The Ovens are BLAZING!

So the Lions finish 4-0 in Preseason.  Big deal, right?

I missed the Browns game, but wound up watching last night’s game.  It was hard to stay awake.  Watching my ceiling fan spin was more entertaining than this piece of crap.  And to see a few on the Bills get hurt?  This is nuts.  Roger Goodell, do something about this.  4 games is too many.  Sadly, there were meaningful college games on FSN and the 4 letter last night…however I couldn’t bear to turn off my Lions.  I guess my fingers are drenched in the butter.

The Lions weren’t that great last night, the Bills were just TERRIBLE!  I am glad Millen didn’t hire Dick Jauron.  I give Dick 7 weeks in Buffalo, and he’s back to Defensive Coordinating.  I know it’s the preseason, but, I’m glad I’m not a Bills fan right about now.  They could be this year’s Dolphins.  I’m sure if they lose enough games, Buffalo would be proud to export them to the SkyDo…er….Rogers Centre.

AND SO IT BEGINS…AGAIN…

FIRE UP THE OVENS!  GET OUT THE MITTS!  START BUTTERING THE PANS!

I know most fans aren’t too big on the preseason…but there’s just something about it that gets my blood pumping harder.  Perhaps it’s my hatred for the summer…(I love cold weather)…meaning a signal that fall is on its way.  There’s nothing like Michigan in Autumn.  Tonight is no big deal.  They will play the Super Bowl Champions tonight.  And while most of the starters won’t play, it’s still football.

The past several years I’ve made the mistake in trying to analyze different things during preseason games…from the crappy offensive lines, to runningbacks, to corners, etc…  But I’ve decided to just kick back and watch the game and enjoy it, no matter what happens.  Besides, you have to remember, they have to preheat the ovens before they put the bread in next month, otherwise the bread just won’t cook well on the inside.

Have fun tonight.  Happy new season!

By the way, just in case you don’t know…because there weren’t enough tickets sold for tonight’s game, the TV coverage will begin at 9pm EST, kickoff at 9:30pm EST on WWJ 62 TV.

Why not Daunte Culpepper?

There were rumors circulating around about the Lions being interested in Daunte Culpepper.  Among other names around the weekend have been Chris Simms and Takeo Spikes.  However, Lions insider Tom Kowalski has reported on his blog at MLive.com the Lions are NOT interested in Culpepper…and why the Lions aren’t interested has me completely dumbfounded.

I’ve never been a Jon Kitna basher.  I’ve met him in real life.  I do think that out of the NFC North, he’s the best quarterback (if you include Brett Favre’s “retirement”).  I still think he has a decent arm, and I pin a lot of the Lions’ failures in the offense to a bad offensive line.  But if you believe Jim Colletto and Kippy Brown, they will institute more 3-step dropback passes, as opposed to Martz’s 5.  This will give Kitna the opportunity to throw the ball quicker out of the pocket before he gets flattened due to another missed block.  I do believe the arrival of Gosder Cherilus and the addition of blocking Tight Ends and Fullbacks will help add to Kitna’s protection.

Kitna was sacked over 50 times last year.  Sometimes, 3 to 4 per game.  The guy is tough.  He’s been able to get up from all those hits, for the most part.  But at some point, there’s going to be a time where he doesn’t get back up.  If only for a few plays, or a few quarters.  This is why the Lions desperately need to wake up and find an experienced backp Quarterback.

Sure Daunte’s beaten up, and I do believe Randy Moss was a big reason why Culpepper was as successful as he was with the Vikings.  But, compared to other previous veteran backups the Lions have signed in the past (Ty Detmer, Jeff Garcia…to name a few) he’d be a tremendous and serviceable backup to Kitna.  Who would you rather have if Kitna goes down?  An injury prone Daunte Culpepper, or an injury prone Drew Stanton who hasn’t even taken a snap in the NFL?

