Items of note for Sunday and beyond

For the first time this season the Detroit local market will be unable to see their Honolulu and Blue warriors due battle...who am I kidding? This might be a good thing. It's probably safer for our hearts and minds. Sure the Lions have spent all week ramping up hope for the rest of the season, but that doesn't mean anything unless it is all backed up with wins.

And if they are unable to do that, there could possibly be a huge backlash...if we could see it.

On the other hand, if it's all true. If all of the planets have aligned...we're going to miss it. And that's a real bummer. Just like last season, when the Lions ended the horrible record breaking losing streak against these same Redskins and the entire metro area had to hear about it second hand...

Bobby Carpenter

It appears, according to several reports, that Carpenter was brought in, not for depth, but more importantly to compete for a starting spot at linebacker. This is a desperate act by a team that is in desperate straights in the middle of their defense.

DeAndre Levy will come back this week, but has been out for pretty much the entire season with groin and ankle injuries. Who knows how long he'll last. Zach Follett was put on the injured reserve list and lost for the season after his near paralyzing neck injury against the Giants. And Julian Petersen has not exactly played up to expectations so far this season.

The Lions already know that linebacker would be one of the top priorities heading into the off season, but they are hoping that they may get lightning in a bottle with Carpenter, another former high round draft pick discarded by his original team. Much like the Lions hope with the acquisitions of Alphonso Smith and Chris Houston...who so far have been fairly impressive...the hope is that Carpenter can become part of the future in the Lions land of misfit toys.

The return of the bomb?

There is a going theory at the moment that with the return of a healthy Franchize and Megatron the Lions may go to a much simpler offensive plan. Instead of having Megatron constantly double and triple teamed on intermediate routes, the best option may be to have him use his 4.3 speed and blaze right past everybody on straight line deep routes which will take full advantage of Stafford's massive cannon of an arm. Here's hoping.

Why the Lions will trounce the Redskins...

Matthew Stafford is back. Jahvid Best doesn't have any issues with his toes. Nobody has said word one this week about Calvin Johnson's shoulder.

It looks like the Bone Mites and radioactive syphilis have cleared up in the Lions locker room. Everything is looking up--although the Lions did announce yesterday that the "Pain Train," Zach Follett, has been put on IR and lost for the season.

Follett will be replaced by any number of nobodies and rejects--Ashlee Palmer, Landon Johnson, or the newcomer dark horse, Bobby Carpenter.

In other words, the Lions are pretty healthy right now--this should last for approximately one quarter on Sunday. That's Lions' luck.

The Redskins themselves...

Reason #1 to be hopeful this Sunday is the Redskins. This is a team that got trounced by the same team the Lions beat by 38 a few weeks ago. This is a team that needed a miraculous four interceptions to beat the Bears by a mere touchdown.

And furthermore, this is a team that historically has rolled over and died against teams that it technically should be favored to beat. And the Lions certainly fall into that category.

The Franchize

It cannot be overstated how much the Lions really need Matthew Stafford to be good and, more importantly, to stay healthy for the rest of the season. The Lions need his cannon arm to be firing bombs all over Ford Field on Sunday and for the rest of the season. Progress must be made.

If Stafford can look as good as he did in training camp and the preseason, the Lions will be in good shape. If he cracks like a china dish under pressure, we're screwed...possibly for years to come.

Jahvid Best

With Stafford back and the real threat of a vertical passing game, the underneath and running lanes should open up quite a bit for the rookie running back. Best started the season with five touchdown in the first two games, but hasn't gotten into the end zone since.

Best missed Stafford as much as anyone and should hopefully return to his spectacular rookie season, which was on track for an offensive rookie of the year award.

Why the Redskins will scalp the Lions...

Now, if you put aside all of the loose talk in the media jinxing the crap out of the Detroit Lions, the Lions look like things are definitely swinging in the up direction.

I will not go out on the crazy limbs that some local writers and players are hinting at. There will be no use of the "P" word here.

