Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Tom Lewand: How Much is Enough?

Tom Lewand: How Much is Enough?

June 30th, 2010 | by detfan1979 |

While title of this article has many interpretations, I think all of them pretty much apply. How much coverage of the event is enough? How much public humiliation is enough? How much punishment is enough? How much alcohol is enough?

Despite the tremendous ifseason thus far, nothing to date (including the draft) has exploded my inbox like Mr. Lewand’s arrest on charges of DUI last Friday. I’ve had several calling for his job either via firing or him stepping down. I’ve had others try to justify his actions, and seem as though nothing is wrong with what he did. The most clear comment/question fell somewhere in the middle, and I will address that today — along with my thoughts on both ends of the spectrum.

From Scott:I don’t want to downplay the severity of his actions, many of us have children, and don’t have a lot of sympathy for Drunk Driving especially w/ BAL .21. However people make mistakes everyday and he is human. I personally don’t see him getting much of a punishment, because if I remember right Joe Cullen was disciplined by the team not the league, for his drive thru issue. Anyways to the heart of my question. Being as this is the most important period of time for Tom’s role on the team, do you feel this may at all effect his ability to get the rookies signed on time.
To clarify-

1-How do you suspend an Exec. Or due they just fine him?
2-if they can suspend him who signs the Rookies?

I like Scott’s initial point that people make mistakes every day, and he is human. While Mr. Lewand makes a tidy sum as team president, lets not get him confused with the players he is signing to multi-million dollar bonuses. When it comes to players in the top compensation tiers, there is no reason not to have a personal driver, personal bar, or just plain pay someone to drive you about. Period. From the sounds of things, Mr. Lewand has a problem, is aware of it, and is seeking treatment. Keep in mind, a majority of alcoholics in recovery have relapses as they move down the path to sobriety. This is true even amongst those trying their hardest, and doing their best to avoid bad situations.

Let’s also keep some perspective – This is a first offense for Mr. Lewand, and ask yourself: How many people are charged with drunken driving (DI/OWI/et al.) each year in Michigan alone (35,534 in 2008)– and how many of those have to deal with a police dash cam being posted all over the internetand the world while they are trying to dealwith what is, in the best of cases, a difficult time. Should every person who gets one DUI lose their job immediately? What other offenses would cause immediate termination, whether or not related to their business? A first time offense is like it or not a misdemeanor offense in Michigan. How about driving 20mph over the speed limit? Driving too fast for conditions? Causing an at-fault accident? All are dangerous and have potential to cause severe harm. What about after he is fired? What then? Unemployment forever? Jail forever? What does he do then other than try to geta different job. Second offense? That shows a habitual lack of judgement versus a one time slip up, and would in my mind justify termination as it identifies a trend, versus an aberration.

On the flip side of this, according to NHSTA statistics there were 282 alchohol related traffic deaths (.08 or higher Blood Alcohol Content) in 2008. What is especially disturbing is that at 0.21, Mr. Lewand was in the “Hard Core” range of intoxication ( 0.15 or greater) — which accounts for 70% of the alcohol related traffic deaths. He didn’t just have “one too many” unless by “one” you mean “one fifth of hard liquor”. Statistically speaking, there was a very good (bad?) chance that Mr. Lewand driving at the level of impairment he was could cause a fatal accident. I’m not comfortable with that at all personally — it shows me that while it may be his first time getting caught, this likely isn’t the first time it has happened. How is a lack of discipline and self control there effecting him elsewhere in his life? Is it impacting his job performance?

So what now? Mr. Goddell has indicated earlier this year (and reiterated again) that ALL NFL players and executives – himself included – are subject to the personal conduct policy of the NFL. I foresee the NFL slapping Mr. Lewand with a hefty fine — and the Lions could possibly give him some administrative leave. Will this be before or after the draft picks sign? That I am not sure of. My guess will be they do a thorough investigation before they levy any penalties, which will likely carry them into the start of camp.

