2012 Detroit Lions

**Thruster315** · December-22-12, 02:51 AM

I think we're all in agreement here that Gunther's done one heckuva decent job with the lousy cards he's been dealt. Between injuries and just the sheer lack of depth, he's managed to wring out some wine out of this sh!t brick.

Who I think might need to get shown the door might very well be Linehan. Sure he's been socked with some injuries as well but given the best receiver in the world, an overall number one pick QB- you'd think he would come up with something a little more innovative? Personally I'd say his seat's been elevated to the Kelvin scale for heat over the likes of Cunningham or even Schwartz.

**gnome** · December-23-12, 06:38 PM

I fell asleep in the 4th, and woke up to Oliver Twist being tortured by Mr. Bumble.

Somewhere in there is a metaphor about the Lions. Something about unaccountable arrogance in full flower.

**Thruster315** · December-24-12, 10:29 AM

Originally Posted by gnome

I fell asleep in the 4th, and woke up to Oliver Twist being tortured by Mr. Bumble.

Somewhere in there is a metaphor about the Lions. Something about unaccountable arrogance in full flower.

It actually wasn't that bad of a game to watch. Take in the fact that it was a focused and somewhat determined Atlanta team that had something to play for and our Lions that easily could've mailed it in, it was entertaining.

Seeing Calvin break the record and to hear the Ford Field faithful chant his name still said that there are people who care about this team.

Results obviously weren't in our favor and I've just got too much Christmas crap to do now as opposed to breaking it down. I'll let smogboy, GOAT, jefferson78, firstandten or some other learned faithful poster do that.

One more Sunday to go and all I want for Christmas from this team is to break that losing streak. Against a Chicago team that's taken a huff from our gas pipe I think is doable.

Merry Christmas to all of the Lions faithful here.

**Downriviera** · December-24-12, 06:46 PM

Earth to Stefan Logan....come in please.

**gnome** · December-25-12, 06:47 AM

Merry Christmas. As bad as this season has been, being able to suffer through it with everyone here has made it almost bearable. Almost.

so hand shakes and high fives all around. Next year. There is always next year.

**GOAT** · December-26-12, 02:10 PM

Yes gentlemen [[and ladies), to yet another year!

Looking forward to seeing how we lose games next year. lol But like a masochist, I look forward to next season.

Merry Christmas to all! And health and joy to you and your families in the new year.

**Downriviera** · December-26-12, 09:27 PM

One more to go, and its huge. You're only as good as your last game so what a chance to put all the bs behind us, end this horrid losing streak and gain a little momentum for next year. Go Lion's!

P.S. Shame on you Lomas Brown.

**smogboy** · December-27-12, 11:23 PM

Originally Posted by Thruster315

Results obviously weren't in our favor and I've just got too much Christmas crap to do now as opposed to breaking it down. I'll let smogboy, GOAT, jefferson78, firstandten or some other learned faithful poster do that.

There really wasn't that much to break down. Atlanta I thought had the game they wanted to play most of the night. They controlled the tempo and pace of the majority of the game. I do agree that the game wasn't as lopsided as one would think though. The Lions definitely gave them a battle. Despite our glaring lack of offense Stafford and Johnson were still electric; Calvin Johnson was just unstoppable that night regardless if they had triple teamed him. The only thing left for Calvin now is whether he's going to reach the 2000 yard mark this weekend.

And shame on the people who poo poo the record too. Some writers and pundits have down played this record because some of the yards are supposedly meaningless but one still can't explain how Calvin still does it against [[before the game is a laugher) double teams, triple teams, multiple jams, and when the other teams know he's our one only offensive option. Calvin's been amassing these yards week after week with wonky knees, mangled hands, and a whole list of nagging injuries. And it's not like he just barely broke Jerry Rice's record- he's going to shatter it and set an entirely new high bar that probably won't be touched for a long long while.

Am I playing the Lions' homer and optimism card here? Maybe a little bit but even if this was another player on another team, it's still a feat to behold. Sure, it's probably the only thing we as Lions fans can hope for at this point in the season. Calvin's a class act and any accolades that fall to him are more than deserved.

