Police want to speak with La'el Collins

[lionstop1]

He worked under a guy who gave him a blue print of what not to do and now he has been with the Lions for 6 or 7 years as GM.

What is the time line to develop as a GM? And at what point does a team cut ties and start over?

Im assuming by some of the statements that have been made, some of you are saying that a new GM has around 4 years to win a Superbowl?

Just because he worked under Millen doesnt mean he doesnt have a mind of his own. Tons of businesses hire from within so what is the big surprise there? Its a different situation but thats like telling me that I shouldnt be promoted because my boss is stupid or made some bad decisions.

A realistic time line for a GM is probably around 5 years if he hasn't shown any improvements. For those that have, they might get a little longer. Mayhew is close to building his team that can potentially get to the top so why change now? If he cant gwt their in the next few years then maybe it is time.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

Im assuming by some of the statements that have been made, some of you are saying that a new GM has around 4 years to win a Superbowl?

Just because he worked under Millen doesnt mean he doesnt have a mind of his own. Tons of businesses hire from within so what is the big surprise there? Its a different situation but thats like telling me that I shouldnt be promoted because my boss is stupid or made some bad decisions.

A realistic time line for a GM is probably around 5 years if he hasn't shown any improvements. For those that have, they might get a little longer. Mayhew is close to building his team that can potentially get to the top so why change now? If he cant gwt their in the next few years then maybe it is time.

I'm not sure who was saying the 4 year thing, but I'm definitely not on board with that. Winning a Super Bowl is extremely difficult for any team. If 4 years was the case for a GM -- there'd be a lot of job openings in the NFL for GM's.

I'm not surprised at all about companies hiring from within. I'm surprised anyone in the front office had a job after the team went 0-16. If I were the Ford Family -- I would have fired every person in the front office, not just the GM. Other than that -- I have no issue with the hiring of Mayhew.

Here is where we differ though --how close do you think Mayhew is to building a team to get to the top? I love that we finished 11-5 last year, but we went from 10-6 in 2011 to 4-12 in 2012, so a winning season hasn't meant a whole lot. Personally -- I see the Lions as a team stuck in neutral. We can beat the teams we are supposed to beat, but we can't seem to beat the winning teams (consistent winners). For whatever reason, we never seem to get over the hump. I thought last year we had when we beat GB handily, but for whatever reason that was it. Our losses were to any team with a winning record, sans Carolina, who actually won their very sad division.

I'd love to see this draft be a home run and the Lions string together winning seasons. I would do just about anything to see the Lions turn into a winning franchise. I'm so sick of the Lions being mediocre, you have no idea. Time will tell how good the Lions will be this year, but we have a lot of question marks. Can the new DT's replace last year's adequately? Will Ebron become the reliable #3 and defensive mismatch the Lions thought he can be? How will the new parts of the OL gel? Can Lombardi figure out how to simplify his play book, instead of confusing his own players?

I would love to see another 11-5 year from the Lions, but to do so, we are going to have to get over the hump and actually beat some of the top teams -- which is something we have struggled with.

 

[lionstop1]

Another area where we differ is that I hold a lot of the players accountable for not winning. The same goes for the coaches. What I notice is that the Lions have a tendency to play down to better teams as if they get intimidated or something. I saw it in GB last year but surprisingly not in Dallas.

Coaches play a significant role in being able to beat good teams, getting them prepared and such. Schwartz really sucked at that. The Lions win the bulk of their games from talent alone, not because they put together a great plan to win. They struggle with consistency.

 

[gandydancer]

He's from a shit town, went to lsu, is involved in a murder investigation, said he'd take his ball and go home if we was drafted late, is already saying that his hard work will make the Dallas line make the jump to best ever. Yeah I'll believe he's and ignorant close minded southern fuck until I see something to prove otherwise.

Kind of how some have their own opinion of Mayhew maybe... However those people are haters and bashers for thinking that way. To each their own I guess.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

Another area where we differ is that I hold a lot of the players accountable for not winning. The same goes for the coaches. What I notice is that the Lions have a tendency to play down to better teams as if they get intimidated or something. I saw it in GB last year but surprisingly not in Dallas.

Coaches play a significant role in being able to beat good teams, getting them prepared and such. Schwartz really sucked at that. The Lions win the bulk of their games from talent alone, not because they put together a great plan to win. They struggle with consistency.

If it is the players you are holding accountable for not winning -- wouldn't that fall on the shoulders of the guy responsible for drafting the players?

And with being intimidated by GB -- I disagree. I don't think it has anything to do with intimidation. Any road game in the NFL is tough to win, with Lambeau being one of the toughest places to win, especially late in the year.

