FireMillen.com

So, I’m back in town after celebrating my 50th year on the face of this Earth….my 50th year. Sad to say the Detroit Lions have not won a championship or Super Bowl, literally, in my lifetime. How pathetic is it then that I stick with these guys? Hope builds and dies year after year.

Ah, but I digress…this isn’t going to be yet another article calling for Ford to sell the team or at the very least, calling for the head of Matt Millen on a platter. I’m sure both of those subjects have been covered many times by many people, including myself, too many times to count.

No, I am going to choose to focus on what could be considered the most successful draft in Matt Millen’s tenure. Cripes, by just NOT drafting a wide receiver with the 1st pick has to say the 2008 Lion draft is in the top 8 during Millen’s time in office, right?

There didn’t seem to be much discussion about Lion choices one way or another. They traded away from the #15 spot down to 17 to take tackle Gosder Cherilus from Boston College. I know Cherilus wasn’t on my radar for them to take, especially since both Jeff Otah and Sam Baker were still on the board. From what little research I was able to do on a cruise ship, sailing in the Gulf of Mexico while drinking copious amount of tequila, Cherilus is more of a developmental prospect rather than someone that can step in and make an immediate impact. I would have been OK with this pick if the Lions had gone deep into the playoffs last year and wanted to start grooming for the future. Since Backus is going to stay on the left side, it looks as though Foster is the incumbent with Jonathon Scott backing him up and Cherilus 3rd on the depth chart. Is it me or should a 1st round draft pick be 3rd on the depth chart on an under-achieving team?

In taking Jordon Dizon, the Lions may have just found the linebacker they need. Unfortunately, Dizon is another outside linebacker, not an effective run stopper they sorely need in the middle linebacker spot. But, perhaps with Dizon on one side and Sims on the other, going to the outside will be hard to do on the Lions and whatever prima donna they have in the middle just might make some tackles. One can hope, right?

Perhaps the best pick the Lions made, as far as where in the draft and need, was 3rd round pick running back Kevin Smith from Central Florida. He has the same issue of being an upright runner, much like the Vikes Adrian Peterson and is prone to taking some big hits. But Smith ain’t no Peterson but he can read blocks and shows a good burst through the hole, something Lion fans have been missing on a consistent basis since the days of Barry Sanders. I can see the potential success of the 2-back system of Bell and Smith and the Lions just might have the missing running game they need.

With their second 3rd round pick, DT Andre Fluellen was taken. Ok, I’m going to hold judgment on this pick as far as beefing up the defensive line. Fluellen doesn’t have great size or the ability to get bigger. Lions could be looking at perhaps making him a middle linebacker? He’s got the size and speed for it and with a nose for the ball and good tackling technique, he may be better suited for MLB than the defensive line. And the name Fluellen just sounds like a middle linebacker, at least to me. Just speculation on my part but that may be how Fluellen makes a living in the NFL.

With their 3rd and final 3rd round pick, Lions took a DE, Cliff Arvel out of Purdue. With his ability to get to the QB, he just might play only on passing downs. If he can work on defending the run, he could play into a full time DE in a couple of years. Not too bad of choice.

Lions didn’t get a 4th round pick but did have 2 5th round ones. They went for 2 position players, WR (Millen just had to pick one) Kenneth Moore from Wake Forest and FB Jerome Felton out of Furman. With the Lions being pretty deep at the WR spot, Moore’s only shot to make the team as a # 4 WR. He’s not tall or particularly fast but runs great routes and has very good hands. Perhaps he’ll be the insurance policy for Kitna on critical downs. Felton, as a fullback, isn’t going to scare any MLB. But he is workman like and is a decent short-yardage guy. Again, something the Lions haven’t had in a very long time.

No 6th round pick but two 7th rounders. Getting players this late usually means project picks. I know nothing of Ohio University (Not Ohio State) Landon Cohen but ESPN has him as a one-gap defensive tackle who is best at disrupting running plays, making plays in the backfield and rushing the passer. Huh, if these are his best traits, what’s he doing in the 7th round? Answer: Cohen, at 6’3”, 274 lbs, is undersized for a defensive interior lineman. Teams will have success running right at him.

