"I'll keep to myself what I think we actually will win. But it's more than 10 games," Kitna said.

"I don't like putting a lot of pressure on people, but Calvin Johnson, to me, will have about the same impact that Reggie Bush had in New Orleans," Kitna said. "He's everything that they said he was and more."

If he's implying that the Lions have been as big of a disaster as New Orleans in the wake of Katrina, fine. And if he says Calvin Johnson is going exceed all the hype, I can buy that, too.

But somehow, Drew Brees is being left out of the equation ... and he seems like a key factor, since the different between Kitna and Brees is the biggest reason I'm having trouble wrapping my head around the idea that the Lions are going to win 11 or more games.

Brees, with his 96.2 QB rating and his 26 touchdowns that also may have had something to do with New Orleans' miraculous 2006 season. Meanwhile, Jon Kitna ... well, he's still Jon Kitna. I admire his optimism, but as of right now, this bold proclamation is the most noteworthy thing of his career as a Lion.

QB Kitna says Lions will win 10-plus games in '07 [ABC12]

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of Matt Millen's mind.

You're a savvy sports fan, so you know that Millen drafted wide receivers in the first rounds of three of the last four drafts. Thanks to his commitment to a top receiving corps, the Lions' starting receivers last year were Roy Williams (the best of the picks) and Mike Furrey (a former Rams receiver turned safety). For variety, they sometimes used Josh McCown, a former Cardinals quarterback, as a slot receiver.

According to an NFL Network report, Lions offensive coordinator Mike Martz convinced Millen to select Johnson by explaining how he would use the receiver in his offense. "I plan to have Jon Kitna throw footballs to him," Martz explained. "Gosh, I never would have thought of that," Millen replied. "Now back to my Spider-Man coloring book. Staying between the lines is ever so hard."

For the record, Millen probably plans to trade Johnson, perhaps in the next few hours, perhaps to Tampa for some additional picks. Way to go, Matt. You're the smartest guy in the room. With your track record, there's no way this burst of creativity and chutzpah will explode in your face.

Granted, Johnson probably won't go bust the way Mike Williams and Charles Rogers did. The kid's got the talent of Terrell Owens, the morals of Saint Augustine (post conversion), and the work ethic of Spongebob. He was tough to evaluate at times, because his quarterback at Georgia Tech's arm was about as accurate as a Sylvia Browne horoscope, but Johnson has Pro Bowl ability. He'll be great, and if the Lions keep him, the Williams-Johnson-Furrey combo will be hard to stop. It's just that the Lions need defensive players. And a quarterback, and an upgrade on the line. Et cetera.

If Millen doesn't get a good deal done (there had better be a second round pick involved), every football blog on the net is going to pillory this pick. I'm not a fish-in-the-barrel kind of guy. I'm also not a Lions fan. Thank heavens. Millen's incompetent, the Lions stink, let's move on.

Amobi Okoye, Calvin Johnson and Gaines Adams all admitted during interviews at the NFL combine that they have used marijuana, according to a story reported by Pro Football Weekly on its Web site. All three are regarded as top-10 picks and all three could be off the board in the first five picks.

PFW says it seems unlikely this would affect their draft stock, and we say thank heavens to that. We hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but we no longer are too taken back by marijuana use by our athletes. In fact, we're starting to think there's something weird if they're not doing drugs. (This is why we wouldn't draft Brady Quinn, by the way.) In fact, we're pretty convinced everybody else who was asked is lying.

The Way We Hear It [Pro Football Weekly]
Wanna Get High? [AngryT]