2012 Detroit Lions

[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.

[Thruster315]

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.

[smogboy]

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.

[Thruster315]

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]

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.