Detroit Lions: Remember that time Ty Detmer threw 7 interceptions?

Irrational Confidence, or not giving a crap?

Ty Detmer’s lack of a conscience when it came to throwing interceptions can likely be traced to one bizarre stat: despite throwing 28 interceptions in 1990, he also won the Heisman Trophy! Talk about failing upwards.

With this on his CV, it’s hardly surprising that Detmer didn’t mind throwing any basic rules of ball security out the window when he took the field.

Something that has always driven me crazy is playing tennis with someone who’s willing to hit dozens of double faults in a row by trying to Tarzan every single shot. The ego won’t allow him to  admit that he’s not good enough to try to missile everything in.

Instead of swallowing their pride and getting the ball in play, this type of person is perfectly happy to send every serve 120 mph and straight into the middle of the net.

It’s highly unlikely that I’ll ever get on the court with Ty Detmer, but I’d be willing to put money down that he’s that type of tennis player.

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No one to stop him.

The 2001 Lions had a new head coach (Marty Morhninweg), new GM (Fire Millen), and a new offensive coordinator (Maurice Carthon). To say those guys were still getting their feet wet in that Cleveland game is probably a massive understatement. Beginning a long pattern of Millen and his staff not knowing what to do, Detmer stayed in the game. He kept on hurling, and continued  racking up the interceptions.

17 years have passed since Detmer’s disastrous Lions debut, and no quarterback as thrown that many interceptions in a game ever since. Nathan Peterman made a pretty good run at it for Buffalo last year (five first half picks), but got benched at halftime. In the NFL, at least for now, the seven interception game remains slightly more common than a solar eclipse.