Don't expect me to get all excited...

"Wins and losses are all that matter. We know we have a good team, but if you're not winning, you really don't, I guess." -- Cliff Avril.

I can't agree with Mr. Avril more. And now, for the last few weeks anyway, the Lions have been winning. It feels really weird to write that.

I never root against the Lions, but I certainly never bet on them either.

Still, what good does this late season flourish really buy the Lions besides a much lower draft pick? If the season were to end today, they would pick 9th next April--far outside of the Patrick Petersen sweepstakes.

In 1989, Barry Sanders' rookie season, the Detroit Lions finished 7-9, but managed to win six of their final seven games showing the world that they were a dangerous team...

This led them to the glorious 1990 season...1990? Yeah, they went 6-10 that year. Momentum doesn't usually carry over to the next season. Of course, 1991 was the golden year in Lions football in my lifetime. Can we hope for a rebirth in 2012? I'm not holding my breath--not because I don't believe it, but because 2012 is a long way away and I can't hold my breath that long.

The Lions need to get rid of Dominic Raiola, not because he's good for at least one completely ignorant fan incident every year or two, but because he's too damn small to play the position and he gets pushed into the backfield way too often.

A month ago I was calling for a house cleaning at Ford Field...this winning streak hasn't exactly changed my mind yet. It's more of a stay of execution.

Meanwhile, the 49ers are going to call up Bill Parcells...

If the Lions can't get Patrick Peterson, Prince Nakamura is a pretty damn good corner too. Watch the Nebraska bowl game and check him out...but watch LSU too...just in case Peterson falls.

By the way, the Lions have won three in a row...Green Bay without Aaron Rodgers, Tampa Bay (legitimate win, I think) and Miami at home where they're 1-7 this season...It's not all that impressive when you break it down.

The Lions should throw six screens to Jahvid Best a game. Getting him in space is the only way to use him. He can't seem to break tackles. He needs the ball on swing passes and passing routes. He also needs to learn some skills from Maurice Morris and be a 100 times more decisive when running the ball. One cut and go...probably easier said than done, but true none the less.

Minnesota managed to beat the playoff bound Eagles last week...this week will not be a slam dunk like many people seem to think.

This article has taken me two weeks to plod through thanks to the holidays and...I don't really regret it at all. Hope everybody has had great holidays and have a happy new year! Hopefully we'll never see the Devil again and the Lions will get cheerleaders!

I think I hit my head, did you say the Lions won?

I don't want to be completely negative...but that was really, really ugly. Now granted, there are no "winning ugly asterisks" next to that notch the Leo's put in the "W" column last Sunday, but we have to call a spade a spade.

The Packers played most of the game without Aaron Rodgers, or as I call him Snidely Whiplash...and I think that he may have in point of fact gotten whiplash on that hit from Landon Johnson. Now, granted, the Lions didn't face the Snidely one because they themselves knocked him from the contest, which is a big plus.

The defensive front continues to be the only real strength of the Lions, not counting Calvin Johnson...although with the revolving door at quarterback and the sheer stupid reluctance to throwing the ball to him when he's quintuple covered, Johnson is not having nearly as good of a year as he could be. And he's still second in the NFL in touchdown receptions.

The other revelation that came out of the bloodbath that was the Lions first division win in almost three years was this facade of a running game. Sure the Lions rushed for 190 total yards...but how did they do it? They only got 30 yards from Jahvid Best--who for some damn reason is not getting any more screen passes called for him. They got 30 yards from a punt returner. They got 40 yards on QB scrambles...that's something you can really count on going forward. And when everything was on the line on third down...they couldn't get but an inch...unless all they needed was an inch, in that case they could get nothing.

I think the NFL is all about "can you get those three yards?" And I still don't think the Lions can.

Stephen Peterman got a big contract extention a year or two ago...why? This guy's name gets called almost as much as CJ or whoever is being beaten senseless playing quarterback. If you're hearing an offensive lineman's name during the course of a game...it's never good. He's got to go.

Much like the Lions had a single minded, tunnel vision focus on completely overhauling the defensive line last off season, they need to set that laser sight on the offensive line this offseason. Each player on the offensive line has had decent to even good games this season --except Peterson--but none are excellent, none are consistently consistent.

Perhaps Jeff Backus has had his best season of his career...but he still allowed both Stafford and Hill to be trampled and injured by his assigned defender. I still hold that Backus would make a grade A, perhaps even probowl caliber, right tackle.

Cherlilus has been maddeningly inconsistent.

