It's official. The Lions are out of the playoff hunt. Yes, I'm joking. They were never in it except mathematically, but 8 losses is traditionally the point in the season where you consider your team out of the playoffs and that is where the Lions find themselves at, with 8 losses.
The Lions have never beat Brett Favre in a road game (unless Favre was a Packer in 1991, I'm too lazy to look it up) and they've lost in Minnesota for nearly that many years. So add another one to both streaks.
Meanwhile, the Lions are looking at a much easier game next week against the Browns (on paper), if there is anyone on the team left able to play. There were so many injured and out for the Lions I was expecting some WRs to have to start playing DB and some TEs to start playing on the OLine every down for the rest of the Vikings game. A lot of guys tried to leave it all on the field, and some literally did. If they can do that next week the Browns don't stand a chance. But will next week be an up game or a down game... and can they also do that and still be ready for their only nationally televised game on Thanksgiving day just 4 days later? It should be an interesting week (and a half).
I think the players are starting to get that if they mess up they won't be playing. Brown was a healthy scratch after going the wrong side on a screen play and making some other errors last week. One Cohen was replaced with another supposedly for special teams reasons. On top of that, first play of the 2nd half in this game we saw Kevin Smith lose the football a split second before hitting the ground and then didn't see him again for most of the 2nd half. The players also appear to be trying harder to get open, to make a tackle, to break a tackle, and so on. They know if they don't they won't get playing time. It's hard to believe it took this many coaches and this many years and this year that many games to get the point across. It would appear the team was a bit worse off then many thought.
Normally at this point in the season (after being out of the playoffs) the coaches might play the rookies to get ready for next year, but the Lions have been doing that since game 1. You would also evaluate your roster for the off season, but the Lions have been doing that since game 1 as well. The fans would be starting to talk draft, that started weeks ago. So what's left to look forward to? The same thing as there was in week 1. Watching the rookies who are playing try to learn and improve their game. Will they suddenly become pro-bowlers overnight? Nope. Will they suddenly play like seasoned vets? Nope. They will simply have more ups then downs, here and there, and learn the NFL level of the game so that next off season they can prepare better.
Meanwhile, the coaching staff will try everything they can think of to get a few more wins, as winning or more importantly not losing, is critical in building a team too. Just as important as evaluating the roster really. You want those who will come back next year to not be so despondent that they get into the "here we go again" rut... something that Calvin Johnson has already apparently fell into this year.
The team needs a few more wins. The coaching staff does as well. And for that matter, so do the fans. The Browns might just be willing to oblige the team in that matter next Sunday. For the sake of all involved, the Lions need to win this coming game if they can. Plus, it'll help make my preseason prediction not look so horrible.
Of course, my prediction was in jeopardy anyway now that some of the perennial basement teams are actually doing well (read as Bengals for example). Still I never predicted the playoffs for the Lions this year and I expected at least 10 losses while the rookies learn the game. I'm just glad these coaches actually play the rookies unlike previous coaching staffs. In the end, the team will be better for it.
I simply can't get all upset about the Lions for doing what I expected. That seems to be driving a few fans nuts. I can't help them. I could get upset about the 2009 draft except I think it was a great draft. I could get upset about the coaching except I think the coaching staff had an extremely difficult task and are finally starting to get through. I could get upset if the coaches weren't playing the rookies but they are doing that. All in all, things are going just about as I expected they would, not feared, expected. How can I be upset about that?
In summary. Don't get so upset about the Lions losing, almost everyone expected them to have a losing season in 2009.
Things to get upset about: officiating, dropped balls, repeating the same mistake over and over, and Favre doing well...
:-)
Things to not get upset about: being out of the playoffs and playing the rookies.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Game 8 - 2009 @ Seattle
You just got to love rookie NFL football players.
Especially when your team is playing a lot of them. In the NFL every player makes mistakes, every team makes mistakes, and the general consensus is that the Vet players have learned from most of those mistakes and therefor make fewer of them. (Same goes for the coaching staff). Many games come down to the team who's players made the fewer mistakes, or at least fewer of the mistakes that actually affect the outcome of the game. Some would say that every mistake affects the outcome of the game, but that isn't always the case.
