The happiest man in college football has to be John Cooper. Why is he happy? Because LLLLLLoyd Car has managed to take his place as someone who can win everything but "The Big One." John Cooper was 2-10-1 against Michigan in thirteen years of coaching at OSU, including three times while OSU was ranked in the top 10, with two losses coming when they were second-ranked. It ultimately cost him his job. Now, Carr has returned the favor, losing six of the last seven "Big Ones" since Jim Tressel took over at OSU. In that time, OSU has a national championship, with a chance for two.
Many fans of NCAA football are clamoring for a playoff to determine the national championship, rather than the bowl system. Now, some of those same fans are clamoring for a rematch between OSU and UofM. But why? This was a tournament. The loser goes home and the winner plays for the whole enchilada. Why should Michigan get another chance to beat OSU? They had their chance and they lost. (And would probably lose again, making Carr the only Michigan coach to lose to OSU twice in one year.) You can't have it both ways. If you want a tournament playoff system, then you accept "one loss and you're out." You can't ask for a rematch. You lost. Go home. And get ready to lose your bowl game. Because that's what you have done for the last two years, and five of the last ten.
Some UofM critics have been grumbling that Carr cannot win big games because of his too conservative offense. Of course, if you tell Michigan they will score 39 points at OSU, they would probably like their chances. The downside is that they gave up 42. On Saturday, they got beat by a better team. Dare I say "clearly better."
Speaking of clearly better, it would be a stretch to say that Joey Harrington is "clearly better" than anyone. But here's the stat of the week: Joey Harrington has won more games this season than the Lions. Yes, you heard me right. The much hated Harrington, driven out of Detroit, has more wins the Lions do.
The difference? Harrington has played six games, and the Lions have played ten. Since Dante Culpepper went down with an injury in Miami, Harrington has started six games, and won the last three in a row.
Does anyone really think that Joey Harrington would have less than two wins as a Lion's quarterback? Jon Kitna is no better than Harrington was, and people had to know that when he came here. What was Kitna's qualification for the Detroit starting quarterback position? He had only one: He wasn't Joey.
Which leads me to this: Detroit Lions fans are ridiculous. They clamored for Joey to be gone, and they got it. They sit in armchairs and recliners with beers in their hand and complain. They complain about draft picks, play calls, offensive schemes, dropped passes, hurried throws. If I had a dime for everytime I heard some couch potato call in on the radio about Harrington's "happy feet," I would have ... well ... a lot of money. This is coming from guys who have no understanding of the game besides what they have picked up from the NFL's biggest buffoon ... John Madden.
Face it, whiners. If you knew as much as you think you know about football, you would be coaching somewhere on Sundays. But you are at home, watching the Lion's lose week after week. Have you no life?
The Lion's have a ton of problems. In fact, the best solution may be disbanding the team. There is plenty of blame to go around. Matt Millen is a frequent target, as are the Fords who own the team. But the biggest problem may be the fans who get down on their team before the season starts and never let up. Can you blame anyone for not wanting to play here?
The Lion's are a bad team. They lost to the Cardinals, who barely qualify as a team. The Cardinals are probably not even the best team in Arizona, and maybe not the best team in Glendale.
On the upside, the Lion's managed to stay in the running for the number one draft pick. Maybe they can pick an outside linebacker from some Division II school. Or perhaps they can trade their pick for Joey Harrington.
Would it really be worse?
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3 comments:
Do you feel better now?
Ya' know, happy as John Cooper may be, I really think Jim Tressel is happier.
At the risk of sounding like one of the whiners you criticize, I was glad to see Joey go, though I was disappointed that we didn't get more for him in that trade. I was also one of the guys who was completely mystified (and outraged) that the Lions made no effort to sign Drew Brees. Look how that turned out....
Speaking of the Saints, one of the DFN guys, maybe Sean, suggested last year when the Saints were homeless, that the city of Pontiac should open the Silverdome and invite the Saints to play there. He said they would sell out every game. I thought that was a fantastic idea and was disappointed that no one did it. Maybe they could have stayed permanently if Bill Davidson or someone like him stepped up to buy the team which was clearly for sale.
After all, Ohio has two NFL teams. Pennsylvania has two. Think about it: Cincinnnati has 330,000 residents. Pittsburgh has about the same number. Oakland county has 1.2 million people. Metro Detroit could easily support two NFL teams, especially if one of them is the Lions. As long as Mr. Ford owns the Lions, it seems, we'll have to put up with ineptitude. So we either have to accept it or find a way around the Lions. A second Detroit area franchise is my suggestion.
As for Joey, his numbers and his play in Miami closely resemble what he did here in Detroit: http://sports-att.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5889 . He's winning more games in Miami, but that's mostly b/c they have a good defense something we admittedly never had here in the Joey era (though they were better last year than this year's Tampon 2).
True, Joey's numbers on Thanksgiving Day were much better than his average this year, but that's how he was here too--some games he looked pretty good, then he'd go back down to being Mr. Average. I really wanted Joey to succeed here, but the guy just doesn't have the talent. He'll be like Brian Griese--a capable backup, but not a franchise QB. We coulda had Brees, but, no, we outsmarted everyone and got Kitna.
Here's something to ponder: Which has been worse for the Lions--the West Nile Offense or the Tampon 2 Defense?
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