Detroit Lions: Are These Guys For Real?

Sunday's win over the Washington Redskins marked a turning point in the Lions' rise to respectability.

Despite the 2-5 record, the Lions have played well in every game. 

Chicago - Robbed of a touchdown by an arcane ruling in the final seconds of the game.  I don't care if the officials got it right, it was a stupid call to make at such a critical point in the game. Officiating should never, ever determine the outcome. Stafford getting hurt didn't help much either. 

Philadelphia - While they couldn't contain Vick, the Lions were in this game all the way to the end. Shaun Hill proved to everyone that getting him as backup was a very good move by Martin Mayhew. He passed for 335 yards and Jahvid Best had 154 receiving yards.

Minnesota - Vikings didn't show me much and the Lions held sack specialist and former mullet-head Jared Allen to zero sacks. But stupid penalties did the Lions in more than the Vikings did.

Green Bay - While they haven't won in Lambeau in over a decade, they darned near pulled it off, losing 28-26. Green Bay had to work very, very hard to hold the Lions off but again, penalties is what did the Lions in. Pettigrew had some great catches and led all receivers with 91 yards.

St. Louis - A game where the Lions needed to take out all their frustrations. A lot of people were imagining this to be a matchup between two future star quarterbacks, but Stafford was still on the bench and Sam Bradford was pounded by the Detroit defense and was mostly ineffective. A good 44-6 win as the Lions scored on offense, defense and special teams.

New York Giants - With Stafford still on the IR and Shaun Hill getting hurt, it looked like the Lions were going to roll over and play dead. Much maligned third string QB Drew Stanton had other ideas. He threw for 222 yards and Calvin Johnson had 147 yards receiving as the Lions just ran out of time, losing 28-20.

Washington - A good win over a good team, and it was great to see the other team have issues on the sidelines. Stafford was rusty in the first half, but seeing him and Johnson light it up in the second half was just pure joy to watch.

The point of summarizing these games is that no one can say the Lions are a fluke.  Let's remember that they drew the 12th hardest schedule in the NFL. Despite that mountain to climb, there are two reasons why they are at 2-5.

Discipline - Lions are third overall in penalties (66 offense - 2nd, 52 defense - tied for 8th) and that shows inexperience and perhaps some coaching issues.

Lousy officiating - Nothing as blatant as the ludicrous "in the process" call against the Bears, but the Lions have been on the wrong end of some questionable calls.

Still, they are ranked seventh in the league in passing, sixth in scoring, tied for third in touchdowns and fourth in return yards (both kickoff and punt returns). Not too shabby by anyone's standards. Out of the teams they have faced so far, only the Rams and the Vikings have losing records. Not much was expected of the Rams but it is surprising that the Vikings are doing so badly as they were favored to challenge Green Bay for the division.

The only reason the Lions are in last place in the NFC North instead of the Vikings?  The Lions have allowed 21 more points on defense than the Vikings.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article stating that I was disillusioned with the progress of the team. Since then, the Lions have gone 2-1 with a two game win streak at home.

I am no longer disillusioned and am looking forward to the rest of the season.

And oh yeah, Rex Ryan, you're a jerk for dissing the Lions' offense. You state the Jets are the number one defense in the league. You really ought to check the stats before you open your big fat mouth. Jets are rated seventh overall in defense. 

I'm not taking anything for granted when we play the Jets, but the Lions have pushed some very good teams.

You are coming to our house and I really hope your article in the Detroit News is posted in the locker room.

Go get 'em Lions!