| 02 November 2009
The National Midnight Star Weekly World News Pro Football Talk is a great place to get the latest NFL rumors and transactions. I check it out a few times a day. But when it comes to actual team analysis? Pro Football Talk is a great place to get the latest rumors and transactions.
The latest piece of lazy PFT analysis to hit the web trashed the new Lions' regime, ignoring the past 8 seasons of the Millen Error, and several good moves made by the Lions since the worst GM in history was purged.
For the Lions, 1-15 isn't out of the question. Just because the team has hired a new coach doesn't mean the franchise automatically will become better.
The Lions didn't clean house after last year's disastrous season, promoting Martin Mayhew and Tom Lewand on the same day that former coach Rod Marinelli was fired. Mayhew and Lewand claimed that they were the right persons to fix the franchise because they had front-row seats for the Matt Millen regime. In reality, Mayhew and Lewand were complicit in the years of crappy football, and all they've proven this year is that their knowledge of how to do it wrong hasn't translated into a road map for doing it right.
God dammit! I hate defending the Lions. But I'm going to have to, as PFT's post was unadulterated tripe.
First off, has anyone in Detroit or who watches the team closely say the Lions would "automatically" become better? Didn't think so.
As did any fan of the Detroit Lions, I had second thoughts about Martin Mayhew's hiring, thanks to his being associated with Millen. It's a scarlett letter he'll have to wear forever. But he got the GM job, and actually ran with it.
In case you've forgotten (as PFT obviously has...or ignored, which is more likely) Mayhew has made some smart moves and transactions:
1. Mayhew stole 3 draft picks, one a 1st rounder, by trading the ever underachieving WR Roy Williams to Dallas. That was a trade made of pure, pure win.
2. He also traded the bitchy and extremely unhappy Jon Kitna to Dallas for cornerback Anthony Henry. Henry did start a few games for the Lions before he was benched. But the trade got the cancerous Kitna out of Detroit, and, more importantly, saved the Lions $4 million in salary cap room. Kitna was never going to play for the Lions again, and the rest of the NFL knew it. The fact Mayhew was able to salvage a player in trade while making cap room in the process makes the trade a win.
3. Mayhew's draft strategy of taking the best player available, regardless of position, paid off in the Lions having their best draft class since the mid-90s. Five draft picks have started this year, Matthew Stafford, Brandon Pettigrew, Louis Delmas, Deandre Levy and Sammie Lee Hill. Derrick Williams and Aaron Brown have received a considerable amount of playing time, while Zack Follett has been a special teams demon. That's a good draft class for any team, let alone one with such a checkered draft history as the Lions.
There's more, but I've made my point.
Despite the Millen connection, and the garish scarlett letter, Mayhew, in a little more than 1 year, has done more than Millen could in over 8.
Writing off the Lions new regime after all of 7 games is sloppy, under researched, shoot from the hip opinion, not any sort of true evaluation. In other words, it's stupid.
Will the Mayhew/Schwartz combo finally turn the Lions around?
Hell if I know.
Remember this. They took over a franchise in worse shape than any expansion team. Millen was a moron, and previous coach Rod Marinelli was in so far over his head, all he could was spew platitudes for 3 years, while coaching the Lions into oblivion. Their teaming up devastated the Detroit franchise.
I've said it over and over again. The Lions were not going to be fixed in a single off season. It was impossible. This is a total rebuilding project which could take up to 4 or 5 years, easy.
Am I happy with the current state of the Lions? Not at all.
Am I going to have to grit my teeth and have an immense amount of patience? Lamentably, yes.
Sometimes I find patience hard to come by, as shown by my ranting over the Rams loss. But I also give praise when it is due, and Mayhew has deserved it.
Rather than do 5 minutes worth of research, PFT would rather spend their time insulting the Lions, and by association, their fanbase. Like I said, PFT is a great place to get the latest rumors and transactions. But anything resembling analysis?
Here's some: PFT predicted the Washington Redskins were Super Bowl bound.
'Nuff said.
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