2012 Detroit Lions

[kenp]

Opening day is not a great gauge of a team, though enough things came out. Stafford looked good then turns around and makes a poor decision 2 differant times in the red zone.
Pettigrew makes some bad plays but also makes big time plays. He was big in the last 2 drives.
Defense was solid, Line backers played well. We are not deep there and need to stay healthy.
D-backs were about what we expected, safteys were adequate.
D-line is very good.
Overall was pleased on rush defense.
Smith ran the ball well, but thats not unexpected. We need LeShoure back becasue Smith will be hurt soon.
Nice comeback, The Lions I have known would have folded up after they gave up the last TD to St Louis.

[gnome]

Slightly off-topic, but did anyone else notice that it looks like Schwartz needs a little support? The guy looks like a prime candidate for a manzier due to a budding set of moobs. I watched the game at a Lions bar in Chicago and the table all commented on what appears to be a solid A or small B cup.

I understand this is slightly distasteful, but just curious if the above observation is valid or if checking out a man rack is just creepy. I'm leaning towards creepy.

[Thruster315]

I understand this is slightly distasteful, but just curious if the above observation is valid or if checking out a man rack is just creepy. I'm leaning towards creepy.

Leaning? I think you fell off the edge! What the hell are ya doing staring at Schwartz for? Yeah, he's the coach but beyond that, NO! NO! NO! NO!

[gnome]

Hey, a girl brought it up first, then the rest of the table couldn't stop taking about them. It was all rather embarrassing to me as I was there with my daughter and it was her Lioncentric softball team who shared our table.

The topic almost became a drinking game after awhile.

[kenp]

Not sure I noticed any man boobs on Schwartz. Did notice a ref with some though and the ref was real small and slim which confused me. Come to find out there was a female ref. Nothing like a girl in uniform.....

[GOAT]

Smogboy,
Found a lot at Randolph and Lafayette beside the Wayne County Building. Great place to tailgate!

What a mixed bag this game was!

After reading what Jenkins said abot the offense "The Lions don't have many plays in their book for red zone attacks) it seemed to make sense with Stafford's picks.

In all, at least they won but this team had better wake up [[including yet another Young bonehead head butt on the other team and yet another Pettigrew drpped pass for a TD).

The biggest pisser of the day was waiting 35 minutes to get into the game! This is the second time this piece of shit "organization" has done this. The other time was last year on Monday Night Football. I mean do I have to leave at 11:00am to get into the game?

The crowd wasn't pleased as I would estimate that half the stadium was still outside waiting to get in at about the 8 minute mark of the 1st quarter. Fucking nonesensical if you ask me. Especially with the fake "security" measures.

Perhaps if their damn beers weren't $9.00/ea [[for 16 ounces) we would go to the game earlier and buy more there. But since the average around the league is somewhere in the $8.00 range why in the hell are we paying so much?

[ejames01]

Smogboy,
Found a lot at Randolph and Lafayette beside the Wayne County Building. Great place to tailgate!

What a mixed bag this game was!

After reading what Jenkins said abot the offense "The Lions don't have many plays in their book for red zone attacks) it seemed to make sense with Stafford's picks.

In all, at least they won but this team had better wake up [[including yet another Young bonehead head butt on the other team and yet another Pettigrew drpped pass for a TD).

The biggest pisser of the day was waiting 35 minutes to get into the game! This is the second time this piece of shit "organization" has done this. The other time was last year on Monday Night Football. I mean do I have to leave at 11:00am to get into the game?

The crowd wasn't pleased as I would estimate that half the stadium was still outside waiting to get in at about the 8 minute mark of the 1st quarter. Fucking nonesensical if you ask me. Especially with the fake "security" measures.

Perhaps if their damn beers weren't $9.00/ea [[for 16 ounces) we would go to the game earlier and buy more there. But since the average around the league is somewhere in the $8.00 range why in the hell are we paying so much?

It isn't the organizations fault, that you were late. I walked right in around noon. The lines also wouldn't be so long if more people used the other doors.

[gnome]

Hey Smogboy, you working Sunday night? The Leo's will kick off at 8:20 against the 49ers. It might mean I'll miss my 9:30 bedtime, but what the heck, anyone interested in a viewing session? Need a ruling here Mr. Commissioner.

[Thruster315]

Not sure I noticed any man boobs on Schwartz. Did notice a ref with some though and the ref was real small and slim which confused me. Come to find out there was a female ref. Nothing like a girl in uniform.....