And of course, taking safety Caleb Campbell from Army. If anything, this was the most newsworthy pick the Lions made simply because he is the first player to utilize the 2005 alternative service option the Army instituted in 2005. Campbell should not be looked at as a novelty…he’s not a bad football player. He could turn out to be the next John Lynch who was taken in the 3rd round of the 1993 draft. Lynch is 6-2 and 220 lbs, Campbell is 6’2 and 229 lbs. Both are good in zone coverage but faltered in man to man. But Lynch made a living at making the big hits and Campbell could be of the same mold.

All in all, I would have to rate the 2008 as Millen’s best yet with the Lions. Why? On paper, it looked as though the Lions drafted for players they need, not what was the best available. While I was ecstatic they took an offensive tackle with the first pick, I’m not particularly encouraged taking Cherilus and leaving Otah and Baker on the board, both who would have made an immediate impact.

So we’ll see when training camp starts how many of these picks stick with the team. I see Kevin Smith and Jordan Dizon as players who will see significant playing time in 2008. As for the others, time will tell.

So here in the Great Northwest, the NBA has voted to allow the Seattle SuperSonics to move to Oklahoma City. The margin of victory (or loss depending on your point of view) wasn’t even close as other NBA owners voted 28-2 with Paul Allen and Mark Cuban voting against the move.

In all this, the fans in Seattle are jumping up and down in anger at Clay Bennett (the current owner who wants the move), calling him a liar and a thief. Not being the biggest NBA fan, one forgets that as an owner of a team and has support of the rest of the league, he can move them since it is, indeed, his team.

So what does all this have to do with the Lions? The situation in Seattle got me wondering. The Sonics are moving to a city that has no other professional team. I wonder how well they will do in Oklahoma without the Mariners and Seahawks to take the bite out of how much they suck. On the other hand, how soon will the team be contenders in their new city since the pressure to win will be more pronounced since they will be the sole professional team in Oklahoma? The Sonics have flown under the sports radar in Seattle the past few years largely due to the success of the Seahawks and the improvement of the Mariners.

Which brings me to the Lions. Granted, with any team, there will be the minority group of fans that will only watch one particular sport regardless of how any other professional teams may be in their city. But the rest of the fan base is the bandwagon jumpers that will pledge their loyalty, providing the team is winning. The Lions have enjoyed financial success but hardly have done anything to prove they are winners in the sport. And despite the success of the Red Wings, Pistons and the Tigers, I truly believe that Detroit is a football town more than anything.

So now there is a proposal by Los Angeles developer Ed Roski to build a professional football stadium in Los Angles. If the Lions were to be sold to Roski and moved to LA, they would still have the ability to fly under the Radar since LA has the Lakers, Clippers, Ducks and the Dodgers to deflect any heat they may face. But despite the success of the Lakers, LA sure loved the Rams during their stay there. The Raiders were never an LA team but did enjoy some success.

But I wonder how fast of a turn-around the Lions would have if going to a city that had no other professional team? Say for instance if Albuquerque NM decided it wanted an NFL team? That is the question for debate.

Sure, William Clay Ford, Sr. has repeatedly indicated that he hates to lose. Still, his actions that he has taken since ownership contradict those statements. Since 1964, the Lions have a winning percentage of 42.9%. Since 1964, the Lions have won 281 games. All other NFC North teams have won at least 309. I know that Ford has owned the team since 1961 but the Vikings came into the league in 64 and I wanted to compare apples to apples. And each of the other teams have gone to at least 2 Super Bowls while the Lions have yet to make an appearance.