For example. Jason Hanson misses a chip shot field goal. The very next play by Seattle turns the ball over to the Lions, and the Lions are even closer to the end zone, and the Lions then turn it into a touchdown. Would the Lions have gotten those 7 points on top of the 3 points should the field goal have gone through? No way to know (short of a visit to an alternate universe). They certainly wouldn't have another set of downs with that great field position (most likely anyway), so you have to believe that no, the field goal would've produced only 3 points and the miss allowed the team to (eventually) get 7 points instead.
What I'm getting at is in this game the rookies Delmas, Levy, Hill, Williams, Brown, and Pettigrew all managed to greatly reduce their number of mistakes and play a fairly decent game (for the parts they played in it). Stafford however, did not.
The team played well enough (and that includes the good things Stafford did) to overcome 4 interceptions, but the 5th one was one too many. Does that mean the last one was the worst one? Maybe. But any of the others may also have netted a score (eventually) and changed the outcome of the game. It's also possible in an alternate universe you would find that with zero interceptions the Lions would've still lost. Who knows (for sure).
The whole team needed to make fewer mistakes in every game they've played this year, and in this game many players did make fewer mistakes (the receivers actually caught the ball for the most part), but one key player made a bunch of rookie mistakes, and that contributed (in this universe) greatly to the loss.
This loss only matters if Stafford learns from it. If he does not, it was a gigantic waste of time (and money). But if he becomes a better QB for it, if when he is the vet player those things don't happen, then it's worth it... because the wins the Lions aren't getting this year wouldn't have taken them to the playoffs anyway. They weren't going to get enough of them. But the learning the rookies are doing is VERY important. Painful, but needed.
Despite it all, the Lions were 2 minutes and 1 TD away from winning this game against a bunch of veteran players on their home field. Our rookie QB did manage to throw the TD, just to the wrong player on the wrong team. Please let him learn from it.
That's all you can do when you play this many rookies at once, hope they learn from it. Hope that when they become Vet players, they won't make all the same mistakes all the time. Hope you will have a good group of vets so you don't have to play as many rookies. Unfortunately, we fans get to have the fun of waiting the time out in this universe to get to that future.
New coaching, new schemes, new players, new rookies starting, all on the 2008 worst team of the league. You can't really have expected instant success. It's a recipe for ups and downs. And that is why you have to love watching rookie NFL players play (and hopefully learn)... it's how you (re)build a team. it's the only way to get there from here. It sure beats not playing them at all.
Especially when your team is playing a lot of them. In the NFL every player makes mistakes, every team makes mistakes, and the general consensus is that the Vet players have learned from most of those mistakes and therefor make fewer of them. (Same goes for the coaching staff). Many games come down to the team who's players made the fewer mistakes, or at least fewer of the mistakes that actually affect the outcome of the game. Some would say that every mistake affects the outcome of the game, but that isn't always the case.
For example. Jason Hanson misses a chip shot field goal. The very next play by Seattle turns the ball over to the Lions, and the Lions are even closer to the end zone, and the Lions then turn it into a touchdown. Would the Lions have gotten those 7 points on top of the 3 points should the field goal have gone through? No way to know (short of a visit to an alternate universe). They certainly wouldn't have another set of downs with that great field position (most likely anyway), so you have to believe that no, the field goal would've produced only 3 points and the miss allowed the team to (eventually) get 7 points instead.
What I'm getting at is in this game the rookies Delmas, Levy, Hill, Williams, Brown, and Pettigrew all managed to greatly reduce their number of mistakes and play a fairly decent game (for the parts they played in it). Stafford however, did not.
The team played well enough (and that includes the good things Stafford did) to overcome 4 interceptions, but the 5th one was one too many. Does that mean the last one was the worst one? Maybe. But any of the others may also have netted a score (eventually) and changed the outcome of the game. It's also possible in an alternate universe you would find that with zero interceptions the Lions would've still lost. Who knows (for sure).
