NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
Have you heard? Matt Millen, former big time losing GM of the Detroit Lions, may return to TV as a football analyst. Hard to believe since he knew nothing about football and proved in many years in a row.

Rumor has it that they are looking for a wide receiver to be the other analyst in the booth. That is a joke, ok, sorry if you are a Lions fan. Wait a minute, you can’t be, there are no Lions fans left in the world, except me.

Oh, and by the way, there are no self respecting Lions fans, so what does Matt have to worry about.

But maybe everybody can just forget about all that and he’ll make a TV comeback. NBC will formally announce Monday that Millen — who appeared in the network’s studio Saturday — will join NBC’s Super Bowl coverage. On that show Saturday, Millen suggested he wasn’t initially qualified for his job — and deserved to be fired.

NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol, in a statement, said “many of us have been blessed with second chances” but Millen was picked up because he’s “one of the very best football broadcasters of his generation.”

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My best friend RonB calls me up and excitedly exclaimed “They did it! They did it!”

You mean the Lions lost, right?

“Yeah, they did it. 0 - 16. They have the losingest Coach in Rod Marinelli, the losingest owner in William Clay Ford, and the losingest GM’s in Matt Millen and Mayhew.”

The worst record in NFL history, a dubious distinction that will permanently stain everyone involved.

The Lions lost to the Green Bay Packers 31-21 on Sunday, making them the first team to go winless through a 16-game season. The 1976 expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-14) were the last NFL team to complete a season without a victory.

“I’ve got to live with this,” center Dominic Raiola said. “I’ve been here eight years. This is on my resume.”

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So why is RonB so happy? And what does the B stand for?

Ahh, RonB is happy because as Lions fans we no longer have to agonize over any one game, because we lose all games. It is not a downer to lose anymore, it is an upper. We did it!

RonB is happy because you can often not even watch the games on TV; he chose radio, because they are mostly blacked out at home.

RonB is happy because some kind of change must happen.

Oh, and the B? That shall remain a mystery.

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Brett Favre fell over at the thought that he exposed secrets of the Packer offense

This story is almost too ludicrous to report, but report we must.

The story goes that Brett Favre called the Lions coaches before their game against the Packers and told them how to counter the Packers attack.

Several sources have told FOX Sports that Favre earlier this year phoned the Detroit Lions prior to their battle versus Favre’s old team, the Green Bay Packers, and gave them a rundown of the nuances of what Green Bay does on offense. According to the sources, Favre actually spent over an hour on the phone with Lions coaches, who were connected with Favre by then-team president Matt Millen.

While the Lions still lost and the Packers and Favre’s replacement Aaron Rodgers played well, it’s still baffling that the Packers legend would spend such a significant chunk of time giving tips to an opponent of his long-time franchise.

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Let’s go back to my original thesis that this is just too stupid. Maybe Brett talked to teams about the Packer offense when he was looking for a job, but certainly not in the detail required to defense the Packers.

One has to admit that was a curious game, though. The Lions were being pounded and came back to take the lead 25 to 24, but in the last 5:17 of that game the Packers scored 24 points to win big 48 - 25.

Hey, maybe Brett lied?

Photo source Newscom

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Matt Millen destroyed the Detroit Lions. One of his special skills was to pick wide receivers with ultra high draft picks. They are almost all gone, Charles Rodgers, Mike Williams, Roy Williams. Only Calvin Johnson remains out of that group.

Detroit Lions first round pics by picture back to 1985.

There are other Matt Millen 1st rounder’s still with the team. It is actually in day two where Matt Millen and company totally failed.

First rounders that are still with the team in Matt Millen’s eight drafts?
Jeff Backus
Ernie Sims
Calvin Johnson
Gosder Cherilus (not starting)

First rounders that are gone?
Joey Harrington
Charles Rodgers
Roy Williams
Kevin Jones
Mike Williams

Not exactly a stellar group of players considering how high the picks were each year.

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Calvin Johnson and the Lions dream of joining the NBA, where they could compete with the Clippers

Unreal. Simply unreal. The Detroit Lions could not sell out their stadium for the Bears game. The Bears game!

For those of you that do not realize how bad this is, consider the fact that the Bears are sort of the natural rival for the Detroit Lions, except it is hard to be a rival when both teams are usually so bad.

It is a great zoo animal game, Bears and Lions. Can’t they market this thing?

Did you know your intrepid author once flew in a plane from Detroit to Chicago and due to the time change it was actually earlier in the day upon arrival. (Stop sucking on the beer can attached to your Chicago Bears helmet. The plane left at 2 pm EST from Detroit and arrived in Chicago before 2 pm CST.) You sort of go back in time.

So you would expect many rabid Chicago fans to attend the game (We are not sure, because all Bear fans are not tested for rabies.), and many regular Bear fans as well.

Do we need some Calvin Johnson vs. Matt Forte billboards?

