I am now in the "process" of strangling myself...

OK, before I get into the absolute absurdity of "the process" of a catch, let me say a few things.

1. The offensive line played abysmally. The fact that Jahvid Best averaged a monumental 1.4 yards per carry on 14 carries has got to be a huge embarrassment to every member of the offensive line. I'm embarrassed to have watched it. If you take out his two touchdown runs, he was even worse. 12 attempts for 9 yards...a whopping 3/4 of a yard per run.

If the Lions can't run against a makeshift Chicago Defensive line who wasn't even putting eight guys in the box...it doesn't look good.

2. Jeff Backus should be going to jail for manslaughter. Yeah, maybe he played well against Peppers the rest of the day, but on the one single most important play of the day, he let the Franchize get creamed. I'm surprised they didn't have to clean Stafford up off the field with a mop.

3. Aaron Berry looked like he might actually be a decent corner...so after his interception...he got hurt. Who knows if we'll ever see him again.

4. Scott Linehan's offense made the wishbone look ultra-radical. Never once, even when Stafford was still standing, did the Lions test the Bears defense deep. I take that back...they did try once in the first half on a Megatron target that managed to come down six inches out of bounds...perhaps another foreboding moment in the game.

5. At approximately 2:18 PM EST the Detroit Lions hit what I believe to be the high point of this entire season. They were up 14-3 on the Bears with under two minutes left in the half. They were causing turnovers, applying pressure, covering up for a weak secondary and they had the Bears pinned deep in their own territory. Everything was looking up.

And then the Honolulu Blue Flash struck.

Matt Forte took a screen pass 89 yards for a touchdown. The Lions get the ball back and Stafford gets disemboweled, fumbling the ball...and so in the space of a minute, that 14-3 lead is a 14-13 lead and everyone who has ever seen a snap of Lions football over the last 50 years knows that the Lions are doomed.

6. As you watched the rest of the game, as the defense seemed to come up with play after play to keep the Lions in the game, if you didn't know with all your heart that it was just a matter of time before the Lions managed to gift the game back to the Bears, then you are a fool. "Hope" is outlawed in Lions-ville.

7. Put a fork in this season if Stafford misses much more than three games. In fact, one has to start wondering if this high priced Messiah isn't actually an injury prone pariah. He has managed to play in only eleven games in a season and one game and he's gotten three different major injuries -- not to mention hurting a shoulder he has already hurt once in college.

8. If Kevin Kolb can't play next week for Philadelphia against the Lions next week...the Lions are dead. Does anybody remember what Dennis Dixon did against the Leo's in the preseason? Mike Vick is 10 times what Dennis Dixon is.

9. The goal line stance in the fourth quarter against the Bears was very, very impressive. Impressive in that Lovie Smith had absolutely no respect for Lions defense.

10. It's gotten to the point where it doesn't matter what happens in the game, you just have to realize that the NFL, the officials and apparently God himself will not allow the Lions to win. Whenever there is a replay review, I am pleasantly shocked and awed if the ruling ever goes for the Lions. It doesn't matter what the replays show, facts have nothing to do with anything that has anything to do with the Lions.

If there is a flag on the field, in my mind, it is already against the Lions. It doesn't seem like penalties happen against the other team. If the Lions get a great play, I am now conditioned to look for the holding call. This is Lions football.

Megatron caught the ball, had both feet down, had his butt down and then turned to get up, putting the ball down -- and that's an incompletion? Apparently, he should still be sitting on his but with one hand on the ball, because as soon as he lets go of that ball --especially when it means a Lions win--it will be an incompletion.

Has anybody ever heard of "completing the process?" Pure insanity.

11. If the Lions really wanted to win, they wouldn't have missed so many damn tackles in the first drive, not allowed the screen pass, blocked...anybody, and not had so many stupid penalties. The game should have never gotten to this point. At one point they had a 4-1 turnover advantage! That shouldn't be a 14-3 lead, that should be 21 or 28 point lead.

3rd and 3 or less

The average run in the NFL goes for 4 yards. Why teams think it is "tricky" or "smart" to try and pass in this situation is actually crazy to me now. I've been banging this drum for a long time now. I will say this, because you can't do anything 100% of the time, all teams should run in this situation 80-90% of the time.

The Lions faced the critical 3rd and 3 or less only twice. Incredibly, the Leos ran twice, converting only once. This season, 1 of 2 rushing.

Wouldn't it be great if the Lions had Cheerleaders?

Just a little something to help my readers as we continue to suffer under the tyranny of the Ford's and their incomprehensible aversion to professional dance teams.

Currently only six of the NFL's 32 franchises have chosen to go without the all important cheer brigades--Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Green Bay, Detroit, Chicago, and the New York Giants.

Tales from the Inept is coming...

I will also be keeping track of the most important statistic of the season. Wins and Losses. But no, I'm not keeping track of who's winning, because as everybody knows wins aren't in the Lions future. No, I'll keep track of the race to #1, the #1 pick.