The Lions think they’re better than their 1-3 record suggests, and they’re frustrated with those who question the talent on their roster.
Unnamed league executives were quoted by Pro Football Weekly as saying that the Lions have players who aren’t as good as they think they are, and that Lions G.M. Martin Mayhew and coach Jim Schwartz are overrated. Lions center Dominic Raiola heard about that and wasn’t pleased.
“That fires me up,” Raiola told the Detroit News. “If they had any [guts] they would say who they were. That’s kind of like a coward statement to me. We just have to get back to what we did last year. Talent-wise, it’s all the same. To take a shot at the Lions’ organization like that, that ain’t right.”
The Lions’ website also published an article taking issue with the negative assessment of the team, and noting that the Lions aren’t at full strength because two key players, running back Jahvid Best and safety Louis Delmas, have missed the start of the season with injuries.
But the reality is that there’s no argument anyone in the Lions’ organization can make that changes the fact that they’re 1-3. If the Lions want to change perceptions, they need to change their won-loss record, and let their play do their talking.