Tag: Detroit Lions (Page 32 of 45)

      Lions go with another untested head coach in Swartz

      January 16, 2009 /

      Jim SwartzThe Detroit Lions found their next head coach in former Tennessee Titans’ defensive coordinator Jim Swartz, who was hired Thursday evening to take over a franchise in dire need of a facelift.

      At least as a head coach, Swartz is unproven, untested and his ability to lead a team (especially one coming off an 0-16 season) is unresolved. Can he do it? Can he take the Lions from the pits of hell to at the very least, mediocrity? Maybe. Or maybe he follows in the footsteps of Rod Marinelli, Steve Mariucci and Marty Mornhinweg and gets ushered out the door as quickly as he was rushed in.

      Lion fans had to have felt a little better when they woke up this morning. Matt Millen isn’t the general manager anymore, change is in the air and another offseason of free agent signings and high draft picks is upon them. But the cold, hard reality of the situation is that Martin Mayhew (Millen’s understudy) is the general manager, Swartz (again, unproven) is the change and what’s the point of getting excited about another offseason when failure is quickly to follow it?

      If you ask me, William Clay Ford Sr. got it wrong again. He should have hired somebody from a winning organization (somebody who has won somewhere, sometime) to be the general manager instead of Mayhew. Why would you want the guy that was under Millen? Why would you want the guy that was three people under Millen for that matter? If they wanted real change, then they should have air raided the entire front office and started from scratch. (Although to be fair, Mayhew’s first move was trading Roy Williams to Dallas for draft picks, which looks like it was a solid move.)

      It’s hard not to give a first-year head coach like Swartz a chance because of the success rookie head coaches John Harbaugh (Baltimore), Tony Sparano (Miami) and Mike Smith (Atlanta) had this year. But Swartz won’t be able to do his job effectively unless Mayhew does his.

      The Lions have a long ways to go to get the taste of 0-16 out of their mouths. Change is what they needed, but is Mayhew and Swartz the right change? Time will tell.

      NFL

      Clearly Sam Bradford does not want to be a Lion, but maybe Mark Sanchez does

      January 14, 2009 /

      The Oklahoma Sooners will have the quarterback the led them to the national championship back under center next year as Sam Bradford has decided not to enter April’s NFL draft.

      The USC Trojans, however, might not be as fortunate. Word has it that quarterback Mark Sanchez will forgo his senior season and turn pro next year.

      USC quarterback Mark Sanchez has said that he would monitor the decisions of other top draft-eligible quarterbacks as he pondered whether to return to USC for his final season of eligibility or make himself available for the NFL draft.

      Thursday is the deadline to declare for the April draft.

      Bradford, the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner, is the third high-profile quarterback to announce he was staying in school, possibly increasing the chances that Sanchez will opt to turn pro.

      Texas’ Colt McCoy said during he season that he would back. Florida’s Tim Tebow and Bradford have since said they would remain in school.

      It would be hard to pass up that much money, but I think it’s Sanchez’s case, he would benefit from another year at USC. The Trojans’ offense didn’t hit their stride until late in the season and at times, Sanchez was highly inconsistent. Of course if he does leave, he’s doing so on a high note because his Rose Bowl performance was the best of the year. It’ll be interesting to see not only if he decides to come out, but what round he’ll be selected in.

      As for Bradford, his decision to stay at Oklahoma was clearly a calculated risk. He figures that if Matthew Stafford of Georgia comes out, there’s a good chance that the Lions will take him with their No. 1 pick and Sam will bypass the mess that is Detroit. Well played, Sam – well played.

      College Football, NFL

      New Bang! Cartoon: Perfect

      January 14, 2009 /

      Some view the Detroit Lions’ 0-16 season as imperfection at its finest. But not Bang! Cartoons. In their latest ‘toon, Bang! Cartoons take a look at the perfection that was the Detroit Lions’ 2008 Season.

      If you liked the cartoon, make sure you check out Bang! Cartoon’s Radio Hour this week, where they tackle topics such as Stephen A. Smith, the dry humbling dance of Rey Mauluga on Erin Andrews and much more.

      Humor, NFL, Video

      Did Jason Whitlock just compare Matt Millen to O.J. Simpson?

      January 8, 2009 /

      Newspaper columnist Jason Whitlock is a bit miffed about NBC’s recent hire of former Detroit Lions general manager Matt Millen as their lead studio analyst for the NFL playoffs. And he wondered if O.J. Simpson was available from his Las Vegas jail cell.

      Seriously, O.J. on “Football Night in America” is the only thing that could top Millen’s inclusion. And NBC is promising to foist Millen on its Super Bowl audience. If this happens, I will confront Millen and NBC executives at the Super Bowl and go Rob Parker-Rod Marinelli on the responsible parties.

      Look, the Lions haven’t won a NFL championship in over 50 years, and Millen was in charge for only eight seasons. Though under his leadership, the Lions did own the NFL’s worst winning percentage (31-81, .277) and became the first team in league history not to win a road game in three consecutive seasons (2001-2003). And, of course, there was the whole 0-16 thing. At the core of this failure are some pretty bad drafts that included guys like quarterback Joey Harrington, and wide receivers Charles Rogers and Mike Williams.

      Lion fans surely grew tired of Millen’s time as the team’s CEO, but I can’t imagine them longing for the Eric Hipple years.

      NFL, Television

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