Detroit Lions Fans, Hold on to Hope: It's All You've Got These Days

For all of the things the 2010 Detroit Lions are not (namely, a complete football team), there have been occasional moments of serendipity for die-hard Lions fans, those adept at finding the “silver lining” amidst the darkest of billowing clouds.

I think most fans have heard of the “up trend” being displayed by the Detroit Lions defensive line, perhaps now at its most popular since the days of Doug English and Al “Bubba” Baker of the Silver Rush.

Detroit Lions fans are gluttons for punishment given as a whole, and most dismiss the reality that the 1990s were the team's most consistent decade for reaching postseason play.  Lions fans cheer for the underdog, because the legacy of the Detroit Lions has been largely that since the franchise’s last NFL championship in 1957.

Would you be surprised to know that the Detroit Lions offensive line is ranked 10th-best in the National Football League?  That was definitely an eyebrow-raising moment for HäMMëR. 

The Detroit Lions are among seven teams that have surrendered only five sacks on game day during the 2010 season, but out of those teams, the Lions have surrendered the most quarterback hits with 16.  Unfortunately, 20 percent of those sacks proved “near fatal” for the Detroit Lions hopes for a winning season, when Chicago Bears five-time Pro Bowl defensive end Julius Peppers flew past the Detroit Lions left tackle and planted second-year quarterback Matthew Stafford in the turf in Chicago.

The damage levied to Stafford’s shoulder at the unfriendly confines of Soldier Field has left the team bereft of the cannon arm that was to guide the 2010 Detroit Lions to two victories out of the Lions' first three contests.  Not to be, Lions fans, but this is nothing new.

Regardless of the top-10 ranking the offensive line has been awarded, the Detroit Lions are next-to-last in rushing in the NFL.

The Minnesota Vikings are the NFC North leaders in rushing, seventh-best overall, running for an average of 143.3 yards per game.  The 80-yard touchdown run given up by the Lions defense to Adrian Peterson only bolsters the Vikings stats, but is part of the overall equation nonetheless.

The Detroit Lions have averaged only 66 yards per game rushing, but are ranked 12th in the NFL in passing, averaging 236.3 yards per game through the air.

The passing yards are largely hollow, as the Detroit Lions have posted a winless record in three attempts thus far, and a fourth loss looms in the cold waters of the harbor of Green Bay.  Racking up chunks of yards when the opposing defense has taken its talons or sword off the Lions’ throat leaves a misleading statistic that has yet to convert yardage gains into scoreboard gains when the Detroit Lions need it most.

The people who are supposed to be “playmakers” offensively for the Detroit Lions have largely failed to live up to their billing.

An “elite” receiver Calvin Johnson is not—not by any means, way, shape, fashion, or form.  He just isn’t and the results prove it.  Playmakers help their teams to victory when it matters, and Calvin Johnson has not done that for the Detroit Lions.

The “legitimate” WR2 the Detroit Lions signed has contributed little this season, as has the WR3.  Nate Burleson and Bryant Johnson, respectively, have given Lions fans no legitimate hope that their hype will be met with production commensurate with that hype.

Tight ends Tony Scheffler and Brandon Pettigrew were not there to help Jeff Backus block Julius Peppers when it mattered the most.  Blame it on Linehan or whomever, but you can’t spend those kinds of resources at tight end and not protect your quarterback on Sunday afternoon.  The misuse of one of those resources has resulted in a defensive secondary that is sure to feel the scorn of Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers this coming Sunday.

I think quarterback Shaun Hill has done a decent job with the cards he has been dealt, other than passes that have gone astray at the most inconvenient time for the Detroit Lions.  The same difference I noticed standing on the sidelines of Detroit Lions training camp in early August continue to be the same I see at the end of September:  Shaun Hill is no Matthew Stafford, and he isn’t going to be.

Despite Hill’s success as a starting quarterback outside Detroit, the Lions don’t have strong enough of a supporting cast to see the team through to victory.  The Detroit Lions are too deficient in the back seven, and the offensive playmakers—save some beauteous plays by rookie running back Jahvid Best—have been held harmless.

If the Detroit Lions are going to have a youth movement, why not cut bait with Nate Burleson and Bryant Johnson in favor of Derrick Williams and Tim Toone?  At least we know that “D-Will” and Tim Toone will go all out athletically and fly through the air when necessary.  Groom the talent that will be with Stafford when the team is much closer to crossing the finish line, which is a marathon away for the Detroit Lions.

For the Detroit Lions to beat the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday, tight end Brandon Pettigrew will have to do more to help the Lions win than Clay Matthews III does to help the Packers win.  Pettigrew is partially charged with the task of keeping Matthews from growing his league-leading sack total greater than it currently is at six.  This is where the Detroit Lions 10th-ranked offensive line and their tight ends, fullback, and running backs must keep the Packers defenders at bay.

If opportunity is met with preparedness, the Detroit Lions will shock the football world on Sunday, October 3, 2010, and beat the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field for the first time since December 15, 1991.

It is my guess that Mike McCarthy and the Green Bay Packers will try to exploit the Detroit Lions dead-last NFL run defense, and breathe life into their own “stale” running game.  Stopping Aaron Rodgers from picking apart the Detroit Lions back seven is going to be the major issue.

The Sunday matchup between the Packers and the Lions features the first and third-best teams in the NFL when it comes to quarterback sacks.  The Packers lead the NFL in sacks with 13, as Clay Matthews III leads the NFL in sacks with six, and the Detroit Lions are third in the NFL in sacks with 11.  The Pride faithful know the Lions could easily be leading the league in sacks if only they could have held on to Michael Vick and Brett Favre just a moment longer.

Without question, the Detroit Lions pass rush gets after the passer and wreaks havoc in the offensive backfield.  Favre and Vick ran for their lives, eventually beating the Lions with their arms instead of their feet.

The Detroit Lions defense is a hard-hitting crew, reminiscent of the 1991 defense, and are third in the league in forced fumbles with five.  The secondary may not be able to consistently cover the receiver, but they sure don’t hesitate to lay a lick on the guys who attempt to catch or carry the ball into Lions territory.

If the Detroit Lions are able to get a high level of pass blocking in addition to superior play by their defensive line, taking Aaron Rodgers out of his game plan, the Lions can compete with the Packers on the road.  Throw in an interception or fumble returned for touchdown, along with a punt or kick returned for touchdown, and the Lions could break the nearly 19-year futility of loading the team up to play in Green Bay.

If the Lions defense is able to make the Packers offense one-dimensional by taking away the run, they might be able to key in on hot reads and convert those into turnovers, which the Detroit Lions must certainly generate in a meaningful way and flip the field as often as possible.

The Detroit Lions offense cannot have “three-and-out” after “three-and-out” ad nauseam.  That has gotten the team beat every game this season and must cease if the Lions are to ever win during the 2010 campaign.

The Packers will need to underestimate the Detroit Lions as an opponent and bank on the history of dominance over the Lions at their home confines.  They need to practice light-heartedly and pay no attention to detail, laissez-faire in their approach to Sunday’s contest as if a given victory.

I just don’t want the Lions to become the Nyquil of the NFL, where other teams sleep well and get better.  Unfortunately, that’s all they have been for the past 53 years.

GO LIONS WIN!

HäMMëR