Lions Will Pick 13th in 2011 Draft

NEW YORK — The Denver Broncos will pick second in April’s NFL draft because they had the weakest strength of schedule among the teams with 4-12 records. The Buffalo Bills will select third and the Cincinnati Bengals fourth after the league applied its tiebreaker rules to announce the order for the non-playoff teams today. The Carolina Panthers (2-14) already had secured the NFL’s worst record and the top pick in the draft. Of the seven teams that finished 6-10, the San Francisco 49ers will pick seventh, followed by the Tennessee Titans, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, Houston Texans, Minnesota Vikings and Lions. The 13th spot is an unfamiliar location for Detroit, which has made five top-three picks since 2002. The playoff teams’ draft order will be determined by their postseason results.

Here are the 20 known slots:
1. Carolina
2. Denver
3. Buffalo
4. Cincinnati
5. Arizona
6. Cleveland
7. San Francisco
8. Tennessee
9. Dallas
10. Washington
11. Houston
12. Minnesota
13. Lions
14. St. Louis
15. Miami
16. Jacksonville
17. Oakland
18. San Diego
19. N.Y. Giants
20. Tampa Bay

Well, I never thought I'd be pissed about the Lions improving by 4 wins in a season but I actually am. Of course I wanted to see them win yesterday and go out on a roll but dropping to the #13 spot in the draft is ridonculous. The way it all shook out with 7 teams all tied at 6-10 the Lions were the obvious candidate to get fucked by the NFL's stupid strength of schedule rule that punishes teams who play tougher opponents. I understand that they're attempting to give the weakest teams the highest picks so that parity remains but something just seems wrong about being tied with the likes of San Fran, Tennessee, Dallas, Washington, Houston, and Minnesota, yet getting the worst pick. I absolutely believe that teams with the worst records should pick first but if the teams are tied the highest pick should go to the team who had the longest odds to win the Super Bowl at the start of the season. That way you still have teams playing to win down the stretch and hard work is rewarded.

Just my 2 cents.