Detroit Lions 2009

[gnome]

IN PRAISE OF APATHY

Another loss, this one to the lowly Rams and it seems no one cares. I think that is a good thing.
We have turned a corner.

The game, a game in which the Lions were 3 1/2 point favorites, failed to lure in enough believers, resulting in the draconian NFL blackout decending on TVs from Monroe to Flint, Detroit to Lansing. The NFL's blackout goes into effect when a team doesn't sell-out the stadium within 72 or 48 hrs before a contest. The NFL as the nation's only government sanctioned monoply and therefore wields its status like a bully having a hissy fit. "Fine, you won't buy my tickets, I won't let you watch my sub-par performance."

A double-think thought process but one the NFL clings to in the belief that since billionaires thought it up, it must be a good idea; but I digress.

It seems no one cares about the Lions. And that is a good thing. I believe it is not hate that will change the Lions. Hate is the flip-side of Love, and while love can cure a child's scuffed knee, it can't fix the Lions anymore than yelling will. Yelling hateful "Fire Millen, Kill Ford" didn't work. Neither did "Trade Harrington!" or "Sack Mitchell!" or "Bench Plum!".

Vitriol will not spurr the Lions to change, but not giving a flying-fig will. Not buying their embarrassing tickets, not buying their worthless foam fingers, jerseys, weak beer or over-priced parking will. By not going to the games, by not buying their merchandise, by not visiting the advertisers that appear on their in-stadium billboards or are voiced on their radio network, the only way to change the Lions is to stop caring.

Apathy, the universal cure. But are there signs that apathy is catching on?

Thankfully, yes. It seems that thousands of people cared enough to not go to the game. Barely 40 thousand sad-eyed souls went to Ford Field to see the Lions lose. The blackout fell and thousands more didn't watch, but the biggest hint that shows that people have stopped caring:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/s...yCurrentPage=0

There hasn't been a single comment on the Freep's Lions in 5 days. And the last comment before that? two weeks ago.

So rejoice, oh beleagered fans of yore, you are doing the best thing possible: absolutely nothing.

[Big Dog]

Very Good post, gnome. I think it's 100% right on. If the fans settle for terrible teams, that's what they will get.

[smogboy]

There hasn't been a single comment on the Freep's Lions in 5 days. And the last comment before that? two weeks ago.

It's also the Freep.

Just because people don't go to the games, people still care about the Lions. Go to http://www.mlive.com/lions/ if you want to see fans' and their commentaries. People there are rabid about letting their emotions be read. Listen to sports talk radio on a Monday morning- we're still an NFL/ football driven nation. The sheer fact that we're posting and talking about our miserable Lions team here says we care- even if it's on a visceral level.

[jefferson78]

I was one who was actually hoping for the Lions to lose. The reason being, is that if they did win, there would be a glimmer of hope that maybe things are on the right track, which I do not think they are.
I agree that the only thing that will force change is "total fan apathy". When a great majority of your fan base tells you they don't care anymore, then you're approaching rock bottom and only a massive upheavel will have an effect. Unfortunately, I do not think the Fords will sell the team. If this does not happen then we can expect bad teams until the old man dies and they ultimately sell it to someone who will try to do something positive with this franchise.
As for talk radio, as much as I hate listening to the slappies who kept calling in last week defiantly insisting this was a "for sure win", and then call back on Monday to complain.
I know that the stations have to cover the Lions to a point. It is their job, and someone has to let fans vent their frustration. But aren't we past that? If you were not frustrated at the state of this team 10 years ago, why now? Did you actually believe they were going somewhere? What finally clued you in?
I love the NFL, but I hate the Lions. It's hard to pick a favorite team because I can always find some kind of reason not to root for anyone else. I wish I could root for my hometown team but that would be fruitless. So I root for individual players. Yes I play Fantasy football. It's one way I can enjoy the game without letting the ineptness of our team ruin my sundays. I just wish that this nightmare would end and we could wake up someday with a competitive NFL team. I probably have a better chance of winning a million dollars in the lottery.

[gnome]

Gosh Smogboy, I guess there are still enough people out there that care about the Lions to bitch about there poor performance. Forgive me, I thought I had spotted the growing trend of apathy.

Looks like we'll have another 50 yrs kitten play.

---

So, who here thinks the Lions won't sell-out for Thanksgiving? In my hope that apathy will reign, say, "NO, the Lions will not sell-out Thanksgiving"!

