Average in the NFL is in the low 80s.

What this suggests is the Lions could draft a QB with the first pick, and allow him time to develop behind Daunte. Which, if it's Matthew Stafford - the more likely alternative - would surely need that time. But they could go in other directions, especially if they've fallen in love with one of the offensive tackles.

Certainly, Mayhew has been assembling enough money to pay a first pick. They cleared $32 million in cap space by cutting CB Leigh Bodden, S Dwight Smith, G Edwin Mulitalo, TE Dan Campbell, and WR Mike Furrey, and reworking Culpepper's contract. Furrey, who was nearly as obnoxious as Marinelli when the Lions were 4-2 in 2007, had been mighty quiet since. Bodden turned out not to fit very well into the Tampa 2, and the others are hardly irreplaceable.

They haven't jumped to re-sign their own free agents, for good reason, though they did sign K Jason Hanson, who was the best in the NFL last season, and G Stephen Peterman. A few more will follow, if they come cheaply enough, most likely backup lineman Damion Cook, maybe linebacker Paris Lenon, who is suited as a backup and special teams player, but overmatched as a starter, or utility back Aveion Cason, who needs to return kicks better than he does to earn a roster spot. None of their cuts are going to be besieged by offers. They also might have brought back DE Corey Smith, who was lost in a boating accident, one of the more tragic stories I can recall in all my time covering the NFL.

Having established his willingness to deal with the Williams trade, Mayhew's first moves in free agency were good. They signed ex-Seahawk Maurice 'Morris' Morris, who'll give them good balance at RB with last year's rookie Kevin Smith. Former Titan CB Eric King knows Schwartz's system, and Philip Buchanon was signed for less money than Jabari Greer got in New Orleans; Buchanon has been inconsistent, but last year in Tampa showed he can make plays. All of a sudden the Lions are deep, if not outstanding at corner, they could have been better, as they were trying to get Ken Lucas, but Lucas decided Detroit was one of the places he did not want to play. I wasn't surprised when another ex-Titan, Chris Carr, who also returns kicks, came in for a visit. But Carr supposedly wants to play more corner, and right now, he probably wouldn't, so as I write this he was exploring other offers.

I had thought they might make a play for John Thornton, another ex-Titan, but instead Mayhew signed Grady Jackson to anchor the middle of the defensive line. Grady can still do what he does, as long as they can keep him away from the diuretics. One problem Marinelli had with his DeTampa Two defense was he never had a decent anchor, to allow his other tackle freedom to move. When Grady finishes football, he could have a career as a counter-balance on construction cranes.

On the other side of the ball, Mayhew made a very smart move signing Bryant Johnson from the 49ers, because he probably would have been laughed out of Michigan had he drafted a wide receiver, and the Lions need at least one. Johnson had a disappointing 48 catches last year, but don't forget that after Calvin Johnson, the most catches any Lions wideout managed was Sean McDonald's 35, at only 9.5 per catch. In fact, McDonald, Keary Colbert and Furrey combined for only 65 catches, and averaged less than 10 yards per catch as a group. John Standeford, a big possession receiver I've liked since he was on Indy's practice squad, averaged 16.3 per his 15 catches in limited time: he could fill a Joe Jurevicius role, but Johnson has the potential to punish teams when they double Johnson.

They could still use an effective version of McDonald or Furrey, preferably one with speed, but you may have noticed those guys available later in the draft than the big names (Q: who were last year's best rookie receivers? A: Eddie Royal and DeSean Jackson). They also claimed Adam Jennings on waivers last season, hoping to upgrade the punt returning, which he accomplished only if you assume it was non-existent. He could get a shot in the slot. At tight end, Wendell Gaines, a blocker first, was surprisingly effective catching passes, but I said the same thing last year about Dan Campbell, and he's now gone. Casey Fitzsimmons returns, and Jake Nordin, who's not a bad blocker.

Whoever's throwing the ball to these guys is going to need more protection than Kitna ever got, and Mayhew had a deal in place with the Bills for Derrick Dockery, a bust in Buffalo, especially if you consider the amount of money Ralph Wilson threw at him, but Buffalo apparently failed to get the paperwork to the league in time, Dockery wound up a free agent, and going back to Washington for some of those Snyderdollars he missed when he went to the Bills. The sound you are now hearing is Ralph Wilson's Hall of Fame bust cracking. Dockery would have been a good fit with Peterman and Manny Ramirez (not to be confused with the flaky baseball star), both of whom are well over 320 pounds. They need the size, since Dominic Raiola is considerably undersized at center. But they also need some mobility, because both tackles are vulnerable in pass pro.