Shannon Eastin is a helluva lot easier on the eyes than the big guns of Ed Hochuli.

[Thruster315]

Needless to say a female official and Jim Schwartz' man boobs are still a billion and two percent better than the wet t-shirt contest splayed across Jeff Backus' ass. I KNEW there was something amiss with the new uniforms! Thanks a helluva lot, Nike.

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/styl...uniforms-pants

[gnome]

Wtf was that for Thruster? What did we ever do to you? Now I,ll have to gargle with Clorox and put rubbing alcohol in my visine bottle. Thanx buddy, ?... If I ever run into some naked pix of Walter Brennan making sweet humpity hump with Ethel Merman I'm sending them to you.

[GOAT]

Give me a fucking break Ejames01! We got there about 20 minutes to 1:00PM. How in the fuck are we to know how and when and if "security" is going to be slow or fast? Other stadiums don't have this kind of bullshit! As someone who has been going to every game for 7 years this is getting worse and worse.
So yes, it is the organization's problem if they can't get people in on time.

Sorry but I don't want or need to be there for noon. To do what sit on my ass and wait and pay $9.00 for beer? Or I guess I can go pay double for items at the Roar store as I would at any other vendor in the region.

That is really rich to say use other entrances. So now I have to walk around the stadium to find the other entrances [[of which one is only a single door) in case they can't get people in on time? I did that for a few games last year and ended up waiting longer as some of those entrances were too backed up. It's a crap shoot and the fake security measures don't help.

[GOAT]

I will not be able to attend the 49ers game. : [[ Perhaps a different game.

[gnome]

Hmm, looks like EJ and Goat will have to sit at opposite ends of the table.

----

Just to pee in everyone's cornflakes, I'm here to tell everyone that Dom was two yard beyond the line of scrimmage on the Kevin smith TD reception. Smith hung in the backfield for a beat or two then squirted through the line and into the open. While squirting he ran into Dom's back and Dom stumbled forward and crossed the line of scrimmage. He did that directly in front of a ref. the ref could not have been more than five feet away.

Now, this wasn't Dom's fault, but it happened. He was downfield. There should have been a flag. The touchdown should have been called back and we should have been forced to have Golden Leg come on for 3 and a a trip to O.T.

I'm writing from an I Pad and don't know how to cut n paste the links, but if you conjure up "Kevin smith touchdown" you can see for your own self. Www.Thedetroitsportssite.com might work.

Again, Dom was not at fault, Kevin smith pushed him across the line of scrimmage, but this brings up an interesting situation.

One, the replacement refs failed to make a call that directly changed to outcome of a game. If they can make such and error in our favor, they can make one against us. Bogus. Two, the praise on Smith needs to be tempered. His mistake was dumb and should not have happened. Three, it does seem that winners do indeed get lucky breaks. Or as to Jefferson said, "I believe in luck and have found that the harder I work, the more luck I find." Meaning all the hard work ours Leos have done these past few years have turned the gods to our favor.

Of course, luck isn't a game plan, neither is hope, because as much as you rub that rabbit's foot, you should remember it didn't work for the rabbit.

[kenp]

They make that call and there is a riot.
I dont know if Smith caught the ball before or after going over the line, but Im quite sure if the pass is before the line then the o-lineman can cross.
In all the excitement I didnt even notice the center down field and this is the first I heard of it.
The lady wasnt the head ref was she?

[gnome]

Take a look at www.deadspin.com and their piece about Replacement Ref's missed calls. The Dom play is there and it shows Smith at the 3 or 4 yard line when he caught the ball.

If you watch Dom, he hiked the ball and immediately pull to his right filling a gap btwn the Sims and Backus. By the time Dom got there , Smith took off and shoved Dom forward. In the motion footage you can see Dom clearly stutter step to regain his balance and stop himself going forward any further.

It is pretty bad.

Now I don't know if getting shoved from behind gives the linemen a break on being downfield, I know there are provisions if you are engaged with an opponent and you go beyond the line of scrimmage, but clearly Dom was not engaged with anyone. In fact it didn't look like he hit anyone on that play.

Since I'm not in town I don't know if 97.1 has touched on this issue but I think they should. We won, that's great, but we had sucky refs in doing so. again I'm concerned going forward. Bad refs, bad rulings, can and will cost us victories and with my 12-4 prognostication I need every victory possible.