I don’t think the Lions will be sold anytime soon. I doubt that other NFL owners would want the 11th largest market to be without an NFL team…and that’s not taking into consideration the city of Windsor or Toledo, OH which viewers, if interested, can watch the Lions. But fans have been frustrated for many, many years of an unsuccessful franchise. Our curse is while many Lion fans may not attend games, opposing team fans do. While Viking fans may not want to make the 680 mile drive, Packer fans, known to be rabid regardless if they win or lose, do travel the 373 miles and even closer are the Bears fans at 283 miles. For those other teams that play the Lions on occasion, such as the Browns, its only 168 miles while Steelers fans, perhaps just as rabid as Packer fans, will pile into their cars to drive the 285 miles. Bengals fans, which have also endured ineptness but are on the rise, are a mere 264 miles away.

We may yell and scream and demand Millen be fired. We may protest and wear opposing team colors to games in an effort to embarrass Ford into action. We may continue to call into Sport Talk radio stations and write to reporters in an effort to have our voices heard. But to what end? Ford is still making money; he has a new stadium and practice facility. We have provided for the Lions as he requested but he has done little in return.

Which all what the fans want: A return on their collective investment. Michigan taxpayers invested 51% in Ford Field. That was after the Lions moved to Pontiac when the Silverdome was built for $55.7 million, financed mostly by bonds issued by the City of Pontiac. The residents of the State of Michigan have upgraded the hardware several times over, Ford, the owner of the software, hasn’t upgraded in years. In fact, with the hiring of Millen, he has downgraded.

I can go on and on…and in the end, will it make any difference? Ford will do what he wants, Millen will continue to botch drafts and free agent signings and the Lions will struggle to reach .500…history has shown that. And isn’t it a well know fact that those who fail to study history are doomed to repeat it? Ford has failed to study his own history as a professional owner of an NFL franchise…no wonder the Lions can’t get out of the self-induced quagmire.

The draft is coming up in 17 days. Not much has been going on with the Lions other than some weak rumors that Roy Williams may be traded to the Dallas Cowboys. Unless we get a decent player along with a first round draft choice, I really doubt Roy is going anywhere.

I will actually be out of the country over Draft Day…I will be celebrating my 50th year on this earth on a cruise ship going around the Cayman Islands. I may or may not be able to catch the draft but in the state of inebriation I plan on being in, I may not really care!

All kidding aside, many mock drafts have the Lions taking a running back at 15.

NFL Draft Scout Mock Draft
Walter Football Mock Draft and The Football Expert Mock Draft ave the Lions taking RB Rasheed Mendenhall, a 225 lbs beast that can run a 4.37 40. Not sure that this would be a wise move on the Lions part with such a deep running back selection in this years draft. The Lions have 2 3rd round picks…they could use one of those to get someone like Tashard Choice out of Georgia Tech or Kevin Smith from Central Florida. Or, even if we wait until the 4th round, the Lions would still be OK with Mike Hart from Michigan or Steve Slaton from West Virginia.

Draft King Mock Draft, About.com Football Mock Draft
and NFL.com Mock Draft have the Lions taking defensive players, DE Derek Kennedy from Florida, CB Aquib Talib from Kansas and LB Jerod Mayo out of Tennessee respectively. A cornerback isn’t a main concern for the Lions after the additions of Leigh Bodden and Brian Kelly.

Derek Kennedy would be a decent pick. With the departure of Shaun Rogers, new inside tackle Chuck Darby would need a lot of help on the outside…Kennedy would have an immediate impact and improve the pass rush.

The most intriguing pick would be LB Jerod Mayo. I would be surprised if the Lions take Mayo at 15 but pairing him with Ernie Sims would bolster the defense nicely.

What really gets me is no mention of the glaring need at the one spot that has been an Achilles heel for the Lions for nearly the past decade: The offensive line. While the dream to have Jake Long would be great, he is already negotiating with the Dolphins so that pretty much locks him up. Bill Parcells knows the value of a good offensive line and he isn’t wasting any time getting it done there. But, we could have shots at Ryan Clady, Chris Williams or Jeff Otah, any of which would help the current leaky sieve of a line.

