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Stafford watch (A place for Stafford discussion)


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On 2/14/2022 at 8:26 AM, Motown Bombers said:

Stafford only has one more year on his contract and will be a free agent. In 12 years with Stafford it didn't work out. The Lions need to do what other teams are doing and go with a young QB who can win when it counts like Jared Goff. 

I was being facetious, not suggesting we actually go out & get Matthew Stafford again.

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On 2/12/2022 at 6:06 PM, chasfh said:

Right, not his fault, he just happened to be the great white hope they know.

Barry and Calvin quit with years left on their contracts.  Stafford requested a trade.  Huge difference.

There are different owner/mgt actors in each instance and many years in between each instance too.

I respect you as a thinker and individual.  But I have a beef with what you are saying here.

It's politically tempting to pull the lever and label some historically incompetent rich white people like the Fords (who are very unpopular around here, especially with ME) as racists.  Who is likely to defend them?  Especially when the black players in question are beloved and had an arguably legitimate grievance (good people differ on this point) about how they were handled.

It's just so easy to go there.....that's one of the reasons why this weapon should not be used except when there is specific evidence of personal racial prejudice on the part of the accused.  It's wrongheaded in my opinion in this case, absent such evidence, to assume racist intent.

I am not trying to defend the Fords in any way.....I would say this about anybody in their situation, unless there was clear evidence of their bad will towards minorities.  To the best of my knowledge, there is not.

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10 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

WCF probably viewed football players as fungible commodities regardless of their color. 

I recently read a story about how WCF pulled some strings with Ford Motor Company and helped get Reggie Brown set up with his own Ford dealership after his career was ended. That was something he didn't have to do and could have just let the NFL take care of Reggie Brown. I've heard a lot of good stories about WCF taking care of players. WCF was a loyal man. He also expected loyalty in return. 

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20 minutes ago, sabretooth said:

Barry and Calvin quit with years left on their contracts.  Stafford requested a trade.  Huge difference.

There are different owner/mgt actors in each instance and many years in between each instance too.

I respect you as a thinker and individual.  But I have a beef with what you are saying here.

It's politically tempting to pull the lever and label some historically incompetent rich white people like the Fords (who are very unpopular around here, especially with ME) as racists.  Who is likely to defend them?  Especially when the black players in question are beloved and had an arguably legitimate grievance (good people differ on this point) about how they were handled.

It's just so easy to go there.....that's one of the reasons why this weapon should not be used except when there is specific evidence of personal racial prejudice on the part of the accused.  It's wrongheaded in my opinion in this case, absent such evidence, to assume racist intent.

I am not trying to defend the Fords in any way.....I would say this about anybody in their situation, unless there was clear evidence of their bad will towards minorities.  To the best of my knowledge, there is not.

I agree. Calvin Johnson quit. I'm not sure what exactly the Lions were expected to do? What exactly have the Lions done so differently with Stafford? The ones heaping praise and throwing the bouquets seem to be the fans. Stafford asked for a trade and the Lions granted it. Johnson announced his retirement and the Lions asked him to pay back what he owed. 

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4 hours ago, RandyMarsh said:

Detroit Rams!

los angeles had a 36 share, which, given its size, was more than double the viewers in cincinnati.

so yeah, the league could actually put another team in LA and be just fine.  cause LA is so flipping huge.

if youre the league, buffalo and cincinnati are fun little franchises that support their teams, but LA is where the money is, even if the fans dont come to the games as much.  

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14 hours ago, Motown Bombers said:

I agree. Calvin Johnson quit. I'm not sure what exactly the Lions were expected to do? What exactly have the Lions done so differently with Stafford? The ones heaping praise and throwing the bouquets seem to be the fans. Stafford asked for a trade and the Lions granted it. Johnson announced his retirement and the Lions asked him to pay back what he owed. 

This is the way I see it as well.

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16 hours ago, Motown Bombers said:

I recently read a story about how WCF pulled some strings with Ford Motor Company and helped get Reggie Brown set up with his own Ford dealership after his career was ended. That was something he didn't have to do and could have just let the NFL take care of Reggie Brown. I've heard a lot of good stories about WCF taking care of players. WCF was a loyal man. He also expected loyalty in return. 

That's pretty cool....I was never a WCFS fan as an owner at all, but I love to hear this kind of thing.  I hope he was that way generally speaking.

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16 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

WCF probably viewed football players as fungible commodities regardless of their color. 

Yeah, WCFS might have viewed the people around him as abstractions, he seemed almost autistic in his lack of comprehension about his role in making the Lions successful for the region and legion of fans, and almost relished his prickly/aloof relationship with the public. 

FWIW, WCFS never struck me as a gimlet-eyed businessman who tried screwed people over.....more as an incompetent heir who wanted people to respect him and wanted a legacy, but could never do the right things to make his one signature venture, the Lions, work as a winning franchise.

Despite his historic incompetency vis-a-vis winning, the Lions still have an amazing and loyal fan base.  That's more of a compliment to the loyalty of Lions' fans than anything else, and the effect of Barry Sanders, and the investment in Ford Field, which is a very fine facility.

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7 hours ago, sabretooth said:

That's pretty cool....I was never a WCFS fan as an owner at all, but I love to hear this kind of thing.  I hope he was that way generally speaking.

I found an article, not the same one I recall reading, that briefly mentions it. Apparently WCF also offered Reggie Brown an opportunity to be a scout or coach for the Lions.

 

"Despite the disappointment, Brown refocused his efforts on other goals outside of football and in the spring of 1999 he earned his degree in agriculture economics from Texas A&M. With the degree, Brown had a variety of options to choose from including three that had been specifically arranged by Lions owner William Clay Ford.

Lion forever

Ford had told Brown in the weeks following the injury if he wanted to stay connected to the game he was always welcome to become part of the Lions organization as a scout or coach. If Brown wanted to get away from the game, Ford offered him a position in the Ford Motor Company’s dealership training program where he would learn the ins and outs of the auto dealership business with the hopes of one day running his own.

Brown returned to Austin the month following his graduation where he opted for a trial run scouting in the Lions organization. It was short lived.

“It was a way for me to get back close to the game, but I don’t think that I was psychologically ready to evaluate other players. Even that amount of travel and everything that went into it, I just wasn’t ready,” Brown admitted.

A short time later he enrolled in the dealership training program where he completed it in the required two years. Over the course of the next five years he eventually worked his way up to general manager and assistant to the dealer at one Austin dealership. In that same time he married Patterson."

 

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2017/12/22/breathing-reggie-brown-relives-injury/108850952/

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Good for them, I know Stafford was getting beat up pretty good on Twitter about walking away from it but I honestly don't think he meant any harm.

Being a rich successful athlete you probably learn over the years to avoid any sorta potential drama like that, like it comes natural to them or atleast the smart ones to try to get away from any incidents. 

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