With one more game to go, let's hope that the Lions still have some measure of pride and determination to show. I think they'll still go out and there and want to play spoiler to the Bears' slim playoff chances.

Also as the season ends, let's get together and take a look at the individual performances. Let's see who they might keep, who deserves to go to pasture, who they drop like a hot potato, and as fans- have a rationale to who the team should draft. This previous season was a let down from the previous and we're going to have some serious growing pains coming up ahead with the salary cap issues but let's look at it rationally and continue the discussion here.

**smogboy** · December-27-12, 11:29 PM

Originally Posted by Downriviera

P.S. Shame on you Lomas Brown.

I couldn't agree with you more. Shame shame shame. That's one aspect of Lomas' game that he should've taken to the grave with him. One should never question a man's character or his effort but when stuff like this comes out even years later- one has to question how many other times of frustration did Lomas not perform like a professional? I also wonder why he chose to air it out too. Why? What's the purpose other than to pull a Terell Owens and say "Look at me" again. It served absolutely no purpose whatsoever other than to make him look like a total dope, raise [[deservedly so) Scott Mitchell's ire, and lose any sort of respect of this town's devoted Lions fans.

Shame on you Lomas Brown.

**firstandten** · December-28-12, 12:39 AM

Originally Posted by smogboy

I couldn't agree with you more. Shame shame shame. That's one aspect of Lomas' game that he should've taken to the grave with him. One should never question a man's character or his effort but when stuff like this comes out even years later- one has to question how many other times of frustration did Lomas not perform like a professional? I also wonder why he chose to air it out too. Why? What's the purpose other than to pull a Terell Owens and say "Look at me" again. It served absolutely no purpose whatsoever other than to make him look like a total dope, raise [[deservedly so) Scott Mitchell's ire, and lose any sort of respect of this town's devoted Lions fans.

Shame on you Lomas Brown.

Lomas was on First Take on Thurs and he owned up to his statement said that he shouldn't said it, doesn't blame Mitchell for being angry and that he would try to reach out to him. He stated at the time he was frustrated [[I guess with Mitchell). Also there were a lot of things going on at the time with the team. He said I can't retract what I said but I should have stated it better because it came off as being boastful and I should have been more tactful. Even though Lomas didn't make the original statement on First Take he is on the show a lot and I just think he caught the Rob Parker foot-in-mouth diease

**GOAT** · December-28-12, 09:49 AM

I'm hoping to knock the whining Bears out of the playoffs. It would give me smug satisfaction to watch them implode yet again.

As for Brown? I just dont care. It was too long ago and Mitchell was shit on a good day. What he did was wrong but I understand it. Perhaps he wanted him out of the game but not injured? Perhaps he wanted Fontes to get him out of there to save the game? ANyway, I could care less.

There is no momentum from the end of the season to another year. anyone who has played any organized sports knows that it cannot carry over from year to year.

Anyone have any under/over for how Mayhew will screw up this draft? I wonder if my tickets will increase in price again? Or if instead of a ticket increase, we will see beer prices rize yet again and food prices continue to climb? $9.00/beer is one of the highest in the NFL! I wonder why that is here? Can't we at least drown our sorrows when watching this organization attempt to play football?

Did anyone catch that boob Schwartz saying in a press conference that Linehan was doing a great job this year? Don't expect him be fired this year since he is Schwartz' hand picked man. Is he blind, dumb or both? Sounds a lot like Marinelli in his last few weeks of employment here.

My prediction is Gunther will "retire" and Schwartz will use that as a scapegoat....just sad.