The whole team needed to make fewer mistakes in every game they've played this year, and in this game many players did make fewer mistakes (the receivers actually caught the ball for the most part), but one key player made a bunch of rookie mistakes, and that contributed (in this universe) greatly to the loss.
This loss only matters if Stafford learns from it. If he does not, it was a gigantic waste of time (and money). But if he becomes a better QB for it, if when he is the vet player those things don't happen, then it's worth it... because the wins the Lions aren't getting this year wouldn't have taken them to the playoffs anyway. They weren't going to get enough of them. But the learning the rookies are doing is VERY important. Painful, but needed.
Despite it all, the Lions were 2 minutes and 1 TD away from winning this game against a bunch of veteran players on their home field. Our rookie QB did manage to throw the TD, just to the wrong player on the wrong team. Please let him learn from it.
That's all you can do when you play this many rookies at once, hope they learn from it. Hope that when they become Vet players, they won't make all the same mistakes all the time. Hope you will have a good group of vets so you don't have to play as many rookies. Unfortunately, we fans get to have the fun of waiting the time out in this universe to get to that future.
New coaching, new schemes, new players, new rookies starting, all on the 2008 worst team of the league. You can't really have expected instant success. It's a recipe for ups and downs. And that is why you have to love watching rookie NFL players play (and hopefully learn)... it's how you (re)build a team. it's the only way to get there from here. It sure beats not playing them at all.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Game 7 - 2009 Rams @ Home
Pay Attention!
The lions players were not paying attention. Also known (in this case) as lack of concentration or lack of focus.
Mental errors ruined the Lions chances for an easy win. The Lions blew this one big time all by themselves. False starts, holding, slapping a helmet, you name it on penalties and they happened at the worst time. But that paled compared to the drops. Over and over again the opportunity to march down the field was ruined by drop after drop. It was team wide, it was lack of focus (not lack of talent). Now, it can be said that it takes talent to pay attention, but I don't believe this is one of those cases. This was a team wide inability to concentrate.
The Rams also had no focus. They didn't even score an offensive TD until the final 2 minutes of the game. But they did use some trickery, with the fake field goal for a TD being the most obvious. The Lions who supposedly practiced against trickery during the bye week were caught with their pants down on that one.
There was some good in the game like the Lions using cut back lanes for the running backs more in this game but so much bad, like throwing the ball away on 4th down instead of doing everything humanly possible to convert the 4th down, that I don't want to even talk about the good things.
I don't want to talk about the bad things either for that matter. This was my sure thing game the Lions would win (after the Redskins game) and now I'm very concerned about my other predicted wins. The only reason I'm not completely despondent about it is I know that the coaching staff will be all over the players for the penalties, and the drops, and the bad tackling, and some of them might even respond in the next game well enough to make a difference.
So, my 6-10 season prediction is now in jeopardy, but there are some Lions players who's very careers (as in livelihood) are in more jeopardy and that makes my issues seem small in comparison. Those players who wish to continue to play (either for the Lions or at all) might just want to start paying attention. As in FOCUS!
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After I wrote this I realized something. The Lions players were not undergoing a lack of focus because of bad coaching (like some are sure to say). No, they are putting too much pressure on themselves and that obstructs the ability to focus. What they need to do, what will be nearly impossible to coach, is to have fun. Have fun playing football. That is the "it" that is missing.
The lions players were not paying attention. Also known (in this case) as lack of concentration or lack of focus.
Mental errors ruined the Lions chances for an easy win. The Lions blew this one big time all by themselves. False starts, holding, slapping a helmet, you name it on penalties and they happened at the worst time. But that paled compared to the drops. Over and over again the opportunity to march down the field was ruined by drop after drop. It was team wide, it was lack of focus (not lack of talent). Now, it can be said that it takes talent to pay attention, but I don't believe this is one of those cases. This was a team wide inability to concentrate.
The Rams also had no focus. They didn't even score an offensive TD until the final 2 minutes of the game. But they did use some trickery, with the fake field goal for a TD being the most obvious. The Lions who supposedly practiced against trickery during the bye week were caught with their pants down on that one.
