The NFL has operated far too long with the current type of Collective Bargaining Agreement. The most obvious problems involve guaranteed contracts and ridiculous rookie contracts. These two issues will be at the forefront of the next contract as negotiations at a snail pace toward 2011 as well as revenue sharing between players and owners.

  As it stands now NFL owners can pull out of the present collective bargaining agreement with the players on November 8, and it appears that the owners are heading in that direction. If the owners pull out of the CBA, there is no salary cap the final year of the agreement (which is in 2010). If the players pull out, players would only receive free agency after six years of service — not four. In 2010 the NFL could operate without a cap. But that would not remain for long. Teams looking for one year success could reap big rewards if they target that year for a run. It would be a big year for one year contracts and the best teams would have the advantage because they would already have the incentive for veteran players looking to win a Super Bowl.

  The first obstacle is a must for NFL players. Get guaranteed contracts. It is amazing in a league that has the highest revenue and has the highest risk of injury that there are not guaranteed contracts. What the owners may want in place to cover the expenses is two more regular season games. They would likely change two preseason games into regular season games. Every other sport has guaranteed contracts why doesn’t the NFL?

  The second change is another glaring need in the NFL. A rookie salary cap like the NBA has. The guaranteed money to top tier rookies has been insane for a number of years now but has taken an even bigger jump over the last four years. Teams with high draft picks are already bad teams, they don’t need to pay top dollar to players that have not even played yet. If a player is a bust it cripples teams for many years. Matt Millen is an easy target for this issue.

Some other needs in this deal are better pension plans with health insurance for former players. How can a league discard the players that made the league what it is today.

According to a story from ESPN.com there is a lot more to what the owners want as well-"Beneath the surface of this increasingly rancorous dispute is the bargain the players and the owners made in March 2006, an agreement that provided significant increases for players in salaries and bonuses. Instead of 55.5 percent of NFL revenues, the players now are entitled to 60 percent. The salary cap has jumped from $85.5 million per team in 2005 to an expected $123 million per team in 2009, an increase of 43 percent.

Although the owners agreed to those increases, they are not happy about their decision. A number of owners claim their profits have dropped from 10 percent each year to only 4 percent since the 2006 bargain was struck." - Lester Munson ESPN.com

Also of note from the ESPN.com article from Lester Munson: "Upshaw and others involved in NFL labor issues expect the owners to announce that the players will be locked out of training camps, putting the 2011 season in jeopardy. An NFL lockout would come six years after the National Hockey League locked out its players, which killed the 2005-06 NHL season.

The NFL's union, according to Upshaw, will counter with decertification, which means it will give up its role as the official labor organization of NFL players and become a trade association.

"How can they lock us out if we are not a union?" Upshaw said.

Jeffrey Kessler, a union attorney who was a leader of the court fight that led to the 1993 restructuring of the NFL, added: "If you lock out players who do not have a union, it is an antitrust violation."

The battle will lead to the same kind of litigation that began after the players' unsuccessful strike in 1987 and led to the 1993 settlement that allowed owners and players alike to prosper for 15 years. It will be a high-stakes struggle, as the players will seek to duplicate their triumphs in the early '90s with demands for triple damages and injunctions."

This does not look like it will be pretty if this is already starting. With all the egos involved the only real losers will be the fans who are treated to court room drama, lawyer speak, and replacement players. There really isn’t anything like Billionaires arguing with Millionaires!  It doesn't look good but there is still hope that this can be taken care of before doomsday in the NFL.  This may come down to the final hour.  There are a lot of layers to this and one can only hope that they will make sense of all this and get the new deal done.

 

Every pundant with a computer, google, and watched the NFL draft  has given their grades to NFL teams for last weekends drafts.  We all know you can't judge a book by it's cover, it is the same with the draft.  It is comical to me to see that many in the Detroit Media and many fans give the Detroit Lions and Matt Millen a C+ and even as high as a B+ for their draft.