This game is important, because Roy Williams is on my Fantasy Football team. Not to mention, the Chicago Bears defense is also on my Fantasy Football team.

You would think that most Lions fans would still be so giddy over the firing of Matt Millen that they would forget the Lions are just plain bad. Maybe Roy Williams needs to predict a victory. Maybe Chicago needs to remember that Rex Grossman is not the quarterback anymore. Well, there is that Kyle Orton thing.

Does not matter. The fact remains that the stadium is not sold out and the NFL wants to help. The NFL has given the Lions a 24 hour extension to sell out the stadium and need only sell 2,000 more tickets.

Yes, even the NFL is admitting that the Lions suck.

The Lions now have until 1 p.m. Friday to reach their goal. The team has sold out every home game since it moved into Ford Field in 2002.

If the game is a sellout, it will be broadcast on Fox (Channel 2 in Detroit) at 1 p.m.
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You think Matt Millen is somewhere smiling?

Photo source Newscom

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Matt Millen sitting with everyone that thought he should keep the job

Hey, hey, hey!

Your intrepid author went home today and told the wife, “Honey, don’t get me anything for Xmas, my present already arrived”. The Detroit Lions owner, William Clay Ford, fired Matt Millen the GM.

Finally there is something to look forward to in the Lions season. Now we can’t quit there. Just keep on firing. Get rid of the entire front office, the coaches, most of the players, maybe even the parking lot attendants. Ok, not the parking lot attendants.

The Lions have not fixed the problem. They have only reset the clock on a process that could take years.

Now they have to hire the right person — or people — to turn around this woebegone franchise. And when you think about the mess Millen leaves behind, you realize how big a job it’s going to be.

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We all came to realize that Matt did not know what he was doing, but did you know Matt did not even live in Michigan? He kept a home in Pennsylvania. Yeah, it was like he was a part time worker with no stake in the outcome.

What was Matt Millen’s record as a General Manager, something like 31 - 84? Is that right? Uhh, that only makes him the worst General Manager of all time in any sport in the history of mankind.

For all the ability Millen had as a multi-Super Bowl winner in his playing career, he was a fraud — a 31-84 record — when it came to building a team.

Millen, a Fox broadcaster when hired, talked a good game. He sounded like the smartest man when he broke down players on TV. He told you who could play and who couldn’t.

What most people missed is that it’s easier to determine the better players once they’re at the pro level. Being able to determine which college players can move to the next level is the hardest job.

Clearly, Millen had no clue.

Worse, he never asked for help
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It will still be a long road with Jon Kitna trying to be quarterback, no offensive or defensive line, Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson hardly getting the ball, Jim Colletto at offensive coordinator, and … need we go on?

And don’t forget the Silver Lining (can you have a silver lining when something good happens?), the Fords cannot hire someone worse than Millen, because that would be physically impossible. Nobody could do a worse job. The next GM automatically has to be an upgrade.

In fact, go get that parking lot attendant, at least he lives in Michigan.

Photo source Newscom

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The greatest mystery of the Universe is how Matt Millen, seen here shaking hands with Detroit Lions owner William Clay Ford, can keep his job

The real question is how the Detroit Lions remain in the NFL.

You have Strahan calling them out on Fox TV saying you could see it in their eyes; they just don’t want to play. He got so bad even Jimmy Johnson tried to quiet him down, but he was just expressing what all of us have witnessed for 44 years of the William Clay Ford regime. The Lions stink.

One playoff victory in 44 years of Bill Ford ownership.

Today his son, Bill Ford Jr. called for Matt Millen’s head. Matt is the losingest GM in any sport anywhere all time. Here is Bill Ford Jr. at the Detroit Economic Club where they talk about Michigan’s 8.9% unemployment.

“It was an embarrassment, the fans deserve better, and if I had the authority, I would have fired the general manager,” Matt Millen, Ford said.

When asked again a few minutes later if he would fire Millen, he said, “Yes, but I don’t have that authority.”

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The season has turned into a mockery. The latest loss has two former Lions coming back to haunt us with J.T. O’Sullivan and Coach Mike Martz both of the San Francisco 49er’s combining to destroy the Lions.

O’Sullivan ran around and slung the ball as if he couldn’t have been more confident. In one stretch, he threw three straight completions, covered 67 yards and finished with a touchdown. It took a little over a minute.

And Martz? Well, this was like Dr. Evil playing basketball against Mini-Me. He was able to use double-reverses, over–the-top passes and running back Frank Gore, whom he sent into the teeth of the Lions’ worst-in-the-NFL rush defense — OK, not teeth, gums — only to see him burst out the other side for 130 yards and a touchdown.

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My complaints earlier pointed towards firing Coach Rod Marinelli thinking Matt Millen untouchable, but now? Hey, who knows?

It only gets worse as my complaints about the Lions failing to develop a backup quarterback to take over when Jon Kitna falls apart got worse as J.T. O’Sullivan looked pretty darn good and the games have gotten to the point that it does not matter if there is a backup QB.

