Key indicators in the last two games stand out like a bad case of herpes! In the Colt’s game it was time of possession and in the recent Viking’s game it was the lopsided ratio of the ‘running game’. In the Colt’s game, defense deficiencies set aside, you cannot reasonably expect your defense to be on the field almost twice as long as an opponents. This week the Vikings exploited Detroit’s fabulous ‘Silver Sieve’ defense at will.

Ok, what’s the answer. Consider the premises put forth beginning with the establishment of the current regime. First, a skilled, superb General Manager knew how to put together a winning team. Secondly, we mated a head coach revered as a defensive genius. This had to be a match made in pro football heaven.

Several years later, here we are again back at another ‘new beginning’. All the platitudes, excuses and alibis are way past ‘use by’ dates. One can conclude that the ‘powers to be’ ie owners either don’t understand winning or couldn’t care less as long as the money rolls in. Or the owner leader ship is completely inept in staffing senior team leadership.

Our Detroit Lions have “burned” through enough raw talent to have produced at least a better than average team performance and are in the final stages of squandering a very good quarterback. Will someone please wake up and smell the roses! The creation of a “Pitty” fan base is on the immediate horizon with implicit financial impacts.

The win over Atlanta was a display of how two struggling teams keep things interesting. Atlanta had the game as they say, ‘in the bag’ and then they gave the ball back to Detroit’s quarter back who has a history of pulling off miracles within minutes to play. Story book ending for Detroit.

Atlanta was in pitiful shape (1-5) coming into this game and they should have never been in contention. Looking at the stats, it’s hard to determine who played over or under their ability.

The Lions have to do better with third down conversion against the Colts compared to previous outings. Expect Rivers to pick apart the Lion’s pass defense because his offensive line provides the protection.

All in all, another entertaining game between two average teams is all you can expect.

The last two week have been great. The Lion’s did not lose during the ‘bye’ week and won against a terrible team last Sunday. Lion’s history is replete with multiple versions of this scenario through out our 63 years of rebuilding. At this juncture of the season it would be masochistic to even allow a tiny bubble of ‘hope’ to materialize out of NFL thin air. Been there, done that and will hold out for a contiguous demonstration of winning results.

As far as the Jacksonville game, there were a few moments to savor. Offensive line provided some running lanes, passing was spread around, and time of possession was favorable. On the other side of the equation, 3rd down execution was mediocre, Prater missed what should have been for him a ‘gimme’, and Stafford still appears a little ‘off’ in his passing execution.

All the little things will make a significant difference when a higher caliber opponent is on the schedule. Keep your powder dry because you may need it to cauterize self inflected wounds the Detroit Lion’s are prone to cause sooner than later as history recounts.

After last weeks’ anomaly, IE a win, our beloved Lions returned to form. Firstly, concede that New Orleans is a good team. But from there our 63rd year of rebuilding is a complete and utter bust. What you ask leads to the defeat? Consider all the stats impacting the game:time of possession, third down conversions, first downs generated, total net game yards, net rushing yards, and completed passing percentage.

Bottom line, the defense, if that is the correct definition, only gave up 35 points and nearly 400 yds of offence. The only game element to change was a modest ground game sponsored by A. Peterson. Other than that “HO HUM” prevailed. Why do fans have to endure this ongoing dismal deception with the same coaching staff? Historical president exits to ‘change horses’ mid season and get on with life.

Season after season Lion’s fans have been subjected to a stream of cruel creativity in: how not to win, how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, how to allow winning opportunities to just slip away, how to allow sloppy discipline determine outcomes, how to waste superior talent for entire careers, and have an ongoing ownership display indifference as long as the revenue flows in the right direction.

Our anticipated 64th year of rebuilding stands as rock solid evidence of the fore listed assertions.

Well, well another re-run and the specter of another year of rebuilding. In the spirit of ‘truth in writing’, I only watched the first quarter and the last futile 8 minutes of the 4th quarter. The entire viewing time was done with the TV on “mute”. The phony ‘crowd noise’ is nothing but an insult.

What do the game stats tell us? Defense is horrible. Green Bay only generated 488 yds of offence. The key disparity was in the lopsided rushing 189 yards in the Packers favor. More disturbing was Stafford’s irregular passing performance. And, yes we still had the illustrious stupid penalties at critical times.

Personally, I do not give a ‘rats ass’ about player’s political opinions. Football is entertainment by individual who, as it has been said, won the genetic lottery of athletic ability but they are entitled to believe what ever they wish just as anyone else. Understand, your proselytizing of an opinion has no more weight than any other citizen.

The rest of the season is destined to be like an old re-run of a sitcom on TV. Been there and seen it before. Likens to the fabled ‘Chinese water torture’ Drip, drip, drip. More than Lion’s fan deserve.

marvinudy

Gentle Lion’s fans,

First, by happenstance, I only saw the last quarter of the game while eating dinner in a sports bar restaurant. What a way to generate severe gastrointestinal distress.