**Thruster315** · December-28-12, 07:02 PM

Originally Posted by firstandten

Lomas was on First Take on Thurs and he owned up to his statement said that he shouldn't said it, doesn't blame Mitchell for being angry and that he would try to reach out to him. He stated at the time he was frustrated [[I guess with Mitchell). Also there were a lot of things going on at the time with the team. He said I can't retract what I said but I should have stated it better because it came off as being boastful and I should have been more tactful. Even though Lomas didn't make the original statement on First Take he is on the show a lot and I just think he caught the Rob Parker foot-in-mouth diease

He had to own up to his stupid ass remark! It was caught on tape for the entire nation to see. Owning up to that remark is easy as saying the Detroit River's kinda cold in January. There's no way he could've denied it so admitting to it is pretty redundant. Regardless of what he said were his actions at the time.

Yeah, we all get it that Mitchell was probably playing for sh!t at the time but one still can't question his effort. So maybe he was playing like crap and not getting the job done, but he was still out there trying his damndest. The same can't or won't be said for Lomas after that admission now. We all have crappy days at work but why admit to it years later? We all feel your pain Lomas, but why open your piehole up and admit to it? I don't see any sort of tactful way of saying
"I hate your ass and want to see you get hurt so I'm going to let someone do it for me".

Rob Parker's made some doozies and this ones up there as far as stupid ass things to say.

**Thruster315** · December-28-12, 07:17 PM

Originally Posted by GOAT

I'm hoping to knock the whining Bears out of the playoffs. It would give me smug satisfaction to watch them implode yet again.

I couldn't agree more. I don't care how. Just doing it would be damn nice.

Originally Posted by GOAT

As for Brown? I just dont care. It was too long ago and Mitchell was shit on a good day. What he did was wrong but I understand it. Perhaps he wanted him out of the game but not injured? Perhaps he wanted Fontes to get him out of there to save the game? ANyway, I could care less.

I guess what gets me is that some people consider him one of the greater Lions and to see his wander down the dumbass path is really disappointing. It just really taints what sort of class he did have.

Originally Posted by GOAT

Did anyone catch that boob Schwartz saying in a press conference that Linehan was doing a great job this year? Don't expect him be fired this year since he is Schwartz' hand picked man. Is he blind, dumb or both? Sounds a lot like Marinelli in his last few weeks of employment here.

My prediction is Gunther will "retire" and Schwartz will use that as a scapegoat....just sad.

There is a teeny part of me that really feels for these NFL coaches that have to speak to the media, Schwartz included. He has to say something and it gets misconstrued all the time. If he says Linehan is doing a great job he comes across like a dope but if he says nothing [[and this is where I feel for the guy), it gets read as he hates the job Linehan is doing. In reality it's probably somewhere in between. Schwartz is not going to win this media game at all. No coach is unless they're winning.

With regards to Gunther, I feel for the guy. He's been dealt two deuces, a few UNO cards, and was supposed to compete with it. He's managed to get as much as he could've out of this rag tag bunch. He's not the sole blame for this season just as it's not solely his doing that we did well last year.

**Thruster315** · December-28-12, 07:19 PM

Originally Posted by smogboy

Also as the season ends, let's get together and take a look at the individual performances. Let's see who they might keep, who deserves to go to pasture, who they drop like a hot potato, and as fans- have a rationale to who the team should draft. This previous season was a let down from the previous and we're going to have some serious growing pains coming up ahead with the salary cap issues but let's look at it rationally and continue the discussion here.

Lead on then, smogboy!

Let's see who's played their last in a Lions uniform and let's see what people's thoughts are as to who gets booted. I'm sure there are going to be a few salary victims and there should just be a few that need to retire.

Let the re-tooling begin!

**smogboy** · December-30-12, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by Thruster315

Lead on then, smogboy!

Let's see who's played their last in a Lions uniform and let's see what people's thoughts are as to who gets booted. I'm sure there are going to be a few salary victims and there should just be a few that need to retire.

Let the re-tooling begin!

Well, let's at least digest this last game of the year before we start the speculation towards next season.

The score looked a heck of a lot closer than what I saw. The Lions ineptitude with ball control did them in. To a ball possession/ turnover team like the bears it was lethal. I don't think the Bears are any more talented than the Lions but they were very opportunistic when they do get the ball back. They made us pay when we turned it over- whether it was with a steady barrage of field goals or quick TD, it still adds up to the mountain that we had to overcome.

