2014 Detroit Lions

[Thruster315]

Dick Stockton needs to retire. I can't how many times he's made obvious mistakes in analysis about certain players like their names and game situations. He was good in his day, but it surely has passed.

I'd take his gaffes over Mike Goldberg's any day. I'm not saying there should be any mistakes in calling an NFL game, but one could tell that at least Stockton cares about the game. Maybe that's why they paired him up with Quinn who seemed to have studied the pre-game notes.

And if he made a guffaw I'm sure Stockton wouldn't go on tweeting F-bombs back to the public.

I wonder who which set of talking heads we're gonna get to call the game vs. the Vikings.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

I'd take his gaffes over Mike Goldberg's any day. I'm not saying there should be any mistakes in calling an NFL game, but one could tell that at least Stockton cares about the game. Maybe that's why they paired him up with Quinn who seemed to have studied the pre-game notes.

And if he made a guffaw I'm sure Stockton wouldn't go on tweeting F-bombs back to the public.

I wonder who which set of talking heads we're gonna get to call the game vs. the Vikings.

To each his own, and we all make mistakes, but I'm of the thought that if your performance is constantly slipping in whatever you do, it's time to reconsider the situation.

[smogboy]

To each his own, and we all make mistakes, but I'm of the thought that if your performance is constantly slipping in whatever you do, it's time to reconsider the situation.

Maybe I'm slipping and need to reconsider my situation as I don't recall any of these slips that you and thruster315 are talking about with Dick Stockton.

[smogboy]

I'd take his gaffes over Mike Goldberg's any day. I'm not saying there should be any mistakes in calling an NFL game, but one could tell that at least Stockton cares about the game. Maybe that's why they paired him up with Quinn who seemed to have studied the pre-game notes.

And if he made a guffaw I'm sure Stockton wouldn't go on tweeting F-bombs back to the public.

For a person who is in the media- he should understand that he's going to be marked for criticism. The way Mike Goldberg responded showed a pretty thin skin; he should have just brushed it off, learned from it, and proceeded to his next gig. I'm sure he would be announcing this week if he hadn't responded in such an unprofessional manner on Twitter.

But rather than talk about the peripherals- let's wrangle the discussion back to our main topic and talk about the game against the Lions' next opponent, the Vikings. Any thoughts to the game from the audience here? Detroit is listed as a 7 1/2 to an 8 point favorite.

Will we win? Will we cover the spread? And if so- any predictions to the score of the game?

[Cincinnati_Kid]

This has "trap" game written all over it. Vikings aren't that bad, and mathematically still in the hunt. Also heard there is a possibility Suh might be out for tomorrow's game with a illness. Hopefully the Lions handle their business. I'll say, Lions 24 Vikings 17

[Thruster315]

Caldwell & Co. has got this team on a one game at a time focus. We're not even going to be looking ahead. It's dispatch the Vikings first on their minds. We need to keep Matt Stafford vertical for this game and let him get into his groove again. He's been slinging the last few games with some confidence. Let's keep that going for him.

We romp over the Vikings 30-6 and it's a near laffer- so says the bunion.

[401don]

For the 1st time I can say without sarcasm - Great job Schwartz!

[Thruster315]

For the 1st time I can say without sarcasm - Great job Schwartz!

I'll say. Many thanks from those of us here. About time he did Detroit some good. He really had the Bills defense all over Rodgers.

[Thruster315]

As far as OUR game goes… it sure as hell wasn't pretty. Sure some of the credit goes to the Vikings defense for bottling up the offense but Stafford never really got into a groove. Where was that aggressive play calling we saw the last two games? I'm not so sure I blame Stafford solely with this one as I'd pin some of it on Lombardi's play calling. The offense just wasn't firing on hardly any cylinders. We get one touchdown and the rest on Prater's leg? Considering some of the weapons we have- and according to my bunion, we should've been able to torch the Vikings defense in a landslide.

Instead we count on our defense to come save our hides. I'm not complaining about them at all. They kept us in the game. The had timely interceptions which led to our points. They didn't let the Vikings run and kept them in front of them most of the game. One odd observation that arose was our lack of tackling prowess though. Where the hell did we acquire that crappy skill again? I thought we were better than that. The one defensive player that stood heads and shoulders above others this game was Jason Jones. Nice of him to finally emerge and have a big impact on the game.

Anyone with me with regards to the turning point of the game being the interceptions tossed by Bridgewater? Once he threw that second pick, his confidence took a nose dive and the momentum shifted our way a little more.

The Lions haven't completely turned the corner yet with lack luster performances like this but they found a way to secure the W. My bunion was way off on the score and Vegas oddsmakers are cheering that the Lions couldn't cover but who cares? We won even though it wasn't a sure thing even up until that final 68 yard kick that sailed wide.

[Thruster315]

Hey gnome, I sure your uncle got a chance to watch this game. He probably wanted to pitch a bedpan at the TV from time to time but the boys secured another win. Still wishing you and the family the best and for some resolution.

