I am not a Lions fan. I have watched them quite a bit and seen lots of pain that they have caused fans from here. I think this organization, henceforth referred to as DL, is worthy of some kind of documentary or discussion.
It really is amazing how bad this organization is. They have not won a championship since 1957 when they defeated the Cleveland Browns. There is no other team that has been around for every Superbowl that has not played in at least one of these games. They have one playoff win in the Superbowl era which was a defeat of the Dallas Cowboys at home in 1991. They have so many negative records like this, it is hard to keep track. How can a team be so pathetically bad? How can a team who had Barry Sanders, without question one of the greatest running backs to ever play if not one of the greatest players, win one playoff game?
It really is hard to understand. you would think that the GM's they have had, who have pretty much all been terrible, would at least be able to get lucky somewhat. Statistically, I think a monkey throwing darts at a board would be better than some of what I have seen them do. Not only have they not managed to hire a competent GM, but it seems like players who go from their organizations to others seem to play better than they did with the DL's and that is hard to swallow.
They only common thread here is the front office and the ownership. I do not think that the Ford family have been good owners of this team. They are way too nice and tolerant of mediocrity and failure. I am curious to see how the "new" owner, this Sheila Ford Hamp will do. Preliminary signs seem to indicate that she will at least be different. She seems to do and say the right things so far, but people here have heard this story before. For DL fans, the time is right to demand results, as the NFL is a result oriented business.
Of course, they have and have had a deep culture problem. They are a downtrodden team that bathes in losing. It has been the inevitable result, even when they do some things correctly. There doesn't seem to be a determination and that extra "it" that winning teams have. It just seems like when things are going well, that everyone is looking around waiting for the other shoe to drop and take victory away from them. I find it fascinating, if nothing else.
The other thing that they seem to consistently have is a talent problem. they will get a few guys in who have good talent, but then most don't seem to be motivated or turn out for them. When they do get someone good, they usually can't pay them and then they go to free agency as they don't seem to make the right choices ever when it comes to players.
Their drafts are consistently terrible. Even TJ Hockensen I don't believe was a smart pick. he is a decent tight end, but not someone you take at that point in the draft. Your first round picks have to be something that contributes each year and that doesn't seem to happen much for Detroit. The running backs they have acquired never turn out with the exception of Sanders.
I hope for the fans' sake that Detroit has found some people in charge that work. Their fans have been loyal to them and deserve much better. It is going to be interesting to watch.
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