Brett Favre

I know this isn’t a post about the Lions…but, I just couldn’t help it.  If you haven’t heard, Brett Favre apparently wants to play again.  He has been rumored to want to go back to Green Bay, or play for the Carolina Panthers, as it’s close to his home.

Before I get to my rant, I must state that Brett Favre is/was a great quarterback.  He will always be uttered in my mind as one of the greats.  When I think of great QB’s in my lifetime, I’ll always think of guys like Joe Montana, Dan Marino, John Elway, Steve Young, and Brett Favre.  Now that that’s out of the way..I can move on to my rant…

Being a Lions fan, I was trained subconsciously to hate anything that has to do with the Green Bay Packers, which means I despised Brett Favre.  A few years back, when Brett’s dad died, he played that night and just LIT IT UP on the field.  I stopped hating Favre at that point.  He did something I definitely couldn’t have done, and that was play football in a great time of loss.

But over the past few years, I grew sick of him again.  It partially had to do with 2 things.  I watch Monday Night Football.  John Madden was a color commentator (duh) on Monday Night Football for several years.  It seemed like every time the Packers were (or sometimes weren’t) playing on Monday Night Football, (to quote Sean Baligian) Madden had his pants down around his ankles every time Favre stepped on the field.  AND THEN Tony Kornheiser stepped into the spot and displayed his mancrush on Favre as well.  The other reason is it seemed as if the past 4 or 5 seasons we had “WILL BRETT FAVRE RETIRE THIS YEAR?” crammed down our throats!!

When Favre actually officially retired this past spring, the media made it seemed as if the world stopped turning on it’s axis and time stood still for the entire billions of Earthlings.  It was downright sick.  But I was completely relieved that I wouldn’t hear about all this Favre crap again…and life was great.  We could all move on with our lives.  I could even let the front cover of Madden NFL 2009 (the 20th Anniversary) with Favre on the cover slide a bit, just because it was to be expected by John Madden.  We all know Madden has secretly plotted in his mind for almost a decade to figure out a way to kill Deanna Favre and get away with it just so he can have his #4 all to himself.

Would we finally be able to get on with our lives and enjoy football again without Favre being crammed down our throats?  NNNNOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!   Brett changes his mind???!!!????  We’re right back where we started!!!!  I can already hear it over the next few years if Brett doesn’t come back this season….I will hear “WILL BRETT COME BACK??” by the media, by Madden, by anyone else that covers football.

I can’t help but feel for Aaron Rodgers.  This guy was drafted a few years back to take over when Favre retires.  Favre stuck around, forcing Rodgers to stay on the bench.  I’ve heard national sports radio talk, with callers calling in and stating their idiotic opinions that Rodgers is not a good Quarterback, and deserves to stay benched for Favre anyways.  HOW DO WE KNOW THAT?  Rodgers IS unproven, because he hasn’t been given the opportunity to prove much of anything!  And what defeats these idiotic callers’ opinion is the one time Rodgers did step in he threw for 200 yards with 0 (I repeat: 0) interceptions against the playoff bound Dallas Cowboys in 2007, only because Favre got injured.  This was supposed to be Aaron’s year where we find out whether or not the Packers made a good move in the 2005 NFL Draft and that Thursday night game wasn’t a fluke to his ability.

Favre, you’re going to be a legend amongst Packer fans.  You’ll be a Hall of Famer, you have a Super Bowl ring.  You’ll be a legend as one of the great Quarterbacks of all time to ever step on the gridiron.  But, kindly do us (and yourself) all a favor and GO THE FREAK AWAY!!!!!!!  We’re all sick of hearing about you.  Go play golf, go mow the lawn on your John Deere in Mississippi or whatever the heck you do in the offseason and leave us all alone!  All this crap is going to tarnish your legacy.  You’re annoying now!!!!!!!  Is that what you want people to remember?  Your annoyances rather than your accomplishments?!?  GO AWAY!!!!!

