2011 Detroit Lions

[Thruster315]

It's always the easiest to blame the coaches when things are going wrong. They're always the easiest targets to nail and always the first ones to get canned when a team does lousy. They understand that role when they accept the job but at a certain point- it's still the guys who suit up and play between the chalk that has to be held responsible.

Personally I like the the team playing with some fire. Anyone remember the days when this team had none? Give the choice I'd much rather have this team playing a little closer to that edge than no edge at all. Slipping over the dumbass plateau like a few of them did yesterday was still wrong though.

Schwartz did bring down the boom on the likes of Titus Young by benching him. As far as busting some of the other culprits- I don't see how he could in the game. This team isn't deep enough to do so and they were still IN the battle for the most part- they actually mounted a comeback... almost. I'm sure behind closed doors today there's going to be some fireworks fired at them for their selfish plays. Like gnome said, Raiola got into the grill of a few of them and he's 220% right to do so- not just as a captain of this team but he echoed the sentiment of the fans as well.

And seriously how many of us here thought this was a winnable game against possibly the hottest team in the league? This was a loss in my book from Day One. With the injuries tossed in, it was a foregone conclusion to me. It would've been a helluva lot closer if we hadn't imploded but that's how it shook down. These guys are pros; they've been playing ball a helluva long time already but compared to a mature team like the Saints who've been to the Promised Land, the differences were apparent.

Nobody coaches dumbass penalties. Schwartz, Linehan and Cunningham put those boys out there in a position to succeed. If the brain trust makes stupid decisions or questionable calls [["We'll take the wind"), fine- blame them. But like what Bobby Ross said eons ago- he doesn't coach this sh!t. When was the last time you heard any coach getting praised for a well disciplined team?

[sirrealone]

There's a difference between playing with fire and playing dumb.

Playing with fire is playing with such intensity that you get called for a late hit or encroachment now and then. Playing dumb is whipping the football at someone's face, stomping on another players arm, or taking a punch at another guy. All of these while a ref is standing RIGHT THERE.

Simply put, there's no excuse for that type of play. As I've said before, I'm sure the Saints were trash talking all night, trying to pull out the exact reaction that they got.

Why wouldn't they? When the reputation of the Lions is that you can say a few things and draw a 15 yard penalty, every guy on the team is going to do it. As they should. In the NFL you take advantage of every perceived advantage you can, and if that advantage is that the guys act like a bunch of hotheads after a fraternity party, then yes they're going to use that.

The problem is that it does tie back to the coaching. Bobby Ross may not have 'coached that stuff', but I also don't remember him chasing after another coach when he felt slighted. Ross kept his composure on the field, so he had every right to stand there and be flabbergasted as to why his players were acting like fools.

Schwartz does not have that right. In his case, whether directly or indirectly, he DOES coach that stuff. As soon as I heard about the clash with Harbaugh I got a sick feeling in my stomach. Until then, I had agreed with every single thing he did since he was hired, but I had a bad feeling about that. And, maybe what's going on with the players has nothing to do with that at all, but you have to admit, things with the Lions have gotten increasingly wild since then, and I can't chalk it up to mere coincidence. Where there's smoke there's fire.

I didn't think the Lions would win this game. Especially with all the injuries, they were playing an uphill battle. But, they didn't just lose, they lost looking like complete idiots. Every game has a winner and a loser but not every game has the storyline that the losing team got penalized for over 100 yards, and over half of those were because of losing their cool or making the same mistake over and over [[looking at you, Nate).

[Danny]

GO SAINTS!! 2009 Super Bowl Champions! Drew Brese 2009 Most Valuable Player! best quaterback in the U.S.

Detroit Lions lost because of poor sportsmanship conduct. Most of the players are acting like Suh! They have 11 penalties rediculous! This is NFL football not Pop Warner. Lions play like sissies! Matthey Stafford sucks! They better get their act together and fast.

GO SANITS!!

[Downriviera]

Its no excuse for taking retaliation penalties, but that was some of the worst officiating I've ever seen. It is frustrating, but you have to develope an us against the world mentality and overcome it. You have to beat the other team and the refs, its the only way. 3 offensive interference penalties on Burlson, what a joke. I watched 3 other games on Sunday and saw a lot worse that was not called. Even Stafford mentioned it in his post game interview that he never saw 3 offensive pass interference calls in the same game. No flag when Logan was clearly hit out of bounds, but you have to walk away. No flag when Pettigrew is kicked while on the ground, but you have to walk away. The other teams hate us, fans around the league hate us, the announcers hate us, its us against the world.

