In case you haven’t noticed, the Detroit Lions are terrible. With the exception of a hot start last year, they have been terrible for a long time. And, luckily for the Vikings — who are desperate for another victory after a strange victory Monday that could end up being a turning point — the winless Lions are on the schedule Sunday. For fun, we thought we’d take a spin through the archives to happier times for Detroit. Namely: the 2008 offseason. Everyone was undefeated, John Kitna was again making predictions of a 10-win season, and the dynamic duo of Matt Millen and Rod Marinelli was firmly intact. Now? 10 wins seems like a three-year projection, Millen has (finally) been fired and Marinelli might be next. Take us back to April, right before the draft, time machine:

Matt Millen: “We got a lot of work done this offseason. It’s been a good offseason – a lot of work and a lot of things have gone into it. We started this thing making some changes; then we started putting it back together. I like where we’re at right now; I like what we’ve added to it. I’m looking forward obviously to the draft to keep adding to it. I think we’ve helped ourselves this offseason and I’m looking forward to finishing up this part of it with the draft.”

Rod Marinelli: “Really, it’s just as Matt says: we’re trying to tie it up in our offseason work right now and that’s going well. We’ve had good attendance (from the players in our offseason program) and we’re just working with our players and looking forward to the draft. We’re continuing to gather as much information as we can on these players to make it successful this week.”

On the trust between Millen and Marinelli as it pertains to drafting players:
MM: “When he first came in and we went through the interview process – obviously I had been aware of Rod and the kind of football coach he was. That part I knew and understood was what he was about. The interesting thing for me has been, as we worked together, there will be times when I start a sentence and he’ll finish it. The point is: we’re on the same page. I trust him completely. There are times we start talking about players, they can be faceless and nameless, and I know exactly what he wants. I think that’s invaluable. I think that goes to obviously being on the same page. It’s past even a stated philosophy, it’s just: I know this guy. I’m very comfortable with that.”

RM: “One thing I’ll point out: we talk a lot. I’m constantly bringing him, ‘watch this guy; let’s look through this.’ We communicate all day long; ‘what do we need, what’s the picture?’ We just talk. The more you sit and talk and communicate what you’re looking for – and one of my objectives all the time is: how much information can I give Matt to make a decision. That’s our staff. He’s got a staff of scouts and all those things that go out through the country; then us as a football staff, we gather and fact find and gather and then I try to push as much information to him and then he gets his information from his scouts and then he’s able to make the type of choice we need to be successful. That’s how I think you do it. Then he knows exactly where I’m coming from. We talk – to me, that’s a strength.”

It’s so good that we don’t even have to elaborate. But please, feel free to fill in any of the blanks as you see fit.

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