With the NFL draft less than two weeks away, ESPN’s special on Tom Brady is timely. “The Brady 6” is much better than just that.

It's a close look at Brady, a future Hall of Famer, who was selected in the sixth round -- 199th overall -- of the 2000 draft by New England. Six quarterbacks were drafted before him hence “The Brady 6.”

The quarterback, who has won three Super Bowls, is living proof that the draft is an imperfect deal. He was overlooked even though he had established himself as the Comeback Kid at Michigan capping off his Wolverines’ career with a big win over Alabama in the Orange Bowl in his senior season.

He was a flop at the NFL Combine -- ran a 5.2 40. Clips from the Combine are shown too.

The hour-long special has plenty of quotes from Brady and NFL officials including Steve Mariucci. And, of course, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr.

It’s clear that the draft snub by every NFL team except the Patriots bothered Brady. It still does. Perhaps some of that fire in his belly is still stoked by remembering that six quarterbacks were drafted before him.

Brady came name all six quarterbacks who were drafted before him. Can you?

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Do the Lions owe Tom Brady and the Patriots a big thank you?

The Patriots needed a fourth-quarter push to beat the Lions 45-24 on Thanksgiving. It was the Lions’ biggest defeat during their 6-10 season. Seven of their 10 losses were by 8 points or less.

Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh calls that the “breaking point.’’ After that loss, the Lions 24-20 to Chicago and it was their final loss of the season.

“At that breaking point, at the Thanksgiving game, that’s more or less (when we) started to learn how to finish and learned exactly how close we are to being able to take those wins and figuring out what we had to get done with our own selves,’’ Suh said. “It wasn’t always the other teams affecting us and the way they play, we played a lot of great teams, playoff teams as you can see, but I think at that point we learned how to finish.’’

And that was the key, the breaking point if you will.

(Follow me on Twitter @PaulaPasche.)

Drew Stanton, the odd man out in the Lions' quarterback mix now that No. 1 pick Matthew Stafford is on board, spoke about that draft choice and his lack of anything resembling an opportunity in his two seasons in Detroit after the Lions' OTA workout Tuesday.

“It's one of those things that's going to be an uphill battle, I'm aware of that,” Stanton said. “But it's a challenge that I'm going to have to try and overcome. But you get challenged every day you come out on this football field. It's not just me, there's a lot of other guys. And the draft's going to change everybody's playing field, we're aware of that, and you got to come in here and perform.”

Stanton took the No. 2 quarterback reps behind Daunte Culpepper Tuesday, but he'll no doubt be relegated to third string when Stafford is eligible to return to the team in two weeks. Culpepper is the starter for now, and the Lions are sending Stafford the film and script of the six offseason workouts he'll miss in order to keep him up to speed.

Culpepper declined to speak to the media Tuesday, and Stanton said no one from the organization has said let him in on their plans for his future.

“Hopefully we'll get a better understanding of what direction we're headed in, but that's not going to change what I'm about and who I am and how I go about my business,” he said.

He said he has no plans to ask for a trade or his release, and said “that's not even a fair question” when asked if he'd have a more realistic opportunity to succeed somewhere else.

In his first two seasons, Stanton has played in just three games and attempted 17 passes. He was stashed on injured reserve as a rookie, had his mechanics overhauled by Mike Martz, and is on this third offensive coordinator and third quarterback coach as a Lion.

“I'm still here, so until I'm no longer here and don't get a shot, that's when we can look back and say that, but right now I'm a Detroit Lion and as long as that is a fact then I'm going to go about my business,” Stanton said. “This is only going on my third season, so it's one of those things that it doesn't always happen the same way for everybody in this league. Not everybody's Matt Ryan, not everybody's Peyton Manning, some people are Tom Brady. Everybody else has a unique case. It's one of those things if you continue to work hard good things are going to happen.”

According to multiple reports, the Minnesota Vikings are close to acquiring Sage Rosenfels from the Houston Texas for a fourth-round draft pick. The deal can't become official until Friday, but its ramifications seem clear: The Vikings are content to go into next season with Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson battling it out at quarterback. More importantly, by trading that high of a pick, the Vikings won't be a factor in any Matt Cassel sweepstakes.

The Patriots franchised Cassel earlier this offseason as insurance for Tom Brady's injured knee. They could keep him at the steep price tag of $14.6 million next year or trade him for draft picks (this year or next) once they're confident Brady has healed.

Where do the Lions come in? They have a well-documented need at quarterback, plenty of draft picks to maneuver with, the cap space to take on Cassel's contract (which no doubt would be reworked as a long-term deal if he's traded) and a general manager in Martin Mayhew who's already shown a willingness to trade (Roy Williams last October).

I don't have any indications the Lions and Patriots have talked or that New England is even willing to deal Cassel at this point, but surely there will come a point when that bridge is crossed.

The Lions would be foolish to give up the No. 1 overall pick for Cassel, who'll be 27 once the season starts and has started one season of football this decade (albeit a fine season last year). The market doesn't bear it. But what about No. 20? Or better yet, what about 33?

New England, presumably, would start any discussions at a first-round pick and then some in terms of compensation. The market seems to bear that out. Rosenfels fetched a fourth, and two years ago Matt Schaub went for two seconds and a swap of first-round picks (Atlanta, which traded Schaub, moved up two spots in the deal).

But when the two sides start playing chicken, where does it end? The Lions surely would want Cassel in for their first of two mini-camps the weekend before the draft, and the list of potential landing spots will shrink by then. Minnesota's already out of the running. If the Jets sign Byron Leftwich in free agency and Washington adds Albert Haynesworth and a big contract, they probably will be, too. 