With Dallas -- I think it had much more to do with the Lions having to face a team they matched up perfectly with. Dallas relied heavily on it's run game on success, while Detroit's biggest strength was it's run defense. Dallas struggled in pass defense, while Detroit relied heavily on their passing offense. Dallas struggled at home going 4-4, so it was the best matchup possible for the Lions in the playoffs. Just didn't work out for us.

And with the coaches playing a significant role, which I do agree with to an extent. We had all new coaches this past year, but the exact same results against the better teams in the NFL. A coach can come up with any game plan they'd like, but it is the players responsibility to execute it. When a team has 1 win over a team that finished with a winning record over the last 5 or 6 years -- Who do you put the blame on?

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

Aaaaaand you know this, how, exactly?

You are specifically one of the people I had in mind when I said that some people on here think the Lions can do things without the media catching on. I have given several examples of what they could have done and didn't, not a chance in the world that would not be reported. The Lions don't have some stealth capability from t he media. Ridiculous to pretend otherwise.

You guys sure do make a lot of leaps without any sort of evidence to go on.

The only attempts that you know of have been reported on. That's a far-cry from being able to say all other attempts were reported on.

Imo, what we know via the media is probably only the tiniest little tip of the iceburg that was teams courting Collins after the draft...

Are you kidding me dude??? Only a couple days ago you were arguing about the extensive resources of the media. Them hiring PI's to investigate the Collins case and the knowledge they have. Now they only know the tiniest little bit?

My good friend, stop acting as if Collins is the difference in making a trip to the Superbowl and and being 6-10 or something. That RT spot can still see an upgrade and its possible someone steps up.

There is no RT out there that offers the upgrade Collins could have been. Not even close.

Let's not forget that Waddle was very good, when healthy. I know people want to slap the "injury prone" label on him now that he's been dinged up two seasons in a row, but this is the NFL- dudes get hurt a lot.

I'm sure we all remember "Glassford" and "China Doll" from early in Stafford's career...

Well he isn't healthy and won't be for many weeks into the season and even then he won't be in football shape and ready to play. Lucas is a better fit at LT and our other options are an overweight 7th rd draft pick or a TE we have been fattening up for two years. Tell you what, my vote is that Collins is the best of that group.

 

[scotsman1948]

baby died. and the test showed Collins was not the father

 

[lionstop1]

Kind of how some have their own opinion of Mayhew maybe... However those people are haters and bashers for thinking that way. To each their own I guess.

A hater is a fan that continues to find reason to bring up certain players or things all the time without good reasoning.

A basher is a fan that continues to bash no matter what happens.

 

[lionstop1]

If it is the players you are holding accountable for not winning -- wouldn't that fall on the shoulders of the guy responsible for drafting the players?

And with being intimidated by GB -- I disagree. I don't think it has anything to do with intimidation. Any road game in the NFL is tough to win, with Lambeau being one of the toughest places to win, especially late in the year.

With Dallas -- I think it had much more to do with the Lions having to face a team they matched up perfectly with. Dallas relied heavily on it's run game on success, while Detroit's biggest strength was it's run defense. Dallas struggled in pass defense, while Detroit relied heavily on their passing offense. Dallas struggled at home going 4-4, so it was the best matchup possible for the Lions in the playoffs. Just didn't work out for us.

And with the coaches playing a significant role, which I do agree with to an extent. We had all new coaches this past year, but the exact same results against the better teams in the NFL. A coach can come up with any game plan they'd like, but it is the players responsibility to execute it. When a team has 1 win over a team that finished with a winning record over the last 5 or 6 years -- Who do you put the blame on?

Mayhew is not responsible for how the players perform on the field. How can he control that? Half of your performance in sports is mental while the other is physical. Intimidation is very real.

Coaches are responsible for putting players in the best position to win and that means from a mental standpoint too. The reason why the Lions aren't consistent is they have tons of mental breakdowns (I.e penalties, turnovers, etc.).

 

[lionstop1]

For the record, Mayhew isnt excused from the blame but he doesn't get all of it.

 

[tpaulus_2]

You are specifically one of the people I had in mind when I said that some people on here think the Lions can do things without the media catching on. I have given several examples of what they could have done and didn't, not a chance in the world that would not be reported. The Lions don't have some stealth capability from t he media. Ridiculous to pretend otherwise.



Are you kidding me dude??? Only a couple days ago you were arguing about the extensive resources of the media. Them hiring PI's to investigate the Collins case and the knowledge they have. Now they only know the tiniest little bit?



There is no RT out there that offers the upgrade Collins could have been. Not even close.



