Detroit Sports Thread

[POJO_Risin]

martz needed to do something to show an owner that he could work under a system...after acting like a cunt with the Rams...then acting like a cunt with the Lions...

We shall see...

Their offense is in better position than it was at any point since Millen came...

[ALinChainz]

Millen, Marinelli philosophies click

Lions president says that's the key

February 27, 2006

BY NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA

FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER



INDIANAPOLIS -- Matt Millen feels he has finally gotten it. He feels he has finally figured out the most important thing about hiring a coach. He feels he has finally found someone with his football philosophy.

Millen, the Lions' president, said he knew who Steve Mariucci was when he hired him in 2003. So when they didn't see eye-to-eye -- when Millen felt Mariucci's style didn't fit the team, when the losses piled up -- he had nobody to blame but himself.

"Our lack of success is not Steve's fault," Millen said Sunday at the NFL scouting combine. "It's my fault. I really, 100% believe that, because Steve just came in and he is what he is. He's had success doing that. It just didn't work here."

Mariucci took over a veteran, winning San Francisco team in 1997. He led the 49ers to a 57-39 regular-season record and four playoff appearances in six seasons.

Millen said he felt Mariucci would be great once the Lions started winning and the players believed they were there -- and he still feels that way. But the Lions were never there. They were a young, losing team, and Mariucci's relatively light atmosphere and West Coast offense didn't get the results they had before.

After Mariucci fell to 15-28 on Thanksgiving, Millen fired him. Soon after, he went looking for another new coach.

"The main criteria this time is, I had to get somebody who's on the same page," Millen said.

Millen hired Rod Marinelli, and Marinelli put together a staff including offensive coordinator Mike Martz and defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson. The new coaches are less like Mariucci and more like Millen in many ways. Millen even said Henderson reminded him of himself.

At times, Millen would get in the players' faces if Mariucci wouldn't.

"I might have to go the other way now," Millen said. "That's probably a good thing."

Mariucci didn't work his players too hard to keep them fresh. Marinelli said he wants up-tempo practices and isn't afraid to hit.

"I know the players are competitive," he said. "I know guys have expressed to me that they would like to have more competitive practices. I don't think that's going to be a problem."

Mariucci was stubborn, trying to shoehorn the players into his system. Marinelli is flexible, tailoring his schemes to the players.

"This is a different approach," Millen said. "Rod's approach is, 'Look, this is what we have. This is what we make work. How do we make it work?' "

Millen said he was shocked at how flexible Martz was. When they sat down to assess how their personnel meshed with the offense, Martz had an answer for everything.

"There's a million ways to do it," Millen said, "which is refreshing."

Millen has been included more in the coaches' meetings -- listening to how and why they do things to get a better idea of their needs -- and he said he has been impressed with their ideas and convictions.

"Maybe the best games this year are going to be in up the meeting rooms before we ever get down to the players," Millen said, laughing. "It's going to be great. ...

"This is a detailed group -- I mean, detailed, detailed -- which I love, because to me that eliminates all the questions. There are answers. There's no gray areas. Black and white, this is how we do it, this is what you do."

Millen said this is what he had learned in his five years as president:

"It comes down to, you've got to be on the same page. You have to the same philosophies, you have to view your team the same way, how we're going to approach it. That's probably the biggest thing. You never know until we go through it, but I think we're on the same page right now."


The Freep

[ALinChainz]

Pistons sign G Delk

March 1, 2006

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (Ticker) - Tony Delk doubtless prefers his new address.

Five days after getting waived by the lowly Atlanta Hawks, the veteran guard on Wednesday signed a contract with the league-leading Detroit Pistons.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 32-year-old Delk averaged 11.9 points in 56 games with the Hawks last season but played just one game with the club this season before being waived on Friday.

In 522 career games with Charlotte, Golden State, Sacramento, Phoenix, Boston, Dallas and Atlanta, the former University of Kentucky star has averaged 9.2 points.

"We think Tony will be a nice addition to our team as we move toward the end of the season," Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said. "He brings veteran experience and will give us quality depth at both guard positions."

[POJO_Risin]

A great pickup for a backup if you ask me...

a guy the Cavs could use instead of the waste of talent they have at guard...

[ALinChainz]

A sound pick-up certainly.

Can hit a 3 ...

There was a rumor that we were in the market for Brevin Knight, which I would have liked more, but Delk will be solid.

[POJO_Risin]

Brevin is certainly more of a distributer thank Delk...but not sure there's really a marked difference between the two when it's all said and done...both are vets...and would be solid additions to a championship club...

[Warham]

It looks like Jon Kitna's going to be our quarterback unless Harrington shapes up this year.

God help us.

[ALinChainz]

Warham ... keep thinking, "Martz can do it ... Martz can do it ..."

They re-signed Kalimba ... and I don't think they would have if they didn't think Marinelli could elivate his game.