That leave the Chiefs, where former Patriots personnel man Scott Pioli is now general manager, the Buccaneers, and maybe the Rams or Panthers or Bears. None of those teams has as much ammunition (and maybe incentive) to move up as the Lions. If you're considering Matt Stafford at No. 1 or Mark Sanchez at No. 20, then don't you have to consider Cassel for the 20th pick, too? Pair him with an offensive tackle or a linebacker at the top of the draft and this is a dramatically different team.

What if it also costs you a second-rounder next year? Is that too steep a price? On the other hand, what if all it takes is something like the Schaub trade? The Lions give up seconds this year and next and the teams exchange first-rounders (New England moves up to 20 and the Lions slide down to 23).

How bad and at what price would you want Cassel?

I talked to former Jaguars personnel executive James “Shack” Harris for literally a minute Monday morning. He said he didn't “have anything to add to the reports that are out there” about him possibly joining the Lions in a front-office capacity in the near future, but he did not dispute them, either.

About the only nugget I can add to advance the story at this point is I've been told Harris won't be in Detroit "in the next couple of days." That means next to nothing, of course. A deal does not appear to be signed and done at this stage, and even if it was he could work out of his Florida home.

My two-cent take: Harris will be Martin Mayhew's sounding board before too long and will play a prominent role in free agency and the draft, but the Lions won't have a press conference to announce his hiring until later this week at the earliest, probably after they finally confirm some of their assistant-coach hires.

• The Lions Super Bowl commercial? My wife turned my way and started laughing when she saw Jim Schwartz walk out of the tunnel, his name on the big board behind him, and half-turn his head with a look of seriousness on his face. I have no problem with the concept of the commercial, but I doubt the execution did anything to change anyone's opinion of the organization.

• As for the game itself, from James Harrison's interception return on it was one of the best Super Bowls ever. That was a fantastic finish, but the NFL, for appearance sake if nothing else, should have reviewed the Warner fumble at the end of the game. It looked like a fumble on replay, but this is the biggest game of the season. A trip under the hood wouldn't have hurt (and the Cardinals had a real chance to cash in had the call been overturned considering the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty enforced on the next play).

• Early Super Bowl favorites for next year have to be the Patriots in the AFC (with Tom Brady back) and the Giants in the NFC (with Osi Umenyiora and maybe Plaxico Burress back). I'll go slightly off the board and pick the Pats to beat the Vikings, who'll finally solve their quarterback problems this offseason (Brett Favre, maybe?). If Minnesota doesn't address its needs under center, I reserve the right to change my NFC pick, maybe to Atlanta, which should return most every key player next season but has one of the league's most difficult schedules.

Lions quarterback coach Scot Loeffler would neither confirm nor deny reports he's heading back to college to work for Urban Meyer at Florida in a brief phone conversation today.

“There's nothing I have to say about any of that right now,” Loeffler said. “I'm still employed with the Lions.”

Loeffler was one of a handful of assistant coaches retained when the Lions fired Rod Marinelli last week. He spent one season in Detroit after six years at Michigan where he tutored Chad Henne and worked with Tom Brady as a graduate assistant.

The Gainesville Sun reported Sunday that Loeffler “is expected to be named” Florida's “new quarterbacks coach” sometime after the national championship game. Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen is leaving to become head coach at Mississippi State, and Loeffler reportedly already has been in touch with Gators quarterback Tim Tebow.

Previously, it was rumored that Loeffler would join Steve Sarkisian's staff at the University of Washington as offensive coordinator.

NFL teams routinely retain some assistants after a firing, but the Lions will not require their next head coach to keep the current staff. The Lions have interviewed at least three candidates - Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and Redskins defensive backs coach Jerry Gray - and plan more interviews this week.

Loeffler said he is currently on vacation but did not specify where.

"There's nothing for me to talk about right now," he said.

In case you missed it, the Lions all but locked up the No. 1 pick in the draft over the weekend. Kansas City won at Oakland, giving the Chiefs two victories this year. That means the Lions at 0-12 would have to win two of their final four games to slide out of the No. 1 spot. (Cincinnati at 1-10-1 currently has pick No. 2.) Not gonna happen.

It's pointless to start breaking down the draft in December, especially since no one knows who'll be making picks for the Lions, but I've received a few emails on the subject so I want to highlight a few names/scenarios the Lions will be faced with come April.

In all likelihood, they'll have to choose between a potential franchise quarterback, either Oklahoma's Sam Bradford or Georgia's Matt Stafford; the top offensive tackle available (likely Alabama's Andre Smith); or defensive help (USC linebacker Rey Maualuga or Alabama defensive tackle Terrence Cody). Bradford, Stafford, Smith and Cody are all underclassmen, but with labor uncertainty and their status as probable top-10 picks I would expect all to forgo their final seasons of eligibility.

If the current regime is in place, I think the Lions go defense first and try to win with Daunte Culpepper at quarterback. If not, it comes down to whether the new decision-makers view Bradford or Stafford as a franchise-caliber, Matt Ryan-type quarterback. If the answer on either is yes, you can bet that's your No. 1 pick.

I've heard all the arguments against taking a quarterback No. 1 – the Lions have too many other holes to fill; the hit-and-miss nature of taking a quarterback No. 1; the cost associated with signing that pick – and while they're all grounded in truth, the fact is top-flight signal callers don't come around every day and they're the single biggest predictor of NFL success. The last five Super Bowl winners have employed four of the game's best quarterbacks in Eli and Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger.

The Lions' draft needs could change in the coming months if, say, Scott Pioli takes over as general manager, hires Josh McDaniels as head coach and signs Matt Cassel as a free agent. But if Stafford or Bradford grades out as a future Pro Bowler, he'll be worth the gamble at No. 1 – especially when you consider how well Ryan and Baltimore's Joe Flacco have played as rookies this year (both are 8-4).