2011 Detroit Lions

[gnome]

Well DS, I am on record as predicting a heartbreaker in this Monday Night match against Cutler and Co. However I also picked us to lose to the Bucs in week one. Gleeful I am in being wrong on Tampa Bay, and I would equally delight in being wrong against Da Bears.

As you know the week is early and it would run counter to the Rules of The Turbin to prognosticate too soon; soooooo I'm keeping my powder dry for awhile. That said, I'm working on an early draft of my pre-game speech so stay tuned for that.

Oh, the twitterverse reports that Mrs. Romo was seen taking her drapes to the cleaners.

[smogboy]

Please forgive me but I've been a wee bit busy cheering on those other Detroit felines who've been playing baseball with some aplomb. It's truly wonderful to see our city's teams doing well and bringing up some spirit around these parts.

Rest assured I'll still be around cheering on our beloved Lions but right now, I'm still awash in the post Yankees loss to our team. Thrilling to say the least. Also with a Monday game coming up I figured I'll have an extra day to soak in some more Lions and come up with an observation before long. But right now- it's nice to see both of our Lions and Tigers doing so well.

[Downriviera]

Had a chance to go to the game tonight, but I don't want to miss the Monday Night telecast of the game. Looking forward to Howard, Dandy Don and Frank calling the game. lol....Where are you watching the game?

[kenp]

Dont kick to Hester!!!
Stop the run game!!
Start out hot!!

We win 31 - 17

[jiminnm]

I think the WSJ has adopted the Lions.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...438529528.html

[gnome]

Ford Field was rockin. Downtown was off the chain.!

5 and 0! Not since 1956 have we been 5 and 0, not since Eisenhower was in the White House.

Goodness.

[smogboy]

Ford Field was rockin. Downtown was off the chain.!

5 and 0! Not since 1956 have we been 5 and 0, not since Eisenhower was in the White House.

Goodness.

I couldn't be there in person for the game and had to listen to Dan Miller & Jim Brandstatter on the radio, but massive kudos to the Lions faithful for the amount of noise generated. The crowd noise most definitely rattled the Bears; they had more false starts than I can remember any team having in a very long time.

I think the leading thrower in the first half must've been the referees. There seemed to be so many yellow flags being tossed at the Bears! I'm sure Jim Schwartz wasn't crazy about the aggressive defensive penalties but who can fault them for wanting a piece of Cutler.

If it wasn't for Jay Cutler scampering around the backfield like a pesky mosquito, the outcome would've been much more lopsided. Poor guy was just pressed constantly by our vaunted [[and seemingly fresh) front four. We seemed to keep Forte in check and Hester wasn't much of a factor. We deftly neutralized a lot of the Bears offense and that's always a good thing.

I think the fans here have to congratulate themselves for the amount of noise generated and have to realize that we can be the 12th man on the field for our team now. It made a difference in the game and our lads in Honolulu Blue & Silver did the rest.

I couldn't be happier for this bunch of guys and couldn't be happier being a long suffering Lions fan. The roar has been restored.

[upinottawa]

Could the Lions successfully pull off the double turkey? The Lions won on Canadian Thanksgiving [[last Monday) and if they beat the Packers on November 24th....

I wonder how often in NFL history a team has won on both Canadian and American Thanksgiving in the same season? It should be rare as the team would have to play in and win the Monday night game in early October and then also play on and win an American Thanksgiving game.

[firstandten]

Could the Lions successfully pull off the double turkey? The Lions won on Canadian Thanksgiving [[last Monday) and if they beat the Packers on November 24th....

I wonder how often in NFL history a team has won on both Canadian and American Thanksgiving in the same season? It should be rare as the team would have to play in and win the Monday night game in early October and then also play on and win an American Thanksgiving game.

Its probably not that rare, remember now there are six teams playing on the American Thanksgiving day. Also the Lions haven't been on Monday night football in a decade so usually there are good teams playing on Monday night.

[mikefmich]

Someone pinch me.....am I awake?

Hesitantly I'm starting to blink a little.

[sirrealone]

OK, I just couldn't resist going back to the thread created right after Stafford was drafted.

http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...tthew-Stafford

Remember, there was serious fan discussion wanting the Lions to take Aaron Curry with the number one pick. Yikes!

In that scenario, St. Louis would have likely taken Stafford at #2 and we would have ended up with Bradford in 2010.

Really, really glad the way things worked out

[smogboy]

OK, I just couldn't resist going back to the thread created right after Stafford was drafted.

http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...tthew-Stafford

Remember, there was serious fan discussion wanting the Lions to take Aaron Curry with the number one pick. Yikes!