[gnome]

It was not US vs everyone else. It was US vs US. We've earned the microscopic view. The extra oversight by the refs didn't come from nowhere. We've brought it on ourselves. Those poor calls are all part-and-partcle of bringing a resume of poor behavior. That whack to the Ref by Pettigrew might have been viewed as a case of the Ref being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but not when it is the Lions. The long list of thuggishness means we will never get the benefit of the doubt. There is no doubt, we act like punks and we're treated like punks. A season and a half of bullshit behavior, and all of that falls to Jimmy S.

When Rioala becomes the voice of reason, you know you have a problem. Dom is a fiery guy, but his fire - symbolized by his liberal use of the fword - was a pointed finger straight to the headman. Dom was talking about maturity in the face of adversity; and in that way the Lions have failed to achieve the goals they set.

6 and 0 is a promise and our Leos have not lived up to that promise. The lions will never win another game until they re-set their vim. We were good enough to win that game yesterday and we gave it away through stupid, selfish play.

How many penalties is too many? How many times do we throw away games in the future? Two more? Four more? Opposing teams all know how to play the Leos: bait em.

These men are professionals and they are acting like whinny fucking children. Everyone remembers the whinny kid in class was the magnet for being picked on. Your brother or sister who flew into a rage because you knew what buttons to push. The Lions are acting like fools because everyone knows their fuse in short. Show them some disrespect and BOOM they punch. Goad them and WHACK. 15 yarders all.

Drive killers.

Spirit killers.

Season killers.

The man in charge is in charge. He needs to fine himself. Needs to fine and suspend those who bring losing and shame to our doorsteps.

Titus Young was likened to DeSean Jackson for his attitude and was suspended in his sophomore year for being a putz. His off-field character errors are being mirrored in the Blue and Silver.

[kenp]

When Rioala becomes the voice of reason, you know you have a problem. .

Good post, and the above was the quote of the day

[old guy]

The other teams hate us, fans around the league hate us, the announcers hate us, its us against the world.

I guess I don't understand where that statement's coming from. Why would everyone hate you?

[sirrealone]

In 2005, I saw the Lions host the Ravens at Ford Field. During that game, the Ravens got flagged over and over again, and the icing on the cake was when one or two of them got tossed after playing completely stupid. Six years later and I still laugh at the Ravens and call them thugs after that performance.

And here we have the Lions. They're now doing that week in and week out. They're building the wrong kind of reputation.

After Thanksgiving and Suh-gate, everybody was watching the Lions to see 'what they would do' next. Any team that had themselves under control would have played clean and made sure that the penalties were to a minimum. They would have walked away when the Saints tried to bait them. They would have tried to show the world: "We aren't who you say we are."

Instead, they confirmed and reinforced every suspicion about their style of play. And in front of what is usually the most watched television in any given week.

I thought maybe the second, and definitely the third, flag on Burleson was ticky-tack. But, you know what, the Lions 'earned' those calls. The refs are human and they'll give the benefit of the doubt to teams that don't do stupid things, but if you do, you will get watched and you'll get the flag when there's even a hint of wrongdoing. It's true at any job. You manage an office and you have a habitual latecomer on the team, you're going to watch that persons desk more so than someone who's usually on time. It's all about reputation.

Sadly, the way the Lions are going, it's going to take a long time before they have any sort of goodwill reputation. They certainly aren't going to have the refs in their corner anytime this year, I can tell you that. But I also don't think they deserve to.

Personally, I don't want the Lions to make the playoffs this year. I want them to win two more games and just miss it. You can call me a bad fan, but trust me, I still love this team and will root for nobody else. I believe that this team can have a long run of success, but they can't do so unless they somehow get out from under this weight of foolishness that they've been piling on themselves. The only way to do that, in my opinion, is to have the door slam in their face and spend an off-season doing some real soul-searching about how they didn't get there. If they make the playoffs, I fear that will simply validate what has happened, and if we really want long term success, we can't be having discussions about personal fouls, penalties, and lack of composure for the time we envision that run of success taking place.

