Detroit Lions Weblog

Ghoulish Garcia Drives a Stake through the Heart’s of Lion Fans

What in the hell is there to say? The Lions squandered a major opportunity yesterday, giving proof to the notion that this has been the WORST organization in the National Football League for 48 years and counting. Yesterday’s loss, obviously troubling, is indicative of the fact that team will remain in its same sorry state as long as ineptitude, Matt Millen’s performance as team president, is rewarded with five year contract extensions. Hierarchical organizations are evaluated from the top down to the bottom. Or to you use a holiday reference, you have to shoot a zombie in the head, not it’s feet in order to stop it.

The amazing thing with Sunday’s horror show is that you get the feeling that you were viewing the same epic story with a different cast of players subsituted into it’s constituent roles. Immediately, Jeff Garcia’s bone-headed “intentionally-grounded” pass could have been just as easily an errant Scott Mitchell lob, a Ty Detmer loft, or a Stoney Case disaster. Garcia waxed even more Mitchell-esque with his ill-advised scrambling pass when he threw across his body to Mike Williams, who was left standing there dumbfounded, ala ghosts of receivers past, Mikhail Ricks or Scotty Anderson. Most disappointing about that interception, was the overall lack of effort by Williams on the play. He didn’t come back to to the ball, allowing “Peanut” Tillman to jump the route. In that situation, Williams should have done everything within his power to disrupt the play, but instead was left standing just as aghast as Lion’s fans across America, who had their collective hearts ripped out straight through their throats.

If it wasn’t already clear, Jeff Garcia is not the answer at QB for the Lions. What is becoming even clearer, the Lions have wasted their last five or six first round draft picks and their team’s future after this season is dubious, at best. If any of the Lion’s highly-touted receivers, the “Ones” as they have been referred to, had half of the hunger or tenacity of the exciting journeymen WR Scottie Vines, the Lions may not be in this predicament. You can live with a lack of execution, no player is perfect. What is becoming patently obvious is that team suffers from a lack of effort, will ,or some other intangible substance that separates contenders from pretenders.

In my eyes, it is an indictment upon the coaching staff that they have not been able to nurture or draw from these qualities that may be within these individuals as players. Furthermore, the coaching staff has been a massive failure in the implementation of what skills and abilities these players do possess. Until that situation is rectified, this team will struggle to reach 6-10 by season’s end and Lions fans will suffer from the recapitulation of the organizational turmoil that has rotted this organization from the inside-out over the course of the last fifty years. What else is there to say?

week 8: The Showdown in Motown!

This week is the big showdown between the NFC North SuperPowers, the Lions and the Bears. But Seriously, this is a huge game for the Lions. Supposing they win, the Lions would be alone at 1st place in the division, with a record over .500 at the season’s midpoint, both would be a big steps towards their becoming playoff contenders. This will be the fifth week in a row that the Lions have faced a tough, grind-it-out type of opponent where success in the ground game, turnovers, field position and time of posession will be major factors in the outcome of the game.

The Lions made a major move in appointing Jeff Garcia as their QB last week against the Browns. Garcia, though reckless and rag-armed, brings a veteran’s presence and will be able to adjust better to what opponent’s defenses bring at him than the deposed Joey Harrington was able to. Which is a good thing, in the first meeting between the Lions and Bears, the Bears defense dominated the Lions with relentless blitzing, a stout rushing defense, and game-turning big plays from their secondary. On the other hand, the Lions inherent weaknesses on offense were exposed for all of the world to see and it seems that in each successive week the Lions have attempted to adjust to compensate for those glaring team weaknesses.