I will say these few positives though...

1. The Lions are healthier now than most teams in the NFL. Currently it looks like the only starter who won't be able to suit up this Sunday is Zach Follet and, frankly, he wasn't playing all that well to begin with.

2. The schedule looks very favorable. The Lions play six of the final ten games this season at home--including every divisional game. Furthermore, aside from the Patriots on Thanksgiving and the New York Jets, there doesn't appear to be any games that should make the Lions nervous. The Packers are riddled with injuries. The Bears are a complete charade. The Vikings are dealing with an injury to the Devil. The Cowboys are without Tony Romo. The Bills are awful. The Redskins lost to the Rams...the same team the Lions just beat the holy crap out of.

But these are the Lions and they will most likely prove us all wrong. No matter how bright the fire of hope is, the Lions always have a bigger bucket of water to put it out.

DeAngelo Hall

Hall had four interceptions last week. He is a wily veteran who could pray on a young developing quarterback like the Franchize--remember this will still only be Stafford's twelfth start in his career.

In fact the entire Redskins secondary is fairly impressive. Safety Laron Landry is a punishing hitter who demands respect. But none of that will matter if the Redskins defensive line can't generate some push.

But wait...

Albert Haynesworth

There was an unusual sighting of a man mountain in the middle of the Redskins defensive line. The much maligned defensive tackle has been a huge enigma for Washington this season. As he has continually complained about his role in the new Skins defense and tried to cross new head coach Mike Shanahan at every possible turn.

If Haynesworth shows up, he will be a force and could easily dominate the much smaller Dominic Raiola.

Donavon McNabb

Now the Lions have a way of turning every quarterback they face into a future hall of famer, but McNabb is probably already on his way to Canton. McNabb is another savvy veteran who should be able to take advantage of the Lions young and still infantile secondary.

McNabb represents two qualities the Lions have never been good at dealing with...mobility and respectability.

Losing steam with NFL Picks...and I didn't have any to begin with

Last week was another sub-mediocre showing for the SSR picks department as I went 7-7 to bring my season totals up to 58-46--not good. But better than some local celebrities...

Jets over Packers
Jags over Cowboys
Rams over Panthers
Chiefs over Bills
Patriots over Vikings
Bucs over Cards
Colts over Texans
Broncos over 49'ers
Dolphins over Bengals
Redskins over Lions
Titans over Chargers
Raiders over Seahawks
Steelers over Saints

Items of note for Sunday and beyond

Sorry, the bye week has really got me swamped with other work...but let me leave you this weekend to think about two strange stories that surfaced this week.

Scott Mitchell is a high school football coach in Utah. This is probably a story in and of itself, but not what perplexes me though. It appears he's still just as gutless as ever.

And in other news...Mike Ditka and Joe Paterno think in light of all the stories about concussions this week...the NFL should just give up on helmets all together...Well, more to the point, facemasks. They'd be perfectly happy with leather helmets.

Why the Lions can win the BYE...

The most important thing to come out of the BYE will be the health of The Franchize. The fact that he'll be starting at home against Washington on Halloween day...will lead to a painful amount of Lions/Costumes stories...It will really be disgusting. "Were these the real Lions or were they in disguise?" That kind of crap, that is way too easy and frankly stomach turning.

A full Arsenal for Stafford

But that's a side note...what's important is that he'll be taking every practice snap for the next two weeks and will be throwing to a full complement of receivers. Burleson, Megatron, Scheffler, and Pettigrew--all healthy, all will be playing. Jahvid Best, Kevin Smith, and Jerome Felton--all completely healthy.

The offense that the Martin Mayhew and Jim Schwartz and Scott Linehan drew up in the off season will be on the field on Halloween...at least for the first snap. After that, who knows.

Will the machine click and pop like it is supposed to? We can only hope, but what will be certain, they won't have any excuses for the offense left.

