Detroit Lions 2009

[DetroitZack]

Any predictions for next weeks game against the Bears?

[rajdet]

Any predictions for next weeks game against the Bears?

Can we at least enjoy the first win in two years for a day before we start thinking about Da Bearz?

[DetroitZack]

Can we at least enjoy the first win in two years for a day before we start thinking about Da Bearz?

Sure! Why not celebrate for a week? And then have a parade.

[smogboy]

Sure! Why not celebrate for a week? And then have a parade.

There is some wisdom here in the sense that we don't know when this team is going to get their next victory. It might be a long while [[although I'd hazard a guess that we might even be favored against St. Louis) but this team shouldn't be judged by its won-loss record at the end of the season. I think I can somewhat say confidently that there isn't going to be a post season for this year's Lions team. Celebrate the one lone notch in the W column for now and each week we should look for the few bright spots that are bound to occur.

The stench that Millen left behind is still pretty pervasive and even though he's been gone awhile we as fans still can't get over his stupidity easily. So rather than bag on his obvious deficiencies as a team president the last few years, we do have to acknowledge that this isn't Millen's team anymore. And that's not to say that Mayhew & Schwartz aren't above criticism, but I think we need to temper it somewhat this season. With most rookie coaches there is a honeymoon of sorts and by no means were we knowledgeable fans going to expect him to turn our sad sack franchise around over night. We will have to give Schwartz some time to implement his plan. I'd still want to hold him to certain benchmarks and a time frame and see if he can attain them. So far he hasn't been bombastic, massively egotistical or down about the team- Schwartz seems as though he's pretty even keeled so far. I'm willing to trust him so far.

But we shall see.

[7andkelly]

Can we at least enjoy the first win in two years for a day before we start thinking about Da Bearz?

Sunday's game against the bears is winnable.

[jefferson78]

I'm sorry but pigs can only fly once a year.
The Bears are likely to destroy the Lions this Sunday.

[smogboy]

I'm sorry but pigs can only fly once a year.
The Bears are likely to destroy the Lions this Sunday.

The final score said so.

But admittedly for the first half of the game, it actually looked competitive. But then it made me think was it really the Lions being that good or was it the Bears being that inept? Realistically it was probably a little of each. It was by no means a classic football game for each team; defensively for both the Lions & Bears- it was pretty bad.

It also made me wonder if we would've been any better if we would've signed Jake Cutler as opposed to Stafford. I'm not so sure though because they both seem to air the ball out pretty well and don't have much of a run game behind them [[granted we made Forte look like an All-Pro with a few of his long runs).

Either way, by the end of the third quarter it was barely palatable to watch. It seemed as though we strayed away from the game plan we started with or Chicago adapted that well to our play calling. The game slipped away from us and the Lions could no longer counter punch in the shoot out.

[Tig3rzhark]

I wonder what happened. I thought the curse of Bobby Lane was gone!

It seems that he still walks among us, even after the 50 years of this crap.

[blksoul_x]

Bad news for the Lions!

Watching the NFL Network; Stafford my have a dislocated knee. Which means, more than/likely, he will be out for the season!

The people that wanted this talented rookie to sit and learn, WELL, YOU GOT YOUR WISH!

blksoul_atcha!
The BJL, we a movement by ourselves!

[gnome]

Hey! I didn't want Stafford to get hurt, I was afraid he would get hurt before he had the time to learn the game. I don't understand why anyone would put a 47 million dollar player behind the Lions O line. A line in which the best player is Jeff Backus.

[smogboy]

Bad news for the Lions!

Watching the NFL Network; Stafford my have a dislocated knee. Which means, more than/likely, he will be out for the season!

The people that wanted this talented rookie to sit and learn, WELL, YOU GOT YOUR WISH!

blksoul_atcha!
The BJL, we a movement by ourselves!

Before anyone starts listening to the panic that Dr.blksoul_x has to dispense, according to ESPN Stafford's injury isn't as grave as it appears to be.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4531166

As far as those of us who wanted Stafford to sit and learn, realize that the intent was not for him to go get injured and sit. Huge difference in rationale. This team already has invested a huge sum of money into Stafford. I believe it was Mike Rosenberg of the Freep that indicated some very sound rationale as to why so many of us didn't think he should start:

1) Have the offensive line prove they can protect a QB.
2) Wait until we snapped the losing streak.
3) Have the season out of reach.

