Dear Matt Millen:

I am about to admit something I don’t often tell people for fear of embarrassment and ridicule…

I am a Detroit Lions fan.

Thanks to the halo left in my memory from Barry Sanders, my love affair with the Lions continues despite the chronic abuse my heart has sustained over the past five losing seasons.

Every year my optimism rises on draft day with the hope that the season might turn the corner… then falls by week three when the Lions are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention and primed for another losing season.

With all due respect, Mr. Millen, you had an amazing opportunity on Saturday to draft an NFL-ready quarterback who won more games in three college seasons than your organization has won in the last six NFL seasons.

Southern Cal Quarterback Matt Leinart fell into your hands at the ninth pick, but you tightly held your fists together and opted to watch him drop in favor of linebacker Ernie Sims.

How often does a quarterback of Leinart’s caliber comes along… and then fall to number nine in the draft?  Why not take a chance on a quarterback who won two national championships and came damn close to a third, losing out on a college dynasty not because of poor play but to an extraordinary performance by another high-caliber player. 

As a casual observer, allow me to add that the current quarterback situation of the team looks dreadful.  The Joey Harrington experiment has officially gone awry despite a gifted list of supporting cast members the past two seasons.  Josh McCown and Jon Kitna are also far from upgrades, proving throughout their NFL careers they are no better than also-rans in the world of quarterbacking.

The opportunity to right all the wrongs of the Harrington-era presented itself Saturday afternoon, and you passed… in favor of a linebacker. 

There is not a doubt in my mind you needed to address defensive issues during the draft, but couldn’t those problems have been serviced in the second and third rounds, where plenty of defensive talent remained.  I imagine trades of later picks could have been made to put your team in a position to draft other outside linebackers like DeMeco Ryans, Rocky McIntosh, or Thomas Howard… all of whom were available in round two. 

Even A.J. Nicholson, a talented linebacker and teammate of Sims' at Florida State, was available in round five! 

This is not the first time I have been confused by your draft direction, and by no means is this letter meant to be an assault on Ernie Sims, whom you drafted over Leinart.  I openly questioned your selection of wideout Mike Williams with the tenth overall pick last season while defensive blue chip players like DeMarcus Ware, Shawne Merriman, and Derrick Johnson remained on the board.

Now that Williams is on the roster, why not select the quarterback who threw him 16 touchdowns during his sophomore season at USC?  The return of a healthy Kevin Jones and Charles Rogers added to the Williams tag team (Roy and Mike) would have created an offensive lineup similar to the one your new offensive coordinator, Mike Martz, had during his heyday in St. Louis.

In addition, I found it appalling that teams who drafted ahead of you (New York, Oakland, Buffalo) passed on such an exceptional talent like Leinart.  I just took it more personally when you passed, however, simply because of how much we’ve been through together these past five years.

Doesn’t our history mean anything to you?

The fact is that you passed on a quarterback who will likely spend the next several seasons wreaking havoc on all NFL defenses with targets like Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and Edgerrin James. 

The Arizona Cardinals, once the laughing-stock of the NFL, officially handed that moniker over to your organization when you passed on Leinart.

Why do you force me to spend several hours each August correcting all of your mistakes in the latest version of Madden NFL football?  My heart and thumbs just can’t take it anymore.

All I ask in response is that you send me the mailing address of Lions owner Mr. William Clay Ford, because I would like to formally announce my interest in your position after you “resign.”

If you need to reach me otherwise, I will probably be busy dominating with the team you should have put together today on my PlayStation.

Oh, and thanks again for your complete lack of consideration during this draft.

Yours Truly,

A Tortured Lions Fan

Jonathan Bentz will graduate in May from West Virginia University on the four year plan (don't tell anyone, it'll kill his image).  Some might say he's a hustla, others might say he "took dere jobs." He has been a stringer and wire contributor for the Associated Press since 2003, covering WVU and other sports in North Central West Virginia.  You can reach him at jonathan.bentz@atomicsportsmedia.com.