When people asked me this summer what I thought of the Lions, my typical response was as follows-
"Well, at least they'll be entertaining."
But last night was one of the LEAST entertaining games I have EVER seen.
We had new uniforms and new attitude (yet again...SURE...), but that performance was VINTAGE LIONS.
You had the inability to keep the opposing offense off the field, the befuddled offensive line, the dropped passes, and, of course, PENALTY after stupid PENALTY.
I can't decide which penalty was a better microcosm of the team in the 15 or so years I've been old/patient enough to sit down and watch them: the play where Dominic Raiola held on a SCREEN PASS or the time when Kevin Jones got to the corner and danced into the endzone, only to have it called back by a PAIR of holding calls.
Now, we're left to pick up the pieces and all of a sudden expectations have been lowered for the season.
Frankly, this dose of reality is something Lions fans desperately needed.
Even though I was shocked at Monday's ghastly effort, I still haven't changed my prediction- This looks like an 8-8 team.
There are going to be some days where the Lions light it up on offense, and there are going to be days where their defense simply won't be able to get off of the field.
The offensive line is a major weakness, but the biggest will be the inability to stop the outside run. It will be a major problem against Green Bay and on into the season. Boss Bailey and James Davis just aren't rugged enough to hold up on the outside, and the corners are not sure tacklers.
Terrence Holt and Kenoy Kennedy will come up and help at times, but then what happens when the defense goes over the top? These guys aren't good cover safeties in the first place.
Another thought that popped into my head after this debacle regarding the Matt Millen situation...
can someone please explain to me again what he did to deserve a FIVE year contract???
Sure, the Lions look flashy and POTENTIALLY good on paper....but what have they proven?
Anybody could have put together as good or better a team as Millen with the picks he had.
It's time we face facts people- this is a Playstation lineup and it's not the right way to build a football team.
Look at the teams who've made quick turnarounds in the salary cap era- they all did it with defense- New England, Carolina, Tampa Bay, you name it.
This reminds me a lot of the Tigers a couple years ago...they had Jeff Weaver and Matt Anderson, two tantalizing young pitchers seemingly on their way up. Desperately for stability, they gave 'em huge contracts. We all know how that turned out.
So, what we're left with is an exciting team stuck in neutral, until the offensive line figures out how to block somebody and the defense stops somebody.
And just last week I was telling people how little the preseason mattered. But this team has major flaws, and a lot of it is talent and coaching related...things that can't just be "corrected" like Joey Harrington seems to boast every week after EVERY loss.
I hope they prove me wrong on the 8-8 guess. I'd definitely take 9-7.
3 comments:
Of course we dont know for sure about the QB's.
Joey did a good job avoiding pressure Monday and held in the pocket about as long as he could. Well, actually there was no pocket.
He missed a couple of easy passes which he tends to do when his internal clock speeds up from the rush.
He needs to show that he can handle pressure better, I remember he looked amazing early last year especially against the Giants that one game.
But pressure against Philly and Green Bay utterly destroyed his confidence.
Garcia would be good to go to in situations like that for a change of pace because of his mobility and savvy.
Of course, however, the media would make any benching of Joey for any amount of time into a circus and distraction.
Bailey better get back in a groove soon because we need him.
Oh and Mooch needs to stop with the Kevin Johnson bullcrap and play BMW much more, what good is he as a top-10 pick if he's a mere backup?
Garcia hasn't looked good at all, but sometimes you can just tell when Harrington doesn't have it, when he's got that deer in the headlights look and the blitz is furious.
In a situation like that, Garcia could help us.
As for Mike Williams, I think we need to get him as many reps as possible.
The 3-WR, 1-back set is our best hope to create FAVORABLE matchups for ourselves...that's the best way this offense should be run, like the Colts.
You have to play to your strengths. KJ is good enough to see some action but we need the big 3 on the field at the same time.
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