I sort of predicted Gosder Cherilus would fall to the Lions last year, and he proved decent as a rookie at RT, but I said last year and will say again, that Jeff Backus is an average left tackle, but would be above average on the right, and Mayhew has discussed moving him inside to guard. If they used their number one pick on a LT (Jason Smith of Baylor is the one I like best right now), they could ease him in, then move Backus, who has a huge deal, inside when he's ready. One problem with this year's draft is that there is no clear number one at tackle, like Jake Long was last year: but if the Lions were to fall in love with Smith, or Eugene Monroe (I'm not convinced either Andre Smith or Michael Oher could be plugged in at LT) they would get better long-term value with a tackle than you usually do with a QB. They need to restock the line bench as well: Junius Coston might wind up starting at C or G if they have to but unless they bring back some of their own free agents, there is little else.

Assuming Culpepper starts, the battle for his backup is between the Drews, Stanton and Henson, and whoever they draft, if they do. There are only three QBs viewed as potential first round talents, and I doubt even Josh Freeman will be there at 20, though if he is I wonder if Linehan could see him as Culpepper II. Stanton ought to be contending for a starter's job right now; that he isn't is some indication of the disconnect in Detroit between GM, head coach, and coordinators.

Smith and Morris ought to provide Linehan with versatility at running back; both can catch out of the backfield. So can Brian Calhoun, who hasn't been able to stay healthy and could be gone. It will be interesting to see what kind of offense Linehan builds, downfield as with the Vikes or more West Coast a la his time with the Rams. None of those Dennis Erickson tree guys have actually had any continuous success yet, though, and that includes Erickson. You may get a clue by which fullback they keep (if either): Jerome Felton's not a bad fit as a west-coast style fullback, while Jon Bradley's a guard wearing the wrong number.

Defensively, Jackson's acquisition ought to make Cory Redding in particular happy as he'll be free to move more. If Grady can be a two-down stopper, their other tackles are serviceable. At end Dewayne White reverted to his pre-2007 form, and his role as a designated rusher fell to rookie Cliff Avril, one of the few bright spots of the season. But at barely 250 pounds, they need to spot Avril carefully. Jared DeVries and Ike Alama-Francis are the other ends; they'd like for the latter to show he can be an every-down player. They claimed Sean Conover off waivers; he was a backup in Tennessee.

They're accumulating corners, and at safety, Daniel Bullocks and Gerald Alexander actually were solid, while Kalvin Jackson and Stuart Schweigert are OK backups. But linebacker remains a deep hole, only Ernie Sims can be thought of as a starter, and Sims regressed a long way from his brilliant rookie season. It's not beyond possibility that Cunningham might bring in Donnie Edwards as a short-term solution for one spot; Shack Harris might still be fond of Mike Peterson, who fell out with Choppin Jack in Jacksonville, but can play if he's healthy and if you protect him. Jordan Dizon was theoretically suited for the Tampa 2, but wasn't instinctive enough nor a good enough tackler, especially in the middle; he might still find a place as Sims' backup.

They could really use an active mike, and they could get one at 20 as Laurinatis ought to still be available. The linebacking talent in this year's draft is strong in DE/OLB tweeners, good fits for 3-4 teams; assuming Maualuga is gone by 20, they could consider one of the USC guys as a SLB in the second round, or reach for one with 20 and hope a developmental tackle like Beatty slides to round two. Oddly, Detroit is the team I think could best justify drafting Aaron Curry with the first pick overall, but no one wants to pay a middle linebacker the kind of money the first overall pick demands.

With Hanson back, and punter Nick Harris, their kicking game is good. They do need a returner, but those kind of guys can be found late in the draft or even as undrafted free agents, if you recall Clifton Smith last season. Few returners, not even Devin Hester, are consistently at the top of their game, but with Cason's 23.3 and Jennings' 6.3 there is plenty of room for improvement. As there is for Detroit. The good news for Mayhew, Schwartz, and all you Lions fans is simple. It cannot possibly get any worse.