The critics contended in 2001 that the Detroit Lions football brain trust, general manager Matt Millen and head coach Marty Mornhinweg, was in over its head. Given the seeming lack of preparation at times, some dubious roster moves, and decisions that opened the duo to second-guessing, Millen and Mornhinweg have a lot of catching up to do.

And perhaps not a lot of time in which to do it.

There continues to be whispers that Millen, who returns home to eastern Pennsylvania late in the week even during the season to visit his family and see his kids play football, will jump back to the broadcast booth at some point. And the rumblings are that Mornhinweg, essentially the only man Millen interviewed for the job after dumping Gary Moeller, is not head coaching material. The charges against both men may be harsh, but both know there is only one way to silence the snipers, and that is to win.

Looking at the Lions roster, and how it stacks up against the rest of the division, enacting a quick turnaround doesn't appear in the cards. Certainly the Lions will be better than the two victories they managed in 2001 because, especially on the defensive side of the ball, this team has better talent than that. But there often seems to be no rhyme in the manner Detroit approaches things and, were Ford automobiles built with such a questionable blueprint (hold the wisecracks), the wheels would literally be off before you left the local showroom, it seems.

Detroit added outside speed in wide receivers Az-Zahir Hakim and Bill Schroeder during the free-agent period, but overpaid for the former and seemed to ignore the fact the latter often drove Brett Favre nuts in Green Bay with his freelancing. Even in the draft, with the third overall selection, the Lions were split. The defensive coaches sorely wanted the club to choose cornerback Quentin Jammer to address Detroit's biggest need. Instead, Millen went for quarterback Joey Harrington, despite the presence of youngster Mike McMahon, who finished 2001 as the starter.

	CAMP AT A GLANCE
	Mike McMahon started three games last season as a rookie.
	Location: Lions Training Facility, Allen Park, Mich. Rookies report: July 24 Veterans report: July 24 Preseason schedule:    Aug. 9: at Baltimore    Aug. 17: at Cleveland    Aug. 24: Pittsburgh    Aug. 29: Buffalo

Where will this bring the Lions?

It's hard to make tangible progress at every level when your first two quarterbacks have so few regular-season starts between them. The task becomes even more difficult when no one is certain who will win the starting job. McMahon will go to camp atop the depth chart and, barring something unforeseen, will start the opener. But Harrington is a sharp kid with more physical talent than McMahon, has done everything right this spring, and figures to have the fans screaming for him if the Lions come slowly out of the chute.

Millen and Mornhinweg figure to be under pressure from the outset, two good guys who are stuck in a situation partly of their own making, but perhaps lacking the experience to improve their plight. The division is a competitive one, with Chicago and Green Bay seemingly perched at the top and the Vikings maybe resuscitated under new head coach Mike Tice. Fortunately for the Lions, they can't finish fifth in the division again. Alas, they still appear destined for last place.

Man in the spotlight
Former outside linebacker and onetime first-round draft choice Chris Claiborne moved into the middle last year when stalwart Stephen Boyd was injured, and played even better than some coaches thought he would. Now he opens camp at his new position and there are pro personnel directors who feel he will be a standout there. Claiborne is far more athletic than was the now-retired Boyd and although he lacks Boyd's innate feel for the inside, he seems to have natural playmaker skills. Detroit is still stout enough at defensive tackle, especially with Luther Elliss, to protect Claiborne and allow him to chase the ball, which is clearly his strength.

This is a defensive unit that still has some talent, mostly in the front seven, and should revolve around Claiborne. He might not get much attention, particularly if the Lions struggle as a team again, but Claiborne is the model of the more mobile middle 'backer that most teams now prefer and, at least individually, he should prosper.

Key position battle
No matter how hard team officials try to keep the pressure off Harrington, much of the preseason attention is going to be focused on the former Oregon star, and on his quest to unseat McMahon as the starter. The two players aren't quite polar opposites, but their differences certainly should make for an intriguing camp competition, even if the staff has already decided that McMahon will open the season the No. 1 guy.

McMahon is more the scrapper of the two, a gutsy performer whose skill level does not approximate that of Harrington, and who might need a few early victories to hold off the rookie. Harrington has poise, pocket presence and a strong arm. While he has said all the right things this spring, one has to wonder if he's also got the patience to sit and watch McMahon run the show for very long.

Injury update
Veteran cornerback Terry Fair avoided foot surgery during the offseason, but there still is no guarantee the Lions' best pure coverage defender will be ready for the start of camp. If he isn't, there aren't a lot of attractive alternatives, and nudging third-round draft choice Andre Goodman into the starting lineup might actually be the most palatable of them. The Lions were decimated by injuries, notably at the safety spot, in 2001. But most of the players knocked out of the lineup last year (like Kurt Schulz and Ron Rice) aren't back with Detroit this time around.

Tailback James Stewart had some knicks that slowed him in 2001 but seems to have recovered from them. Wide receiver Germane Crowell, re-signed as an unrestricted free agent, isn't totally rehabilitated yet and probably won't be full speed unit maybe halfway through training camp.

Rookie report
In addition to Harrington and Goodman, the Lions hope to get something this year out of second-round defensive end Kalimba Edwards. A little too light to play full-time, he will probably be used primarily on third down, as a situation pass rusher, and Detroit hopes that a year in the weight room will add some tonnage for 2003. Although injuries dropped him into the seventh round, don't be surprised if former Brigham Young star tailback Luke Staley gets a ton of playing time. Staley has more surgical stitches, it seems, than the Frankenstein monster. But if he is healthy, he is a versatile playmaker with good speed and a knack for locating the end zone.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.