[kenp]

This is a must win against Minny. Can we get this team back to playing football and not kindergarden antics.
Playoffs are a possibility at 9-7 but with us losing to Atlanta that screws our tiebreaker with them.
We are 7-5 with home games against Minny and San Diego, and road games against Oakland and GB. We have to win the home games and maybe sneak one in at Oakland to feel like we are in.

Atlanta 7-5
Dallas 7-5
NY Giants 6-6
One of these 3 will win the div which leaves the rest fighting for the 2 Wild card spots along with us and Chicago.

Detroit 7-5
Chicago 7-5

Are the Lions out of it or can we still make the playoffs?

[Thruster315]

This is a must win against Minny. Can we get this team back to playing football and not kindergarden antics.

If this team truly respects Jim Schwartz I think they will. If they don't it could very well chase a good young coach out of this town.

I seriously think it's a part of the maturation of both the coach and the players. Both sides have to have the respect and trust of one another. I sincerely hope that the Lions can come out, kick Minnesota's sorry team ass and do it in a convincing way; that'd be the best tonic to our recent ills.

Are the Lions out of it or can we still make the playoffs?

This was a pipe dream, even blasphemy to even hope for this years ago. I'm not satisfied yet but I'm also keeping in mind that this team has come a helluva long way from where we were. Hell, just playing a meaningful game in December years ago was a joke.

[gnome]

The Playoff picture is getting interesting and we truly are playing for a spot in the WildCard derby.

Cowboys and the Giants are facing each other this weekend. While the Cowboys will be playing at home, the Giants might have an edge in the pride department. I'm counting the Giants as winners which will put them tied with Cowboys at 7-6.

Atlanta travels to Carolina smarting from a tough loss against Houston last week. The Panthers come home after two wins against Indy and Tampa. Cam Newton is looking stronger every week and Steve Smith has almost 1100 yards in what appears to be a Pro-Bowl caliber season. The Panthers have just played 3 games on the road and this will be their first game home since November 13th. You have to think the fan base will be very active for this tilt. My money is on Cam Newton this weekend which will put the Falcons at 7 and 6.

Chicago is fading fast. With Forte and Cutler out I don't see the Bears doing much with the rest of the season. This weekend will find them in Denver facing that lucky fucker Tebow. Since there does not seem any way to categorize the guy, I'm loath to call him a qb, but regardless he finds ways to win. A rudderless Bears vs the high-flying Broncos means Chicago will come away with a loss and 7 -6 record.

Now, the Leos are facing the mirror and the specter of their own idiocy. Mind-numbing penalties from the last couple of games means the refs - and Roger Godell - will be looking hard at every play. VandenBosch and Company had better put on the Choirboy outfits and play only between the whistles.

If they can perform at a professional level, their superior players should out distance the Vikes in a shootout. The Shootout will come from our depleted defensive backfield and by playing with two-hands behind our backs.

Much will count on keeping a back in to pick off Jared Allen as he blows past Backus. Expect to see more of third or forth string Williams in to help with pass blocking.

If we win, which we should, we will be at 8 and 5 and in command of a Wild-card berth.

[Lowell]

The Lions absolutely deserved to lose the Vikings game today. Fortunately the Vikings deserved to lose even more. What a sloppy game, but I'll take it! Hey our first .500 [at the least] season in... ??

[smogboy]

This game was nothing to be proud about but given the fact that it'll go in the W column is a good thing. At the end of the season I don't think we'll be looking at the microscopic things like the DeAndre Levy face mask call at the end of the game and thanking our lucky stars; it'll just be lumped into the many plays we've seen this team play this year.

Admittedly the game started off like gangbusters and we were on the verge of exorcising some of those ridiculous demons from the last two games. But by the second half, we took our foot off of their throats and nearly gave the game back to them. For those of us that wanted an exciting game, we got one but personally as it comes closer to the playoffs I'd settle for the Lions clearly beating the daylights out of teams they should beat. Spare me the suspense- I could deal with a few clear cut blowouts in our favor for once.

Cliff Avril epitomized this game for me. He was a one-man wrecking machine at the beginning of the game and nearly gave it away with the end-of-the-game offsides stupidity.

