Aloha, Matt Millen

Add Detroit to the places where Aloha means Goodbye.

Millen (Photo Courtesy of ESPN)

Only a couple days after William Clay Ford, Jr. (son of Lions owner William Clay Ford, Sr.) let his feelings be known publicly that he would fire Millen if he had the power to do so, someone with the power to do so agreed. At approximately 10:30 AM ET today, reports surfaced that the Detroit Lions ended their relationship with team President and CEO Matt Millen, thus ending an era that Detroit Lions fans would like to forget. As seen in my Tuesday FourCast, I pointed out that the Lions are the worst team in the NFL, and that Millen should be held responsible.

The Matt Millen Era in Detroit (2001-2008) was full of blunders. The coaching hires have been far from successful. We all remember Steve Mariucci and Marty Mornhinweg. However, the Millen Era will probably be most well known for the drafting of four wide receivers in the first round of the NFL draft in five years. Since I like to consider myself the resident draft guru, I will place my focus on Millen's drafts on a year-by-year basis.

2001: Day One was highlighted by three fixtures on the offensive and defensive lines. While day two, at best, provided a QB who started a few games, but caused an "Evil of Two Lessers" QB Controversy

1st: Jeff Backus - OT
2nd: Domanic Raiola - C
2nd: Shaun Rogers - DT
5th: Mike McMahon - QB

2002: What looked like a great Day One on draft day crashed and burned due to potential that was never realized. Day Two was nearly non-existent.

1st: Joey Harrington - QB
2nd: Kalimba Edwards - DE
3rd: Andre' Goodman - CB

2003: Rogers never lived up to his big play billing. Bailey was up and down and dinged up a lot. Redding has come around in the last 2-3 seasons, and was recently franchised by the team. Another weak Day Two yielded only two out of eight picks who had any impact at all (but both are out of the NFL now).

1st: Charles Rogers - WR
2nd: Boss Bailey - LB
3rd: Corey Redding - DT
4th: Artose Pinner - RB
5th: Terrence Holt - S

2004: Roy Williams has been one of Millen's better picks. Jones was serviceable when healthy and had one good season. Lehman and Smith offered value as part-time starters as well as coming off the bench. Day Two...still haunting Millen.

1st: Roy Williams - WR
1st: Kevin Jones - RB
2nd: Teddy Lehman - LB
3rd: Keith Smith - CB

2005: Another ugly draft. Mike Williams was a year removed from playing organized football. The next two picks in the draft were DeMarcus Ware and Shawne Merriman. Cody's doubters, who questioned his size and desire, were proven right. Wilson, like Smith the year before has had some spot starts, but never fully cracked the starting lineup. Dare I mention the obvious?

1st: Mike Williams - WR
2nd: Shaun Cody - DT
3rd: Stanley Wilson - CB
5th: Dan Orlovsky - QB

2006: Sims is arguably Millen's best pick (Calvin Johnson was a no-brainer). While undersized, he has proven to be a tackling machine who plays all over the field with his speed. Bullocks was another good pick who has proven himself as an NFL starter. Calhoun showed promise before tearing his ACL (and possibly ending his career). Scott also showed promise before being cut earlier this season. Day Two…where are you???

1st: Ernie Sims - LB
2nd: Daniel Bullocks - S
3rd: Brian Calhoun - RB
5th: Jonathan Scott - OT

2007: Adding a franchise player like Calvin Johnson could have been key to saving Millen, but why get rid of a pass-happy OC in Mike Martz and add a Run-First OC in Jim Colletto? Jury is out on Stanton, but he can't beat Kitna for the job. Alama-Francis and Alexander have promise but the jury is out on them as well. Day Two still looks like a waste.

1st: Calvin Johnson - WR
2nd: Drew Stanton - QB
2nd: Ikaika Alama-Francis - DE
2nd: Gerald Alexander - S

2008: Seventeenth overall is kind of high for a right tackle. Cherilus may prove to be a reach. Dizon was a great pick. Kevin Smith won the starting RB job, but has proven to be very average. Fluellen and Avril make this list on potential alone. The Day Two Trend looks like it continues. (*Note: The 3rd round is now part of Day Two in the current draft format, but for purposes of this piece, 3rd rounders in 2008 will be considered first day picks)

1st: Gosder Cherilus - OT
2nd: Jordan Dizon - LB
3rd: Kevin Smith - RB
3rd: Andre Fluellen - DT
3rd: Cliff Avril - DE

Take any NFL General Manager, who has eight consecutive drafts, and there's a good chance that he has unearthed a couple of gems on Day Two. While some consider Day Two of the NFL draft a crap-shoot, some of the most successful GMs make their impact on that day (Ron Wolf, Bill Parcells, Jimmy Johnson). Where the Lions go from here, it is hard to say. However, getting a GM who knows how to run a scouting department and can draft well will at least get this outfit back on the right foot.

