Well, well, guess who showed up?  Yep, almost all the parts arrived on time.  Even with J. Bell’s break-a-way run, the running game was less than noteworthy.  Penalties still were nine to many.  Suh needs to forget about the fore arm to the quarterback’s head move.  This one will cost him some $$$.  Next week’s game against the Vikings should be a repeat.  Notice I say  ‘should be’.  It will be a good test to see if the Lions can play consistent football week to week.

Why do I highlight the negatives?  Our Lion’s history is replete with great games followed by putrid performance against teams they were supposed to beat.  The play-off and championship games do not allow for ‘fool’s mistakes’ or reversion into old habits.  Lack of discipline in big games is the difference between celebration and those that hang their heads and wait for the 58th year of rebuilding.  A trip to the Super Bowl is beyond expectations, but legitimately not giving the game away in an effort to win is expected after all these years.

Bobby Lane is watching from somewhere!

Well boys and girls, the “A” version of the Detroit Lions showed up on Sunday against the Chicago Bears.  Keep in mind that da Bears are not exactly a contending team this year.  I had a strange case of deja vu early in the game when the 14-3 score favoured Chicago.  Enjoy the euphoria while it lasts but be aware that the merciless thing called reality is lurking out there somewhere close by.  Also, did you notice the Lion’s only had 5 penalties?  Two of which resulted in 1st downs.

Hats off to C. Johnson, J. Bell, G. Tate and others who caught passes and made good yardage runs when needed.  Stafford was definitely “on” this game.  A season of 11-5 is definitely in the Lion’s grasp.  Don’t disappoint us guys.  Getting beat by an opponent is one thing but self immolation is still the “boggy man” in the closet based on Lion’s history.

Condolences to those fans who watched the Lion’s game on Sunday.  After the Lion’s two trips to the ‘red zone’ and settling for field goals, the eruption of gastric bile up into your throat was to be expected.  How did all the receivers develop “brick hands” at the same time?  They all owe Stafford an apology.  And then our vaunted defence allowed the Patriots to score 24 points in the first half.  The secondary played soft and Brady was allowed to pick his pass targets at leisure.  Time has passed for excuses.  Sundays performance puts an explanation point on the fallacy of this team being a contender. Welcome to anther season of could a, should a and would a.

Agreed, we need a power running back.  J. Bell would make a good complement as part of a running duet.  R. Bush appears not to have physical longevity as a future.  With the exception of Stafford and Johnson, trade anyone and get a power running back.

The Lion’s season’s finishes will have some unsustainable flares of football highlights but culminate, unfortunately, with more Lion’s “UGLY” at Green Bay.  Our 59th year of rebuilding is mere months away.

Well, well here comes a dose of ‘reality’ to our optimistic version of the 2014 Lions brought to you by the NFL schedule.  Anyone notice the the Chicago Bears are not dead and buried?  The Lions resurrected visions of the ‘good ole days’ of harmful penalties, poor pass protection, questionable play calling and  an untimely doses of the dropped passes.      Two trips to the ‘red zone’ with 6 points as a reward.  Have to admit Prater’s ricochet shot was a moment of excitement.

Green Bay continues to preview a contenders performance.  Optimistically, Chicago could be  a split and New England goes directly to the ‘L’ column.  Tampa Bay and Vikings should favour the Lions but never discount the Lion’s failure to execute.  A 10-6 season at best with a chance for a 11-5 performance.  This portends the vision of another first round play-off elimination.   Oh well, we still have our 59th year of rebuilding to look forward to during the cold winter months and following spring of fan optimism.

The game was exciting but another last minute ‘save’ leaves the lingering question: How will the Lions do against a team who stops the overall passing and running game?  The Lion’s ‘short’ pass defence was lacking.   Also,  R. Bush did not seem quite ‘up to speed’.  At first glance the remaining schedule looks favourable for the Lions.  Loss of C. Palmer of Arizona, as tragic as it was, is a ‘gift’ to the Lions.  Two of the remaining scheduled games with the Da Bears look like ‘gimmies’ after watching Green Bay completely trash Chicago.  Best to remember that New England and Green Bay probably will wind up in the “L” column.  And never forget the Lion’s uncanny ability to lose games against teams they are supposed to handily defeat.

From here on it’s up to the Detroit Lions to prove they have more than their quirky 4th quarter performance, ‘luck’ and ‘spotting’ opponents large early game leads to get into the play-offs.  Cool Aid anyone?

Wow.  What else describes the Lion’s game in London.  First we must graciously acknowledge the ‘gifts’ from the Atlanta Falcons.  Almost to many to mention but the last two minutes deserve star accolades.  Lousy time management of the clock and the stupid penalties  Matt Ryan’s team mates rise to the top of the heap. Now on to some serious ‘stuff’.