But Rod is a defensive minded coach…I don’t see the Lions taking a RB with their first pick…my prediction: They will take either DE Derek Kennedy or LB Jerod Mayo, neither of which would be a bad pick.

But I do hope they make the smart move and get an offensive tackle.

That’s right, you read the title correctly: I’m going to buy the Detroit Lions.

I’m going to end all of the senseless draft moves, bad free agent signings and consecutive sub .500 seasons.

Matt Millen will be kicked to the curb with a compensation check of 50 cents only to have that taken away by a Pizza Hut delivery person, just to show Millen how it feels to be screwed year after year…getting the fans hopes up and then leaving them with nothing. He’ll end up on a public access cable channel in Pennsylvania, picking imaginary lint off his cheesy mustache.

When WCF hands over the keys, Ford Field gets changed to Lions Stadium because after all, Fords don’t play there, the Lions do. I want to get on the rules committee and pass a resolution that stadiums don’t get named by a corporate entity, they should reflect the team that plays there…Why do we have Gillette Stadium, the RCA Dome or Invesco Field? C’mon, the Bank of America Stadium or the University of Phoenix Stadium? Has the NFL become creditors or members of the NCAA?

I’m going to lure Bill Cowher out of his cushy job and get him back on the sidelines where he belongs as a head coach. Then I’m going to find an aggressive, young assistant GM to build the team to Cowher specifications…it’s going to have an offensive line that can block out the sun. The offense will be a perfect blend of run and pass. Not sure who the QB or RB will be but Roy Williams and CJ will become the superstars we all know they are. The defense is going to be a pack of wild wolves, always attacking and knows how to tackle. A rule that cannot be broken is a player will be fined $1,000 if he attempts to arm-tackle. I want to hear the hits and I want the opposing team to question their collective manhood.

And most of all, I want to hear the fans cheering for the home team instead of jeering Matt Millen. They will go nuts every game and raise the roof during the playoffs. We will have a 12th, 13th and a 14th man against the opposing team the stadium will be so loud…because they will be cheering a championship team.

I’m going to buy the Detroit Lions…anybody got $950 million they can loan me? I’m good for it!

OK, we haven’t even gone thru the draft yet and already, many people see the Lions as not improved at all…in fact, some have predicted that the Lions will go back to the 3 – 5 win days.

My personal feeling is that while the Lions have improved marginally. With some lucky breaks, they might make the playoffs but I doubt it. Below are the teams on the schedule this year:

Home: Chicago, Green Bay, Minnesota, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Tennessee and Washington

I see victories over the Bears, Green Bay, New Orleans, & Tampa Bay…so at best, they have a 4-4 home record.

Away: Chicago, Green Bay, Minnesota, Atlanta, Carolina, Houston, Indianapolis, San Francisco.

On the road, which has been the Lions Achilles heel since Nixon was in office, might go about the same. Victories over Chicago, Atlanta, Houston and a grudge match win over Mike Martz in San Francisco…again, at best they will have a 4-4 record.

Naturally, this is pure conjecture. The Lions could finally pull their collective heads out of there rear-ends and get some luck victories over the Titans and the Redskins to have a 6-2 home record. Road record wouldn’t change but that would put them at 10-6 and that could be enough for a playoff spot.

Or they could completely fall apart on the road and if they go 4-4 at home with no road victories, they would be 4-12. If that happens, Marinelli would be shown the door but I really doubt if Millen would get fired. But this would Millen’s 8th consecutive losing season…could Ford finally admit that he made a mistake and fire him? And it’s not out of the scope of reality that the Lions could lose all their road games…cripes, they went 3 years (2001 to 2003) without winning a road game…it could happen.

And then what? Start over again? Well, if we do, Millen should be fired. And if former Bronco GM Ted Sundquist is still looking for work, he should get the job. But what about a head coach? Could we through enough money at Bill Cowher to give up his cushy analyst job?

