Detroit Lions Weblog

Harrington Talk/Rob Rubick on 92.1/92.7 WQTX

The local media was abuzz over the speculation whether or not Joey Harrington will remain the starting QB against the Vikings on Sunday at Ford Field. Mariucci has helped to add fuel to the fire by refraining from extending Joey any sort of vote of confidence in his abilties. Many sources think that Harrington will start, although it is undetermined at this point. The fact that the Lions are even in this situation is becoming increasingly alarming. With the likelihood that Mike McMahon will leave as a free agent this coming offseason, it seems to make more sense to stick with Harrington, come hell or high water. Sunday’s performance was about as bad as any the Lions organization has ever seen from the quarterback position. Their are two schools of thought here: A) it can only get better (or how could it get any worse!) B) The Lions need to begin thinking about next year and start evaluating their personnel strengths and weaknesses as determined on the field of play.

Rob Rubick, was a featured guest on Fred Heuman’s 10 a.m to 12 p.m show today(12/14). Rubick, a former Lion, is always engaging and very open about his perceptions of the team. Rubick stated that even without the ringing endorsement, the Lions should probably stick with Harrington. “Harrington has the better shot of being here 2 to 3 years down the road,” Rubick said. He also mentioned that he felt that the Lions were dropping more balls than any team in the league at this point. He mentioned that he felt in particular after Roy Williams hot start and subsequent injury, that he has been a disappointment, due to dropped passes. He felt that the receiver personnel as a whole should be adjusting and making efforts to make catches that other players in the league will often make and they seem to routinely drop. He also said that he believed that when watching the Lions receivers they are less “open”, that Harrington has difficulty finding someone to throw it to. He did say that Harrington has still been a disappointment, but he wasn’t ready to call him “Andre Ware”, either.

Heuman has asked many of his Lions related guests about Quarterbacks who posess the traits necessary to be successful, he describes them as having “it”, an essential and indescribeable quality. Heuman asked Rubick if he thought Harrington had “it”? Rubick replied that he definitely did not have “it” and furthermore, he believed that Harrington needed to stop sounding so much like a coach and putting a spin on things. He says that he wants Harrington to get “pissed off”. He recalled a situation where Gary Danielson would often dress down receivers for making mistakes in their routes that lead to interceptions or passes being broken up. Rubick also said that as a former Lion, and a television journalist who covers the team exclusively, that he was very frustrated. Finally, he stated that he thought Mariucci has made a lot of game and time management errors as a result of having to call plays for the offense. Rubick believed strongly that Mariucci has to relinquish control of the play-calling so that he could handle other apsects of the game better.

QB WATCH

I am going to begin monitoring the QB’s most likely to wear Honolulu Blue next season as a back-up to the once heralded “Champagne Joey”:

1. Jeff Garcia his availability will depend on who is the Browns next coach. If they are “West Coast”-inclined and like a scrambler, he will stay. Otherwise, the unhappy Garcia may reunite with Mooch.

2. Brad Johnson probably too old to be signed as starter but likely will not return to Tampa as back-up

3. Jon Kitna he may prove too valuable on the open market and be signed as a starter.

4. Jay Fiedler finally freed from his Dolphins Death March, he would be a capable if not jaw-droppingly attractive back-up who is used to leading a run first type of offense. He also will be the player most likely to have endured the most trauma. Weathering trauma is an essential trait to assume the helm of the Lions offense.

5. Kerry Collins not a “West Coast” Offense QB, but he and the Lions each may run out of options.

6. Kurt Warner divine intervention may allow his career to be extended another season away from the Big Blue. His leadfootedness may quickly shorten it.

7. Tim Couch Somebody has to give him a shot, right?

8. Drew Brees the price tag for his acquisition once he is franchised will be way too high for the Lions.

9. Jeff Blake another team to add to his ever-expanding resume of teams he has played for. Not a West Coast QB, though.

Lucky #10. Eric Crouch/Ryan Leaf/ Danny Wuerffel/ Shane Matthews/ Kordell Stewart/ Shaun King/ Stoney Case/ Steve Butts/ Mark Brunell/ Marcus Vick/ Wayne Fontes. See Tim Couch comments.

Kevin Jones Observations

Kevin Jones currently has 859 yards rushing.
——–G—-ATT—–YDS—YDS/ATT—LNG—TD—YDS/GM–TD
Jones 11—178—–859—-4.8———-74—-3——-78.1—-3

He needs 141 more yards to join Billy Sims and Barry Sanders as the Lions only rookie 1000 yard rushers! He has accounted for 632 yards rushing the last 5 games and the passing game has only accounted for 611 yds (yikes).

