Quote:1. I don't call for a change in mindset of the team, I call for a change in mindset of the fans. This place being a cave of raving lunatics when the team was 0-8 was the wrong reaction. The reaction should have been "I don't like losing, but let's get this out of the way now so we can be rewarded in the draft."

 

2. Of course you can have success while having middle of the draft picks. That doesn't mean those picks are more valuable. Do you think teams will give the same value in trade for a #16 pick as they will for a #3 pick? Of course not, the actual value of the picks are vastly different. If Caldwell really is a superior GM then he'll achieve more success more than the average GM with his draft position, but it's not something that can be counted on.

 

3. Of course not, but the value of the picks and the availability of choice increases with higher draft picks.

 

4. Or maybe we could draft Brady, or Romo, or Kaepernick, or Roethlisberger. Of course we couldn't draft those guys if we didn't have the pick in position to do it and other teams wanted them more. What you're suggesting is that our GM must be smarter than other GMs, which I'd certainly like, but that's a separate issue from the value of the draft slots we occupy.

 

Your response to #1 confuses me. What will changing the mindset of the fans accomplish? If you don't want the team to change their approach in winning as many games as possible, but you want the fanbase to embrace the idea that it is better to lose in order to win. Those two things do not work together. It seems to me that all that is going to happen is the fanbase will become frustrated with the approach of the team.

 

You are hung up on value. I'm saying that the value of the picks is insignificant when compared to what the team does with them. If Caldwell is a below average GM, then regardless of where he picks the team will suffer. Matt Millen was a below average GM and he had something along the lines of five consecutive top five selections from 2002 to 2006. Despite that high value, Detroit did not experience a whole lot of success.

---