Could Marty Shcottenheimer be willing to work on yet another reclamation project? He did have a lot of regular season success with the Browns, Chiefs and Chargers. I think Lion fans would be very happy with Shcottenheimer’s return to the Lions (he was the linebackers coach for the 1978 & 1979 seasons) and consistent winning seasons.

But there I go again, like many Lion fans, expecting the worst and thinking that everything has to change. Millen, for all his incompetence, did just that, naming 4 head coaches in 8 years. And with each coaching change comes different philosophies.

We are heading into Marinelli’s 3rd year as head coach. If he lasts the season, he will match Steve Mariucci as the longest tenured coach under Millen’s regime. Yeah, there’s something you can hang your hat on.

Still, Marinelli has been given more freedom to mold and instill loyalty in the team, more than any other coach allowed in that same time frame. But discipline, loyalty and being a player with “football character” will only take you so far. There is still the element of talent that’s required.

The Lions have had top 10 draft picks from 2002 to 2007:

2002 - #3: QB Joey Harrington - Now with Atlanta Falcons
2003 - #2: WR Charlie Rogers – Out of football
2004 - #7: WR Roy Williams – Starter
2005 - #10: WR Mike Williams – Out of football
2006 - #9: LB Ernie Sims – Starter
2007 - #2 WR Calvin Johnson – Starter

Not what I would call very successful 1st round picks. Yes, we are going to get great production out of Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson. But wide receivers aren’t really what’s required to sustain drives. Roy is definitely a possession type receiver and Calvin is going to be your big play threat. But what was overlooked in all of these drafts is what was needed to protect the QB to give him time to make the throws. What was also missing was a stud running back that can ground out a game, get first downs and take time off the clock.

More than any other year, this draft is going to be critical. And the Lions, like most teams, are being pretty closed mouthed about who they are going to take. Several mock drafts had them taking a cornerback. But the off season moves they made to improve the secondary with Leigh Bodden and Brian Kelly, some have them drafting a skill position player. Walter Football & NFL Draft Countdown shows the Lions taking Rashard Mendenhall, RB out of Illinois. ESPN’s Sports Nation shows them taking an OT with Ryan Clady, Chris Williams and Jeff Otah in the mix.

I keep hearing what Barry Sanders said about what makes a successful football team: “You start with the Offensive Line and go from there.”

No truer and wiser words have been spoken. Lions defense is now filled with Tampa 2 players that Marinelli and his staff knows. The offensive line still needs to be addressed; we can get through the season with Tatum Bell at running back. What they need is to strengthen that offensive line and any one of the players mentioned above would do just that. After that, in the 2nd round, they need to draft a MLB or DE. Then in the 3rd rounds and later, they can go for some skill position players…but those first 2 picks have to be made correctly and have an immediate impact. Those 2 players have to step into their jobs from day one and play lights out. If that happens, it would be Millen’s most successful draft and the Lions just might have some bad luck turn good and go 10-6 and sneak into the playoffs…well, maybe.

We still have the rain cloud of Matt Millen and the clueless William Clay Ford to deal with.

Greetings from the West Coast’s biggest Detroit Lion Fan!

The Lions have been fairly active in the free agent market but didn’t really make a splashy signing. Most of the players coming in are former Tampa Bay Buc players familiar with Marinelli’s system when he was the defensive coordinator with the Bucs. That should help with assignments but will the talent catch up to the familiarity of the Tampa 2 system? That’s the big question.

Most notable departure was Shaun Rogers, perhaps the best defensive player that was on the 2007 Lion squad. Granted, he was a huge talent on the field but his weight issue and perhaps his motivation wasn’t up to par to Marinelli. In that trade, we got CB Leigh Bodden and the Browns 3rd round draft pick. Bodden was 2nd in the NFL last year with nine takeaways (6 INT’s and 3 fumble recoveries) so he has a nose for the ball…and a big plus is that he knows how to tackle. He was 5th among CB’s with 88 tackles. A decent pickup and much better than what we had in the secondary.