Most importantly, for the Lions to enjoy any offensive success this week, the offensive line and lead blocking of FB’s Paul Smith and Corey Schlesinger will have to get a push against the Bears DT’s Ian Scott and Tommie Harris and LB’s Urlacher, Hunter Hillenmeyer, and Lance Briggs. Schlesinger has had some success against Urlacher, and hopefully that will continue this week. If the Lions can run effectively, at all, it will open more opportunities for Jeff Garcia to improvise while scrambling out of the pocket or utilizing play-action passes. Garcia will have a mixed-bag of receivers at his disposal with Scottie Vines, Mike Williams, and the hopefully healthy return of Roy Williams. Vines was quite effective against the Browns and did an excellent job in continuing his routes as Garcia broke from the plays and improvised. The Bears have a very good secondary and the Lions will see less blitzes than in the first game. Garcia’s experience and ability to react to the blitz will mean less man-to-man coverage for Lion’s receivers. Bears SS Mike Brown seems to always have big games against the Lions, hopefully he will unable to make the game-changing plays that have hurt the Lions so often in the past. Maybe if the Lions can find a way to occupy Brown with TE’s Pollard and FitzSimmons, he will be less active. Marcus Pollard, in particular, will have to become a larger factor for the Lions this week. I think that the Lions also should try to hammer the Bears with their ground attack, they have had past success when establishing the run against them. Garcia is not known for his down field passes, so it is imperative that the Lions create a lot of third and short yardage situations.

On defense, the Lions need to do whatever it takes to cause Kyle Orton to play like a rookie Qb, unlike their first meeting. To do so, they’ll have to continue to generate turnovers and make timely stops which they have done consistently since the last meeting between the two teams. First off, Shaun Rogers replacement, if Rogers is unable to play, be it Corey Redding or Marcus Bell will need to be very effective against the run. If the Lions can be more stout in the middle against the run and are able to walk Kenoy Kennedy up closer to the line of scrimmage, they could conceivably force the Bears to have to rely on Orton as opposed to letting Thomas Jones beat them. With the absence of Dre Bly and Fernando Bryant, the Bears may want to attack CB’s Andre Goodman, R. W. McQuarters, and Keith Smith and see how they fare against veteran WR Muhsin Muhammad. I would expect that McQuarters and FS Terrence Holt will routinely blanket Muhammad leaving Goodman to have to limit rookie WR Mark Bradley and WR Justin Gage. If the Lions can reduce the number of big passing plays for the Bears, I think this will be a winnable game. If DE’s Jared DeVries, Kalimba Edwards, and James Hall consistently pressure Orton it will be of major assistance to the depleted Lions secondary.

Special Teams will also be a very large factor in this game. It will be a low scoring affair so any big plays generated by the special teams could easily lead to a win in this game. I am especially concerned about Bears punt returner Bobby Wade. If Wade is allowed to give the Bears good field position, the Lions could be in for trouble. For the Lions, it will be interesting to monitor to what extent McQuarters starting on defense effects his availability on returns. If Eddie Drummond is unable to play, the Lions will scramble to find another player to use instead of McQuarters. Another major concern for me is that if Long Snapper Don Muhlbach is unable to play, Jody Littleton (just signed) has to make good snaps, especially after Joe Maese performed so poorly last week.

This will be a vintage grind-it-out Black ‘N’ Blue division style of game that will keep today’s short attention-spanned generation NFL viewers with their hands firmly clutched to their remotes. Both teams will play very conservatively on offense in hopes of their defenses being able to carry them to victory. I am not a huge fan of Jeff Garcia, but I will take a 12-year vet over a rookie in most games.

Garcia’s 17 Orton’s 10

Week 8: Bears at Lions

29.Detroit Offense vs. / 3.Chicago Defense

Yardage

Yards 1,518/1,561
YPG 253.0(27)/260.2(3)

Scoring

PTS 104/68
PPG 17.3(23)/ 11.3(2)

Passing

YPG 159.3(27)/177.2(9)
TD 4(30)/6(8)
SACK 14(14)/18(9)
INT 8(22)/10(4)

Rushing

YPG 93.7(21)/ 83.0(4)
TD 6(12)/ 0(1)

30. Chicago Offense vs./ 3. Lions Defense

Yardage

Yards 1,491/ 1,783
YPG 248.5(28)/ 297.2(9)

Scoring

PTS 100/ 106
PPG 16.7(25)/ 17.7(10)