Defensively I thought the team came to life in the second half. They had an urgency and stifled the Bears on several drives. Even offensively the team seemed to click a lot better although it still concerned me that Stafford and Johnson just weren't clicking like they were the week before. Stafford seemed to press and Calvin just wasn't as reliable it seemed.

But it's done. Our season which was so full of hope and optimism fizzled into an extremely disappointing 8 game losing streak. The heat is going to be on the management to make the corrections in the off season now. Detroit was the last team to get stuck with the crazy high rookie salaries and that's going to hamper a lot of the salary cap wiggle room. Within the next few days we'll also know our draft order as the other teams end their seasons as well. My guess is that we're anywhere from 4th to 6th and we should be able to get some immediate starting help [[as opposed to the developmental draft that Mayhew saddled us with this year).

Let's see what others have to say and within a few days we'll start looking forward to discussing the off season.

**gnome** · December-30-12, 07:52 PM

Like ashes in my mouth. Another season wasted. Wasted. All the hours spent, all the planning, all the hopes, everything a miserable waste.

mayhew will be back, same for Schwartz, another off season of fooling ourselves, another 7 months of nothingness, followed by 5 months of disappointment.

these guys have zero credibility.

**firstandten** · December-30-12, 10:33 PM

I know folks are frustrated but I think the Ford family will officially put Schwartz and Mayhew on notice that they must do better. I get the feeling that they felt that few changes needed to be made and they may have gotten a little comfortable assuming there would be carryover from last year. I don't see them getting fired but given one more year to turn it around and I'm ok with that.

**Thruster315** · December-31-12, 11:45 AM

Schwartz & Mayhew definitely put themselves in the crosshairs with their regression. Up until this season there seemed to be some decent improvement. They took us all to the Kool-Aid stand and had us believing, only to find out the product was watered down. Last year's 10-6 record was a lie and I think this year's 4-12 record is also a sh!tty indicator of where this team is. I see them as somewhere in between now. Maybe 8-8 as is, but then this team is going to get overhauled quite a bit this summer with all of the contracts coming up for renewal.

So Schwartz & Mayhew have a semi-fresh slate to play with for next season. I woke up this morning and saw the slew of coaching firings mean that there's a handful of experienced folks out there looking for work. If they don't reach the playoffs, there would be plenty of prospects out there for the Fords to choose from. They've got one more shot at it in my eyes.

**GOAT** · December-31-12, 04:40 PM

3 words...Ha HA HA!

Seriously, I will echo gnome. 54 hoiurs of wasted time, $2000+ of wasted money on an organization that gives the middle finger to it's loyal fan base.

Today just pissed me off. To hear asshole Schwartz say we ran the ball well this year sums up his ability to be a head coach. So what you doubled the amount of rushing TDs, did he not notice that we were 20 TDs less in the passing game??

What is this "evaluation" and "process they are talking about? Every other team seemed to process the season very quickly and fired who needed to be fired. What happens with this laughing stock?? Right, THEY ARE ALL COMING BACK! Not one coodinator fired! Not a GM, not even the water boy.

Face it people, we are treated like shit by this "organization" and they could care less. If you disagree prove to me that they do care about fans, or even winning.
How in good graces could not one of those schlubs be fired? I am shell-shocked, truly.

**Big Dog** · December-31-12, 04:44 PM

GOAT, You got my vote.

**firstandten** · December-31-12, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by GOAT

3 words...Ha HA HA!

Seriously, I will echo gnome. 54 hoiurs of wasted time, $2000+ of wasted money on an organization that gives the middle finger to it's loyal fan base.

Today just pissed me off. To hear asshole Schwartz say we ran the ball well this year sums up his ability to be a head coach. So what you doubled the amount of rushing TDs, did he not notice that we were 20 TDs less in the passing game??

What is this "evaluation" and "process they are talking about? Every other team seemed to process the season very quickly and fired who needed to be fired. What happens with this laughing stock?? Right, THEY ARE ALL COMING BACK! Not one coodinator fired! Not a GM, not even the water boy.

