Detroit Lions Weblog

Week 8 Preview: Rams Vs. Lions

After the dismal dual performances of both of the Lions backup QB’s, Daunte Culpepper and Drew Stanton, at Lambeau Field two weeks ago, which was truly a nightmare of Detmer-esque proportions, what once was considered an eminently winnable game at home against the St. Louis Rams has become much less so, especially if either of the backups are called upon to start in Matthew Stafford’s place on Sunday.

National Football Post’s Michael Lombardi has this to say about two of the worst teams in the NFL:

Detroit: The Lions need to keep improving their talent base, and drafting a quarterback who appears to be a very good player has started the massive rebuilding process. They’re ahead of the Rams only because they admitted they needed a quarterback, while the Rams kept burying their heads in the sand. This week, the two teams play each other, so we might be able to determine which one is actually farther along.

Another, less well-known, but no less devoted NFL expert, my friend Whitey, had this to say about the Rams/Lions matchup:

Whats your projected score for Lions-Rams?

W/ Stafford: LIONS 31 Rams 27
W/ Stanton: LIONS 20 Rams 31
W/ Culpepper: LIONS 24 Rams 31

I couldn’t help but look at this game backwards. Usually, I like to think ~(about) a teams strong points and go from there. But in this particular case, I think it is fitting to look at which team is the weakest and where(they are the weakest. Which personnel groups are better or worse?). By position, who has the worse team? These are two bad teams hungry for a win. Even if both teams play the perfect game, it doesn’t change the fact that each is terrible. In a relative (and sick and perverse,too!) sense, this could be one of the greatest games of all time. Kind of like watching two awesome division II college teams go at it (or whatever they are called now). Or women’s basketball.

In my view, There are two ways to the view this Sunday’s game, one positive and one negative. As a Lions fan, week 8 (or sooner) is just about the time where we begin to heavily consider the upcoming year’s draft position. In this case, a win Sunday actually hurts the Lions, because it awards the Rams a tie-breaker if each teams ends the 2009 season with the same record.

On the other hand, the Lions need wins. Lots of them. Incrementally, if this franchise is ever truly going to move forward, they need to be able to beat (and beat soundly) teams like the Rams while playing at Ford Field. Consider this, since the halfway point of the 2007 season, the Rams are 5-26 and the Lions are 2-28. Wait, that’s not all. Since the beginning of the 2008 season, the Rams are 2-21 (and losers of 17 straight) and the Lions are 1-21. The Lions, if they are ever going to be truly respectable again, absolutely have to emerge with a victory this Sunday. Are you willing to sacrifice draft position for some moderately, marginal tell-tale signs of success? I am.

The spread for Sunday’s game is 3 1/2 points which indicates that Las Vegas oddsmakers believe that the two teams are nearly even, with the Lions bestowed the honor of giving the Rams three points because of their home field advantage. The other half-point of spread differential likely constitutes the advantage the Lions are viewed to have over the winless Rams. Pondering the minute differences between the quality of the two teams, it is clearly not safe to feel overly confident that the Lions will emerge victorious Sunday.

Even the bookmakers have grown concerned over the high volume of blow out’s in the NFL, according Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel, with the vast competitive disparity posed when legitimate NFL teams play the Lions or Rams week-to-week:

A betting line is fluid though and will correct itself as money pours in for the favorite or underdog. Despite the Rams getting all those points, at home no less, the money kept going to Indy. The line reacted by moving all the way to 14 points at kickoff.

The goal of a sports book is two fold. One is to have enough big spreads that when a few of the underdogs inevitably cover, the house offsets the losses. The second is to have an equal amount of money on each side of the game to limit exposure.

In this case, the money didn’t even out though. The Las Vegas Review Journal reported that in some sports books, 90 percent of the action was on the Colts. The bettors had good reason: Undefeated Indy won 42-6, covering with ease.

The question for the sports books is how big of a spread can you dare to throw out to the bettors. Traditionally double-digit underdogs are relatively rare. Most NFL games are decided by a touchdown or less and often a field goal or less.

Right now gamblers see as many of 10 clubs that are capable of getting drilled each week.(The Lions and Rams are among those 10 teams)

Lions fans will get the opportunity to see would-be potential 2009 first overall draft pick, OT Jason Smith, who has been a marginal contributor for the Rams thus far. Also appearing will be another would-be potential 2009 Lions draft choice, Rams MLB James Laurinaitis, who has performed well in his rookie season, so far.