[Downriviera]

I think the situation with the Lion's is very similar to what they had in Chicago with the Black Hawks. An owner that was very stubborn and would not change. When Wirtz died and his son took over everything turned around. I don't wish for anyone to die, but I truly believe thats what its going to take. As for the Lion's ever being sold, save your breath, it will never leave the Ford family. Things will change when Bill Ford Jr. takes over. As for the Thanksgiving game, I think it will sell out because people go for the tradition of the event. Its a big family thing, plus the cheeseheads will come from Wisconsin. I went through this stuff with the dismal Red Wings back in the day. I still followed the team and went to games, hoping they could at least stay in the game and keep it respectable.

[smogboy]

Gosh Smogboy, I guess there are still enough people out there that care about the Lions to bitch about there poor performance. Forgive me, I thought I had spotted the growing trend of apathy. [/B]

Of course there's apathy abounding with this team. It's not a trend.

But that being said, it's also easy to be apathetic towards anything Detroit too. And yet we still defend this fair metropolis. Want to talk down our US made automobiles and it'd spark a riot amongst some people. Want to poke fun at our city [[Leno, Kimmel, etc.) and we take exception. But yet there are still some of us here who remain loyal to this city that and the NFL franchise that bears its name.

Being apathetic is easy to do with the downtrodden. Making fun of the pathetic has always been easy to do. But rest assured that if [[I'm not sure if I can be around for the "when") this town turns it around, becomes a hot bed of culture & cool, and the Lions do win a Super Bowl, it'd be the biggest celebration this town has ever seen.

[smogboy]

I went through this stuff with the dismal Red Wings back in the day. I still followed the team and went to games, hoping they could at least stay in the game and keep it respectable.

Just maybe our dedication to this Lions team will pay off like the Wings did for so many of us.

[Big Dog]

One of the few things, one can count on in life is, nothing stays the same.

[Ray1936]

Lemme throw in this scenario.

The Lions go 1 - 15. The other bottom teams right now win at least two games for the season. That gives the Lions the #1 draft choice again for the 2010 draft.

Do they draft Florida's Tim Tebow? Whatcha think?

[jefferson78]

I would not put it past them. Or they'll draft another wide receiver in the first round.
More than likely they'll try and build from the outside in. Linemen be damned.
Mayhew is no better than Millen in knowing how to use the draft to build a team.
If they get the first pick, which now seems likely, they should trade it because they have no idea what to do with it.

[Big Dog]

They likely will trade CJ, the injury prone one. He's the only one someone might want to take a chance on.

[smogboy]

Do they draft Florida's Tim Tebow? Whatcha think?

Not a chance. They've got too much money tied into Stafford now. It's a commitment we're tied into now so spending MORE first round money on a QB is not even an option. If given the first overall pick, I'd shop it around and get many more picks for it. Financially getting the first overall pick can also be a financial detriment to ANY team in this league.

[smogboy]

I would not put it past them. Or they'll draft another wide receiver in the first round.
More than likely they'll try and build from the outside in. Linemen be damned.
Mayhew is no better than Millen in knowing how to use the draft to build a team.
If they get the first pick, which now seems likely, they should trade it because they have no idea what to do with it.

I'm willing to give Martin Mayhew a wee bit more breathing room here. While he might have residual effects of that Millen stench, I'm willing to give him a little bit more leeway just on the fact that his draft picks this year are at least playing.

Mayhew era picks like Matthew Stafford, Brandon Pettigrew, Sammie Hill, DeAndre Levy, and Louis Delmas are at least starting. And to a certain degree guys like Zack Follett, Aaron Brown and Derrick Williams are starting on Special Teams.

Neither Mayhew nor any other GM [[Parcells, Pioli or anyone short of Jesus) was going to fix this heinous train wreck that Millen saddled us with in one year. It's going to take at least a few more drafts for me to assess whether Martin Mayhew has any true football acumen or if he's a total football clod. I want to see how Mayhew is going to do in the next few years [[ugh... more rebuilding), but I think he's done a fair job so far with the draft. Let's see how these draft picks pan out at the end of this year; they'll take their lumps and make mistakes but hopefully they'll improve. If this was a true Millen draft, we surely would've drafted glitz & glamour with a wide receiver in the first round and had him fail to make the physical or be Cheech & Chong baked in training camp.

So my hope for this year's draft is that we get those vaunted linemen on BOTH sides of the ball. I agree that we do need to fortify the trenches. And after last week's debacle at catching the ball, dare I say that we might even have to spend a third or fourth round pick in snagging ourselves a semi-decent wide receiver? But with this team, there are so many holes to fill- it comes right down to which are the biggest most glaring spots on the team.

In my opinion, in order of need it'd have to be OT/OG/DT/DE [[the best available), CB, LB, WR and maybe even pick up a back-up veteran QB. So we'll play out this miserable season and I'm curious to see what other pieces Martin "sans Millen" Mayhew is going to add to the mix.