DeAndre Levy will be back

Levy has been missing since the middle of training camp. The man written in as the starting middle linebacker since the end of last season has only played a handful of snaps all season. He has come out and said that he will be back after the bye against Washington. We can only hope...what's more we can only hope that he is what we hope...if that makes any sense.

Levy is currently nothing but aspirations. The Lions hope he can be what they think he is. We haven't seen anything to say if those hopes are based in any kind of foundation either way yet.

The Lions also signed former first round pick and star Ohio State linebacker Bobby Carpenter this week. Carpenter has been tossed in the garbage by three different NFL teams...we'll see if he has anything in the tank as Zach Follet will most likely still be sidelined from that nasty hit he took last Sunday, which left him in a New Jersey hospital after the game.

Special Teams!

Stefan Logan appears to be the second coming of the smurfs. He is a tiny man who is very good at getting lost on kickoff and punt returns. He is one of the big reasons the special teams are actually turning into a positive this season, where as in the past they were largely ignored.

If only we could block a punt one of these days.

The Pride

The Ford's could win the BYE if they came out positively in favor of the home town ladies who are trying to push the organization into getting a full time pep squad. Cheers to you, ladies!

Why the BYE will destroy the Lions...

In past years I have always written about how the Lions will probably lose every week, including the bye. Why is this? Because strange, strange things seem to happen when the Lions don't have a game.

Charles Rogers, in the midst of a rookie season that seemed like it would lead to a rookie of the year award, gets tangled up with a player during practice and falls down -- and breaks his collar bone. Rogers is never really ever heard from again....unless you count the police blogs.

So...

Injuries...

The Lions must carefully guard against injuries this week. Yes, the Franchize is supposed to start practicing again this week, taking all of the snaps after spraining his throwing shoulder in the second quarter of the first game of the season.

This would seem to be the perfect "Lions' time" time for something incredibly stupid to happen in order to set Stafford back again...probably for the rest of the season. The Kong may get to close to him and his awesome gravity may knock the quarterback down again on his shoulder...who knows? Dude may trip in the parking lot on the way into the training facility in Allen Park...Schwartz, put Matt in a bubble. That's all I'm saying.

Furthermore, put Ndamukong Suh in a bubble too. The man is a beast and in the tradition of outstanding Lions rookies...he may get hit my a falling piece of space debris or something. Hide him in your basement...

The Penalties will not be corrected...

If the coaching staff is unable to pound, perhaps physically with a rubber mallet, the stupid penalties out of this group of guys, the losing will continue. Offsides and illegal formation penalties are really unforgivable. Unnecessary roughness and personal foul penalties should result in player fines.

Some new and sadistic tactic needs to take hold of the coaching staff that will produce results in the minds of the players. Winning teams do not get penalized back into the stone age.

Some new blood?

Now the trading deadline has officially passed and the Lions sat with their hands in their back pockets and looked away when it did. The linebacker position for the Lions this season has been manned mostly by untrained chimps. Zack Follett has been learning on the job, but he has not shown much progress and now he's been injured in what was an ugly head to head collision. There is a strong possibility that the bye week will not be enough time off for the "pain train" to clear his head and play again.

DeAndre Levy is hopeful to return in two weeks, but the Lions have been saying that since training camp, so who knows?

Two of the three linebacker positions are major question marks. Martin Mayhew has to comb the waiver wire now and find somebody with a pulse who can fill the proper gaps and make a play every once in a while.

I'll be holding my breath for the next two weeks.

Another awful week for picks...

This is a lot harder than it looks, even when you aren't taking into account the spread. I went 8-6 last week, bringing my season total to 51-39...not even remotely respectable.

Titans over Eagles
Saints over Browns
Rams over Bucs
Bears over Redskins
Ravens over Bills
Broncos over Raiders
Vikings over Packers
Falcons over Bengals
Steelers over Dolphins
49'ers over Panthers
Chiefs over Jaguars
Cardinals over Seahawks
Patriots over Chargers
Giants over Dallas

Concussions, concussions, concussions!