I hate to summarize the matchup too succinctly, but if Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson are able to play, the Lions should win. More than likely, the Lions will have Stafford and not Johnson, though. Johnson practiced Thursday (10/29), but appears to be a game-time decision at this point.

Defensively, the Lions need to do what every other Rams opponent has likely tried, which is to attempt to contain the damage inflicted by versatile Rams RB Steven Jackson. The Lions will likely consider moving an 8th or 9th player into the box to force the struggling Rams passing attack into being the team’s primary offensive component. The trouble with this plan is that the Lions secondary is incredibly vulnerable (258.5 yds/gm) and the revolving door of ineptitude which constitutes the Lions secondary, a veritable continuity free zone, has swung to players like Kevin Hobbs and DeMarcus Faggins, after the repeated poor performances of DB’s Philip Buchanon and Anthony Henry forced the hands of the Lions defensive coaching staff into making changes.

The Lions can’t allow the likes of WR’s Donnie Avery, Keenan Burton, and TE Randy McMichael to defeat them, especially with costly “explosion” plays, which the Lions have been prone to allowing. The Lions should benefit from the return of players like DeWayne White and Sammie Lee Hill, which means their defensive line could be more productive, although the Rams have only allowed 16 sacks in seven games.

Offensively, the Lions should enjoy facing a Rams defense who allows 385.5 yards in total offense per game(the Lions allow 370.8). Other than DE Leonard Little, FS Oshiomogho Atogwe, and the aforementioned MLB James Laurinaitis, the Rams are very thin on the defensive side of the ball.

The Lions, with the hoped-for-not-too-rusty return of Stafford, may have the best chance for winning Sunday’s game by playing an efficient, time-consuming brand of offense which keeps the Rams defense on the field, and the Lions defense off of it. Given the fact that Calvin Johnson is likely going to be absent, the Lions will likely play a more ball control-oriented, plodding style of offense out of necessity, since every shred of the team’s big play capability is eradicated without Johnson.

Given each team’s defensive ineptitude, the game will likely be high scoring and should end with the score being close. The optimist in me sees the Lions grabbing a 31-24 victory, with the team girding up for a potential, much-needed road victory against the vulnerable Seattle Seahawks.

Not Much Happens in Allen Park During Lions Week Off

With the Lions biggest news items being that Drew Stanton may have overtaken Daunte Culpepper as Matthew Stafford’s backup and that Jon Jansen may replace the Daniel Loper/Manny Ramirez revolving door at Left Guard, it is a little surprising that the Lions actually achieved a sell-out(Oops, I thought I had read that a sell-out had miraculously occurred) for this Sunday’s game. The fact that Sunday’s game is eminently winnable supersedes the reality that their has been little done to improve the Lions fortunes during their bye week.

Where was the news of free agent try-outs, especially at QB, defensive line and the secondary? Why has there been so little update about the status of Matthew Stafford, who is at least practicing with the team, and Calvin Johnson, who is not? Admittedly, Jim Schwartz has proven that he is tight-lipped about injuries. I am a lot more surprised that we didn’t hear about bye week free agent workouts, especially a week after the NFL trade deadline, when the team clearly is deficient in it’s defensive personnel and faces potentially long-term injuries to Stafford and Johnson.

I realize that there is not much talent left unsigned, especially players who are remotely familiar (or could become so rapidly) with the Lions offensive and defensive schemes. That being said, Martin Mayhew’s standing pat after both the trade deadline and bye week, comes as a bit of a surprise.

Mayhew’s brief tenure has shown that he is not afraid to churn the team’s personnel. In fact, if there has been one thing that has defined Mayhew’s tenure, it is that he will make a deal and turnover whichever rocks necessary to try and find the Lions some additional talent. Are the Lions front office and coaching staff resigned to playing with the hand they have been dealt?

At this point, the Lions need to focus on gaining as many wins are possible. The current high watermark appears to be three wins, assuming they pull through to beat the St. Louis Rams and Cleveland Browns. The Lions need to be concerned about victories for their wayward franchise, much more than their 2010 draft position, for example. If this team is ever going to move forward and for Jim Schwartz to earn additional respect from his players, the team needs to find a way to exceed those three victories and take another game or two, especially given how bad the NFL truly is this season.