Well he isn't healthy and won't be for many weeks into the season and even then he won't be in football shape and ready to play. Lucas is a better fit at LT and our other options are an overweight 7th rd draft pick or a TE we have been fattening up for two years. Tell you what, my vote is that Collins is the best of that group.

I think your entire concept of the media is just plain warped. The things they know vs. the things they report on are entirely different animals. You're always trying to paint everything they do as a one-size-fits-all kind of thing, and that's just not how it works. Sometimes it's about "reporting" and breaking a story. Usually, at least in the NFL, it's more about covering the big market teams like Dallas, New England, New York x 2, etc...

In the Collins case, they're reporting stuff people would be interested in like Rex Ryan flying down to have dinner with him, or the Cowboys bringing him in for a visit and signing him. The only other team I saw the media connect to Collins was the Dolphins. If you think it was only those three teams pursuing him because that's all the media told you about, then I guess I don't know what to say?

 

[Coach_Ed_LPW]

I'm not sure who was saying the 4 year thing, but I'm definitely not on board with that. Winning a Super Bowl is extremely difficult for any team. If 4 years was the case for a GM -- there'd be a lot of job openings in the NFL for GM's.

I'm not surprised at all about companies hiring from within. I'm surprised anyone in the front office had a job after the team went 0-16. If I were the Ford Family -- I would have fired every person in the front office, not just the GM. Other than that -- I have no issue with the hiring of Mayhew.

Here is where we differ though --how close do you think Mayhew is to building a team to get to the top? I love that we finished 11-5 last year, but we went from 10-6 in 2011 to 4-12 in 2012, so a winning season hasn't meant a whole lot. Personally -- I see the Lions as a team stuck in neutral. We can beat the teams we are supposed to beat, but we can't seem to beat the winning teams (consistent winners). For whatever reason, we never seem to get over the hump. I thought last year we had when we beat GB handily, but for whatever reason that was it. Our losses were to any team with a winning record, sans Carolina, who actually won their very sad division.

I'd love to see this draft be a home run and the Lions string together winning seasons. I would do just about anything to see the Lions turn into a winning franchise. I'm so sick of the Lions being mediocre, you have no idea. Time will tell how good the Lions will be this year, but we have a lot of question marks. Can the new DT's replace last year's adequately? Will Ebron become the reliable #3 and defensive mismatch the Lions thought he can be? How will the new parts of the OL gel? Can Lombardi figure out how to simplify his play book, instead of confusing his own players?

I would love to see another 11-5 year from the Lions, but to do so, we are going to have to get over the hump and actually beat some of the top teams -- which is something we have struggled with.

I think there is a huge difference this year than when we were coming off the 10-6 season. That season was brought on by a great offensive year and several close last minute wins. 2012 followed ....the roster that was already thin was decimated by injuries... Those close games turned into L's. 10 of those 12 losses were by a TD or less. This year we are building off of defense. We are much deeper, and we have improved the roster(I feel.) We have much better coaching also. But even so, if we suffer the injuries we had in 2012 we will most likely have a bad result.

 

[tpaulus_2]

Well he isn't healthy and won't be for many weeks into the season and even then he won't be in football shape and ready to play. Lucas is a better fit at LT and our other options are an overweight 7th rd draft pick or a TE we have been fattening up for two years. Tell you what, my vote is that Collins is the best of that group.

I sure wish we all had access to your super-secret inside sources. From what I've read, he's expected to be ready to go sometime during training camp. There's concern that he might not be ready to go by the time the season starts, so maybe that's where you're getting "won't be healthy for many weeks into the season" misinformation from?

 

[gandydancer]

A hater is a fan that continues to find reason to bring up certain players or things all the time without good reasoning.

A basher is a fan that continues to bash no matter what happens.

So what is a guy who speaks out about things he likes and dislikes?

 

[Coach_Ed_LPW]

baby died. and the test showed Collins was not the father

In the case of the dead baby where you may or may not have been involved in the murder of the mother....La'el Collins....you are not the father.

 

[Coach_Ed_LPW]

I told you, I told you...that baby don't even look like me.

 

[Coach_Ed_LPW]

You are specifically one of the people I had in mind when I said that some people on here think the Lions can do things without the media catching on. I have given several examples of what they could have done and didn't, not a chance in the world that would not be reported. The Lions don't have some stealth capability from t he media. Ridiculous to pretend otherwise.



Are you kidding me dude??? Only a couple days ago you were arguing about the extensive resources of the media. Them hiring PI's to investigate the Collins case and the knowledge they have. Now they only know the tiniest little bit?



There is no RT out there that offers the upgrade Collins could have been. Not even close.