Raiola doesn't make any sense--an undersized center on a line that cannot get two yards in short yardage situations. A center who doesn't understand what constitutes an "illegal snap". OK, I'll admit, I still don't understand that rule...but it's Raiola's job to understand it. He may be a great leader in the locker room, but he's the leader of a mediocre to downright awful offensive line...and who's the first to go when making changes of a "department"? Yep, the leader. He's got to go too.

I haven't heard Rob Sims name but once or twice all season. I think he's probably doing a bang up job.

In conclusion...keep Sims at LG, move Backus to RT and get a new C, RG, and LT.

Seems like a lot, I know. But last year, the Lions were saying that they needed two DT's and a DE....They pulled off those moves pretty well.

3rd and 3 or less

This was a really bad week for the the "3rd and 3 or less, run, run, run!" theory I promote. The Lions were 3 of 4 passing and 0 of 2 rushing on the down that offenses are designed to try and get to. But the overall year standings still bear out. On the season the Lions are 11 of 20 rushing (55%) and 18 of 35 passing (51.4%).

Blocked Punts?

Someday, I hope, I pray, I long to say that the Lions will at least try to block a punt by sending eight men full out upon the punter...but alas, once again, they didn't do it against the Packers.

Fade stop?

Again, the Lions have one of the greatest weapons in the game, an obscenely athletic 6'5 receiver who can run a 4.3. Do they throw the ball up in the endzone where he can out jump the cornerbacks who average a half foot shorter than Calvin? Nope, again, not this week.

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

The Lions managed to host a Vikings game this week in Ford Field, for the first time ever, a professional cheer squad roamed the sidelines of a NFL regular season game. I shed a tear that it had to be from a rival NFC central squad.

Come on Ford's! Get on the ball! There's a team ready and waiting, the Detroit Pride! Why don't you just let them go down on the sidelines?

Tales of the inept

The Carolina Panthers (1-12) lost again and continued on their crash course towards the number one pick in the NFL draft...the first draft in history that will include a rookie wage scale.

The Cincinnati Bengals (2-11) jumped up into the number two spot by getting steam rolled 23-7 by the Steelers.

The Buffalo Bills (3-10) beat the Cleveland Browns and continue to play very well. I suspect them to jump the Lions and perhaps get out of the tip five picks.

The Detroit Lions (3-10), now that they see who they might be able to draft at the top of the board this coming April (Patrick Peterson) have decided to start winning.

The Denver Broncos (3-10) fired their head coach before getting destroyed by a really bad Arizona team.

Bring on the Doom!

Somehow, unexplainably, the 2-10 Lions have managed to once again sell out in time to lift the local media blackout.

How this continues to happen is completely beyond my comprehension.

The Lions had to put starting corner back Alphonso Smith and starting defensive end Kyle VandenBosch on the injured reserved list this week...both are now gone for the year.

The defensive backfield will once again turn from almost passable to miserable. The defensive line will lose it's emotional leader.

And this week Green Bay and Snidely Whiplash himself come to town. The Lions cannot handle Aaron Rodgers. I fully expect another quarterback with a perfect QB rating against the Lions.

At least we'll be able to see it...

3rd and 3 or less

The Lions went 1 for 3 running and 3 of 4 passing, which blows up my theory, but put in the context of the entire season does little to change my mind. 3rd and 3 or less means run, run, run!

On the season the Lions are 11 of 18 rushing (61%) and 15 of 31 passing (48%).

Blocked punts?

Nope.

Fade stop?

Another week where the Lions refused to utilize Calvin Johnson in the unstoppable play.
So sad.

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

It's so sad that I have to keep writing that line. The Detroit Pride are offering to take the vital role in the Lions organization, but continue to be shunned by the ivory tower and the ancient Ford. So very sad.

Tales of the inept.

The Carolina Panthers (1-11) were blasted by a very mediocre Seattle SeaHawks team.

The Detroit Lions (2-10) are getting comfortable back in their old stomping grounds--second worst overall in the league.

The Buffalo Bills (2-10) gave up their habit of playing well and losing lately, instead they played lousy and were trounced by the Vikings.

The Cincinnati Bengals (2-10) lost a heart breaker to the Saints.

Lions lost to Bears long before losing the lead

The Lions still do not understand that an NFL game is scheduled to run at least 60 timed minutes. They didn't lose when the Bears scored on a first and seven after an egregiously lousy call against the Kong to take the lead. They lost long before that.

