Ask a fan who the NFL’s worst owner is. Or what franchise is run most poorly. 90 percent of those you ask will probably respond Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders.

But I have to wonder, are they really right?

I won’t counterargue the opinion Al Davis seems senile at times and his decisions seem to have no rhyme or reason and the Raiders are in deep trouble with him calling the shots and hiring head coaches. But let’s make one thing perfectly clear: his hasn’t been the worst franchise the past decade.

The Detroit Lions, who most recently became the first team in NFL history to finish a season with an 0-16 record (interestingly, one season after the New England Patriots became the first to finish 16-0), haven’t been to the postseason since 1999. Say what you will about Al Davis and how he runs the Oakland Raiders but while the Lions have been enjoying 4th place in the NFC North (and prior to that, Central), Davis’s Raiders have won a Super Bowl and gone to the postseason three times. Granted, they haven’t played in January since 2002, but the point is this: if the measurement of a franchise’s success is wins or postseason berths or Super Bowls, Davis’s Raiders have more in the last ten years.

You can blame Matt Millen and the philosophies he brought to the franchise, but at some point it comes back to the owner and higher ups who employed Matt Millen and even extended his contract after far too many consecutive losing seasons. It’s led to a dramatic downfall, best summarized by saying the team hasn’t had an identity since the days of Barry Sanders. In 2007 things completely unraveled after Jon Kitna guaranteed 10 wins and collapsed alongside his teammates while the Lions dropped seven of its final eight games.

Of course the Lions fired Millen during the 2008 season, but it’s too little too late. The Lions don’t have the personnel to rise above any of its division rivals, and agreeing to coach the Lions may wind up a worse decision than Schwartz hoped. Because he’s walking into a messy situation and given the NFL’s treatment of head coaches, Schwartz may only be given three seasons to show serious progress. While it’s not particularly difficult to improve on last season winless record, it may be difficult to get the Lions up to where they’ll need to be so he’s not fired.

It doesn’t matter how you slice it; the Lions have been mishandled for a long time now. Are they the worst run franchise in pro football? Yeah, I think the argument could be made. While I’m hardly a fan of Al Davis and his antics, it’s a little frustrating to read editorials criticizing him as the NFL’s worst owner and fans complain the Raiders can’t have success while he’s in charge. Let’s all remember how the Lions have done lately under the watch of William Ford, who’s owned Detroit longer than Al Davis has owned Oakland and it’s time to consider how many rings the Lions since he bought the franchise in 1964: 0.

The Detroit Lions may be tired of being the butt of NFL jokes, their 0-12 record keeping them behind the likes of Kansas City (1-11) and Cincinnati (1-10-1), but if the next four games go down as they predictably should, the 2008 Detroit Lions will have secured a little slice of history as one of the worst teams ever to have stepped on a football field when better judgment told them to forfeit. The Lions aren’t just winless this season; they’re lossful.

I suppose Lions fans can take solace in the fact their favorite team has not been shut out this season, or they can continue holding their collective breaths for the next four weeks, none of which offer much promise. Detroit doesn’t have an easy game left on the schedule; worse yet, those teams the Lions do play will all be vying for postseason slots or higher seeds, meaning every game will count, at least for those teams. Sorry, Detroit, none of your opponents have throwaway games scheduled.

First up is Minnesota. The Vikings are 7-5 and hot off two consecutive victories. Fighting for the right to crown itself champion of the NFC North, Minnesota might not want to look past another division opponent, though it’s not hard to believe even the coaching staff has begun prepping for week 15. (Side note to Detroit: while Minnesota looks beyond this part of the schedule, you might as well begin prepping your scouts to look into who the best player in the draft is this year.)

After Minnesota the Lions are forced to travel to Indianapolis, where the white-hot Colts are making a final push for the postseason. As a matter of fact, if Tennessee blows its next game and Indianapolis wins this weekend, the Colts will still have a shot at the division, making even a game at home against Detroit paramount.

Week 16 doesn’t look much better, though the Lions probably won’t be shut out by New Orleans’ porous defense. It’s not hard to imagine Drew Brees breaking 5,000 passing yards in this game, even if he only has 4,500 going into the game. This could also be the game he breaks 30 touchdown passes, something he’s never before done in a single season. I suppose keeping him from doing either of those tasks (might not want to set the goals as high as keeping him from both milestones) could be considered a minor victory, albeit one that won’t show up when one looks at the standings.

Finally, week 17 presents a brutal matchup at Green Bay. The Packers, currently two games back in the division, could still be in the postseason hunt at this point and a division/conference win might wind up being some sort of tie-breaker. Even if it isn’t Green Bay at home is no easy win. The fans at Lambeau will want to see Detroit clobbered, especially if it means sending a team home with an 0-16 record.

Yes, for the first time in recent memory an NFL team is three-quarters of the way through the regular season and it looks possible, nay, downright probable that it finishes 0-16. No doubt about it, April is right around the corner for the Detroit Lions.