Detroit loses again

by John Gottlieb

This is the first time an upper management executive should be fired for winning a game.

Matt Millen, who will be brought back to Detroit as team president and CEO for his seventh season, should’ve been give the axe long ago, but this time I’ll call for his head because his team can’t even lose when they are supposed to.

The Lions finished their 2006 season on Sunday with a thrilling 39-31 victory in Dallas to complete a 3-13 season. On the surface this looks great. The team has something to look forward to, ending the season on a high note with a win, especially against a playoff team. But the meaningless victory pushed them right out of the Brady Quinn sweepstakes in April’s Draft.

Jon Kitna, who will never be anything more than a decent journeyman, looked like Johnny Unitas on Sunday. Maybe Kitna was holding it back all season to keep his job for next year.

MILLEN MUST GO!

Quinn would’ve have been the face of the franchise. He’s familiar with the football fanaticism that is rampant in that part of the country, and has been playing an NFL style offense under Charlie Weis for the last two years.

Maybe quarterback Brian Brohm will come out early from Louisville, but would anyone be surprised to hear Roger Goodell say, “With the second pick in the draft the Detroit Lions select wide receiver Calvin Johnson from Georgia Tech University.”

Maybe they’ll take offensive tackle Joe Thomas out of Wisconsin, but there doesn’t seem to be enough risk in that pick for Millen.

Under Millen’s tenure the Lions have gone 24-72, never losing less than 10 games in a season, have had three head coaches, and can’t make a solid draft pick if the organization depended on it…which it does.

They haven’t had a winning season since going 9-7, just barely missing the playoffs in 2000 on Paul Edinger’s last second field goal, which coincidentally was the year before Millen was brought in.

Here is a list of first round draft picks since 2001: tackle Jeff Backus, Joey Harrington (no longer on the team), Charles Rogers (no longer on the team), Kevin Jones, who can’t stay healthy and has had one good season, Roy Williams, who finally had a decent campaign, Mike Williams, who played in seven games – two starts – and made six catches for 71 yards this season, and Ernie Sims, who was a good addition to a putrid defense, which cost Donnie Henderson his job.

Now, lets take a look at some of the players he passed on: Matt Leinart, Jay Cutler, DeMarcus Ware, Shawne Merriman, DeAngelo Hall, Tommie Harris, Kevin Williams, Larry Johnson, Roy Williams (the good one), Dwight Freeney, Casey Hampton, Deuce McAllister, Reggie Wayne and Todd Heap.

Fine, hindsight is 20-20 but it’s not like Millen would’ve been taking a chance on any of these players. They were all smart, legitimate first round picks, but why not take three wide receivers, each within the top 10 selections, in a four-year span? That will help turn the club around. It was only after taking the receivers that Millen realized that no only did he take subpar receivers, but his quarterback wasn’t any good. There’s nothing like ruining three drafts to understand that your 2002 selection was a mistake. Talk about ineptitude.

I’ve been fired for lesser things than that.

What does Millen need to do to get fired? Did he make a deal with the devil? Buck Showalter wasn’t brought back to the Yankees in 1996 and he led the team to their first postseason berth in 14 years.

Are the Fords watching the same thing that everyone else has been for six years? What has Millen shown to anyone to prove that he can turn this sinking ship around? Lets not forget that this franchise made the playoffs six times in the 90s.

And their schedule doesn’t get any easier next season when they play Dallas, the Giants, Denver, Kansas City, at San Diego, at Philly and the Bears twice.

If the team can’t even lose to make themselves better, what CAN they do? Is Rod Marinelli kicking himself right now for not putting his reserves in? Nobody would’ve blamed him if the starters played for the first series or two. He easily could’ve said that he wanted to see what he had for next year, but instead the Lions went to Dallas and won. In April, Marinelli will waive goodbye to his future, as Brady Quinn goes on to revive the silver and black of the Oakland Raiders.

Eventually this win will lead to the demise of Marinelli. If the Lions do select Thomas he can only protect a quarterback. An offensive tackle can’t make the quarterback, skill players, or defense any better. Much like Carson Palmer did for the Bengals, Quinn could’ve sped up the process of changing the tide in Detroit. However, after losing at least 10 games again next season, the Lions will show Marinelli the door and probably lock up Millen to a lifetime extension.

Only time will tell how long this win set the franchise back, but until then Detroit fans get ready to be disappointed until the locks on Millen’s office door are changed.