  Some of the comments I have read are that the Lions seem to have filled so many holes in their roster.  Another is that the Lions finally drafted players that want to play football.  If that has been the problem than why did it take eight years to figure out?  I think anyone learns on the job faster than that.  I think I could learn knee surgery faster than Millen learned how to draft and he hasn't really even done that yet either.  The thing is, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE SO MANY HOLES IN THE ROSTER IF MATT MILLEN WOULDN'T  HAVE CREATED SO MANY HOLES IN THE LIONS ROSTER IN THE FIRST PLACE!

  Another thing I found ironic was that Matt Millen, the guy who had to get rid of as many of Bobby Ross' players when he came in, drafted one.  Bobby Ross was the coach that first brought S Caleb Campbell into Army football.  Now there is actually people critical of Campbell's patriotism for heading to the NFL instead of Iraq?  Are you kidding me?  This is a great PR move for the Army and a great recruiting tool. 

I wonder just how many of these people have ever served our country themselves?  Funny how I have only heard 100% support for Campbell from other military brats.  It is like people who rip on the President of the United States but don't even vote.

  For the first time in years the Lions are going to go defense first in the NFL draft.  The last time they did they drafted LB Ernie Sims.  It has worked out well so far.  This year it appears that Florida DE Derrick Harvey will be the Lions pick at no. 15.  If Harvey is drafted before the Lions pick, Tennessee LB Jerrod Mayo will be the pick.

  The Lions have signed veterans at CB and S in Brian Kelly and Dwight Smith.  They also traded for Cleveland CB Leigh Bodden.  The Lions biggest defensive needs are at DE and LB.  The Lions need a DE opposite of DeWayne White.  White played very well when he wasn't hurt and made a lot of big plays in 2007.  The Lions need a DE opposite of White to help him out, something Kalimbust Edwards never could do.

  If both Harvey and Mayo and drafted before the Lions get to pick at 15, then it may be one of two RBs.  The Lions released Kevin Jones in the off season so they will be looking at a RB anyway.  The plan may be to wait until the 2nd or 3rd round for a RB.  If the Lions are forced to draft a RB in the first round it will be either Oregon's Jonathan Stewart or Illinois' Rashard Mendenhall.  Mendenhall had a freakish 9 yards per rush last year.

  Next up on Matt Millen's to do list is logic!  The logic that every "football guy" has.  "You win games in the trenches"  Something the Lions have not done since Matt Millen has taken over.  Matt Millen has not drafted an offensive lineman in the first two rounds of any draft since 2001!  That year he drafted LT Jeff Backus and C Dominic Raiola and both have been starters since 2001.  Logic tells me that lineman drafted after the first two rounds is not Millen's expertise and he should refrain from doing it again.

Since the 2002 draft the Lions only have two starters from their 1st and 2nd round picks.  Six of the 12 picks aren't even on the team any more and two aren't even in the league at all!  This is just since 2002.  Two starters from 6 drafts.

Those in the know in football and in most sports know the real deal is that you free agency is used to cover mistakes you have made in the draft.  Well the Lions have made so many mistakes in the draft that the salary cap wouldn't even really allow them to do that.

 If you missed it, the Lions cut RB Kevin Jones and DE Kalimba (Kalimbust) Edwards yesterday.  Kevin Jones was the starting RB and Kalimbust was a DE who was listed as inactive many of the last games in Detroit.  But if you ask me he has been inactive his entire career other than the one play he made on Brett Favre in this picture.

  I can respect Rod Marinelli for trading away top players like Shawn Rogers to Cleveland and cutting Kevin Jones.  But why would he not ask for Matt Millen to resign?  He should go straight into his boss' office (Matt Millen) and ask for his resignation.  If he does not resign, Rod should go straight to team owner William Clay Ford.

  It seems rather odd that a GM in charge of player and coach personnel who demands so much of them, has not delivered one thing in eight years as the Lions top boss.  Matt Millen's record is an abysmal 31-81.  Millen could have the Lions go completely undefeated 19-0 for three straight years and still have a losing record!

  It seems rather odd that a person at any job could make so many bad decisions year after year and keeps his job.  Especially in sports where winning is the bottom line, isn't it?  Why doesn't Rod ask for Millen to walk away so the franchise can begin to heal?

