Detroit Lions Weblog

Hey Dre Bly, Here’s Your Bus Ticket!

Dre Bly has stated that he wants to leave the Lions if the situation doesn’t turn around immediately. Matt Millen, if he has any confidence left in his own abilities, must fine and suspend Bly. Millen must also mandate to the team that you are either on the bus or your off the bus–the team needs to root out all of the sources of discontent who get in the way of the team’s admittedly somewhat awkward attempts to redress it’s current state. It was announced today that Dre Bly apologized to his teammates and that Jeff Garcia will be the team’s starting QB Sunday.

I have 3 things to say: 1)An apology from Bly is not a stiff enough punishment 2) If Jauron was going to stay the course and keep Garcia at the helm, why fire Mariucci in the first place? If there is anything more puzzling than this turn of events, Please inform me? 3) The Vikings have to be laughing their asses off. They have had their head coach fined for scalping Super Bowl tix, Traded their best player due to his disruptive presence, The whole “Whizzinator”/Onterrio Smith scandal, Their head coach is nearly fired after a poor start to the season,they lose their franchise QB to a severe knee injury and their infamous “Sex Boat” scandal, yet, they are the organization that is more adept and capable of weathering adversity and now have re-emerged as playoff contenders with veteran QB Brad Johnson at the helm, whom the Lions spurned this offseason for Garcia, while the Lions are left wondering if they should draft another wide receiver with their first draft pick this spring.

I hope that Matt Millen hires a real hard-edged, pernicious S. O. B. to take over as the Lion’s head coach. I want a coach who will make Bill Parcells look like Ram Dass. I want a coach who will make Idi Amin seem like a dictator with divine beneficience, who just happened to be a little misunderstood. The team absolutely needs to broom out anyone who stands in their path of regaining respectability. My patience has reached it’s zenith. I can’t imagine things getting any worse for this organization. I hope that is how the Ford’s and by proxy, Matt Millen, feel about the current situation with their team.

The Lions Establish That There Will Be No Heirs to the Throne

The Lions, as all Lions fan’s are quite aware of, are the worst franchise in professional football, and quite possibly the most sad-sack, inept franchise in all of pro sports. The Lions, by continuing their never-ending coaching carousel and horrific on-field performances, seem incapable of ever emerging out of this 47-year cycle of disappointment and failure.

I have no sympathy for Steve Mariucci. He was quite deserving of termination (so were O-Line Coach Pat Morris and TE’s Coach Sugarman, as well as O-Coord Ted Tollner being worthy of demotion). Team President Matt Millen deserves to be blown out, too. Millen has captured the W. C. Ford’s good graces, so his job has been spared, for the moment. In regards to Mooch, he is probably a perfectly fine coach to assume the helm of a team who has veteran leadership and an already established track record for winning. He was without question, incapable of developing a franchise who has languished in the mire of mediocrity for so long. As I have mentioned before, I believe that the Lions should hire another front office executive to help impact the decisions which are being made going forward. Matt Millen seems to be slowly doing a better job, but how much more patience can the Ford’s have?

Dick Jauron will steward over this dysfunctional team with grace and integrity. I can’t believe that the Ford’s will strongly consider Jauron for the Head Coach position unless he were to accomplish the unthinkable, finish the season 5-0. One thing I hope that Jauron does accomplish, is to put a muzzle on the players. Has there ever been a more whining, back-biting, pack of malcontents ever on a Lion’s roster? Dre Bly thinks that the Lions are bad because of Joey, Roy Williams is not a punk (even if he celebrates a TD when the Lions are down by 20 points or behaves as if every catch he makes is an act of God), Jeff Garcia thinks that maybe there are more organizational problems than the head coach, and Joey thinks that head coach did not instill enough discipline. Oh yeah, Kevin Jones has no faith in this offense. Shut UP!!!!!!!!!! What have any of these players accomplished in Honolulu Blue to have the right to sound off about anything. At this point, they should all humbly go about their business of trying to turn around one of the most disappointing seasons in Lion’s history, period.

