Is Mayhew evolving?

[gandydancer]

Reading a thread last week made me wonder if he was evolving? So I waited until the draft and was going to wait for more FA period to happen. Now is as good a time as any.

Just remember I was on board with and still am on him being fired. Sure this will be viewed rainbows by many. Actually not, just I noticed he has done things many here complain about. So either our theories on what he should do are wrong also and we should be fired. Then also quite possible he is turning the corner.

I will keep posting different thoughts as this moves on or not. Just doing one big book.

Things posters wanted that to see done.

Fill 4 certain positions of need... Not the way you wanted done so it s wrong.

Draft OL before RB. Just not right two guys.

During off season names were mentioned of who should be cut. Some were.

Names of guys who with out a doubt should not even be on the property. They are not.

(One of mine) he never trades back in early rounds. He did.

He never rights his wrongs. Lost two picks in Ngata trade. Somehow got them back through other deals and actually standing up in one deal. (Bucs) to gain a extra pick.

He was a POS for not trying to get tampering charges against Miami. We do not have the luxury of knowing why he did not pursue it. Seeing Woody get fined 100K was not much more the Lions would not have got a pick. Jets was a obvious tamper.

I will let these start it off. I also have many bad things him and Lewand have done. Houston and Bush's contracts. I get cutting Reggie to draft younger less costly version in Ameer. None the less bad operating.

Kicking the can. Repeatedly! In another two years no reason for them to do so.

I will let other post the bad, because I know they are coming. Just want to discuss whether or not he has improved by our standards we always talk about what needs to be done.

 

[gandydancer]

We have seen constant remarks about picks that failed due to injury or character. Now that he drafted high character and healthy kids. It is viewed as wrong

I do understand the arguement La'el and the CB from Oregon. The risk is lowered. None the less he had a vision of better quality kids and stuck with it.

Had a vision of a run game and drafted such guys. Same vision others wanted. Myself included.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

I'm not sure if it is evolving or coming to the realization that they had multiple holes they needed to fill and not enough cap space to do so with FA's. So he still said he stuck with the "BPA approach", but no one is dumb enough to believe that.

I think he did give up on the high risk/high reward players, rather going with the safer approach of drafting high character kids.

IMO -- he knew the teams chances of success were slim to none, if they didn't fill a few big holes they had. So he went out and drafted the BPA at those positions.

 

[broncosmitty]

For starters, trading back surprised me something fierce. Wasn't holding my breath on that. Pleasantly surprised.

I could do without his lies aboot BPA. It's a steaming load of poo. Not my fault if people want to buy his BS though.

 

[gandydancer]

No I am not dumb enough to believe him. As I do not really any GM. They say too many things have to be said a certain way. Which we all know are lies.

He did do something he said he was going to do, finally. Said he would not have six picks in the draft. He did not. I actually thought that meant he would trade up as usual and then only have 5 picks.

 

[gandydancer]

For starters, trading back surprised me something fierce. Wasn't holding my breath on that. Pleasantly surprised.

I could do without his lies aboot BPA. It's a steaming load of poo. Not my fault if people want to buy his BS though.

Which is what prolly every GM in the league is doing now. Saying what makes the draft look right to the fans.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

So he still said he stuck with the "BPA approach",

but no one is dumb enough to believe that.

I'm right here...

I've been told recently that I'm dumb, so you have all of that now just to get you all caught up. People are unique and so goes how one interprets or comprehends.

 

[broncosmitty]

Which is what prolly every GM in the league is doing now. Saying what makes the draft look right to the fans.

Yeah, prolly.

But I'm not going to believe our GM. He liked Abdullah, so he took him. Because he needed a RB after cutting one. It was the ol' classic draft for need, then lie. I can handle being lied to, I can't handle the fumbles that are coming. Can't do it.

Then he did it again in the third (like the pick. Hopefully he keeps Darkness on the sidelines.)and again in the fourth. The "need" there was big enough he sold the future to save the present. After awhile his toe is gonna hurt from all the kicking.

Then he drafted a fucking fullback.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

I absolutely hated the Jahvid Best pick. I will never get that last collegiate concussion of his out of my mind. Mayhew was a former player and I'd like to think he went through a concussion or two and if he didn't, he had to certainly know of teammates that went through them. It was a HUGE risk drafting Best considering he had not only that concussion but two others. That trade up not only cost us 1 draft pick but two. It also wasted time and money spent on Best that could have been used to develop a different player. IMO.

 

[jdwills126]

This was a solid but not spectacular draft for the Lions and Mayhew.

The big problem down the road is the guys he passed on versus the guys he took.
1. Abdullah and Coleman will forever be linked.
2. Tomilson and Malcolm Brown, Humphries will forever be linked.
3. Gabe Wright vs Bennett and a few others will be linked as well.
4. Next years third versus Wright


If Mayhew is right about the majority of these picks he redeems himself. Or if the majority don't work out in comparison to what the Lions could have had he fails.

