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Orlovsky: 0-16 years in the making, Stanton should play
Former Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky didn't mince words in an interview with Sirius NFL radio Thursday about his time in Detroit, saying "years ago that place was built to be a failure."
"When you take a receiver four times in the first round out of five years it's difficult," Orlovsky said. "People always ask me what was wrong with the Lions? You go back 10 years ago to the first-round draft picks who've been early first picks and it's not like your first-round draft pick has played eight years and been OK. They haven't panned out what you think like a top-seven, top-10 pick would be. You can go back. You guys can check out the names of people, but look at that team compared to the first-round draft picks of Pittsburgh in the last 10 years, or Baltimore. It's just miles and miles difference.
"When your first-rounders are essentially what we want to call them busts, it's difficult to build a football team, to build an organization. You can get a one-year wonder, but last year was just a culmination of eight, nine, 10 years ago that place just really heading down the wrong path."
Still, Orlovsky said there are "a lot of good football players that deserve to win" in the locker room and singled out Dominic Raiola, Jared DeVries, Calvin Johnson and Kevin Smith. Asked what he would do to improve the team, he suggested drafting an offensive lineman with the first overall pick and going offensive or defensive line at No. 20.
"Me? I would have signed me back," Orlovsky said. "Now that I'm gone, I think - you have to address the quarterback situation (but) I don't think that's the main issue there. I honestly don't."
He said he'd like to see Drew Stanton get an opportunity to play this year.
"He's not going to be the Peyton Manning of the NFL, but he has the potential and the ability to be a good quarterback," Orlovsky said. "He's as hard-working as they come, he's a guy that if you put people around him and let him get into a system I think he can be successful."
And he was good-natured once again about his forgettable safety against Minnesota, when he ran out of the back of the end zone in his first career start.
"I was playing pickup basketball with some friends about two weeks ago in the gym and one of my friends dribbled out of bounds and he didn't realize it and kept dribbling," Orlovsky said. "I was like, 'See, it happens a lot more than you think.'"
"When you take a receiver four times in the first round out of five years it's difficult," Orlovsky said. "People always ask me what was wrong with the Lions? You go back 10 years ago to the first-round draft picks who've been early first picks and it's not like your first-round draft pick has played eight years and been OK. They haven't panned out what you think like a top-seven, top-10 pick would be. You can go back. You guys can check out the names of people, but look at that team compared to the first-round draft picks of Pittsburgh in the last 10 years, or Baltimore. It's just miles and miles difference.
"When your first-rounders are essentially what we want to call them busts, it's difficult to build a football team, to build an organization. You can get a one-year wonder, but last year was just a culmination of eight, nine, 10 years ago that place just really heading down the wrong path."
Still, Orlovsky said there are "a lot of good football players that deserve to win" in the locker room and singled out Dominic Raiola, Jared DeVries, Calvin Johnson and Kevin Smith. Asked what he would do to improve the team, he suggested drafting an offensive lineman with the first overall pick and going offensive or defensive line at No. 20.
"Me? I would have signed me back," Orlovsky said. "Now that I'm gone, I think - you have to address the quarterback situation (but) I don't think that's the main issue there. I honestly don't."
He said he'd like to see Drew Stanton get an opportunity to play this year.
"He's not going to be the Peyton Manning of the NFL, but he has the potential and the ability to be a good quarterback," Orlovsky said. "He's as hard-working as they come, he's a guy that if you put people around him and let him get into a system I think he can be successful."
And he was good-natured once again about his forgettable safety against Minnesota, when he ran out of the back of the end zone in his first career start.
"I was playing pickup basketball with some friends about two weeks ago in the gym and one of my friends dribbled out of bounds and he didn't realize it and kept dribbling," Orlovsky said. "I was like, 'See, it happens a lot more than you think.'"
Labels: Calvin Johnson, Dan Orlovsky, Detroit Lions, Dominic Railoa, Drew Stanton, Jared DeVries, Kevin Smith, Peyton Manning
posted by Paula Pasche at
4:26 PM
4 Comments:
I wish Dan well. He seems a good guy with no malice in his heart about the Lions. I was rooting for him here. Dave - thanks for blogging - and i look forward to reading more.
seems like dano is a little too full of himself for having done NOTHING spectacular since he was drafted. i say good riddance, but i do agree with him that stanton deserves a fair shot.
I can't find anything about the kid to dislike. He stuck it out with a mess of a team, took his lumps and waited for his chance, then made the most out of it. Then, to top it off, he felt enough loyalty to ask to come back. OF COURSE he wanted to compete for the starting gig, and he should have been given that chance. Dan-O is a class act. A career backup? Probably, but a helluva nice kid (with some talent to boot)
^completely disagree with that assessment. seems like now that he's gone now he's grown some balls and is taking shots at the organization. real classy.
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