Draft, Millen, Mayhew and My 9-7 Prediction (Super Bowl Pick Follows)
Ask Mike | by Mike O'Hara | 01.31.2009/12:27PM
Contact Mike O’Hara at
Neither snow nor sleet nor hail nor tangled e-mail keeps me from answering your e-mails. Most of you want to know about the draft. Here we go from the latest batch:
From Wil:
Everyone is wondering who the Lions will pick at #1.
Who do you think the likely pick could be? And should be?
A: “I’ll have more on this later – and a longer explanation, but at this moment the Lions’ No. 1 pick should be Matthew Stafford, the quarterback form Georgia. A quarterback will fill an immediate and long-term need. But there’s a catch. The Lions should put Stafford at the top of the board, then look to see two things: if Stafford really is a franchise quarterback, and if he’s the best player in the draft.”
From Barney:
Any chance the Lions could obtain the rights to Michael Vick? The only team in the league who would be allowed to touch him immediately is probably the Lions, based on 0-16. Give Atlanta a low draft pick (say 5th round); sign him to a contract and include $500,000 to be donated to the Humane Society of Michigan and he does some promo work for them. The Lions get a proven commodity at QB. Vick gets to begin his climb back. and we didn’t waste another high draft pick on unknown QB. Your thoughts?
A: “Not a bad idea, Barney. I wouldn’t dismiss Vick as an option. He’s a great athlete, and still young enough (he turns 29 in June) to have some good years left. There is still the issue of whether he’ll be suspended by Commissioner Goodell. If he’s available, in shape and will play for an affordable contract, I say do it.”
From Gary:
It’s great to “rediscover” you, and good to see you’re still pounding out the words. I stumbled onto the blog after someone at the message board I haunt mentioned we hadn’t heard much from you since you picked the Lions to go 9-7. I’m not ragging you on that, because a lot of people thought they’d improve on 2007, including me. The real question is—what didn’t all of us see? What did we miss that made the difference between a mediocre team and an historically terrible one?
A: “I had to cut you short for space, but you made some great points. I’m not in hiding. I took retirement in mid-August and free-lanced for The News for a good part of the season. I think I’ve been exhumed, not “rediscovered.” Everything went wrong with that team. Some of it was talent, but some of it was with the staff and players who didn’t perform. If you read the comments from former Lions (Roy Williams, Fernando Bryant, Mike Furrey), they loved playing for Rod Marinelli but said his staff let him down. I could not agree more.”
From Rick K: Mike, I am from Detroit, left town many years ago for the Air Force and now am in the DC area. I am so glad that Detroit sports fans
still have access to your writing on the Web, and check your site
almost daily. Two questions:
With regards to the Mike Lombardi post about Matt Millen having had
“help” in creating the Lion’s disaster in 2008, do you know who or what
he is referring to? I have followed the Lions since the disappointment
of the great 1962 team—which unfortunately was not as great as 1962
Packers—and hope the latest front office structure is not yet another
William Clay Ford ban-aid on a critical wound.
In the last two weeks, a columnist from your former newspaper wrote
that Martin Mayhew was clearly in charge of the Lions, at least for
football operations, while another from the Free Press said that Tom
Lewand fancies himself a football expert and is the one in charge. Do
you have any idea which column was more accurate and an idea of what is
the real scoop?
A: “Everyone says that Mayhew is in charge of football operations and makes the decisions, and I believe that. Lewand, as president, runs the business side and oversees the franchise in general. I have no doubt that he has some ideas about personnel but will give Mayhew the lead. He has to. Any sign of interference would seriously jeopardize the credibility of the front-office set up and be a road block to improvement. My opinion, which I’ve said and written before: Mayhew will be outstanding in his job. He’s smart, focused and tough-minded, and he has done his homework.”
Comments [27] |