The Lions are amid nearly 10 teams (Tampa, Carolina, Washington, St. Louis, Kansas City, Oakland, and Cleveland) who are as bad as any in recent NFL memory. The Lions do have a ways to go as a franchise, but if the team improves even marginally under Schwartz in it’s remaining 12 games, it is very capable rising from out of the morass of awfulness that has become one of the more dubiously recognizable trends in the NFL this season.

Lions Sign LB Ciurciu, Place DE Bryan on IR

Amid all of the flaming wreckage that was the Lions performance in Lambeau Field last week, it might be forgotten that the Lions have been absolutely devastated along their defensive line during recent weeks. Already a position where the team has operated from out of a significant deficit, they even needed to utilize OG Stephen Peterman as a defensive tackle during goal-line situations in last week’s game. Today, that trend continued after backup DE Copeland Bryan was placed upon the injured reserve list. The Lions added veteran LB/special teams ace Vinny Ciurciu with his roster spot. The Lions will clearly continue to be on the lookout for help there, even if several of their missing players come back healthy.

After the initial hubbub that Matthew Stafford could miss the remainder of the season, it appears now that he could be back after the bye week against the Rams(fingers crossed). If for some reason Stafford’s injury continues to linger, I would also expect that the Lions, might investigate upgrading behind Stafford, since between Daunte Culpepper and Drew Stanton, neither looked remotely capable of leading the team for any significant period of time with any success whatsoever.

The Lions have done a credible job in limiting teams ground attacks (112.3 yds/gm), but as we all know, they have lost due to the fact that teams have eviscerated their secondary to the tune of 258.5 yds/gm. One wonders, with all of the attrition in their front seven, is it a matter of time before the dam breaks, and opposing teams also begin to pummel them with their rushing attacks, too.

Offensively, the loss of Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson has had a major impact, but growing dissent over the lack of production from first round draft pick, TE Brandon Pettigrew, even if the team has attempted to expand his role during recent weeks, has been a cause for concern. Especially, considering the way in which he struggled so mightily in last weekend’s game, in Calvin Johnson’s absence. Pettigrew is only a rookie, but as a 1st rounder, on a weak team, fans are going to expect more. Dropped passes, blown blocking assignments, etc are all part of the process of becoming a solid contributor.

In my opinion, Pettigrew’s refusal to comment after last Sunday’s game, unfortunately, only serves to draw attention to his struggles, rather than draw some of the heat from off of him. Even if he was too upset to comment, and wanted to avoid saying the wrong thing, ducking the media may only contribute to exacerbating his problems in the long run.

It seems that the bye week could not have come at a better time for the Lions as a organization. As they try to re-group and re-tool for an upcoming winnable home game, against the St. Louis Rams. After last weekend’s debacle, lord knows, they can only play better. They certainly could have played now worse.

NFL Trade Deadline: The Proverbial Tree In the Forest That Makes A Sound That NO One Can Hear?

Surprisingly, Lions GM Martin Mayhew stood pat on the NFL’s trade deadline day, yesterday. Mayhew has clearly established, during his brief time as the team’s chief personnel executive, that he is not afraid to tinker with the team’s roster (it has been his modus operandi, out of desperation) and has achieved a modicum of success in that process.

I am more than a little surprised, given the Lions 1-5 start and poor showing at Curly Lambeau’s Field on Sunday, that Mayhew wasn’t able to parcel off players like Anthony Henry, DeWayne White, Julian Peterson, and Grady Jackson into at least marginal hauls of draft picks, younger players, etc.

There were numerous rumors of their purported interest in Chiefs DT Glenn Dorsey, aside from that, it appears that the league looked at the Lions roster, which is so bereft of talent on defense, and said a collective, “Meh?” (with shrugging shoulders)

Jim Schwartz did indicate that changes were one the way, even if the front office was unable to accomplish a continued rebuild of it’s roster, one piece at a time, at yesterday’s deadline.

Here are some thoughts by Schwartz:

“We haven’t been afraid to make moves with those guys. It’s business, it’s nothing personal,” Schwartz said. “We’ve got a lot of hard-working guys on this team and there’s a lot of character on this football team, but the bottom line in this business is performance, and we have to be very objective when it comes to performance.

“As a coaching staff and as an organization, we can’t be afraid to make that call based on being objective. We can’t let our heart strings control those decisions.”