The last 5 games:
—————1st half——–2nd Half——TTL
vs. Jags——13/43———-6/38———-19/81
vs. Vikes—–15/95———-4/5———–12/99
vs.Colts——9/83———–3/16———-12/99
vs. Cards—–11/105——–15/91———26/196
vs. Pack——23/118——–10/38———33/156
Totals——–71/444———38/188——109/632

He now is listed 7th in most rushing yards in a gamee for a Lion:
1 Barry Sanders 237 1994
2 Barry Sanders 220 1991
3 Barry Sanders 216 1997
4 Barry Sanders 215 1997
5 Bob Hoernschemeyer 198 1950
6 Mel Farr 194 1967
7 Kevin Jones 196 2004
8 Dutch Clark 194 1934
9 Barry Sanders 194 1994
10 Billy Sims 189 1983

He is now sixth in most rushing attempts in a game for the Lions:
1. Barry Sanders 40 1994
2. James Stewart 37 2000
3. Billy Sims 36 1983
James Jones 36 1985
James Jones 36 1986
6. Kevin Jones 33 2004
7.Horace King 32 1983
Barry Sanders 32 1991
Barry Sanders 32 1993
James Stewart 32 2002
Jones is now 35th all-time in Lion’s rushing between Tobin Rote and Glenn Presnell. He should move up to at least 29th if he breaks 1000 yards this season.

Top 10 All-Time Lions Rushers
1. Barry Sanders 15, 269
2. Billy Sims 5, 106
3. Dexter Bussey 5, 105
4. Altie Taylor 4, 297
5. Nick Pietrosante 3, 933
6. James Jones 3, 452
7. Mel Farr 3, 072
8. James Stewart 2, 890
9. Dan Lewis 2, 698
10. Greg Landry 2, 502

He is also tied for ninth all-time in 100 yd rushing games:

1. Barry Sanders 77
2. Billy Sims 23
3. James Stewart 7
4. Nick Pietrosante 6
5. Mel Farr 5
Dexter Bussey 5
7. Altie Taylor 4
James Jones 4
9. Bob Hoernschemeyer 3
Tom Watkins 3
Steve Owens 3
Kevin Jones 3

I expect him to rise to at least 5th before the season is finished.

The “Old” Lions prevail over the Lions of the future

As a Lions fan, what happened Sunday has occurred an untold number of times before, almost like it had been scripted. Any dreams, aspirations, and wishes of moving forward as an organization are dashed quickly, showing how fleeting most things truly are in life. The scenario that played out Sunday in Lambeau Field during the second half has been repeated ad infinitum. One has to wonder whether upon acquisition by the Lions, if all players are injected with a “Loser” serum, that quickly becomes integrated into their very being, so that they will, too, fold at crucial points in games like numerous Lions before them. This “serum” is especially effective during games when victory matters most upon the outlook of the Lion’s season. That “serum” also will take highly-touted quarterbacks, who most Lion fans have pinned their hopes and dreams of future Lion’s successes upon (and paid accordingly!), and turn them into mediocre journeymen who will never flourish in the NFL.

Now I might be able to accept that no such “Loser” serum is capable of existing, but I will never fathom how the Lions offense could be so supremely bad, inefficient, and ineffective like it has been over the course of the last three quarters of this season. Even with the brilliant emergence of Kevin Jones and the offensive line, this has become one of the most sputtering and inept offenses in all of football. We were sold a “bill of goods” early in the season, a “bill” that stated if the Lions could establish the running game, their passing attack would flourish. In the last 5 games, Kevin Jones has rushed for 632 yards and the passing game has only been able to account for 611 yards. As the season progresses, it has become patently obvious that someone within this organization will have to pay for this glaring failure in this interminable Lions “rebuilding” process.

First off, Steve Mariucci and offensive coordinator, Sherm Lewis, must be taken to task. In the last 6 weeks their offense has looked almost respectable during the first half of each game. Upon second half kickoff, the Lions offense becomes a grotesque exhibit that almost demands averting the eyes (or flipping channels!). Their play-calling, can be best described as gutless, vanilla and unimaginative (and that’s being nice). They have relied upon a weak-hearted “dink-n-dunk” offensive passing scheme that is bereft of rhythm and poses no threat to break games wide open or ever putting opposing defenses on their heels. Routinely, teams just have to make a few subtle adjustments going into the second half of game to take Kevin Jones out of the game plan (i.e. Loading up players around the line of scrimmage) which puts the onus of the game squarely upon the shoulders of “Champagne” Joey Harrington and his inability to connect with his receivers while throwing the ball.