==================================================


Lions agree to terms with QB Kitna, re-sign DE Edwards

March 14, 2006


ALLEN PARK, Michigan (Ticker) - Joey Harrington has another reason to look over his shoulder.

The Detroit Lions reached an agreement with veteran quarterback Jon Kitna on Tuesday.

Terms were not disclosed.

The Lions also re-signed defensive end Kalimba Edwards and kick returner Eddie Drummond to five-year contracts and signed tight end Dan Campbell to a five-year deal on Tuesday.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Kitna, 33, is a nine-year veteran who spent his last five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. He won NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors in 2003 when he passed for 3,591 yards and 26 touchdowns with 15 interceptions.

However, Kitna was relegated to a backup role the last two seasons due to the emergence of Carson Palmer. Now he will get a chance to compete against Harrington, who ranked 13th in the NFC in passer rating last season.

The Lions signed quarterback Shaun King to a one-year contract on March 3. King did not play at all last season after spending 2004 as a backup with the Arizona Cardinals.

Edwards, 26,, led the Lions with seven sacks last season and recorded 31 tackles, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.

Drummond, who turns 26 in April, is one of two players in NFL history to have two punt return and two kickoff return touchdowns in a single season (2004). Last season, he finished with a 22.0-yard average on kick returns.

Campbell, who turns 30 in April, played the last three seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and is known as one of the league's top blocking tight ends. He caught just 25 passes in 35 games with the Cowboys. Campbell spent his first four years with the New York Giants.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AtX0Z1J9r.WzfiqQtV0lgXQ5nYcB?slug=lionskitnaedwards&prov=st&type=lgns

[Warham]

I'm optimistic Harrington will have 3,000 yards and 20 TDs this year.

[Warham]

Lions ink free agent QB McCown
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

In a move that likely augurs the imminent departure of starting quarterback Joey Harrington after four disappointing seasons, ESPN.com has learned that the Detroit Lions on Thursday signed unrestricted free agent Josh McCown, who had played his entire career with the Arizona Cardinals.

Josh McCown
McCown

McCown, 26, signed a two-year contract worth $6 million, a deal that will pay him $4 million in 2006 between his signing bonus and base salary. The addition of McCown comes just two days after Detroit signed former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna to a four-year, $11.5 million contract that has a signing bonus of $3.5 million.

League sources said that the acquisitions of Kitna and McCown will result in the release or trade of Harrington, who was the third overall player selected in the 2002 draft. Harrington is due a roster bonus of $4 million on June 15 and is scheduled to have a 2006 base salary of $4.5 million.

Releasing or trading Harrington, who has compiled an 18-37 record as a starter, will save the Lions about $5.4 million in 2006 cap space.

First-year head coach Rod Marinelli and offensive coordinator Mike Martz both suggested in recent days that they viewed Harrington as the starter. The public support aside, team and league sources acknowledged that the new coaching staff did not regard Harrington as much as they claimed and that the Lions were actively seeking out alternatives.

The plan now is to allow Kitna and McCown to compete for the starting job.

In McCown, whose résumé includes 22 starts, Martz is getting a young, talented quarterback that he might be able to mold in much the same manner he did past protégés like Trent Green, Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger. McCown has appeared in 33 games and completed 498 of 862 passes for 5,431 yards, with 25 touchdown passes, 29 interceptions and a 72.1 efficiency rating.

The strategy of McCown's agent, Mike McCartney, was to sign his client to a short-term deal and with a team where he could legitimately compete for the starting job, and then get back to the bargaining table for a bigger contract. The plan is the same blueprint McCartney and his associates at Priority Sports used with Jake Delhomme three years ago.

"Josh is ecstatic. We were looking for a spot where he could compete for a job," McCartney said. "The word is that the best man wins. He's excited. It's the right offense for him."

The Lions invested a lot of time and money in Harrington, a former Oregon star, but apparently have decided that, with a new coaching staff, his shelf-life in Detroit has expired. Harrington, 26, started in 55 of 58 appearances and completed 986 of 1,802 passes for 10,242 yards, with 60 touchdown passes, 62 interception and a 68.1 passer rating.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report

[DrMaddVibe]

Har-Har-Harrington...the joke is over.

How many QB's can Detroit go through before they earn a Super Bowl?

Rumor has it they're going after a CB in the draft!

[ALinChainz]

Originally posted by Warham
I'm optimistic Harrington will have 3,000 yards and 20 TDs this year.

Not anymore.

And the first team I heard that the team that might be calling first is Minnesota.

[Warham]

I have a feeling McCown will win the job.

[ALinChainz]

I'm not real thrilled by the idea of either ... but it makes me wonder what the plans are for Orvlosky ... 6-5, 230 ...

If Young slips to #9, do they take him?

Or Cutler?

[ALinChainz]

Today it's official ... its bye bye Harrington.