It's been a long couple of weeks for Lions fans. After a miniature bright point when Detroit almost surprised the Seattle Seahawks with a win, things came crashing down in the week to follow. Already people still had assistant coach Joe Cullen on their minds because he was caught driving drunk and nude on two separate occasions, and then Roy Williams had to bring the Lions back into the news after the dust had finally settled on Cullen.
Prior to the game against Chicago, Roy Williams not only guaranteed a win but also said that the Lions were close to scoring 40 points in a game where they only kicked 2 field goals. I didn't care as much about the guarantee, but found the comment about how many points they scored unintelligent.
Once the Bears finished kicking around the Lions yesterday, Roy Williams just kept on coming up with dumber things to say. Mitch Albom asked him a few questions, and the responses may surprise you. The first question is referring to a celebration Williams did after catching a pass for a first down after the game was out of reach.
"I celebrate first downs all the time. I'm not gonna stop that. I'm an exciting player. If I do something exciting, I'm gonna show my actions."
"But you were losing, 10-0."
"What does that mean? ... That means nothing to me. The score means nothing."
Honestly, wasn't he taught anything while he was at Texas, or in his entire life for that matter? How dumb do you have to be to say something like that. Saying the score means nothing defeats the entire purpose of the game of football. Without the score, there is no point in playing it. Last time I checked, the Lions record was 0-2, and that was probably because their score was less than the team they were playing. So, Roy, the score does mean something.
I have a great respect for Roy Williams on the field. I even believe that he could one day become one of the best wide receivers some time down the road. But, before he does accomplish that, he just needs to keep his mouth shut. Players that are on one of the worst teams in the league, and have been for a long time now, can't go out to the press and make guarantees or say the score doesn't mean anything. That not only makes himself look bad, but also the organization. And trust me, that's hard to do.
Someone's got to just step in and keep him quiet. Otherwise, I fear that it will get so out of control that his career could end up where Charles Rogers or Mike Williams are at right now. The only difference is that he was successful at one point, and it should stay that way. If Rod Marinelli wants to install this "tough-guy" attitude as a coach, then he needs to keep control of his players. Once things like what Williams has said in the last week or so happen more often, no one will even recognize the Lions as an opponent.
What I'm trying to say from all this is that Roy Williams can be a great player, but just don't say anything for the rest of the season if it involves a guarantee, scoring points, or the opponent. Nothing good can come from it.