In a game that spans many eras, any task like this is exceedingly difficult and fraught with contradiction. With all the nostalgia built into the Heisman Trophy and the game of college football, we're buying into it with a less clinical, more emotional effort at ranking players. There's a bias towards the modern, towards a player being associated with the trophy and towards those that most captured peoples' imaginations.
Everyone makes mistakes. But when those mistakes are magnified by intense scrutiny of the NFL draft, well, they become much more embarrassing than, say, my typical Friday morning, mustard-stain-on-khakis incident.
Which is why the NFL FanHouse braintrust got together to determine who is the biggest bust for each NFL team. They're not listed in terms of stupidity -- they're all stupid relative to a team's total draft performance. Meaning, of course, some teams "bust" is much different than another organization's; we did it this way to avoid just linking you to DetroitLions.com.
Instead, we're putting it in current draft order, sans trades, and allowing this list to serve as a reminder of each's team's ability to properly execute a fail. The "bust factor" was based primarily on three things: statistical production (or lack thereof), position in the draft and other available options during that year's draft.
The cover of Sports Illustrated's April 24, 1989 issue featured NFL prospect Tony Mandarich, a massive offensive tackle from Michigan State. Mandarich was dubbed "the best offensive line prospect ever." Rick Telander wrote the cover story, titled "The Big Enchilada", in which he described Mandarich's workout routine and published Mandarich's denials of steroid use.
While common sense had long ago labeled Mandarich a liar, it was only some 20 years later, at the age of 42, that Mandarich finally came clean.
I don't know enough about Tom Lewand or Martin Mayhew to comment on whether Lions owner William Clay Ford was wise to promote from within the organization, but history suggests that no one would've complained if Ford blew up the whole operation and started over.
The franchise has just 40 wins this decade, which is slightly more impressive when you consider that the total includes the recently completed 0-for-'08 run. (Not really; it works out to 5 wins a season versus 4.4 wins a season. In the salary-cap era, that blows.) Perhaps predictably, Clay decided to, as they say, stay the course and give current team employees Lewand and Mayhew shiny new titles.
Not surprisingly, the 2009 Lions look very similar to the versions that preceded it. Which is to say: unimpressive and out of sorts. Via PFT, the first post-Rod Marinelli press conference provided plenty of unintentional hilarity. Because after all, laughter -- even if accidental -- is the best medicine. Or something.
Barry Sanders is, in my mind, possibly the greatest running back of all time. Certainly there's a case to made against me suggesting that, since I'm under 30 years old and wasn't cognizant of much more than drool for the majority of Walter Payton's prime. But, hey, I saw Emmitt Smith. And Sanders was way better. So it shouldn't be surprising that his son, Barry Sanders, Jr., is pretty decent. Enjoy the touchdown run.
Now, apparently Junior is already bigger than his dad, but I'm not sure that's entirely to his advantage -- after all, Sanders' smallish size, coupled with his shiftiness and power was what made him so dangerous. Still, if J-R can live up to half of what his dad was, we're all in for a treat.
First of all, I'm not sure what's more disgusting: having to discuss an enema or having to watch the Detroit Lions while eating Thanksgiving lunch. (I'm neither here nor there on whether the nation should be forced to watch them -- sure it stinks but eventually the publicity got Matt Millen run out, and just think of those games of yore that featured Barry Sanders on Turkey Day, not the modern exploits of Daunte Culpepper.)
But I do know that if we're talking about giving something or someone an enema, things are not going well. And if, for any reason, you don't know what an enema is, let's just say it's a most unpleasant method of "cleaning the system". You don't want one. But the Lions, according to one of Florio's sources, need one.
In the wake of the worst Thanksgiving Day loss in franchise history, a management-side league source who had an opportunity to study the Lions for the first time tells us, quite simply, that the Lions "need an enema."
"They are as bad as advertised," the source said.
And as my uncle said, "No wonder the auto-industry is failing; these Ford guys let Millen hang around for years." And yes, he's right. And so is this source -- the Lions need to be flushed, provided they pull Calvin Johnson aside first. But it's a tough process and it's one that takes a deep seeded commitment to a legitimate plan. But the sooner they flush the losing trash, the better off the entire culture will be in the long run, even if it does take a few years to actually happen.