There was some good in the game like the Lions using cut back lanes for the running backs more in this game but so much bad, like throwing the ball away on 4th down instead of doing everything humanly possible to convert the 4th down, that I don't want to even talk about the good things.
I don't want to talk about the bad things either for that matter. This was my sure thing game the Lions would win (after the Redskins game) and now I'm very concerned about my other predicted wins. The only reason I'm not completely despondent about it is I know that the coaching staff will be all over the players for the penalties, and the drops, and the bad tackling, and some of them might even respond in the next game well enough to make a difference.
So, my 6-10 season prediction is now in jeopardy, but there are some Lions players who's very careers (as in livelihood) are in more jeopardy and that makes my issues seem small in comparison. Those players who wish to continue to play (either for the Lions or at all) might just want to start paying attention. As in FOCUS!
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---
After I wrote this I realized something. The Lions players were not undergoing a lack of focus because of bad coaching (like some are sure to say). No, they are putting too much pressure on themselves and that obstructs the ability to focus. What they need to do, what will be nearly impossible to coach, is to have fun. Have fun playing football. That is the "it" that is missing.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Bye Week
Just some odds and ends (this entry may get edited/added to over the next few days).
First, my prediction as posted in my forum for those who haven't visited there.
Lions Prediction Contest
« Thread Started on Sept 13, 2009, 11:57am »
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The deadline is in 1 hour and a couple minutes. Since I won't have the entries up until after the game sometime, I wanted to post my entry here before the game so no one calls "shennanigans" on me.
6-10
4th in Division
13th Draft Pick
This part isn't required, but here is my line of thinking....
Games they win are:
Home
Redskins
Rams
Browns
Away
Vikings
Bengals
49'ers
That's 1-5 at the bye week, a long start but a nice 5-5 finish.
I am 5 for 5 so far, of course, predicting the Lions to lose hasn't been that difficult this decade. Still, IF Stafford gets healthy I am staying with my 6 wins prediction... but I might change which games if I had the chance to do so. My expectations are based on my belief that a team starting so many rookies would get better after a rocky start as the year goes on. The rocky start was exactly as I figured, now we'll see if my assumption that they will learn from it and take off on a 5-5 "rampage" will hold.
Second. Even though Stafford has a long way to go (as a rookie he should) I must admit he is proving to be much better this year then I had ever expected. The offense isn't the same without him.
Third. The defense misses Sammie Hill. He and Levy are two D guys that are also proving to be much better in their rookie year then I (or probably anyone) had expected.
Fourth. I expect that the 2010 draft will be heavily debated (again) in most Lions forums. Even though I would love to take a dominate left tackle with the 1st round pick, it's looking more and more like the Lions will (and should) go either DE or CB... and DT has to be thrown in there as well. I'm not talking the "rest of the draft", just their first pick, which at this time I still think will not be in the top 10 (most will not agree with me there, so be it).
First, my prediction as posted in my forum for those who haven't visited there.
Lions Prediction Contest
« Thread Started on Sept 13, 2009, 11:57am »
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The deadline is in 1 hour and a couple minutes. Since I won't have the entries up until after the game sometime, I wanted to post my entry here before the game so no one calls "shennanigans" on me.
6-10
4th in Division
13th Draft Pick
This part isn't required, but here is my line of thinking....
Games they win are:
Home
Redskins
Rams
Browns
Away
Vikings
Bengals
49'ers
That's 1-5 at the bye week, a long start but a nice 5-5 finish.
I am 5 for 5 so far, of course, predicting the Lions to lose hasn't been that difficult this decade. Still, IF Stafford gets healthy I am staying with my 6 wins prediction... but I might change which games if I had the chance to do so. My expectations are based on my belief that a team starting so many rookies would get better after a rocky start as the year goes on. The rocky start was exactly as I figured, now we'll see if my assumption that they will learn from it and take off on a 5-5 "rampage" will hold.