Don’t forget that Mr. Mayhew oversees player acquisition and that there are other front office members who are more than qualified to finish negotiations should the Lions or the NFL act sooner. James Harris (Senior Personnel Exec) is still in the fold, Sheldon White (VP of Pro Personnel) is also available to assist Mayhew. There are also other members of the staff who put together most of these documents. The Lions signed 3rd round CB Amari Spievey today - their 3rd draft pick to sign since mini-camp ended, despite Mr. Lewand’s personal issues. Unnamed sources have indicated that Mr. Mayhew and either Mr. White or Mr. Harris are the ones who completed the signings, although that is not confirmed.

I’m not sure how the NFL would go about suspending an executive, although unpaid administrative leave either from the team, the league, or both would be the logical answer. As to when — as with any suspension in the NFL that is usually hard to predict. I also foresee a fine, as I said, for Mr. Lewand. I expect at this point the Lions will stand behind him within reason - as they should – because of all the good he has done for the organization. They will discipline him while keeping him working and helping him through it. BUT – IF anything even remotely like this happens again, or he doesn’t keep up with rehabbing/getting past this — whatever the need may be — he should be let go. Immediately. No apologies. This approach sends both a message of loyalty AND that misbehavior and poor representation of the organization will not be tolerated. — “Once, shame on you — Twice you’re outta here.” Unlike Baseball, in most of the business world you are lucky to get one strike and stay around. The second one sends you packing. The Lions should take a public stand on this and make it crystal clear so that the players, the fans, the NFL, and the rest of the staff know exactly how the Lions will handle this in the future.

This front office – especially Mr. Mayhew – have done such a great job the past year and half that it is a shame for something like this to mar the progress that was made. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Rating: 10.0/10 (7 votes cast)
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4 Responses to “Tom Lewand: How Much is Enough?”

  1. By Clusterfox on Jul 1, 2010

    Thanks DF! I appreciate the insight.

    Now that this is recieving National attention, I think the one thing I wish people would understand is that this was Houghten Lake area, Roscommon county. Having been in that area last weekend, I’m pretty sure there aren’t any Taxi services running. Maybe in GR, Lansing or Detroit, But otherwise people need to realise he probably didn’t have a taxi as a choice. Now, I can appreciate that he may not have considered it anyways. But People in Big Cities all over the United States as well as some in Michigan need to realise there is not a taxi sitting on every street corner. Sometimes its not even worth waiting for, there won’t be one coming.

    Clusterfox

    Rating: 5.0/5 (2 votes cast)
  2. By detfan1979 on Jul 1, 2010

    That’s a very good point, and one that deserves mention I totally overlooked in regards to Taxis – and lack thereof – outside of metro areas.

    Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)
  3. By patrick aka motownmann on Jul 3, 2010

    Taxis or not….he has a cell phone. He could have called somebody…even more so…how come people saw him at the function KNEW he was drunk and let him drive home? There really is not an excuse, even though all of us at some point and time have done something boneheaded. I wish him the best and know he will recover and learn from this. But I think that the media, us included, have really ran this into the ground. Great write up! I love reading your stuff.

    Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Saturday, June 26, 2010

WR Competition: The Veterans

WR Competition: The Veterans

June 26th, 2010 | by detfan1979 |

Despite Matt Millen’s frequent attention to the position high in the draft, wide receiver remains a position that is somewhat unsettled. The competition will be extra “tight” this season – as in extra tight end. With Linehan moving the Lions into more of a two TE offense, there will be less pressure to keep extra wideouts on the roster – especially those who don’t play special teams. While it is pretty clear that Calvin Johnson and Nate Burleson have roster spots locked up, that only the leaves the competition even more intense for the remaining 2-3 spots. The Lions already released the recently signed Marko Mitchell to make way for Jason Fox (OT – fourth round pick) to be signed to a three year deal.

Today, lets look at Dennis Northcutt and Bryant Johnson – last year’s “big additions” to the WR Corps. Both players were disappointing for different reasons. Lets start with Northcutt.

Northcutt was acquired in trade from the Jaguars for once promising, but severely injured safety Gerald Alexander. He made a decent play or two for the Jags, but was mostly a backup/roster filling type player. Personally, this is still my least favorite trade of the Mayhew administration thus far, so I try not to let it color my perception. Still, the Lions ended up very thin at safety last season, playing street free agents at points and he could have been useful.

