Chiefs Gretz: Chiefs haven't won playoff game since 94, but Millen is really bad

**RealSNR** · 09-25-2008, 09:23 AM

Sweet, this makes me feel a lot better about my team, Blob. Thanks for your insight.
=======================================
Thursday Morning Cup O’ChiefsSeptember 25, 2008 - Bob Gretz |
http://www.bobgretz.com/chiefs-footb...html#more-2933

After the better part of eight seasons, where the team never finished with a winning record, the Detroit Lions parted ways with general manager Matt Millen.

The action came after the Lions began the 2008 NFL season 0-3 and the son of the team owner said publicly this week that he would fire Millen if it was his call, which it wasn’t.

All this happened as the club was coming off its best season under Millen’s leadership when the Lions went 7-9 last year. That included a 25-20 victory over the Chiefs at Ford Field last December.

Whether Millen was fired or left on his own accord doesn’t really matter at this point. He met with owner William Clay Ford Sr. late Tuesday evening and when the meeting was over, he was out of the job.

Naturally, there are going to be Chiefs fans who will see the departure of Millen and start clamoring even more for the same thing with Chiefs GM Carl Peterson.

We know Peterson is the lightning rod for criticism of the franchise. That goes with his position, title and paycheck. And there is no doubt that criticism is warranted. He is the man in charge, the team has not won a championship and that’s a fact that bothers him more than it does the followers of this team, whether those fans want to believe that or not.

However, those that want to make a comparison with Peterson’s record leading the Chiefs with Millen’s time with the Lions do not know how bad things have been in Detroit. We will not even reference the first dozen years of Peterson’s tenure with the franchise. We know this is a “what have you done for me lately” world.

While the Chiefs have been disappointments over the last eight years, the Lions would have to improve a great deal too even reach that level.

Check the table. Side-by-side you can see how these teams have done over the last eight seasons. While the Chiefs have struggled at times, it’s only in the last two seasons – the last 12 games really – that the bottom dropped out of the on-field performance and with the victories and defeats.

The Lions never really got anything going until last year; that was their second season under head coach Rod Marinelli. They were 6-2 at mid-season last year, only to go 1-7 over the final half of the year, again with the only victory coming at home against the Chiefs.

Both clubs have been done in by poor drafting. We’ve written for the last two years about the problems brought on the Chiefs by their poor selections in the NFL Draft in this decade. But those pale in comparison to the Lions under Millen. In the last eight drafts, Detroit had 19 first or second round selections. Right now, there are 12 remaining on the Lions roster, six are starters.

Detroit in various drafts had the second, second, third, seventh, ninth and 10th picks in the first round.

The Chiefs in that same span had 14 first and second round picks, with nine still on the team, and all are starters. Their only two top 10 picks were a fifth and a sixth.

09-25-2008, 09:23 AM	Topic Starter
RealSNR Special Teams ACE!!! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Where the hell is SNR Casino cash: $-1634792	Gretz: Chiefs haven't won playoff game since 94, but Millen is really bad Sweet, this makes me feel a lot better about my team, Blob. Thanks for your insight. ======================================= Thursday Morning Cup O’ChiefsSeptember 25, 2008 - Bob Gretz \| http://www.bobgretz.com/chiefs-footb...html#more-2933 After the better part of eight seasons, where the team never finished with a winning record, the Detroit Lions parted ways with general manager Matt Millen. The action came after the Lions began the 2008 NFL season 0-3 and the son of the team owner said publicly this week that he would fire Millen if it was his call, which it wasn’t. All this happened as the club was coming off its best season under Millen’s leadership when the Lions went 7-9 last year. That included a 25-20 victory over the Chiefs at Ford Field last December. Whether Millen was fired or left on his own accord doesn’t really matter at this point. He met with owner William Clay Ford Sr. late Tuesday evening and when the meeting was over, he was out of the job. Naturally, there are going to be Chiefs fans who will see the departure of Millen and start clamoring even more for the same thing with Chiefs GM Carl Peterson. We know Peterson is the lightning rod for criticism of the franchise. That goes with his position, title and paycheck. And there is no doubt that criticism is warranted. He is the man in charge, the team has not won a championship and that’s a fact that bothers him more than it does the followers of this team, whether those fans want to believe that or not. However, those that want to make a comparison with Peterson’s record leading the Chiefs with Millen’s time with the Lions do not know how bad things have been in Detroit. We will not even reference the first dozen years of Peterson’s tenure with the franchise. We know this is a “what have you done for me lately” world. While the Chiefs have been disappointments over the last eight years, the Lions would have to improve a great deal too even reach that level. Check the table. Side-by-side you can see how these teams have done over the last eight seasons. While the Chiefs have struggled at times, it’s only in the last two seasons – the last 12 games really – that the bottom dropped out of the on-field performance and with the victories and defeats. The Lions never really got anything going until last year; that was their second season under head coach Rod Marinelli. They were 6-2 at mid-season last year, only to go 1-7 over the final half of the year, again with the only victory coming at home against the Chiefs. Both clubs have been done in by poor drafting. We’ve written for the last two years about the problems brought on the Chiefs by their poor selections in the NFL Draft in this decade. But those pale in comparison to the Lions under Millen. In the last eight drafts, Detroit had 19 first or second round selections. Right now, there are 12 remaining on the Lions roster, six are starters. Detroit in various drafts had the second, second, third, seventh, ninth and 10th picks in the first round. The Chiefs in that same span had 14 first and second round picks, with nine still on the team, and all are starters. Their only two top 10 picks were a fifth and a sixth.
Posts: 93,499