Well he isn't healthy and won't be for many weeks into the season and even then he won't be in football shape and ready to play. Lucas is a better fit at LT and our other options are an overweight 7th rd draft pick or a TE we have been fattening up for two years. Tell you what, my vote is that Collins is the best of that group.

Collins was offered by 27 teams I read. Were we one of the 5 that didn't? The Cowboys gave him the max contract allowed so he basically had his choice...he most likely wouldn't have picked us. Maybe we could have spent a pick on him, probably should but no one else did either. He could have very well held off until next year...actually most likely would have. Water under the bridge now.

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

I think your entire concept of the media is just plain warped. The things they know vs. the things they report on are entirely different animals. You're always trying to paint everything they do as a one-size-fits-all kind of thing, and that's just not how it works. Sometimes it's about "reporting" and breaking a story. Usually, at least in the NFL, it's more about covering the big market teams like Dallas, New England, New York x 2, etc..

Honest to God you have got to be fucking kidding me. You go from one thing to the absolute polar opposite on the drop of a hat and then use those infuriating superlatives like warped in describing other posters.

So today you are suggesting the media knows things but doesn't report them? I can't fathom that you just suggested that. Three days ago the media knew every bit as much as any team trying to do a private investigation on Collins because they would hire their own PI's to find that info because of their extensive resources.

Today you are suggesting that the Lions aren't a big enough market team to be worthy of covering had they made any extra effort to go after Collins and even if they did the media wouldn't bothering to cover it.

In the Collins case, they're reporting stuff people would be interested in like Rex Ryan flying down to have dinner with him, or the Cowboys bringing him in for a visit and signing him. The only other team I saw the media connect to Collins was the Dolphins. If you think it was only those three teams pursuing him because that's all the media told you about, then I guess I don't know what to say?

Wow is all I can say here, just plain wow. This one says that people wouldn't be interested to know if the Lions made an extra effort to show their interest in signing him? Have you even been paying attention? What have I suggested they could have done because you have to be the only one not getting it? You seriously don't think if they sent Caldwell, Lombardi, and the o-line coach to meet with him or go to dinner it wouldn't be reported? You think if Mayhew and Lewand actually went to the offices of his agent it would not have been reported? You think if any of our players went to see him it would not have been reported? And the reason being that the Lions just aren't of any interest to people to know if they were making a push for him?

You don't know what to say if I think only those three teams were pursuing him? How about this....I never fucking said that!! I said the Lions made no extra effort to get it done. You will blindly defend this franchise with unbelievably lame excuses and chalk up my disgust with the effort as just hatred of the front office. This crap is why I hate them?

I can not believe your way to defend these clowns is to suggest I'm wrong in my belief that they didn't do shit because the media wouldn't bother to report on anything special the Lions made in their efforts to land a first round talent on a UDFA contract. Until deflategate he has been the biggest story going on in the NFL but because we are the Lions our extra efforts just went unreported.

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

I sure wish we all had access to your super-secret inside sources. From what I've read, he's expected to be ready to go sometime during training camp. There's concern that he might not be ready to go by the time the season starts, so maybe that's where you're getting "won't be healthy for many weeks into the season" misinformation from?

Again with the special superlatives of super-secret information and my misinformation.

Its been reported they aren't sure if he would be ready to go by the season opener just like you acknowledged. I take "not ready to go" as meaning he isn't ready to go full speed in practice either. If he isn't ready to go in game action then it would be the same for practice as far as I am concerned.

That would certainly mean he isn't in football shape either so if he isn't ready to open week one I'm not expecting him to just walk into the starting spot week two if he was even ready then. So how many weeks might he then still be out of the starting line up?

I will try to define everything for you from now on. Many = more than four since that's an entire quarter of the season.

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

Collins was offered by 27 teams I read. Were we one of the 5 that didn't? The Cowboys gave him the max contract allowed so he basically had his choice...he most likely wouldn't have picked us. Maybe we could have spent a pick on him, probably should but no one else did either. He could have very well held off until next year...actually most likely would have. Water under the bridge now.

Exactly what I said. But we didn't do anything extra to improve our chances either. The max contract is a joke, everyone would have offered that.

I don't care what 26 other teams did (assuming we actually were in that group of 27). I care what the Lions did and that appears to be about as little as possible. At least show the effort put forth by the Bills and Dolphins, we didn't do that. Unless you believe the horseshit that the Lions simply aren't worthy of reporting on and we did make an extra effort.

My issue is entirely about the commitment of the team from ownership through The Clown Show. If you are trying to build a winning team and you have an unprecedented opportunity in front of you then you do everything you possibly can to make that happen for your team. We simply did not do that and that's been the same attitude that has lead to one lousy playoff win in 25 years.