Life Is A Circle And It Revolves Around Detroit

I hate the Detroit Lions, not from yesterday's game when the Lions beat the Redskins to make fans the laughingstock of the football world.

When you lose to the worst team in football, you take their monkey from their back to yours.

My dislike of the Lions dates back to the 'Seventies when I was a fresh new graduate of Michigan State.

My big new job was in the Detroit area. In the days before the Internet and the NFL's expansive view of revenue capture, one was forced to watch the local franchise and little else.

The Lions were tailing off of a 10-4 peak in 1970. They lost 31-10 to Bill Austins' Redskins that year. Austin was the Skins' interim coach after Vince Lombardi's death.

By 1973, Detroit was a shadow of itself. It burned me up that the local media and fans were in denial of that.

The Redskins were scheduled to play the Lions Thanksgiving Day. The night before the game, the local TV preview show pumped the 4-6-1 Lions' chance to make the playoffs.

I don't recall the MC's name. He was to Detroit as George Michael was to DC. That guy was thoroughly dismissive of the 8-3 Redskins, who was the defending NFC champion. Like George Allen's Over-The-Hill-Gang were all flukes.

That burned me up.

Washington shut Detroit out 20-0.

LMAO!

The turmoil created in the Lions fan base was delicious. How could the Lions lose to the Redskins?

Those Lions fans expected that the team would challenge for a title every year, but they cited team talent from the 1950s.

Fast forward four decades and I find that a large segment of Washington area residents dislike the Redskins for the same reasons.

Washington fans begin every year as though the Redskins are an under performing Gibbs era 12-4 team only one player away from another Super Bowl. Washington hasn't been that since 1991.

So there is always anguished surprise when Washington hovers around .500. Like now.

I understand the annoyance because I was on the receiving end of it in Detroit.

Snyder era Washington fans have become the Detroit fans of the 'seventies.

That memory flooded back to me as I watched the Redskins lose to the Lions.

Outsiders have as much fun knocking Skins fans down a peg as they do bashing Daniel Snyder.

The Redskins are playing to its talent level. With a break, they might reach 9-7, or 10-4 if someone in New York or Philadelphia gets hurt.

Here's MLB London Fletcher:

"We're not a great football team — never have been since I've been here — and it hasn't been in a long time, since, what, the '80s? It's been a long time since the Redskins have had a great football team. We have to come in here with a workmanlike attitude, with the mindset that we must work to win."
~~ From USA Today.

Some of this is the team beating itself up. Some of it is a realistic assessment of where they are.

I thought Washington could finish 9-7, but with this loss it's looking like 8-8, again.

The team needs a pick-up that can only come from the owner. Daniel Snyder has to stand up and say "I believe in you guys. Go out and win 10 games."

I doubt he will do that.
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Master4Caster is not posting at this site regularly. His alter-ego now publishes at Hog Heaven. Follow the link to there, or check the Hog Heaven widget on this page.

More Washington Redskins draft moves

With teams hiding their intent in the run-up to the draft, there's little for bloggers to do, but write about what others are writing. In the blogosphere, that's called "conversation."

Don Pierson wrote a story for MSNBC Trading down in NFL draft not so easy. He makes the case that it's generally tough to trade down because the other team must swallow a huge a contract for an unproven rookie. It's a risk not many general managers are willing to take. As an example, Pierson quotes Bears GM Jerry Angelo on the Redskins trade offer for Lance Briggs.

"We have to digest what it is from a cap standpoint," general manager Jerry Angelo said. "The sixth pick is an inordinate amount of money and there are cap issues in terms of our plan."

Pierson points out that the difference between last year's sixth and 31st draft pick was about $15 Million in total contract, of which $10 Million was guaranteed.

That's one reason the Oakland Raiders at No. 1 and the Detroit Lions at No. 2 in this year's draft aren't overwhelmed by offers from teams willing to risk big bucks on prospects who find it difficult to live up to the increasing hype and pressure.

Pierson doesn't come out and say it, but a team would be well advised to put some of that first round contract money on an upgraded scouting department and make better picks in the middle round of the draft. (Hint, hint)

Tom Kowalski's story at www.mlive.com says that a deal for the Detroit Lions' number two pick hinges on who the Oakland Raiders take with their number one pick. The consensus is that the Raiders will select JaMarcus Russell. That could prompt up to four teams, including Washington, to offer the Lions trade up deals for a shot at Calvin Johnson. However, Kowalski points out

The Redskins are going to have trouble making a deal for the same reason they couldn't work out a trade with the Lions for cornerback Dre Bly (now with Denver): they don't have enough ammunition. The Redskins don't have a second-round pick because they dealt it away -- and that's going to cripple their chances of competing with other teams.