Increasingly, Joey Harrington is becoming the player most likely to be jettisoned this offseason. His exhibition yesterday was one of the worst in all of Lions franchise history. He never looked in command of the game and his passes looked like he was tossing lawn jarts. His passes continually dropped to the turf in front of his intended receivers, taking the same trajectory of his once promising career. To say as a frachise player that he has been a major disappointment doesn’t even begin to encapsulate my feelings for his performance over the last 7-8 weeks. It has become so bad that local sports talk callers have flooded the lines with rhetorical questions about if the Lions might have been better off keeping Charlie Batch or Scott Mitchell. Many have pondered what might have been if the Lions would have selected Brian Griese, instead of Charlie Batch 6 LONG years ago. The whole discussion is a wash, with Harrington due a big bonus in the upcoming months, and with the cupboard being bare organizationally, the Lions are yet again faced with big decisions in regards to their QB personnel, a decision Harrington was supposed to eliminate for at least a few years. The contract extension of Matt Millen as GM may in the end pose the greatest danger to Joey’s career as a Lion. Remember, Matt Millen didn’t want to draft Harrington (he wanted to select CB Quentin Jammer) but the Ford’s forced his hand(note added 12/14:Many Lion’s experts contest the validity of the previous statement. “Killer” Kowalski, for one, thinks that Millen eventually decided it was in the team’s best interest to select Harrington). Mariucci probably has never been completely enamored with Harrington, never stating so, to his credit, but left to preserve his own future within the organization, he will probably not hang his hat upon the Titanic that has quickly become Harrington’s NFL career. The Ford’s stupefyingly, really like Millen, and are paying Mariucci a lot of money, so in the end Harrington may be the one who will have to go. At the very least, a seasoned back-up, with starting experience in the NFL, will have to be signed and almost assuredly assume the helm about week 4 during next season.

I really have no stomach for the Lions excuses about yesterday’s game. I don’t want to have the outcome of a game ever again be attributed to harsh playing conditions. Deal with it! Better yet, deal with it and win! In a game that started so promisingly, the Lions yet again, were unable to obtain victory even after carrying a double-digit lead into halftime. Two things that I were most crucial to bringing about the eventual Lions loss were:

*Keith Smith not catching a Favre interception and turning it into 6 points. This has to be done, the Lions rarely snatch these kind of opportunities.

* After the defense was successfully able to stop the Packer offense and turn the ball over on downs at around mid-field the offense and it’s play-calling didn’t exhibit the sense of urgency or killer instinct to add more points to an already sizeable lead. After a poor sideline pass to Hakim was caught for an incompletion, Mooch meekly called a screen pass thrown to Shawn Bryson to close the half. Mooch’s inability to step on the opponents throat (so-to-speak) at crucial points of a game has already lead to his termination in San Francisco, his constant adversarial relationship with Terrell Owens and will proably be his undoing here in Detroit. Good teams find a way to score 3 or 7 more points going into the half with that field position.

As the second half began, I felt good about the Lions chances. Remember, the first team to score win 65% of the time in NFL games. It took just a matter of seconds in the half to realize what the outcome of the game was going to be. 4 or 5 penalties and 55 yards later the Packers had their first score of the game and all that was left to be determined was if Favre would have enough time to eventually overcome the Lions. Helping the Pack’s chances, Harrington was only able to complete 2 passes and Jones only had 10 carries during the second half, ensuring Favre would have plenty of time from which to operate. Did the Lions receivers drop passes? Yes, and in my eyes, Tai Streets and Stephen Alexander should have played in their last games as Detroit Lions. Show them the door! I want to see in the next three games if several Lions have any potential future commodity within the organization. Namely, David Kircus, Casey FitzSimmons, and Artose Pinner. If they are unable to prove their worth, they must go, too.

Most disappointing may have been Shaun Rogers complete meltdown and benching during the opening drive of the second half. He is the teams most valuable defensive player and among the top 5 Defensive tackles in the entire league. Yet, his two costly penalties in the opening drive of the second half for the Packers were exemplary of the increasingly uphill trek this organization is going to face. He is no rookie, having played four seasons. Rogers must establish his leadership role that players like Joe Schmidt, Chris Spielman, Doug English, and Robert Porcher have brought to this organization in the face of all of the disgrace that has been wrought upon it. His contract is up at the end of the season and I have been a strong advocate for his re-signing, as opposed to him being deemed the team’s franchise player. Yet his exhibition on Sunday in Green Bay makes me question even the wisdom of that decision among the many that will have to be made in the upcoming months.