Second. Even though Stafford has a long way to go (as a rookie he should) I must admit he is proving to be much better this year then I had ever expected. The offense isn't the same without him.
Third. The defense misses Sammie Hill. He and Levy are two D guys that are also proving to be much better in their rookie year then I (or probably anyone) had expected.
Fourth. I expect that the 2010 draft will be heavily debated (again) in most Lions forums. Even though I would love to take a dominate left tackle with the 1st round pick, it's looking more and more like the Lions will (and should) go either DE or CB... and DT has to be thrown in there as well. I'm not talking the "rest of the draft", just their first pick, which at this time I still think will not be in the top 10 (most will not agree with me there, so be it).
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Game 6 - 2009 @ Green Bay
Oopsie.
The Lions lose 0-26 at Lambeau Field, for the 18th year in a row. That's right, the Lions have lost every single year in Green Bay since the year before Jason Hanson was drafted (that is to say, Hanson has NEVER seen the Lions win in Green Bay since he's been on the team).
In watching the game, I don't think I could point to a player who didn't make a mistake. I'm not so sure I could point to a coach either. They ALL made at least one mistake.
That's a lot of mistakes.
Good thing it's a bye week. Coaches can do some film work. Players can do some sole searching. The team can get ready for the "rest of the season". And, to top it off, they start out against the Rams when they come back from the bye.
Yeah, they win that game! (I have been predicting that since August of course, just like I predicted this loss).
The Lions lost by 26 points, but the Giants lost by 21, so it's not the end of the world (unless you have a lot of Lions and Giants players on your FFL team).
The only thing that totally surprised me is that Stanton looks just a touch better then Culpepper. There just might be a small adjustment to the depth chart after the bye... assuming that Stafford is healed up enough by then to play. I'm not sure, not positive that is, that I would want Culpepper to back up Stafford while Stanton holds the clipboard... and that I would've never ever thought I would say. Congrats to Stanton, sorry about your mistake(s), especially that red zone one.
Those inactive players... well, they are very important to the success of the team. Each and every one of them. There is no depth behind those guys. Meanwhile, the secondary is filling in the blanks on their resume for next year... mostly blanks... but hey, there's always invisible ink... and 10 more games to play... so get your collective heads out of your collective behinds and play like your career depends on it.... because, in total and complete truth, IT DOES!!!
My only thinking throughout this game was how ruthless the coaches (and front office) are... and you sorry S.O.B.'s are going to pay for those horrid mistakes. Each and every one of you.... and the team will be a little better for it. So thank you... for proving the various points, about who can be upgraded and all that.
The trade deadline is fast approaching, anyone who finds themself still on the team has 10 games to prove they are better then the street guys (who may be coming in very very soon). This is it. This may very well be your last hurrah! Take the time off to contemplate your career, and if you do get the chance to play again, do not blow it. You won't like what happens if you blow it again.
Okay, so what's next? Well, as I said since August, and still say now (assuming Stafford is the starting QB) the Lions will win 5 of the next 10 games. They will win the games they are supposed to win, plus one more. They will give all of us a little hope for next year. The coaches will sort more out this bye week. Etc etc etc.
Look, I said it would be 1-5 at the bye. I said the forum was going to go nuts with that. I said that it's part of playing rookies who are learning under fire. And I said you could expect all these things that have happened.
If I am right. If the roster does have some talent as I believe it does. If I continue to support the coaches as I am willing to do. If I believe what I saw preseason and assumed would happen, then I have no reason not to continue with my prediction. That remains a 6-10 season, with 5 of those wins after the bye (so far I'm batting a thousand).
So, they have a bye week to get things sorted out, and they beat the Rams next game. Until that doesn't happen I'm fine with things as they are. I mean that, 100%. This is EXACTLY how I saw things playing out this far into the season. How can I be upset about that? I can not. I laughed a lot, but I am not upset. A little (okay, a lot) surprised about how Culpepper has done, and how much better Stanton has looked, but not upset or angry.
Now, if the Lions lose to the Rams... well, NetRat is not pleasant to be around if he gets angry. The Lions will win the next game, and 5 of the next 10.
