Former Detroit Lions quarterback Scott Mitchell is furious over what was said about him in the new Barry Sanders documentary.
Amazon’s new documentary that explores Sanders’ abrupt and shocking retirement from the NFL was released to the public on Tuesday through the e-commerce company’s video streaming service. Mitchell, who played for the Lions from 1994-1998, watched it and is not happy that he was made out to be a such a scapegoat.
Mitchell made a lengthy post on Facebook about the subject, saying watching the documentary “was not a very pleasant experience.”
“I just watched #ByeByeBarry on Amazon Prime. It was not a very pleasant experience . I was Barry Sanders teammate for 5 years. I had a front row seat to some of the most amazing plays in NFL history. He will never have an equal as a pure runner in the NFL. I could argue that their were several running backs that were more complete but I won’t. Barry was great!!
“However, I am so tired of hearing how I was the reason that Barry Sanders never won a Super Bowl. I’m so tired of hearing how I was not a good QB. My only response is F___K YOU ALL!!!!! That includes #eminem #JeffDaniels,” Mitchell wrote.
Detroit natives Eminem and Jeff Daniels were interviewed and provided fan commentary for the documentary.
Mitchell specifically went after former Lions head coach Wayne Fontes.
“I can’t even began to tell you what a disappointment it is to hear my own coach, Wayne Fontes, who went out in free agency and actively pursed me to the point of begging me to come to Detroit, say that he wanted Joe Montana or Warren Moon, and that the only thing that was missing from the team winning the Super Bowl was a quarterback. A little support from the coach might have gone a long way. Wayne never had my back!!!
“So you all know that in 1995 we started the season 0-3. Wayne called a meeting with 15 players and asked what was wrong. The response was, you brought this QB here let him throw the ball. We changed our entire offense over a bye week. We played the defending SB champion 49ers on Monday Night Football after a bye week and with an 0-3 record. We won, I went on to have the fourth best season of a QB, at the time, in NFL history 4400 yds passing and 33 TDs. Two WRs had over 100 catches and a 1,000 yds rec. Barry Sanders also rushed for 1,500 yds. We simply took what the defense was giving us.
“Unfortunately, the following year I had a severe injury to my rib cage that required a 12 min shot with a four inch needle just to practice everyday. It turned out to be a bad year and Wayne Fontes was fired. More importantly, Tom Moore was fired as our offensive coordinator and he took the offense we developed to Indy and introduced it to Payton (sic) Manning. In return I ended up with Bobby Ross. Which was a disaster!!!
“How many SB’s did Joe Montana win after he left the 49ers? Zero. How many SB’s did Warren Moon win or even play in? Zero.
“Dan Marino played in 1 SB!!! Payton (sic) Manning was horrible in his first 4 years in the playoffs. zero wins and 1TD and 2ints. It was 9 years before Payton (sic) won a SB. The reality is it’s hard to win a SB unless you are Tom Brady. Steve Young is not in the Hall of Fame or a SB winner if he isn’t traded from Tampa Bay to the 49ers. Brett Farve (sic) is not a Hall of Famer or a SB winner if he is stuck with Jerry Glanville in Atlanta.
“Bottom line, #BarrySanders had everything in Detroit. 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 SB 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.”
Mitchell played in the NFL from 1991-2001. He signed with the Lions in free agency prior to the 1994 season after previously serving as Dan Marino’s backup with the Miami Dolphins. In five seasons with Detroit, Mitchell passed for 12,647 yards, 79 touchdowns and 57 interceptions. The Lions made the playoffs in 1994, 1995 and 1997, but they lost in the wild card round in all three years.
Mitchell’s best statistical season came in 1995 when he passed for 4,338 yards, 32 touchdowns in 12 interceptions at a time when quarterbacks rarely threw for 4,000 yards or 30 touchdowns in a season. He never matched that production again, and Detroit ended up making big changes to their coaching staff after 1996, firing Fontes and hiring Bobby Ross.