Lions = The Next Cincinnati Bengals?

Yep, the first two picks are Marinelli guys alright!  They have character, apparently not the right type of character.  First, Jordon Dizon is standing trial for DUI, and now Gosder Cherilus has been sentenced to 1 year probation for a brawl in Boston before the draft.

Great job, Millen and Marinelli.  Way to go in your “changing the face and character of the organization”!

Go pound the rock elsewhere, morons!

Another Millen Draft Blunder

Ah yes!  Another Millen Draft blunder.  Were you surprised?  This time, it could be proven a blunder WELL BEFORE the 2008 2nd round draft pick even hits the field in the fall.  As if it was already a blunder in question due to Dizon’s size.

Let’s take a look at the obvious blunders of the first 2 rounds of Millen’s draft resume:

1st Round
2002 Joey Harrington (BUST, has a great piano career)
2003 Charles Rogers (BUST)
2004 Roy Williams (Wants out after his contract is over)
2004 Kevin Jones (BUST, but might be great on another team [figures])
2005 Mike Williams (Worst draft pick EVER)
2006 Ernie Sims (So Far So Good)
2007 Calvin Johnson (So Far So Good, still unknown)
2008 Gosder Cherilus (Very Questionable at the spot he was picked)

2nd round
2002 Kalimba Edwards (GONE)
2003 Boss Bailey (GONE)
2004 Teddy Lehman (GONE)
2005 Shaun Cody (So far, a bust)
2006 Daniel Bullocks (So far, injury prone)
2007 Drew Stanton (Injury prone)
2007 Ikaika Alama-Francis (Not played much yet)
2007 Gerald Alexander (Has played much, taking Daniel Bullocks’s spot perhaps?)

And now we go to the 2nd round draft pick of 2008.  I admit, I felt that this draft was a draft that addressed NEEDS.  The questionability of whether or not certain players were drafted by the Lions higher than they should’ve been drafted is extremely legitimate.  But now, Jordon Dizon could be serving jail time.  Jordon Dizon’s DUI happened 6 DAYS BEFORE THE DRAFT…and Millen drafts him anyways!!!!! (Link to article on MLive: http://blog.mlive.com/highlightreel/2008/06/report_lions_rookie_lb_dizon_c.html)  Dizon has been officially charged and will stand trial in October.

The one thing that is hopeful is his alchohol level was only .097,  which is .017 above the legal limit.  But who knows how lenient the Colorado judicial system is or isn’t.  Dizon is definitely not a “STAR”, so he won’t get the Hollywood treatment either.

We know how Rod Marinelli is about character.  Is this another “we must cut him because of his character” thing?  If this happens, this makes yet another 1st day draft blunder by Millen.

It’s getting old!!!!

2008 NFL DRAFT IS OVER – NOT BAD, MILLEN

I may be in the minority, or I may not be. Out of all the previous drafts in the Millen regime, this one is one of his best. This year’s draft wasn’t inundated with great, sexy names, like previous years. In previous years, taking the “best player available” was something Millen couldn’t resist. He HAD to pick a sexy name. Well, the sexy names were gone at 15. I believe Millen didn’t have the temptation there, thus making him finally do what we’ve been asking of him through his many years of drafting: ADDRESS NEEDS. And dare I write this, Millen recognized his style of drafting (Best Player Available) was not working anymore. If Millen can continue his new style of drafting each year of addressing needs, perhaps he may finally see light at the end of the Tunnel of G.M. Mediocrity. (*cough* B.S. *cough*)

The Lions needed a Right Tackle, Millen drafts a Right Tackle, the Lions needed a Linebacker, Millen drafts a Linebacker. The Lions needed a runningback, Millen drafts a runningback. And so on, and so on. Now, who knows whether or not Gosder Cherilus, Jordon Dizon, Andre Fluellen, Kevin Smith (etc…) will pan out or not.  All we can do is hope they do pan out.  If you look at NFL.com’s draft list, out of 5 positions they listed as needs for the Lions, the Lions filled 4. Cornerback was the only position they didn’t address. If Brian Kelly still has legs, and if Leigh Bodden pans out, perhaps it won’t be such a need this year.