We all have seen the script to this season far too many times. We know that the team will pull together and eke out another win or two (heck, maybe three). The Lions will strongly consider hiring Jauron, which makes no sense. Meanwhile, while the playoffs are in full gear, the Lions will again be scouting college players for their Top 10 draft pick and assessing who will take the reins as head coach. This is all well and good, but when will it stop?

10 Things that have happened this season that offset (a little bit) the Disappointment I feel as a Lion’s fan (No particular order)

1) Samkon Gado and Ryan Fitzpatrick emerge from obscurity and contribute dramatically for their teams.
2) The Colts will threaten and possibly achieve the unthinkable, a perfect season.
3) LaDainian Tomlinson and Shaun Alexander are having two of the finest season’s ever by NFL RB’s. You have got to see them play.
4) The Bears Defense is one of the most dominating of recent times. They will carry the Bears a long way in the playoffs.
5) Mike Tice and Brad Johnson gaining a measure of redemption by returning the Vikings to playoff contention.
6) No More T. O./McNabb-The tabloid stuff should never overshadow what occurs on the field of play.
7) Neil Rackers, who would have thought he could be so good.
8) The Bengals-especially QB Carson Palmer-their rise gives Lion fans hope.
9) The return of the ground game to prominence. More teams are winning by the winning the battle of the trenches, running the ball, playing mistake-free, and sound field position football. Not as highlight film worthy to watch, but makes games perilessly close and riveting as the season intensifies.
10) No More Monday Night Football-They have been horrible this year(The Whole Package).

The Lion’s Coach Watch, 5 Top Candidates
1) Mike Singletary
2) Dick Jauron
3) Russ Grimm
4) Kirk Ferentz
5) Tim Lewis

Mooch Shoulders the Responsibility for the Lions Abysmal Performance

The end is nigh, my friends. When your favorite team’s head coach accepts the responsibility for the massive failure of his team throughout the season and furthermore, after their blowout loss in a premier game on a national stage in front of the countless millions of fans nationwide and amongst all of his peers, in a lot of ways it appears that Steve Mariucci is attempting to force the hands of Matt Millen and the ownership to issue his dismissal by clearly delineating his faults and giving them a valid reason to do so.

Today’s game was a huge black eye for this organization and a major setback in their “rebuilding” of the team. If the penalties and turnovers weren’t enough, the Lions inability to score against the Falcon’s defense until the game was too far out of reach for the TD to matter and the embarassing shuffling of QB’s throughout the game are all clear signs that Mooch has no clue as to what will turn things around for this team. The Lions were unable to run against the poor Falcon’s rush defense. Their receiver’s are dropping more passes than they had earlier in the year and clearly their is no direction for improving upon all of these deficiencies.

I see no other recourse for the W. C. Fords, they need to admit that the direction the season has taken for this team is unacceptable and will no longer be abided. Furthermore, Matt Millen needs to be put on immediate notice that even with his recent contract extension, his next coaching hire will make or break his status within their organization. His legacy as team president has become a complete failure and their needs to be outside consultation brought in to assist in front office decision-making going forward. The Lions are teetering on the brink of mailing in the current season, I hope that the front office view is that this is totally unacceptable.

The biggest slap in the face for me is when the game got out of hand the broadcast crew ran out of commentary for the current game and proceeded to discuss other NFL team’s or topics to fill the time because the game is so one-sided and bereft of suspense. I also hate that when the game reaches that stage that the broadcast camera’s no longer take crowd shots to avoid showing how empty the stands have become. Hopefully, the Fords realize that nearly irreparable harm has been done to the future health of this team.

I am most disappointed by the fact that I was duped into believing that prior to this season that Lion’s may actually be competitive. HA! This team is clearly worse than last year’s version and will be lucky to win even one more game down the stretch. I have nearly reached the point that I am beginning to agree with the growing sentiment that the Lions should no longer be awarded the annual home Thanksgiving game, it is clear that they no longer relish the opportunity that they have been given with this game. Falcon’s Head Coach Jim Mora, Jr. was nice to the Lions and good buddy Steve Mariucci, too. If he hadn’t called in the dogs in the third quarter, the game could have been a blowout to rival last year’s to Indianapolis. How many more games until this season ends?

