Dave Birkett: Lions' architects following a super blueprint for success

I NDIANAPOLIS -- Tom Lewand did his usual drive-by at the Super Bowl this year.

He showed his face at a few league functions, made small talk over a couple of meals, and by the time the Giants and Patriots kicked off Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday night, the Lions' president was back home, far from the spectacle of the game.

"For me, it's always a reminder that we're one of the 30 teams that isn't here, and that's not what we aspire to," Lewand explained of his annual pilgrimage home before kickoff. "I used to come down to Super Bowls with Roger Penske before we hosted because Roger was our chair of the host committee and Roger would always wonder why I left on Saturday night or Sunday morning, 'What are you doing?'

"I said, 'Roger, if your car doesn't qualify for the Indy 500 in the month of May, do you stick around for the race?' And he said, 'Say no more. I'll see you back in Detroit.' That's the feeling that you get here more than anything else."

Lewand's approach is understandable. Plenty of players in the NFL do the same. They want nothing to do with the Super Bowl until they're in one.

But had he chosen to stay Sunday, Lewand would have seen the Giants validate his team's blueprint with a thrilling 21-17 victory at Lucas Oil Stadium.

New York won its second championship in four years with the same plan the Lions hope will pay off for them. Start with a cold-blooded quarterback on offense, mix in a dominant pass rush on defense, let the two marinate with some good personnel moves and harden into a Super Bowl ring.

Designing a brilliant building isn't the same as constructing one. You need the right materials and the best workers, and there are 31 other architects in the NFL eyeing the same piece of real estate.

But to the Lions' credit, they appear to have a foundation in place.

Matthew Stafford isn't in Eli Manning's class as a quarterback yet, but he has the talent to be. He just threw for 5,000 yards, the fourth player in NFL history to accomplish that feat, and he turns 24 today, the same age Manning was when he became a full-time starter in his second season in the league.

Manning, of course, has two titles and two Super Bowl MVPs to his name -- Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw and Bart Starr are the only other players with that distinction -- and after 119 straight starts he has a staying power Stafford can't claim yet.

Likewise, the Giants have constructed a defensive line that, through four years and countless changes, has been the fuel for two Super Bowl runs. Justin Tuck, one of the few holdovers from New York's Super Bowl XLII team, had two sacks in both games, but Jason Pierre-Paul replaced Michael Strahan as the Giants' top pass rusher, and New York has new starters at both defensive tackle positions.

The Lions have cornerstone pass rushers in Ndamukong Suh and Cliff Avril, a pending free agent who's likely to return to Detroit, and general manager Martin Mayhew has made no bones about his desire to keep the line well-stocked for years to come.

Mayhew jumped at the chance to draft defensive tackle Nick Fairley 13th overall last year, adding to a position of strength, and it wouldn't surprise anyone if he winds up with another pass rusher in April.

Beyond Avril's contract situation, Corey Williams and Lawrence Jackson are entering the final years of their deals and at 33 there's no telling how much longer Kyle Vanden Bosch will be around.

Coach Jim Schwartz said last week it's impossible to tell how close teams really are to winning a Super Bowl in the NFL. The last two winners needed victories at the end of the regular season to get in the playoffs, got hot and went on miraculous postseason runs.

The NFC will be a grind next season. Manning and the Giants aren't going anywhere, the Packers are still the team to beat in the NFC North, the Saints and 49ers are coming off 13-win seasons, and the Bears were a playoff-caliber team until Matt Forte and Jay Cutler got hurt.

But the Lions at least have a plan in place that has been tried and tested and proven to work.

"I think we're close," Stafford said. "I think we've got some steps to make. Obviously, there's teams year in year out that make it to the playoffs and don't go back to the playoffs for a couple more years. Hopefully we can avoid that, we can be smart enough and tough enough to go out there and make it back to the playoffs, and then anything can happen from there."

Contact Dave Birkett: 313-222-8831 or dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @freeplions.

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Dave Birkett: Lions' architects following a super blueprint for success