Tuesday FourCast: Week 3

Clement is always a tough act to follow. The guy just has a knack for analyzing what happens on the field/court/rink/pitch/etc. Now it's my turn, and I do my analysis like I like my football games...UGLY!!! Week 3 had its shares of ups and downs, but I decided the bigger stories were more interesting to me.

Without much further ado...here's your Tuesday FourCast


#1. The Bane of Their Existence

How fitting is it that the team to end the New England Patriots' 21-game regular season winning streak would be the Miami Dolphins? The Curse of the '72 Dolphins persists. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Somebody has to shut those geezers up, and stop those corks from popping. I am not a fan of the Pats, but would have been fine if they put a cork in those geezers last year. Regardless of who is playing QB, nobody expected a 38-13 drubbing. But, is that what this team has become without Brady? Sure, they didn't have Maroney, but what does Maroney mean to that team anyway? He's been highly replaceable in my opinion. Would last year's Patriots have given up 4 TDs on the same gimmick play? Is Randy Moss giving up on another team? Charlie Casserly seems to be alluding to that. Regardless, we saw something that none would have dreamed while watching the Patriots tear through the league last season. The Foxboro faithful booed their own team.


#2. Al Davis and His Red Kimono

In Japan, by the time man reaches the age of 60, he is commemorated with a special ceremony. This ceremony features the man wearing a red kimono, which denotes that he no longer has the responsibilities of being a mature adult. Al Davis has been wearing a proverbial red kimono for some time now. The whole Lane Kiffin situation is nauseating. What self-respecting coach with any kind of experience would consider "coaching" the team under Al Davis? Kiffin is part of a long line of coaches that Al Davis has walked all over, dating at least back to when Shanahan was there. Davis owns a team that acts just as juvenile as he does. He breeds an environment for immaturity. The Raiders Culture is no longer a bunch of players who intimidate the other team on the field. They are now a team of individuals who do whatever they want at the detriment of the team. The latest, a Davis confidant John Herrera, showed those that saw the post-game video how despicable of a person he is. I say they parade him around the sidelines in Al's Red Kimono the rest of the season, before firing him.


#3. Jerrah and his Blue Storm

Switching from Al Davis to the owner that I respect the most in the NFL. Jerry Jones may be a meddlesome owner, but he knows his football. He's one of the better GMs in the league, and could probably head to the sidelines and coach that team. Jerrah is everything Al Davis tries to be (while failing miserably). He also deserves a ton of credit (so does Tuna) for having the best team on the field every Sunday. And yes, that is the most painful thing for a Redskins fan to say. The makeup of this team has championship written all over it. Now if they can just win their first playoff game in over a decade. Franchise QB, check. One-Two Punch at RB, check. Star Receivers, check. All-Star Offensive Line, check. Their offense has put up 96 points in the first three games. The defensive front seven is stacked like a 3-4 defense should be, with a slew of gutsy linemen and talented backers. The defensive backs are so deep with starting caliber talent that they can adjust to any team's style. Some haters will point to the players with unattractive character, but they forget the guys that are good influences on the team (Tony Romo, Flozell Adams, Zach Thomas, Ken Hamlin). Watching them pound the Packers this week cemented my feelings about the Cowboys. While I don't see them matching the regular season of the 2007 Patriots, I can easily see this team making another addition to the team's Lombardi Trophy case.


#4. The Bane of Their OWN Existence

Some are pointing to the St. Louis Rams as being the worst team in the NFL. However, I believe the owner of that title belongs to the Detroit Lions. I especially loved William Clay Ford, Jr. coming out and saying his father should fire Matt Millen so that the team can reach some level of success. No truer words have been spoken. The Lions are 31-84 under Millen. The bye week couldn't have come at a better time, because they go on the road in week 5, where Millen's road record is 8-49. While St. Louis is 0-3, they played teams like Philly, the Giants and the Seahawks (two playoff teams and a team that's playing like they're playoff bound). The Lions on the other hand have played two weak teams (Atlanta & San Fran), made them look good and have given up 113 points after 3 games. Their running game is in shambles, Kitna keeps putting the team in a bad situation by claiming they're going to win 10 games every year (giving other teams the motivation to shellack them), the offensive line, as talented as the individuals are, can't put it all together for an entire game, and the defense isn't playing with much heart outside of the LB corps. Management needs to show Millen the door. Not just for his mistakes, but also to give the team a fresh start from the top. The team may even need a fresh start from the coaching staff that runs the team more like a boot camp. Either way, it will be a long season for the Lions, and they may be looking at the #1 pick in the draft.