First of all let me say this, football is a very violent game. Any game that has 200-300+ lb men running full steam into each other, a lot of time with a full head of steam, is going to have a lot of injuries. Head traumas, broken bones, multiple sprains, it's all going to be normal when you are doing an activity that the human body is simply not designed to do.

The NFL, NCAA, and High School athletics will never be able to legislate injuries out of the game unless they close up shop all together.

At this very moment, the NFL is in the process of building new rules, which will be instituted this Sunday, which will call for fines and suspensions for what will be determined "vicious" hits.

I have no problem with this. This is not the Roman Coliseum and we are not blood thirsty enough to be cheering for somebody to die or even be paralyzed for life.

I simply think that while this is probably a step in the right direction, I think the NFL is heading at this problem from the wrong starting point. What the NFL needs to do is start mandating safety and start fining for "safety violations" like they do for "uniform violations."

There is "optional" equipment which needs to become mandatory.

First and foremost, the league needs to institute a five yard penalty against any player that loses his helmet during the course of a play. Why? Because helmets are designed for that not to happen. This only happens when the helmet is not properly worn or fit to the player. You see this all the time, players not properly buckling their chin strap. This leads to a loose fitting jiggling helmet which is far less effective when the player is hit.

Furthermore, it has to become a necessity for all players to wear mouth guards, preferrably professionally fit by dentists mouth guards. Are you telling me these millionaires can't afford it or the billionaire owners can't pay a couple hundred extra bucks to get these players proper mouth guards?

The neck roll has been around forever. This should be a mandatory piece of equipment. Bryan Cox is the last player I can remember seeing the neck board, perhaps Urlacher wore won a few times, I can't remember, but this piece of equipment also helps prevent the nasty head jarring from hits.

Furthermore, NFL films has to start focusing a bit on players wearing proper safety equipment, so that kids watching see it.

By showing kids that their NFL idols are trying to play as safely as possible the habits will grow in little league and high school where the majority of football is played in the United States.

Lions Fans

By John Kerfoot

The Lions have no toes...Lose to Giants, 28-20

All Lions losses are frustrating. I don't think, in the end, that this one was any more frustrating that all the others -- except maybe Chicago, we won that one dammit!

The fact that the Lions had the ball, late in the fourth quarter, with a chance to tie means nothing to me. I'm tired of it. If I had a nickel for every time I've seen the Lions have a chance to score or tie in the fourth quarter...usually needing a touchdown, not a field goal...I'd have...a lot of money. Well, maybe not a lot, a nickel isn't worth what it used to be, but still, you get the point.

1. My biggest gripe about this game may be nothing anybody else saw. Why didn't Schwartz challenge the fourth quarter fumble by Nate Burelson? In my opinion, this is what happened. Burleson catches the ball and gets tackled. While he is going to the ground he fumbles the ball. It rolls down his legs and he tries to capture it...but doesn't. The ball then moves up his back as he continues to roll over. At that point he reaches back and grabs the ball with his hand. This is clearly visible. Then, the defender, who is already on top of Burleson snatches the ball away.

Once, Burelson had the ball in his hand, was on the ground, and touched by an opposing player. The play should have been whistled dead. This was not a case like when a ball is fumbled and goes into a pile and who knows what indecent things are going on in there...things that can never be reviewed and most of the time can't even be discussed in pleasant conversation...No, this was all in plain sight of the camera.

If nothing else, force the referees to have to look at it again.

2. From that point on, I was kicking and screaming mad. I could handle the penalties, because this is the Lions afterall and they really suck. They can't play on the same level as talented teams and they have to find ways to get an advantage. Hold the better player, try to time the snap because you need that extra second to beat the offensive line...etc., etc.

But penalties after the play, like Stephen Petersen running into a defender, after the play is completely dead, just to try and hit somebody...stupid. That's not forgivable.