Passing

YPG 123.8(30)/ 191.7(12)
TD 5(26)/ 8(13)
SACK 14(14)/ 16(10)
INT 7(18)/ 13(2)

Rushing

YPG 124.7(11)/105.5(13)
TD 6(12)/ 2(2)

QB Comparison
——–ATT/CMP—-PCT—–YDS/G—-TD/INT——RATE
Orton–168/93—–55.4——136.5—–5/7———–61.1
Garcia-39/22——-64.7—–210.0—–0/0———–81.7

The “Jones Boys”
———–CAR—YDS—YDS/G—-LNG—AVG—TD
T. Jones-134—–641—-106.8—-42—–4.8—-6
K. Jones-104—–300—-50.0—–14—–2.9—-3

———————-Team Efficiency—————————
————OFFEFF——————————-DEFEFF———–
—–PLAYS—RUSHAVG–PASSAVG–OFFAVG–PLAYS—RUSH—PASS—DEF
DET-368—–3.29———4.85——–4.13——362——4.14—–5.50—-4.93
CHI-359—–4.25———4.06——–4.15——378——3.23—–4.75—-4.13

1st Downs—————
Chi 94 Opp 86
DET 95 Opp 99

AVG Time of Possession
Chi 29:43 Opp 30:17
DET 30:37 Opp29:23

3rd Downs—————
Chi 27/78 (34.6) Opp 27/90(30.0)
DET 30/84(35.7) Opp 29/80 (36.3)

4th Downs—————-
Chi 3/7(42.9) Opp 2/8(25.0)
DET 3/9(33.3) Opp 2/6(33.3)

Penalties
Chi 45/389
DET 43/316

———Turnovers————————————
——TakeAways————GiveAways———-+/-
——INT—-FUM–TTL——INT—FUM—TTL
Det-13——-5—–18——-5——3——8—–/ +5
Chi-10——-3—-13——–7——7——14—/ -1

—————Inside the RED ZONE——————
———–OFF————————-DEF————-
OFFPos—-TD—FG–SCOR%–TD%-DEFPos–TD–FG–Scor%-TD%
DET-14—–8—–3—-.786——.571-14——-6—-2—.571—.429
CHI-13—–9—–2—–.846—–.692-13——-1—-5—.462—.077

INJURIES
Out: Det Bly Chi WR Berrian QB Grossman
QUES: Det Backus, Marcus Bell, Drummond, LS Don Muhlbach, Shaun Rogers
Chi OG Brown
Prob: Det Wilkinson Chi Wr Bradley, RB Jones, P Maynard, OT Miller

Lions release LS Maese, sign LS Littleton, WR Edwards

The Lions have had a busy week in preparation for their big first place showdown with the Chicago Bears. The Lions placed WR Kevin Johnson on injured reserve and signed former Steeler 1st round draft pick, WR Troy Edwards. The veteran Edwards, has some West Coast offense experience which made him very desirable to the Lions, has bounced around the league trying to catch on with a team for the last several years. Edwards has experienced some moderate success, so hopefully he will be able to contribute for the Lions. At this point, the only other receiver options available to the Lions were the “Burger King” (I hate that commercial where he scores on the slant pattern at Ford Field), Freddie “Fred-Ex” Mitchell and potentially having new team WR’s assistant coach Shawn Jefferson come out of retirement for a couple of games (not really).

The Lions released Long Snapper Joe Maese after his poor performance against the Browns on Sunday. Fortunately, Maese’s poor snaps didn’t hurt the Lions on Sunday unlike those initial snaps of the “Nolan Ryan” of long snappers, the currently injured Lions LS Don Muhlbach, did when the Lions lost to the Vikings in Muhlbach’s first game. The Lions signed Jody Littleton to snap until Muhlbach can return.