These statements were made in regards to shifting Anthony Henry to safety and the virtual turnstile of players on and off the field due to injury and poor play, which has been particularly noticeable in the secondary. Schwartz further states:

“There are certain things that we’ve continued to do in season,” Schwartz said. “We’ve worked the bottom of the roster, we’ve claimed people off of waivers, we’ve made trades and we’ve done things like that. There’s not a whole lot more that you can do, but we’re certainly open to working different personnel and making sure that the people are accountable for their jobs.”

Schwartz said acquiring and developing talent is the top priority for all NFL teams, whether they’re 1-5 or undefeated.

“I think if you ask 32 teams what their need was, they’d say talent. This is a player-driven league, that’s always been obvious,” Schwartz said. “I think what the injuries have done from our standpoint is not so much uncover the need for talent, as much as depth is an issue also. That’s also come to the forefront.”

The Lions appear to be back on the kind of downward trajectory that we have seen them approach routinely as their pathetic seasons wend forward towards oblivion. Sunday’s performance, was a horror show that, if the Packers hadn’t been so merciful, could have easily seen the Lions end up looking worse than the Titans did in their blow out loss to New England.

Does anyone want to take any bets whether the same two teams, Titans and Lions, had actually met last Sunday, who would have actually won? I think not.

In that case, Mayhew and company acted in noticeable negligence by not continuing to churn their roster and jettison any unnecessary flotsam that obstructs their path towards their ultimate goal—NFL viability. Remember, playoffs are some far-off vista to the Lions organization. Approaching .500 would be a major and necessary step back. Right now, that thought, seems to reside in speculative fantasy for the foreseeable future.

Jim Schwartz Faces First Real Challenge as Lions Head Coach

It comes as no surprise that the Lions were exquisitely putrescent in today’s game at Lambeau Field. That is par for the course over recent seasons during the team’s 18-season drought in winning games there. That being said, the team’s special teams struggles, poor pass coverage, even with a productive pass rush, and complete lack of rushing attack were all there in full force.

The lack of Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson, along with the continued heavy casualties on both sides of the ball, make this week’s bye week incredibly welcoming. The Lions can recuperate, and gear up for a winnable game against the St. Louis Rams in two weeks.

That is where Jim Schwartz must assert himself as a coach. At 1-5, this season could start to get away from the Lions, and potentially lead to exponentially poor performances in each successive game as the season marches depressingly onward. This is for you Dan, I can feel the collective bile gurgling among the dwindling Lions faithful as “TV black outs” and early mass exodus’ become de rigeur as this Bataan Death March of a season presses on. Yes, Lions fans, we HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE.

Add Michael Oher to the List of Lions Misses? Trade Deadline Tuesday

It is no secret that the Lions have needed to upgrade their offensive line for years and years (and years…). They have had ample opportunity to draft a quality left offensive tackle, and have chosen to pass on that position during recent drafts.

Names like Joe Thomas, Ryan Clady, and now, Michael Oher will continue to make me shudder in agony as a Lions fan, especially each and every time I watch Jeff Backus (pronounced Sack-us) be abused by a mid-level, league average edge pass rusher.

Oher, who is the Ravens starting right tackle, was shifted to left tackle last week against the Bengals. Oher, the protagonist in Michael Lewis’ “Blind Side” book (and soon to be feature film), was facing Antwan Odom, a current league leader in sacks with eight, and held him to two tackles and zero sacks. That certainly doesn’t anoint Oher among the league elite, but it is certainly a hell of a start.

With Tuesday’s trade deadline approaching, and the Lions entering their bye week, one has to wonder, if the Lions end up being 1-5, will they be a participant? With the emergence of DeAndre Levy, and the promotion of Zach Follett from the practice squad, and the seeming disappointment that the Lions have in the performance of Julian Peterson, maybe the Lions will consider taking a draft pick(s), regardless of how marginal, for the aging Peterson.

I also wonder if the versatility of Anthony Henry, while being utilized in nickel and dime packages, would be of increased value elsewhere. The Lions secondary remains pitiful, but Henry still retains value, if not expected to be a primary stalwart in coverage.

With the bye week approaching, the Lions will take an additional look at street free agents who may be able to provide additional assistance at weak personnel positions or in places where the team has suffered from attrition. Even with Turk McBride providing additional assistance along the defensive front, I wonder if Shaun Smith, Chuck Darby or Terdell Sands could receive another look from the Lions as they continue to tinker with their ineffective defensive line.

