OldTimer1960 Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 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. I don't disagree, but you can select any of the first round picks that Millen made and I believe that if he hadn't taken those players then some other team would have grabbed them not too long after Detroits pick. All of those picks were considered highly rated guys. Don't make the mistake of thinking that all NFL GMs are infallible at drafting. Tom Brady was a 6th round pick - this is kind of the opposite issue of taking a bad player early, but he made it to the 6th round meaning that every GM in the league was wrong at least 5 times on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjmac Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 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 This begs one question: What would the right draft choices been? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBob2232 Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 I don't disagree, but you can select any of the first round picks that Millen made and I believe that if he hadn't taken those players then some other team would have grabbed them not too long after Detroits pick. All of those picks were considered highly rated guys. Don't make the mistake of thinking that all NFL GMs are infallible at drafting. Tom Brady was a 6th round pick - this is kind of the opposite issue of taking a bad player early, but he made it to the 6th round meaning that every GM in the league was wrong at least 5 times on him. INCLUDING (by the way...) The Patriots! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffalothruMyVeins Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 This begs one question: What would the right draft choices been? To answer your question with a little research and personal opinion... 2002 1- DE- Dwight Freeney or FS- Ed Reed 2- C- LeCharles Bentley 3- RB- Brian Westbrook 4- QB- David Garrard 5- DE- Aaron Kampman 6- S- Ryan Clark 7- LB- James Harrison 7- LB- Bart Scott 2003 1- WR- Andre Johnson or DE- Terrell Suggs or S- Troy Polamalu or CB- Nnamdi Asomugha 2- WR Anquan Boldin or DE- Osi Umenyiora 3- TE- Jason Witten 4- CB- Terrence McGee 5- T- David Diehl 6- QB- Tony Romo 7- S- Quintin Mikkell 7- TE- Antonio Gates 7- CB- Leigh Bodden 7- RB- Fred Jackson 2004 1- CB- DeAngelo Hall or QB- Ben Roethlisberger or DT- Vince Wilfork 1- SS- Bob Sanders 2- DE- Jared Allen 3- RB- Michael Turner 5- WR- Wes Welker 6- OT- Jason Peters 2005 1- LB- DeMarcus Ware or QB- Aaron Rogers 2- WR- Vincent Jackson or RB- Frank Gore 3- RB- Darren Sproles 5- DE- Trent Cole 6- DT- Jay Ratliff 6- QB- Ryan Fitzpatrick I'm not gonna do Millen's o6-o8 drafts until he was fired Sept 2008, but you asked :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deep2evans Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 don't blame him for Charles Rogers. That guy should have been a stud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTimer1960 Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 don't blame him for Charles Rogers. That guy should have been a stud. There were signs that the guy could flame out from off-field problems and he did. It was a risk/reward scenario. He was a risky pick, but they thought that his exceptional talent level warranted the risk. In hindsight, it did not work out very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjmac Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 To answer your question with a little research and personal opinion... 2002 1- DE- Dwight Freeney or FS- Ed Reed 2- C- LeCharles Bentley 3- RB- Brian Westbrook 4- QB- David Garrard 5- DE- Aaron Kampman 6- S- Ryan Clark 7- LB- James Harrison 7- LB- Bart Scott 2003 1- WR- Andre Johnson or DE- Terrell Suggs or S- Troy Polamalu or CB- Nnamdi Asomugha 2- WR Anquan Boldin or DE- Osi Umenyiora 3- TE- Jason Witten 4- CB- Terrence McGee 5- T- David Diehl 6- QB- Tony Romo 7- S- Quintin Mikkell 7- TE- Antonio Gates 7- CB- Leigh Bodden 7- RB- Fred Jackson 2004 1- CB- DeAngelo Hall or QB- Ben Roethlisberger or DT- Vince Wilfork 1- SS- Bob Sanders 2- DE- Jared Allen 3- RB- Michael Turner 5- WR- Wes Welker 6- OT- Jason Peters 2005 1- LB- DeMarcus Ware or QB- Aaron Rogers 2- WR- Vincent Jackson or RB- Frank Gore 3- RB- Darren Sproles 5- DE- Trent Cole 6- DT- Jay Ratliff 6- QB- Ryan Fitzpatrick I'm not gonna do Millen's o6-o8 drafts until he was fired Sept 2008, but you asked :-) Nice drafts, but I thought Bentley had some injury issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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