Other players that left the Lions were LB Boss Bailey, who singed a 5-year deal in Denver to play with his brother Champ, RB TJ Duckett left to play with the Seahawks, LB Teddy Lehman singed with Tampa Bay and backup QB JT O’Sullivan followed Mike Martz to San Francisco. We also lost Woody Damien to the New York Jets weakening an already weak offensive line.

Perhaps the worst loss out of these was loosing TJ Duckett, who performed well in a limited role with the Lions. With KJ coming back from yet another injury, I thought that TJ would have won the starting job. But he may feel that with the Seattle running game in some disarray that he would have a better shot at getting into the playoffs in the weak NFC West where the Seahawks have been the team to beat the last several years.

Who did we pick up in addition to Bodden? As of yesterday, the Lions agreed with restricted free agent S Kalvin Pearson when Tampa Bay (who else) decided not to match the $3.5 million, 3 year deal the Lions offered. On the plus side, the Lions did not have to give up any draft choices…on the down side, he has played mainly special teams and has only started 2 games in 4 years with 2 career INT’s. Perhaps he will be used more as a kick returner rather than playing in the secondary. Two other pick-ups to bolster the secondary is CB Kelly Bryant, yet another Tampa Bay player and DB Dwight Smith from the Vikes. To replace Rogers on the defensive line, Detroit singed DL Chuck Darby who played for Marinelli in Tampa Bay from 2001 to 2004 before going to the Seahawks.

To replace Woody, OL Corey Hulsey singed a one year contract, coming in from the Raiders. Also singed from Buffalo TE Michael Gaines who caught 25 passes for 215 yards and 2 TD’s last year, all career highs.

As you can, see pretty active but not really signing anyone of note. Perhaps Marinelli is seeking players that are familiar with the Tampa 2 and hopes to bolster a defense that got blistered a couple of times last year. But as I said before, will the talent of these players catch up to the knowledge?

I would say that with all the secondary players singed thru free agency, the Lions focus on the draft may have changed. As much as I want to see them get DL Vernon Gholston of Ohio State, he won’t be around for the Lions 15th pick. Maybe they could get OT Jeff Otah out of Pittsburg to beef up the line. NFL Draft Countdown still has the Lions taking CB Aqib Talib but with all the secondary signings that have been made, this would be wasted pick. If Otah isn’t there, there is always OT Sam Baker out of USC who is projected as a 2nd round pick.

With the 2nd round pick, maybe they will finally address the MLB issue and draft Tennessee linebacker Jerod Mayo. He’s been compared to Al Wilson who was on his way to having a very good career until a neck injury took him out for a year. Wilson did visit the Lions but perhaps the neck injury scared them…perhaps their smartest move so far this year was not signing him.

After that, we can look at drafting a RB in the 3rd round and maybe another QB in the 4th. I’d like to see the Lions draft QB Kevin O’Connell from San Diego State…just got a funny feeling that he is going to be a steal in the draft.

Well, that’s all from the mind of this Seattle Lion Fan. I will be off line until next week celebrating my Irish heritage…a true Irishman celebrates St. Patrick’s Day for at least four days!

Much of the views written on this blog have been from a singular point of view. And since Bear has been busy with his new cub, he hasn’t had much of a chance to contribute. That will probably change with the upcoming draft and if the Lions make any splashy free agent signings.

I’ve been critical of Matt Millen as well as William Clay Ford. One of our newer members wrote to the Detroit Lions when they announced they were raising ticket prices. For those of you that wish to express your displeasure, you can reach the Lions at lionsfans@fans.detroitlions.com.

Here is the letter our newest member, LionFan17, wrote:

Dear Detroit Lions,

Forever and Always a Lions Fan - Just No Longer a Supporter!

Again, if you wish to email the Lions on your own, write to them at lionsfans@fans.detroitlions.com.

This has been a public announcement from FireMillen.com.

The Lions got a third and fifth round pick for former pro-bowler Shaun Rogers. Given our history of getting talent in the draft, am I the only one who thinks this is a terrible move?