The Lions, the Witch and Warford

[MaroonBells]

Reading about Warford’s release reminded me AGAIN about how much it must suck to be a Lions fan. There are a lot of poorly run teams in the NFL, but are any as bad as the one run by Martha Firestone Ford?
Lions’ drafts are littered with busts. And when they occasionally hit on a player, they don’t keep him. Lions drafted Larry Warford in 2013, but they didn’t resign him after his 1st contract. So he goes to the Saints and has been a Pro Bowler ever since. 
Laken Tomlinson, drafted in the 1st round. Lions keep him for two seasons, declare him a bust and trade him to the 49ers for a 5th round pick. He’s started for San Francisco ever since. 
In 2014 the Lions traded up in the 2nd round to take linebacker Kyle Van Noy. Two years later trade him to the Patriots for a 6th rounder. He becomes part of the Patriots all-decade team and signs a $51M contract with the Dolphins this spring. 
Darius Slay, another 2nd rounder, 3-time pro bowler, and one of the best picks the Lions have ever made, is traded to the Eagles this spring. Why? 
2nd overall pick Ndamukong Suh, 1 contract, gone. 5th overall pick Ziggy Ansah, 1 contract, gone. 1st rounder Riley Reiff, 1 contract, gone. 2nd rounder A’Shawn Robinson, 1 contract, gone. 
Now, the witch had nothing to do with this, but who remembers that run of WRs in the early 2000s? After drafting Joey Harrington #3 overall in 2002, they draft THREE straight receivers in the top 10. Charles Rogers #2 overall. Bust. Roy Williams #7 overall. Bust. Mike Williams #10 overall. Bust. 
Lions have drafted 4 RBs in the 2nd round the last 10 years. Jahvid Best, Ameer Abdullah, Kerryon Johnson and Deandre Swift this year. Just a reminder, Dalvin Cook was a 2nd rounder. 
And who can forget their obsession with tight ends? Nobody should draft a TE in the 1st round. Ever. Lions draft Brandon Pettigrew in the 1st. Bust. Eric Ebron 10th overall. Bust. TJ Hockenson 8th overall. Too early to call him a bust, but after week 1 he was pretty much invisible and out-produced by 2nd rounder Irv Smith Jr. 
And keep in mind, the Lions have achieved this ridiculous display of incompetence despite picking in the top ten 12 out of the last 18 drafts. The mind boggles. 
All this to say…don’t under appreciate the ability to draft well and keep the players you draft. 

[Guest]

Blech. Pass out a roll of Tums to Lion's fans with that assessment.

[Guest]

Thats some pretty good history MB - you should post that over in the Lions Den lol!

I know not all agree, but passing on Tua for a cornerback (albeit a good one) is going to prove to be a huge miss to add to the misery pile. 

[Guest]

First time I've every want to click on Insightful, Like, and Funny at the same time.

[Guest]

@purplefaithful said:
Thats some pretty good history MB - you should post that over in the Lions Den lol!

I know not all agree, but passing on Tua for a cornerback (albeit a good one) is going to prove to be a huge miss to add to the misery pile. 

Yep, passing on Tua has the potential to bite them in the ass. But somebody needs to wake up in that town. 

I never saw it but someone mentioned that there was a graphic during the draft that said the Vikings ranked #1 in the NFL for most of their own drafted players on their roster. But I wonder if that even includes Thielen and Harris? Two all pro players the Vikings scouted, signed and developed but technically didn't draft. 

Just comparing the two depth charts. Less than half of the Lions projected starting 22 were drafted by the team. Whereas 19 of the Vikings projected 22 starters were drafted by the team (or undrafted, ie Thielen, Harris). 

[Guest]

Are The Lions The Ford Taurus' of sports cars?
How Long Do They Continue to sell this brand?
That Draft History reads like a franchise obituary.
DeAndre Swift cuts SO fast in the hole,  though.
I like him more than AJ Dillon, who I don't see bullying NFL personnel like he did at BC.

[Guest]

Vikings have had their share of bad picks too.

Christian Ponder
Matt Kalil
Sharrif Floyd (due to injury but still gone)
Cordarelle Patterson
Teddy Bridgewater (due to injury but still gone)
Trae Waynes
Laquan Treadwell
Mackensie Alexander


At least the Lions are able to identify and draft guards.  They cant keep them but I am hoping the Vikings can get better at the first part.

[Guest]

@MarkSP18 said:
Vikings have had their share of bad picks too.

Christian Ponder
Matt Kalil
Sharrif Floyd (due to injury but still gone)
Cordarelle Patterson
Teddy Bridgewater (due to injury but still gone)
Trae Waynes
Laquan Treadwell
Mackensie Alexander


At least the Lions are able to identify and draft guards.  They cant keep them but I am hoping the Vikings can get better at the first part.

Vikings guard situation is about the same as everyone else. If you look PFF grades of all the guards in the playoff field last year, the Texans, Titans, Bills, Seahawks, and Packers all had guards whose average PFF grades that were worse than ours. 

Pretty ridiculous to call Floyd, Bridgewater, Patterson, Waynes and Alexander bad picks. Patterson wasn't what we wanted him to be. He's still 3-time 1st team All Pro. If you think that's a bad pick, Corey Coleman would like a word. What's more, Teddy just signed a $63M contract. Compare that to what Bortles and Manziel, the two QBs taken ahead of him that year, are getting paid. Trae Waynes just signed a $42M contract. If you think that's "bad," Justin Gilbert is waiting outside. If you think "bad" picks make All Pro 3 times and get contracts paying them $21M or $14M a year, you need to spend some time here to learn what "bad" picks are. 

[Guest]

@MaroonBells said:

@MarkSP18 said:
Vikings have had their share of bad picks too.

Christian Ponder
Matt Kalil
Sharrif Floyd (due to injury but still gone)
Cordarelle Patterson
Teddy Bridgewater (due to injury but still gone)
Trae Waynes
Laquan Treadwell
Mackensie Alexander


At least the Lions are able to identify and draft guards.  They cant keep them but I am hoping the Vikings can get better at the first part.

Vikings guard situation is about the same as everyone else. If you look PFF grades of all the guards in the playoff field last year, the Texans, Titans, Bills, Seahawks, and Packers all had guards whose average PFF grades that were worse than ours. 

Pretty ridiculous to call Floyd, Bridgewater, Patterson, Waynes and Alexander bad picks. Patterson wasn't what we wanted him to be. He's still 3-time 1st team All Pro. If you think that's a bad pick, Corey Coleman would like a word. What's more, Teddy just signed a $63M contract. Compare that to what Bortles and Manziel, the two QBs taken ahead of him that year, are getting paid. Trae Waynes just signed a $42M contract. If you think that's "bad," Justin Gilbert is waiting outside. If you think "bad" picks make All Pro 3 times and get contracts paying them $21M or $14M a year, you need to spend some time here to learn what "bad" picks are. 

Yeah, when you call 3 guys getting starter money this offseason bad picks, then your post is reaching more than the lions on draft day.  Kalil got a huge (rather undeserved) second contract, Patterson is still playing.  Alexander was part of a good defense and will be missed.

[Guest]

One of them made the all decade team I heard...