Detroit Lions Monday Morning Quarterback: Bye Week Edition

The Game

With the Lions off this week, I thought it would be interesting to look at how the rest of the NFC North fared.

The Chicago Bears showed their true colors in losing to the Washington Redskins, 17-14. Jay Cutler is making some horrible decisions with the football. He threw for more yards to Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall, 92, than he did to any of his own receivers.

In typical Mike Martz fashion, he is choosing to ignore the fact that his running back can do things other than catch a screen pass.

Of course, Cutler and Martz don't deserve all the blame, because the offensive line has been terrible. Cutler has to fight for his life on every play. The only real positive for the Bears is that their defense is exceeding expectations. Rod Marinelli is proving to be a decent coordinator.

In the rest of the NFC North, the Minnesota Vikings took on the Green Bay Packers.

I have never seen a game in which both teams were fighting to lose. Dumb penalties, wasted big plays, and blind referees added up to a boring game between two teams that were preseason Super Bowl contenders.

The game can be summed up in one play. The Vikings did not have the right defense on a fake field goal by the Packers, and allowed TE Andrew Quarless to get open deep. Backup quarterback Matt Flynn threw a very catchable ball, only to have Quarless stumble over his own feet and allow the ball to harmlessly fall to the ground.

Aaron Rodgers threw two interceptions, but in an effort not to be outdone by his understudy, Brett Favre threw three.

At the end of the day it was a win for the Green Bay Packers, 28-24, with an assist from the referees.

The Good

Matthew Stafford is ready to start

The Detroit Lions will finally have their franchise quarterback on the field as Matthew Stafford’s right shoulder has healed. With so many close games, one has to wonder if Stafford may have made a difference in one or two of them.

The team needed the rest

Nearly 20 players missed practice last week to rest nagging injuries. Guys like Calvin Johnson, Kyle Vanden Bosch, and others who have yet to miss a game probably would have played had the Lions been scheduled for a game. 

It speaks volumes about how badly this team wants to win, as these guys gutted it out and played with injuries severe enough to keep them out of practice.

The rest of the division is tanking

At 1-5, the Lions are now only 2.5 games out of first and just two behind in the loss column. With the most difficult part of their schedule behind them, it is not out of the question that the Lions might sneak back into the race for the NFC North. 

The onus is on them to win, and that starts against the Washington Redskins. The division is ripe for the taking, and that should provide a sliver of hope despite the bad record.

The Bad

The Calvin Johnson non-catch

If the Calvin Johnson catch had not been incorrectly called back, the Lions would be only one behind in the loss column today. They would be tied with the Vikings and Bears with four losses, and only Green Bay would have three losses. 

For a fanbase that's been through so much, to have such an important win ripped out from under their feet had to hurt. Compound that with the struggles the rest of the division has endured, and it just hurts that much more.

The Ugly

Penalties

In case you forgot, the Lions are still the NFL's most penalized team.

It would have felt weird to go an entire week and not mention that.

Misleading Stat of the Day

The Lions didn’t lose this week.

I know it is an old third grade joke, but it still makes me smile.

Play of the Day

All the crazy fantasy football scores

Wow, what a weekend for fantasy football. How many fantasy managers are mad at themselves this morning for not playing Kenny Britt, Darren McFadden, or David Gettis (who?)?

Quote of the Day

"We gotta play better than that to be the team we wanna be, but I am proud of the win,” Baltimore Ravens Coach John Harbaugh after his team escaped with an overtime win against the winless Buffalo Bills. 

I chose this quote because I think it can be a valuable lesson for Lions fans. On Monday, it doesn't matter how you played, only whether you won or lost. So for all those that want to point to how close the losses have been, myself included, all that really matters is 1-5.

Random Thoughts

Does it make you as mad as it makes me that former Lion Mike Williams has more catches this year than Calvin Johnson?

Do you get the feeling that Brett Favre is not going to last the season?

I am worried the Lions will give the Bills their only win of the year just like they did last year with the St. Louis Rams.

The bye week was even worse because the Michigan Wolverines had a bye as well.

Overall Impression

With how weird this NFL season has been so far, would it shock you if the Lions somehow won the NFC North?

Again, it just makes that blown call on the Calvin catch even bigger.

Next Week

The Lions will welcome the Washington Redskins to Ford Field.

Message to Jim Schwartz: don’t throw to DeAngelo Hall’s side of the field.