Manic Monday in the NFL

[Evil Chase K]

See I think the Steelers defense did a good job adjusting to Manning. You may see it as the Colts not clicking on offense, I see it as the Steelers defense playing great with the exception of the first play of the game, and giving up on stopping the run to avoid the big play.

But what do I know, I'm just biased.

[naiwf]

See I think the Steelers defense did a good job adjusting to Manning. You may see it as the Colts not clicking on offense, I see it as the Steelers defense playing great with the exception of the first play of the game, and giving up on stopping the run to avoid the big play.

But what do I know, I'm just biased.

[VerbalPuke]

Mooch getting fired was not bullshit, for those of you who think that, how many Lions games have seen in the last three seasons? I've seen them all, and I can tell you that Mooch's vanilla offense was going nowhere.

Let's start at RB, Kevin Jones was supposed to blow up this year, instead he's been relegated to sharing carries with Shawn Bryson. Bryson is a decent back-up, but Mooch gave him the call way too many times this season when Jones could have been tearing defenses apart. One could argue that it was the Offensive Coordinator making these calls but on that same note Mooch should have overruled him, and let's not forget that it was Mooch that hired the bum in the first place. Everything about our offense is conservative, everything just screams predictable. I don't know how many times I found myself screaming at the TV when our wide outs were running routes for six yards when they needed seven. Or how about the 3rd and 1's where we give it to our fullback who is old and slow, instead of our star running back? Here's another thing that pissed me off, when Jones would find success running to the outside, Mooch would either take him out for Shawn Bryson, or simply run him up the middle for the rest of the game, where our shitty O-Line would get no push.

This Detroit Lions team has too much talent to not be atleast 9-7, and that is due to bad coaching. The lack of discipline on this team is disgusting, and again that is attributed to a soft coach. While I'm not saying Joey Harrington is perfect, it's been tough for him to play with ugly play calling and WR's who still drop the ball. Not to mention Marcus Pollard has been a huge dissapointment this season with inconsistent hands and seemingly a fear of taking a hit going over the middle.

There's not much for me to say about the defense, they started off solid this year and then seemingly gave up as time wore on. Again, discipline is lacking on this side of the ball with too many dumb offsides penalties.

The ownership of the team doesn't help either, the Fords are not stingy with the team, but why give Matt Millen a five year exstension after four dismal seasons? That is just beyond ludicrous.

Edited November 30, 2005 by VerbalPuke

[livid]

Mooch getting fired was not bullshit, for those of you who think that, how many Lions games have seen in the last three seasons? I've seen them all, and I can tell you that Mooch's vanilla offense was going nowhere.

Let's start at RB, Kevin Jones was supposed to blow up this year, instead he's been relegated to sharing carries with Shawn Bryson. Bryson is a decent back-up, but Mooch gave him the call way too many times this season when Jones could have been tearing defenses apart. One could argue that it was the Offensive Coordinator making these calls but on that same note Mooch should have overruled him, and let's not forget that it was Mooch that hired the bum in the first place. Everything about our offense is conservative, everything just screams predictable. I don't know how many times I found myself screaming at the TV when our wide outs were running routes for six yards when they needed seven. Or how about the 3rd and 1's where we give it to our fullback who is old and slow, instead of our star running back? Here's another thing that pissed me off, when Jones would find success running to the outside, Mooch would either take him out for Shawn Bryson, or simply run him up the middle for the rest of the game, where our shitty O-Line would get no push.

This Detroit Lions team has too much talent to not be atleast 9-7, and that is due to bad coaching. The lack of discipline on this team is disgusting, and again that is attributed to a soft coach. While I'm not saying Joey Harrington is perfect, it's been tough for him to play with ugly play calling and WR's who still drop the ball. Not to mention Marcus Pollard has been a huge dissapointment this season with inconsistent hands and seemingly a fear of taking a hit going over the middle.

There's not much for me to say about the defense, they started off solid this year and then seemingly gave up as time wore on. Again, discipline is lacking on this side of the ball with too many dumb offsides penalties.

The ownership of the team doesn't help either, the Fords are not stingy with the team, but why give Matt Millen a five year exstension after four dismal seasons? That is just beyond ludicrous.

[VerbalPuke]

I think the jury is still out on Harrington, he's put together some solid performances, and he wasn't the one at fault for our loss to Atlanta. I say if he can't pull it together in these last five games, then it certainly is time for him to move on. Last year when Greg Olson took over the playcalling duties for the final couple of games, Harrington excelled. Olson is now taking over that same responsibility, so it should give us a solid indication of what Harrington is really made of. Again, Harrington looks good when Roy Williams is out there and giving his best. Rogers is the biggest bust on the team right now, and Mike Williams has shown brief flashes, but not enough to spark anything for the Lions. On top of that, Harrington had a stretch of games where our number 1 WR was Scottie Vines. It's hard to look good with practice squad WR's, which has been the story for Harrington for the last few seasons.

