SB Nation User Blog: Sean Yuille

Thursday Notes: Ricky Sandoval Passes Away

Sean Yuille — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:09:24 -0000

Lions director of security Ricky Sandoval passed away today at the age of 49 after a three-year battle with pancreatic cancer. My condolences go out to the Sandoval family.
I chimed in with my thoughts on when Matthew Stafford should play on the Washington Post's website.
Dennis Northcutt is "excited" about playing for Detroit, so much so that he is coming in with the attitude that the Lions won the Super Bowl last season.
Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez have remained good friends and hung out quite a bit at the rookie symposium.
In a ranking of franchises from the four major pro sports leagues, ESPN The Magazine had the Lions at No. 119 out of 122 teams. The Red Wings came in fourth behind the Los Angeles Angels, Carolina Hurricanes, and Pittsburgh Steelers. If the Wings had a new arena, they'd probably top the list.

Wednesday Notes: Trade with Jaguars Finalized

Sean Yuille — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:37:25 -0000

My prayers go out to Ricky Sandoval, the Lions director of security who just celebrated his 49th birthday yesterday. Unfortunately Ricky is in the hospital and is "beginning to slip away." He has battled with pancreatic cancer for the last three years.
The Gerald Alexander-Dennis Northcutt trade was finalized on Tuesday. Alexander was surprised by the trade, as were most Lions fans. I'm really only surprised that the Lions dealt him for Northcutt, as him being moved isn't too shocking. As Tom Kowalski explains, the chances of Alexander making the roster weren't all that great, so the team obviously figured it would get something out of him rather than just cut him after training camp.
Patrick Hayes of It's Just Sports recently spoke with Otis Wiley, getting an update on the former Spartan's status with the Lions.

Now, where are you at right now, you're with the Lions right?

Yeah, with the Lions. In July I go back and tryout again and if I get on the roster, it'll be a nice little smooth sail after that.
Wiley would have been on the Lions after the draft if he hadn't failed his physical, so it sounds like he will get another shot at joining the team when training camp begins. Considering he hasn't been able to spend any time on the team so far, I would put his chances of making it past the first round of cuts fairly low. The safety position, as we learned from the above-mentioned trade, is pretty much set in stone barring an injury.
The NFL Network caught up with Matthew Stafford and Brandon Pettigrew at the rookie symposium.
Thousands of people, including Jared DeVries, attended the funeral of Iowa high school coach Ed Thomas.

Lions Announce Creation of New Season-Ticket Packages

Sean Yuille — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:11:47 -0000

Official release from the Lions:

The Detroit Lions are offering several, flexible season ticket packages for the 2009 season. Along with the Full Season Plan that includes all 10 Lions home games, fans can now purchase Half-Season Plans, "The Roar Zone" Plan, and the "Pick Your Games" Plan.

Along with the new flexible, season ticket packages, the Lions are offering the "All You Can Eat" Seat. This option is being made available to Detroit sports fans for the first time in this market in regular stadium seating areas.

"One of our most important business objectives is to present our fans with several options to attend Lions games at Ford Field that provide great value," said Lions President Tom Lewand. "We recognize that this is a tough economic environment for all fans, and increased flexibility is necessary to respond to that environment."

For further information on season tickets, fans can visit www.detroitlions.com/tickets or call the Lions Ticket Office at Ford Field (313.262.2002).

More after the jump.

2009 SEASON TICKET OPTIONS
Full Season Plan

Tickets to all 10 games in regular seating sections, including eight regular season games and two preseason games.

Per game pricing discounts compared to other season ticket plans and individual game tickets.

Priority to purchase existing seat locations for any playoff game.

Half-Season Plans

Half-Season Plan A: Atlanta Falcons (8/15), Minnesota Vikings (9/20), Pittsburgh Steelers (10/11), Cleveland Browns (11/22), Arizona Cardinals (12/20).

Half-Season Plan B: Indianapolis Colts (8/29), Washington Redskins (9/27), St. Louis Rams (11/1), Green Bay Packers (11/26), Chicago Bears (1/3).

Priority to purchase existing seat locations for any playoff game.

"The Roar Zone" Plan

Specially priced $30 per game Full Season ticket packages in sections 315-321(approximately 1,200 available seats).

Maximum six tickets per fan.

"Pick Your Games" Plan

Opportunity to pick three games (excluding Pittsburgh and Green Bay) in lower, middle and upper levels.