Most of those points are moot though since the team has saddled us up with him now.

[blksoul_x]

Hey! I didn't want Stafford to get hurt, I was afraid he would get hurt before he had the time to learn the game. I don't understand why anyone would put a 47 million dollar player behind the Lions O line. A line in which the best player is Jeff Backus.

'gnome' and 'smogboy'....

Actually, the offensive line has performed above average this year perhaps due to the high level of talent from the rookie Stafford. [[Besides, the hit was kind of fluky. It was more to do with the way he fell to the ground.).

Stafford has shown great presence in the pocket, which leads me to believe, he can quickly run through his reads, on top of the fact that he has a flat out pin-point cannon for an arm, and is NOT SCARED to throw in coverage, thus preventing a defense from attacking the Lions O-line with blitzes complex rushes. The more Stafford plays, the better the Lions offense will become. I can see Stafford by the end of the season, throwing the ball 30-40 times a game without much pressure from the defense. This is the first time in a LONG time that opposing defenses have to ACCOUNT for a Lion QB. I can see why he won over the starting job. If Stafford is out for the season, it is a MAJOR set back for the Lions!

Stafford is an offensive coordinators dream! Watching him improve each game, It would have been absolutely foolish not to start him. Best believe, Stafford would probably have started on 85% of NFL Teams this season.

blksoul_atcha!
The BJL, we a movement by ourselves!

[Detroitej72]

Watching the NFL Network; Stafford my have a dislocated knee. Which means, more than/likely, he will be out for the season!

After the 2nd quarter, many Lion's fans may wish the whole team would be out for the season!

All those who want to see "Bubble's" start the next game, say "I"!

[smogboy]

'Best believe, Stafford would probably have started on 85% of NFL Teams this season.

85% of the league also has a better offensive line than the Lions too. Let's not lose sight of the fact that no one knew how this relatively new offensive line was going to start off the year or come together. Inserting him in as the starting QB made no sense until we had some proof that that line was capable of protecting Stafford. Care to rattle off the stat as to how many sacks our offensive line gave up last year? Is this the group you want protecting your future QB & $40+ million dollar baby?

We all know Stafford was going to start at some point in his career here, but why the very first game with an unproven offensive line? We really had nothing to lose by starting Daunte Culpepper either and then putting Stafford in later in the season after certain benchmarks were achieved like I had suggested earlier.

This Lions team surely isn't like any other team in the league- we went winless for all of last year.

[gnome]

You make some solid points BSX, however the performance of the offensive line has been better than last year, but far below an acceptable professional standard. Riolla was called for offsides yesterday.

Last time I checked, it takes some talent for a center to jump offsides. Bachus too failed the test of remembering how to count to three, thereby putting our backs even closer to our own goaline on a 1st and 10 from the 19.

Now while I think Stafford wasn't ready for prime time is beside the point, it was the offensive line that really wasn't ready for prime time. that's the point. Those guys couldn't open a hole in a swiss cheese factory. After four games we have totaled a little over 400 yrds on the ground. And that number includes the Washington game where they ran for over 150 yards. Yesterday Kevin Smith put 30 yards of turf under his feet and that is with Urlacher out for the year.

BSX, you make some good points, Stafford is the future, I just wish he would have had a little longer time to season before putting him out there. I don't think the Offensive Line plays at a consistantly professional level to warrant putting the Lions future in their unsteady hands.

[blksoul_x]

Is this the group you want protecting your future QB & $40+ million dollar baby?

.

Man, you guys are really suffering from [[BLS), 'Battered Lions Syndrome'. You have been abused for so many years, that you can't see that the Lions are an improving team. We have a young stud QB, with a bit of swagger, and you want to keep him locked down.

Ya'll remind me of the guy that just brought new carpet and keep the room roped off so no one will step on his carpet. He wants to keep his carpet clean until the right moment. Some things are not meant to be locked up until the right moment. Some things are meant to be showcased. For Mathew Stafford, he is a talent that can not be held back. Every once and a while you have a guy that can make other people better. The Lions have one of those guys at QB. The offensive line is better because of him, Calvin Johnson is better because of him, and eventually the defense will be better because of him due to the fact the the Lions offense will win most time of possessions. Some things, you just can't hold back.

blksoul_atcha!
The BJL, we a movement by ourselves!