I'll admit that I haven't been too impressed with Joey either, but I think he's looked good enough in some situations to let him finish out the rest of the year. He's certainly a better alternative than Mooch's boy Garcia. Harrington hasn't excelled, but Mooch hasn't excelled as a coach in this organization either. Like I said, it was baffling that he'd let a seemingly great running back go to waste. Kevin Jones has only had three games this season where he carried the ball more than 20 times. That is just not acceptable with his talent, and the sad thing is, games where he only had 12, 14, and 16 (or whatever ridiculously low number) carries were not games that we were forced to pass on every down. I understand Mooch liked the running backs by committee, but he was stubborn and "stuck to the game plan" as he did with many things.

Like I also said, the team is undisciplined. That's down to coaching, WR's who run poor routes, O-Lineman with chronic false starts, D-Lineman with jumping off sides, it's all down to coaching. Mooch may not be the specific coach for each position, but he was the one that constructed the coaching staff along with Millen. As for Millen, I agree with you about him, so I have nothing to say on that subject.

As for the Texans landing Mooch, I hope for their sake they don't. They wont excel with his brand of dink and dunk passing along with checking down to his third string running back. If the Texans were to land Reggie Bush in the draft, and Mooch became the head coach, I'd fear that Bush would probably not get the amount of carries he deserves. He'd probably split time with Johnathan Wells. :thumbsdown:

I actually have heard rumors of Mooch being a candidate to coach the Michigan State Spartans football team which would make an interesting story as he and Tom Izzo are very close friends. Izzo is the coach for the Spartans basketball team.

[livid]

I think the jury is still out on Harrington, he's put together some solid performances, and he wasn't the one at fault for our loss to Atlanta. I say if he can't pull it together in these last five games, then it certainly is time for him to move on. Last year when Greg Olson took over the playcalling duties for the final couple of games, Harrington excelled. Olson is now taking over that same responsibility, so it should give us a solid indication of what Harrington is really made of. Again, Harrington looks good when Roy Williams is out there and giving his best. Rogers is the biggest bust on the team right now, and Mike Williams has shown brief flashes, but not enough to spark anything for the Lions. On top of that, Harrington had a stretch of games where our number 1 WR was Scottie Vines. It's hard to look good with practice squad WR's, which has been the story for Harrington for the last few seasons.

I'll admit that I haven't been too impressed with Joey either, but I think he's looked good enough in some situations to let him finish out the rest of the year. He's certainly a better alternative than Mooch's boy Garcia. Harrington hasn't excelled, but Mooch hasn't excelled as a coach in this organization either. Like I said, it was baffling that he'd let a seemingly great running back go to waste. Kevin Jones has only had three games this season where he carried the ball more than 20 times. That is just not acceptable with his talent, and the sad thing is, games where he only had 12, 14, and 16 (or whatever ridiculously low number) carries were not games that we were forced to pass on every down. I understand Mooch liked the running backs by committee, but he was stubborn and "stuck to the game plan" as he did with many things.

Like I also said, the team is undisciplined. That's down to coaching, WR's who run poor routes, O-Lineman with chronic false starts, D-Lineman with jumping off sides, it's all down to coaching. Mooch may not be the specific coach for each position, but he was the one that constructed the coaching staff along with Millen. As for Millen, I agree with you about him, so I have nothing to say on that subject.

As for the Texans landing Mooch, I hope for their sake they don't. They wont excel with his brand of dink and dunk passing along with checking down to his third string running back. If the Texans were to land Reggie Bush in the draft, and Mooch became the head coach, I'd fear that Bush would probably not get the amount of carries he deserves. He'd probably split time with Johnathan Wells. :thumbsdown:

I actually have heard rumors of Mooch being a candidate to coach the Michigan State Spartans football team which would make an interesting story as he and Tom Izzo are very close friends. Izzo is the coach for the Spartans basketball team.

[VerbalPuke]

I think the jury is still out on Harrington, he's put together some solid performances, and he wasn't the one at fault for our loss to Atlanta. I say if he can't pull it together in these last five games, then it certainly is time for him to move on. Last year when Greg Olson took over the playcalling duties for the final couple of games, Harrington excelled. Olson is now taking over that same responsibility, so it should give us a solid indication of what Harrington is really made of. Again, Harrington looks good when Roy Williams is out there and giving his best. Rogers is the biggest bust on the team right now, and Mike Williams has shown brief flashes, but not enough to spark anything for the Lions. On top of that, Harrington had a stretch of games where our number 1 WR was Scottie Vines. It's hard to look good with practice squad WR's, which has been the story for Harrington for the last few seasons.

I'll admit that I haven't been too impressed with Joey either, but I think he's looked good enough in some situations to let him finish out the rest of the year. He's certainly a better alternative than Mooch's boy Garcia. Harrington hasn't excelled, but Mooch hasn't excelled as a coach in this organization either. Like I said, it was baffling that he'd let a seemingly great running back go to waste. Kevin Jones has only had three games this season where he carried the ball more than 20 times. That is just not acceptable with his talent, and the sad thing is, games where he only had 12, 14, and 16 (or whatever ridiculously low number) carries were not games that we were forced to pass on every down. I understand Mooch liked the running backs by committee, but he was stubborn and "stuck to the game plan" as he did with many things.

Like I also said, the team is undisciplined. That's down to coaching, WR's who run poor routes, O-Lineman with chronic false starts, D-Lineman with jumping off sides, it's all down to coaching. Mooch may not be the specific coach for each position, but he was the one that constructed the coaching staff along with Millen. As for Millen, I agree with you about him, so I have nothing to say on that subject.

As for the Texans landing Mooch, I hope for their sake they don't. They wont excel with his brand of dink and dunk passing along with checking down to his third string running back. If the Texans were to land Reggie Bush in the draft, and Mooch became the head coach, I'd fear that Bush would probably not get the amount of carries he deserves. He'd probably split time with Johnathan Wells. :thumbsdown:

I actually have heard rumors of Mooch being a candidate to coach the Michigan State Spartans football team which would make an interesting story as he and Tom Izzo are very close friends. Izzo is the coach for the Spartans basketball team.

Actually this speculation about the Texans taking Bush boggles my mind, as Houston already has quite a damn good back in Dominack Davis, who's on pace for his 3rd straight 1,000 yard season and close to 500 yards recieving and that's without a stolid O-Line and consistent QB. I think that speaks volume for the man's talent. I mean, no doubt that Reggie Bush is talented, but I don't see why Houston would take another RB and not concentrate on their Offensive Line, their only real weakness.

And as far as Mooch's offennsive style is concerned, it seemed to work in San Fran, as long as everybody on the field was playing consistent and healthy. Did he make a mistake in hiring Ted Tollner as his Offensive Coordinator for the Lions? Yes, I think so, but I think Mooch's system can work.

But if he ended up in Michigan State, I would support that, as well. I know about him and Izzo's background, as I'm a big fan of Mooch and Michigan State in general. I know that Izzo took a football coaching idea and scripts his first 15 plays to use on the hardwood and I also know that they were roomates in college. I think that wherever Mooch goes, eventually, the team will be able to have success. What Millen and seemingly the Fords, were looking for was instant success, but they didn't seem too patient with Mooch.

That being said, I also see the Lions pursuing a possibly fired Brian Billick, or perhaps Mike Martz as their next head coach, because I don't think Jauron will end up with the job and I don't think he'll want to stay either, as he's a close friend to Mooch, as well.

I agree on the Reggie Bush statement, Domanick Davis is a good running back, no need for them to get another guy. My statement is purely based on the speculation that's been rampant now that teams are jockeying from a draft position.

I think simply enough, the offense we have is probably not suited well for the west coast offense. Then again, many would say our team isn't suited for anything.

I think those two coaches are possibilites for the Lions, and I've also heard a lot of speculation about bringing in Mike Singletary. I'd be happy with Singletary, I'd like to see an up and coming coach brought into the position. Plus, he's a tough guy, an overachiever, intelligent, and I think he'd bring the discipline this team has been sorely lacking.

Also I just found this little tidbit...

ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Jeff Garcia will start at quarterback for the Detroit Lions on Sunday against Minnesota.

Dick Jauron made the announcement Wednesday, two days after taking over as Lions coach on an interim basis in place of the fired Steve Mariucci.

Jauron also said cornerback Dre' Bly apologized to his teammates at a meeting Wednesday morning. Bly was harshly critical of quarterback Joey Harrington and the team's management during media interviews Monday and Tuesday.

"If we'd had production on offense, in particular the quarterback position, Mooch wouldn't have been fired," Bly told the Detroit Free Press earlier in the week. "If Jeff Garcia hadn't gotten hurt, we wouldn't be in this position today. Mooch wouldn't have gotten fired."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ugh. Why Garcia? I understand Harrington hasn't set the world on fire, but Garcia hasn't done so either. Jeff is cleary not the future of this team, and at this point we need to be developing players. Why not give Joey the last five games to really find out if he is or isn't the guy? The season is already over as it is, so why not keep playing the younger guys? Hell, even Dan Orlovsky would be better at this rate. No offense to Garcia, but I doubt he'll be in a Lions jersey next year, if he's even in the league.