The Lions are anxiously waiting to see if WR/KR Eddie Drummond, WR Roy Williams, DT Shaun Rogers, and CB Dre Bly will be able to play. It appears that Bly will be out, leaving R. W. McQuarters and Andre Goodman as the starters and Keith Smith as the nickel corner. Shaun Rogers is likely out, too. “Killer” Kowalski believes that the Lions will use Corey Redding at tackle and Jared DeVries will start at Defensive End. Word is mum on the availabiltiy of Drummond or Williams, there does seem to be some growing locker room disapproval of Roy Williams lack of toughness. It seems that many of his teammates believe that he needs to get out on the field and play through his less-severe injuries. It was quite surprising to me that he was unable to play at all last week against the Browns.

Hopefully, if Roy Williams is out, “Big” Mike Williams will continue to show some signs that he may have been worthy of his first round draft selection. He definitely needs to learn how to hold onto the ball more consistently and avoid fumbling. Otherwise, he will lose valuable opportunities to an upstart like Scottie Vines, who has proven to be a capable competitor and seems very hungry to preserve his roster spot. It will be intriguing to see how the Lions manage their roster in the upcoming weeks with the return of Charles Rogers from suspension and the healthy returns of Drummond and Roy Williams.

Needless to say, for all of you gamblers out there, bet the under in the Bears/Lions showdown at Ford Field Sunday. The Lions have been on a grueling four week grind-it-out run that will continue against the Bears Sunday. This will not be a pretty game to watch. Hopefully, the Lions can gain a measure of revenge for the beating they took earlier this year against the Bears at Soldier’s Field. Fortunately for the Lions, new Bears receiver “Burger King” will be too busy handing out free “Meatnormous” Omelet Sandwiches to unwitting homeowners (while peering through their bedroom windows?) throughout the greater Detroit area Sunday and unavailable for Kyle Orton to throw TD’s to on Sunday.

Weak 7:Lions emerge Victorious over Hapless Browns

Steve Mariucci fired the last bullet he had in the chamber of his gun on Sunday. The organization decided that, at least for the time being, that Jeff Garcia was the answer at starting QB. What the long-term ramifications of this move hold for the organization and the once star-studded career of Joey Harrington remains to be seen. It would seem likely, that as long as the Lions are playoff contenders, Jeff Garcia will be the starting QB (as long as his 35 year old, risk-taking body can stay healthy!) Sunday’s win is normally a time when rejoicing Lions come clamoring in support of the new QB who lead the team to victory. I think that this time, most are cautionly optimistic, at best, since the victory was a hard fought but ugly one.

The mounting roster attrition as a result of injury continues. WR Kevin Johnson is lost for the season with an achilles injury. LB Alex Lewis was placed on the injured reserve before the game, opening a roster spot for WR Glenn Martinez. DT Shaun Rogers (knee) and CB Dre Bly (wrist) were both also injured. The extent of their injuries are not clear, though it is rumored that Bly may need surgery. If there are two players on the entire Lions roster that they can ill afford to lose, these two players may be it.

The Lions defense again carried the day. They provided 3 interceptions of Browns QB Trent Dilfer and generally rendered the Browns offense ineffective all day. After last week’s loss, I was extremely nervous about the Browns getting the ball back with a couple of minutes remaining on the clock. Fortunately, all the Browns offense could muster was moving the ball backwards and continuing their general offensive ineptitude.

Speaking of ineptitude, the Lions offense was still the same offense without Joey Harrington. The team seemed to rally around Jeff Garcia and he was able to scrap out some plays that Harrington would probably have been incapable of. Garcia was a much more accurate passer than Harrington, which may bode well for the Lions upon the returns of receivers Rogers and Williams. I will be curious what the Lions will plan to do about their receiver depth now that Kevin Johnson will have to be placed on the injured reserve.

For Steve Mariucci and the Lions this was a big victory. They remain in a first place tie with the Bears. I still think that the Lions offensive scheme is tragically mismatched with the players on the roster, a little out of step with the modern day NFL reality, and pathetically ineffective. Steve Mariucci continued his trend of being being painfully conservative at the end of the first half and the team somehow chronically continues to mismanage their timeouts and the play clock during this same time. I can empathize with being careful and emphasizing ball preservation, but there are certainly times when I would like to seem the Lions offense put opponents on their heels a bit. But hey, in the 16 week NFL season a win is a win and that is all that matters.