Most people would think that getting a turnover and scoring easy points would be something that goes in your team's favor.

But not with the Lions.

The Lions came out of the half with a 17-14 lead. Chicago received the kickoff. Jay Cutler was sacked and fumbled the ball. The Lions recovered the fumble at the Chicago 9 yard line.

1st and Goal at the 9! A chance to really stick it to the Bears and make it 24-14...let the blowout begin! What? That's not what happened?

Three plays later it was 4th and Goal at the 7...they managed only two yards and then punted...sorry, kicked the field goal. All the air had escaped the Lions balloon. The difference between 20-14 and and 24-14 to the Lions, in that situation, is measured by far more than just four points.

The Lions continue to be a team that is petrified of losing, but sees it as inevitable. This is not a team that plays to win. This is not a team with the mental toughness to step on the opponents throat and take victory.

No, this is a team that punts the ball away with five minutes left, losing by four points, in opposing territory. This is a 2-10 team playing not to lose by too big of a margin. This is bad coaching.

But I have a solution--and I know it sounds crazy...

Fire Nick Harris, the Lions punter.

I don't want to see the Lions ever punt again. Why have the crutch of having a punter to fall back on, if you're never going to punt again. And I mean NEVER. Go for it on fourth down--all the time.

Why do I suggest this crazy, ludicrous idea? Because somebody else is already doing it--and succeeding.

Kevin Kelley is the head football coach at Pulaski (Ark.) Academy and he stopped punting after the second week of the season in 2007. He punted twice that season and only once after that second game--and that second punt was an act of good sportsmanship.

Kelley won the state championship in 2007. He was interviewed by Gregg Williams, of TMQ fame.

“They give you four downs, not three,” Kelley told TMQ. “You should take advantage. Suppose we had punted from our own 5. The odds are the opposition will take over at about the 35, and from there the stats say they have an 80 percent chance of scoring. So even if you only have a 50 percent chance of converting the first down, isn’t that better than giving the other side an 80 percent chance of scoring? For fourth-and-short attempts, the odds of converting are a lot better than 50 percent.”

Why should the Lions continue to do what every other team in the league is good at? The Lions are obviously no good at it. The Lions need to go unconventional...

How did Wayne Fontes make the Lions relevant when he first got handed the gig? The run and shoot...oh, and a short little running back named Sanders...but remember The RUN and SHOOT!

Miami rebounded from a 1-15 season to a playoff year by introducing the wildcat. Do I think the Lions should do more wildcat? No, they need to do something really new. Forget the punt.

And I'd take it a step further...never kickoff deep. Always go for the onside. A successful onside kick is as good as a turnover.

Jason Hanson is 40+, his time is very short. The Lions need to find a kicker who specializes in the onside kick.

Page 2 Welcomes Detroit Pride with open arms

Go ahead, click on her...you know you want to.

A little catch up again...for the team that is dead inside...

Now that we have officially entered the heart of draft season in Michigan, my enthusiasm and my dedication to SSR has waned. The latest news that the Kansas Kid may be lost for the rest of the season, leaving the fate of the team for the rest of the season in the hands of one of the biggest Millen rejects...has been a bit of a crushing blow.

Of course, what I find most intriguing and perplexing is that the same day the organization announces this woebegone news, they sell out for the game. What? How does that make any sense at all, besides the fact that Lions fans are beyond insane?

3rd and 3 or less

The Lions only faced three 3rd and 3 or less situations on Thanksgiving--converting 1 of 2 passing and 1 of 1 rushing. Season totals are 10 of 15 rushing (66%) and 12 of 28 passing (43%). 3rd and 3 or less means run, run, run! When will they ever learn?

Blocked punts?

Yeah, right. This one will run forever.

Fade Stop?

I think the Lions tried to run it twice against the Pats...but both time to Derrick Williams, a receiver who was shorter than his defender--where the advantage was to the defense....weird. Typical Lions.

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

It's so sad that I have to keep writing that line. Someday it will change, before or after the Lions are good again, I'm not sure...ha, I said "Lions are good again." It's so absurd now, it's funny.

Tales of the Inept

The Carolina Panthers (1-10) are now the only team ahead of the Lions in the current draft order.

Detroit Lions (2-9) back in the all too familiar #2 spot.

The Buffalo Bills (2-9), who have been playing very well since beating the Lions, took the Steelers deep into overtime before losing on a field goal.

The Cincinnati Bengals (2-9) were schlacked by the New York Jets just a few hours after the Lions crapped the bed against the Pats.