That, or the NetRat made an Oopsie.... and that just isn't going to happen.
The Lions lose 0-26 at Lambeau Field, for the 18th year in a row. That's right, the Lions have lost every single year in Green Bay since the year before Jason Hanson was drafted (that is to say, Hanson has NEVER seen the Lions win in Green Bay since he's been on the team).
In watching the game, I don't think I could point to a player who didn't make a mistake. I'm not so sure I could point to a coach either. They ALL made at least one mistake.
That's a lot of mistakes.
Good thing it's a bye week. Coaches can do some film work. Players can do some sole searching. The team can get ready for the "rest of the season". And, to top it off, they start out against the Rams when they come back from the bye.
Yeah, they win that game! (I have been predicting that since August of course, just like I predicted this loss).
The Lions lost by 26 points, but the Giants lost by 21, so it's not the end of the world (unless you have a lot of Lions and Giants players on your FFL team).
The only thing that totally surprised me is that Stanton looks just a touch better then Culpepper. There just might be a small adjustment to the depth chart after the bye... assuming that Stafford is healed up enough by then to play. I'm not sure, not positive that is, that I would want Culpepper to back up Stafford while Stanton holds the clipboard... and that I would've never ever thought I would say. Congrats to Stanton, sorry about your mistake(s), especially that red zone one.
Those inactive players... well, they are very important to the success of the team. Each and every one of them. There is no depth behind those guys. Meanwhile, the secondary is filling in the blanks on their resume for next year... mostly blanks... but hey, there's always invisible ink... and 10 more games to play... so get your collective heads out of your collective behinds and play like your career depends on it.... because, in total and complete truth, IT DOES!!!
My only thinking throughout this game was how ruthless the coaches (and front office) are... and you sorry S.O.B.'s are going to pay for those horrid mistakes. Each and every one of you.... and the team will be a little better for it. So thank you... for proving the various points, about who can be upgraded and all that.
The trade deadline is fast approaching, anyone who finds themself still on the team has 10 games to prove they are better then the street guys (who may be coming in very very soon). This is it. This may very well be your last hurrah! Take the time off to contemplate your career, and if you do get the chance to play again, do not blow it. You won't like what happens if you blow it again.
Okay, so what's next? Well, as I said since August, and still say now (assuming Stafford is the starting QB) the Lions will win 5 of the next 10 games. They will win the games they are supposed to win, plus one more. They will give all of us a little hope for next year. The coaches will sort more out this bye week. Etc etc etc.
Look, I said it would be 1-5 at the bye. I said the forum was going to go nuts with that. I said that it's part of playing rookies who are learning under fire. And I said you could expect all these things that have happened.
If I am right. If the roster does have some talent as I believe it does. If I continue to support the coaches as I am willing to do. If I believe what I saw preseason and assumed would happen, then I have no reason not to continue with my prediction. That remains a 6-10 season, with 5 of those wins after the bye (so far I'm batting a thousand).
So, they have a bye week to get things sorted out, and they beat the Rams next game. Until that doesn't happen I'm fine with things as they are. I mean that, 100%. This is EXACTLY how I saw things playing out this far into the season. How can I be upset about that? I can not. I laughed a lot, but I am not upset. A little (okay, a lot) surprised about how Culpepper has done, and how much better Stanton has looked, but not upset or angry.
Now, if the Lions lose to the Rams... well, NetRat is not pleasant to be around if he gets angry. The Lions will win the next game, and 5 of the next 10.
That, or the NetRat made an Oopsie.... and that just isn't going to happen.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Game 5 - 2009 Steelers @ Home
Almost. The Lions almost won this one. They still made mistakes and they still need more confidence but the Lions almost beat the superbowl champions from last year. A team that plays a 3-4 defense, a defense the Lions have shown to have problems with in preseason. A defense they will face again next week.
The Lions almost had a home game. Thousands of seats were waving a yellow towel because Lions fans didn’t buy tickets, Steelers fans did. Counting the season ticket holders that didn’t show up, the Steelers fans almost outnumbered the Lions fans.