[rb336]

As far as OUR game goes… it sure as hell wasn't pretty. Sure some of the credit goes to the Vikings defense for bottling up the offense but Stafford never really got into a groove. Where was that aggressive play calling we saw the last two games? I'm not so sure I blame Stafford solely with this one as I'd pin some of it on Lombardi's play calling. The offense just wasn't firing on hardly any cylinders. We get one touchdown and the rest on Prater's leg? Considering some of the weapons we have- and according to my bunion, we should've been able to torch the Vikings defense in a landslide.

THe Vikings pass defense has been pretty good, especially in the second half of the season. Once again, this shows that the biggest issue with the Lions is an anemic running game

[Pickford-Bentler]

^
Agree.

If the Lions had an offensive line that could create a consistent "push" at the line of scrimmage, they would be a serious factor in the post season.


They need to upgrade at left guard and right tackle during the off season. Waddle and Lucas provide depth, but they need at least one OL starter at the Pro Bowl level.

[smogboy]

I’m sure sports talk radio today will label yesterday’s Lions game as being “winning ugly” but against an opponent like the Minnesota Vikings we had to. Both teams fought to pretty much a standstill early on; it was a battle without any clear-cut decisive winner until the very last ticks had gone off the clock. Minnesota hung around and gave the Detroit offense some fits but I do agree with thruster315 that our own conservative play calling didn’t help the situation any. We started off the game with three running plays and out. Our offense was pretty tame and dare I say, stale early on? They double-teamed Calvin Johnson quite a bit and Golden Tate never really solved the defense either; they shadowed him very well. I was seriously hoping for some spirited play from Ebron and Pettigrew to solve that, but they weren’t targeted much. While I love Joique Bell’s running prowess I didn’t see much of Reggie Bush or Theo Riddick- lots of thunder but not much lightning.

Dare I say I thought the Lions offense was predictable and pretty boring the first half? The Lions even got a half-hearted Bronx cheer when they finally got a first down.

The silver lining goes to the fact we didn’t turn the ball over. Ball possession and field position played a huge part in the game. The multiple sacks on Teddy Bridgewater so many times put them out of field goal range. The interceptions also swung momentum our way. There was a moment there that Sam Martin was our most potent offensive weapon [[six punts total). Matthew Stafford stayed on his feet for most of the game and the Vikings never recorded a sack.

Detroit has yet to put up a full solid four quarters of football but I guess that’s to be expected considering they have opponents on the other side of the football trying to prevent them from succeeding. At best and somehow miraculously they do turn it up just enough at the end to snatch a victory out of the jaws of defeat though. It’s been the most insane and maddening of drives that come out of nowhere that somehow seals the deal for us. We’re often left wondering where was this potent offense for the last three quarters? And yet somehow they’ve been managing to get the most impossible of victories. For these impossible victories they’ve leaned on all sorts of players.

This week it was Jason Jones tossing his big mitt up there to deflect a chip shot of a Walsh field goal. We haven’t seen a blocked field goal in ages here- and he does it. Darius Slay and Glover Quin got momentum swinging picks. None of these guys are the expected super stars like Stafford, Johnson, or Bush. We’ve been blessed that players like Tate have fulfilled their expectations and then some. We’ve been thankful that this team has leaned on and been pleasantly rewarded by the defensive front seven. They’ve been stout when called upon. I’ll be the first one to still hold my breath when a field goal is kicked but Matt Prater’s been good since settling in. Prater going 3 out of 3 helped whereas Minnesota’s 0 for 3 kicking woes did them in.

It’s been a wild ride so far. Judging by how off most of us were in the pre-season predictions, I’d have to say this team has far exceeded most of our expectations. The season’s still not done yet. We still play Chicago at the always tough Soldier Field next week. And we close with the possible NFC North championship on the line at Lambeau against an uncharacteristically impotent Green Bay Packers team that fell yesterday.

It was nice to see Coach Caldwell have some emotion on the sidelines yesterday. He deserved to have some celebration for all of the preparations he and his staff have done to keep this team moving forward one game at a time. We haven’t lost the focus nor have we been emotionally too high or low. We’ve had a pretty steady hand at the helm this year and I would have to say that’s been a huge part of the team’s success so far. Let’s continue enjoying it as the season rolls on.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

The talking heads on Fox Sports, Jimmy, Micheal, Terry, Howie and Curt were talking about the Lions conservative play calling. I haven't been impressed with this Joe Lombardi. Linehan was more creative IMO. As many weapons as they have, they should be scoring way more points. They have the offense to score 30 points per game. The offense has to help the defense. They can't expect the defense to bail them out every game. Playing that way continuously, is a recipe for disaster. It's frustrating to watch at times.

[Thruster315]

The talking heads on Fox Sports, Jimmy, Micheal, Terry, Howie and Curt were talking about the Lions conservative play calling. I haven't been impressed with this Joe Lombardi. Linehan was more creative IMO. As many weapons as they have, they should be scoring way more points. They have the offense to score 30 points per game. The offense has to help the defense. They can't expect the defense to bail them out every game. Playing that way continuously, is a recipe for disaster. It's frustrating to watch at times.