WEAK 7: Detroit vs. Cleveland

To say that this is the biggest game that the Detroit Lions have played during the short tenures of Matt Millen and Steve Mariucci(weg) is a major understatement. The Lions are facing a team, the Browns, who has beaten two of the Lions NFC North counterparts (Chicago and Green Bay), and has played quite respectably with new QB Trent Dilfer and new Head Coach Romeo Crennel. The Lions on the other hand, have backed into a first place tie with the Chicago Bears via a very shaky offense and are in the midst of a brewing QB controversy between Joey Harrington and the partially-healed Jeff Garcia.

I hate to over-magnify the importance of this game, but the Lions absolutely need this win. The course of the next three or four years of this franchise may be pre-determined by Sunday’s result. Joey Harrington, who must feel like he is looking down the barrel of a loaded gun, just needs to play respectably. I believe that the Lion’s front office no longer has any lofty expectations for Harrington as a QB. Harrington is in the unenviable position of being the organizational scapegoat for the offense’s poor performance and also is struggling to preserve any shred of a career he may have remaining in the NFL. That being said, the whole offense has been pitiful in it’s execution and the milquetoast “scheme” that the team appears to be “utilizing” has Moochian fingerprints all over it. I really think that the time is now for Mariucci to be held accountable for this horrific offensive output.

The Lions offense should have another excellent opportunity to beat a team through the air this week. If the Lions can finally establish a passing attack, it will loosen up the congestion near the line of scrimmage that has kept Kevin Jones from even approaching his expected production (2.7 yds/carry, long gain of 14 yards). In order for Harrington to perform better in the passing game, the offensive line must provide ample protection for the skittish Harrington. Cleveland’s D-Line is not providing much of a pass rush, but without Jeff Backus the Romeo Crennel lead defense may choose to give the Lions a flurry of blitzes to continually disrupt Harrington with. With the return of Corey Schlesinger, the Lions hope that some wider running lanes will be available to Kevin Jones, although, the offensive line is even more important in the ground game. Traditionally, teams can run well against a 3-4 defense. 3-4 defenses count on their quick, athletic linebackers to go sideline to sideline making plays. Usually, you can be succesful running straight at a 3-4 defense’s smaller linebackers. In this case, the Browns will load up around the line of scrimmage and dare Harrington (or Garcia) to exploit their secondary. It is still very unclear which receivers the Lions will have at their disposal to play Sunday, In particular, the Lions could use production from Mike Williams and Kevin Johnson if Roy Williams is unable to play. Hopefully, “Big” Mike Williams can get his schedule down so that he might appear on time for the game. Maybe the Lions bus driver should check ahead about the expected Sunday traffic flows (In case you haven’t heard, BMW is rumored to have been late to several practices or meetings).

On Defense, the Lions need to continue to generate turnovers and remain tough against the run. The Browns have been completely unable to establish the run thus far, and Trent Dilfer has tried to compensate for their lack of running attack by doing a pretty good job throwing the ball. Dre Bly will matchup against Antonio Bryant, so I expect the Browns will throw to Dennis Northcutt and Frisman Jackson against Andre Goodman and Keith Smith, especially if the Lions have FS Terrence Holt cheat towards Bly to assist in covering Bryant over the top. The Browns have also has some success throwing to their Tight Ends, so the LB’s and Safeties will have to be counted upon to not give up big plays to Steve Heiden and Billy Miller. The Browns have done a pretty good job protecting Dilfer, with James Hall and Kalimba Edwards both hobbled and questionable, you have to wonder where the Lions will get a pass rush from. One thing to be certain of, the Browns receivers and backs will all be weary of the potential hits they will receive after viewing game film of the smashing blows delivered by Earl Holmes and Kenoy Kennedy.

I have very bad feelings about this game. I am hoping for the best, but the tide seems to be going in the wrong direction for the Lions. I guess I expect 2 Harrington interceptions, which lead to his dismissal.
Jeff Garcia, will lead the Lions to a meager victory as long as the Lions secondary yields no big plays to WR’s Bryant or Northcutt.

