Are You Ready for Some Football

[Lord Avalon]

Doesn't Vick throw the ball too hard on short patterns, making it even tougher for his hands-of-stone receivers to catch the ball?

[Sava]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
I don't agree with this firing. He finally gets pieces in place, has yet another high pick coming, loses to Chargers in a pretty good game, and gets axed.

Nothing but the best for the Cardinal faithful. We know they wouldn't want anythng resembling continuity.

THEY CROWNED HIS ASS

[SlowwHand]

I bet if you checked the records on dropped passes by WR's, even Atlanta in the south, it's proportional to the temperature on the field. In addition, yes, Vick has no touch.

[SlowwHand]

Millen returning; Lions 24-72 under his watch
ESPN.com news services

Another subpar season won't cost Lions president Matt Millen his job.

Millen, who has a 24-72 record in his first six seasons, will return next season. He still has four years left on the contract extension he was given last season.

Millen said Tuesday that quitting is not an option he has considered despite criticism of the team's dismal performance in his tenure.

"I'll never quit,'' Millen said in an interview with a small group of reporters, including The Detroit News, which posted some of his comments on its Web site. "I can't do that. I don't even consider that."

"It's the way I'm made."

Asked why he wouldn't quit, Millen replied: "You're given a job, regardless of what it is. You keep on working and trying to get the thing done."

The Lions beat Dallas on Sunday, closing the season an NFC-low 3-13.

Detroit was proud of proving it didn't quit on the miserable season by beating a playoff team in Week 17. The victory snapped a seven-game skid and a winless mark on the road in 2006.

It also cost the Lions the No. 1 pick in the draft -- an asset they could've used to perhaps trade for picks and players.

"I really don't want to be one or two," receiver Roy Williams said. "I'd rather be picking 31st."

Millen would, too, because such a low pick indicates success.

The Lions, who fired defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson and offensive line coach Larry Beightol on Tuesday, have struggled so much since Millen, a former linebacker and analyst, took over that they're had the No. 2 pick twice, No. 3 once and three other top-10 picks.

Some of the players taken with those picks haven't panned out and that begins to explain the mess the team is in six years after Millen arrived to lead a once-mediocre franchise.

About 100 Detroit fans held a protest during the second quarter of the last home game of the season Dec. 24 against the Chicago Bears. The fans left their seats midway through the quarter and gathered in Ford Field's atrium, where they chanted "Fire Millen" while watching the game on the scoreboard.

Before Detroit's final home game, Millen said he talked to team owner William Clay Ford after each game and when they met in the middle of the season, they talked about plans for the next year.

Quarterback Joey Harrington and receiver Charles Rogers -- a third and second pick overall, respectively -- were discarded in 2006 and some have speculated that 2005 first-round pick Mike Williams will be the next to go.

Williams expects and wants to be back.

"People call me a bust, so when you get that label, there's no pressure," said Williams, who had a touchdown on Sunday to end his 30-game scoreless streak. "I don't worry about people talking about my weight and work ethic because I'm doing what I love to do and a lot of people can't say that.

"Things haven't started out pretty for me in the NFL, but that's going to change."



Detroit has more needs than picks in the draft and not enough cap space to fill every hole with free agency.

"There are a lot of things that need to be fixed," quarterback Jon Kitna said.

Information from ESPN.com senior writer John Clayton and The Associated Press was used in this report.

[Lord Avalon]

Unfortunately, it's not a surprise that Millen is still around.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by -Jrabbit
It's weird. Vick is a unique talent, but he needs an offensive system that optimizes his skills without destroying the team concept. Vick's talent almost won single handedly, but there's too much talent spread across 11 positions for one man to consistently win without other contributions.

Mora has had 3 years to work it out, and it seemed to get worse every year. An example of someone taking a singularly talented player and maximize his contribution within a team offensive scheme would be Sean Payton in New Orleans, with Randy Bush.

Sure, there were injuries. Sure, Atlanta seemd cursed to always draft and/or sign the wrong WRs. But the buck has to stop somewhere, and once the team quit this year, it was clear it should stop on Mora's desk.

It always seems harsh to axe a guy whose team was trashed by injuries. But that's what happens when you play with the big dogs.

The weird thing has been in each of Mora's three years, the Falcons have started out hot. But ONLY in his first year, did they keep it going throughout the season (when they finished 11-5). In the last two years, they've crashed and burned. Last season they started 6-2 only to go 2-6 at the end of the year. This season they were 5-2 and ended up at 7-9.

The number that sticks out somewhat is Warrick Dunn's yardage per game. This season especially it went down a massive amount after the beginning of the season (from about 100 yards per game rushing to around 55 yards a game rushing). Now, I don't know if that is due to coaching or just Dunn's size, but that has a great effect on late season collapses.

