A 1-3 start for the Detroit Lions has brought out the critics. An anonymous general manager and other "league executives" ripped Detroit's defensive line to shreds in Pro Football Weekly.
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"I have listened to the media hype about (Ndamukong) Suh since he got in the league -- what has he done?" one GM asked. "Even the year he had all those garbage sacks, the guy took a million plays off and got pushed around in the run game. I have never thought he was a very good pro player."
We agree that Suh's rookie season was highly overrated. He made a ton of big plays but gave up just as many in the running game. His second year was disappointing, and Suh hasn't been a dominant player this year.
Suh wasn't the only part of the defensive line that drew the anonymous ire.
"They don't have enough good players, and the players they think are good are not that good. Suh belongs on the All-Hype team. (Cliff) Avril is not that good -- put on any game and you can watch him get blocked time and time again. Corey Williams is solid, but nothing that wows you or makes you wonder how you are going to block him. The other guy (Kyle Vanden Bosch) is a try-hard guy getting up in years that does not really threaten you. For as much as people talk about that D-line and all its depth, where are all the players?"
Other than that, the anonymous GMs love the Lions. Including GM Martin Mayhew and coach Jim Schwartz.
"(Mayhew and Schwartz are) both overrated. What has he (Mayhew) really accomplished? Matt (Millen) never said he did a good job -- he was not ready for it. He did not have enough good people around him."
Oh boy. When an anonymous source is using Matt Millen's opinion as a source to prove his point, you know things have gone terribly awry.
The Lions' talent base might be slightly overheated, but the proof of Mayhew and Schwartz's job can be seen in the standings the last three years. They took over an awful situation and made it much better. The comments on the defensive line have some merit, but the attacks on Mayhew especially sound ridiculous. Personal. They eviscerated everyone except the mascot and Jason Hanson.
"That fires me up," Lions center Dominic Raiola told the Detroit Free Press. "If they had any (guts), they would say who they were."
Schwartz dismissed the comments.
"Anonymous? I can't comment on anonymous things," Schwartz said. "Hey, we're 1-3. That's what we are right now. We need to go win. We're judged on winning. We're not judged on popularity contests or what somebody says under the cloak of anonymity."
The Lions' offense has been erratic since last year. The back seven on defense is a problem. Schwartz has bigger issues to worry about, but it's clear the organization hasn't necessarily made friends around the league.
UPDATE: Suh took issue with the general manager not going on the record with his comments, but said he ultimately didn't care.
"I don't really pay attention to it," Suh told USA TODAY Sports. "He's a GM, he's supposed to be knowing what he's talking about, so it's up to you guys' discretion whether he's right or not."
