Detroit Lions Weblog

Packers, Lions and Ulcers…Oh My!

My favorite element of a Lion’s poor performance is listening to the radio broadcast team. Jim Brandstatter (sp?) and Mark Champion. They are at their best in these situations. Fortunately for them, they have had many occasion by which to respond to poor Lion’s play. In particular, I really enjoy some well-placed “Oh My’s!” or “Oh Dears!” from Champion. This weekend even garnered the Lion’s offense the apt description of being “putrid”.

Here is some interesting facts from the game:
Lions 1st Half 2nd Half Total Packer Average
Total YDs 107 18 125 383.8
Rush Yds 26 7 33 149.8
Pass Yds 81 11 92 234.0
1st Downs 5 0 5
3rd Conv. 1-4 0-7 1-11
Points allow. 17 21 38

By the way the Packer defense had been allowing 28.4 pts/game. Oh my, indeed!

A major disappointment for me were some of Joey Harrington’s post game comments. He has been under the gun this year between the Siragusa comments and high expectations for him to have a break-out season. At any rate I feel these were stupid.:

” I learned after watching (Favre) last week (on Monday Night Football), if they boo you at Lambeau Field, you can be booed anywhere,” “Do I think it’s right? No. Can I change it? No. But it’s not going to affect me. It’s a long season, and we’re still in a position to do what we want to do.”

These are alarming comments. Why would he compare himself to the Packers and Favre? He can only answer to himself, the organization and it’s fans. He should have been glad the Lions were booed, they deserved it! Furthermore, he could in fact change things by performing well. The fans don’t really enjoy paying their hard earned money to watch their favorite team get it’s butts kicked. The “it’s not going to affect me” is the most troublesome. Harrington is unflappable. I’ll give him credit for that. On the other hand, he never seems to grasp the urgency of his job and the how integral his performance is to the successes of the organization. This I think is his biggest downfall. This is ultimately why he can never be counted on to win games regardless of the players you place around him (unlike Favre). He has never owned up to the fact that at times he may be needed to carry this team to victory, which is what I believe the Lions envisioned in him when they selected him three years ago.