Lions Vs. Sausage Scarfers preview

First off, I realize that Brett Favre has courageously overcome a great deal of adversity in his life off the field. I also realize, he has put together one of the more impressive on-field careers in NFL history. I even admire that he has shown empathy for his wife (a trait not often exhibited by professional athletes), who is suffering from breast cancer and the results of chemotherapy, by shaving his head. I am begging the broadcasters of Sunday’s game, please, I implore you, please keep the Brett Favre bootlicking to a minimum! I realize that there is little else to discuss when Javon Walker has just done his third “Lambeau Leap” of the day and Ahman Green has just rushed for his 175th yard of the game. Favre has only won one Super Bowl, please refrain from the superlatives. Until he proves he can win another game in January, he is a great player in a line of many. He shouldn’t be gushed over and adored like squealing thirteen year old girls do after having just ripped the pull-out section from their favorite teen dream magazine.

First off, can you believe the Lions have lost 12 straight regular season games in Wisconsin (3 Milwaukee, 9 Lambeau)? They also have one road playoff loss against Green Bay in that time span. “Cocaine” Wayne Fontes is the last coach to emerge victorious from Green Bay. In that time, the Packers have averaged 30.8 pts./game and meanwhile the Lions have scored only 15.1 pts/game. These games haven’t even been close. In order for the Lions to stand much of a chance in this game, they need to score first. Teams who score first win 65% of the time. Getting out to a good start rapidly changes the complexion of the game.

On Offense, the Lions would like to be able to run the ball. It will be difficult finding much room in the middle of the Packer defense with big, run-stuffing, Grady Jackson and my favorite Packer, Cletidus (pronounced Cle-dee-us)Hunt anchoring the middle. The Lions Guards, Damien Woody and David Loverne, and Center Dom Raiola must have their game of the year. Their success will help the team move the ball and keep them from the dreaded third and long yardage situations. The Packers do have a weak secondary, the Lions may have a chance to achieve some plays in this part of their offense. Look for Harrington to try and find good matchups against Ahmad Carroll and Michael Hawthorne to exploit. The Packers have been unable to successfully pressure opposing quarterbacks, Harrington should have the time to operate. That being said, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, is always a threat to disrupt the pocket. I think it would be in the Lions best interest to take some chances on offense. I think if they can game plan a way to neautralize Grady Jackson’s effectiveness and enjoy some large gains in the passing game they may stand a chance. I think utilizing more multiple receiver sets and throwing down field would be wise. Attacking the porous Green Bay secondary, that also is lacking depth, could prove fruitful.

On Defense, the Lions will have to be very stout in their run defense. If Ahman Green, Tony Fisher, and Najeh Davenport are effective look out. Their effectiveness will open up play-action passes for Favre and will also allow him more opportunity to find his dangerous receivers down the field. The Lions secondary will probably be missing starting CB Fernando Bryant, which in itself isn’t such a huge blow, but will effect their depth when the Packers use multi-receiver sets. With the Lions Safeties relative inability to help the corners over the top, I expect Favre and his talented young receivers to have a field day with the Lions. The Packers have one of the best offensive lines in all of football, so any pressure the Lions front seven is able to get on Favre will be a plus. Sacks will be hard to come by, so they will be a major factor for the Lions if they get any.

To be honest with you, I can not logically see where the Lions will prevent their 14th loss in a row in Wisconsin from being anything but a blow-out. The Packers getting whacked by Philly won’t help, the Packers have something to prove to their home fans and the rest of the league. Brett Favre’s courageous, off-field struggles always seem to result in inspired performances from him. Honestly, I believe that the Lions mediocre secondary and Jauron’s bend-don’t-break defensive philosophy will be a major contributors to a shellacking by the Packers. A “Bend, Don’t Break” philosophy quickly becomes a “Prevent” defense when facing a team that will attack like the Packers. If the Packers are not nursing a three touchdown lead in third quarter of this game, I will be completely shocked.

Sausage Scarfers 45 Cowardly Lions 20

Lions vs. CheeseHeads tales of the Tape

28. Detroit Offense vs./ 27. Green Bay defense
Yardage
Yards 3,254/ 4,339
YPG 271.2(28th)/361.6(27th)
Scoring
PTS 218/ 294
PPG 18.2(25th)/ 24.5(24th)
Passing
YPG 170.3(26th)/ 257.7(30th)
TD 15 (20th)/ 28(31st)
SACK 29 (15th)/ 28(14th)
INT 9(8th)/ 7(25th)
Rushing
100.8(27th)/ 103.4(9th)

Turnovers
Team———–Takeaways—————-Giveaways
—————INT—-FUM–TTL——–INT—-FUM—TTL—DIFF +/-
7.Detroit——-13——9——22——–9——–5——14—- +8
27. Favre’s—-7——–5——12——–15——-8——23—- -11

QB Comp—–ATT—CMP—-PCT—YDS/G—-TD/INT—-RATE
9.Favre ——404—-258—–63.9—247.7—-22/13——90.7
17. Joey—-344—–196—–57.0—177.3—–15/8——-80.2

Rushing——ATT—–YDS—YDS/g—LNG—-AVG—TD
12.Green—-196——916—83.3—–90——-4.7—-6
19.Jones—-145——703—63.9—–74——–4.8—-2
Davenport–55——-306—38.3—–40——–5.6—-2
(plus with Davenport a bonus, one laundry basket defecated in!)

