Detroit Lions: Reality Bites for Loyal, Long-Suffering Fans
Somewhere between “Love Bites” and “Reality Sucks,” you’ll find the constant baptism of disappointment that bathes every Detroit Lions fan in the “purifying waters” of “Lake Minnetonka” every season.
Foolishly, we jump in, allowing ourselves to be completely immersed in preseason pageantry, pride and pandemonium. Only to be quickly revived by the chilling reality that not only are the Detroit Lions not very good, they are highly capable of ruining any perfectly good Sunday afternoon in a myriad of ways.
One weekend, they’ve essentially got a Super Bowl favorite stomped, but as usual, make sure they play the “Lions way” and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
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The health bug has bitten again, proving how razor-thin the depth and talent is on the Detroit Lions.
This franchise continues to set the most disgraceful marks for futility known to the history of the game. That is totally unacceptable, Lions fans.
I can only say that I’m glad that I was able to enjoy the victory at Ford Field on October 31, 2010 over the Washington Redskins, because that may be the “last hurrah” for this squad during the 2010 season.
After nine games played, three removed from the Week 7 bye, the Detroit Lions are sporting a 2-7 record, an dubious accomplishment that is a poor reflection on the leadership of head coach Jim Schwartz and offensive coordinator Scott Linehan.
The consistency and quantity of penalties, before and after the whistle, bear witness to the lack of discipline that is costing the team wins. Sixty minutes of focus is neither to be found in their vocabulary.
In my interview last month with Detroit Lions starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, the injured second-year quarterback said that only wins mattered in terms of measuring the success of the 2010 Detroit Lions.
Then by the standard issued by the team’s starting quarterback, and the No. 1 overall selection in the 2009 NFL Draft, I must unequivocally state that the 2010 Detroit Lions are “not an improved team” by standard of the achievement of their record.
They are what they are, plain and simple, a lousy 2-7 team that is in last place (again) in their respective division.
Well isn’t that just craptastic?
Since 1996, the Detroit Lions have finished in third place or worse in their division, and they will finish last again in 2010 in the NFC North—despite the Vikings’ woes.
There is plenty of blame to go around, and each is just as culpable as the other, none the greater offender than another, because it takes a team to win, not a group of individuals who cannot function “as one.” On Sunday, we refer to those folks as “losers,” as they lose the game due to poor collective effort from start to finish.
One would think that with a third victory clearly within grasp at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, head coach Jim Schwartz would have his team readied with intense battle focus, ready to end a would-be 25-game losing streak.
Didn’t happen.
And such is the reality of the Detroit Lions 2010 campaign: this team still loses a lot more than they’re going to win, and the mention of playoffs mere foolishness.
Loyal Detroit Lions fans yearn to understand why it is that their team consistently fails to live up to expectations for improvement in the win column. Whether it be the leadership, whether it be poor drafting, whether it be poor coaching, whether it be lousy officiating, whether it be lack of talent, whatsoever the excuse might be, the Lions almost always seem to come out on the short end of the stick.
On the other hand, you have regime change, trying to infuse NFL starting-caliber talent onto an inferior roster, new coaches, new staff, new players, new quarterbacks all the time due to health issues, and the list goes on and seemingly only in Detroit.
Rookie running back Jahvid Best started out with a bang his first two games, scoring four touchdowns, but has since been held out of the end zone. To the same end, undrafted rookie free agent and Oregon Duck bad boy, LeGarrette Blount, has provided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with equivalent ground gains as Best with 50 less carries, including a long run of 48 yards. Best’s longest run from scrimmage was a 33-yard run during Week 2 against the Eagles.
Tim Toone is on the practice squad injured reserve and Blount is the 250-pound big, bruising, NFL back who can pound between the tackles. For longtime, longsuffering, and loyal Detroit Lions fans like Jim “Cannusaylions” Radford, it must be especially frustrating to have called for Blount only to see him playing admirably for a former NFC Central foe.
Unfortunately, the Jerome Felton “big back” experiment doesn’t seem to be paying any dividends either, so perhaps a guy like Wisconsin running back John Clay might be in order in a future draft for the Lions.
Clay represents a Brandon Jacobs-esque frame, listed at 6’1” and 258 pounds, and could be used as a battering ram against lighter linebackers and defensive backs; whereas at 199 pounds, Jahvid Best doesn’t “batter” anything. Speed kills, but only in space, and it has been since the Philly game in Week 2 since Lions fans have seen a truly explosive Jahvid Best, turf toe injuries notwithstanding.
After nine games played on the 2010 season, the Detroit Lions rank 30th in offensive rushing, averaging a paltry 81.1 yards per game. Surprisingly, the Lions next opponent, the Dallas Cowboys, are 31st with only 78.7 yards rushing per game. It’s tough to win if you can’t run the football in the NFL.
Despite being ranked the 11th-best scoring offense, averaging 23.9 points per game, and the defense holding the opponent to an average of 22.4 points per game, the Detroit Lions have only two wins to show for their efforts.
Is it fun to watch Matthew Stafford continue to disintegrate right before our eyes at such a young age? Certainly not. Horrifying at best, I assure you.
Is it fun to watch Ndamukong Suh develop and blossom right before our eyes? Absolutely, and thank God for that positive right there, along with his starting defensive linemen and supporting backups, who are currently tied with the New York Giants for eighth-best in the league with 25 sacks.
Another positive is proof of this hard-hitting defense, as the Lions are tied for fourth in the NFL in forced fumbles with 14, and are tied for first with the New York Jets with 11 recovered fumbles. That’s “laying the wood” and “stacking it too,” so to speak.
What has not happened is translating the collective productivity markers of sacks, forced fumbles, and fumble recoveries into victories. The opportunities have been there, and for the most part, have yet to be met with preparedness. Lack of preparation, vision, and a superfluity of penalties all serve as a negative reflection on the leadership in Detroit, and the key drivers to every loss sustained this season.
When it has mattered the most during the 2010 campaign, it is the Detroit Lions leadership that has most failed the players and loyal fans of this ailing franchise, while the Lions serve up the best “get well medicine” every Sunday. The fans in Buffalo salute you, Herr Schwartz.
Honestly, watching the play of the defensive line is about all I have to hang my hat on from a positive perspective, as most every other aspect of the team has been largely and equally disappointing.
As a fan, I find it equally frustrating and disturbing when first-round draft picks drop passes that hit them in the hands. The growing process is truly painful to watch, offset only by those occasional moments when Calvin Johnson and Brandon Pettigrew make meaningful plays. The highs seem high for these two, but the lows, oh so very low.
About the only thing that is clear surrounding the Clandestine Cop, Jim Schwartz, is that he has sailed the fandom of the Detroit Lions into the sea of disappointment and has discharged a powder keg in the forecastle of the ship.
The loyal fans who survive might be spending the rest of this season waiting for rescue on their life rafts.
Call in the “Coasties” (USCG).
GO LIONS WIN!
HäMMëR
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