Things that make you say hmmmm

[Jimmer]

Let's just suppose the experts are right and the Lions go 6-2. Heck even Sean Salisbury said the Lions are "for real" today.
W-T-F happened against Philly and Washington then?
Should I just write it off to a young team, or is the real heart break coming?

[thousandcasts]

Well, the Philly game can be attributed to those players getting ahold of Andy Reid's kids' stash. Not easy to go against a bunch of players hopped up on coke, smack and meth, ya know?

[Munsterlndr]

A couple of factors that contributed to the blow outs in Philly & Washington. KJ did not play against Philly and Wash was his first game back and he was still very tentative. Bell is just not the back that KJ is and as a result we did not have a running game. Prior to the Tampa game we really had not established any kind of a running offense so we were somewhat one-dimensional. I can't remember the conditions in Philly but against Washington, it was in the 80's and you could see buckets of sweat pouring off of our lineman, especially big baby. They were slow and seemed to lack energy in the heat. The DL did not put any pressure on either McNabb or Campbell and they were able to dink & dunk the ball all day. Backus was hurt against Washington and gave up several sacks. Dome teams usually play worse on grass, too and the Lions usually don't play that well on the road. All of those factors contributed to a couple of embarrassing losses.

Having said that, I think the Lions are better than some give them credit for. They should beat Denver, the Broncos are just not a very good team this year. With the running game coming around it should make the passing game more effective. Our much maligned defensive backfield has actually been playing pretty well for a young squad the last couple of games and we lead the league in interceptions, which is pretty amazing seeing that we don't have any "name" corners or safety's.

One of the big differences between this year and previous years is that so far we have avoided losing many key players to injury. Dan Campbell is about the only offensive starter that is out for the year. Last year I don't think we went more than two consecutive games with the same OL. It seemed like they were being constantly replaced and never had the chance to really gel as a unit. The OL is definitely doing better this year. While Kitna is still leading in number of sacks, a big part of that is due to the Martz offense and is not strictly the fault of the OL.

Another big area of improvement has been penalties. They are way down compared to previous years. I think Marinelli's mental discipline plays a large role in that. Now if he can just teach Roy Williams to get out of bounds in clock management situations instead of trying to get an extra yard or two.:lol:

[thousandcasts]

Backus was hurt against Washington and gave up several sacks.

Must be he's been playing hurt since the day he was drafted.

[William H Bonney]

Any given sunday,,, even the loins can win a game. The talent level is just not that of an NFL team. Sunday's game should be one that the loins "should" win,,,,,, Denver is that bad, and so is Cutler. Watch them struggle with Denver,, possibly even lose. Marinelli is not an NFL head coach,, in a year or so he'll be back on the sidelines in TB or Cincy with a clipboard and a defensive coord. hat on. The loins might win 8 or 9 games this year and all you suckers will buy into,,, just like the last 50 years. Then next year without a top 3 pick in the draft(like that matters anyway) they'll win 4 or 5 games and you guys will say,, "what happened,, I thought they were good". There's absolutely nothing different about this team than last years, with the exception of Johnson and he's not exactly lighting any thing on fire.

[waterfoul]

Must be he's been playing hurt since the day he was drafted.

Man are you a Backus hater!!

[ESOX]

It's going to be a tough game, but I have to HOPE the Lions prevail.
Same as I have been hoping all my life to little avail.

[thousandcasts]

Man are you a Backus hater!!

Yeah, I keep thinking how much better the Lions' offense would be if there was something better at LT. I'm thinking of a bean bag chair or something like that.

In Hutch's world, sportswise it's:

#1--Lions
#2--Wolverines

There is no # 3 or other sport I follow. So, if a player is good at U of M (#2) and they're a bumb in the NFL, specifically playing for the Lions (#1), then they're off the safe list as soon as they play their last game at U of M. :16suspect

[Salmonous Maximus]

The talent level is just not that of an NFL team.

In today's NFL, the Lions have a lot of talent compared to most teams.

Marinelli is not an NFL head coach,, in a year or so he'll be back on the sidelines in TB or Cincy with a clipboard and a defensive coord. hat on. The loins might win 8 or 9 games this year and all you suckers will buy into,,, just like the last 50 years. Then next year without a top 3 pick in the draft(like that matters anyway) they'll win 4 or 5 games and you guys will say,, "what happened,, I thought they were good". There's absolutely nothing different about this team than last years, with the exception of Johnson and he's not exactly lighting any thing on fire.

How the heck are the Lions going to have the #3 draft pick winning 8 or 9 games? Are you foreseeing a trade?

Look, I usually love to jump on the Lions for being well, the Lions, but they deserve a little more credit this time. And Matt Millen should still be fired, like 5 years ago!


And yes, I agree Backus is horrible.

[Westlakedrive]

I love this years version of the Lions.
I have never been off the band wagon.
I am just waiting for them to beat a good team. Vikings is about the best team they have beaten so far.

[William H Bonney]

In today's NFL, the Lions have a lot of talent compared to most teams.



How the heck are the Lions going to have the #3 draft pick winning 8 or 9 games? Are you foreseeing a trade?


.

They're not. Re-read that part,, I said "without a top 3 pick"

[Salmonous Maximus]

My Bad sorry WHB. They still have some decent talent though, and in today's watered-down NFL, especially the NFC, they just might win 10-11 games.

[Westlakedrive]

How about the Lions losing that ball on the fumble. :rant:

[smoke73]

How about the negative rushing yardage:lol:? What... did they forget to bring half of the playbook?:rolleyes: