biggerdaddynj Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Next time you're feeling down about our past drafts or whether or not we'll go with Floyd or Martin at 10, please take a moment to remember about the suffering of the poor Lions' fans at the hands of Matt Millen. The fact that he was somehow able to keep his job for so long while destroying the Lions year after year still leaves many conspiracy theorists wondering what it was that he exactly had to blackmail the Ford family with. His eight-year tenure as head of the franchise led to the worst eight-year record in the history of the modern NFL (31-97). Sit back and enjoy the show: 2001 Round One 18th overall Jeff Bachus OT Michigan Round Two 50th overall Dominick Raiola C Nebraska Round Two 61st overall Shaun Rogers NT Texas Round Five 148th overall Scotty Anderson WR Grambling State Round Five 149th overall Mike McMahon QB Rutgers Round Six 173rd overall Jason Glenn LB Texas A&M 2002 Round One 3rd overall Joey Harrington QB Oregon Round Two 35th overall Kalimba Edwards DE South Carolina Round Three 68th overall Andre Goodman DB South Carolina Round Four 134th overall John Taylor DE Montana State Round Five 138th overall John Owens TE Notre Dame Round Six 175th overall Chris Cash CB USC Round Seven 214th overall Luke Staley RB BYU Round Seven 252nd overall Matt Murphy TE Maryland Round Seven 259th overall Victor Rogers OG Colorado 2003 Round One 2nd overall Charles Rogers WR MSU Round Two 34th overall Boss Bailey OLB Georgia Round Three 66th overall Cory Redding DE Texas Round Four 99th overall Artose Pinner RB Kentucky Round Five 137th overall Torrance Holt DB North Carolina State Round Five 144th overall James Davis LB West Virginia Round Six 175th overall David Kirkus WR Grand Valley State Round Seven 216th overall Ben Johnson T Wisconsin Round Seven 220th overall Blue Adams CB Cincinnati Round Seven 236th overall Brandon Drumm RB Colorado Round Seven 265th overall Travis Anglin WR Memphis 2004 Round One 7th overall Roy Williams WR Texas Round One 30th overall Kevin Jones RB Virginia Tech Round Two 37th overall Teddy Lehman OLB Oklahoma Round Three 73rd overall Keith Smith CB McNeese State Round Five 140th overall Alex Lewis LB Wisconsin Round Six 172nd Kelly Butler T Purdue 2005 Round One 10th overall Mike Williams WR USC Round Two 37th overall Shawn Cody DE USC Round Three 72nd overall Stanley Wilson DB Stanford Round Five 145th overall Dan Orlovsky QB UCONN Round Six 184th overall Bill Swancutt DE Oregon State Round Six 206th Jonathan Goddard LB Marshall 2006 Round One 9th overall Ernie Simms OLB FSU Round Two 40th overall Daniel Bullocks SS Nebraska Round Three 74th overall Brian Calhoun RB Wisconsin Round Five 141st overall Jonathan Scott T Texas Round Six 179th overall Dee McCann CB West Virginia Round Seven 217th overall Fred Matua G USC Round Seven 247th overall Anthony Cannon CB Tulane 2007 Round One 2nd overall Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech Round Two 43rd overall Drew Stanton QB MSU Round Two 58th overall Ikaika Alama-Francis DE Hawaii Round Two 61st overall Gerald Alexander FS Boise State Round Four 105thoverall AJ Davis CB North Carolina State Round Four 117th overall Manny Ramirez G Texas Tech Round Five 158th overall Johnny Baldwin LB Alabama A&M Round Seven 235th Ramzee Robinson CB Alabama 2008 Round One 17th overall Gosder Cherilus T Boston College Round Two 45th overall Jordon Dizon OLB Colorado Round Three 64th Kevin Smith RB Central Florida Round Three 87th Andre Fluellen DT FSU Round Three 92nd overall Cliff Avril DE Purdue Round Five 136th overall Kenny Moore WR Wake Forrest Round Five 146th overall Jerome Felton FB Furman Round Seven 216th overall Landon Cohen DE Ohio Round Seven 218th Caleb Campbell DB Army Comes up way short even if we are going to annoint Calvin Johnson as a HOF'er ("even a broken clock is right twice a day"). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark80 Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 This just in...the lions drafted like crap for a decade. There, just saved you 30 minutes typing all that crap. Who cares? See also the Browns, the Raiders, the Jags, the Dolphins, the Vikings, and probably 5 other teams (including the Bills pre Buddy). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggerdaddynj Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 This just in...the lions drafted like crap for a decade. There, just saved you 30 minutes typing all that crap. Who cares? See also the Browns, the Raiders, the Jags, the Dolphins, the Vikings, and probably 5 other teams (including the Bills pre Buddy). Took me 30 seconds to cut and paste. Modern technology is amazing! As for poor drafting, Millen is in a class of his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Barbarian Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Not as bad As I thought, the first three picks in 01 were good and he did draft megatron, Avril, and others that I recognized. If those WRs and Harrington panned out he would have done OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSBill Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Next time you're feeling down about our past drafts or whether or not we'll go with Floyd or Martin at 10, please take a moment to remember about the suffering of the poor Lions' fans at the hands of Matt Millen. The fact that he was somehow able to keep his job for so long while destroying the Lions year after year still leaves many conspiracy theorists wondering what it was that he exactly had to blackmail the Ford family with. His eight-year tenure as head of the franchise led to the worst eight-year record in the history of the modern NFL (31-97). Sit back and enjoy the show: 2001 Round One 18th overall Jeff Bachus OT Michigan Round Two 50th overall Dominick Raiola C Nebraska Round Two 61st overall Shaun Rogers NT Texas Round Five 148th overall Scotty Anderson WR Grambling State Round Five 149th overall Mike McMahon QB Rutgers Round Six 173rd overall Jason Glenn LB Texas A&M 2002 Round One 3rd overall Joey Harrington QB Oregon Round Two 35th overall Kalimba Edwards DE South Carolina Round Three 68th overall Andre Goodman DB South Carolina Round Four 134th overall John Taylor DE Montana State Round Five 138th overall John Owens TE Notre Dame Round Six 175th overall Chris Cash CB USC Round Seven 214th overall Luke Staley RB BYU Round Seven 252nd overall Matt Murphy TE Maryland Round Seven 259th overall Victor Rogers OG Colorado 2003 Round One 2nd overall Charles Rogers WR MSU Round Two 34th overall Boss Bailey OLB Georgia Round Three 66th overall Cory Redding DE Texas Round Four 99th overall Artose Pinner RB Kentucky Round Five 137th overall Torrance Holt DB North Carolina State Round Five 144th overall James Davis LB West Virginia Round Six 175th overall David Kirkus WR Grand Valley State Round Seven 216th overall Ben Johnson T Wisconsin Round Seven 220th overall Blue Adams CB Cincinnati Round Seven 236th overall Brandon Drumm RB Colorado Round Seven 265th overall Travis Anglin WR Memphis 2004 Round One 7th overall Roy Williams WR Texas Round One 30th overall Kevin Jones RB Virginia Tech Round Two 37th overall Teddy Lehman OLB Oklahoma Round Three 73rd overall Keith Smith CB McNeese State Round Five 140th overall Alex Lewis LB Wisconsin Round Six 172nd Kelly Butler T Purdue 2005 Round One 10th overall Mike Williams WR USC Round Two 37th overall Shawn Cody DE USC Round Three 72nd overall Stanley Wilson DB Stanford Round Five 145th overall Dan Orlovsky QB UCONN Round Six 184th overall Bill Swancutt DE Oregon State Round Six 206th Jonathan Goddard LB Marshall 2006 Round One 9th overall Ernie Simms OLB FSU Round Two 40th overall Daniel Bullocks SS Nebraska Round Three 74th overall Brian Calhoun RB Wisconsin Round Five 141st overall Jonathan Scott T Texas Round Six 179th overall Dee McCann CB West Virginia Round Seven 217th overall Fred Matua G USC Round Seven 247th overall Anthony Cannon CB Tulane 2007 Round One 2nd overall Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech Round Two 43rd overall Drew Stanton QB MSU Round Two 58th overall Ikaika Alama-Francis DE Hawaii Round Two 61st overall Gerald Alexander FS Boise State Round Four 105thoverall AJ Davis CB North Carolina State Round Four 117th overall Manny Ramirez G Texas Tech Round Five 158th overall Johnny Baldwin LB Alabama A&M Round Seven 235th Ramzee Robinson CB Alabama 2008 Round One 17th overall Gosder Cherilus T Boston College Round Two 45th overall Jordon Dizon OLB Colorado Round Three 64th Kevin Smith RB Central Florida Round Three 87th Andre Fluellen DT FSU Round Three 92nd overall Cliff Avril DE Purdue Round Five 136th overall Kenny Moore WR Wake Forrest Round Five 146th overall Jerome Felton FB Furman Round Seven 216th overall Landon Cohen DE Ohio Round Seven 218th Caleb Campbell DB Army Comes up way short even if we are going to annoint Calvin Johnson as a HOF'er ("even a broken clock is right twice a day"). I feel better already Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 This just in...the lions drafted like crap for a decade. There, just saved you 30 minutes typing all that crap. Who cares? See also the Browns, the Raiders, the Jags, the Dolphins, the Vikings, and probably 5 other teams (including the Bills pre Buddy). Took me 30 seconds to cut and paste. Modern technology is amazing! As for poor drafting, Millen is in a class of his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjmac Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Not that I'm defending Millen, but how much of it was his drafting and how much of it was poor coaching? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wing Man Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Not that I'm defending Millen, but how much of it was his drafting and how much of it was poor coaching? 80/20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RealityCheck Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Not that I'm defending Millen, but how much of it was his drafting and how much of it was poor coaching? He hires the coaches so it falls 100% in his lap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTimer1960 Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Yes, Millen's draft record was very poor for sure. However, as someone old enough to have been around for all of those drafts, I can say that other than Charles Rogers and Mike Williams, none of those first round picks were considered bad or "reaches" at the time. Many in Buffalo (and other cities) would have been thrilled to get Joey Harrington. Same could have been said for Roy Williams. Williams was 6'2.5", 212 lbs, with 4.42 speed and a lot of production at Texas (70 catches, 15 ypc his last year there for a team not known as a passing team). My point is not to defend Millen, but rather to say that the draft is very unpredictable. Even guys that look like sure things can flame out. Scouting is very important, but having some luck on your side helps, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBillsForever Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 (edited) Our drafts matched up well to Matt Millens from a position standpoint. WR VS CB Edited March 24, 2012 by BuffaloBillsForever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewildrabbit Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Not that I'm defending Millen, but how much of it was his drafting and how much of it was poor coaching? The entire debacle started when Millen drafted QB Joey Harrington who was terribad in 02, then not immediately realizing that they wasted a #3 overall on the wrong guy! Then Millen spent the next few years trying to make him into something he was not, a top QB. The Lions hired a rookie Lameoid HC coach in Marty Mornhinweg who then he thought he needed a bright shiny new QB to run the team. Another Idiot HC who tries to make a rookie QB win games behind a bad O line with bad WR's, so the next step is to bring in top WR's for the next 4-5 years all the while neglecting the O line They even tried to hire Steve Mariucci as HC in 03 to "fix" Harrington. Now it could be said that the first regime ruined Harrington, kinda the same way Jauron ruined Losman & Edwards. Just look at one main reason as to why Millen's tenure failed, not one top draft pick for that O line. Not one freaking O linemen taken in the draft under Millen in 02-03-04-05, and then finally in 06 the Lions spent a #5 on a LT.. The Lions had a decent LT, they just lacked good players at other positions I felt so bad for Mariucci when he took the HCing job there, that job ruined his career in coaching because he had no say in anything. By the Time Mariucci was hired as HC the QB was already ruined and he tried to get that fact into Millen's thick skull, who wouldn't listen. Don't forget that after they fired Steve Mariucci in 05 guess who took over from the DC position...Dick Jauron was the interim HC Then they replaced Jauron with Mike Martz, poor Joey was spared getting killed more in Martz's system tho as they traded him to Miami. It wasn't just a stupid GM / president. It was bad coaching, bad scouting, wrong draft choices. Just wrong and stupid decisions in almost the entire org an entire decade...you know, just like another team who's owner didn't care from 2000-2010. I can only think that either Matt Millen was so imposing that the Lions owners were afraid to fire him or he was simply brilliant at making excuses. Either way its difficult to understand how an org can allow itself to be so bad for so long. I suppose when you hire a moron at the top, then he in turn hires inept people. Bill fans should now rejoice in the fact that the Dolphins now have a GM on about the same mental level as Matt Millen, here is hoping they keep him for a decade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve O Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Bills probably would have drafted Harrington at 4 if the Lions hadn't taken him...didn't do so well with that pick even though we didn't have the chance to strike out with Joey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowery4 Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Why don't I feel better? Oh I remember, the lions made the POs last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobChalmers Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 I think they gave up on Harrington way too soon. He was asked to do an awful ot with a bad team around him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBob2232 Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 (edited) YAY!!! We're not as bad as Detroit!!! Oh what???...they made the playoffs last year? Now im depressed. Edited March 24, 2012 by JimBob2232 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 He missed on the QB, a lot of people wold have tho with harrington that year. Drafting a wide receiver 4 out of 5 years is no way to build a team. Who was their RB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glory Bound Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 What amazes me is that someone else hired him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv's Neighbor Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Excuse me, I must be on the wrong Team's Board! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondo in seattle Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Yes, Millen's draft record was very poor for sure. However, as someone old enough to have been around for all of those drafts, I can say that other than Charles Rogers and Mike Williams, none of those first round picks were considered bad or "reaches" at the time. Many in Buffalo (and other cities) would have been thrilled to get Joey Harrington. Same could have been said for Roy Williams. Williams was 6'2.5", 212 lbs, with 4.42 speed and a lot of production at Texas (70 catches, 15 ypc his last year there for a team not known as a passing team). My point is not to defend Millen, but rather to say that the draft is very unpredictable. Even guys that look like sure things can flame out. Scouting is very important, but having some luck on your side helps, too. That's why amateurs shouldn't be GMs. According to Kiper and the like, Millen didn't reach. But clearly every other GM in the league was wiser than Millen and made better picks over that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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