Exhume a Dead Horse, Beat It, and the Lions Saga Continues…..
December 11, 2007 on 2:47 pm | In Uncategorized |Well, well, well….Mr. 30-79, you are about to reach another career milestone soon, aren’t ya? 30-80 will look nice and pretty, after next Sunday’s road loss to the Chargers, won’t it? Did you know, that after Sunday’s disappointing loss to the Cowboys, that during Matt Millen’s tenure(seven seasons) the Lions have had losing streaks of five games or more, eight times?
Let that fully sink in. The Lions are continuing to expand into uncharted territories of futility, with no end in sight. Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press wrote an excellent article in his Sunday column about the difference between orchestrating a “plan” and making good decisions amidst that “plan”.
Clearly, Matt Millen has failed on all accounts as an executive. During his tenure, we have seen the “West Coast” offense come and go, and may also see the “Tampa-2″ zone defense and the “Greatest Show on Nerf” both soon become extinct. At some point, the hot new coach, with a supposedly unbeatable scheme, will not be able to provide the convenient solution, it will have to be generated from adequate decison making at the top of the franchise.
With the Lions staring at the possibility of losing players like Kevin Jones, Roy Williams, Shaun Rogers, Kalimba Edwards, George Foster, Fernando Bryant, Mike Martz, Stan Kwan, Damien Woody, and Tatum Bell, among others(?), in the near future, how can the Ford’s, with good conscience, anyways, allow Matt Millen to retool this franchise?
I am not going to buy that with patience, things are going to change. Been there, done that. The Lions pathetic end of season slide is likely a harbinger of more to come. After a 6-2 start, and the subsequent five losses, does anybody actually believe that Rod Marinelli has the abillity to swim against the overwhelmingly pathetic tide of this organization? Especially, given Matt Millen’s ability to have each and every decision he makes find a way to blow up his face?
In the meantime, it is more imperative than ever that Rod Marinelli start playing guys like Manny Ramirez, Ikaika Alama-Francis, Alex Lewis, Greg Blue, Ramzee Robinson, and the like to see what these guys actually can offer, and assess their future value, because their services may soon be required for the moribund Lions franchise.
4 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Leave a comment
Powered by WordPress with Pool theme design by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
Valid XHTML and CSS. ^Top^
This horse is not only dead, it’s bloated and in advanced stages of decomposition. The only thing left is to dig a hole behind the bard and bury it. If I were Millen, I’d call it quits. Go out on my own terms. It’s mighty nice of Mr. Ford not to kick him to the curb, but enough is enough. None of us could ever have imagined it would be this bad. Seven years ago, who of us even dreamed we’d be in this kind of shape entering 2008? This is unreal. I so wish I could look forward to the future–like a Dolphins fan.
Comment by Hondo — December 11, 2007 #
I had a thought: Maybe the Lions should try Alexander at the cornerback position next year. With the return of Bullocks, I think Alexander would immediately be an upgrade at that position in the Cover-2 defense. He was playing that position in college. I like Fisher but I dont think that Bryant is the prototypical DB for the Tampa-2 defense. I don’t think that Alexander would be better in man-to-man coverage, but certainly in run support. Not to mention that it would enable the Lions to use an early draft pick on someting else than CB. I would prefer if they would get more depth at DT or LB. Shaun Cody or Langston Moore could be upgraded. What do you guys think?
Comment by Simon — December 13, 2007 #
if I worked for the niners front office I’d trade you Alex Smith and Nate Clements for Matt Millen.
i mean it.
Comment by thecase — December 13, 2007 #
Alexander may very well be able to play in the slot in nickel and dime situations, but I don’t foresee him shifting to corner, since the Lions end up having to use a fair amount of man coverage, since they need to blitz due to their crappy pass rush.
He would be good in run support, and I would not be surprised is Kenoy Kennedy is phased out for Alexander and Bullocks, if not ultimately released.
It is clear, even with the promise of Wilson, Jr., Keith Smith, Alexander and Bullocks, the Lions have a lot of work to do on defense before next season.
You have to be kidding about Alex Smith and Clements for Millen, I wouldn’t want to wish that fate upon anybody, although Smith is beginning to resemble Joey Harrington, in my opinion. Alex’s uncle John L., former Michigan State coach, is a turd burglar, that’s for certain.
I think Langston Moore provides decent depth but is overexposed because he plays so often in place of “Big Baby”. Cody, Kalimba Edwards, and George Foster will likely be the first players jettisoned by the Lions.
Comment by Steve — December 15, 2007 #