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Cheesehead
Joined: 13 Feb 2004
Posts: 5085
Location: Milwaukee, WI
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 Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 11:33 am Post subject: Matt Millen done in Detroit |
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About time much?
Though I hope DET can actually get out of the gutter someday, I will miss Darvon's rants.
Maybe DET can abstrain from drafting a WR 1st round this coming draft? |
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chrisjp
Mr. Lovable
Joined: 03 Jun 2004
Posts: 5005
Location: Round Rock, TX and Las Vegas
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| Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 12:01 pm Post subject: |
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I can hear Darvon now..... 
| Quote: | | I will miss Darvon's rants |
Oh the rants aren't going away. The Lions didn't change ownership. The duration of the Millen era was truly incredible...
Here's a tidbit that was written in August.... http://gamblerstelevision.com/242643/
Offense: ...The Lions didn’t run the ball (last year) because they couldn’t with their personnel. They are counting heavily on third round pick Kevin Smith to run the ball out of Central Florida. Smith’s backup is Tatum Bell. Did I forget to say that Matt Millen is the GM of this team!! This is how you are going to improve your running game? And you want to run more?? You got to be out of your mind.
Defense: Defensive coordinator Joe Barry ran the worst defense last season and was retained, as Mike Martz was the scapegoat last season. Did you know that Joe Barry is the son-in-law of head coach Rod Marinelli?? How could Matt Millen approve this hiring??
...And now to my Selection: Rod Marinelli fired the wrong coordinator. His issue was with his defense yet he fires Mike Martz as offensive coordinator. The team was poorly built to run the ball. Defensive coordinator Joe Barry did a horrible job of developing depth on his defense, as you need starters behind starters on defense when Mike Martz is running your offense. At 7-9 last season the team has reached their peak with Matt Millen as the GM of this team. The team wants to run more but with their backfield it will force plenty of second and longs and teams once again will lock up in pass coverage.
Play the Detroit Lions under 6 1/2 or even 6 wins for the 2008 season.
Once again I let another great EV sitiuation slip away,
Chris |
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darvon
BCS Neutral
Joined: 28 Feb 2004
Posts: 5357
Location: Detroit
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| Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 2:04 pm Post subject: |
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Chris is right.
Although Matt was a horrific GM, it pales beside the ability of our owner. William Clay Ford.
Outsiders might not know the background so here goes. He was born in 1925 and was the youngest of the 4 Ford kids. He was head of the Continental division in the mid 50s. The Ford family put him there because William was sort of a party guy and not a great manager so they stuck him with the littlest division in Ford, Continental. But FoMoCo was just about to go public and the family was afraid and Bill Sr's drinking problem was getting out of hand and so they merged Lincoln with Contenental and put Bill Sr out of a job at about 35. He partied around for a while and then got bored. The family was worried that Bill would want to run something else at Ford, so they bought him the Detroit Lions to run in 64. He put his buddies in charge and off they went. The main man at the Lions for decades was a guy named Russ Thomas, who was Bill's best friend. Bill owed Russ because Russ had gotten Bill out of a spiralling drinking problem, and as a now recovered alcoholic Bill owed Russ. So Russ had the position of Lions GM/Prez essentially for life (he retired in 89 and died in 91). Russ paid back Bill by running the Lions on the cheap for 25 years.
Bill never did the hard work of an owner, like firing people or negotiations, Russ did that. After Russ retired, the Lions became an organizational nightmare, with no one in control, although they started to spend a lot more after a LOT of Detroit criticism about being cheap. Although they never spent well.
When Millen came, it was Bill Jr's idea to both centralize authority and put in someone Jr was impressed with. Then Jr went off to run FoMoCo into the ground. Millen had carte blanche and since Sr didn't like to do the "tough" jobs like firing anyone, Miller was there for life again. Until today. I don't know why today was any different than any other day.
I don't think the Lions will get better without a Very Good GM and picking the GM is the function of the owner. Therefore I don't think the Lions will get better until Ford is gone, which is probably never. Eveh if he dies (he's 83) Jr will probably get the team and his management abilities aren't all that much better. And I don't think there is anyone left in Detroit with enough money to buy the team.
Maybe Jr takes it to LA. Jr likes Hollywood.
I am afraid I will not live to see a Lions Superbowl. |
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fatshaft
Prodigal
Joined: 07 Feb 2004
Posts: 4767
Location: Warrington/Wolston, England (but Scottish!!)
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| Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:52 am Post subject: |
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| darvon wrote: |
I am afraid I will not live to see a Lions Superbowl. |
In a sport where everyone in theory should have a chance, that is sad.  |
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chrisjp
Mr. Lovable
Joined: 03 Jun 2004
Posts: 5005
Location: Round Rock, TX and Las Vegas
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| Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2008 8:51 am Post subject: |
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| fatshaft wrote: | | In a sport where everyone in theory should have a chance, that is sad. |
Very sad for the fans. But in a sport where ownership is outrageously incompetent then it is just. |
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darvon
BCS Neutral
Joined: 28 Feb 2004
Posts: 5357
Location: Detroit
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| Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2008 10:36 am Post subject: |
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It balances out.
I lived in SF for almost all of the Montana/Young run.
Plus, living in Detroit, each year the NFL allows me to pick a "substitute team" to be loyal to. The NFL started doing this in the early 80's and when I registered to vote when I moved back to Detroit, I started receiving my "exemption" in the mail.
It's all very official.
I hear that Missouri residents will start getting theirs in 2009.
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darvon
BCS Neutral
Joined: 28 Feb 2004
Posts: 5357
Location: Detroit
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| Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2008 10:39 am Post subject: |
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I hear that Kansas City residents get a similar item from MLB.
But it doesn't come by mail, it comes by UPS.
Because it's chiseled in stone....  |
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