[Big Dog]

Is Ernie Sims hurt, or overrated?

[smogboy]

Is Ernie Sims hurt, or overrated?

Probably a little of each.

[firstandten]

I'm willing to give Martin Mayhew a wee bit more breathing room here. While he might have residual effects of that Millen stench, I'm willing to give him a little bit more leeway just on the fact that his draft picks this year are at least playing.

Mayhew era picks like Matthew Stafford, Brandon Pettigrew, Sammie Hill, DeAndre Levy, and Louis Delmas are at least starting. And to a certain degree guys like Zack Follett, Aaron Brown and Derrick Williams are starting on Special Teams.

Neither Mayhew nor any other GM [[Parcells, Pioli or anyone short of Jesus) was going to fix this heinous train wreck that Millen saddled us with in one year. It's going to take at least a few more drafts for me to assess whether Martin Mayhew has any true football acumen or if he's a total football clod. I want to see how Mayhew is going to do in the next few years [[ugh... more rebuilding), but I think he's done a fair job so far with the draft. Let's see how these draft picks pan out at the end of this year; they'll take their lumps and make mistakes but hopefully they'll improve. If this was a true Millen draft, we surely would've drafted glitz & glamour with a wide receiver in the first round and had him fail to make the physical or be Cheech & Chong baked in training camp.

So my hope for this year's draft is that we get those vaunted linemen on BOTH sides of the ball. I agree that we do need to fortify the trenches. And after last week's debacle at catching the ball, dare I say that we might even have to spend a third or fourth round pick in snagging ourselves a semi-decent wide receiver? But with this team, there are so many holes to fill- it comes right down to which are the biggest most glaring spots on the team.

In my opinion, in order of need it'd have to be OT/OG/DT/DE [[the best available), CB, LB, WR and maybe even pick up a back-up veteran QB. So we'll play out this miserable season and I'm curious to see what other pieces Martin "sans Millen" Mayhew is going to add to the mix.

The Lions suffer from a lack of talent in several key positions and not enough talent overall. As we get into the second half of the season and the injuries pile up, the Lions unlike other NFL teams cannot plug in replacements and keep that train moving. The replacements will be marginable NFL players at best, which makes sense , since the starters for the most part could probably only start for the Lions and a few other bottom tier teams.

The situation the Lions are in is such that you really need to build from the bottom up, take care of your O-line on offense and the front seven on defense [[or in other words any player that lines up with one hand in the dirt). The problem with that is you will probably lose your fan base in the process. Those positions while totally necessary is unexciting to the average fan. To keep fans interested they had to draft a QB who I think in time will be good but right now doesn't have the pieces around him to help him be successful or keep him from getting hurt.

While most teams could reload and be down for a season or two, we fans have to see this for what it is... the Lions are rebuilding and this rebuilding will take several seasons to take affect. Hopefully by the time the Lions get all the pieces in place Stafford won't be broken down and have his confidence blown away like what happened to Joey.

[douglasm]

You know, in watching the Lions take on our Seachickens, I was impressed with Matt Stafford. This kid's only a rookie? They may be 1-7, but I do see glimmers of hope in there.

[Big Dog]

I'm quite sure Harrington was much better in his first 8 games. Staffords QB rating for this game was 42.7, ugly

[blksoul_x]

Matt Stafford is definitely a 'gunslinger'! He has a lot to learn about defensive schemes and complex pass patterns. Three of the five INT's were thrown to a specific spot. The only players around the ball were players of the opposition. Brett Farve made a living with 'chuck and catch', as opposed to throwing to specific areas on the field. Matt Stafford will learn that from experience. As we see, he is not afraid to throw the ball. However, for now, if I am the LIONS coaching staff, I might think about simplifying the playbook on crucial downs.

Despite the INT's and [[QB ratings?), there is a sense of something special in his game/manner. Joey Harrington is not a thrower, [[he is a game manager), so then, his stats in his career stats may be bit misleading.

I enjoy watching Matt Stafford. I think he will develop into a good one!

blksoul_atcha!
The BJL, the color you love to hate!

[7andkelly]

Nice first quarter ... of course. Cheered at my TV when we stopped them on 4th and inches like I haven't since BS days. And then it all went to shit ... like I knew it would ... like it was predestined or writen in a script ... an all too familiar one. Dammit. Still, we saw a glimpse of potential ... call it another moral victory if you have to. Did Stafford blow it? Sure, but he's no Harrington. This guy's got it ... he just needs time, and better support.

[smogboy]

The score didn't really mirror the game. This truly was a winnable game against a pretty pathetic Seahawks team. The first half's amazing feat that caught my eye was that the defense stepped up; they're the ones that set up the points on offense by obtaining great field position. Offensively I thought they protected Stafford pretty well but he just had a pretty inaccurate game with his throws. One really does need to talk to him about checking down- but I hope he's a pretty savvy sort of guy who will understand this.