[GOAT]

I don't get a $2 billion league using 3rd string refs over a few millon bucks. Really? Is this what we get as fans?

How about the Player out of bounds but the clock still ticked off?? I was unsure about that play as well.

As for me and Ejames01...it's all good. A disagreement is all. I just find Ford Field to be so poorly run as compared to other stadiums in many ways. Sure the stadium is great but they have people who can't pout beer from a tap; people who are younger than me asking for ID, silly rules..family entertainment my ass! @ an average of $425/game for a family of four, this isn't family entertainment. Who can afford it?

end of rant. lol

[smogboy]

Hey Smogboy, you working Sunday night? The Leo's will kick off at 8:20 against the 49ers. It might mean I'll miss my 9:30 bedtime, but what the heck, anyone interested in a viewing session? Need a ruling here Mr. Commissioner.

I might actually be out of town for game time. I've got the DVR primed to record the game for me to watch later. But again far be it for me to discourage any of the astute folks here from getting together at some local watering hole. No need to ask for my permission, blessing or feeble organization skills.

[smogboy]

Needless to say a female official and Jim Schwartz' man boobs are still a billion and two percent better than the wet t-shirt contest splayed across Jeff Backus' ass. I KNEW there was something amiss with the new uniforms! Thanks a helluva lot, Nike.

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/styl...uniforms-pants

I'm bleaching my eyes after viewing that.

[smogboy]

I don't get a $2 billion league using 3rd string refs over a few millon bucks. Really? Is this what we get as fans?

How about the Player out of bounds but the clock still ticked off?? I was unsure about that play as well.

Personally I think the replacement refs did okay. They weren't ideal. They took their time and were cautious. I didn't think it hampered the Lions/ Rams game because it was pretty calm and neither team got too over-the-top chippy. Now if it was a sorely heated game or there were extremely close calls, these replacement refs could've been in some hot water. I thought some of the pre-season games were much much more horribly officiated. Since then they've seemed to have caught onto the speed of the game a little better.

But I also agree that the NFL and referees need to come to an agreement soon. Both sides are cash heavy so quit being greedy at our expense and thankfully, it hasn't been at the expense of a game or a player's health.

As for me and Ejames01...it's all good. A disagreement is all. I just find Ford Field to be so poorly run as compared to other stadiums in many ways. Sure the stadium is great but they have people who can't pout beer from a tap; people who are younger than me asking for ID, silly rules..family entertainment my ass! @ an average of $425/game for a family of four, this isn't family entertainment. Who can afford it?

end of rant. lol

Sincere thank you for agreeing to disagree amicably. We're entitled to our own opinions here and I sincerely feel for you with the stadium incident. I think you got there in plenty of time to get in. I, too am not a huge fan of showing up too early for games. They're not like movies where I have trailers to watch or something to keep me entertained prior to the beginning of the game. I sincerely hope that your next experience at our beloved Lions game will go smoother. It really shouldn't be that difficult for a loyal fan to get in.

[Thruster315]

Wtf was that for Thruster? What did we ever do to you? Now I,ll have to gargle with Clorox and put rubbing alcohol in my visine bottle. Thanx buddy, ?... If I ever run into some naked pix of Walter Brennan making sweet humpity hump with Ethel Merman I'm sending them to you.

It's not exactly every day that Jeff Backus makes headline news. I couldn't resist!

[firstandten]

I am still seeing the things that bothered me with the Lions last year. The missed tackles were terrible, thats a major reason why the defense can't get off the field. On third down they do the right thing and keep the ball in front of them but then they can't bring the ball carrier down. There lack of tackling really is noticable when they play a good west coast style offensive team, like the 49ers or Packers.

If you look at the 49ers defense there was much better tackling especially among the DB's and Safety's. I think its evident that there needs to be an upgrade in those positions and LB as well but not as great.

The guys they have in those positions try hard, they come up and try to make the tackle but they can't do it. These guys get cut from other teams and end up starting for the Lions.

Until the Lions upgrade the level of talent at those positions they will not be able to beat the really good teams consistantly.

[Thruster315]

I am still seeing the things that bothered me with the Lions last year. The missed tackles were terrible, thats a major reason why the defense can't get off the field. On third down they do the right thing and keep the ball in front of them but then they can't bring the ball carrier down. There lack of tackling really is noticable when they play a good west coast style offensive team, like the 49ers or Packers.