In that scenario, St. Louis would have likely taken Stafford at #2 and we would have ended up with Bradford in 2010.

Really, really glad the way things worked out

And for all of the people that thought Aaron Curry would've been the better/ safer pick- he hasn't lived up to that hype and is now being shipped out of town:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/70...attle-seahawks

[Thruster315]

Lions lost but the ensuing drama continues.

Did anyone see the Schwartz/ Harbaugh flap after the game? It looked like they were gonna re-enact Hearns/ Duran by the sidelines.

I hated Harbaugh at Michigan. Hated him in Chicago and now if he somehow disrespected our coach, he's gonna prove to me what a D-bag he is. I don't think any of us can fault him for being thrilled winning the game but there's ways to celebrate it.

It's not to say that Schwartz can't be a little testy at times but from the surface it looked as though Happy Harbaugh sauntered over and was a punk. Let's see what happens.

[gnome]

I didn't think we got a real solid perfomance from Stafford today, just not a game where he seemed in control of the field. Don't know if he was rattled by the pressure or what.

[firstandten]

Not really concerned. SF has a good team, the Lions hadn't lost a regular season game in 10 months so it was about time. I am concerned about all the missed tackles. I think the tackling has been shoddy at times even in some of our wins

[douglasm]

My concern is with the team and fans attitude. With all the hype, I hope neither the fans or team collapse and be dishartened going into the home Atlanta game.

[[btw, this was another heart threatening weekend. The Lions game came down to the bitter end, and Eastern [[GO HURONS!) kept me glued to my internet connection with WEMU due to their last second heroics vs. Central. Someone win something going away next week, OK?)

[sirrealone]

I agree with gnome, Stafford didn't have 'it' yesterday. He always seemed just a half step behind. I thought taking the safety was something that could have been avoided. I also didn't care at all for the way that they handled the last minute of the game. You have 80 yards to go, one minute and no timeouts, you HAVE to target the sidelines. I'd have been happier with an INT throwing 20-30 yards downfield toward the sideline than what they got by checking down to someone midfield. I know the odds are low in that situation, but at that point you have to at least try and hope for the best.

Pettigrew could be the undisputed number one tight end in the game if he didn't let so many balls go through his hands.

The post-game scrum was ridiculous. Harbaugh is an arrogant prick but he's always been. I'm disappointed that Schwartz just didn't take the high road even if Harbaugh did spout off.

Going next week to the game, my first in a couple of years. Hoping that the crowd doesn't lose any of the momentum of the last couple of weeks as I'm looking forward to being part of that 12th man!

[firstandten]

Pettigrew could be the undisputed number one tight end in the game if he didn't let so many balls go through his hands.

The post-game scrum was ridiculous. Harbaugh is an arrogant prick but he's always been. I'm disappointed that Schwartz just didn't take the high road even if Harbaugh did spout off.

Pettigrew is only above average in my book for the very reason you mentioned. If hometown Antonio Gates is healthy when the Chargers play the Lions X-mas week. then we will see a real tight end. Hopefully Pettigrew will take notes.

I don't blame Schwartz at all. He felt disrespected by Harbaugh. Think about it. You beat me and then disrespect me too. Not going to happen. He took the high road by not throwing a punch at him.

[kenp]

I didn't think we got a real solid perfomance from Stafford today, just not a game where he seemed in control of the field. Don't know if he was rattled by the pressure or what.

I agree, Stafford look a little lost or out of it. We had plenty of time to make an effort on the last drive with 1:41 to go and he seemed to be going through the motions.
And what was up with all the side arm passes? I hope he isnt hurt.
We need to remember, sacking the QB isnt the only kind of D there is. The 49'ers played us well and ran for over 200 yards.

[GOAT]

Uhhh guys? Stafford was sacked 5 times to SF's Qb getting it twice! He was also hit 10 times and forced out of thepocket almost 40% of the game. How in the fuck do you develop a play when you are rushing about? Granted he seemed to throw the ball too far in front too many times but being hurried doesn't help in those situations. Plus Best dropped a ball as did Pettigrew [[again).

The O-line was hideous against a very fast defence.

BTW: Can Cherilus be dumped next year? PLEASE! I mean a 15 yard penalty [[yet again!!) that took us out of field goal position only to give SF the ball after and they get points on the their next possession. That sealed it for us. IMO, the whole o-line needs to be replaced. From too small Raiola, to dump fuck Cherilus to the slow man Backus...Sims, sorry to say has to go as well. Pack the whole lot of them out of here. We have a $42 million man and we protect him with a paper defence.

