Jones's Chip Exactly What Lions Have Been Lacking

When the Tigers were stumbling through the American League thru most of the 1990s and into the 21st century, one spring training staple was this: that everyone got along magnificently, and the players couldn't stop talking about how the clubhouse was full of great guys, yadda, yadda, yadda. Then they, the nice guys that they were, would go out and finish last -- or somewhere near it.

The Lions have been guilty of misplaced nirvana, too.

Many a July and August have come and gone with players and coaches talking about the peace and harmony in the land of the Honolulu and Blue. Bill Ford Jr., one year, even spent some time with the 49ers, hoping to impart some of their winning ways onto the Lions. Too bad he couldn't, in the end, impart the 49ers' players, or coaches.

So while it was nice, to me, to hear QB Jon Kitna and WR Roy Williams wax enthusiastic about 10 wins and 40 points per game, it's even nicer to see some piss and vinegar come out of Allen Park, courtesy RB Kevin Jones.

Jones, the injured running back trying to work his way back into the lineup after a very serious foot injury, appears to be a little cranky that the Lions went out and got some insurance at the position, in the form of Tatum Bell and T.J. Duckett.

"If I wasn't injured, he (Bell) wouldn't even be here," Jones said recently. "I'll be the starter when I come back."

It was written that the relationship between Jones and Bell was "cordial." Fiddlesticks. I hope it isn't true. Or, I hope that "cordial" is another way of saying "stand-offish."

Sometimes tension between players of the same position is a bad thing. Just ask the Red Wings of 2003-04, who had to tiptoe around the locker room during the infamous Dominik Hasek-Curtis Joseph cold war.

But in this case, I think it's good that Kevin Jones seems to have a chip on his shoulder about the infiltration of Tatum Bell in his training camp.

Throughout camp, Jones's words have had one stubborn theme: I'm the starter and that's that. And nobody you bring in here is gonna change that. None of this, "Oh, Tatum and I get along great; each of us pulls for the other. Whether it's him or me as the starter, it's cool as long as we're winning."

Those are the courteous, paper thin words of quarterbacks. And rarely are those QBs playing for a winning team when they say them.

Kevin Jones is sneering at the Lions' acquisition of Tatum Bell. It's nice to see, since all we've gotten lately have been meows when what we really need to see is some roaring.