3. I also know that there will be mysterious, "what the hell was that?" calls that will go against the Lions. Like the play that Burleson caught going over the middle and dashed inside the five yard line...only to have it all called back because of an "illegal formation."

According to the NFL, you have to have seven men on the line of scrimmage and both tackles have to be "covered" or in other words, there must be some offensive player outside of each tackle lined up on the line of scrimmage. Which is exactly what they had. But the Lions had a big play so...

4. Jeff Backus had an awful day. Osi Umenyiora had two strip sacks, blowing right by Backus. And I'm pretty sure the play that the Kansas Kid snapped his forearm like a dry twig, he was nailed by Osi again.

5. Jahvid Best managed a pitiful 16 yards on twelve carries. Either he is waiting too long for plays to develop, not waiting long enough, or the offensive line really, really sucks.

6. Drew Stanton is a nice guy from MSU...he was a great college quarterback...he is not an NFL quarterback, not a starter anyway and second string is iffy too.

7. Eli Manning had a 104 QB rating against the Lions yesterday. It's good to know the Lions are turning every quarterback they play into hall of famers again.

8. I covered this a little bit, but I just wanted the numbers to be out there. NY Giants 2 penalties for 15 yards, Lions 11 for 91. Four of those Lions penalties directly resulted in four Giant first downs.

9. One of my biggest pet peeves in football, especially the Lions, is "moral victories." Moral victories are for losers. I'm sick and tired of fans hanging their hats on the fact that the Lions are losing close--not being blown out--but the fact is the easiest thing to do in the NFL is to lose close. 80-90% of all games are decided by eight points or less. The Lions aren't good, they're just not as god-awful bad. I'm not sure how much progress that really is.

10. The Franchize will be back in two weeks to face the Washington Redskins at home on Halloween afternoon. Let's see if he can make a difference in helping this team "learn how to win."

3rd and 3 or less

Offenses are designed to get to "manageable" third downs. Ideally, your offense is working if you are routinely in 3rd and 3 or less. But how does the team do when they get to that point. I propose that 90% of the time every team should run in this situation as the average NFL run goes for 4 yards. The other 10% I'd do play action. The Lions on Sunday were 2 for 2 rushing and 1 for three passing. On the season, rushing 8 of 11 and passing 7 of 14.

Still haven't blocked a punt

I saw a stat somewhere that some NFL team blocked TWO punts last week. I didn't hear everything, but I'm pretty sure that team won. Yes, the Lions recovered a fumble because the Giants punter dropped a snap...but they didn't block a punt and actually, they didn't really even try.

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

The New York Giants are one of the six NFL franchises that do not employ a glorious cheer squad. They've won Super Bowls so I can't say that this has held them back...but how many more could they have won, if they'd just had a scantily clad pep squad on the sideline to rev up the crowd and the players?

Where's the fade stop?

The most potent play in the Lions arsenal from the Lions hey-day (the 90's) was the fade stop--usually to Herman Moore. The Lions now have a bigger, arguably more talented wide receiver in Megatron, yet the fade stop has not been used nearly enough. If a play is unstoppable, you run it until somebody figures out how to stop it.

Tales of the inept

1-5 Cleveland Browns. The Browns lost again in the debut game of Colt McCoy. He looked like a rookie and they lost as if they had a rookie playing quarterback.
1-5 San Francisco 49'ers. The Niners got their first win of the season yesterday against the Oakland Raiders.
1-5 Detroit Lions. Some day they'll "learn how to win."
0-5 Carolina Panthers. The Panthers were granted a bye for good behavior.
0-5 Buffalo Bills. The Bills had a bye and nobody even noticed they were gone.

Items of note for Sunday and beyond

The Devil's Wang is getting way too much play...that doesn't sound right...

There are a bunch of conspiracy theories running around about Brett Farve, the Devil who wears #4, breaking his millenia long streak of games played because of tendinitis in his throwing elbow...or allegations that he sent pictures of his wang to Jennifer Sterger, who was under the employ of the Jets the same time the Devil was running that team into the ground.