As we stumble into our 63 year of rebuilding intertwined with all the ‘PC’ ‘BS’, I’ve taken the liberty of posting a new a long overdue ‘Help Wanted Job posting’.

IMMEDIATE OPENING FOR HEAD COACHING JOB AT MAJOR LEAGUE SPORTS TEAM!!

Applicant must have basic logic skills to understand that the only score that counts is after the game clock has expired. In addition, belief that “Prevent-defense ” schemes do not automatically hinder opponents scoring ability. Comprehend that play calling consists of more than ‘twice up the middle followed by an incomplete-pass and punt the ball’

Coaching skills must adhere to fundamentals such as , catching the ball when it is thrown in your direction, blocking the big guy trying to dismember your quarterback team mate, running to ‘daylight’ vs straight into the big piles of bodies in the middle of the the field, crossing the line of scrimmage AFTER the ball is hiked by the opposing team, and ‘Hot Dogging Displays’ after a play is for little kids playing at the school yard.

Expectations of your initial success are extremely low because of 63 years of prior dismal, historical disappointment. Please forward in a maximum of 30 word or less of how you think a ‘winner’ should perform. Direct your correspondence to Martha Firestone Ford P.O Box Beleaguered Fans, Detroit, Michigan.

If any one deserves pity it is the faithful Detroit Lion’s fans. Recent games against the Vikings and Bucs were sordid examples of futility on display. With every season of rebuilding we’re subjected to another attempt to fit a ‘square peg’ of talent into a new/improved ’round hole’ scheme of thinking. Having watched other franchises rise from the ashes of dismal periods of performance into contenders seems to support the conclusion that top down overlay approach to 62 years of rebuilding does not work. Maybe a talented ‘generalist’ approach is warranted. And yes it would take a few more years to anchor key player positions.

The next hurdle on the Lion’s horizon is a successor quarterback to Stafford unless he is a clone of P. Manning or G. Blanda, which in today’s pro football is highly unlikely.

Seasons’ end is nearly here and we already know that our 63rd year of rebuilding will have the same ‘gurus’ in charge. May God grant us beleaguered Detroit Lion’s fans the fortitude to endure another season.

If you were not expecting much, the game with the Bears did not disappoint. Blough showed big improvements over the prior game. As evidenced by the Bears 400+ yards of offense, not so much the Lion’s defense. And the ‘ole reliable’ penalties at the most inopportune time remained entrenched as part of the game plan.

As expected, the Bears made adjustments in the games’s second half with no adaptation by the Lions. Surprise, surprise. And, the habitual, obvious flaw of settling for a field goal in the ‘red zone’ is still an Achilles’s heel.

Grizzled, die hardened fans will recognize, without exception, the oncoming blather of ‘peat and repeat’ about the future of the franchise based on our 63rd year of rebuilding is at hand. At least we have a few extra days to reconstitute our mental armor for the next outing of Lion’s style football.

It was a struggle but the Detroit Lion’s came through with flying colors. Look at the game stats and you could conclude the Lions won the game. However, kicking field goals vs scoring touchdowns, shabby special teams play, usual stupid penalties and of course an inexperienced QB made it all really innovative losing to a team sporting a 1-9 W/L record.

Oh, but hang on, we’re still fighting says the coach. Blah, blah, blah. Excuse the cynicism but this is not the fans first dance with disappointment. Prior ‘brain trusts’ were excoriated for mediocre .500 W/L records and now we’re supposed to ‘chill out’ and find comfort as cellar dwellers.

Detroit has wasted great performers at many positions and is on the verge of wasting M. Stafford. We all buy that this sport, by and large, is played by professionals who disdain consistent losing.

Maybe in preparation for our 63rd year of rebuilding, we look in the mirror and accept bold face truths that we require a functional defensive secondary, competent blocking offensive line, a strong running back and a no nonsense coaching staff.

Painful but predictable is watching the Lions flail away trying to pretend they are contenders. Kudos to Driskel who showed improvement over his previous game. Beyond that comment nothing much is left to say. The statistics speak for them selves. Your defense giving up over 500 yards of offense is a ‘death wish’ in the NFL.

Playing Stafford later in the season can make remaining games more entertaining but to what end? If the defense is impotent, risk taking on offense is optionally better than putting more lipstick on the old offensive pig. Offensively we’ve reached Einstein’s definition of insanity. Playing the same way and expecting a different result.

Time for accountability is at hand. Considering previous exercises of mutation, maybe we have not gone far enough in terms of breadth and scope of organizational change.

However, based on past performances, expect nothing more than superlatives, cliches, bromides of intent and salvation somewhere in our 63rd year of rebuilding.