Herman Moore named Honorary Game Captain

The Lions have named former Wide Receiver Herman Moore as tommorrow’s honorary game captain. It is an interesting coincidence that he has been named captain with all of the recent reports on ESPN and in Pro Football Weekly stating that Moore had recently offered up his services to help mentor the Lions young receivers. Supposedly, the current coaching staff apparently rebuked his offer. Herman Moore will remain one of my all-time favorite Lions and it is unfortunate that the Lion’s coaches were not willing to let Moore assume a role within the organization.

I know that Shawn Jefferson was hired for the role that Moore wanted to assume, but Moore’s body-type makes him a natural candidate to work with “Big” Mike Williams to help him develop his abilities. If only BMW had the instincts and desire that Moore possessed during his heyday. Hopefully, the Lions and Williams can mutually find a way to utilize him as a contributor in their passing game down the stretch.

The Lions also recently placed LB Teddy Lehman on IR. Hopefully, Lehman will be able to return next season fully recovered and capable of making a stronger contribution to what promises to be a very different Lion’s roster.

Week 11 Thanksgiving Detroit vs. Atlanta

The Lions tenuously clutch to the possibility of salvaging a respectable season. Or, from another perspective, the Lions are on the precipice of accomplishing the same type of season that they have had so often in recent years, a losing one. The Lions must win this game. If they don’t, they may struggle to win any of their remaining games, period. I don’t want to be redundant, but the Lions have performed well enough at times this season that it is quite possible that they can beat Atlanta tomorrow.

On Offense, the Lions have to establish their running attack early. The Falcons have exhibited a weak defense against the run throughout the season. With the loss of LB Ed Hartwell, the Falcons have shifted playmaking LB Keith Brooking to the middle and have had to utilize athletic but smallish LB’s Michael Boley and DeMorrio Williams. The Lions need to be able to run straight at the Atlanta Defense, the Falcon’s defense is very quick and will pursue well. If the Lions can run well, they may be able to attack the Falcons with some mid-range to deep passes. In particular, the size of the Lions receivers should provide some difficulties for CB’s DeAngelo Hall and Jason Webster. The front four of the Falcons are very fast and do a great job of applying pressure(in particular DE Patrick Kerney and DT Rod Coleman) to the QB. If the Lions can run the ball effectively, they may be able to utilize some play action passes to offset the Falcons pressure. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Lions go to more screen passes (to combat the Falcon’s pressure)and less slants to their receivers which would be playing into the athleticism of the Falcon’s defense. Steve Mariucci is still being evasive about who will start at QB, but I would be shocked if Jeff Garcia is healthy enough to go. Garcia’s scrambling ability would come in handy with the pressure the Falcon’s will be able to apply against the porous Lions O-Line.

The Lions Defense will need to have one of it’s better performances of the season. Their defense against the run has been respectable, but has been declining weekly. With the loss of Earl Holmes, MLB Wali Rainer will have to have an even better game than he did last Sunday against the Cowboys. The Cowboys were able to run the ball effectively because their possessions were continually extended by so many stupefying Lion’s penalties. Michael Vick is a major factor for the Lions to contend with, but I much rather he gain 70 yards rushing and for RB Warrick Dunn to be held down than for Dunn to gain 100+ yards and Vick to be kept in check. If Dunn is contained and the Falcons have to face some 2nd/3rd and long yardage situations the game will be placed upon the shoulders of Michael Vick to be efficient in the passing game. I am most concerned about which Lions LB/S will be assigned to limit Falcon’s TE Alge Crumpler catches. Crumpler is the one player the Falcons possess that I believe could really damage the Lions as he finds space in the middle of the field. I think that CB’s Andre Goodman and Keith Smith will be able to match up well with Falcon’s WR’s Michael Jenkins and Roddy White. I also believe that R.W. McQuarters will match up well against the sizeable WR Brian Finneran, but if Vick can move the pocket and is allowed to improvise, Finneran, Jenkins, and White will be more effective. Vick, the best athlete in NFL bar none, is a sackable QB and the Lions will need to do better than they have of late pressuring the QB. The Lions did an excellent job last season of pressuring and containing Vick. I don’t expect them to do quite as well tommorrow, but if they come even close to containing him like they did last year they have a very good chance of winning.