21.Lions Defense vs./ 4.Green Bay Offense
Yardage
Yards 4,098/ 4,765
YPG 341.5(21st)/ 397.1(4th)
Scoring
PTS 269/ 318
PPG 22.4(19th)/ 26.5(6th)
Passing
YPG 219.8(21st)/ 269.1(3rd)
TD 23(27th)/ 27(4th)
Sack 30(10th)/10(3rd)
INT 13(16th)/15(25th)
Rushing
YPG 121.8(21st)/ 133.4(7th)
TD 8(13th)/7(25th)

Receiving—–G—REC—YDS—Yds/G—-LNG—AVG—TD
5.Walker—–12—67—-1,032—86.0—–79—-15.4—-10
19.Driver—-12—64—-837—–69.8—–50—–13.1—-6
Williams—–10—39—–605—-60.5—–46—–15.5—–5

Third Down Conversions
Det Offense 45/151 (30%) Det Opp. 76/176(43%)
GB Offense 76/155 (49%) GB Opp. 53/145(37%)

Time Of Posession (AVG Time)
Det Offense 27:03 Opp. 32:57
GB Offense 30:29 Opp. 29:32

Injury Report
Det: Out: Boss Bailey, Eddie Drummond Doubt: Fernando Bryant
Ques: Kalimba the Ghost Prob: Jared deVries, Vernon Fox, Alex Lewis

GB: Doubt: Na’il Diggs LB Prob: Kevin Barry T/TE, Grady Jackson DT, Bhawoh Jue S, Grey Ruegamer C, Darren Sharper S

Roy Williams comments about Ford Field fans

Roy Williams made some strong statements in regards to the vociferousness (or lack of) of fans attending games at Ford Field. He feels strongly that they should be more helpful to the success of the Lions. He said “I’m not trying to bash our fans, but this is the most quiet stadium in the league.” “When the defense is out there, we have to be louder so their offense can’t hear. When we struggle (on offense), boo the wide receiver, boo everybody. Don’t just boo the quarterback.”

I know that Roy Williams is a rookie and may not be entirely informed about the history of this franchise so I will give him the benefit of the doubt. The home field fans used to have some effect on the outcome of games. That effect was a nearly deafening roar and an intimidating, barely containable intensity in vocal support of it’s home team. But if Roy reflects, he will realize that the atmosphere created that had a direct impact on the outcome of games occurred at another field, inside another domed stadium, distinct from his friendly confines several years ago in a suburb of Detroit. The Silverdome was a virtual Sodom and Gomorrah encased within a football arena (quite ugly I might add) that a regular guy could afford to spend the money necessary for tickets, parking, and beer to attend. Furthermore, fans were rewarded by seeing a competitive, even if frustratingly, underachieving football team.

Ford Field is palatial, it’s a stunning locale to watch a football game. Yet, the stadium is suffused with well-to-do-corporate-types, who have received their tickets gratis from the home office as a benefit of employment. So I must admit I take umbrage with these statements, with all apologies to Mr. Williams. I hate the fact that the modern professional sports landscape rewards it’s fans by building Babel-like towering temples replete with luxury seating, so that those very die-hard fans who will not sit on their hands while attending games, must stay home and watch on television (if isn’t blacked out). In regards to singling out a particular player, their is no more accountable or visible position to focus upon in all of professional sports than the quarterback position. Irregardless of culpability, the quarterback will usually be seen as most accountable for the success or failure of his team.

Bobby Layne Anecdotes

I have read a few great football books recently. They were historical in nature so many have contained at least brief mention of the exploits of the greatest Quarterback in Detroit Lions franchise history, Bobby Layne.

Two of my favorites, Michael MacCambridge’s “America’s Game” and Jeff Davis’s “Papa Bear” contained most of the anecdotal information that I found amusing in regards to Layne. The reason that Layne figures prominently in the Davis book is that Layne’s draft and subsequent trade to the New York Bulldogs eventually tipped the balance towards the Detroit Lions favor within their (Lions/Bears) division after they had acquired Layne. Davis eloquently describes Layne:
“For most pro football fans in early television’s black and white era, the game’s most colorful star was a swaggering cowboy of a QB with the Detroit Lions and, later, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Bobby Layne, number 22 on his jersey and number 1 in the hearts of his fans, wore a boy’s tiny shoulder pads under his jersey. With a potbelly slopping over his belt and a beefy butt, Layne didn’t need any other protection. He said face masks were for sissies, so he was the last position player in the league who didn’t have one attached to his helmet. The helmet itself looked two sizes too small and barely fit over his shock of blonde hair.”

