Calvin Johnson Drops A Truth Bomb
I had an interesting short encounter with a Lions fan on twitter last week. Calvin Johnson said something to the effect of “I might have stuck around if I thought the Lions were capable of winning it all within a few seasons”. It’s late as I finish this, I don’t feel like looking up the full quote. You look it it up. Be the hero you were meant to be.
I made a smart aleck crack about it saying “Calvin Johnson is smart” then quoting the tweet. A Lions fan who wasn’t a follower came back at me with some big-time Lions Pride hate thrown my direction for throwing subtle shade. I get that kind of stuff all the time, a lot of fans are just like that and probably the worst part of making jokes online is the people who take every joke about their team personally and have no ability to remove themselves from the team emotionally all come after you. But this one surprised me because I’ve never actually seen it from a Lions fan before. Normally Lions fans are like Browns fans, they love their team with a deep, ingrained sense of depression that permeates their fandom. They allow themselves hope, knowing it will just end in pain. It’s rare to see the pure optimistic RAH RAH TEAM NATION WE’RE THE BEST FUCK YA’LL attitude from a fan of a team known for being a perpetual loser. I found that interesting. All I wanted to say to the guy was “you know you’re a Lions fan, right” but that would have been mean and I learned long ago responding to these type of people online just ends in a pointless slap fight of negativity. Who needs that when I can make butt jokes? Butt jokes make people happy.
Also, I find it interesting, because I don’t think Johnson is wrong. The Lions, with Johnson, were a low seed playoff contender at best. They never took full advantage of their chances. They weren’t close, they needed a few great drafts and some improvements before they felt like true contenders. I didn’t see it happening. Any given Sunday and all that, but the Lions never truly felt like an upset team by the time the playoffs rolled around. They always felt like they were gasping for air.
Anyway, twitter story aside, I find it kind of interesting how this Calvin thing has been going down. It seems like there is a little bit of hidden bad blood between Megatron and the Lions, the details may never come out. Calvin was never a talker or mean to anyone in the media, but he’s been slightly more open since. Of course, there is still a more than likely chance all of this is desperate reporters trying to find #content in the offseason but still. What felt like an amicable split has some bubbling resentment sitting around, like that former couple that broke up, said it was mutual, want to pretend like they are both fine and hang out at the same parties to prove how fine they are, when they are screaming inside and it’s awkward for everyone.
So as I continue to try and think up a proper way to draw Kurt Cousins I give you: Lions fan being whipped by hard truths. you may recognize the Lions fan from earlier comics. I torment him a lot. No more than his team does.
Honestly, in a weird way, I don’t think the Lions would be contending the way they did last year if Megatron was still playing. I absolutely adored Calvin as a player, but watching Stafford this past year was like watching a completely different quarterback. Gone were the nonsensical forced throws into double coverage, gone were the throws where he stared down his receiver the entire play, and while his mechanics are still ugly, there was an inarguable improvement in them.
I feel like having the kind of inhuman talent Megatron brought to the field was almost a crutch for Stafford, allowing him to justify his bad decisions and not work on his bad habits, because Calvin Johnson was just that good that he could compensate for them. (And he usually was!) Now that he’s gone, Stafford knows he can’t take the kind of risks or get away with the lack of polish he used to, because Golden Tate and Marvin Jones are nowhere near Megatron’s level. The result is a smarter, better Stafford who knows he has to put the work in now that there’s no 6’5″ freak with 4.3 speed and crisp routes to bail him out.
Again, I loved watching Megatron play football, but I honestly do believe his retirement has helped Matt Stafford, and the Lions overall.
I couldn’t agree more. Stafford was always talented but he never actually had to think about what he was doing until he lost his best receiver. Kinda like the 2015 Chiefs after Jamaal Charles got hurt.
I missed Calvin Johnson until I remembered Julio Jones was still in the NFL, and if his team had run for 0 yards on every possession in the late 3rd and entire 4th quarter, he’d have a ring.
