Detroit Lions: Spotlight Should Be on Jim Schwartz, Not Suh Craziness

During the past week, the Detroit Lions have been at the very hot center of an intense media spotlight. The endless chatter had to do with the three S's:  Suh, the Stomp, and the Suspension.

Suh's transgression and resulting suspension is well documented. Opinions fly around the airwaves like so many gnats on a summer day.

What gets missed is the man at the center of it all. Lions coach Jim Schwartz.

Schwartz is the captain of a ship that was once shiny and new and darn near indestructible. He is now the captain of a ship that is missing key members of its crew and is taking on water.

Like the ship he pilots, Schwartz was once shiny and new too. Now he shows the same signs of wear and tear.

A roller coaster ride like the Lions' season will do that to a coach.

After the first five games Schwartz was loved and lauded by fans and media alike. He was the next great young coach. He was the next coming of Bill Belichick. He had done the unthinkable! He had made the Detroit Lions winners! 

He should have run for Mayor of Detroit. Turning the Lions into winners would make solving the economic crisis in the city look like child's play.

Unfortunately, the air of invincibility around Schwartz has faded. Controversy and losing tend to do that. Schwartz, directly or indirectly, is responsible for both.

For that reason the focus should be on him going forward.

Control not Controversy

There is no other team in the NFL that has taken on the personality of their head coach more than the Lions. Toughness, swagger, and bouts of emotional exuberance are things that can be used to describe both Schwartz and the team.

He almost got into a fight over a handshake and the Lions are the poster boys for unnecessary roughness in the NFL. Do you see a connection there?

Too much of anything is never good. Winning too much too soon amplified these positive attributes into negative ones. The result has been undisciplined play and controversy.

Has Schwartz learned his lesson? That should be the key question. 

Has he experienced enough penalties, fines, suspensions, and negative media attention to make a change? Has he had his fill of controversy? He needs to not just pull back the reigns, but first put the reins back on the horses.

Schwartz let himself and his team go. They were unrestrained and eventually became unhinged.  Both were out of control. The last six games should have taught him a lesson. That is not the way to build a consistent winner. 

He needs to throw down the hammer and gain control back. Control the hard-nose play, the swagger and the emotional reactions. 

In doing so, Schwartz will go a long way to eliminate the negativity and controversy that has dogged his team for the past six weeks.

Get Back To Winning

While lack of control and negative media attention play a role in the Lions' decline, no one will finger either issue as the real reason for it. Nor should they. There are bigger problems at play here—
football problems.

Problems like a running game that doubles as a MASH unit. Problems like a quarterback that has so many issues he makes Jekyll and Hyde look consistent. Problems like missing a star player for two games. And finally, problems like a defensive unit that has the tools to be completely dominant, yet doesn't.

These are the issues that Schwartz needs to address during the next five games. They are no easy fixes either. There may be no fix for some of them.

Nevertheless, how he adjusts will end up being the story we tell about him going forward. To borrow the previously used metaphor, how he steers this ship around the icebergs will determine his fate.

Can Schwartz piece together a running game with the leftovers he has and make it productive?  Can he get the most out of Stafford, who has shown bouts of wildness and poor judgment? Can he motivate his defense so that they finally perform up to their talents?

If the answers to these questions are no, then so will be the answer to the question, "Will the Lions make the playoffs?" 

Simply put, that would not be good. After making so many strides this year to shake the demons of the past, it would be a shame to end the year with a let down like that.

Schwartz needs the Lions to win the majority of their next five games. Winning would wash away the grime of negativity and return the luster and excitement that had previously built up.

This will by no means be easy. Sharks are circling the ship, waiting for it go down. The Lions are vulnerable.

With the spotlight shining, now is the time for Schwartz to make a stand and prove what kind of coach—what kind of leader—he really is.