The Lions picks were relatively boring picks with not-so-”sexy” names. People around town wanted Rashard Mendenhall, and rightfully so. I’m don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting a player whoever the Lions passed on, they may turn out to be great players on other teams. The only thing I will disagree on is taking a runningback in the first round. You’d have to wonder what Rashard Mendenhall could do behind the worst offensive line in the entire NFL. Don’t discount Kevin Smith, though. I feel he’s very underrated. The guy has a chip on his shoulder, and is going to come in blazing to try to prove many wrong.

To sum it up…they addressed their needs.  And now, all we can do is do what we do best: Hope, like we’ve been hoping for the past 50+ years.  If anything this year’s draft may make for an easier to watch upcoming 5-11 season.

Would you trade Roy Williams?

Ahh, the rumors just continue on and on about Roy Williams possibly being traded away. If you were Lions GM, would you trade Roy Williams?

Personally, I don’t care either way. He hasn’t stood out to me as a GREAT wide receiver (yet). He’s good, but not yet great. But he’s still very young and I still feel he shows a lot of promise. It’s all just a gamble, anyways, if you think about it. If you trade Roy away, you still have 2 serviceable wide receivers in Mike Furrey and Shawn McDonald, as well as a potential great in Calvin Johnson. But if you were to keep Roy, he is not only another threat to defenses all around the league, but a nice insurance policy in case (God forbid) one of the other three receivers become injured this upcoming season. And we know the Lions curse of the injury. Anything is possible.

The scenario is 1 first round pick at least. But we all know who gets to make that first round pick. The moustache himself: Matthew George Millen. So there’s already a 90-95% chance of failure right there. But what about that 5-10% chance he could make a good pick, thus filling a hole the Lions have?

Now, I know you can’t run a team and make moves based on chances and what-ifs. But again, we’re talking Matt Millen here. I guarantee the “What if Roy doesn’t want to re-sign after the end of the season?” thought is circling through his empty head. Would he dare to slap the Franchise tag on a player who’s possibly a bomb waiting to explode in the Lions locker room?

What would you do? Keep him? Trade him to get value for him? What about wait and trade him before the deadline during the upcoming season?

Calvin’s Back is Still Bothering Him

The Killer (Tom Kowalski) reported Calvin Johnson needed Vicodin to play last season, but Mike Martz pressured 81 to keep playing. Johnson says his back is still bothering him, but should be 100% by training camp.

I don’t know about you, but this injury scares me just a bit. Receivers fall on their back a LOT in the NFL…even some cases being tackled from behind by a secondary. Will this back injury from last year turn out to be a permanent problem for Calvin? I sure hope not. As much as we ridiculed the moustache for drafting a 4th receiver in the first round, this guy was a COULD NOT PASS guy. I sure hope this is nothing more than just a one season fluke injry, and this doesn’t hinder him throughout the rest of his career. The Lions, even though they made their own bed by drafting so many receivers, need a 2nd break. Roy Williams was their 1st break from the busts in Rogers and Mike Williams, but Calvin Johnson needs to be their other break for them as well. ESPECIALLY if you’re one of those who believe the Lions won’t be able to sign Roy Williams at the end of the season, or after a season of being Franchise tagged.

Martz Says the Lions “Were Not Good” (duhhhh)

It appears Captain Obvious was in full force this week, as Mike Martz was in Tahoe, Nevada, sharing some thoughts about the Lions not being good.

C’mon Mike. Now why would you say something like that? How could you tell the Lions weren’t good? Did the fact he who signed your check was either the GM or Owner of the Lions? I’m sure that must’ve tipped you off to some extent.

You can find the article reported by ProFootballTalk.com here.