Former Lions QB Scott Mitchell goes off after Barry Sanders doc, rips Eminem and Jeff Daniels
You didn't expect a Scott Mitchell vs. Eminem feud this week, but it happened.
A new Barry Sanders documentary "Bye Bye Barry" was released on Amazon Prime Video this week. It features Emimen, the music superstar and Detroit Lions fan, and other famous Lions fans like actors Tim Allen and Jeff Daniels. And a whole lot of jaw-dropping Sanders highlights.
Mitchell is not in the documentary, nor is he specifically named in it. That didn't matter much.
One of the themes of the documentary is that the Lions weren't good enough to get perhaps the best running back ever to a Super Bowl. The lack of a star quarterback is mentioned as a issue.
Mitchell took that personally and went off on Facebook, with Sanders and Bridges getting called out.
Scott Mitchell didn't enjoy "Bye Bye Barry"
Mitchell must have been holding into some angst for a while.
Mitchell was a big free-agent signing by the Lions before the 1994 season. Mitchell did throw for 4,338 yards and 32 touchdowns in 1995 but he never brought any playoff success to Detroit and was generally seen as a flop.
In a Facebook post, MItchell said watching the documentary "was not a very pleasant experience." He said Sanders was great. Then he got to his real feelings.
"However, I am so tired of hearing how I was the reason that Barry Sanders never won a Super Bowl," Mitchell said on Facebook, via the Detroit News. "I'm so tired of hearing how I was not a good QB. My only response is F*** YOU ALL!!!!! That includes Eminem (and) Jeff Daniels."
Scott Mitchell cussing Slim Shady and the guy from "Dumb and Dumber" should fill out your NFL Mad Libs sheet for the week. Funny enough, they never really even said anything about the former Lions quarterback, even indirectly.
Mitchell had other gripes
Mitchell wasn't done. He blasted his Lions coach, Wayne Fontes, for not having his back. There's a clip from this year of Sanders and Fontes talking in the documentary, and Fontes telling Sanders he wanted Joe Montana or Warren Moon but then-Lions GM Chuck Schmidt thought both were too old. Fontes never mentioned Mitchell, though Mitchell said on Facebook that Fontes begged him to come to Detroit.
Then Mitchell got to Sanders himself.
"Bottom line, Barry Sanders had everything in Detroit," Mitchell's screed continued on Facebook. "Everyone loved him. Everything was built for Barry to succeed. In his 10 year career, he won one playoff game and the only reason he didn't win more was everyone else was the problem? How many yards did Barry have in the playoffs in '94, '95, '97? I'll give you a hint not very many. We all are to blame for not winning a (Super Bowl) in Detroit even Barry Sanders.
"I will believe until I die that had we been given more time and patience with the offense, we had and the talent we had we could have made a deep run in the playoffs and competed to win a Super Bowl."
Sanders had -1 rushing yards in a 1994 playoff game against the Green Bay Packers. He had 40 and 65 yards in the other two games Mitchell referenced. The Lions went 0-3 in those games. Take that, Marshall Mathers.
The Sanders documentary is fantastic, either for fans who want to relive the memories or the ones who aren't old enough to have lived through the experience. Mitchell probably won't be rewatching it, however.