Northcutt, on the other hand, was just a hair above awful. After being injured early, he missed essentially the entire ifseason. When he did finally make it on the field, he did not impress either in the slot or in the return game — both of which were supposed to be his strengths. Dropped balls and lack of focus were more common than receptions, even though he ended the season with halfway reasonable stats. He ended the year with just 35 catches for 357 yards and 1 TD. He also had two fumbles, one of which was lost. While a veteran presence and savvy is always appreciated by coaches, Northcutt is very much on the bubble – his roster spot will depend on which youngsters (if any) make a push and/or improve to the point where their potential outweighs Northcutt’s production.

Bryant “Stone Hands” Johnson was a perpetual hair-puller for Lions Fans all season long. Just like Northcutt, Johnson missed almost the entire ifseason and training camp — only his was due to a “golf cart accident”. While it would be convenient to blame his season or drops on lack of timing or training in the offense, that can be debated quite a bit. Apparently he looked good in practice, and decent in the bit of preseason time he played, but as soon as the lights went on during the season, its as though he lost focus. There were numerous times fans would cheer as he was open in the right spot for the first down or a big gain only to drop the pass. Still, he made about as many as he dropped and put up 35 receptions for 417 yards and 3 TD’s.

Johnson did not perform up to the level needed in order to draw coverage from Calvin Johnson which made him a failure in the role the Lions signed him to as a #2 WR. However, his knack for getting open can’t be denied. IF he can get his focus back on catching the ball on key downs, he could be a serviceable #3/4 WR just like he was in Arizona. I’m not sure about his special teams credentials, which may hurt him. If he can be a solid part of the kick coverage and return teams, his spot may be more secure.

For both Johnson and Northcutt, their first season with the Lions can only be described as disappointing. Their roster spots will depend as much on them correcting last year’s shortcomings as it will what kind of impression the young players pushing them make on the coaching staff. At this point Johnson seems more secure than Northcutt, but it’s possible both of them could be looking for new teams at some point this ifseason.

Rating: 9.3/10 (6 votes cast)
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One Response to “WR Competition: The Veterans”

  1. By chiefger139b on Jun 27, 2010

    johnson was a huge flop very dissapointing, it amazes me the guys who cant catch at this level, during the fontes years that didnt happen, happens all the times now, donr thes guys practice catching the ball anymore? kind of like a nba player missing free throws, makes you sick, hopefully he can catch now, if not dump him-rather have a slow mediocre receiver with good hands like furry was or even mc donald who got open yet he too dropped many but not as bad as johnson-we had like the best receivers and johnson now is our best and truthfully as many had mentioned lately he has not lived up to his potential either-no way a randy moss or a ocho cinco or any of the greats as of yet, I would almost rate him mediocre too, except with no runnibg game no other receivers catching the ball etc he gets a pass just like the offensive line, now with the new required weapons on offense, mainly a 1st round rb the offensive line and johnson no longer get a free pass-hopefully i hope the coaches were right our line isnt that bad-just no tallant for them to work for,now we will see-asame with johnson-any dumb coach could double team, triple team him because we had no break away running back or any other recieiver threat-could blitz us do what ever as calvin as the only thing they feared-hopefully those days are over-so many are saying how many wins etc-truthfully I dont care how many this year-just want to see us a competive team how finally on any given sunday has a chance to beat anyone-havent seen that the last 2 years hope to now-even if its only 3-4 wins if were competive every game-in it and most all games into the 4th quarter insted of game over by half time thats a huge improvement in itself-just taking that step is huge-not being last in defense is huge too-a top 20 defense is mega huge -hope it happens-sad top 20 in only 32 teams is hopeful-how bad we beccome with 2 straight seasons with the worst defense.

    Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

WR Veteran Cavalry Arrives: Burleson

WR Veteran Cavalry Arrives: Burleson

June 23rd, 2010 | by detfan1979 |

This ifseason there has been much excitement about the weapons on offense brought in to take pressure off of Calvin Johnson. One of the most important is veteran WR Nate Burleson. The big question is whether this veteran cavalry will be riding to the rescue, or to the battle of the Little Bighorn…

Burleson is a conundrum at WR, and like many of the vets brought in to bolster the team has performed well in the past — but also has some question marks. Looking at his stats, you can see that Burleson has been anything other than consistent in most of his numbers throughout his career.

One thing that jumps out right away is that Burleson has had anything but consistent production throughout his career due to a number of different factors. Looking at 2003 and 2004, Burleson had a nice rookie campaign as he worked into the starting lineup opposite Randy Moss. Then, in 2004 he burst out for 68 receptions and over 1,000 yards receiving. Remember, the Vikings were really strong in 2004 and looking like they were really going places.

This was not to be for Burleson or the Vikings. The disastrous “Love Boat” season, coupled with the loss of Randy Moss and the final meltdown of Daunte Culpepper combined to push Burleson down below his rookie numbers. Then he got caught (in a financially lucrative way) in the middle of the poison-pill fiasco between Seattle and Minnesota. Minnesota stole Steve Hutchinson and in retaliation, Seattle stole Burleson. While injuries marred the next couple of years for Burleson, he was also out of place somewhat. (As a side note, Burleson was the best WR on the roster, but a top OG helped the running game far more than losing just Burleson hurt the offense for Minnesota.)

Burleson had his best season working underneath and opposite Randy Moss. He can stretch the field, but he can make the good crossing routes, and most importantly knows how to take advantage of a defense that is scheming around one guy. When they do that, it leaves holes that he showed in the past be could exploited — in this same offensive system to boot.

But what about the recent seasons, you say? After struggling with nagging injuries in 2006, he started to find his groove in 2007. In 2008, however, he was lost for the season again in what came to be known as the year of “If a WR signs with Seattle he will be on IR within 2 weeks.” Although, it seems like every year is that year for Seattle the last few seasons…

2008 saw better numbers for Nate Burleson in a true #1 role — also proving he had come back form the nagging injuries to prove that when healthy he still had what got him his big free-agent contract (when healthy… double edged sword of a concept). As a #2, I think that he has the potential to be the complement to Calvin Johnson that the Lions have been searching for. The dreaded word there is “potential” – IF Burleson can stay healthy and perform at the level he did last season with Seattle, he could easily see 800+ yards once again even in a #2 role. IF Johnson also stays healthy.

Will Burleson finally be the veteran free agent WR who could? Only time will tell, but the odds seem more in favor of cavalry riding to the rescue, than Custer to defeat. IF…

Rating: 7.6/10 (7 votes cast)
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3 Responses to “WR Veteran Cavalry Arrives: Burleson”

  1. By Nailbender on Jun 24, 2010

    This article wouldn’t have been hurt by a little proof reading.

    Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)
  2. By detfan1979 on Jun 26, 2010

    Nailbender – perhaps you could be more specific please? Factual Inaccuracies? Grammar not up to par? Multiple spelling errors? I encourage and appreciate comments and remarks, but please elaborate so that I can continue to improve the content that I put forth. This is a blog, not a news site so I don’t have editors that pre-proofread articles or such. Thanks!

    Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)
  3. By Lionfan73 on Jun 27, 2010

    I really like this site guys. I enjoy intelligent analysis when it comes to the Lions. There are too many clowns out there spewing mindless garbage, who are uninformed, and do not use a thinking persons approach.

    I do not think Northcutt will be on the team this year. I’m looking for Derrick Williams to step up this year, and have a better year. Of course Burleson will help, along with the addition of Scheffler at TE. I also have a good feeling about Toone, our 7th round pick. I see him becoming our main return man, and becoming somewhat of a folk hero, what with the dreads, etc. Bryant Johnson I believe will make the team…but had better produce or will be cut midway through the season. Especially if Williams, or someone else steps up. This is a big year for Calvin Johnson. I hope to see 100 receptions, 1600 yards, and 13-16 touchdowns…providing he stay healthy.

    Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)