Game 10 - 2010 @ Dallas Cowboys

Continuing on.

The Lions continue losing by going 19 - 35 this week, giving the Dallas Cowboys their 3rd win of the season and 2nd win in 2 games to their replacement coach.

The Lions also continue their NFL record road losing streak bringing it to 26 in a row that began in 2007 when Jon Kitna was their quarterback.

At 2-8 for the season the Lions are now likely out of the playoff race... continuing that new tradition of being out before Thanksgiving Day.

Lions fans continue looking for silver linings but I may have to get back to you on that one, as I have so far failed to find even one in this game.

If you look at the stats http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2010112105/2010/REG11/lions@cowboys#tab:analyze/analyze-channels:cat-post-boxscore there is nothing that immediately stands out as bad... I mean sure the Lions continue to not stop the run while at the same time continue to not run very well... and of course the Lions continue to get double digit penalties... but all in all, nothing appears completely out of whack except for the fact the Lions didn't score a single point in the 4th quarter.

So what happened? Well, the officiating. It continues to SUCK!

There was a nice play by Burleson that was called back due to a real penalty which set a bad mood by some players, yet the team continued to play. Then a break down in a punt return play allowed a TD. The team still continued to fight. Then there was a tackle, by the hair, that was called by the officiating crew as a horse collar penalty. It was a totally legal tackle. It was also the straw that popped the balloon, letting all the air out of the team. The coach was irate... the players all got upset... and instead of playing loose and having fun, to a man the team played tight and upset. That bogus call completely changed the game from that point on. One big play might have switched the mood back, but there was none. The Lions may have lost anyway despite the call, but we will never know that either.

Many will say that until the Lions quit causing penalties they'll continue to get bad calls such as that one. I suppose that is true. I suppose the team needs to learn not only how to win, how to close out a game in the 4th quarter, but also how to get over bad officiating. I suppose I should not continue to harp on that sort of thing. Guess what... that's not going to happen. I'm afraid I'll have to continue to point out what I see as the turning point in a game... and I will continue to be upset if that turning point is not a play by either team but a call by an official.

So here we are, about to watch the Lions play a great team on Thanksgiving day, the only Nationally televised game the Lions have this year. The only thing we can be certain of is that some idiots will continue to bring up how the Lions should not be allowed to continue that tradition. They don't seem to have any problem with other new traditions continuing on, but the longest standing one should be thrown away. So before all that happens, I will say it once again, the Lions should CONTINUE playing their traditional Thanksgiving Day game and there is no valid reason to break with that tradition. If you don't want to watch it, don't. Do shut up about it though. Removing the game from Thanksgiving Day does not punish the current team, only the future teams that would otherwise play that day, probably long after you are dead and gone.

Coaches and Front Office... continue on tweaking the roster.
Players... continue on playing, you all must have some pride and drive to win, try to ignore the officiating, have some fun while you can.
Lions Fans... continue on planning your draft parties.
NFL and NFLPA... START negotiating a new CBA. Everyone wants to CONTINUE watching football, regardless of all the rest of it.

You all have your instructions... now continue on.