Meanwhile, the Lions may have lost their starting quarterback. (Only in Detroit would this rank as the bottom third of a column.) Jon Kitna, who was getting mauled all game long, left the field with a knee injury in the final two minutes.

Kitna plays as if he’s ready to die on the field, and afterward, he looks like he has. He rightly points out that you can’t do much when you’re always two or three touchdowns behind.

By the way, the actual backup, Dan Orlovsky, came in and threw a screen pass for an interception. That pretty much seals his fate as the next starter. What else could you do with a Lions quarterback that actually threw a ball that was caught by someone?

Photo source Newscom

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Sure Barry Sanders can laugh now. He left.

It is a curse put on me over 1,000 years ago by a witch. How could she have known the Detroit Lions would be so bad?

My father used to tell stories of the Lions in the 50’s winning the World Championship. They did not have the Super Bowl back then. The Detroit Lions have never played in a Super Bowl.

One time the Detroit Lions were in a playoff game against the Packers and Barry Sanders gained a -2 yards. Yeah, -2. Such it is to be a Lions fan. Still as fans we persevere.

Detroit Lions fans are a special group, because we do quit.

You thought maybe that was written wrong, but it was not. We do Quit! Tell that to Matt Millen. Tell that to Mr. Ford. We quit all the time.

Most fans will watch an entire ballgame early in the year and then after about the 3rd game, you begin to realize the Lions will never win enough games to go to the playoffs and certainly won’t be in the Super Bowl. In fact, they look so bad that you begin to shut off the TV at half time while screaming obscenities. Detroit Lions fans know a lot of bad words.

But we keep coming back and back, only to quit again.

There is no justice in being a Lions fan. For a while we had Barry Sanders, but even Barry eventually just walked away. He did not even say anything. It was just enough. You can lose only so long. It was time to go.

Detroit Lions fans love football. We quit.

My prediction this year is for the Lions to win it all. Until my revised prediction after game 3, which is never to watch a Lions game again in my life. We quit. Don’t worry, Squibster will be back, if only to see how the other teams pound my Lions.

Oh, when will the curse be lifted?

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Matt Millen sinks the Lions lower

Image details: St Louis Rams v Detroit Lions served by picapp.com

There is a great article in the Detroit Free Press asking who to have resign - Matt Millen or Kwame Kilpatrick?

For those of you who don’t know Kwame, he is the mayor of Detroit.

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has been charged with perjury and other counts after sexually explicit text messages contradicted his sworn denials of an affair with a top aide.

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The funniest Kwame story is about his bad timing. His wife came home early from some trip or something and found Kwame at home with some strippers. At least that is the story being told. It always bothers my wife when that happens to me, too.

Kwame Kilpatrick says - vote for me!

Image details: Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Responds To Perjury Charges served by picapp.com

But Matt has his issues as well. He does not even live in Michigan??? He does not even stay all week in Michigan during the season??? Think his house is in Pennsylvania or something.

Anyway, as General Manager of the Detroit Lions, Matt has been able to sink the Lions to whole new lows. Which when you think about it, was almost impossible.

Still, football is a game and being Mayor is for real, so my vote is to get rid of Kwame. Sorry Kwame, but you never invited me over.

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Caleb Campbell 13, will get a shot at linebacker with the Detroit Lions

Image details: Army v Navy served by picapp.com

There has been a lot of controversy on Caleb Campbell the Army grad to be, now Detroit Lions draftee. The Army has a policy allowing Army grads to join pro sports with certain conditions and commitments.

Some say he is letting down his fellow grads by not following them to Iraq.

It is a valid argument, but you have to also allow for the fact that he can be good for Army morale as well. E-mails from soldiers in Iraq poured in at the draft and after the draft all being fired up about Caleb Campbell being a potential draft pick and finally a Detroit Lions draft pick.

How about the Tuesday’s he will spend recruiting? Tell me, if you are 18 years old and a Detroit Lions player tells you the Army is a great place to be, wouldn’t that sway your opinion? Isn’t it about time that there was a real role model in the pro ranks?

Isn’t this a win win for the Army, the NFL, and for the Detroit Lions?

So what does Coach Marinelli of the Detroit Lions think?

“I don’t have a whole lot of sentimental,” Marinelli said. “That’s just me. I like guys who run, hit and tackle, and if he does that, then I’m pretty sentimental.”

Marinelli served in the Army in Vietnam. President Matt Millen’s son Marcus was a teammate of Campbell’s at West Point. Campbell is the first Army player drafted by the NFL in more than a decade.

But to say the Lions have Campbell here for anything but football would devalue him as a player and go against what Marinelli has preached.

“He was a draft-eligible player,” Marinelli said. “My job is to find guys who can play football, and if he’s draft-eligible, you would expect me to find him.”
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NFL Football special comment Not a lot of 7th rounders have made the Lions roster. Campbell will be tried at linebacker, a position he did not play, but a position the Lions are not very deep.

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