  How about someone tries to weigh the good moves to the bad ones.  Are the outsiders from the organization the only ones who see this?  Do they walk around Allen Park (training facility location for the Lions) saying to each other how brilliant Matt Millen is or WOW that move Millen made worked out great!

  From drafting Charles Rogers,Mike Williams, Joey Harrington in the first round to signing Jeff Backus and Corey Redding to 7 year $49 million deals.  Redding made him the highest paid DT at the time which produced a whopping 1 sack this season playing next Shawn Rogers. 

From the 2002 and 2003 draft, the Lions have two players remaining. The Lions do not have a starter on the roster, other than Roy Williams, from the 2004 and 2005 drafts.  Most people know you build winning teams through the draft, not through free agency.  Millen has been in charge of the Lions drafting for 8 years now.

Another surprise with Millen is that the Lions owner WCF brought him in because he is a "football guy" and that is what the Lions needed.  But don't most football people know that you win games in the trenches?  The Lions have failed to address the offensive and defensive lines for many years now.  The Lions have not drafted an offensive lineman in the 1st or 2nd round since 2001 when they drafted center Dominic Raiola and tackle Jeff Backus.  Both still start for Detroit.  How many WRs, QBs, and RBs to they have to draft, give a truck load of money to, and then cut having a huge dead cap number year after year before something is done or someone other than the coaches gets fired.

As former Lions coach Daryl Rogers once said after another loss in an 8 game losing streak "What the hell does a guy have to do to get fired around here ?"

Lions fans tried what was dubbed the "walk out" protesting Millen.  Nice to see the game was SOLD OUT!!  How about a protest that would make a difference.  Don't walk in the door in the first place!  Stop buying tickets, watch them on TV for free.  Then when the games start getting blacked out and it starts hitting WCF where it hurts, his bottom line, he may actually do something about this living Lions fan nightmare called the Matt Millen experiment!


In sports what do they always say?  Hey don't take it personally it is just business.  Maybe that doesn't apply to Matt Millen just coming from him onto players.   Sometimes I wonder if Matt Millen is even for the Lions because he seems to make many things happen against them.  Maybe Millen is all part of Bill Belicheck's master plan!


Pass this on to as many people as possible.  Help out a Lions fan in need of more than one playoff win since 1957!  Besides why wouldn't you?  What have the Lions ever done to your team?

A man attending a game in a rainbow afro wig and holds a sign that says John 3:16. Also known as "Rainbow Man," the born-again Rollen Stewart and his John 3:16 signs were fixtures at major events in the 1970s and 80s. Mostly behind the uprights in football games.

He brought his sign to the World Series, Super Bowl, Olympics, and World Cup. He was outside Buckingham Palace when Di & Charles wed; he went to see the Pope in Alaska. But he was known as more religious fanatic than sports fan.

In Detroit one sign has become just the same but on a smaller yet growing scale. In Detroit there is the "Fire Millen" sign. If it is seen at Ford Field it is taken and usually taken to the exits. I heard a person say the other day they they have had fourteen Fire Millen signs taken away at Ford Field in Detroit.

But recently it has been popping up all around the country. Some are Motowners on the road at a sporting event and try to get it on Tv and succeed. It is fully endorsed by me to anyone who wants to take a sign to a sporting event and is not sure what to put on it, write Fire Millen on it. You are sure to get some laughs and you will be helping a suffering Lions fan somewhere.

Coming soon I will share with you the most recognizable Lions fan. He is known as the Pilgrim. He is to Lions fan what The Big Dawg & the Bone lady from Cleveland, the Hoggetts from Washington, Spike & Raider Ron from Oakland.

 

  I know you thought you would never read that line.  All you ever hear is how bad o####M Matt Millen is.  Today I will show you that maybe he really isn't that bad after all.  Well for starters, he never had a number one overall pick bust like so many other GMs have in the past.  Cleveland had Tim Couch at number one overall and Couch isn't even in the league anymore.  They should have taken Donavon McNabb.  Remember though he was the guy Philly fans booed when he was selected number two just ahead of Cincinnati's bust, Akili Smith.  Also don't forget that same draft in 1999 the Saints traded away every pick to get Texas RB Ricky Williams.