LIONS 17 Browns 13

Week 7:Statistical Matchup Detroit at Cleveland Browns

30. Detroit Offense vs./19. Cleveland Defense

Yardage

Yards 1,189/1,828
YPG 237.8(30)/365.6(27)

Scoring

PTS 91/90
PPG 18.2(20)/18.0(10)

Passing

YPG 149.2(27)/225.4(23)
TD 4(25)/7(11)
SACK 14(21)/8(28)
INT 8(25)/5(15)

Rushing

YPG 88.6(22)/140.2(29)
TD 5(11)/2(3)

26. Cleveland Offense vs./ 9. Detroit Defense

Yardage

Yards1,491/1,609
YPG 298.2(26)/321.8(18)

Scoring

PTS 68/96
PPG 13.6(28)/19.2(15)

Passing

YPG 224.0(12)/218.8(21)
TD 6(20)/8(18)
INT 11(14)/12(15)
SACK 5(17)/5(15)

Rushing

YPG 74.2(30)/106.0(17)
TD 0(30)/8(30)

———–Team Efficiency——————
Offense————————————–
——–OFFplays——-RushAVG—–PASSAVG—OFFAVG
16CLE-283————-3.57———-6.26———-5.27
31DET-297————-3.31———-4.58———-4.00

Defense—————————————-
——–DEFplays——RushAVG—–PASSAVG—-DEFAVG
14DET-317————3.93———–5.88———-5.08
24CLE-328————4.33———–6.79———-5.57

———————-Turnovers—————————–
——TakeAways————-GiveAways————–+/-
——INT—FUM—–TTL—-INT—-FUM—-TTL——–
DET-10—–5——–15—–8——–4——12-/ +3
CLE-5——-4——–9——5———3——8-/ +1

———–Inside the RED ZONE—————————–
——OFFPOS—-TTLTD—-TTLFG—–SCOR%——TD%
14DET-13———7———-3———.769———–.538
32CLE-13———6———-1———.1000———-.125

——DEFPOS—-TTLTD—-TTLFG—–SCOR%——TD%
4CLE-19———-7———-8———–.789———-.368
9DET-13———-6———1————.538———-.462

First Downs TTL

DET 76/OPP 88
CLE 76/OPP 105

3rd Downs
DET 25/70(35.7)/OPP 29/72(40.3)
CLE 22/59(37.3)/OPP 27/60(45.0)

4th Downs
DET 2/8(25.0)/OPP 2/6(33.3)
CLE 1/4(25.0)/OPP 2/5(40.0)

TIME of POSSESSION
DET 29:17/OPP 30:43
CLE 26:08/OPP 33:52

———–QB Comparison————————
————-CMP/ATT—-PCT—-YDS/G—-TD/INT—-RATE
DILFER—-108/168——64.3—-237.4—–6/5——–84.6
HARRINGT-76/143——53.1—-159.6—–4/8——–55.6

INJURIES:
Out: CLE L Suggs RB
Doubtful: DET LB Alex Lewis, LS Don Muhlbach, CLE WR B Edwards, LB N Speegle
Questionable(I’ll Say!): DET KR Eddie Drummond, DE Kalimba Edwards, QB Jeff Garcia, DE James Hall, RB Kevin Jones, OT Jeff Backus, WR Roy Williams, CLE OT R Tucker
Probable: DET FB Corey Schlesinger, CLE DT O. Roye

Have you ever Had the Feeling You’ve Been Duped?

Entering the seventh week of the season, I have a very sick feeling in my stomach in regards to this year’s Detroit Lions. This was supposed to be the year the offense had all of the weapons necessary to become viable competitors for a playoff spot. This was supposed to be the season where Joey Harrington, although not an all-pro, would emerge as a game manager who did his best not to lose games. In fact, this season and the foundation of this organization has been built upon an increasingly instable house of cards.

