FanHouse FireMillen

Now that the Lions have finally listened to the fans' "Fire Millen" chants, it's time for the paying customers in Detroit to have a new target for their rage.

Today it was starting quarterback Jon Kitna, who played horribly early on, completing 8 of 16 passes for 76 yards. Kitna was finally benched early in the second half, and Lions fans gave his replacement, Dan Orlovsky, a warm ovation.

And the fans' optimism lasted all of three plays before Orlovsky threw a pass that Charles Tillman intercepted and ran back for a touchdown. Which reminds everyone that the Lions just don't have a good quarterback on their team. So the fans can cheer all they want for the quarterback on the bench, but it's not going to change anything.

The Bears currently lead 31-0. Perhaps it's time to replace Fire Millen with Fire Marinelli.

Yesterday William Clay Ford Jr., the son of the owner of the Detroit Lions, stated the obvious: The fans are right when they chant "Fire Millen."

But in calling for the firing of Matt Millen, the Lions' general manager, Ford Jr. forgot to say the other obvious thing: "It's my dad's fault that Millen is running the team into the ground, and my dad should go, too."

Mitch Albom writes:

Who hired Millen? Who chose him with no experience? Who gave him a fat contract? Who renewed that contract? William Clay Ford Sr. Which means you start there. After all, if your little boy walks into a crowded room and belches, it's an embarrassment to him. If he does over and over, it's on you.

Sure, Millen has the NFL's worst record during his seven-year-plus tenure. Sure, his early teams went three years without winning a road game (0-24). Sure, even Millen himself has referred to his record as "beyond awful."

But Ford Sr. keeps him.

Ford Jr. was certainly correct to call out Millen yesterday, but if he really wants to speak the truth, he'll call out his father.

Give the Lions credit, they didn't fall down by 21 points this week. Baby steps, gentlemen. Baby steps. Though, in the end, it didn't matter as Matt Millen's hapless bunch of misfits fell, 31-13, to Frank Gore and the 49ers.

Mike Martz was looking for some revenge this week against some of his former players, and he got it as J.T. O'Sullivan finished the game 16 of 23 passing for 186 yards and a pair of touchdowns. O'Sullivan continues to be an early season surprise, and is doing quite a bit to make Martz look like a genius for having faith in him, and proclaiming that he might be the best quarterback he's ever coached. I still think that's a bit much, but, hey, so far so good.

Meanwhile, Frank Gore ran all over the Lions' defense with 130 yards on 27 carries, while also hauling in four passes for 32 yards.

FanHouse's weekly look at all 32 NFL teams

I really hate the whole "We get no respect" thing that pro athletes just love to whine about, but I must say that the New York Giants really haven't gotten enough respect. They did, after all, win the Super Bowl, and yet no one was talking about them among the elite teams before the season.

Well, now they've won two games in impressive fashion, and I'm prepared to say it: The Giants are the best team in the league, and they're atop our FanHouse NFL power rankings.

The Detroit Lions have sucked every year of the Matt Millen era, but this season they've introduced a fun new way of sucking: They're falling behind 21-0 at the start of each game.

Last week against the Falcons, the Lions fell behind 21-0 on the way to a 34-21 loss. This week against the Packers, the Lions are again behind 21-0, on the way to a loss that probably won't be as close as 13 points.

For the Packers, Aaron Rodgers 14 of 17 passes for 205 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions. The Lions' defense is a bad joke.

And as for Millen? Yeah, he's still employed, and still running the franchise into the ground, and will be as long as William Clay Ford Sr. is alive. At least his team has found a new way of sucking. Get used to these 21-0 starts, Lions fans.

FanHouse's weekly look at all 32 NFL teams

If I had put together a preseason version of my NFL power rankings, I think my top three would have looked a little something like this:

1. Patriots
2. Colts
3. Chargers

But now I really have no idea who to put on top. The Patriots aren't going back to the Super Bowl without Tom Brady, the Colts looked disorganized with an ill-prepared Peyton Manning, and the Chargers lost their opener at home and then lost Shawne Merriman.

So who is the best team in the league? My rankings, 1-32, are below.

A couple of weeks ago, I wondered what the Lions have done to outshine other traditionally terrible teams as the Most Laughable Professional Sports Team in America (note: the award is entirely fictional, and given by me under circumstances completely of my choosing). If you need any more proof, peep what could be found on the Detroit Free Press' website.

Yankees reliever Scott Proctor set his game equipment on fire after New York's loss on Saturday. If the Lions did that, there would be a bonfire at Ford Field almost every Sunday. That would give a whole new meaning to Fire Millen, eh?

That's it. The newspaper that covers the Detroit Lions dedicated a page on their website just to get that shot in. This isn't an excerpt from a larger story about Proctor. This is just your basic set-up ----> punchline. What was the point? I mean, I'm all for good fun. But not only is this unprofessional (is the Press a newspaper or a third-rate joke book, or worse, a blog?), but its unnecessary, unoriginal, and unfunny.