Mora would still have a job today if the team could have gone .500 during the last 8 games of each of the last two seasons. Those collapses are also a big reason why Mora was shown the door, as he couldn't keep early season successes going.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui


The weird thing has been in each of Mora's three years, the Falcons have started out hot.

Yeah... they are just like a steaming pile of ****.


At first it feels nice and warm, but after playing with it for a little bit, it cools off, you end up smelling awful, and your frail quarterback finishes the season injured YET AGAIN.

[-Jrabbit]

I think blaming Warrick Dunn is pretty weak.

Dunn's history as a back who flourishes when sharing duty is well established, going back to working with Alstott in Tampa. Yet the team dumped Duckett this year. Then Mora stuck with Dunn despite the presence of Jerious Norwood. Not to mention Griffith as a goal line back was virtually unused.

I would call the Atlanta running back situation a roster management issue, and Mora reacted poorly in how he utilized the tools he had to work with.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by -Jrabbit
I think blaming Warrick Dunn is pretty weak.

Dunn's history as a back who flourishes when sharing duty is well established, going back to working with Alstott in Tampa. Yet the team dumped Duckett this year. Then Mora stuck with Dunn despite the presence of Jerious Norwood. Not to mention Griffith as a goal line back was virtually unused.

I would call the Atlanta running back situation a roster management issue, and Mora reacted poorly in how he utilized the tools he had to work with.

I'm not blaming Dunn. I'm just showing how the coaches (and perhaps front office) mismanaged Dunn. The gap in his performance early in the season and in the end of the season were night and day.

It is also amazing how the team at the end of the season had no where near the run commitment of the team early on in the season that was running for 250+ rushing yards a game.

[-Jrabbit]

So that puts it back in Mora's lap. Are you glad to see him canned?
Was his Coach of the Year award bogus?

Personally, I think injuries along with opponent film study had a lot to do with the decline of the running game. Dunn and Norwood both missed games in December.

How am I doing at not blaming Mora's firing on the Coach Killer?

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui


I'm not blaming Dunn. I'm just showing how the coaches (and perhaps front office) mismanaged Dunn. The gap in his performance early in the season and in the end of the season were night and day.

It is also amazing how the team at the end of the season had no where near the run commitment of the team early on in the season that was running for 250+ rushing yards a game.

Dunn had 3 100 yd games in the first 5 weeks, but weeks 3 and 4 were on par with the rest of the season.

It seems the 3 100 yd games were the abberation.

Warrick Dunn is one of my favorite players, for what he does off the field.

ACK!

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by -Jrabbit
So that puts it back in Mora's lap. Are you glad to see him canned?
Was his Coach of the Year award bogus?

It's kind of weird. He did really good his first year, but you have to wonder if Dan Reeves would have done the same. I mean the first full year with Vick under center, the Falcons went 9-6-1 and handed the Packers their first home playoff loss.

The next year, Vick is hurt for all but 4 games at the end of the year, and they have a horrible record. But that isn't Reeves' fault.

Then the next year, 11-5. After that, it's been downhill for Mora. 8-8, followed by 7-9. Unacceptable, and yes, I am glad to see Mora go. I just don't think he really knows what he is doing and Knapp seemed to change his offensive scheme like every other week. And Mora, known for his defense, had a defense that played crap. Even injuries can't save him for those performances. That 11-5 season had the best defense the Falcons have had in their 3 years under Mora.

So let him go. Personally, I'd love to see Whisenhunt, the OC of the Steelers get the head coaching job in Atlanta, but they may take a run at a guy who has head coaching experience as Mora is probably a decent coordinator, but didn't seem like he could do the head coaching gig... though perhaps he can find success in college like Pete Carroll did.

[-Jrabbit]

On ESPN radio in Chicago, Sean Salisbury has been talking a LOT about how he'd love to be Mike Vick's coach. (Turns our he declined a chance to be Denny Green's coordinator in Arizona -- turned it down because of the Bidwells.) Today was choice -- he said if he had Mike Vick, he would make him the first QB to have 4,000 yards passing and 1,000 rushing in the same season.

Salisbury is convinced that Blank will go with a big name coach BTW. What's the buzz down there?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by -Jrabbit
Salisbury is convinced that Blank will go with a big name coach BTW. What's the buzz down there?

The buzz is... don't **** this up . Aside from being happy that Mora & Knapp are gone. Don't know what the people down here want to do with Donatell though.

[Dis]

any thoughts on what Bill Coher will do? Maybe he could go to Atlanta. From what I hear, he wants to spend more time in North Carolina, which isn't far from Atlanta.

But I don't think Bill would be the right choice. He just isn't a good coach to coach running QB's. I won't even get into the Kordell situation.