Oakland will blow up this scenario if they take Johnson instead of Russell.

Skin Patrol at Hogs Haven touched on this in his story Redskins want the Lions pick. He closes the story by cataloging how the Skins frittered away their middle round picks in the Snyder/Gibbs era.

In another sign of football news drought, Patrol beat me to Kowolski's story by an hour or so. Usually there are so many team stories published, and rumors whispered, that everyone can take a different facet of the news and create unique content around it. For the next ten days, bloggers will pounce on every news snippet to be first to comment. If you are third or fourth with a post, you start asking "is there anything I can add to this story, or will this just be another me-too entry?"

There's always the option of a hiatus. The Redskins Report was on one. They are waking up in time for the draft. (TRR was my muse and inspiration when I started this blog.) The Curly R is focusing more on W, its baseball site. Skinsaphrenia was traumatized by last season. They went into hibernation in December, only recently awakening. War Cry is still active. The Warpath and ExtremeSkins message boards are still engaged, but most posts are the hypothetical "should we take . . . " variety. Hogs Haven, if you didn't know, is one of the top five blogs listed on Fair Catch. Check out my other friends in the blogroll to your right.

Running Redskins is hanging in for the run up the draft and a few weeks thereafter, then will wind down until training camp. Summer is coming. The Bay is near, and the boat needs attention.
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Michael Vick is donating $10,000 through the United Way to help the families of the Virginia Tech victims. Mike gets bashed a lot, including by me. He deserves props for this, so I want to acknowledge his concern and generosity.

Washington Redskins draft options

Washington's major dailies are weighing in on the Redskins options in the run-up to the draft on April 28.

Ryan O'Halloran at the Times compiles the number of picks that potential trade-down partners have in the first three rounds of the draft. The Atlanta Falcons, a frequently mentioned trade partner, have three of the first 44 picks. They could be enticed to exchange their #8 and #39 picks in exchange for the Redskins #6. This scenario is plausible because the Washington Redskins have a need for defensive linemen and have been impressed by Louisville's Amobi Okoye, who coincidentally was coached by Atlanta's Bobby Petrino, Louisville's coach last season. The Falcons, supposedly would use the #6 pick on Okoye or safety LaRon Landry.

The money quote in O'Halloran's story:

This draft simply isn't full of top-end talents that have teams drooling and desperate to move into the top 10.

Could it be that everyone wants to trade down because the first rounders aren't worth the money they will demand?

The gee whiz factor in O'Halloran's story is that the San Francisco 49ers have eight of the first 135 picks. With picks galore, a willingness to acquire players, and a beast for a running back, it's just a matter of time before San Francisco returns to glory, and cap hell. Saints-49ers in the 2008 conference championship game? You heard it here first.

Of course, a willingness to acquire hasn't helped the Redskins. Three years from now, lets compare San Francisco's and Washington's won-loss record and draw yet another inference on building through the draft versus building through "proven commodities."

I once worked for the world's largest technology company. There's an old joke about sales reps from that company that goes

How can you tell when the [world's largest technology company] rep is lying?

His lips are moving.

(Just for the record, I never lied. But then, my lips are moving.)

Jason LaCanfora, just back from paternity leave (thank you Hogs Haven for pointing that out), penned The Lying Game on his Redskins Insider blog at the Post. LaCanfora points out the hazards of believing everything - or anything - you hear in the run-up to the draft. Teams are posturing to gain some advantage. Call it the kick-off to the game between the seasons.

Detroit "loves Gaines Adams," according to rumblings picked up by LaCanfora. That confounds mock drafkateers who penciled in JaMarcus Russell or Calvin Johnson, who ever of the two Oakland doesn't take, as the Lions first pick. If that happens, Russell or Johnson could be available by the sixth pick. If it's Russell, the Skins chances to trade down go way up. If it's Johnson, the Redskins should keep him and go to sleep until the second day of the draft. Yes, I recall that the Redskins selected Taylor Jacobs under similar circumstances. Johnson didn't go to Florida and Steve Spurrier didn't hang around. So, there.

This scenario only plays out if Detroit truly prefers Gaines Adams. But then, Detroit's lips are moving.


Photo: Coach Mike Nolan, Chronicle/Mike Maloney http://www.sfgate.com/
Photo: LSU's Calvin Johnson, http://www.nationalchamps.net/