Calvin Johnson got more passes thrown in his direction during last Thursday's Packers game than he had in any other game all season. Some figured that the coaches just realized that it was time to get the ball to Calvin Johnson, but others thought it was because of a direct order from Lions owner William Clay Ford. Rob Parker wrote an article stating that sources informed him that Ford told the coaching staff to get Calvin Johnson the ball. It wouldn't be a surprising thing to happen at all considering Ford is hoping this high draft pick doesn't turn out to be a bust. With that in mind, I easily could see him making the suggestion.
I mentioned that Parker has no credibility in my book as he has spewed so many false rumors before. As I said, usually they are not directly included in any articles he writes, but that still doesn't mean something is true just because it is in the paper. Rod Marinelli would agree with that statement.
When he was told the source was not known, Marinelli said: "Well then it's a lie. I'll call it a lie. I'm going to answer it: you may not like my answer. It's a lie. There are only two people that talk to Mr. Ford: Matt (Millen) and myself. Lie. I think that's clean."
I'm not going to say that either is telling the truth because we really don't know what the truth is. I will say, though, that the context of this whole issue is important. If Ford simply said that he'd like to see Calvin Johnson get a few more passes thrown in his direction, then although it is a subtle suggestion, it isn't a direct order.
Regardless of what the truth is, I really see this as a non-issue. Does it matter if Ford told the coaches to get the ball to a certain player? Not really, because at the end of the day, I highly doubt that Mike Martz would take advice that seriously from William Clay Ford. For starters, Martz is stubborn and does what he wants. On top of that, who in their right ind would listen to Ford? He did hire Matt Millen, which should tell you how much he knows to begin with.