One thing I can say for Martin Mayhew, if anything, is that he isn’t afraid to jigger the team’s personnel and will not likely stand pat over the next week or so, if a desirable opportunity arises.

Week 6 Preview: Lions Vs. Packers

Having last won a game at Lambeau Field in 1991, the Lions face a particularly daunting situation with the very realistic likelihood that they will be without rookie QB Matthew Stafford and superstar WR Calvin Johnson this Sunday.

The Packers, are not without flaws. Their offensive line has allowed QB Aaron Rodgers, who has been otherwise stellar, to operate under duress regularly and allowed 20 sacks thus far. If OT’s Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton can return and be productive, the Packers may be able to rectify that situation, to a degree.

Defensively, the Packers have switched to Dom Capers’ 3-4 defensive scheme in spite of the fact that the 3-4 is a scheme that doesn’t particularly suite CB’s Al Harris and Charles Woodson (who are good bump-and-run man corner) because it forces them to play a lot of zone coverage.

Even more damning, Capers’ scheme has moved former All-Pro DE Aaron Kampman to linebacker. Kampman, formerly a disruptive pass rusher, has struggled within the new scheme.

The Lions will attempt to exploit the Packers defense working from a deficit, as I mentioned earlier. Still, there are ways that they can attack the Packers and remain competitive, if their defense can hold up it’s end of the bargain.

The Lions defense needs to pressure Aaron Rodgers and not allow the “explosion” plays from WR’s Greg Jennings and Donald Driver or TE Jermichael Finley. During years past, the Packers have had their way with the Lions secondary, and unless the Lions can establish a pass rush, they likely will again.

Offensively, the Lions have been targeting Brandon Pettigrew more frequently. It is safe to assume that this trend will continue as the Lions attempt to find voids in the Packers zone which allow Pettigrew to run free.

It is also safe to assume that the Lions will want to get the ball out of Daunte Culpepper’s hands as quickly as possible, since the Lions offensive line has begun to struggle and Culpepper has a propensity to hold the ball too long.

In the end, there is no reasonable way that I can see the Lions winning, but they may be able to keep the game close while moving the ball aginst the Packers weak defense.

Packers 31 Lions 20

Phil Simms View Matthew Stafford as NFL’s Best Young QB Prospect

Numerous reports have been made about Phil Simms’ recent comments about Matthew Stafford, which were surprisingly supportive, given the field of candidates he was compared to in Simms’ interview, with the Scores Report.

Simms on Stafford:

PS: Yes. He’s got the arm and he’s a lot more mobile then I thought he would be when I saw him at Georgia. I’m not saying he’s got Brett Favre’s arm, but he has an arm that is going to last a long time. Of course, Joe Flacco does too, but Stafford would be my type of quarterback.

Further:

PS: You know, I think Mark Sanchez has developed a niche where it fits for 40% of the teams and how they want to run their offense. And I think Joe Flacco is in a little bit of a different class himself, you know, because he’s a power thrower and you have to fit him in that kind of an offense. But I think there’s a little more versatility with Matt Stafford and I was probably too hard on him when I judged him coming out of college. He’s got the look of a much better pro early on than I thought he would.

TSR: I’ll tell you what, that’s not the Matt I thought you’d go with. I thought maybe Matt Ryan with how good he’s looked in a year and a half now. To me, he looks like he’s progressing, which is a great thing for him and the Falcons because he looked good last year right out of the gates as a rookie.
PS: I like him – no question. But I’m projecting for an entire lifetime. I know there are throws that Matthew Stafford can make that Matt Ryan can’t make. To me, that would be the difference. And I know it’s all about team, and Matt Ryan is off to a good start and he’s done a lot of wonderful things. But I don’t look at Matt Ryan and go, “He’s an exceptional thrower of the football.” He’s a good leader, he runs the system well, he’s accurate – a lot of good stuff. But, when it comes to making three or four throws a game that only a handful of quarterbacks in the NFL can make, Matthew Stafford is one of those guys.

Simms’ impressions get a little surprising for me here:

PS: Yeah he does. I’ve got to tell you, I even said this to somebody the other day, that Chicago game I said wow, that was another little step forward for him where his talent is really starting to show on the field. He made a couple of throws that, Jay Culter could have made them, Joe Flacco could have made them, and there you go – I can’t think of anyone else. Peyton Manning? No. Tom Brady? Maybe. You know, guys like Stafford have big arms. I love when people go, “Arm strength just isn’t that important.” Well, then I sure don’t want you evaluating players for me.

