Detroit Lions Weblog

No Moral Victories in “Close” Eight Point Loss Sunday

Many Lions fans, at least, the most co-dependent ones, may attempt to see the glass half-full when reflecting upon Sunday’s eight point loss, where the Lions “battled” back by reducing the ‘Skins sizable fourth quarter lead to a touchdown and two-point conversion, but ultimately still losing.

The Lions recent “close” losses reveal two things to me. First,  the Lions are still a very long ways from possessing the talent necessary on their current roster to even be legitimately competitive in most games.

The other detail (remember, the devil is in the details), the one that is the most frustrating, is that Lions opponents usually are willing to give the Lions just enough rope so that the Lions will eventually hang themselves during their “close” losses.

In Sunday’s game, as the Lions were “battling” back, the “Same Old Lions” ultimately re-emerged.   The gory chain of events, and their bitter, unpleasant aftermath, left the Lions with players (Kevin Smith) forgetting to run out-of-bounds with precious time dwindling off from the game clock, another getting two ill-timed holding penalties(Gosder Cherilus), and last, but not least, the Lions best player(Calvin Johnson) running a pass route two yards short of the first down marker, which turned the ball back over to the ‘Skins, and snuffed out the Lions miniscule, pipe dream “chances” for victory.

Embattled Lions Head Coach Rod Marinelli still holds dogmatic faith in his Tampa Cover-2 defense, and bristled when asked if the rest of the league had “caught up” with the scheme.  Marinelli clearly has not had his faith shaken, which I don’t know whether it stands as a testament to the strength of his character, or the depths of his stupidity.

At any rate, Marinelli is going to keep valiantly pressing forward, even as the flames of discontent and ineptitude threaten to engulf him.  If there has ever been a more urgent call for a mercy kill, err–I mean “termination”, the Lions should utilize it, especially after reading “Killer” Kowalski’s commentary upon Marinelli today.

It is inhumane, and unjustifiable, to retain Marinelli any longer.  The lame excuse of not having a natural in-house, interim candidates in tow is wearing very thin as the season marches interminably on.

The execrable performance of the hydra-headed incompentence of both coordinators, Joe Barry and Jim Colletto, are also deserving of a quick, clean organizational break.  There is no defense for the Lions 0-7 start, both literally and figuratively.

If any one saw Mike Singletary’s post-game presser yesterday after the Niners close loss,  a new voice, even an angry one, can serve as a symbolic jumping off point.   Now I don’t believe that Singletary’s outburst guarantees anything, but I am certain that he has fully captured the Niners attention.

Marinelli’s tediously montonous drone about “pounding the rock”, “looking at tape”, and “playing one snap at a time” have lead the Lions to an abysmal 1-14 performance since their “blind squirrel” 6-2 improbable (Still looking for “acorns” in ‘08, by the way!) start to the ‘07 season.

In that fact alone, despite any perceived/imagined Lions “competitiveness”, it is clear that Marinelli’s message has become diluted and proved inacapable of changing the organization’s current course. The force which can do such a thing, likely borders on the supernatural.  That being said, the Lions desperately need to investigate any available options in which they can begin to do so…