[gnome]

Yes, I'm as beaten as newborn seal. Guilty as charged.

I was there when Dempsey's half foot let fly 63 yards of humiliation, and there when Landy took two in Dallas, when Sims went down in a tangle of miniscus tears, when Morninweg elected to kick off. Yeah, the black and blue thumpings were real and when I think back to Chuck Long I see Matt Stafford. I see Chuck Long throwing an 82 yard touchdown on his first play from scrimmage and then his career going down faster than a prom date.

The MRI will tell some, Pittsburgh's secondary will tell us more. Expect a 4 Int week.

[smogboy]

We all agree that Matthew Stafford is the future of this franchise.

And even if Matthew Stafford is the more skilled QB at this point- starting him now will gain us what? One or two more victories in a fruitless rebuilding year? The sheer fact that Stafford got injured skewers BSX' argument that he should be in there now. What if it was a career ending injury- would it have been worth it? I say have the offensive line PROVE to us that they're improved long before we put him in there to take some lumps.

None of us are against Stafford starting but I don't see the gains outweighing the potential losses with this team. Can someone explain to me what would've been wrong with starting Stafford after the Bye Week? Are these five games going to make or break his learning curve? Have you folks forgotten that this kid still should be a senior in college? It's not like this guy is rapidly aging and losing his edge on the bench.

[Big Dog]

Smogboy, I agree completely with your post #93.

[Big Dog]

Kevin Smith, even though he talks a good game, appears to be a less than average back. The announcers even stated that he needs to break tackles to be a good back. They are right, Smith seldom breaks a tackle. Perhaps he has speed, but lacks the strength break many tackles.

[smogboy]

Kevin Smith, even though he talks a good game, appears to be a less than average back. The announcers even stated that he needs to break tackles to be a good back. They are right, Smith seldom breaks a tackle. Perhaps he has speed, but lacks the strength break many tackles.

They seem to try shoving him into runs between the tackles and I wonder if he's that sort of bruising back that can burst through a hole like that and break tackles. Personally I wouldn't mind seeing him swing out of the backfield to the flat a little more and give him some open space to move. It is nice to see that Schwartz [[or Linehan) has implemented a few screen passes in the vocabulary this year.

Realistically I know that we might not win too many other games this year, but is it just me but does the team seem to a little more competitive than last year's motley bunch? Heck, just entertaining the thought of having a chance to tie it in the last few minutes was exciting. If this was last year's Marinelli led team, I think they would've folded at half time. I do sense some minor improvement with the Lions; compared to 0-16 it's obviously not tough.

-The William James interception was lightning quick and to see US returning a pick for a TD seemed like such a distant memory.

-The offensive line held up much better than I thought it would, although yesterday's sack total would prove me wrong.

-The secondary receivers [[non Calvin Johnsons) are actually starting to come through. Northcutt, Williams, and Bryant Johnson have actually made some contributions now.

-The third down conversion rate seems to have improved as well as their time of possession.

Again, these are just microscopic elements of the game I noticed yesterday. It wasn't by any stretch a complete game. There were some gaffes, mental errors and just bone headed mistakes throughout. But then in any football game, there are bound to be many of those. Usually the team that has fewer of those wins.

[smogboy]

As much as our Lions stunk it up against the Pack this previous Sunday, hearing about how Kerry Collins throw for a -7 yards and have a 4.9 passer rating was almost laughable. The NFL truly is a league of have and have-nots this season. And yes, our Lions belong in the have-not category.

[smogboy]

Someone defibrillate, please!

Someone just told me that our vaunted Lions [[queue up the Sarcasm Meter) are actually a 3 point favorite over the sad sack St. Louis Rams. It's been so long since I can honestly remember our team being a favorite over anyone.

I guess I'll just enjoy this warm fuzzy feeling until Sunday and see what unfolds.

[Downriviera]

Rams and Browns are the only winnable games, imo.

[smogboy]

Rams and Browns are the only winnable games, imo.

I'm inclined to agree but that's what makes these games so scary. We've been led down this path before where we get our hearts broken and our hopes dashed against the rocks.

As a fan I can only hope for these to pan out for us and just maybe we can squeak out another victory somewhere along the season. Heck, I'd just be content to see our team improve week after week and be somewhat competitive.