Essentially Layne was Brett Favre in a different era ( or is Favre a modern-day Layne?). Davis mentions that Layne made great television in the early days of broadcast sports. Many directors took constant close-ups of Layne’s “pudgy, squinty-eyed face” as he dressed down linemen who didn’t make their blocks “attacking them like beef jerky” (I really like that!) They also enjoyed watching him criticize his receivers when they dropped or missed one of Layne’s “wobbly, duck-like passes or coughed up the ball.” The cameras were focused upon his every “purple syllable”.

Layne’s teammate and best friend, Doak Walker, grew up with Layne in Highland Park, Texas where they played high school ball together and were later reunited with the Lions. Walker may have put it best, saying that “Bobby never lost a game in his life. Time just ran out on him.”

The Bears and the AAFC Baltimore Colts both selected Layne from the University of Texas in 1948 with their first pick. The Bears already had recently drafted Notre Dame legend Johnny Lujack (1946) and also still had Sid Luckman on the roster. In the NFL world before the salary cap, it was still conceivable that a personnel man as shrewd as George Halas might amass this much talent. The courting of Layne was intense from both organizations. Supposedly, Baltimore’s coach, Cecil Isbell, went to Texas and met with Layne in a hotel room. Isbell laid out 10 $100 bills and told Layne it was his signing bonus. He then handed Layne a 3 yr., no-cut, no-trade contract starting at $20,000 and escalated to $22,000 and finallly, $25,000. When Layne left the room Isbell though he had Layne all wrapped up. Bobby had lead a hard life (his father died when he was 7, he was adopted by an aunt and uncle) and Halas used this knowledge to adroitly appeal to Layne and convince him to sign in Chicago.

Bobby’s reputation as player was only matched by his reputation as a wild party-animal off the field. Layne once told a reporter that he had “cut his teeth on Pearl Beer.” Davis says that ” For Layne, the real chase began after the lights were down low.” Former Bears running back,Rick Casares, said that “Bobby was a helluva guy. Just legendary about drinking. It’s all true.” The Layne legend was most often seen in action at the unofficial Bears hangout on Chicago’s Clark St., the “Cottage”. Former Bear George Connor mentions that “”Bulldog” Turner had his own crew of Texans. they’d get drunk and yell out, ‘Hiya, kid! Hiya, kid! The booze didn’t bother Layne. He ran right through it. Former Bear Ed Sprinkle mentions that Layne’s drinking was not effected the night before a game. “He’d go out drinking the night before and get in the huddle and smell of booze, but he’d play the game. He was good.”

His off-the-field exploits never hindered his abilities on game day. In fact he was among the greatest game managers in quarterbacking history and had absolute leadership amongst his peers. Yale Lary may have said it best when he said “When Bobby said block, you blocked. When Bobby said drink you drank.” As a game manager, Layne virtually invented the two-minute drill on the fly during the 1953 championship game. “Trailing 16-10, with the ball on Detroit’s 20, Layne took command. He fired sideline passes to stop the clock, drew up plays in the dirt, kept throwing, and finally called time at the Browns’ 33 yard line with seconds remaining.” according to Davis. Ignoring Head Coach “Buddy” Parker’s orders to throw short, Layne fired long to Jim Doran, who scored. In MacCambridge’s book, “Buddy” Parker takes credit for the invention of the two minute drill. Parker said, ” I had noticed how so many teams let down the two minutes before the half, and the last two minutes of the game.” Parker said’ “It seemed you could get things done then that you couldn’t in the other 56 minutes of play. So we drilled it. Every day.” Irregardless, whether the 2 minute offense was an improvisation or finely- honed through inciteful coaching, Layne was the archetype for the legendary comeback QB’s Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, and John Elway.

The Layne trade is mentioned as among George Halas’s great regrets in his entire career in football. At that the time the Bears were stacked at QB posessing Sid Luckman, Johnny Lujack and Layne. Halas stated at the time of the trade that he believed Layne “may develop into a Luckman or Baugh.” He also mentioned that “Layne is an excellent competitor and wishes to play regularly, not sit on the bench.” Halas had also claimed he was attempting to aid another owner, Ted Collins, business partner and manager for Kate Smith, who had moved his franchise and established the New York Bulldogs. Halas traded Layne for two draft choices and $50,000 which history has indicated he desperately needed. It turned out that Halas still owed the Bidwill’s, who owned the Chicago Cardinals, $50,000 from a loan Charlie Bidwill had given to Halas to save Bidwill’s beloved Bears. Violet Bidwill, had been informed by “Buddy” Parker in 1948, that acquiring the services of Layne would help their franchise. She wanted Layne in return for the debt. Halas wouldn’t trade a valued player to his cross-town rivals so he opted to move him to New York. Halas didn’t know that the Bulldogs would fold after one season and that division rivals, the Detroit Lions would acquire his services.