Another major factor in the outcome of this game will be the amount of gamesmanship that goes on between the respective coaching staffs due to their near total familiarity with each other’s tendencies, systems, plays, etc. it would not surprise me in the least that the Lions will unveil some wrinkles to try and throw off the Falcons. Not sure what those wrinkles may be, but last year Dick Jauron did a great job of mixing up the Lion’s defensive fronts so that it could generate some confusion for the Falcon’s O-Line and Vick. I think that Kalimba Edwards will play more out of a 2-point stance and move around to different spots in the defense to try and frustrate Vick. Hopefully, these maneuverings can help swing the balance in the Lion’s favor. Steve Mariucci’s job status for the immediate future will come into question if the Lion’s offense sputters and the team doesn’t represent itself well in it’s highlight game of the year. If the Lion’s were to lose badly, I wouldn’t be surprised in the least to see Steve Mariucci and Ted Tollner issued their walking papers.

Ron Mexico 24 Joey “Blue Skies” 17

Thanksgiving Day Week 11

27. Detroit Offense vs./ 16. Atlanta Defense

Yardage
Yards 2694/ 3185
YPG 269.4(27)/ 318.5(16)

Scoring
PTS 167/193
PPG16.7(24)/ 19.3(14)

Passing
YPG 176.7(25)/ 199.5(14)
TD 8(27)/ 10(5)
SACK 22(16)/ 25(12)
INT 11(19)/ 10(14)

Rushing
YPG 92.7(23)/119.0(22)
TD 9(10)/ 12(26)

11. Atlanta Offense vs./ 11. Detroit Defense

Yardage
Yards 3435/ 3051
YPG 343.5(11)/ 305.1(11)

Scoring
PTS 244/ 193
PPG 24.4(9)/ 19.3(14)

Passing
YPG 167.7(27)/ 195.2(12)
TD 13(15)/ 12(14)
SACK 24(20)/ 22(19)
INT 6(3)/ 13(6)

Rushing
YPG 175.8(1)/ 109.9(15)
TD 12 (6)/ 6(11)

——QB Comp———————–
————–ATT/CMP–PCT–YPG–TD/INT–RATE
Vick———225/129—57.3–162.9-10/6—-80.7
Harrington–247/142—57.5–182.6-8/10—-68.6

———-Turnovers———————————-
———-TakeAways—–GiveAways—————
——–INT—FUM–TTL–INT—FUM–TTL——/+/-
DET—13—–9—–22—11—–7—–18– +4
ATL—10—–9—–19—-6—–10—-16– +3

———1st Downs—————————–
DET 165 Opp 179
ATL 212 Opp 196

——–3rd Downs——————————-
DET 52/142 (36.6) Opp 47/131(35.9)
ATL 64/138 (46.4) Opp 31/108 (28.7)

——–4th Downs——————————–
DET 5/12(41.7) Opp 4/9 (44.9)
ATL 4/8 (50.0) Opp 6/10 (60.0)

———Penalties——————————–
DET 78/560 ATL 70/618

———INJURIES——————————–
OUT: DET Dre Bly
DOUBT: DET Earl Holmes
QUES: DET Boss Bailey Terrence Holt Jeff Garcia ATL DE Brady Smith OT Todd Weiner DT Chad Lavalais
PROB: DET CB Andre Goodman Paul Smith Scottie Vines ATL S Keion Carpenter OG Kynan Forney S Kevin McCadam FB Fred McCrary WR Roddy White

R.I.P. 2005 Lions NFL season

It was kind of good, while it lasted, sort of. That’s right folks, the Lions are/will be completely eliminated from playoff contention after it loses it’s next game to Atlanta on Thursday. Sunday’s loss was disappointing, if not unexpected. Really, what is there to discuss? Will Steve Mariucci survive the fatal denouement of this season? Will Charles Rogers and the Lions kiss and makeup after their aggrievance over the meager $10 Million of Rogers’s signing bonus? Does anybody really care about Jeff/Joey or Mike McMahon for that matter,at this point?