Some can argue that this is reminiscent of how the Seattle Seahawks or the Baltimore Ravens won their Super Bowls, but I agree that we definitely need our offense to help out the defense. Let's have an evenly balanced team; one half of the team has to spell the other.

[EastsideAl]

One more win and they're in. A win in Green Bay [[yes, it hasn't happened since '91, but it has to happen sometime, why not now?) and they win the division and will host a playoff game [[something that also hasn't happened since '91). Two more wins and the Lions will earn a top 2 spot and a first-round bye, which is something that's never happened.

All experienced Lions fans know though not to count on any of this actually occurring.

[Thruster315]

One more win and they're in. A win in Green Bay [[yes, it hasn't happened since '91, but it has to happen sometime, why not now?) and they win the division and will host a playoff game [[something that also hasn't happened since '91). Two more wins and the Lions will earn a top 2 spot and a first-round bye, which is something that's never happened.

All experienced Lions fans know though not to count on any of this actually occurring.

As one of those "experienced" Lions fans [[I prefer the term "scarred") I would have to say this entire season is nothing I counted on occurring. Hell, I picked them to go 9-7 and that was being optimistic weeks ago. They've already put me into the also-ran category by getting a 10th victory already.

This is going to be one of those seasons I already know I'm gonna look back and say "whoda thunk it?"

[Cincinnati_Kid]

One more win and they're in. A win in Green Bay [[yes, it hasn't happened since '91, but it has to happen sometime, why not now?) and they win the division and will host a playoff game [[something that also hasn't happened since '91). Two more wins and the Lions will earn a top 2 spot and a first-round bye, which is something that's never happened.

All experienced Lions fans know though not to count on any of this actually occurring.

They also win the division if GB [[miraculously) loses to TB next week, and the Lions beat the Bears. So the game at GB wouldn't be as important, even though a win there would still be huge. Some 11-5 team in the NFC won't make the playoffs, I hope it isn't the Lions.

[rb336]

I think Lombardi is overly cautious because of the lack of running game/hole-opening O line. If we clinch a spot against da bears, I say throw all caution to the wind at Lambeau. actually try​ to win instead of trying not to lose

[Pickford-Bentler]

I think the Vikings should get some respect on defense. Their back 7 stays in position, closes fast and tackles well. For example, against the Bears, a lot of those passes in which Tate got stopped quickly would have gone for 15+ yards. Given the Viking ability to rush the passer, a deep drop by Stafford could have led to deep sacks. IMO, they look like a team on the rise.

Teddy Bridgewater could be another "game manager" in the mold of Russel Wilson.

Another factor, IMO, was the physical state of Suh and Idhedigbo. The flu does a number on ones ability to generate maximum power in bursts combined with recovery. I watched the game and, although both played, it seemed that Suh did not have his usual drive that collapses the center of a pocket and Idhedigbo could not wrap up tackles. And it was claimed that Stafford was recovering from the bug.

[Pickford-Bentler]

The Lions are in at 11-5 because they hold tie breakers on the Cowboys and Eagles who can not both be better than 11-5.

All said, IMO, it is going to be tough for any NFC team to beat the Seahawks. That defense is peaking at the right time and is able to choke the life out of offenses at will.

[Downriviera]

Anyone besides me have a Tom Dempsey flashback as Walsh was lining up for that 68 yarder?

[smogboy]

Anyone besides me have a Tom Dempsey flashback as Walsh was lining up for that 68 yarder?

I think we all did considering the broadcasters were showing how Walsh had hit a pretty decisive kick of 70 yards in practice. Granted there's no rush, hordes of screaming fans, AND the pressure of the game on at that point- but we very well could've lost that game.

Maybe that's the charm and magic of this season. We very well could've lost a lot of these games- but somehow we're making the right plays at the ideal time, the other teams are imploding at the right moments, and the football gods have finally given us something to be proud about.

[Thruster315]

This has "trap" game written all over it. Vikings aren't that bad, and mathematically still in the hunt. Also heard there is a possibility Suh might be out for tomorrow's game with a illness. Hopefully the Lions handle their business. I'll say, Lions 24 Vikings 17

Can we call this Chicago game this weekend a "trap" game as well? Seriously we all know they've been a smoldering grease fire all year long but are they just the sort of team that can somehow come up and bite us in the ass? AND at this critical juncture of our season too? Wouldn't Da Bears just want to rise up now and eff up their rivals?

Detroit's a 7 point favorite on the road. I'm just hoping that they win any which way possible. I don't give a flying donut if they win ugly, by the slimmest of margins or whatever. I just need the Lions to win and maybe this is just the age old Lions fan in me- but I still wring my hands any time we play a rival. It's never a given with this team.

[Thruster315]

Maybe that's the charm and magic of this season. We very well could've lost a lot of these games- but somehow we're making the right plays at the ideal time, the other teams are imploding at the right moments, and the football gods have finally given us something to be proud about.

If I only had this calm about me.