Fans can save $18.00 or more per package. Tickets are discounted from $78 to $72 (lower and middle level) and from $50 to $42 (upper level, Rows 10 & up).

SPECIAL TICKET OFFER
"All You Can Eat" Seat

5,500 available seats in special "All You Can Eat" sections that will be offered with season tickets, group tickets and individual game tickets.

Includes for one price: game ticket and unlimited hot dogs, bratwurst, chips, popcorn, nachos & cheese and soft drinks.

Access to special redemption centers at east and west end of Ford Field (nearby "All You Can Eat" sections) for "All You Can Eat" customers only.

Season tickets start as low at $73 for "All You Can Eat" tickets.

Tickets for individual games (available at a later date) for "All You Can Eat" tickets start as low at $85.

INDIVIDUAL GAME TICKETS
Preseason Individual Game Tickets

Tickets for preseason individual game tickets go on sale Thursday, July 16.

Regular Season Individual Game Tickets

The release of individual game tickets for the regular season will be announced at a later date and will be based on availability.

Pistons Fire Michael Curry

Sean Yuille — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:53:51 -0000

[Note by your friendly BullsBlogger, 06/30/09 2:48 PM CDT: Promoted to the front page from the FanPosts to get the conversation rolling. I'll assume Packey will have more later -ed.]

From ESPN.com:

"This was a difficult decision to make," Pistons president Joe Dumars said in a statement. "I want to thank Michael for his hard work and dedication to the organization. However, at this time, I have decided to make a change."

I am sure I am not alone in thinking this (obviously), but Bill Laimbeer currently does not have a job. Speculation certainly suggests he will be Curry's replacement, though I've learned to expect the unexpected with Joe Dumars.

Monday Notes: Lions Play Host to Former Season-Ticket Holders

Sean Yuille — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:43:15 -0000

Jon Jansen sounds like he is open to playing any position on the offensive line if it means he will get playing time. All backup offensive linemen need to be versatile, as that allows the Lions to keep fewer linemen on the team and active during games. Jansen is no exception, and although he will primarily be a right tackle (likely backing up Gosder Cherilus), he will probably get time at every other position on the O-line as well.
Around 120 former season-ticket holders attended practice on Wednesday of last week. More than 6,000 were invited, and there were only 60 or so left by the time practice was over. The numbers may not seem all that impressive, but at the end of the day the Lions sold 30 season-ticket packages, meaning the event was a success in that sense. The invite was a way for the Lions to reach out to ex-ticket holders, hoping to get them back in the team's good graces. I doubt this will be the last effort to do that, as Martin Mayhew and Jim Schwartz seem committed to getting the team to be more open to the fans, especially the ones that dish out money for tickets or used to do that.
Pontiac still hasn't sold the Silverdome, and unless some unforeseen sale is made, it looks like the former home of the Lions will be put up for auction sometime in the future.
Former Lion Reggie Rogers was sentenced to two years in jail for two different DUI cases. Both of these came after he killed three teenagers in an accident where he ran a stop sign back in 1988. That accident led to the end of his career with the Lions, and the latest two incidents have led to an end of his freedom for a couple years.

Lions Trade Gerald Alexander to Jaguars for Dennis Northcut

Sean Yuille — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 23:52:16 -0000

According to John Clayton, the Lions have traded safety Gerald Alexander to the Jaguars for wide receiver Dennis Northcutt. Apparently Northcutt found out a trade was imminent earlier in the week, but nothing happened until today. The Lions weren't interested in parting with a draft pick, so they decided to send Alexander to Jacksonville.

Alexander was drafted in 2007 and started every game during his rookie year. A neck injury ended his season early last year after only starting one game. Although Alexander has recovered well from his injury, he became expendable after Louis Delmas was drafted and Marquand Manuel was signed. I was actually just thinking earlier today that the safety position was getting a bit crowded, so I'm not too surprised that Alexander was dealt to the Jaguars. This leaves the Lions with Delmas, Manuel, Kalvin Pearson, Daniel Bullocks, Stuart Schweigert, and LaMarcus Hicks at the safety position.

Northcutt is entering his tenth season in the league. He played for the Browns from 2000 to 2006 before signing a five-year deal with the Jaguars in 2007. He put up solid stats at receiver in Jacksonville and occasionally returned punts.

