Detroit Lions Weblog

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

Sunday’s game against the Bears, will stand as exhibit A in the continued frustration all Lion fans have to be feeling as they observe the plodding, near-static, incremental “rebuilding” process of this team. Their is little tangible improvement to be noticed over the course of the last 4 seasons and it is difficult to reserve much hope for the team’s future. If one is seing the glass half-full, the Lions have won one more game than they did last year, that’s progress, right? Those of us who have watched the team perform week in and week out know that this was cheap victory (still a victory, just the same), that the Lions nearly frittered away yet again (and would have lost had it not been determined that Bernard Berrian’s apparent touchdown grab was an incompletion).

If there is a “shining light” to be detected in the organization, it has to be the rapid development of Kevin Jones. Placing him on nearly any other team in the entire league, you have a team who would be preparing for the playoffs, especially in the awfully weak NFC. Still with his emergence, the offense has not flourished. They can’t score touchdowns and even the weakest of defense’s seems to render them ineffective in the second half of most games. Last week’s performance for the Lions offense against the Vikings was clearly anomalous, and that became abundantly clear when the for first play of the game, the Lion’s offensive play call was a WR Slant/Screen for Tai Streets, for about 2 yards. Every team in the entire league knows that the Lions offense first series of downs will ALWAYS include this play. The Lions offense has not progressed over the course of 15 weeks and neither has it’s play calling. Even with one of the better running games in all of football, this team still sputters far too often in the “red zone”, it’s Quarterback still inspires no confidence, and it’s receivers lack the concentration or ability to catch passes, especially when the team most needs them to do so. In the post-game press conference, Steve Mariucci has made a firmer attribution of blame upon Joey Harrington than at any other point in the season. He has said that the receiver drops are an issue, but he qualified that statement by saying that the throws need to be delivered more accurately. I will not disagree with this point, but when a receiver has two hands on the ball, as an NFL player, they must catch it. Mariucci’s hanging Harrington out to dry, is puzzling, their really is no better player immediately available for the Lions to pursue at the position. Drew Brees is a pipe dream. Does anyone truly believe the Chargers will allow him to become available this offseason? If he does become available, at what price? Do Jon Kitna, Brad Johnson, Trent Dilfer, or Jeff Garcia sound like better options? Sure, I would like for one of these guys to be a capable backup who may have to step in if needed. Do anyone of them really give the Lions an opportunity to be much better than 8-8? I am not solidly in Harrington’s camp either, but now does not seem to be the time to throw him under the bus. Harrington appears to be their best chance for improvement, until they draft another quarterback.

I really don’t want to comment on the Lions defense allowing one of the worst offense’s in recent NFL history to score two (really three) second half TD’s when in the first half it had held the same offense to 60 yds. Nor do I want to ruminate about how pathetic the Lions secondary is. At this point, I again have to shrug and acknowledge that the Detroit Lions are my albatross, and until something drastically changes, mediocrity and failed hopes will be the re-occurring theme for a team that has not won a championship in 47 years and counting!