Oh Geez....
I would like to prefice this by saying that D-Rek probably had the best post as far as, well, everything and I agree with everything he said....There were several posts that had similar ideas, and I agree 100%. Some posts like Filo-Girl leads me to think that some are posting opinions from a completely homer point of view (nothing wrong with that) without either ever having watched more than 1 or 2 Lions games or do not know much about football.
Some of you here recognize me, and you've probably heard alot of what I'm going to say, but I'm going to say it again for those that have not.
First off, Barry Fan- The Lions were like an expansion team. Millen came in and cleaned house. And Joey had 19 TD's last year, not 21.
OK, the biggest argument is Joey has had a 'team' around him, and Carr has had no Oline. This is the opinion of someone who has not watched the Lions for the past 3 yrs.
Let's start with the OLine- Houston has had trouble there ever since Boselli (sp?), no argument here.
Lions have had a decent (mediocre, average, etc...) line the past 3 seasons, although it did get better last season. Proof you ask? The Lions have not had a 1000 yd rusher in Joey's 3 seasons. In fact, they were last (I believe) in rushing in the NFL in 2002 and 2003, and KJ got most of his yds the last 8-9 games of the season. I will also say Joey threw the ball away, into coverage, or INT's sometimes instead of taking the sack. This also contributed to his lower sack total (it is not always in the stats). He corrected this alot last season. Advantage Joey
Running Game- Like I said above, last (or nearly (?)) in the NFL in Joey's first 2 seasons, Carr- 1000 yd runner in past 2 seasons. Advantage Carr
WR's- here is the difference in passing stats IMO. Joey has never had a true #1 WR in 3 seasons, or at least one that stayed healthy. In his rookie season, Joey had Hakim as his #1 WR (before he got hurt), then Bill Shroeder was #1 (think he's goog? Got cut by Tampa last year who was hurting for WR's), plus other no names that are not even in the league anymore. Second season, CRog goes down in the 5th game, Hakim is again the #1 WR, coming back after injury. And Joey was left with the like of Swinton (you guys have heard of him right? lol) who was picked up mid season off waivers, and a bunch of scrubs. Last year, CRog goes down on the third play of the first game, but we have RW, Hakim is back in the slot where he belongs, all is well, Lions are 4-2, Joey has the highest rated 4th quarter QB rating, until...RW goes down with an ankle injury. He only missed two games, but if you watched games after he came back, he was still hobbling and was basically a decoy. Hakim also got hurt in game 9 I think. Swinton, Kircus (practice squad) and Vines (Rookie) were starting for several weeks. I don't know how much ya'll know about the WCO, but it is founded on timing and reads at the LOS. QB and WR's all have to make reads at the line, WR's can run up to 3 different routes depending on the D. It is kind of hard to create any continuity with WR's when there is a revolving door at that position. But you don't here about the scrub WR's on sportscenter, so you have no idea how bad they were, hence my you don't watch Lions games comment.
I should also mention Lions led the NFL in drops the past 2 seasons (2 last year in the endzone that were game winners)
Now Carr has had AJ for two years, and Bradford, Gaffney have been here all 3 years (right?). Carr has better continuity with his WR's. While Bradford and Gaffney may not be the best, they are better than midseason waivers WR's, practice squad WR's and the Lions #4-6 WR's. Advantage Carr
Offensive philosophy- The seven step drop is what is killing Carr, more than the oline, IMO. I believe they are instituting more 3 and 5 step timing routes this year. That will help.
Like I said, WCO is about timing and reads, no continuity among WR's makes it hard for a QB to get into any type of rythmm. If you don't see that, you are who I was reffering to when I said you don't know much about football. Advantage Wash
Now, who is better? Honestly, I will say Carr, but not by as much as some on here think. As I have pointed out, both QB's have had problems. Some on here think the Oline is the problem with Carr and that is more important than Joey's lack in continuity at the WR position. I disagree, I think they are different but equal. Joey has no WR's to throw the ball to with his extra time and Carr has no time to get the ball to his good WR's. I call that a wash.
As far as Garcia is concerned, several thoughts on that. 1- had to have a quality backup, 2- he is familiar with the system, 3- came cheap. Garcia is there to backup Joey, mentor him, and come in if Joey falls on his face or gets hurt. That is all there is to it.
Now here is some interesting thoughts for ya'll. I have a feeling many of you have formed your opinion of Joey from ESPN, the newspaper, rumors, etc...and have never seen him play (much). The difference is, even though Joey and Carr have very, very similiar stats through 3 seasons, why is Carr still 'developing' and Joey sucks?
2 thoughts on this. 1- Carr is the 'All-American' kid, good christian, married, 4 (?) kids, etc... Joey is bashed as a quirky, wine and cheese eating weirdo. Carr is the media darling, much better for promotion.
2- Houston fans are much easier on Carr than Joey. Yes, Carr has been booed or whatever, but I was at a game where the Lions were 2 - 0, and he was booed during intros....In Detroit. The 'blue collar' fans in Detroit cannot relate to this guy. They call for his head, nevermind the rebuilding the team went through or the rash of injuries. It is much easier for the national media to form there opinons based on fans reactions than to actually watch all his games. I don't know, maybe Texans fans are just smarter
Filo- would Joey have been as good as Carr on this team? I don't know, but I don't think he would have been much worse. The question is, could Carr have done better in a more complex O with no WR help? I don't think he could have done much better there either. BTW- they say the WCO takes 3 yrs to learn. Look at McNabbs #'s his first 3 yrs, or Steve Youngs, not hugely different than Joeys (except running yds).
To sum up, both TEAMS have had issues, Carr gets the slight edge, but they are both young and have alot to prove this year.
I tried to stay as objective as possible, I just focused on Joey because I know more about the Lions than ya'll and you already know about Carr. Hope you can take this as a learning experience as opposed to so and so is better.