Soooo back to defending Millen's moves.  He still has five of the last seven first round picks on the roster.  It made sense at the time and is still a running joke among Lions fans that drafting another WR in the first round is to give Joey more "weapons!"  Now as it stands Charles Rogers is trying to just get another shot, Joey is backing up Ron Mexico in Atlanta, and "BMW" Big Mike Williams may be cut or traded after June 1st.  Not to worry though.  The Lions will be near a 50% roster change.  They did finish with a whopping 18 players on IR last season.  That is almost two full first teams for offense and defense.  They have brought in a lot of lineman as well, which they needed.  Ross Verba was a bum and Damien Woody is so overweight he has step on two scales to weigh in these days, and he is down 30lbs......again.

This years draft, Millen has a lot of options.  He has used options well in the past as well.  In 2004 he traded down with Cleveland to draft Roy Williams and later in the first round selected RB Kevin Jones.

On the other hand it doesn't matter what moves Millen has or hasn't made, the Lions have been the bottom feeders of the NFL for six years now and Lions fans have had enough.  If he was doing such a great job he wouldn't have fans staging protests against him.  Maybe this is what Jets fans should have done a long time ago.  Just look at this clip from youtube.com and see just what the Jets have done in drafts past.  Jets fans you may get sick by watching this, but hey, this is a article trying to defend Matt Millen and it is pretty hard with out your help.

Matt Millen has way too many options and franchise changing decisions coming up in the next few months to get this right or dead wrong.  They have the number 2 pick in the draft and have been linkt to rumors that would bring Simeon Rice to Detroit if he is cut by Tampa or traded.  He still has one year remaining on his contract with Tampa that is worth $7.25 million.

All the jokes about Millen are the same.  Is he gonna take another WR in the top ten?  Will he take another QB? Although of Millen's last seven first round picks, five of them are still on the team.  Mike Williams, Roy Williams, Kevin Jones, "Hurtin" Ernie Sims and Jeff Backus all played and are still under contract.  The Lions also finished with a whopping 18 players on IR.  So the next few months are going to be critical in the lions future.  The sad thing to me is that Matt Millen is going to be the one calling the shots.  If at least one guy they bring in, make it Marinelli's guy Simeon Rice and some how get rid of Kalimbust Edwards.  And hey Lions, how about we cut down on the number of coachs driving nude through Tim Hortons drive through as well.  What was he (Joe Cullen D-line coach) thinking anyway?  Maybe he just didn't have a place to put his bagels and he was just trying to be more efficient.

What to do with the draft pick though?  They could go with the quarterback Oakland doesn't take either Brady Quinn or Jamarcus Russell.  They could go with Joe Thomas, the tackle from Wisconsin.  Chris Mortenson even said they may take Alan Branch the DT from Michigan.  He was a very good DT for Michigan, but not at number two in the draft.  Calvin Johnson the WR from Georgia Tech is there also. To me this has trade this pick please written all over it.  We will see what happens.  It is still very far away and the coin flip for the 3rd and 4th over pick still hasn't even taken place. 

I am officially throwing my name into the ring for new GM/President of the Detroit Lions. I know Matt Millen will be back next year as it was announced today but, you have to keep me in mind.

So I dont have any official training......no expereince needed though, Matt Millen didn't have any.  Matt just played and talked about football.  I played to, in high school, and I write about it.  What is the difference?

I did have 4 fantasy football teams in which 3 were #1 overall and the other was 4th.....even though they ALL lost in the first round of the playoffs, but hey at least I got there, and most people who are so critical of GM moves league wide don't even have good fantasy football teams!

I will work for half of what Matt Millen does and I can't be any worse, in fact, I will guarantee 7 wins per year in the first two years or I will fire myself just like I asked Matt to back in December. 

Under my new reign of power I will keep players who truly know how priviledged they are to be able to have the word player in their job title.  I will also look for players who are available for more than five to six games as well due to Injury, failed drug tests, and being over weight.  I will build the team with defense and an offensive line.  The defense will hold their resposiblities, have speed, and have the ability to stay healthy for long periods of time.  If Trent Dilfer can win a Super Bowl and Rex Grossman can finish a season 13-3 I know that the QB position is entirely overrated.  Although, John Kitna is outta here too.  If I sign a veteran QB he will have had at least one winning season under his helmet and led a team somewhere other than the next draft.