In other news, the Lions signed undrafted rookie wide receiver Kenneth Harris, who played at Georgia, and released offensive lineman James Blair, formerly of Western Michigan.

Friday Notes: Final Minicamp Wraps Up

Sean Yuille — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:17:45 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

9 days ago: Detroit Lions linebacker Larry Foote, right, meets Chicago Cubs bench coach Alan Trammell during NFL football minicamp, Wednesday, June 24, 2009, in Allen Park, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Browse more photos »

The Lions wrapped up minicamp on Thursday and now are off until training camp begins at the end of July. That means that for the next month or so, players will have to condition on their own until they return to Allen Park.
Alan Trammell dropped by practice on Wednesday to surprise Larry Foote, who is a huge fan of the former Tiger and current Cubs bench coach. The Cubs got swept by the Tigers in Detroit this week, but Trammell took the time to stop by and have lunch with Foote.
All three Lions quarterbacks moved the ball during a two-minute drill, but none of them got the offense into the end zone for a touchdown.
Jim Schwartz is a fan of the hot and humid weather, as he thinks it'll make the team tougher and prepare them for similar conditions during the season.
Speaking of making the team tougher, on the last day of the minicamp, Schwartz extended practice and made the team run gassers.
Derrick Williams missed practice again earlier this week due to a tight hamstring. Bryant Johnson also sprained his right ankle, though Schwartz doesn't think it is too serious.
Ikaika Alama-Francis played defensive tackle during the minicamp.
The signing of Marquand Manuel could prevent Anthony Henry from having to move to safety.
Thanks to a new lifting program, the Lions' upper-body strength is up 21%. That's great to hear.

Lions Owner William Clay Ford Breaks Silence on Millen, Mayhew, Schwartz, More

Sean Yuille — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:22:02 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

9 days ago: Detroit Lions owner William Clay Ford Sr. watches during NFL football minicamp Wednesday, June 24, 2009, in Allen Park, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Browse more photos »

William Clay Ford doesn't speak to the media too often (the last time was after Matt Millen was fired last year), but he did just that on Wednesday after watching the Lions practice. The full interview can be viewed here, but I'm going to highlight the more interesting parts below.

The conversation with Ford, as expected, started with Matt Millen.

Why didn’t it work with Millen?

"Again, tough one to answer. He didn’t really have much experience as far as being a general manager goes. He knows the game, obviously. Knew talent. Maybe he was a little precipitous about some of his judgments. I’m second-guessing him.

"But it didn’t work out, and he understood completely. There was no bitterness or rancor on his part. He said, ‘No, I can understand why you’re doing it, and I don’t blame you.’ "

Did you support him for too long?

"Well, maybe. But I think circumstances, timing, were important. You don’t want to jump ship after two games or one game or anything like that. When the fans were really getting fed up, you think, ‘OK, time to make a move.’ Thought about it, obviously. But the timing just worked out the way it did."

I don't want to rail on Ford this entire post, but it's stuff like the quote above that makes it hard not to do. When the question about supporting Millen for too long was asked, I imagine most assumed it was referring to too many years. Ford, on the other hand, seemed to think it was about supporting him for too long during last season. That is just one of the many things that gives me so little confidence in him as the owner of the Lions. No one cares about if Ford waited a game or two last season to get rid of Millen. We sort of care more about how Ford waited for years and years to finally fire him.

You reportedly haven’t paid Millen since firing him. Is that true?

"We’re all square with the board. I talked to him on the phone a couple of weeks ago, and everything’s fine. We’re still friends, and I’m glad he’s got the job that he’s getting."

Millen said last week the situation is ongoing.

"It’s settled."

Was it settled recently?

"Fairly. Yeah, a couple of weeks."

How?

"It was really handled by his lawyer and mine. It never got to arbitration or anything like that, and I’m glad it (didn't), because as I say, we’re friends, and I don’t want to be on the other side of quarreling with a friend over ‘you said this’ or ‘I said this.’ So it worked out very peacefully. It worked out fine."

Millen was owed quite a bit of money, but I doubt he got all of it. If I had to guess, I would say that the two sides came to an agreement on a lesser amount of money simply so everyone could move on, especially since Millen has multiple TV jobs now anyways.

The conversation shifted away from Millen (thankfully) to discussion about the Lions' search for a new general manager and why Ford decided to simply promote Martin Mayhew.

Did you call Roger Goodell?

