Post by Blaming Brad on Aug 2, 2023 12:06:10 GMT -6
While it's typical Lions to get the #1 overall pick 2 years before the rookie wage scale, I don't think it would have mattered. The leadership at the time was horrendous and would have screwed it up either way. Hard not to wonder what could have been with that 2014 team though. Although by then Stafford had gotten his second deal and Calvin was being paid like a QB so there's that.
Post by badnews3123 on Aug 2, 2023 12:58:33 GMT -6
Calling the management horrendous and then wondering what could have been with the 2014 team don’t really line up. They built that roster. I don’t know why there can’t ever be a middle ground. They made too many mistakes for sure, but they also did some good things or you wouldn’t have had that 2014 roster.
Also it wasn’t just Stafford and Calvin, Suh’s deal was the last year before the rookie wage scale started. And while Stafford and Calvin had gotten new deals, part of the structure of those deals was created by trying to get out of the weight of their rookie deals. Plus those deals created them having to do some cap gymnastics during that stretch so they could bring in players.
Could have had a big ripple effect in the way they did things. Maybe they’re more open to bailing on Stafford after the first 2 years when he struggled with injuries? That group was good in free agency so maybe the extra money to spend helps. But maybe they use that money and extend some players they shouldn’t. If there’s still the consistent day 2 misses they had, still going to struggle to build a team.
Last Edit: Aug 2, 2023 12:59:26 GMT -6 by badnews3123
Calling the management horrendous and then wondering what could have been with the 2014 team don’t really line up.
The comment about the 2014 team was more of an afterthought and considering the opposing view. That said, not sure how one good team in 12-ish years can be considered anything but horrendous.
Calling the management horrendous and then wondering what could have been with the 2014 team don’t really line up.
The comment about the 2014 team was more of an afterthought and considering the opposing view. That said, not sure how one good team in 12-ish years can be considered anything but horrendous.
They made the playoffs in ‘11 and a huge core of the roster was part of the ‘16 team that made the playoffs the year after they were let go. It was a clear rebuild when they took over, like the current regime, and by year 3 they were in the playoffs and were essentially a .500 team over the next five years. That’s not horrendous. It’s not good, but let’s use some perspective.
Quinn/Patricia was what I would call horrendous. Had some hits, but way more misses and a ton of moves that lead to the team getting progressively worse each year.
The comment about the 2014 team was more of an afterthought and considering the opposing view. That said, not sure how one good team in 12-ish years can be considered anything but horrendous.
They made the playoffs in ‘11 and a huge core of the roster was part of the ‘16 team that made the playoffs the year after they were let go. It was a clear rebuild when they took over, like the current regime, and by year 3 they were in the playoffs and were essentially a .500 team over the next five years. That’s not horrendous. It’s not good, but let’s use some perspective.
Quinn/Patricia was what I would call horrendous. Had some hits, but way more misses and a ton of moves that lead to the team getting progressively worse each year.
Fair enough, and admittedly I was lumping in the Millen and Quinn years with that as well. So many years of futility starts to blend together. That regime was still responsible for paying Calvin like a QB. And still had the "horrendous" ownership. Let's face it, things didn't seem to change until Shiela came in. And the jury is even still out on that.
They made the playoffs in ‘11 and a huge core of the roster was part of the ‘16 team that made the playoffs the year after they were let go. It was a clear rebuild when they took over, like the current regime, and by year 3 they were in the playoffs and were essentially a .500 team over the next five years. That’s not horrendous. It’s not good, but let’s use some perspective.
Quinn/Patricia was what I would call horrendous. Had some hits, but way more misses and a ton of moves that lead to the team getting progressively worse each year.
Fair enough, and admittedly I was lumping in the Millen and Quinn years with that as well. So many years of futility starts to blend together. That regime was still responsible for paying Calvin like a QB. And still had the "horrendous" ownership. Let's face it, things didn't seem to change until Shiela came in. And the jury is even still out on that.
The Calvin contract was bad. As good as he was they overpaid and the market corrected itself from that deal. But part of that deal was reflective of the old rookie wage scale, too. They were pushing money from that deal into the new one so that they could spend and build.