IMO the Lions should be further along than 0 home playoff games, 0 division titles, 0 playoff wins in Mayhew's tenure as GM of the Lions. He has 2 playoff appearances and multiple failures in the draft. The clock is ticking and I can't think he has to much more space before he must show results.

I really wonder what it would have been like in the Lions war room. Who was pushing for what position and what player and who had swayed the argument. I have to believe the Abdullah or Coleman discussion would have been hard fought.

 

[gandydancer]

KEY QUESTIONS: Mayhew's take on the 2015 Draft

Here is another article I came across, seems mostly fluff. I do like reading Twentyman though.

The one part that I took notice with was speaking about his coaches being involved in drafting process. Who do you believe there?

 

[gandydancer]

Do I feel it was bad to trade that pick for Gabe? Yes and no... That pick was made expendable due to a different mistake. Suh.
Picks are used as trade bait yearly. This is not new to football. He went after his guy. Key word his, not mine. So I do not mind he used it. That pick next year is no more a sure thing of making a good NFL player than Gabe. No pick is. So to use that against him as if he is losing out on sure thing is crazy logic.

We can always play the redraft game every year. Always somebody better you could have had.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

That pick next year is no more a sure thing of making a good NFL player than Gabe

that right there especially when many a poster, including myself, have stated or thought had Mayhew drafted player x he would have been lights out on the Lions. Let's use Randall Cobb for example. We lost out on him by drafting a head-case in Titus Young when we could have drafted OG Orlando Franklin or C Stephen Wisniewski or C Rodney Hudson. It was a known fact via media outlets regarding his immaturity and fights with teammates not to mention multiple suspensions. Any of those previous three players might have been better than T.Y. with the Lions. Now, let me get to the LeShoure ordeal as he was truly a loss of not one, not two but three draft picks that were in the swap with Seattle. The Seahawks ended up drafting at #75 OG Moffitt (he became an immediate starter) then at #107 WR Durham (we all know how that worked out and twice, once with Seattle and then back to us as a FA) then at #154 CB Richard Sherman. I know LeShoure had that Achilles tear only one week into training camp. I also understand Mayhew wanted that in-between-the-tackles runner. DeMarco Murray was drafted 4 spots ahead of the Lions original pick of #75 and Ridley two picks ahead of that original 3rd round spot.

Sometimes trade ups work and sometimes they don't for any or even all GM's. This one right here hurt big time. Moffitt later was traded to Denver then up and quit football entirely. Durham, case closed as we saw firsthand. Do not forget that the trade Mayhew made to acquire Rob Sims with, the Seahawks drafted Byron Maxwell.

That draft was an absolute debacle when you see all of that not to mention taking on a high risk player like Fairley who was already known as lazy, immature, didn't take to working out but was to have possessed lots of talent.

my BigLar

 

[RobBase]

They'll evolve when they can beat winning teams. Ws don't lie.

 

[gandydancer]

They'll evolve when they can beat winning teams. Ws don't lie.

You talking the Lions, or Mayhew and Lewand? Or all parties involved?

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

I am surprised by the number of folks upset about the 2016 pick we gave up. I am assuming it's more about the player chosen than the strategy. The strategy itself was sound given that we will have a pick awarded to us that is hopefully only one pick later than what we gave up.

I know nothing about the player they took (Wright), that judgement will come from what he does when he is on the field. But I actually agree with that trade up, brace yourselves, that was a sound strategic move that good GM's make.

You get the benefit now from having the player hopefully contribute and if the evaluation and scouting they did to arrive at picking him was solid then he should be a much better player next year than what we would very likely get if we still had the pick.

I look at everything on a risk vs reward basis and unless we are picking in the top 10 next year then this was not at all a bad move as a GM. Now if Wright proves to be shit then it's another player on an already too long list of draft busts but it's way to early for that.

 

[lionstop1]

Great post.
BUT youre asking a group of fans that absolutely hate the guy and everything is only seen I in a negative light and most theories are built on personal beliefs on how things should be done. Getting a solid response to this is completely unrealistic. On that, I'll come back and speak on this later.

 

[jdwills126]

I am surprised by the number of folks upset about the 2016 pick we gave up. I am assuming it's more about the player chosen than the strategy. The strategy itself was sound given that we will have a pick awarded to us that is hopefully only one pick later than what we gave up.
I look at everything on a risk vs reward basis and unless we are picking in the top 10 next year ow if Wright proves to be shit then it's another player on an already too long list of draft busts but it's way to early for that.

It's definitely a gamble. Like the pick we gave Jacksonville for a bust of a WR that still remains nameless to me. That pick the next year ended up as a sum loss. This is a third and if Wright does well then it's worth it. But if he doesn't it's a third rounder they gave up.

Mayhew's ability to drat does not make me feel warm and fuzzy over his selection. And not being n the group that fluffs Mayhew constantly I do question his moves. Since under his tenure the Lions have made 2 playoff games won 0 and have never had a home playoff game. You get the benefit of the doubt when you win.

 

[broncosmitty]

Say his name, say his name!

 

[lionstop1]

Say his name, say his name!

Im not saying individuals, Im saying the entire board.