And that's what frustrates me to no end with this team. Obviously we have some decent talent at some pretty important positions but they play like it some of the time and then at other times, they seem to take the Sunday off. Consistency will be an issue for this team and this is where their maturity comes into play. This team has improved in huge strides but still has a long way to go to being considered an elite team. When all of the top notch players on this Lions team can play in sync and within themselves, I think we're pretty impressive. Winning games on referee blown calls and luck is not the ideal formula for making it to the Super Bowl.

I'm happy we won today but I'm also realistic in knowing that while we're in the playoff hunt, we've still got a long way to go on multiple fronts. As fans we've had the patience of a monastery of saints. We're catching some glimpses of what could be with this bunch- some of it is extremely promising and some of it is still maddeningly frustrating.

[gnome]

skin-o-teeth

Actually jumped up and knocked over my chair when Avril got a case of crotch critters while loudly shouting oaths of damnation in his direction. Blue and vile to the point where sailors covered their ears and blushed.

To repeat them here would be a ticket to gonesville but they involved a goat and questioned the dimensions of certain things.

A win is a win, but again we had 10 hankies and should have had an 11th.

To me, I was not impressed with Tulloch at all. He should be nick-named asphalt for as much as he was run over today.

[Thruster315]

I was with ya, gnome.

I had several Doc Marten shoes that were on the verge of being tossed at the TV. We snuck one out from the drippy jaws of defeat.

Sure it was against a piss poor team in Minnesota and our team was decimated in the secondary AGAIN, but I had some higher hopes that we would steam roll the purple & yellow fellows. To barely dodge the losing column the way they did left me feeling less than satisfied. We just couldn't put those punks away and I sooooo desperately wanted to rub one into Jared Allen's mulleted scalp.

Nice things to come away with were Stefan Logan looking as though he found his jets again [[and his numbers would've been better if it wasn't for that stupid holding penalty too) and Gunther Cunningham adjusting his defense from Ponder to Webb in the nick of time.

Thankful we won and I didn't have to pull my shoe outta the tube.

[Ray1936]

Didn't have the game out here in Nevada. Followed it on the 'puter for the first half, and figured they had a wrap. Probably a good thing it wasn't on my TV after all.

Don't matter; Pack will take it all this year.

[gnome]

bears lost in OT to Tebow 13 -10 ... in OT? I would like Tebow if I didn't hate him so.

we are 8 - 5, the bears 7 - 6 ... Falcons came from behind and beat Cam Newton meaning they are now 8 - 5 but hold the edge in the head-to-head.

The 8:20 tilt 'tween the Giants and Cowboys should be interesting.

[Thruster315]

bears lost in OT to Tebow 13 -10 ... in OT? I would like Tebow if I didn't hate him so.

I know we spanked Tebow senseless when we played the Broncos but HOW does one explain this guy? His mechanics are for sh!t, his accuracy is suspect, and is probably the least talented NFL quarterback out there on any given Sunday- but this dope keeps winning somehow. HOW?? HOW???

[['m thankful they took it to the toothless Bears too, but I'm still throwing my hands up to the heavens wondering how this guy is actually winning.)

[gnome]

I hear ya man. I don't get this guy, he's the Forrest Gump of the NFL.

---
Here is the best link I could find about the what the playoff picture looks like today. As of 10:44 PM it shows the leos heading to Nawlings for their first playoff game since the last century.

Of course a lot can happen and our remaining schedule against @ Oakland, H with San Diego and Tundraville on Jan 1 is a tough schedule. Maybe one of the tougher ones around.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/standings/playoffrace

[Thruster315]

I hear ya man. I don't get this guy, he's the Forrest Gump of the NFL.

I'm glad you didn't call it some divine intervention sh!t on this Tebow guy either. Lord knows we had Jon "I sport a cross on my post game ballcap" Kitna and he didn't get any help from up high.

But somehow his team around him keeps him in it just long enough to pull off some of those last minute theatrics. Can you imagine if Denver had a real QB with that sort of luck?

Here is the best link I could find about the what the playoff picture looks like today. As of 10:44 PM it shows the leos heading to Nawlings for their first playoff game since the last century.