A few things that struck me about the game were:

1) Jason Hanson having to be the last gasp tackle on a kick off. As much maligned as our porous defense gets, I'm seriously wondering about the Special Teams. The field position given up by this squad was atrocious. I can't see Stan Kwan retaining his job until the end of the season if this keeps up.

2) The injuries. Seeing Jason Hunter, Ernie Sims and Louis Delmas go down is not a good thing for this team. We're tracing paper thin in the defense already. If this keeps up, we might have to shove the tackling sled at the other team before long.

3) Brandon Pettigrew came out with some fire. He was used in the offense quite a bit for once. Also when he thought he was getting roughed up a bit playing on Special Teams, he got pissed, fought back and wasn't going to settle for the abuse.

Moral victory? Experience & character building? I guess so, but when it comes right down to it, it's an ugly notch in the L column again. And I'm not expecting too many shots at other pathetic teams like this anytime soon either [[maybe Cleveland or San Francisco?). And after today's offbeat performance by the Bucs against the Pack, there isn't a team in the league that doesn't have at least one victory.

We could very well be setting ourselves up for another first overall pick again. UGH! If we get saddled with that sort of money, I'm all for trading it away ASAP and getting more lower round picks. Getting the overall first pick might sound fine & dandy but the finances needed to sign that pick could REALLY skewer this team for any chance at rebuilding. So on multiple fronts I really hope that the Lions can eke out a few more victories- not just for a few more stats in the W column but for the rebuilding program that HAS to happen with this team. I can seriously see Detroit getting the not-so-sexy picks [[the trench warriors) in the next few years- it won't sell tickets anytime soon to the average "we want a victory" fan but for the real football enthusiasts, it'll make sense. We can only hope.

[kenp]

Our special teams are awful, I never liked Kwan when Marinelli was here. Last weeks fake field goal was a pure coaching mistake.
I think our biggest issue on defense is the lack of any pass rush. You give any talented QB that kind of time and your going to get beat.
I like our new coach and I like Stafford, despite 5 INT's. Our problem now is we have no talent to speak of. Draft defense!! The draft is going to be defense heavy this year

[jefferson78]

Our special teams are awful, I never liked Kwan when Marinelli was here. Last weeks fake field goal was a pure coaching mistake.
I think our biggest issue on defense is the lack of any pass rush. You give any talented QB that kind of time and your going to get beat.
I like our new coach and I like Stafford, despite 5 INT's. Our problem now is we have no talent to speak of. Draft defense!! The draft is going to be defense heavy this year

Don't get your hopes up. Even with Millen gone I do not believe they have the intelligence to figure out that this is the most logical and smartest way to build a team. Everyone was saying this the last few years, and what do they do? Draft wide receivers and a QB.
If they only had a decent pass rush and capable blocking for a running game they could steal a couple of wins. Instead they try to build the wrong way and this, my friends, is what you get. I have no hope.

[smogboy]

Don't get your hopes up. Even with Millen gone I do not believe they have the intelligence to figure out that this is the most logical and smartest way to build a team. Everyone was saying this the last few years, and what do they do? Draft wide receivers and a QB.
If they only had a decent pass rush and capable blocking for a running game they could steal a couple of wins. Instead they try to build the wrong way and this, my friends, is what you get. I have no hope.

Check your stats again for the Mayhew era drafts.

Mayhew drafted Matthew Stafford- who is starting [[like it or not) among many of the other draft picks [[Pettigrew, Delmas, Lee, Follett & probably DeAndre Levy now that Sims could be dinged up). They obviously looked at Stafford and the subsequent QBs that are in school now and believe he has something over the likes of Jimmy Clausen, Tim Tebow, Case Keenum, Colt McCoy, etc.

And they also drafted one wide receiver with Derrick Williams in the third round- and more so for his kick & punt return prowess.

I know this team's issues aren't going to be solved in one draft, much less two- but looking at some of the young talent they have now- it doesn't look anything like the Millen era draft picks where they fizzle out within a year or two due to conditioning, drugs, or character issues. That being said, if in 2010 Mayhew drafts for the same positions he did in 2009- then I'd be willing to grill him; I sincerely hopes he drafts for the trenches first. But right now- I believe it is way too early to even grade Martin Mayhew on his drafting of players for this team. Be realistic; this team wasn't going to go from an 0-16 team to a contender much less a .500 team. When Millen took off- not only did he leave the cupboards bare, he took the wallpaper, 2x4s and left the house totally in shambles. It's not going to be an instant fix by any stretch of the imagination.