So Mr. Ford there you have it, I have officially announced my interest in running your team as the GM/President and I will come fill out an application soon. 

This Sunday is the proposed Lions fan walk out at Ford Field when the Lions play against the Chicago Bears in a completly uneventful and meaningless game.  The Bears won the NFC North and have clinched home field through out the playoffs.  Mean while the Lions are battling Oakland for the number one pick in the 2007 draft.

According to firemillen.com -This protest calls for the fans of the Detroit Lions to "walk-out" of the Christmas Eve game with eight minutes and fifty seven seconds remaining in the second quarter.  Everyone should meet in the main atrium by "The Roar and More" and with three minutes and fifty seven seconds remaining, everyone that is there start chanting in unison our rallying cry, "Fire Millen!" Then at halftime, everyone involved, orderly and politely walk out of the stadium to show Team Owner and Chairman William Clay Ford their disgust with his inaction. This action is directed at the management of the team and not the players on the field which I will continue to support.-

Although I am happy that Detroit's fans are still very passionate about our Lions here and that this has been getting national attention.  I feel that they are going about this the wrong way.  Lions fan unite! I hope more fans will take my protest stance of "DONT WALK IN!"  I have stuck by this and even turned down tickets many times now.  I don't care that they still have a really new and very cool stadium.  I don't go to see the stadium or another visiting team just for the fact that it is NFL football, I go to see my team win.  Until they show they even want to try to participate in anything other that the NFL Draft, I am not walking in!

It is coming to a point where pretty much every Lions fan and any football fan anywhere is wondering how the hell Matt Millen still has a job.  Currently he is 23-71 since taking over a 9-7 team six years ago.  It has got to a point where the Lions are an embarrasment to myself and most Lions fans.  I honestly can figure out why William Clay Ford, the Lions owner, won't get rid of one constant variable in the dismantling of his NFL franchise.  Maybe this is why Ford Motor company has been on a down slide for so long.

Millen has fired three coaches who had time left on their contracts Gary Moeller, Marty Mornhinweg and Steve Mariucci because he thought that's what the Lions needed. He has cut players and signed free agents to improve the Lions.  Now he has Rod Marinelli already announcing that Jon FREAKING Kitna is the starter next year as well.  A QB like Kitna needs to have a solid team around him like Dilfer had in Baltimore or like Joey Harrington has in Miami.  Harringtons numbers are the same if not worse with Miami, but the team has a defense and unity that Detroit does not.

You would think that with a former NFL tough guy like Millen he would know that you win games in the trenches, yet the Lions trenchs are the weakest of them all.  He has also cut two of his top draft picks (pick #2 Charles Rogers and Pick #3 overall Joey Harrington) and had discussions on how to release Mike Williams.  If they sign Az Hakim one more time I am going to scream.  I stopped going to the games when they moved to Ford Field on a gut instinct that they were not moving in the right direction.  I was a season ticket holder at the Silverdome and remember when they made the playoffs six times in the 90's. 

Michael Rosenberg of Fox Sports and the Detroit Free Press wrote "The Lions have been losers for most of the past half-century. But that doesn't have to last forever. For all their flaws, the Fords exhibit three qualities of the best owners in sports: They are willing to spend money, they rarely meddle in team affairs, and they are patient with the people they hire.  If the Fords hired the right person to run their team, all those traits would be wonderful. Unfortunately, the man they hired is Millen. He is tough enough to withstand all this heat, but is he honest enough to admit he built the fire?"

So Matt from the bottom of my heart please and for every Lions fan out there, Do us a favor and fire yourself!!

P.S.  William Clay Ford, please consider me for the open postion of team General manager and president intern like the deal Matt Millen got. It seems like the best internship ever considering you don't need any prior experience.  I had four fantasy football teams this year and three of four were the number one seed in the playoffs, even though all four lost in the first round.