Since there no longer remains a mystery to this season’s outcome, and if the Lions are in the mood to repair past grievances, why not name Defensive Coordinator Dick Jauron as interim head coach? After Sunday’s Flag Fiesta in Texas and the horribly pasted-on, angryman-scowl that Steve Mariucci was affecting for television cameras as he cluelessly marched the sidelines on Sunday, is there anybody left who feels with any measure of confidence that Mooch will be the guy to help turn this team around in the future? Even in a best-case scenario, where the Lions are able to make the incremental improvement of finishing their season 7-9 (finishing 3-3, highly unlikely), what substantive improvement will this organization really have attained this year?

Even with a few of the Lion’s penalties being questionable in nature on Sunday, is there any question which team is: better coached? more disciplined? obtaining the most output from the potential of it’s players on it’s roster? At this stage, all of these glaring inequities make it apparent that not only was this season a major lost opportunity (could have easily defeated three of the teams in their six losses and be in the thick of the playoff hunt), it has been an unmitigated organizational failure.

Right now is the perfect opportunity for the Lions to attempt, like it has done so often in the past, to repair the damages that have been incurred from this season’s setbacks and move forward from them. Steve Mariucci, like Bill Callahan, Dave Wannstedt, and several others before him, can now set upon his future course as a nice-guy Head Coach at a major college program and perennially dash the hopes of their well-heeled alumnus who will be privy to his gross mismanagent of personnel and pathetically flaccid offensive system like Lions fans have been for several seasons now.

I want the Lions to win all 6 of their remaining games. Do I believe it is likely? I would be fibbing if I said I thought that they will win more than two of their six remaining games. If the W.C. Ford’s intend on sticking with team president Matt Millen for the duration of his contract extension, than they owe it to him, and to us as loyal Lions fans, to move forward and begin their evaluation process on the players who are currently on their roster and to begin their search for a replacement coaching staff so that rather than the uninformed, rash decisions that have been made with their last two head coaching hires, they can move forward with a detailed, focused search for the prospective head coach who can best rehabilitate their current state and help them to move forward.

The Charles Rogers grievance case is a non-issue. He will not have to turn over $10 M of his signing bonus because the NFLPA, his agent and lawyers will fight unceasingly on his behalf. I really don’t fault the Lions for attempting to recoup their losses in this matter. The move to get the money back from Rogers does appear petty and a little silly, especially when they appear to be pinning a certain amount of this season’s fading hopes on his going out and performing on Sunday’s with a certain amount of consistency. Rogers screwed up with his use of illegal drugs and blew a major life opportunity, one most of us will never ever have the fortune of having the ability to be able to even dream of, and no amount of punishment by the Lions or the NFL can fix that loss.

Week 11: Injuries, Matchup

Out: Det Dre Bly Teddy Lehman
Doubtful: Det Earl Holmes DAL WR Patrick Crayton
Questionable: Det Boss Bailey Jeff Garcia DAL CB Anthony Henry
Probable DET Andre Goodman Paul Smith DAL TE Brett Pierce

Week 11 Lions vs. Cowboys

Under normal circumstances, I would just chalk this game up as an instant loss. The Lions still have incredible difficulties on the road. They haven’t won consecutive games since they defeated Houston and Chicago early last season. They have yet to beat anyone with a winning record this season. I think it is about a 65% chance that the Lions will lose each of their next two games against the Cowboys and Falcons, effectively finishing off their playoff hopes.

That being said, I do think the Lions have a good chance to win this game. The Cowboys are coming off a near miraculous win against the Eagles this Monday night. The Cowboys have had a short week of preparation and did not acquit themselves with a very good performance on Monday. The one factor that will likely determine this game’s outcome is this: The Lions are 4-1 when they have more yards rushing than their opponent and are 0-4 when they have fewer yards rushing. That doesn’t mean that theLions have all of that great of a rushing attack(au contraire), but when the Lions defense is able to limit an opponent’s ground game, especially a very good one like Dallas’s, they have a very good chance of winning.

