Talking NFL

Well, as you all know, Matt Millen did not disappoint this past weekend, talking Calvin Johnson with the 2nd overall pick, the 4th wide receiver the Lions have selected in the 1st round in the last 5 years.  As Vizzini would say, “Inconceivable!”

Now, the argument can be made that the Lions did take the best player on the board, and that Johnson has much less risk of being a bust than say, Mike Williams, who’s now off to the Raiders in return for some spare change.  However, the Lions have quite a few other needs on their team besides wide-out, and definitely could have benefited from trading down, as Judge Smails recommended in his award winning draft preview.  You can see his scathing Lions draft review here.

So why didn’t the Lions draft down?  In the days following the draft, reasons are coming out that will make Lions fans continue to do this:

First, there was a rumored deal with Tampa Bay on draft day that included Bucs defensive back Brian Kelly going to the Lions.  When asked about it by The Detroit Free Press, Millen laughed and replied with:

“That came across somebody’s Internet thing, whatever those things are,” Millen said. “I’m not big on that stuff.”

It’s called a blog, you moron.  Nice to know he’s not into this ’stuff’, which means fans can continue to create wonderful names & insults for him online, without fear of repercussion.  That could be another reason why Milen’s not keen on Al Gore’s greatest invention. If you Google Matt Millen, the following search results come back in the Top 10:

- Fire Millen
- Step down, Matt Millen
- NFL Exec Calls Player “Faggot”
- Fire Millen (the other site)

Yeah, I wouldn’t be a fan of that Internet thing, either.

Speaking of which, then there’s Peter King’s online article yesterday, which chronicles the drama that didn’t unfold in the Lions war room on Saturday.  To surmise, Millen was waiting for calls from up to four teams about trading the #2 pick.  Nobody called.  So did Millen pick up the phone and do some dealing?  No, because as King put it, “In the macho world of NFL deal-making, to do so when you’re on the clock is the ultimate sign of desperation.”

Yeah, either that or a 24-72 record in your six years as team president (which King does point out as well).  

Here’s the deal, comparing this instance to the business world:  if a sales rep told his manager at the end of the month that he didn’t make his quota because his prospective clients never called him back, he’d be fired on the spot.  For Millen not to reach out to ONE team & try to get more picks to aid a horrible NFL roster (thanks to his doing) is simply derelict of duty.  It’s also dumb.  Fortunately for Millen, he knows that nothing he does or does not do will get him fired, since the Ford family obviously does not care about their team or their fans.

Finally, there’s this little nugget, care of AOL Fanhouse, about an offer the Lions received from the Broncos for the #2 pick:

A month earlier Denver had offered two first-round picks, a second-rounder and two third-rounders, plus veteran linebacker Al Wilson, but when the Broncos wouldn’t substitute another second-round pick for the injured Wilson, Millen turned them down. With that, the bar was set high.

Sound familiar, Lions fans?

So based on this weekend’s events, and what it should mean for the Lions 2007 season (hello, 4-12), I’m offering the following suggested reading material…

For Matt Millen:

and for Lions Fans:

Legal Disclaimer:  TalkingNFL is not recommending any Detroit Lions fans actually kill themselves.  That’s a joke.  So to all you vultures lawyers reading, don’t even think of pulling one of those Ozzy Ozbourne/Judas Priest “TalkingNFL made me hang myself” type lawsuits.  Besides, I’m worth about $1.20 right now…

NFL Draft, Detroit Lions, Matt Millen, negotiating skills, lack thereof, YUO IS TEH SUCK MILLEN