When Steve Mariucci was hired. Lions fans were told that their head coach was excellent in helping young QB’s develop and would bring the much-vaunted and innovative “West Coast offense”. Joey Harrington has clearly regressed and the offense is routinely amongst the worst in the league. The Lions have chosen to select glamorous skill players in the last few years, rather than select players which you build a strong foundation upon. Thus far, Charles Rogers is a bust, Roy Williams is a baby, and even “Big” Mike Williams, after a season of inactivity, is reportedly a potential problem in Allen Park. What if the Lions had selected a DE, LB and OT in the last three drafts? Don’t you think this team would be on firmer ground?

Fast Forward a week, the Lions have lost to the Browns after another Detmeresque performance by Harrington. Do you really want to be a Lions fan after Harrington is benched and Mariucci’s job is put in question? Don’t you get the sickening feeling that this team could suffer a worse demise than the Bobby Ross-era teams? This team has about three weeks to right the ship, or things may become uglier than they have ever been.

Week 6 Carolina 21 Lions 20

Only the Lions…..Only the Lions can manage to do the things they did Sunday and still find a unique way to lose. How does a NFL defense score 14 points on interception returns and their team still loses? How does that same defense play an effective, physical game, knock out the starting QB, and subsequently, allow a ineffective backup QB, who hasn’t played in nearly three years, slice and dice their secondary and eventually lead the Panthers to their winning TD. Furthermore, after big plays like R.W. McQuarters huge kickoff return and Marcus Pollard’s 86 yard catch, how is the Lions offense so incapable of producing points?

When the Lions defense made their huge fourth quarter stop of the Panthers on downs, in their own end zone, any long-standing (and sane) Lions fan realized that this wouldn’t be the last time the defense would be called upon to perform near-miraculous feats. After the 86 yard pass to Pollard and the offense stalled, settling for a field goal, I realized the Lions would eventually find a way to lose the game. I guess I just didn’t expect it to occur in such a spectacular fashion!

I really don’t have much to comment on. The Lions defense exhibited a brutal brand of play that was exciting to watch. Hits by Earl Holmes and Kenoy Kennedy will go down amongst the most brutal ever doled out by Lions players. You would figure that toughness would lead to a winning brand of football. This is purely inconsequential, if the Lions coaching staff can’t find a way to generate a respectable NFL offense, this team will continue to disappoint. Joey Harrington is a non-issue, Jeff Garcia will be the starting QB within the next two weeks. This offense needs to find a way to maximize their opportunities. The Packers and Vikings are only a game behind the division leading Bears and Lions. The Lions should be 4-1, and looking down at the rest of the division. I blame that on the coaches.

The offensive system is not suited to the personnel. The offensive coaching staff is entirely too conservative. Lions fans were aware of both these issues prior to the season. I guess I didn’t think that these troubling coaching philosophies would continue to hinder the Lions young and talented roster at this point in the season. The Lions have to make hay in the next 5 weeks, their schedule will only get tougher as the season winds down. They can ill afford to lose games that they are the cusp of winning. Most notably, is the inevitable frustration that is simmering to the boiling point as the offensive and defensive units begin finger-pointing and name-calling over who isn’t holding up their end of the bargain. Bottom Line, Steve Mariucci doesn’t have the organizational leadership abilities to contain the oncoming detente, which will soon emerge over an impotent offense, a growing player disrespect for the coaching philosophy, and a general discontent that comes from losing continuously. As a Lions fan, all I can say is, haven’t I been here before?

WEEK 6 Lions VS. Panthers

This is a pivotal game for the Lions. They face a team in the Panthers, who were pre-season darlings, who have underachieved slightly and are very beatable. A Lions victory will go along ways towards establishing themselves as legitimate contenders for the NFC North crown. This is also a very pivotal game for the Lions offensive personnel. Carolina is supposed to have a very good defense. They have some defensive stars on their roster who have yet to live up to billing. The Lions offensive personnel has drastically underachieved and this is major chance to turn things around before anymore dissension, unrest, and anomie develops.