If you look at the 49ers defense there was much better tackling especially among the DB's and Safety's. I think its evident that there needs to be an upgrade in those positions and LB as well but not as great.

The guys they have in those positions try hard, they come up and try to make the tackle but they can't do it. These guys get cut from other teams and end up starting for the Lions.

Until the Lions upgrade the level of talent at those positions they will not be able to beat the really good teams consistantly.

Point made! Last week guys like Durant came up huge and the linebacker corps locked everything down. This game- MEH!

And was it just me or did this game just not live up to some expectations? I was expecting fireworks and ended up feeling so-so. Neither team took it to the other. It just lacked something- I'm not sure what, but it was a snoozer.

[smogboy]

I think part of the let down for some of us Lions fans was partially due to the national hype about “The Handshake”. Beyond the loss, the Lions failed in containing Gore and Crabtree; those two guys killed us. The Niners seemed to have had a game plan in going after John Wendling early. They obviously saw a mismatch there and exploited it early and often. And Michael Crabtree just came through with clutch third down catches when his team needed it.

I thought we hung with them relatively well and the Lions always had that small window of hope. With a quick strike weapon like Calvin Johnson, I don’t think we’re ever truly out of a game that easily. I liked how the Lions initially tried to force the issue by running the ball with Kevin Smith, but there didn’t seem to be any adjustments after it didn’t work on a few consecutive downs. Smith had the jump daring hard into the gap but the Niners’ linebackers were more than up to the task. Despite the Niners constantly showing the Nickel Package, we couldn’t make a dent in that line. They baited us and we couldn’t take advantage of that. Beyond Calvin being the only threat, where were the other receivers? Burleson was pretty much absent as was the Titus Young [[who I still think lacks smarts AND maturity now). The tight end trio of Pettigrew, Scheffler and Heller didn’t seem to do much either. I don’t recall any of the backs catching many swing passes either. We just couldn’t solve the San Francisco defense. The one time I thought that we actually caught them by surprise was when Stafford bolted right up the gut for a gain of 11 yards. One could see that there wasn’t anyone in the middle and it was solid green in front of him. Beyond that one play, I think the offense looked pretty anemic. Stafford’s accuracy was just atrocious- some of which I’ll blame on the park and the other times, he was just plain off target. He needs to improve if we’re to ever improve.

The one lone bright spot I could say I saw in the game was the front four of the defensive line. They seemed very disruptive and actually had Smith scrambling from time to time. They seemed to disrupt his timing a bit but even then, Gore was a wonderful outlet for him to go to. Suh, Williams and Hill seem to be playing with some muscle as of late and they seemed to have a good push all night long.

I personally didn’t see the Lions winning this match-up- even early on when the schedule was released. After seeing how San Francisco took the Packers to task at Lambeau last week, I knew this wasn’t going to be good for the Lions. The Niners are still fresh and are just too well rounded of a team to take apart. Maybe there’s a moral victory in this somewhere but unfortunately we play in a league that doesn’t’ give out W’s for those. We still lost but probably not as bad as it could’ve been.

I’m not in panic mode just yet. We played an awfully good top tier team. It just shows that we’re not there yet. We still have a lot of improvement. I’m thankful there didn’t seem to be any injuries [[maybe Tulloch but he bounced back) and we’ll be getting back Delmas, Houston, and LeShoure soon. But even with them in the line-up, I seriously doubt if we were going to beat this San Francisco team any time soon. A lot had to go right for us to even come close and those things just didn’t fall into place for us this week.

[gnome]

I'm a tad non-plused by our performance. Neither mad, sad nor glad as we were out-manned. From coaching and scheme to catching and tackling we were not them. They were better.

However, better teams don't always win and we had a number of chances to win. While we can't point to a single game changing play, I would like everyone to look at the end of the first quarter.

When Coleman ran into the SF kicker it resulted in a first down and an eventual touchdown. But SF failed to hike the ball before time ran out on the play inwhich Moss was interfered with in the end zone. That penalty gave SF a first an ten on the 1 and resulted in Gore waltzing in for 6.

Last week I pointed out where the Replacements didn't call Dom being downfield on the Kevin Smith winning TD. I believe the collective opinion was that since the failed call was in our favor, it wasn't in our best interests to complain.

This week a failed call may very well have contributed to our demise. Does it feel different?