April 29th, 2015 at 12:46 PM ^
April 29th, 2015 at 12:48 PM ^
April 29th, 2015 at 12:49 PM ^
April 29th, 2015 at 12:56 PM ^
April 29th, 2015 at 12:59 PM ^
That is not what he said. Unless you are referring to a different team on a 12 year drought.
I think you need to read it again.
They have (had) two future hall of famers and a QB they took #1 overall. Of course they made the playoffs. This team has already reached its apex. Suh is gone, Calvin is aging, Stafford appears to have reached his max potential and he's an average-ish QB. And historically speaking this is practically the golden years of Lions Football.
two hall of famers and a #1 overall QB is all it takes to make the playoffs??? Somebody call David Carr he's gotta get the band back together.
at least on offense.
This was my exact thought as well. Who in their right mind doesn't think Andre Johnson is a Hall of Fame player?
April 29th, 2015 at 10:56 PM ^
I think he is a borderline HOFer at best. Although, I'd have to do some research to have an educated opinion.
April 29th, 2015 at 12:48 PM ^
Edmonton Oilers
April 29th, 2015 at 12:53 PM ^
Don't forget the Maple Leafs.
Lions aren't even the worst run organization in Detroit. That honor lies with the Pistons.
Ford, the 60 run without a championship, the single playoff win since the Super Bowl era, and the extraordinary stupidity regarding high draft picks.... a (very) quick sampler includes Mike Williams, Titus Young, C.Rog., Andre Ware, Reggie Rogers, and J Harrington........ Add 0-16, the ordeal that was Matt Millen, and Daryl Rogers' asking "what does a guy have to do to get fired around here?" andtThe Lions can stake a claim to the worst management in American professional sports history.... Yeah, the Pistons have been bad lately, but they got nothin on the Lions.
Currently run worse than the Lions
Cleveland Browns
Edmonton Oilers
Oakland Raiders
Washington Redskins
Philadelphia Phillies
Toronto Maple Leafs
Sacramento Kings
they just won the world series in 2008 and won their division 5 years in a row. They're rebuilding now but not in that category at all
The Phils, but this is exactly right. That team almost won three titles, and ended a big-time drought in their city. Sure they have kept some veterans for too long, but I know many, many fans who would take their run in an instant.
I was referring to the Amaro era when he took over as GM. All he's done is hold on to the team that Gillick built and won with. The Phillies have declined every year, He's drafted poorly, and held onto veterans way to long setting the rebuilding period way back.
Phillies fan here. Amaro Jr. is garbage. He traded away the league's best farm system (that Gillick built) for aging veterans while completely ignoring the other aging/injury prone vets on the hitting side costing us not only playoff wins, but the next potential 5-6 years as well.
Smh.
They just hired their first employee to do analytics for the franchise. Most franchises have entire departments that have been in place for at least a decade. Ruben Amaro, Jr. is about 20 years behind the rest of the league. They gave Ryan Howard a contract extension that was absurd even at the time and was two years before he hit free agency.
I understand it's hard to say they are horribly run when they were very good not that long ago, but their management is piss poor.
It really all depends on the time-frame one's referring to. I personally think the Lions are the worse run franchise in NFL history but Ithe Browns and Raiders are definitely run much worse in recent years.
Exactly. It's all about the time frame.
I will give the Lions credit for improving over the last five years. But there is also a strong argument to be made that they should have done better with the personnel they've had during that stretch.
On time scales stretching over all but the youngest fans' lifetimes, it's hard to argue any franchise has been worse than the Lions. The youngest fans who can really follow a team are probably 7, give or take a couple years. And, once you start looking at the LIons on a time scale that goes 7 years or more back from now, well, then your eyeballs start melting and you run mewling into a corner praying for swift, merciful death. I mean, I'd rather have Greg Howard write a column about me than be a Lions fan. But, sadly, I am a Lions fan.
The Lions' last NFL Championship was in 1957.
The "new" Browns have only been in business since 1998.
The Edmonton Oilers last won the Cup in 1984.
The Raiders last won a Super Bowl in 1983.
The Redskins last won a Super Bowl in 1991.
The Phillies last won the World Series in 1980.
The Leafs last won the Cup in 1967.
The Sacramento Kings last won the NBA Championship in 1951 as the Rochester Royals.
Only the Kings are worse than the Lions on this list.
Doesn't disprove your overall points, but check your facts Tater
I pointed out teams that are currently run worse than the Lions. If you want to debate worst overall franchise history, then yea you would have a point. The reason I bring up current ineptitude is that front offices change quite a bit quite frequently, even owners have changed (except for the Lions). Say what you want about Mayhew, but their is a huge difference between the way the Lions are run under his watch compared to his predeccesor Matt Millen, just as there is a huge difference between the way the 1967 Toronto Maple Leafs were run, and the current trainwreck that is called today's Toronto Maple Leafs.
The real shocker is that a list of teams who have gone the longest without winning a championship didn't include the Cubs for once.
Have won their league's championship more recently than the Lions. And the Kings were repeatedly one of the top 5 teams during the Webber/Divac years.
In defense of Cleveland, look at all the rings in that division with Pittsburgh and Baltimore. Plus John Elway and Earnest Byner kept Cleveland from two SB appearances. The Lions were blown out in their only NFC title game appearance and haven't made it past the Wild Card round since.
When have the Lions been run well as an organization. And I don't mean one good season on the field. I'm not very confident the front office has a real plan besides "take the best player available".
not, say, currant jelly?
to the list now.
But they are also my favorite run, as they did give us HARBAUGH
April 29th, 2015 at 11:49 PM ^
Add the 49'ers
Uhh what about the 49ers?
They actually traded Lou Brock for Enrie Broglio straight up. The Cubs look like a pretty well run franchise currently (the Wrigley Field bleachers/bathrooms fiasco aside), but historically they have to be the worst run franchise in American professional sports.
April 29th, 2015 at 12:47 PM ^
April 29th, 2015 at 12:47 PM ^
It's so fitting that the Cleveland Browns took Manziel in the 1st round. I still have no idea why anyone thought he was franchise QB material
April 29th, 2015 at 12:52 PM ^
I don't know why anyone would try to draft a franchise player - particularly a quarterback - who has character issues. That's too much money to place in the hands of people who are already irresponsible even before getting rich.
Which is why it baffles me that any team would spend a 1st (or 2nd) round pick on Winston. He could be awesome, and I think it just as likely that he's in jail in a couple years.