Of course a lot can happen and our remaining schedule against @ Oakland, H with San Diego and Tundraville on Jan 1 is a tough schedule. Maybe one of the tougher ones around.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/standings/playoffrace

The last three games are gonna be deadly. Both Oakland and San Diego are around a .500 team and both are scrapping to get into their playoff picture too. This might be a longshot but it might be worthwhile to hope that Green Bay loses one before we play them so they won't be trying their hardest to get the perfect season. If they lose one, know that the last game [[against us) doesn't mean anything, they might start some of their scrubs, rest their starters, and we might have a chance up in frosty cheese land.

It ain't gonna be an easy road for us to make the playoffs either way around.

[firstandten]

Look at it this way guys, two years ago we would have lost this type of game.

We aren't there yet, but we are getting closer, another couple of years and I think we will truly be ready to compete in the playoffs. We might even make it this year but we are not Super Bowl material by any means.

[Thruster315]

Look at it this way guys, two years ago we would have lost this type of game.

We aren't there yet, but we are getting closer, another couple of years and I think we will truly be ready to complete in the playoffs. We might even make it this year but we are not Super Bowl material by any means.

Very very well said.

Two years ago we would've celebrated a victory of this kind like we had won the Super Bowl. We have come a long way but that still doesn't mean we still shouldn't shoot to being the best for once.

And going into the last three games I know we're nicked up quite a bit in that secondary [[didn't Davis have to play the nickel?) but beyond that, I'm sincerely crossing my fingers and any other appendages that Ndamukong Suh has had a chance to sit back in his Big Boy recliner and watch his team. I hope that he's had a chance to reflect, soak up some knowledge by being away from his team mates, and come back with the controlled rage that he needs to be an All-Pro. He's got all sorts of bat-sh!t crazy talent and he just needs to harness it. He knows that he's going to be under the microscope from here on out [[if not his entire career now) and that other teams are going to try to take advantage of his ferocity. I'm hoping Suh can come back and be a huge factor in the last three games and help nudge this team over the top.

[Thruster315]

In a slight offbeat bent slightly related to our Lions is something I just noticed in the NFL standings. Are the Indianapolis Colts going to match our pathetic Lions 0-16 record of a few years back? They're 0-13 now with three games left. They'll play Tennessee [[7-6), Houston [[10-3) and Jacksonville [[4-9) to close out the season. Can the "Suck for Luck" campaign be any more transparent now?

And let's not try to veil it under "if we only had Peyton Manning" ruse either.

I can see the Colts matching our Lions 0-16 record on the fact that no one wanted to be the team that fell to that pathetic of a team. The Titans are still in contention so you know they'll bring it. Houston's on a roll and will just have superior talent on the field; why not lock up the entire AFC if they can? Which brings us to the Jags vs. the Colts in the last game of the season.

The Jaguars just handed the Tampa Bay Bucs a 41-14 spanking yesterday.

The Jags will have probably fallen to the Falcons [[we can only hope the Jags can help us out by beating the Falcons) and Titans the weeks prior leaving them at 4-11 before meeting the Colts. No other team even comes close to being as bad as the Colts this year [[Rams & Vikings have 2 losses apiece now).

So are the Lions going to have company with that hideous record? Are the Colts angling to draft Andrew Luck or what?

[kenp]

Maybe our luck is changing. Yesterday was setting up like a perfect Lions ending and we lucked out and won.
Suh coming back will help and I do hope he comes back ready to play.
Our D backfield is depleted, our Linebackers were awful and we cant run the ball.
Maybe we took the 2nd half off.
Lions and Raiders will be a good game, a win would be huge.

[gnome]

So I'm looking at our schedule for the rest of the year and we got a tough row to hoe.

Oakland in Oakland
San Diego hère
GB in GB on Jan 1.

Oakland is mean but unpredictable. San Diego has been doing a little better than average and GB has been napalming everyone.

More on Oakland later this week as injuries get clearer....

But looking at Chicago, they have Seattle at home next week, followed by a road trip the GB xmas day and finishing the season at the Metrodome with the Vikes.

If the Bears are half way good they should cruise past both Seattle and Minnesota, but maybe Tebow proved to them they're snakebit this year and will just phone the games in. I think Seattle is 5 and 7 and are hosting hapless St. Louis tonight. I can not imagine being forced to watch that game.

But the point is that Chi has a much softer schedule. Chicago plays Seattle, we play Oakland.

Anyone else see us missing the Big Dance?