Simms never possessed an arm like Stafford’s which probably inflates his view of strong throwers. Yet, unlikely Fran Tarkenton’s early impression of Stafford being a thrower, rather than a sound, accurate passer, the astute Simms truly believes in Stafford’s potential, as he has shown a lot of growth, with likely growing pains yet to come, at this early juncture of his career.

Stafford’s Game by Game Log has seen Stafford’s Qb rating start at an awful 27.4. Stafford has since provided the team with subsequent performances of 87.8 and 89.6, sure signs of growth, with his yards per attempt also increasing 5.5 y/a to 6.7 and 8.2 y/a, a particularly strong indicator against not-too-bad defenses in the Redskins and Bears.

Stafford’s first stumbling block will be overcoming his recent knee injury and getting back to work against the Packers this Sunday.

Here is a Green Bay Scouts View:Green Bay Press Gazette, Oct. 14: “He has a super-strong arm and looks like a good long-term prospect. He’s also shown a veteran-type ability to draw defenses offsides with his cadence. “I really like the kid,” one scout said. “He’s gotten better every week, he’s gaining confidence, he was definitely making some nice throws.” and later:
“Offensively they’ve got some talent,” the scout said. “Assuming (Stafford) is healthy, offensively the arrow is definitely going up.””

The Lions hopefully have paid attention and realize that they had better find the means to upgrade the protection of the organization’s biggest and brightest asset. The Lions offensive line has by no means been the liability that I expected entering this season, but they are a liability nonetheless. Hopefully, Martin Mayhew can engineer opportunities for the Lions to finally upgrade along both their offensive and defensive lines, with next season’s draft picks and free agency looming.

Regardless of this season’s final record, the Lions, with the addition of a potential franchise quarterback, are in a much better position than they have been for about 50 years. Given Jim Schwartz and his coaching staff’s ability to gain the most from their charge’s abilities, despite their clear lack of talent, and Martin Mayhew’s early ability to upgrade the roster, even if it is with band-aids and duct tape, fans should have cause to possess a rosier outlook than they have had in a rather long time.

After Noble Effort, Against an Overrated Steelers Team, Where Do the Lions Go From Here?

With the aid of some costly Steelers turnovers (a “Pick Six” to William James!), the Lions remained surprisingly close, deep into the 4th quarter of last Sunday’s game. In the end, with the Lions driving improbably into Steelers territory, poor blocking, and a gutty Daunte Culpepper holding onto the ball for far too long, with the unrelenting Steelers blitz packages in full effect, the Lions came up short, after allowing three late game sacks to snuff out their remote chances.

That being said, as horrible as it is the for the Lions to come so close and lose, the Lions were severely undermanned and yet fought hard to the end. They were without starting defensive linemen DeWayne White and Sammie Lee Hill, as well as suffering from the absence of Matthew Stafford, and early in the game, Calvin Johnson.

As much as am I inclined to be critical of Culpepper and the Lions offensive line, due to their failure during the last series, the crux of the Lions problems is still poor defensive play in their backfield, who are mostly overexposed by poor defensive line play, where injuries have certainly taken their toll, too.

MLive’s Tom “Killer” Kowalski seemingly agrees:

One of the interesting developments in Sunday’s game was when veteran cornerback Anthony Henry was benched in favor of Phillip Buchanon. Buchanon himself was benched a couple of weeks ago in favor of Will James.

This is the kind of revolving door of purgatory in which Schwartz finds himself. The coaching staff, especially defensively, is actually doing an impressive job of mixing and matching and trying to squeeze everything possible out of their roster but, in the end, the Lions simply don’t have the talent to win on a consistent basis.

The Lions keep hoping that some time on the bench will help a player with his focus and hunger and that he’ll be better when he returns to the field. There’s merit to that theory, but it doesn’t mean a player is going to return with more talent.

Other than Grady Jackson, who is good for about 20 solid plays a game, the Lions don’t have a bonafide starter on the defensive line. They keep tossing guys into the mix and hope to find a good combination that clicks, but five games into the season, they’re still experimenting.

Sunday, the Lions started Turk McBride at right defensive end. Yes, part of that was because Dewayne White was out with an injury, but much of it was because the Lions deemed McBride — a guy who got here just three weeks ago — was a better option than Cliff Avril.