I will also call out Linehan. STOP FUCKING RUNNING THE BALL UP THE MIDDLE ON 1st or 2nd DOWN EVERY POSSESSION! PLEASE, JUST STOP!!
Best can't run up the middle, the O-line can't push a baby in a stroller back so why do we think they can push a defensive line back to gain decent yardage?

Truthfully, the Lions lost this game by not doing any very well. In fact they still haven't played a full game yet this year. They own this loss and they can't keep asking the fans to bail them out because I have no voice left.

[TKshreve]

Went down to the game yesterday. Good times. Good energy in the stadium. Tough loss, but a very close game.

HOWEVER............

Who in their right mind thought it was a good Fu*king idea to run a $hit-ball marathon through the downtown area [[and right through greektown) until 1:00pm?

It was 45+ minute logjam central anywhere off Jefferson. Run that $hit over near mid town or Grand River for Christ sake. Put them on the dequindre cut even. It's mind blowing sometimes what the city does to increase it's "attractiveness".

Talk about dropping the ball!!!

[sirrealone]

Goat, I agree that the o-line was unreliable, but I remember reading somewhere recently [[can't remember where) that more fan bases than not think that their offensive lines suck. The fact is that defensive lineman are getting faster and bigger and it's harder for o-lineman to keep up. So across the league QBs are getting pressured more and more.

Here's the thing. I've seen Cutler play a few games this year outside of the Lions game. The Bears o-line is awful at best. Yet, he has made some remarkable plays in spite of the poor o-line play. That's all I'm saying Stafford needs to do.

Stafford wasn't drafted #1 overall and given $40m big ones to throw from the pocket with no pressure. Pretty much any NFL QB has the skills to do that. Guys like him are paid that money so that they can:
Read the defense and audible into a more favorable play
Exploit a weakness somewhere in the defense
Scramble when the line collapses and make a pass
Throw downfield while on the run and hit an open man.

Guys like Stafford become elite because they try those things, and more often than not they succeed. No QB will have guaranteed success, but if you have the skills that Stafford does, you have to take a shot. I would have rather seen Stafford throw an INT on the last drive than what happened, because at least then he would have given the team a shot to win. As it was, nothing in that last drive gave them an opportunity to win and as easy as it is, I just can't put the blame for that solely on the o-line.

[kenp]

We cant run the ball and teams can exploit this. Worse news came today, Best has another concussion. This is a real blow, its his 2nd of the year.
We are a good team but still gotta get this run game fixed and it isnt going to be over night. Imagine when it starts getting cold and we play outside.

[Thruster315]

I don't blame Schwartz at all. He felt disrespected by Harbaugh. Think about it. You beat me and then disrespect me too. Not going to happen. He took the high road by not throwing a punch at him.

I saw an article today claiming that Schwartz started this by hooting it up when Harbaugh tried to challenge a call when he couldn't. Schwartz started it? To which I mumble under my cough "B#LL$H!++". Those actions [[if they were even heard by Harbaugh) were uttered in the heat of the game. I get it- people flip out and get really emotional in the heat of a tight game. Schwartz is a firebrand in midgame; he's fiery and I think most folks get it- the man wants to win. Once the game is done with Schwartz reverts back to his intellectual aloof self.

What Harbaugh did was clearly after the battle was done. At a moment when the two should've been gentlemen and good sportsmen, Harbaugh crossed the line and was a prick. Beat my ass sure- I can live with it, but come rub it in afterwards when it was clearly AFTER the game is wrong wrong wrong.

In the midst of a game, all sorts of things are done and said. After the final tick is off the clock we should revert back to sedate human beings again. Harbaugh obviously forgot and should be slapped down for his stupidity. Schwartz IMHO had every right to go after Harbaugh's disrespectful ass.

While I'm miffed at the Lions play [[they should've won this game), I guess I'm left with knowing that we're not coached by a pussy and if the team follows suit, we'll be alright in the long run.

Now back on the horse and let's go kick Atlanta's ass.

[sirrealone]

I don't know, I guess I'm not all that OK with Schwartz jawing at other coaches or other players during the game. He did it during the Dallas game where he was laying it on Dez Bryant after the Lions won a challenge or something like that and I was a bit uncomfortable with it.

I think Schwartz is a great coach, I love his passion and intensity and knowledge, and the players obviously love to play for him, but he needs to cool it with the talking at the other team. Fist pumps, high fives and celebrating with his guys is fine, but let the players take care of giving the business to the other team.