.jpg)
Dre’ Bly is once again a Detroit Lion and this of course conjures up memories of him going on the NFL Network and throwing QB Joey Harrington under the bus.
When we recall this particular chapter of Lions history many of us Lions fans get a very sick feeling in our stomach. Of course everyone wants to blame then General Manger Matt Millen for the fiasco that was Harrington’s stay in Detroit. However remembering this incident really speaks to just how bad the Lions organization really was (and maybe still is).
This is what Bly said, "Matt Millen did a great job drafting the guys, coach was brought in, and yeah, there were some things he could have done better, it's just one guy in particular that I feel is the cause of this whole thing,"
Of course this comment ultimately got Steve Mariucci fired, who then ironically ended up working for the NFL Network on which this comment was aired. However I think Bly’s comments lead us to a greater truth about the drafting of Harrington.
I had the opportunity to talk with several Lions players of that era, and they all liked Millen and thought he was doing a good job building this team through the draft. So either the Lions had a bunch of totally clueless players, or Harrington was not a mistake Millen made all on his own.
Since we were not in the room, we will probably never now the real truth here, but given his disturbing behavior and the way he Millen carried himself when Joey was introduced to the hometown fans, I don’t think Millen really wanted to make the draft pick.
Now the things we always here about Millen that he is a loner, who made a lot of decisions by himself. However we started hearing that after Harrington was drafted. Is it not possible that Millen was forced into drafting Harrington by the Lions ownership, and then took on those personality traits in response to it.
If all of that is true, it would explain why William Clay Ford let Millen keep his job for so long. One cannot force a guy into a bad decision and then fire him for it right?
Pro Football talk.com took this argument one step further. With Harrington as the starting QB the Lions went 18-37. In the Matt Millen era of the Lions they went 15-74 with every other QB to start a game, so how can Harrington be the one guy in particular who was the cause of the Lions ineptitude?
Related Links:
• Detroit Lions news and notes
• Detroit Lions fan View
• MTR Football.com
• The Business of the NFL
Comments