Going into this season, the Lions had high expectations for Avril, believing he could develop into an every-down player. It hasn’t happened. While Avril still will be used on passing downs, the Lions think McBride was a more effective player on first and second down.

The defensive line is one of the most important positions on a team because it sets the tone for the entire defense. When they’re physical up front, the linebackers can clean up on the running plays. When the defensive line is aggressive and effective with their pass rush, the defensive backs have more opportunities for turnovers.

When the defensive line isn’t producing, everybody struggles. That situation isn’t likely to change until next April when, according to several scouts and NFL personnel, there could be a dozen quality defensive linemen available in the first two rounds of the draft. It’s possible the Lions could use their top two draft picks on that position.

But that’s down the road. For now, the Lions will keep looking for the right combination and Schwartz won’t stop making changes until he finds it. Just because Schwartz doesn’t see much help when he turns to the bench for help, it doesn’t mean he’ll quit yanking players.

In particular, the failing of Avril, whose career is taking on a frighteningly similar tack to another former Lions player, who possessed a high-ceiling, but provided limited results, in Kalimba “The Ghost” Edwards. McBride also possesses some potential, but the Lions refusal to address their defensive front during the early rounds of this year’s draft, has really hurt their opportunities for closing out victories, and lead to poor play in the second half of several losses.

With injury ending CB Eric King’s season, and the revolving door rotating Philip Buchanon, Anthony Henry and company in the defensive backfield, the Lions now turn to CB DeMarcus Faggins to provide depth. Even more frighteningly, the signing of WR John Standeford, poses a bad omen of the likely availability of Calvin Johnson to play in Green Bay this weekend, where the Lions have not won in 17 seasons (and counting).

The Lions are in a tough spot. Eventually injuries and demoralizing close losses may extinguish the efforts of the team, who clawed with all of their overmatched might, to remain close and still lose. As the losses pile up, will the team still maintain the same reserves of tenacity, in an emptyish Ford Field, as the season marches on? That will be one of Jim Schwartz’s toughest tests, since we have already seen solid men like Rod Marinelli, who had an unquestioned high level of resolve, fail mightily in this regard during recent seasons.

Jim Schwartz’s Love Affair With Hard Rock

Given the unique, against the grain, at least for a NFL head coach, personality of Lions Head Jim Schwartz, with his economics degree and pronounced love for 80’s heavy metal/hard rock , the Detroit media seems quite enamored with the fact that he is the headbanging, head coach.

Jim Schwartz’s top five heavy-metal albums:
1. Queensryche, “Operation: Mindcrime” (”Just a masterpiece. I’ve probably listened to it a thousand times, maybe more.”)
2. Judas Priest, “British Steel”
3. AC/DC, “Back in Black”
4. Metallica, “Master of Puppets”
5. Motley Crue, “Dr. Feelgood”

Schwartz elaborates further,

“It really started in Nashville. Nashville is not just a country music town,” Schwartz said. “There are a lot of recording studios. A lot of people come to town there. Knowing people in record companies and people in bands and stuff like that, it sort of started there and has carried over here. It’s one of the perks of the job.”

Schwartz’s Detroit office is littered with signed guitars and music memorabilia he’s acquired over the years.

His love affair with heavy metal started his freshman and sophomore years at Mount Saint Joseph High, an all-male Catholic school outside of Baltimore.

“My parents were into 50’s music and stuff like that,” Schwartz said. “My family is not very musical. We didn’t grow up around a lot of music, it was just something that developed in high school.”

I too am of the age group of people who would be inclined to love heavy metal. One of the first recordings that I owned was Quiet Riot’s “Metal Health”.

For anyone who cares, here are my top 5 80’s “metal” albums, in no particular order:

1. Iron Maiden “Peace of Mind”
2. Metallica ‘Kill “em All” (begrudgingly)
3. Twisted Sister “Stay Hungry”
4. Motorhead “Ace of Spades”
5. Guns N Roses “Appetite for Destruction”

For Michiganders, who have struggled and enjoy stories of resilience and the ability to overcome, with blind perseverance against all odds, the recent DVD release, Anvil: The Story of Anvil is a must see. Anvil are a band who has been together 30 years, and thanks largely due to their documentary, are beginning to receive some rare and hard-earned acclaim. Truly, without irony, you will be moved by their improbable story.