Face it people, we are treated like shit by this "organization" and they could care less. If you disagree prove to me that they do care about fans, or even winning.
How in good graces could not one of those schlubs be fired? I am shell-shocked, truly.

The Lions got rid of all the offensive position coaches but didn't touch the O-coordinator. That is a joke pure and simple. The organization must take all of us fans for a bunch of fools........ wait a minute, they do take us for a bunch of fools !

**Thruster315** · December-31-12, 09:03 PM

Originally Posted by firstandten

The Lions got rid of all the offensive position coaches but didn't touch the O-coordinator. That is a joke pure and simple. The organization must take all of us fans for a bunch of fools........ wait a minute, they do take us for a bunch of fools !

Then color me a damn fool.

Maybe the NFL has spiked my water source but hell if I'm not addicted to watching football- and dammit all if I don't still cheer for my hometown Lions [[as well as the piss poor Spartans & Wolverines). As sh!tty as they've played this season and eons prior, I sure as hell can't bring myself to turn away or cheer for some other team. I just can't get the same sort of love and lively discussions from the GreenBayYes.com forums. I still bleed Honolulu Blue and my noggin just can't accommodate a block of cheese just yet.

**firstandten** · January-01-13, 10:07 PM

An unnamed Lions player told Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com that the team's lack of control before and during the disastrous 4-12 season was at least partly coach Jim Schwartz's fault.
"I think players first and foremost are at fault," the player said. "I also think Coach lost control of the team a little. I hope he comes back. It would be stupid to fire him, but we were an undisciplined team. Most of that is on us.
"But everyone needs to be accountable. The coaches, the players, the front office. Guys need to stop acting like [[bleeps) off the field. Need to stop getting stupid penalties. The truth is, coaches need to punish guys more when they screw up." As much as I don't like it when people don't put their names behind such comments I understand why he didn't do it and I believe his statements simply by looking at how they played you can tell they were undisciplined and the coaches are largely at fault.

**Thruster315** · January-02-13, 04:10 AM

Originally Posted by firstandten

An unnamed Lions player told Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com that the team's lack of control before and during the disastrous 4-12 season was at least partly coach Jim Schwartz's fault.
"I think players first and foremost are at fault," the player said. "I also think Coach lost control of the team a little. I hope he comes back. It would be stupid to fire him, but we were an undisciplined team. Most of that is on us.
"But everyone needs to be accountable. The coaches, the players, the front office. Guys need to stop acting like [[bleeps) off the field. Need to stop getting stupid penalties. The truth is, coaches need to punish guys more when they screw up." As much as I don't like it when people don't put their names behind such comments I understand why he didn't do it and I believe his statements simply by looking at how they played you can tell they were undisciplined and the coaches are largely at fault.

Enough of these un-named people making these comments already. Whether it's faceless supposed GMs in our division talking smack or anonymous players on the team talking to the media- it's all bunk! There's no credibility to any of that stuff. I can easily fake a quote to an "un-named source" and state just about anything- from Martin Mayhew getting hair plugs to Jim Schwartz drinks strawberry daiquiris.

I'm not going to judge this team on hearsay. There's plenty of things this team can be criticized on based upon the results every Sunday- but at least those are factual. All of these supposed insider scoops would have never have flown years ago where there was real journalistic integrity and fact checking.

**Downriviera** · January-02-13, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by Thruster315

Enough of these un-named people making these comments already. Whether it's faceless supposed GMs in our division talking smack or anonymous players on the team talking to the media- it's all bunk! There's no credibility to any of that stuff. I can easily fake a quote to an "un-named source" and state just about anything- from Martin Mayhew getting hair plugs to Jim Schwartz drinks strawberry daiquiris.

I'm not going to judge this team on hearsay. There's plenty of things this team can be criticized on based upon the results every Sunday- but at least those are factual. All of these supposed insider scoops would have never have flown years ago where there was real journalistic integrity and fact checking.

I'm with ya on this. As soon as I see un-named source I quit reading the story. I'm done with this crap.