Last Week, the Panthers secondary allowed the Cards two young receivers, Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, to each gain over 100 yards receiving in the first half. The Lions passing game has been a disaster. This is an opportunity for Joey Harrington and the Lions young receivers to show they can live up to their premier billing. With Charles Rogers suspended and it being very questionable that Roy Williams will be able to play, the Lions will have to be able to count on Rookie Mike Williams and Vets Kevin Johnson, Scottie Vines, and Eddie Drummond to exploit the Carolina Secondary. The Panthers feature Ken Lucas and Chris Gamble at corner. Lucas did an admirable job shutting down Fitzgerald in the second half last week. Gamble, who is injured, will be the player the Lions really try to exploit. The Lions will also try to go after the Panthers nickel corner Ricky Manning. If Joey Harrington can be a little more poised and accurate, and the offensive line manages to slow down DE’s Julius Peppers and Mike Rucker, this could be a banner game for the Lions passing game. Peppers and Rucker both have been hindered by the loss of DT Kris Jenkins, allowing opposing offenses to double-team them and use more max protect blocking schemes to slow their onslaught. The Lions will probably utilize more double-tight end formations and use running backs to help block Peppers and Rucker. If the Lions can contain them, they may enjoy some of the success that other teams have against the Panthers Defense.

The Panthers are very good against the run. I believe, that like most teams, the Panthers will dare the Lions to beat them with Harrington’s passing and stack up the line of scrimmage to prevent RB’S Kevin Jones, Shawn Bryson and Artose Pinner from successfully pounding the ball. The Panthers still have DT Brentson Buckner MLB Dan Morgan, and the run support of SS Marlon McCree to help stuff the run. If Corey Schlesinger is able to play, he may have an immediate impact upon the Lions ability to earn tough yards with Jones’s physical, take-no-prisoners running.

On Defense, the Lions will be facing a very balanced offensive team. With injured CB Fernando Bryant, the Lions will matchup Pro Bowler Dre Bly with the opponent’s best receiver. Steve Smith is having an excellent return season after suffering from a season-ending injury last year. If Dre Bly is succesful in limiting Smith’s impact, a major component of Panthers offense has been neutralized. WR’s Ricky Proehl, Keary Colbert, and Rod Gardner have all been lesser contributors. One intriguing matchup, will R.W. McQuarters facing Ricky Proehl on third downs. Proehl is very adept at converting long third downs and McQuarters has played well. I would not be surprised if the Panthers look more frequently this week to Colbert and Gardner, especially when Andre Goodman is in man coverage against them. Gardner is a big receiver who could really hurt the Lions in the red zone.

The onus of the Panthers offense is their ground game. Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster seemed to permanently hobbled with injuries. The scary thing is, the Panthers never miss a beat. They have been able to get good games from people like FB Brad Hoover and RB Nick Goings when they have been without Foster and Davis. Coach John Fox has stated that he has the utmost confidence in Nick Goings and Jamal Robertson if necessary. The Lions have been pretty good against the run. I think that if they are able to limit the Panthers rushing attack, they may be able to pressure Jake Delhomme into some costly turnovers. Terrence Holt will have to be at the top of his game. The Panthers are not afraid of going deep to Smith and there may be cases where Holt will have to help Bly over the top in coverage against Smith. If the Lions secondary doesn’t give up big plays, the Lions will play a close game against the Panthers. Multiple big plays, will put the Lions defense on it’s heels.

The Lions will benefit from the probable absence of one Panthers player, “He Hate Me” (Rod Smart) is listed as doubtful. With the injured Jason Hanson routinely kicking the ball short on kickoffs, the Panther’s Smart, who is excellent in returns, would likely have a field day.

At this point in time, this game is a desirable matchup for the Lions. The Lions have just played two very physical power football teams, and they will be very prepared to face a team like Carolina. That being said, the Lions have to continue to play excellent defense and try to win the field position battle. Joey Harrington will be depended upon to stay focused and not do anything to hurt the Lions chances. 2-3 Interceptions from Harrington and a couple of big plays by Steve Smith and the Lions are in a whole lot of trouble. If the Lions limit Smith and Harrington is a reduced liability, the Lions can win.

Lions 24 Panthers 20