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http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2015/03/09/detroit-lions-matthew-stafford/24648939/
Former Detroit Lions defensive end Lawrence Jackson authored several harshly critical tweets Sunday and today about the organization's leadership and deficiencies in quarterback Matthew Stafford's work ethic that caused a bit of a cyberspace firestorm.
Jackson, who played five seasons in the NFL and his last three with the Lions in 2010-12, has been critical about the Lions before. In a phone interview with the Free Press tonight, Jackson said his criticism was not fueled by bitterness, but rather by responding to people on Twitter who wanted his opinion about the expected departure of his friend, Ndamukong Suh.
"I'm not going to sit there, if I have tweets coming in, and not respond to people," Jackson said. "I have nothing to be bitter about. I had an opportunity to go back to Detroit, where it was considerably less competition than it was in Minnesota."
Jackson made it clear his comments where based on his experience and not on any information he had about Suh. Jackson said salary cap mismanagement and front-office arrogance are to blame for Suh's expected departure.
"I just know in my experience with the Lions," Jackson said, "and from other people that have had dealings with them negotiation-wise that they're notoriously — I don't want to say disrespectful, but they do have the ability to put insulting offers out there.
"I think with a guy like Ndamukong, the right thing to do is do whatever you can to keep him around. And I think that based off the way they talked the past year in public, about how they were handling the negotiation and stuff like that, they thought too highly of themselves."
Jackson said comments made by general manager Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand about how confident they were in negotiating with Suh smacked of arrogance, as did their decision to table contract talks in July.
"As a player and understanding how it goes, and understanding the caliber of player that Ndamukong is, you don't table talks," Jackson said. "You keep them open until you figure something out.
"But I think the organization, from the front-office perspective, is very arrogant. And they've been known to do things like say we're tabling discussions and things in that ballpark because of how they feel about themselves."
Jackson, who has been openly critical of Mayhew, Stafford and former coach Jim Schwartz a number of times since leaving Detroit, tweeted that he is not a "Stafford hater," but he wanted to shed light on why Stafford might lack elite accuracy and consistency.
"You see clips of Peyton Manning, however limited they are, you see him drilling his pocket presence, his footwork and different things like that," Jackson said. "The time period I was out there (in Detroit), I didn't see any consistent drills like that on a daily basis where he's working on the drops and evading the rush and different things like that. …
"In my opinion, when you're making that kind of money and you're the face of the franchise, you put in work. And I don't think that I was the only one to question that. When you see a guy like Calvin (Johnson) and Ndamukong working hard on a daily basis, doing extra stuff, and you don't really see that from the quarterback, it's like how can you be mad with the results? Because it's not a high demand they're placing on him for improvement."
Jackson also tweeted that the Lions are taking fans for granted without showing any real improvement. Only two of the Lions' 11 wins last year came against teams with a winning record.
"The fans want to win," he said. "I think that keeping them close and keeping them excited, they know they'll sell ticket. They didn't have a problem (re-signing) Calvin and Stafford, because that's part of the illusion of progress.
"Yeah, they're getting better but are they getting better in a meaningful way? Like you're winning games against teams that you should beat. But if you're not able to beat teams that are just as good talent-wise and it's supposed to be a tough game, is that really progress?"
As of now, the Lions have nothing left from their 2010 and '11 draft classes and they are set to lose the biggest free agent on the market. But Jackson said the Lions aren't without hope and Suh's departure could be an opportunity for Mayhew.
"They're not a horrible team and they're not a horrible organization," Jackson said. "I think that over the past five years they've been digging themselves out of a ditch. If they keep moving in the right direction they should be fine.
"If all the reports are true and (Suh) is leaving, that's a lot of cap space that opens up. And I feel like it's a legit opportunity to see how good a job Mayhew can do. He hasn't really had to do much work in years past. And when he has, with the draft and stuff, there's been a lot of questionable picks."
The Lions did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Jackson's statements.
Jackson, who played five seasons in the NFL and his last three with the Lions in 2010-12, has been critical about the Lions before. In a phone interview with the Free Press tonight, Jackson said his criticism was not fueled by bitterness, but rather by responding to people on Twitter who wanted his opinion about the expected departure of his friend, Ndamukong Suh.
"I'm not going to sit there, if I have tweets coming in, and not respond to people," Jackson said. "I have nothing to be bitter about. I had an opportunity to go back to Detroit, where it was considerably less competition than it was in Minnesota."
Jackson made it clear his comments where based on his experience and not on any information he had about Suh. Jackson said salary cap mismanagement and front-office arrogance are to blame for Suh's expected departure.
"I just know in my experience with the Lions," Jackson said, "and from other people that have had dealings with them negotiation-wise that they're notoriously — I don't want to say disrespectful, but they do have the ability to put insulting offers out there.
"I think with a guy like Ndamukong, the right thing to do is do whatever you can to keep him around. And I think that based off the way they talked the past year in public, about how they were handling the negotiation and stuff like that, they thought too highly of themselves."
Jackson said comments made by general manager Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand about how confident they were in negotiating with Suh smacked of arrogance, as did their decision to table contract talks in July.
"As a player and understanding how it goes, and understanding the caliber of player that Ndamukong is, you don't table talks," Jackson said. "You keep them open until you figure something out.
"But I think the organization, from the front-office perspective, is very arrogant. And they've been known to do things like say we're tabling discussions and things in that ballpark because of how they feel about themselves."
Jackson, who has been openly critical of Mayhew, Stafford and former coach Jim Schwartz a number of times since leaving Detroit, tweeted that he is not a "Stafford hater," but he wanted to shed light on why Stafford might lack elite accuracy and consistency.
"You see clips of Peyton Manning, however limited they are, you see him drilling his pocket presence, his footwork and different things like that," Jackson said. "The time period I was out there (in Detroit), I didn't see any consistent drills like that on a daily basis where he's working on the drops and evading the rush and different things like that. …
"In my opinion, when you're making that kind of money and you're the face of the franchise, you put in work. And I don't think that I was the only one to question that. When you see a guy like Calvin (Johnson) and Ndamukong working hard on a daily basis, doing extra stuff, and you don't really see that from the quarterback, it's like how can you be mad with the results? Because it's not a high demand they're placing on him for improvement."
Jackson also tweeted that the Lions are taking fans for granted without showing any real improvement. Only two of the Lions' 11 wins last year came against teams with a winning record.
"The fans want to win," he said. "I think that keeping them close and keeping them excited, they know they'll sell ticket. They didn't have a problem (re-signing) Calvin and Stafford, because that's part of the illusion of progress.
"Yeah, they're getting better but are they getting better in a meaningful way? Like you're winning games against teams that you should beat. But if you're not able to beat teams that are just as good talent-wise and it's supposed to be a tough game, is that really progress?"
As of now, the Lions have nothing left from their 2010 and '11 draft classes and they are set to lose the biggest free agent on the market. But Jackson said the Lions aren't without hope and Suh's departure could be an opportunity for Mayhew.
"They're not a horrible team and they're not a horrible organization," Jackson said. "I think that over the past five years they've been digging themselves out of a ditch. If they keep moving in the right direction they should be fine.
"If all the reports are true and (Suh) is leaving, that's a lot of cap space that opens up. And I feel like it's a legit opportunity to see how good a job Mayhew can do. He hasn't really had to do much work in years past. And when he has, with the draft and stuff, there's been a lot of questionable picks."
The Lions did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Jackson's statements.
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