On Defense, the Lions will be without Earl Holmes and Dre Bly. The Lions secondary got diced up by the Cards last Sunday, but somehow were able to avoid relinquishing many big plays. This week, the Lions will need their front four to be dominating. Shaun Rogers, “Big Daddy” Wilkinson, Marcus Bell and company will need to help cover for the loss of MLB Earl Holmes, who is having his best season as Lion. Wali Rainer, a special teams ace, must step in and perform much better than he did against Arizona. Especially since the Cowboys have a very good ground attack that they will utilize to set up their play-action passes, which if Rainer and the safeties continue to bite on, will be the Lions undoing as the game unfolds and the Cowboys beat them continuously with numerous deep passes. I can’t stress enough the importance of the Lions front four pressuring Drew Bledsoe. In the last two previous weeks, the Lions have faced two stationary pocket passers and have been unable to put them on their backs with any consistency. Bledsoe can be forced into making costly errors if pressured. Kalimba Edwards will likely face double teams or get chipped by a back or Tight End, so it will be necessary for the Lions to get a rush from the middle and for James Hall, Jared DeVries, and Corey Redding to amp up their attack. It will be interesting to see who the Lions match CB R. W. McQuarters with. Personally, with his physical nature, I would have R.W. McQuarters battle with Keyshawn Johnson and hope that CB’s Keith Smith, Andre Goodman, and Stanley Wilson do not get burned deep by Terry Glenn. I expect the Cowboys to attack the middle of the field with Jason Witten quite often realizing that SS Kenoy Kennedy and MLB Wali Rainer will have some difficulty in their coverage against Witten.

The Lions offense, without a clear cut starting QB at this point, will struggle mightily if they don’t attack the Cowboys downfield in their passing attack. The Cowboys SS, Roy Williams, is the best and most active in the box safety in the NFL. If the Lions insist on three yard passes, with no apparent threat of stretching the field, Williams will be a one man wrecking crew. The Lions can’t afford to be conservative at this point, if they are succesful in their passing game it should help open the field for Kevin Jones (at least for 3 quarters until Mariucci turns the game over to Shawn Bryson and Artose Pinner). In order to be able to stretch the field, with the Lions poor pass protection and the Cowboys relentless blitzing, the Lions will need to utilize some more max-protection schemes to try and free up Charles Rogers, Roy Williams and Marcus Pollard. I believe that the Cowboys will cheat their free safety towards WR Roy Williams in an effort to make the Lions have to go to other receivers. This is an excellent opportunity for Charles Rogers and Big Mike Williams to prove they have some value to this team by providing some big plays. The offensive line will have to do it’s best to protect the Lions QB’s from the young Cowboys pass rushers, Marcus Spears and DeMarcus Ware. If Garcia starts, he may not survive with his health intact. If Harrington starts he may revert to getting happy feet and checking down to secondary receivers.

I want to believe that the Lions can win this game, I truly do. It is not an impossibility. If the Lions are able to limit the Cowboys ground attack, pressure Bledsoe and continue their opportunism with generating takeaways, this will be a close game. If the Cowboys pound the ball and the Lions offense remains as stagnant and limpid as it has been throughout this season then this could be a total onslaught.

Tuna’s 24 Leo’s 14

Detroit Lions Vs. Dallas Cowboys Statistical Matchup

27. Detroit Offense /vs. 6. Dallas Defense

Yardage
Yards 2468/ 2474
YPG 274.2(27)/ 274.9(5)

Scoring
PTS 160/ 157
PPG 17.8(23)/ 17.4(7)

Passing
YPG 177.6(25)/ 191.8(12)
TD 8(25)/ 10(10)
SACK 21(16)/ 26(4)
INT 11(23)/ 11(10)

Rushing
YPG 115.2(14)/ 105.6(13)
TD 7(15)/ 4(5)

12. Dallas Offense vs./ 14. Detroit Defense

Yardage
Yards 3103/ 2798
YPG 344.8(12)/ 310.9(14)