Calvin Johnson almost helped the team. But a knee injury put him on the sidelines near the beginning of the game and he never returned.
The defense and special teams almost helped the offense out. There was better field position, there were some stops. Both were almost playing as well as the opposition.
Stafford almost was able to play. His injury kept him as the reserve QB, but he is almost healed up.
Culpepper almost played okay. At times the plays were good, or smart, or showed that he isn’t totally washed up. At other times you wonder if the sack was his fault or the fault of his teammates. Still, he almost led the team to a win.
Coaching was suspicious at times, but fantastic at others. The team as a whole was almost very competitive, almost for the entire game. No third quarter collapses, no head scratching play calls, not too many things to really complain about, not really. Almost well played.
I for one am pleased to see the growth of the “rest of the team”. With Stafford out the whole game, and with CJ out for most of it, the players who did play played well for the most part. Room for growth? Sure. That is to be expected (as I’ve said before). In fact, this loss was my prediction as well (I’m now 5 for 5). A great road game next week isn’t too likely either, but a competitive one is possible. I expect a loss next week, then after the bye week, a win against the Rams. I’d settle for being almost right though, if the Lions are able to pull off a win at Lambeau Field.
The team is almost there. After the bye week I still predict a 5-5 season. This game was part of the growth to get them to that point. As will be the next one. The fans will almost be happy with a 6-10 season if the team does show improvement, the improvement that I have been predicting.
So yes, the Lions lost and are now at 1-4, but they are improving. The are almost there, almost ready to compete at a true NFL level. Almost going to be able to do it every week, not just a few times a year. There are a few players that will need to be "upgraded", but we all knew that. There will be more mistakes made, but we all know that as well. Can I really truly be happy about this game even though they lost? Yeah, almost. As long as it means they will be better later. As long as they are improving. As long as there is a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Then yes, I can be okay with them losing the game. Almost.
The Lions almost had a home game. Thousands of seats were waving a yellow towel because Lions fans didn’t buy tickets, Steelers fans did. Counting the season ticket holders that didn’t show up, the Steelers fans almost outnumbered the Lions fans.
Calvin Johnson almost helped the team. But a knee injury put him on the sidelines near the beginning of the game and he never returned.
The defense and special teams almost helped the offense out. There was better field position, there were some stops. Both were almost playing as well as the opposition.
Stafford almost was able to play. His injury kept him as the reserve QB, but he is almost healed up.
Culpepper almost played okay. At times the plays were good, or smart, or showed that he isn’t totally washed up. At other times you wonder if the sack was his fault or the fault of his teammates. Still, he almost led the team to a win.
Coaching was suspicious at times, but fantastic at others. The team as a whole was almost very competitive, almost for the entire game. No third quarter collapses, no head scratching play calls, not too many things to really complain about, not really. Almost well played.
I for one am pleased to see the growth of the “rest of the team”. With Stafford out the whole game, and with CJ out for most of it, the players who did play played well for the most part. Room for growth? Sure. That is to be expected (as I’ve said before). In fact, this loss was my prediction as well (I’m now 5 for 5). A great road game next week isn’t too likely either, but a competitive one is possible. I expect a loss next week, then after the bye week, a win against the Rams. I’d settle for being almost right though, if the Lions are able to pull off a win at Lambeau Field.
The team is almost there. After the bye week I still predict a 5-5 season. This game was part of the growth to get them to that point. As will be the next one. The fans will almost be happy with a 6-10 season if the team does show improvement, the improvement that I have been predicting.
So yes, the Lions lost and are now at 1-4, but they are improving. The are almost there, almost ready to compete at a true NFL level. Almost going to be able to do it every week, not just a few times a year. There are a few players that will need to be "upgraded", but we all knew that. There will be more mistakes made, but we all know that as well. Can I really truly be happy about this game even though they lost? Yeah, almost. As long as it means they will be better later. As long as they are improving. As long as there is a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Then yes, I can be okay with them losing the game. Almost.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Game 4 - 2009 @ Chicago
Tough game. The Lions lost the game (as predicted by yours truly) after being tied at half time. The second half kick off that was returned for a TD by Chicago seemed to have a very negative affect on the entire team. I guess they just aren't mentally tough enough (yet).