In Detroit, George Anderson had driven out his partners and taken sole control of the team. One of his first coaching hires was Raymond “Buddy” Parker. Anderson had secretly informed Parker to standby for the inevitable failure of incumbent Head Coach Alvin “Bo” McMillan (haven’t we heard this scenario played out numerous times!). Anderson allowed Parker to build an offense around Bobby Layne, halfback Doak Walker, and Notre Dame’s 1949 Heisman Trophy winning-End, Leon Hart. Walker the Heisman Winner from Southern Methodist, would lead the NFL in scoring in 1950 with 126 points. Anderson would replace McMillan with Parker four days before Christmas, 1950. The Lions quickly became the elite team in the Western Conference. They won the Conference in 1952 and 1953. By 1957, Parker was gone and now coaching in Pittsburgh a season in which Layne broke his leg and had to watch his backup, Tobin Rote, lead the Lions to the 1957 league championship.

Hours after the second game in 1958, the Lions traded Layne to Pittsburgh, a day that has been infamous in Lions history. Layne was reunited with former Coach Parker and in the trade, but still the move was puzzling to many fans since the Lions had traded their greatest and most popular star. Paul Hornung, who played for Green Bay in Layne’s last game as a Lion, had some enlightening comments for Davis in regards to the trade.

“The score was tied 13-13,” Hornung said recalling a sunny October 5th afternoon at City Stadium. As Hornung watched from the Packer’s sideline, Layne was marching the Lions toward another one of his patented late game victories. “It was fourth-and-3 on the 11 yard line. Naturally, here comes the field goal team. Only 40 seconds were left. Jim Martin was going to kick a field goal, which was like an extra point,” Hornung said considering the chipshot-like 17 yards Martin’s kick would have to travel.

“Layne waved them off,” a still-disbelieving Hornung said four and a half decades later. “They went for a touchdown! he went back, and it fell incomplete in the end zone. We took the ball and ran out the clock, a 13-13 tie.” “On Monday, he got traded to Pittsburgh! The very next f@ckin Monday, he was gone!” Hornung exclaimed. “Do you know, there was not a thing written about it!” Hornung told Jeff Davis that many had believed that Layne was drunk when making the decision. Hornung said “Bullshit! He was drunk. He was betting 15 or 20 thousand. He told me! He gave four or five points, and he had to cover. He didn’t give a shit. when Bobby made a bet, it made the rest of the guys look like paupers. Even though Layne’s credibility had been damaged Hornung said you had to love Layne, “He was a winner.”

Layne’s career in football didn’t end with his playing days. He was a QB’s coach for Pittsburgh in 1963 and 1964. He filled the same role for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1965 and ended his football career as a scout for the Dallas Cowboys in 1966 and ‘67. Layne eventually would survive three head-on collisions and two throat cancer operations. He also went blind in one eye. He died on December 1st, 1986, two days after surgery to stop hemhorraging in his lower esophagus. He will be eternally remembered as one of the toughest S.O.B’s who ever played the game of football and his shadow has been cast over the state of Michigan and the Lions organizationfor the past 50 years and will never fade.

File Under Coolest Thing Ever!

Yesterday Shaun Rogers worked a 2 Hour shift at a Hardee’s in Hazel Park. His foundation received the proceeds of that day’s sales of “Monster Thickburgers.” It boggles the mind to consider how many “Monster Thickburgers” a 6 foot 4 inch, 345 lb man could consume. Certainly, more than my good friend Yukon Dan (and that is a daunting challenge, Mister!)

Has any been begin to think about the fact that the Lions have yet to defeat the Packers at Lambeau since 1991? That’s the Wayne Fontes-era Lions for those of us with short memories. They have yet to defeat Brett Favre in Lambeau since he has assumed the helm. Disgusting.

Kevin Jones stellar, rest of the Lions just good enough to win.

Yesterday’s game was not exactly the most enjoyable of games to watch. Yet, the emergence of Kevin Jones and the Lions obtaining a victory after 5-straight losses was mildly encouraging. The offense is still mind-numbingly bad on third down conversions and in the “red zone”. It is still apparent that the best that than can be hoped for from “Champagne” Joey performance-wise, is that he will play well enough to not lose a game for the Lions.