Megatron is pissed that the Lions went after the signing bonus money. That’s pretty much standard procedure after a player retires, except that teams usually let franchise players slide. Compare the Seahawks not going after Marshawn Lynch’s signing bonus last year, or the Cowboys cutting Romo to let him legally keep his signing bonus money.
Also this is now the second time the Lions break an all-time great’s will to keep playing.
He only returned 10% of one years’ worth of pro-rated bonus, $320,000 in total.
He made more the $100mil in his career, I seriously doubt he was pissed about $320,000.
Lions and Browns fans should just do like the Bills fans and be numb to the pain by perpetually having a B.A.C that’s 50% whiskey by volume.
You’re assuming we aren’t already at a BAC of 50 here?
Dave, didn’t you do this already after Calvin first retired?
http://www.thedrawplay.com/comic/megatron-considers-retirement/
Technically, about a month before it happened when news started getting around he was contemplating it, but yes.
He did…
but the second panel on the comic is hilarious. I need it in every flavor of fan ASAP.
I don’t have a snarky comment today, damnit
When this news came out, I happened upon a fair number of forum posts elsewhere that faulted Megatron for everything. Like, ‘he was the one who signed that ridiculous 8-year contract, if he wanted to win he should’ve bailed out in the first place and gone to a team that could actually win, he should’ve taken responsibility and kept playing for the Lions as he was physically able since he signed that contract despite having all the leverage’.
I don’t know about that. As others have said, it might simply be that his spirit was broken because he couldn’t see any sliver of a chance for the Lions to improve. He might be pissed off at the Lions, but I’d think that said anger only extends to the people on the top. It looks like he was genuinely loyal to the Lions team itself and its fans, and he didn’t merely want to win, but lead the Lions to winning. In other words, going to a different team that could actually win wasn’t an option for him. Which would actually explain that absurd-at-first 8-year contract. And having his hopes repeatedly dashed with no prospects of improvement in sight made him disillusioned. As in, he couldn’t see any point in continuing to play for the team because they’re going to lose anyway.
So, he retired. Still, he might hold a grudge against the Lions management, since he knows he was a damn good player, and he would feel(somewhat rightfully) that the team squandered a great opportunity to make a serious push toward a Super Bowl win, that they destroyed his dream not because they weren’t capable of fulfilling it, but because they simply didn’t care enough. Which explains the bits of vitriol he has for them.
It makes me wonder what he would have felt if last season, right after his departure, Stafford didn’t break his finger in the Bears game, so the Lions were actually able get a win or two out of their last 3 games, staving off Rodgers-on-fire to actually win the NFC North, possibly vie for a bye or actually win a playoff game or god forbid reach the NFCCG.
Anyway… in other news, I hear RG3’s working out with the Chargers. Now that’s a name I didn’t expect to hear (soon, at least) after the Browns cut him. Would there be something comic-worthy to get out of this(besides the obvious, ‘why the hell is RG3 getting another chance when Kaepernick hasn’t’ stuff many of the news outlets are starting to comment on already)?
Rg3 n the chargers would be perfect. The vip of Injured Reserve with the team of Injured Reserve.
First Barry Sanders, now Megatron
Kirk Cousins looks like a pencil eraser with hair on the top.
That’s basically the same reason Barry Sanders retired.
May not have to dig up an old story for the next comic with the Lucky Whitehead situation. Though if it takes longer than that I understand
With all of the character issues on their team, only Jerry Jones could choose to cut the guy who gets exonerated mere hours after they cut him and grandstand about it
I can’t find the link to the tweet
The guy deleted his response at some point in the past week, or it’s buried too far in my mentions to find again, but my original was here: https://twitter.com/DrawPlayDave/status/884974657664761857
He was the one who signed the extension with Detroit for the big bucks. He could have left then and tried to play for a contender.