"Strangely enough, he called me. We had three or four conversations after that."

What did he say? Did he ask if you needed help or advice?

"Yes. He offered any help that he could. He was great about it. I said, ‘Well, I could use all the help I can get. I’m certainly not going to turn my back on you or anybody.’ Then he mentioned a few names, and I investigated those. He couldn’t have been nicer about it or really more helpful."

Did you investigate his suggestions for front-office executives?

"I did check into it, and nothing against any of his suggestions, but I felt I had the right combination here. So why go through the agony of bringing somebody totally new in that to learn what everything was about here? As long as it was in place, I didn’t have any problem with it."

Not that Martin Mayhew hasn't done a good job so far as GM of the Lions, but it hurts to know that there really wasn't an actual search for Millen's replacement. Ford was set on Mayhew getting the job and didn't even bother interviewing anyone else. I appreciate Roger Goodell for stepping in and trying to help, but at the end of the day, Ford basically listened to the Commissioner's suggestions and decided that he was content with what he already had. That's just disappointing.

What did Lewand and Mayhew do to impress you and make you feel so comfortable with them?

"I really don’t know how to answer that because there are so many different answers I could give. I’ll try to be specific by being vague. I like their judgment. I liked the thought processes they were going through to reach their conclusions. They don’t get an idea and then jump off a cliff. It’s all very well thought out, and it’s not just thought out for the day. They think about it for a long time, weigh all the other possibilities and then make their decision. It’s not a snap judgment on anybody’s part, and I think that’s important. Very important."

After talking a bit about how he didn't blame the fans that stopped going to games last season and how he doesn't really know what to expect for attendance next season, Ford started to talk about past coaching hires and the latest one.

You’ve been through so many coaches and approaches. Why do you think this might be the right direction now?

"This is going to sound a little egotistical, maybe it is. Because this was solely my decision, and rather than being influenced by a lot of other thoughts and people that … I respected their opinions, but they were not exactly the same as mine, which is fine, but they influenced the decisions that were finally made.

"If Jim Schwartz doesn’t work out, you can blame me 100%. I just have confidence in him."

You made the decision on Schwartz? He was your guy?

"Yeah. Now, I don’t mean to sound like I was too dictatorial about it. I got other people’s opinions on other people that we’d interviewed, and we all agreed, so that made it a shoo-in.

"It wasn’t … well, not bickering. But it wasn’t the arguments that we may have had in the past. If that’s the right word, maybe a little strong. The difference of opinion we had in the past.

"This was 100% from everybody. And long before I’d given my opinion, I asked them their thoughts, and I happened to agree with all of them. Anybody who agrees with you is a genius." (laughs)

Before giving you my take on this, here is the money quote of the whole interview, as far as I'm concerned:

The hirings of Mariucci and Marinelli were more contentious?

"I guess you could say that, yeah. I didn’t know their backgrounds particularly, and again, I relied on Matt and others for what their opinions were. The decision wasn’t mine. I’m not saying I was against it."

Ford is essentially deflecting all blame for the past failed coaching hires and putting it on Matt Millen and "others." I'm sorry, but as an owner of an NFL team, I find it hard to believe that Ford simply let Millen do whatever he wanted for all those years. He can say that he was hands off and let Millen make the decisions, but when you're an owner, the final decision is yours. I would prefer an owner that lets the GM hire his guys, but that doesn't mean he is blameless in all this. I could see if the only bad era for the Lions was when Millen was GM, but this isn't something new. The Lions have been a relatively mediocre franchise outside of the Barry Sanders years ever since Ford became owner of this team, and even then they have only won a single playoff game since 1957. The constant in all of this mediocrity is Ford, and even if he wants to blame Millen for the last eight years, it was Ford who hired him in the first place.

Have you ever ordered a coach to play a quarterback?

"No. I do not -- contrary to public opinion -- interfere with the football side of it. I mean, if so-and-so plays lousy, I’ll said I think he’s a bum. (laughs)

"But no, I’ve never said, ‘Play this guy or play that guy or don’t play him.’ These guys know more about the game than I do by 10 miles. I’m not going to try to second-guess them."

I don't think anyone has ever believed Ford was the one telling coaches who to play. It's pretty obvious that was all Matt Millen, as we saw during the Joey Harrington years. It's common knowledge that he and Steve Mariucci butted heads over drafting certain players and when they would play, which ended up dooming the Mariucci era.

