Vince Lombardi on the 2010 Detroit Lions: Part 5

The man after whom the most coveted trophy in all of professional sports is named left us with some of the best quotes in all of sports history.  Vincent Lombardi’s no-nonsense style and unabashed passion for the game he loved serves as an inspirational legacy for athletes, former athletes, and fans alike.  To that end, I’m offering three of Coach Lombardi’s quotes and applying them to the 2010 Detroit Lions.  This article is the fifth installment.

“The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.”

And it all starts at the top.

Never during my lifetime has their been a more stark contrast between a guy who was shown the door, and a man who would aspire to lead in his absence.  The in-house promotion of Martin Mayhew to general manager by William Clay Ford was a bit of a head scratcher for some, but for those who know the score, it is loyalty that is often rewarded by the long-time owner of the Detroit Lions.

Many of us wondered what kind of leader Martin Mayhew would emerge to be once given the reigns as general manager.  Is it really possible that we found a situation where the “under study” should have been promoted years prior?  Is it the case that Matt Millen ignored countless briefings and failed to listen to input that could have spared a franchise the humiliating winless season of 2008?

As coach Lombardi said, “The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.”  Martin Mayhew appears to be doing a fine job in that regard, as he hustles to provide his coaches, his field leaders, with the best “troops” available to take the field on Sundays.  To me, Martin Mayhew is the hardest-working general manager in the National Football League.  The drive and desire that propelled him to secure a law degree from Georgetown is clearly still on display on a daily basis.

To this end, the contrast between Martin Mayhew and Matt Millen couldn’t be more evident.  Marty doesn’t take off on Thursday afternoons to head back to Pennsylvania to chill with the fam.  Martin is leading the fortification at Fort Detroit, trying to make playing at the Domed Fort an ambush for the opponent.

The imbedded qualities that should draw focus in coach Lombardi’s quote are threefold:  hard work, dedication, and determination.  If the leader of an organization is to lead from the front, these qualities must not only be present, but consistently on display for all members of the organization to see.  There is no hiding under a bushel.

Yesterday, Mayhew was questioned regarding his thoughts concerning the progress that has been made since his hire about a year-and-a-half ago.

"I think we're a much better football team.  I think we're a better organization. And it's not me. I think we've done it collectively. But I think we've come a long way."

And with Martin Mayhew’s comments I would have to agree.  I can see coming to fruition their hard work, dedication, and determination as witnessed by the offseason acquisitions of Kyle Vanden Bosch, Corey Williams, Nate Burleson, Rob Sims, Chris Houston, Jonathan Wade, and Tony Scheffler.

Martin Mayhew and the Lions front office are getting after it, and I, for one, am loving it.

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.”

Desire.  Passion.  Intensity.  Tenacity.  The will to win.  Call it what you will, but the absence of these characteristics leads to the absence of success.  It is the “want to” factor.  It is the, “How badly do you want it?” factor.  What is the focus of your mind’s eye?  Have you set your eye on the prize and are all of your actions synergistic and congruent to the capture and fulfillment of that goal?

In recent years past, like the decade just behind us, the Lions leadership was woeful to the extent that the title of “OwenXVI Champions” was bestowed upon the hapless 2008 Detroit Lions.  Not much of a crown befitting the supposed “kings of the jungle”.  We’re talking serious downgrade to Savannah Cat here, and shaving the mane with my Gillette power fusion!

The 1,800-or-so men who call themselves professional football players in the National Football League are all elite in that each of them possesses the requisite strength and knowledge to advance to the next level (the NFL).  What often separates them is the gray matter between their ears.

The legendary Dale Earnhardt probably had the most competitive nature of any sports figure or “larger than life character” than anybody else imaginable, even John McEnroe.  And Dale’s paradigm was, “Don’t let him beat you.  You have to want it more than the other guy.”

Desire.  There it is again.  There is a strong sense coming out of Allen Park that the leaders and the led have something for the rest of the NFL, and they are chomping at the bit to case their wares in front of a grand stage.

The evidence of that will to win will be validated only with victories.  Legitimate talent coupled with the will to win will help to drive up the win total by the end of the 2010 season.

“We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible.”

I really like this quote from coach Lombardi; and honestly, if you perceive a task impossible, the will to win is irrelevant, as the will to win has already been defeated.

Newer players on the 2010 Detroit Lions squad have offered some brash predictions for their performance expectations this season:  make the playoffs.  There is a lot of “chirping” coming from the defensive secondary in that regard, and while many fans are skeptical about once again putting a secondary on the field that has no continuity, it is good to hear the defensive backs are confident in their ability to be effective during the second year under defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham.

What is important from a fan perspective is to understand the differences between pragmatism and pessimism, realism and “slappyism”.  There must first exist a shred of evidence that points to the reality of the situation.  I think a 2-30 record over the past two seasons is more than a shred of evidence.  The fact that none of these defensive backs who are about to start for the Detroit Lions have played one series together, with Louis Delmas returning as the lone starter, is again cause for concern.

Coach Schwartz emphatically stressed the importance of the defensive backfield and offensive line playing “in concert” as a position group, and that it is no more important than at those two groups.  Since the Lions have had the worst defensive secondary in the NFL for the past four seasons running, the fans have had a chance to witness first hand what happens to a club that can’t defend the pass.  In the new passing league that the NFL has become, if you can’t rush the passer and you can’t defend the receivers, you won’t win often.  The Lions win total over the past two seasons is more than proof.

The vast majority of players who were part of the 2008 Lions team are largely departed from Allen Park.  Most of the players on the current Detroit Lions roster were not on the winless team of two seasons ago.  Only a few players and coaches remain from the worst season in franchise history, but for fans the memory does remain.

Coaches Schwartz, Cunningham, and Linehan were not with the Detroit Lions when the franchise suffered national embarrassment, and neither were most of the players currently assembled on the Lions roster.  It is the former leadership who bears the blame of ineptitude, and it is to them that the “OwenXVI” should be attributed, lock, stock, and barrel.

The Detroit Lions 2008 season motto was, “Do You Believe In Now?”

I believe I should void my mind of the 2008 season and start from scratch, holding harmless the new leadership who inherited such a rotten cast.

I don’t advocate wildly believing in anything related to Detroit Lions football without basis.  People trusted Matt Millen was doing the right thing, and when the blind lead the blind, the twain shall fall into the ditch.  Trust but verify, people, trust but verify.  The doer only does what the checker is checking.

Impossible or improbable?  Pragmatic or pessimistic?  Realist or rapscallion?

You decide.