With attention spans dwindling, we forego full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. Click here to go back in time.
The 1s
San Diego (3-3) at Buffalo (4-1): Trent Edwards is back from being concussed (my favorite word), which is probably a good thing, since they absolutely got rolled by the Cardinals two weeks ago after Edwards went down. The bad news is that he has to face a Chargers defense that sacked Matt Cassel four times last week, basically tossing him around like the plastic bag in that video from "American Beauty." Also, always beware of the LaDainian Tomlinson bounce-back game. He's slumped before, but always has that "140-yard, three-touchdown" game when his fantasy owners are about to give up on him that makes us completely forget about what came before. I'm putting this on the table for LDT -- if he doesn't reach double-digit fantasy points this week against a team that gives up 114 rushing yards per game, he cannot appear in any more cool Nike commercials.
Cheer up, Lions fans, your long national nightmare is about to end. That's right, in just three days the curse of Bobby Layne is set to run out, and your beloved football team will once again return to prominence in the NFL. What's that you ask? The Lions were cursed? Yeah, I had no idea. But apparently this explains everything from Matt Millen, to Joey Harrington, to Barry Sanders suddenly walking away from the game. The Curse Of Bobby Layne website has the full story.
In 1958, after leading the Lions to 3 NFL Championships and providing Detroit nearly decade of Hall of Fame play, the Lions traded Bobby Layne. Bobby was injured during the last championship season and the Lions thought he was through and wanted to get what they could for him. According to Legend, as he was leaving for Pittsburgh Bobby said that Detroit "would not win for 50 years"
With this news, and the fact Millen was finally relieved of his duties two weeks ago, things are really starting to look up for the Lions. But back to this curse business ...
Barry Sanders, as we're all well aware, was an absolutely transcendent talent at tailback. As great as it was seeing him juke NFL linebackers and safeties out of their jocks, it was even better when he was running against vastly inferior competition at the college level.
One helpful YouTube user, in fact, has combined footage from both Barry's college and pro careers. You'll notice that Barry's college highlights are quite a bit longer, if not as numerous--it's a lot harder to turn a spin move into a 40-yard TD in the NFL, after all.
Oh, you'll also miss the greatest soundtrack selection for a football highlight reel in history. When you think Barry Sanders, you don't necessarily make the jump to these guys. But that's what art does. It takes risks. For those purely interested in NCAA content, the NFL stuff starts at 1:48. You'll probably stop watching long before then, though, so mesmerized will you be by the music.
(I promise it's not a RickRoll, by the way. It's so much worse.)
Any commentary I make about the preceding video would only serve to A) ruin the surprise, and B) cheapen what you just experienced. That. Just. Happened.
"I think 10,000 yards is usually a benchmark for most running backs in their career. If you have a successful career, they say you rushed for 10,000 yards. So obviously, that would be a big accomplishment."
In Tomlinson's case, it could be the precursor for even bigger feats. If he surpasses 10,000 this Sunday, it will come in his 105th career game, making him the fourth fastest running back to reach that mark. The three quickest are Eric Dickerson (91 games), Jim Brown (98) and Barry Sanders (103).
Let's see, Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame, and ... Hall of Fame. And what about the guy who holds the all-time career rushing record, Emmitt Smith? He reached 10 grand in carries in 106 games. Smith finished with 18,355 yards in his 15-year career. This is LdT's seventh season, and he'll need to maintain his productivity over the next few years if he's even going to have a shot at 18,355.
At one time, many people thought Barry Sanders would be the guy to break Walter Payton's record, but unlike most professional athletes, Sanders walked away from the sport while he still could, you know, walk.
With the recent passing of Doc "Mr. Inside" Blanchard, FanHouse takes a stab at naming the five greatest living Heisman Trophy winners
The cover of Sports Illustrated's April 24, 1989 issue featured NFL prospect 
First of all, I'm not sure what's more disgusting: having to discuss an enema or having to watch the Detroit Lions while eating Thanksgiving lunch. (I'm neither here nor there on whether the nation should be forced to watch them -- sure it stinks but eventually the publicity got 
With attention spans dwindling, we forego full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. 
Some good news to distract Chargers' fans from the fact that Norvell Turner is still the head coach: 