No team can continue to ‘spot’ their opponents 21 points in the first half and expect to be in play-off contention.  And again, where was our vaunted defence during the first half of play.  A weak Atlanta offensive line sure looked good the first half.  Also a big ‘thank you’ to Seattle for G. Tate.  He and C. Johnson have the potential not seen in a Lion’s line-up in many years.

Now onto ‘Lady Luck”.  She can be a fickle consort and go from ‘belle of the ball’ to miserable ‘b—-h’ in the blink of an eye.  When wins come on a silver plater you take them but do not confuse ‘luck’ with genuine consistent performance.  Wait and see is the watch-word attitude for the rest of the season.  We’ve been down this path before.

The Lions are personally indebted to the Saints and referees for the early Christmas gifts in Sunday’s game.  The ‘pass interference’ call on 4th down was truly a gift.  And then, D. Brees avoiding a sack by putting the ball in play for an easy interception was unfathomable  and  beyond comprehension.  Some kind of ‘Brain Fart’ is the only plausible explanation.

Oh by the way, our vaunted defence only allowed 400yds of offence by New Orleans. Stupid penalties arrived on schedule at inopportune times as usual.  At least Suh played a civilized game.

Golden Tate was a Lion’s bright spot in an otherwise dull game until the last few minutes.  Maybe, just maybe, when C. Johnson returns the Lion’s pass threat will be more than a one player act.  It also could allow R. Bush to be more productive.  Stafford needs to permanently upgrade to his version 2.0 and banish version 1.0 to the dustbin.

Even with everyone up and running, the secondary is still the Lion’s ‘Achilles heal’.  Our latest ‘kicker’ almost earned a one way ticket back to oblivion.  Give him a pass for a case of the ‘jitters’ and hope for the best.

Maybe a 11-5 record is as feasible as an 8-8 season.  Only time will tell.  Just remember, we’ve all been here before and have a fan’s duty to remain sceptical.

Fellow fans,

Well, here we go again.  Last week’s game had to be one of the most boring I can remember.  The minute Henry missed the first field goal, the final sore was never in doubt.  Lose it by 3 points on a last second field goal by the opposition.  Six points by the offence was pitiful.  Now we can ‘roll-out’ the excuses.  Some valid, some smoke screen.  Stafford 1.0 showed up for the game.  I’m not sure the lack of R. Bush made any difference in the outcome. Is there no one else on offence who can catch a pass beside C. Johnson?   At least D. Suh did not acquire any really stupid penalties but some of his team mates ‘stepped-up’ to take up the slack.

Ask yourself, why would you risk your franchise player aggravating an iffy healed injury?  Are we that desperate?  Also, aside from the interception and run-back for a TD,  pass defence was same as always, porous.

Fellow fans, gird your loins for a long and ignominious season.  More of the same with intermittent flashes of performance but a final outcome of an eight and eight season.  Oh well, upward and onward to our 59th year of rebuilding.

Welcome to our 58th year of a ‘rebuilt’ Lions team. For all of you with short memories, a previous Lion’s team started the regular season 4-0. From there to the agonizing seasons’ end, we fans suffered delusion, frustration and self pity before finally recognizing we were suckered into just another Lion’s ongoing fable of pretending to be a legitimate contender.

How could you not be enthused about their Monday night performance? I’ll admit upfront, I missed the first half and the eight(8) penalties. Sound familiar? Let’s wait and see how well the boys do when the breaks seem to fall in the other direction.

Stafford looked and performed like version 2.0. His test will be when the pressure is really on and will he throw off his back foot and live and die by CJ’s performance. It’s “A long road to Tipperary” and we’ve been travelling it for far to long not to deserve a contender.

If not, we’ve always can look forward 60th anniversary of rebuilding.

To the bitter end I did watch. Only the Lions could negate a good punt with an obsecure penalty. Stafford contined in the first half to throw off his back foot.

You knew what was coming when they had a 6 point lead in the closing minutes. Been there done that. Perfect execution by Rodgers with a Lion’s ‘Silver Seive’ pass defence.

This season’s second half was about as enjoyable as pounding your thunb with a hammer just for fun. Now prepare yourself for the ‘joyfull’ introduction of a new coach and all he will bing to ‘fix’ our ‘broken’ Lions.

Beef up the seconday defence, cure the dropped pass syndrome, intsill execution discipline, lessen dependency on C.Johnson and get a decent field goal kicker.

Is this possible with a new coach? Other teams have accomplished turn-arounds in less than 58 years. We just have to wait for the siren call of next season to find out. In the meanwhile faithfull fans will store away their beloved Honolulu blue wearables in anticipation of how we could be delivered from our 58th year of pro football purgatory.