Kevin Jones was absolutely stellar. He exhibited that he had the patience to let plays develop, fought hard for additional second effort yards, and showed that he does have game-breaking ability:

Jones 196 yards are the second best ever for a Lions rookie,

Mel Farr 24 carries 197 yards
Kevin Jones 25 carries 196 yards
Barry Sanders 30 carries 184 yards
Barry Sanders 20 carries 158 yards
Billy Sims 27 carries 157 yards

For the season Jones has 145 carries for 703 yards (4.8 per carry), most of which has come in last 4 weeks:
————1st Half———-2nd Half—–TTL
Jags——-13/43———–6/38———19/81
Vikes—–15/95————4/5———-19/100
Colts—–9/83————-3/16———12/99
Cards—11/105———-15/91——–26/196

Jones’s 74 yard run was the longest by a Lion rookie since Garry James 60-yarder in 1986. It was the second longest in team history to a Barry Sanders 80-yarder in 1997 against Indy. Jones’s 196 yards was the most any Lions running back has had since Sanders has 216 in that same game versus Indianapolis. Jones provided the Lions with 218 total yards of offense on Sunday and hopefully this performance is the first of many more to come. His performance should help the Lions offense overall because it has proved to opposing defenses that he can be a force to be reckoned with and they will have to game plan accordingly. Jones rushing TD was the first Lions rushing TD in six games! The Lions rushing average was 6.7 yards per rush. That average is 2.8 yards per rush better than the team’s 3.9 yard per rush average entering into the game.

The Lions offense was still not very efficient when faced with plays that most mattered. They were for 4/13 in third down conversions and 2 for 7 in the “Red Zone”. They were only able to muster 6 points from the 4 Cardinals interceptions. The time of possession was still relatively close between the two teams (Det 30:19, ARZ 29:41) considering the Lions success running the ball is particularly mind-boggling. My television barely survived a harsh fate after Harrington followed up Jones spectacular 74-yard run with a “red zone” interception. In that particular play, Harrington audibled to a slant when the Cards were blitzing. He attempted to “look off” the defensive backs attempting to deceive them and make the wrong judgement as to where he would be throwing the ball. The Cardinals CB, David Macklin, jumped the route and kept the Lions from the end zone. The Lions offense had 6 “3 and outs” in their 14 posessions. Mariucci has a tendency to get too “cute” in his play-calling on third and short yardage situations. Their were two times yesterday, where with the success Jones exhibited carrying the ball, that they astoundingly opted to run play-action passes rather than have Jones hammer the Cards for easy 1st downs. I realize the value of play-action passes keeping teams from over-committing to stop the run, but in those to two particular plays (which were not converted) it seemed nonsensical when you factor the success of Jones rushing the ball.

The defense did it’s job, by providing the team with turnovers and not allowing John Navarre to get too comfortable. The Cards seem to have game-planed for him to throw short safe passes and the Lions were willing to give their receivers some cushion in which to operate, so as not to give up any long passes. James Hall got a sack and an interception when he dropped back into coverage on a “zone blitz”. The defense did what it should have done to a rookie QB in his first start, pressure him and confuse him. I think that Navarre showed that he has the potential for playing well in the NFL. He still exhibited the propensity for too many of his passes to get knocked down at the line of scrimmage and was burned by Dre Bly twice reading where he was throwing the ball and jumping the routes. It was encouraging to see young Lions like Teddy Lehman, Keith Smith and Alex Lewis making plays, especially with the news coming out that it is growing more unlikely that Boss Bailey will return this season. The Lions defense did get two costly penalties that extended Arizona drives and eventually lead to Cardinal’s scores. The offending plays were a James Hall offsides and Fernando Bryant hands to the face penalty both of which proved costly.

The Lions special teams were passable. They still managed to get an offsides penalty on a kickoff (Whuh Happpened?, sorry for the reference) and Jason Hanson is no longer booming the ball on kickoffs like he used to.

With the announcements that W.C. Ford wants to extend Matt Millen’s contract and that “Wayne” Mariucci still wants his team to be in the mind set of playing for the possibilityof entering the playoffs, it is apparent the Lions would like us to think that this team is heading for better days. It may be, but with the loss of Boss Bailey and Charles Rogers for the season and the likelihood that Eddie Drummond is gone for the year (even though he indicates he is coming back), the Lions are definitely missing three players integral to their success. Joey Harrington, who according to John Czarniecki of Pro Sports Weekly, is due a big bonus this offseason has four more weeks to prove his value to the organization. This is a crucial time period for this team with all four remaining games being winnable (although defeating Green Bay at Lambeau, after not having done so since 1991, after the Packers blow-out loss in Philly is highly unlikely). If the Lions do not go at least 2-2, this will be a difficult offseason for them.