How personally do you take criticism from the fans?

"Well, I mean, not that the yelling at the stadium does much for you. You get a couple of drunks, and they can lead anything. But by and large, you pay attention to it.

"I mean, if there’s a noticeable decline in attendance and the comments are not favorable, you pay attention to it. As I say, the fans are really the people we want to please out here.

"Especially now with Detroit and the shape it’s in, we’ve got to try twice as hard to give them their money’s worth. Money’s tough to come by for all of them. I understand that. But the least we can do is put on a good performance for them, and I think we will. I certainly hope we will."

The key phrase in the above quote is "decline in attendance." It was only when attendance numbers started to drop that Millen was fired. Comments weren't favorable for a good time before last season, yet Ford did nothing. Only when his revenue started to take a hit did he show he cared, which is why I find it hard to believe that he really cares about the fans at all. After all, the Lions raised ticket prices last year after one semi-decent season, trying to squeeze as much money out of fans as possible. Well, Ford got a first-hand look at what that coupled with a crappy team caused, and then he suddenly decided that it was time for a change.

Do you worry about your legacy? How badly to you want a championship?

"I want it. I can promise you that. Starting with Jim and on out as far as my livelihood goes, I’m going to shoulder the responsibility for any mistakes we’ve made.

"I don’t mean every play or stuff like that, but if things go sour and the fans turn against us, I’ll have nobody to blame but me. And I’m aware of that. But that’s a nice challenge to have, to try to keep them happy in bad times."

Let me get this straight. Ford is only going to take the blame for bad things that this team does starting now? Where has he been since owning the team? I find it comical that he apparently thinks the past hasn't been his fault one bit. Like I said before, the one constant in these decades and decades of mediocrity is Ford, and now all of a sudden he wants us to forget that? I hope I'm wrong, but until there is a change in ownership, I really have a hard time believing anything will truly change with this franchise. I have great faith in Mayhew and Schwartz, but Ford is still as clueless as they come.

Lions Extend Dominic Raiola, Sign Rookie Dan Gronkowski

Sean Yuille — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:31:28 -0000

More photos » by Carlos Osorio - AP

Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola runs through drills at the NFL football team's training facility in Allen Park, Mich., Thursday, June 25, 2009. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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The Lions signed center Dominic Raiola to a four-year contract extension, keeping him in Detroit through at least the 2013 season. According to FOXSports.com's Alex Marvez, the extension is worth $20 million ($9 million guaranteed). Raiola's base salary this coming season will be $4 million.

Raiola has been a member of the Lions his entire NFL career, as the team drafted him in the second round back in 2001. Most players would likely want to get away from a team like the Lions as quickly as possible, but Raiola wants to be here when the team hopefully turns things around.

"There's so much I put into this it would be like quitting," he said. "This place is worse now than when I came in, and I definitely want to be part of it when this thing turns around.

"This is home for me. This is a great city, this city is special to me. I have a lot of friends here, and I've seen pretty much every other sports franchise in the city win, and there's nothing more than I want than for this city to see this team win."

Aside from extending Raiola, the Lions also signed their first draft pick not named Matthew Stafford, inking seventh-round pick Dan Gronkowski to a three-year deal. It was written earlier this week that the Lions were holding off on signing draft picks in order to have more players on the roster, but with nothing going on until training camp, that really is no longer necessary, as Tom Kowalski explains.

One of the reasons the Lions haven't attempted to sign any draft picks (other than Stafford) is because they get a roster exemption for them while they're unsigned. The Lions wanted to bring more players to minicamp - they currently have 88 on the roster - to take a look at some of them and to also give some of their veterans a breather in certain drills.

Due to the signing of Gronkowski, the Lions released wide receiver Chris Hannon, who was claimed off waivers from the Dolphins at the end of last season. With no more team activities scheduled to take place until training camp, I would expect the rest of the draft picks to be signed over the next month or so. A year ago, Cliff Avril was signed on July 11, six other second-day picks were inked a couple days before the start of training camp, Gosder Cherilus agreed to a deal the day before camp began, and Jordon Dizon was the last to sign after missing a few practices.

Lions sign Raiola to 4-year extension | Detroit Free Press

Sean Yuille — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:39:49 -0000

Lions sign Raiola to 4-year extension | Detroit Free Press

It seems like fans either love or hate Dominic Raiola, so what do you guys think of this move?