[Mofoticon]

I think the jury is still out on Harrington, he's put together some solid performances, and he wasn't the one at fault for our loss to Atlanta. I say if he can't pull it together in these last five games, then it certainly is time for him to move on. Last year when Greg Olson took over the playcalling duties for the final couple of games, Harrington excelled. Olson is now taking over that same responsibility, so it should give us a solid indication of what Harrington is really made of. Again, Harrington looks good when Roy Williams is out there and giving his best. Rogers is the biggest bust on the team right now, and Mike Williams has shown brief flashes, but not enough to spark anything for the Lions. On top of that, Harrington had a stretch of games where our number 1 WR was Scottie Vines. It's hard to look good with practice squad WR's, which has been the story for Harrington for the last few seasons.

I'll admit that I haven't been too impressed with Joey either, but I think he's looked good enough in some situations to let him finish out the rest of the year. He's certainly a better alternative than Mooch's boy Garcia. Harrington hasn't excelled, but Mooch hasn't excelled as a coach in this organization either. Like I said, it was baffling that he'd let a seemingly great running back go to waste. Kevin Jones has only had three games this season where he carried the ball more than 20 times. That is just not acceptable with his talent, and the sad thing is, games where he only had 12, 14, and 16 (or whatever ridiculously low number) carries were not games that we were forced to pass on every down. I understand Mooch liked the running backs by committee, but he was stubborn and "stuck to the game plan" as he did with many things.

Like I also said, the team is undisciplined. That's down to coaching, WR's who run poor routes, O-Lineman with chronic false starts, D-Lineman with jumping off sides, it's all down to coaching. Mooch may not be the specific coach for each position, but he was the one that constructed the coaching staff along with Millen. As for Millen, I agree with you about him, so I have nothing to say on that subject.

As for the Texans landing Mooch, I hope for their sake they don't. They wont excel with his brand of dink and dunk passing along with checking down to his third string running back. If the Texans were to land Reggie Bush in the draft, and Mooch became the head coach, I'd fear that Bush would probably not get the amount of carries he deserves. He'd probably split time with Johnathan Wells. :thumbsdown:

I actually have heard rumors of Mooch being a candidate to coach the Michigan State Spartans football team which would make an interesting story as he and Tom Izzo are very close friends. Izzo is the coach for the Spartans basketball team.

Actually this speculation about the Texans taking Bush boggles my mind, as Houston already has quite a damn good back in Dominack Davis, who's on pace for his 3rd straight 1,000 yard season and close to 500 yards recieving and that's without a stolid O-Line and consistent QB. I think that speaks volume for the man's talent. I mean, no doubt that Reggie Bush is talented, but I don't see why Houston would take another RB and not concentrate on their Offensive Line, their only real weakness.

And as far as Mooch's offennsive style is concerned, it seemed to work in San Fran, as long as everybody on the field was playing consistent and healthy. Did he make a mistake in hiring Ted Tollner as his Offensive Coordinator for the Lions? Yes, I think so, but I think Mooch's system can work.

But if he ended up in Michigan State, I would support that, as well. I know about him and Izzo's background, as I'm a big fan of Mooch and Michigan State in general. I know that Izzo took a football coaching idea and scripts his first 15 plays to use on the hardwood and I also know that they were roomates in college. I think that wherever Mooch goes, eventually, the team will be able to have success. What Millen and seemingly the Fords, were looking for was instant success, but they didn't seem too patient with Mooch.

That being said, I also see the Lions pursuing a possibly fired Brian Billick, or perhaps Mike Martz as their next head coach, because I don't think Jauron will end up with the job and I don't think he'll want to stay either, as he's a close friend to Mooch, as well.

[VerbalPuke]

Considering his teammates have no confidence in him, the coaching staff has no confidence in him, and the fans have no confidence in him, i don't think starting Harrington would be very smart

It's not any dumber than putting Jeff Garcia in there. Like I said, this season is over, we have absolutely no chance of making the playoffs (again) this year. If that is the case, why are we playing Jeff Garcia, whom the fans also have no confidence in? The only reason gets the start is because Jauron seems to think Jeff will be able to salvage this season, which is not the case. Why are we playing a 35 year old QB with no future in this city? Joey's future is bleak in Detroit, but he has a better shot of sticking around than Jeff, plus he's younger. So why not play the guy now that somebody new is calling plays and find out if he really is a bum? Confidence shouldn't be an issue here, we need to just get all of our younger guys out there for development. I would demote Garcia to third string and make Dan Orlovsky second stringer. I'd put a solid amount of money on Harrington to play again before the season is over, be it because Garcia falters, or because he is hurt yet again.