Matt Millen on his time in Detroit: My tenure was not good
Some excerpts from today's conference call with new NFL Network analyst Matt Millen ...
On haggling over the unpaid balance on his contract with the Lions: "I have absolutely no issue with the Detroit Lions at all. We're golden. And things are working forward."
On whether the matter is settled: "That's kind of ongoing right now."
Asked if he could be more specific on the issue: "I can't be. So I'm just gonna leave it at that."
On how he'll handle discussion of the Lions: "I'll handle the Lions like I do any other football team. I'll just look at them and break them down and see where they're at. And here's the thing with Detroit. I love Detroit. I'm a huge fan of Martin Mayhew. I'm a huge fan of Jim Schwartz. I think that's an excellent hire. I think Jim did a good job of putting his staff together. But there's no bigger fan anywhere of Mr. Ford than me. And I would love to see him holding a trophy. That would be great for me -- or for him, rather -- but more importantly it'd be great for the fans of Detroit. Because the fans of Detroit, they deserve (it) -- they're awesome fans. So I'll just handle Detroit like I would any other football team. But obviously having been there for 7 Ã,½ years they're a big part of me."
On if his tenure as Lions president will help him in his return to the booth: "Every situation is a learning situation, and I think having gone through Detroit, with the limited success and we had failure. And in our league, you're only judged on wins and losses, so my tenure was not good -- it was very poor. And it's been said you learn from failures. And I've learned a ton. So I can bring that to the table. I view my experience in Detroit as a positive, not in terms of winning and losing, obviously, but having gone through it and having been exposed to every level of the NFL. I think that's something that can help in the telecast."
On why Leigh Bodden (acquired in the Shaun Rogers trade) didn't work out in Detroit: "Leigh has good man-to-man skills, he has good zone instincts. I thought when we got Leigh that would be a good fit for us. In fact, the whole staff did -- obviously you don't make that trade (otherwise). What happened up there? I can only speak to up to the third game, and then I was gone. I couldn't tell you what happened past that, but it was clear to me just watching film sometimes that he wasn't very comfortable in what he was doing. I do know that when we decided to take him, we were collectively excited about getting him. We thought he had a great upside and apparently it went awry."
On his prediction for the Lions' 2009 record: "Oh, I couldnââ,¬â"¢t tell you. But if you would have asked me that the last eight years, I would have told you the same thing. ââ,¬Å"But I know this: I really like Stafford. Stafford has a real arm, and Stafford can make real throws. In our league, you have to have that guy. ... I also like the tight end (Brandon Pettigrew) they got. That kidââ,¬â"¢s a good player. So thereââ,¬â"¢s some pieces up there.ââ,¬Â
