Lions-Falcons: Detroit Displays an Embarassment of Epic Proportions

I've been a Lions fan all my life. For almost 20 years, since I was a little kid, I've suffered many a crushing Lions defeat and watched as they endlessly underachieved, while even worse teams (talent-wise) then them passed them by to go on to better things.

What I witnessed today, though, very nearly makes the top of the list of worst Lions performances ever.

Preseason has long been the best part of the Lions' season, and by that standard, this was one great preseason. Even a Lions fan drained of optimism, such as myself, saw things that made me think Detroit was turning the corner.

The starting offense was superb. Kitna was nearly flawless through three preseason games, and Calvin Johnson was unstoppable. The starting defense didn't give up a touchdown.

The schedule was even kind to Detroit, practically gift-wrapping a win for them in Week One by matching them up against the heavily rebuilding Atlanta Falcons.

Yes, the Falcons entered this game with a rookie head coach, a rookie quarterback, two rookies on the offensive line, a depleted secondary, and a starting running back that was an offcast of the San Diego Chargers.

All offseason, Detroit fans talked and heard about how unstoppable Calvin Johnson was, how great Kitna looked, how much the D-line would be improved with Shaun Rogers gone, and how much better the secondary would be with the addition of Leigh Bodden.

Lions Offensive Coordinator, Jim Colletto, talked of how the gameplan was to shut down Atlanta's rushing offense, forcing Matt Ryan to throw.

Well, the Lions sure didn't have to force Ryan to throw. Ryan's first pass of the game resulted in a 62-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins.

Rookie luck right? Well, that was Ryan's only TD pass of the game, but the young guy didn't really have to throw a single pass after that one. 

Michael Turner unleashed a frenzy on the shell-shocked Lions. On Atlanta's second possession, Turner scored on a 66-yard run. Hey, why not? Turner wasn't going to let Ryan's TD pass stand as the Falcons' biggest play of the day. The Lions were happy to oblige.

If it wasn't bad enough that the Falcons had jumped out to a 14-0 lead on two big plays, the Lions' second offensive possession resulted in a quick three-and-out.

Atlanta's third possession? Well, why stop a good thing? Turner and Norwood continued to run all over the Lions before Turner punched it in for a score again.

At this point, the Falcons led 21-0 with over three minutes remaining...in the first quarter.

Now, we've seen this happen to Detroit before. A great team dominating the pedestrian Lions. Just last season the Philadelphia Eagles also jumped out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead against Detroit.

However, this is the Atlanta Falcons we're talking about. I don't know that there's ever been a team in the NFL who has had more to overcome than the Falcons.

Something changed in the second quarter, and Atlanta decided to stop running the ball so much. I can only chalk this up to the Falcons taking pity on Detroit, so they decided to throw a bit to give the Lions a sporting chance.

After Kitna had a temper tantrum of sorts, in which he was seen visibly frustrated and yelling at his coaches (this usually doesn't happen until at least the 3rd game, guys), the Lions finally scored on a short TD run by rookie Kevin Smith.

Smith ended up being one of the few bright spots for Detroit. The Lions talked about how committed they were to running the ball. That's all fine and dandy, but try saying that with a straight face after you're down 21-0.

Still, Smith managed about 50 yards in limited and sporadic carries. If the Lions can ever get a lead in a game this season, we may just see Smith racking up the yards.

The Lions scored again in the second quarter, after Roy Williams made a spectacular TD catch.

Unfortunately, Roy Williams had a lousy game otherwise. Many times he allowed Brent Grimes, who is all of 5'9" and 185 pounds to push around his 6'2" 220-pound frame.

Same goes for Calvin Johnson. Although Johnson finished with a very respectable 107 yards, they didn't come when they counted. Many times Johnson dropped passes on third down and even a near gimme in the end zone.

The domination and physicality he showed in the preseason were nowhere to be seen against Atlanta.

The Lions went into halftime down 21-14 and started the third quarter at their own 40-yard line. They marched into Atlanta's red zone. and for a brief moment, it was almost a game again.

Then Kitna threw a mind-boggling pass straight to Lawyer Milloy, no Lions in sight. Milloy ran it back to midfield and ended the Lions' comeback hopes.

From then on out, Atlanta's running backs put on a clinic. Michael Turner set a franchise record, finishing with 220 yards and two touchdowns. Heck, even Atlanta's backup running back, Jerious Norwood, finished with 93 yards and a touchdown.

So much for stopping the run, eh Colletto?

Even with all the so-called improvements Detroit made this offseason, they still don't know how to tackle. It was seriously painful to watch as Norwood and Turner just plowed right through the Lions, carry after carry, with missed and broken tackles everywhere.

To make matters even more grim, the Lions lost starting linebackers Ernie Sims and Paris Lenon to injury. Hey, it just wouldn't be a Lions season if they didn't lost a starting linebacker in the first game. 

The final score: Atlanta 34, Detroit 21.

I think many of us expected the reverse of that.

I should also mention that even in all the years with Mike Vick, Atlanta had never scored 21 points in the first half before.

Finally, for everyone jumping ship, let me put things in perspective.

Detroit always loses at least one game they have no business losing. I mean, this was bad...really bad. The Lions will have better days this season though, and I still see a trademark season of mediocrity out of Detroit this year.

Probably just good enough for Matt Millen to keep his job, but not good enough to make the playoffs. Welcome to Detroit, where nothing ever changes.