It's been awhile since Matt Millen has put his foot in his mouth, but today he did it over and over again with the things he said to the media. You may want to sit down, because some of the things you are about to read will make you go crazy either out of frustration or the simple fact that Millen is so incredibly clueless.
Basically I'm just going to go through each thing he said and tear him apart, because honestly, it's necessary.
(Thanks to Dave Birkett's blog for the quotes)
On fans jumping off the Lions bandwagon: "That's their choice. They're not jumping (the players and coaches)."
It's good to see that he doesn't give a damn about the fans. Rather than say something about how it's disappointing or how they will be back when things are turned around, Millen simply does not care.
"I said at the beginning of the season, come on out and I think you'll like what you see. And I think the people who came out, they like what they see because they see discipline. They see the approach is right, they're practicing right. All the little things. Everybody has a different saying. Rod says pound the rock. (Joe) Paterno said take care of the little things, the big things will take care of itself. Al Davis said block, tackle and be right, baby. The successful ones all say the same thing, they say it differently. We're doing it the right way, that's why I know it'll work."
Is this for real? Yeah, you're right, Matt, the fans definitely liked seeing their team start the season 0-2 in embarrassing fashion. And what discipline or approach are you talking about? The main thing is that this team is 0-2. Obviously the approach isn't working; otherwise, this team wouldn't be winless right now. And as a commenter pointed out when I posted a FanShot of the above quote, taking advice from Al Davis isn't exactly a great idea, although the advice still is probably better than anything Millen would ever do.
On what makes him believe this is the right way: "Because I've watched it since they started playing football 80 years ago. It hasn't changed. It's not going to change. There has to be a foundation. The foundation's laid. Now you have to keep on doing what you're doing and then the transfer, take it to the game field. They will."
Have you watched the last 8 years of Lions football? You know, the mediocrity and embarrassment that you assembled. Have you watched that? I'd say it's pretty obvious that there is no foundation as this team still is lacking a solid offensive line. To me, that is the foundation of a good team, and the Lions are nowhere close to having a solid offensive line.
On if he sees success coming this year: "Yes, absolutely. And the fact that you asked me that question bothers me because either you're asking it for your paper or you're asking it because you don't see it, and if you don't see it then you're not knowing what you're looking for."
I want to make some witty remark about this quote, but I am nearly at a loss for words. I don't even know how to respond to a guy that questions the media about if they know what success looks like and says that they don't see it. Considering this team has had no success ever since Millen took over, what in hell is he talking about? Please, Matt, tell me what to look for because making a comeback for a few minutes in the fourth quarter doesn't constitute success. Getting 7 wins after winning 6 of your first 8 games doesn't constitute success. Nothing you have done with this team constitutes success.
On what Lions owner William Clay Ford makes of the start: "You'd have to ask him that question, but my take on it is he's - He has high expectations. When you have high expectations you also get frustrated, too. There's answers you want, too. So ... He asks all the right questions, I'll just leave it at that."
Is an honest answer without trying to be all defensive too much to ask?
I've always disliked Matt Millen because of what he has done as the Lions' general manager. From his coaching hires and fires to his personnel decisions, all of those things have given me plenty of reasons to hate him. However, now my hate is starting to shift from how bad of a general manager he is to the things that come out of his mouth. Mind you, he's said some pretty dumb things in the past, but I've never read this many comments on one occasion that really do show how delusional he is.
For me, the comment about how the people that come on out (meaning the ones that go to the games) liked what they saw just rubs me the wrong way more than anything else. It's a slap in the face to Lions fans to say that they liked what they saw after the Packers game. For a few minutes in the fourth quarter, maybe. But guess what else we saw, Matt. Another start to a game where the Lions were trailing 21-0, a meltdown of epic proportions from Jon Kitna, and a defense that clearly is lost; those are just some of the things Lions fans saw. To say that we liked what we saw just makes me want to punch Millen in the face. There's no excuse for saying crap like that.
In the end, no matter how much progress we ever thought was made, it's pretty clear that this franchise will go nowhere as long as this idiot is running things (same goes for William Clay Ford). No matter how much talent you fill the team with and no matter who the coach is, there's just no way that Millen will allow this team to be successful. That is evident from the decisions he makes and now the things he says as well.