Scoring
PTS 202/ 173
PPG 22.4(12)/ 19.2(15)

Passing
YPG 229.6(10)/ 205.3(15)
TD 14(9)/ 12(20)
SACK 23(21)/ 21(15)
INT 7(12)/ 13(4)

Rushing
YPG 115.2(14)/ 105.6(13)
TD 7(15)/ 4(5)

—————-Turnovers——————
——TakeAways——–GiveAways—–+/-
—-INT–FUM–TTL—-INT—FUM—TTL
DAL-11—-6—-17—–7——7——14– +3
DET-13–8—–21—-11—–6——-17– +4

————–QB Comparison————–
————-ATT/CMP–PCT–YPG–TD/INT–RATE
Bledsoe—268/173—64.6—246.1-14/7—96.8
Harrington-222/125–56.3–184.6–8/10—66.5

————–Team Efficiency————–
——OFFPLAYS-RUSHAVG-PASSAVG–OFF
DET-571——–3.45———5.01——-4.32
DAL-547——–3.48———7.08——-5.23

—–DEFPLAYS-RUSHAVG-DEFAVG–DEF
DET-545——–4.08——–5.92—–5.13
DAL-465——–3.96——–5.43—–4.86

—————RED ZONE———————–
—–OFFPOSS–TD–FG–SCOR%–TD%
DET-21———11—7—-.857—–.524
DAL-31———15–12—.871—–.484
—–DEFPOSS–TD–FG–SCOR%–TD%
DET-25———12—6—.720——-.480
DAL-17———6—-6—.706——-.353

Time of Possession
DET 31:15 Opp 28:45
DAL 32:58 Opp 27:02

1st Downs
DET 154 Opp 153
DAL 182 Opp 138

3rd Downs
DET 49/132(36.4) Opp 41/119(34.5)
DAL 52/127(40.9) OPP 41/123(33.3)

4th Downs
DET 4/11(36.4) Opp 3/8(37.5)
DAL 3/8(37.5) Opp 6/9 (66.7)

Penalties
DET 61/437
DAL 51/390

Garcia is the #1 if Healthy.

Steve Mariucci has indicated that Jeff Garcia would be the Lions starting QB should he be healthy enough to play Sunday against the Cowboys in Dallas. If Garcia’s injury still lingers, then Harrington will remain the starter. During the Monday Press Conference, Mariucci stated that Harrington played well against Arizona and that he would “give him that”. This begrudging endorsement speaks volumes to the Lions Head Coaching situation.

I strongly believe that Mariucci’s stubborn reliance upon Jeff Garcia is a sure sign that he will likely be gone next season. What sense does it make now to go back to Garcia? The Lions must feel that they have a legitimate chance to make the playoffs. The likelihood of the Lions winning the division being down three games to the Bears (2 games plus the tiebreaker) is slim. It is an even more remote possibility that they will make the playoffs as a wild card. They would likely have to beat both Atlanta and Dallas for starters. Few Lion’s fans would bank many hopes on that becoming reality.

If the Lions lose the next two games (a better than average possibilty), it would become necessary to make future assessments on the team’s younger players. It is quite likely that they may consider playing Dan Orlovsky some if they lose the next two games.

Sounds like Charles Rogers is stil unhappy about his role on the team. He has been upset ever since he was named the Split End and not the Flanker. The Flanker gets more plays designed for them in Mooch’s “offense”. It is really hard for me to feel any sympathy for any of these players who continue to bellyache. That being said, I think it would be in the Lion’s best interest to determine what kind of commodity they have in Rogers and see if he is ever going to be able to perform at a high level. They have already lost a lot of value in his regard, why not see if he will have any future value to them at all as an organization.

Even more puzzling, is Mooch’s stubborn refusal to utilize Kevin Jones more frequently. Why is the best running back on the roster having to share his carries? I can understand that they don’t have enough confidence to play him on third downs, but where were his carries in the Fourth Quarter against the Cards? It is almost like Mariucci is trying to ruin the best players on the Lions roster as opposed to utilizing their abilities.