As young football fans, we all had our favorites teams. The choices were sometimes based on geography, the uniforms, or the players. Many of you still love that one team, whereas for me, because of my professional journey, a separation occurred. What began as a love affair with the Washington Redskins ended the day that I was officially hired in April of 1984 by the San Francisco 49ers. From that moment, my favorite team was my employer. Money has a way of changing loyalties. Today, with my sons involved, I cheer objectively hard for their teams and for my close friend’s teams.
Once you visit enough NFL cities and talk to members of other organizations, you understand the landscape of how the game is played, and you begin to wonder why certain franchises never win. Why, for example, are the Lions one of those teams that never can put a consistent winner on the field? There was a time in my career — not any longer — that I wanted to be the general manager of the Lions, because as an overall organization they were a perfect match for my dream GM job criteria. I wanted a team with historic uniforms, played indoors, with a great fan base and an owner willing to let you work, under pre-determined ironclad guidelines. The Ford family through the years has always been willing to step back and allow the person in charge run the team. The problem has been who they trust — and who they chose. It’s never about money in Detroit, it’s always about choices and now they seem to be repeating the same errors, not f inding the right strategist to lead their organization.
The betting community understands bad choices more than the average fan because when they lose money, it becomes more than a loss — it causes regret, consternation and grief, which results in a deeper analysis. Fans love their team — they may hate their coach, or quarterback, but they will remain lovers of their team. Bettors love making money and have no loyalty towards anything but the green stuff. They anguish over poor playcalling, a lack of attention to the details and bad game management. So, they recognize the importance of strategy and having someone oversee the game from a global perspective. When sharp betters understand a team lacks this element, they remove it from their betting card — which I have done with the Lions. How can you trust them to make the right decision if the line is seven or under? You can’t.
The 2022 season has given many betters grief with all the bad decisions and lack of awareness of the game. We no longer have game strategists as head coaches, we have scheme creators, playcallers, coaches who never understand the flow the of game, never understand who is in control and who is in the lead might be vastly different — or sometimes the same. Owners seemingly don’t feel the need to find a strategist as an important characteristic of their search. Colleges seemingly don’t either as they are always looking for the next bright offensive mind.