There is a certain lack of confidence that shows through when things go wrong and unless something big and good happens soon after then the team tanks even harder. That too is more or less predictable. That is why it'll be hard to win until they play some teams that are also lacking in confidence (such as Washington last week and the Rams after the bye week). It'll take time for the coaching staff to build up team confidence, in the meantime there are some things I noticed that will help out the coaching staff, and some that will hurt.
Matt Stafford proved it's not a fluke. He can indeed drive the offense down the field on a time consuming series of plays that result in a score. More then once during the same game even. Considering it was merely his 4th NFL start in his first year in the league, that is really quite remarkable. Yes, he still makes rookie mistakes (there is a limit to miracles after all) but it bodes well for the future of the team.
The run defense isn't horrible. They've pretty much contained AP, Portis, and Forte (except for one or two big plays) which is no easy task. Compared to last year when teams could run at will it is a very big improvement. If they can continue to improve there (by eliminating those big plays) and also work some on the pass defense the games will get easier to win.
Special teams looked like special ed in this game, I don't know if that was due to the injured players who were out or if they simply forgot how to play. I predict there will be ton of special teams work this week (not really stretching my neck out there am I). They don't need to be the best in the league, but they do need to be better then what they were in this game.
Pettigrew needs to work on his focus. Too many dropped balls. Same goes for Aaron Brown in the return game who bobbles the ball nearly every time. Kevin Smith needs to get healthy (or healthier), he has heart but his production was just not there today. CJ, Stafford, and a few others were hit pretty hard in this game. Chicago was the team playing "tough" not the Lions. Chicago was the team inflicting pain. That too seemed to sap the Lions mental toughness.
If they can heal up, work on special teams a ton, keep with the decent run defense and learn to have a little fun during the game the competitiveness will show itself... and once that happens, the confidence will build and the wins will come.
Time to get tough... both mentally and physically... enjoy the match and feel good about how hard you fought, win or lose.
There is a certain lack of confidence that shows through when things go wrong and unless something big and good happens soon after then the team tanks even harder. That too is more or less predictable. That is why it'll be hard to win until they play some teams that are also lacking in confidence (such as Washington last week and the Rams after the bye week). It'll take time for the coaching staff to build up team confidence, in the meantime there are some things I noticed that will help out the coaching staff, and some that will hurt.
Matt Stafford proved it's not a fluke. He can indeed drive the offense down the field on a time consuming series of plays that result in a score. More then once during the same game even. Considering it was merely his 4th NFL start in his first year in the league, that is really quite remarkable. Yes, he still makes rookie mistakes (there is a limit to miracles after all) but it bodes well for the future of the team.
The run defense isn't horrible. They've pretty much contained AP, Portis, and Forte (except for one or two big plays) which is no easy task. Compared to last year when teams could run at will it is a very big improvement. If they can continue to improve there (by eliminating those big plays) and also work some on the pass defense the games will get easier to win.
Special teams looked like special ed in this game, I don't know if that was due to the injured players who were out or if they simply forgot how to play. I predict there will be ton of special teams work this week (not really stretching my neck out there am I). They don't need to be the best in the league, but they do need to be better then what they were in this game.
Pettigrew needs to work on his focus. Too many dropped balls. Same goes for Aaron Brown in the return game who bobbles the ball nearly every time. Kevin Smith needs to get healthy (or healthier), he has heart but his production was just not there today. CJ, Stafford, and a few others were hit pretty hard in this game. Chicago was the team playing "tough" not the Lions. Chicago was the team inflicting pain. That too seemed to sap the Lions mental toughness.
If they can heal up, work on special teams a ton, keep with the decent run defense and learn to have a little fun during the game the competitiveness will show itself... and once that happens, the confidence will build and the wins will come.
Time to get tough... both mentally and physically... enjoy the match and feel good about how hard you fought, win or lose.
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