Some believe that he'll end the streak "because of injury" just so the history books won't say that the streak ended because the NFL suspended him due to improper conduct.

Personally, I don't care. I certainly don't care about the Devil's wang, that's for sure. Sterger on the other hand is worthy of at least a second look...not about her part in the whole fiasco, just because she's pretty nice to look at.

My issue is that this story broke months ago. Even me, the low and struggling one made a half-assed comment about it over a month ago. If I knew about it then, why is it only a story after the Vikings play the Jets? A month into the season. That's the conspiracy, this should have been taken care of a long time ago.

No Franchize, No Megatron

Stafford and CJ are very, very likely not to play this Sunday, which puts a big kink in the possibility of the Lions ending their 23 game road losing streak and also climbing out of the NFC North Cellar for the first time in almost three years.

I don't care if they did run up the score...

I pretty much have auto-texted the phrase "the Lions have keep the pedal to the floor until at least 25 minutes after the game ends." The fact that the Lions were still trying to score late in the fourth quarter of a blowout victory does not bug me. Why? Because if there were a way to lose a 44-6 lead with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Lions would do it.

Karma says that it all will come back around on them, and it may have, as Megatron hurt his shoulder late in the game...at a time most say he probably should have been pulled. The Lions need wins and they need successes and they need to build every confidence they can.

Keep playing until the game is over. 'Nuff said.

The Lions adapting pretty well...need to adapt some more...

The Lions have dealt with injuries this entire season, from DeAndre Levy to Matt Stafford to Nate Burelson to Louis Delmas....and they have stayed in every game and played admirably. Now without Megatron they'll have to take it to another level.

I hope the Kansas Kid is up to this one too.

Why the Lions will take down the Giants...

There are many rays of hope that will lead us down the ever dangerous and chilling doom of Lion optimism. Dash those hopes now or else you will wind up once again muttering incoherently in the dark to whatever you believe in...pleading for some semblance of justice...and the darkness does not answer.

Of course they aren't saying that Matt Stafford, The Franchize, isn't going to play...but in all likelihood, he won't. The word on Calvin Johnson's shoulder injury is...um, maybe?

This is scary...

The Detroit Offensive Line?

Technically, they've been playing fairly well, which is a very twilight zone'esque change from the regular Lions norm. Oh sure the Lions still don't have a 100 yard rusher yet and the idea of picking up a 3rd and one off tackle is as logical paying space aliens to repave my driveway.

But still...they haven't given up an obscene amount of sacks and they have given the Kansas Kid ample time to get rid of the ball. Did you see how much time Hill had on his touchdown pass to Pettigrew, going back and looking at it again, you'd think he was playing against the Lions instead of for them.

Can they hold up against the vaunted Giants front? We'll see...

Jahvid Best, Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler

The biggest strength of the NY Giants is a ravenous collection of beasts they use for defensive lineman. When this group is not chewing on puppies and knocking down buildings, they are concentrating on tearing every quarterback in their path limb from limb.

But what is one of the best ways to neutralize such an aggressive defensive line? The screen pass. And the Lions are running the screen better than any other time I can recall. Both the tight end screen and the half back screen have worked almost to perfection so far this season and it will need to work overtime against the Giants.

The Lions secondary?

Alphonso Smith and Chris Houston have really answered the call in the last two weeks. Smith has picked off three passes in the last three games and Houston is getting into the action too. How will they do against Peyton's little brother, Eli?

Well, I've never really been all that impressed with Eli. In fact, I'm pretty sure he must be adopted. Compared to the way Peyton plays, Eli may in fact be the illegitimate love child of Archie Manning and a syphilitic chimp. He is nothing compared to how his brother plays and I'm pretty sure that the Giants Super Bowl win a few years ago was a strange dream...it couldn't have really happened.

Not to mention the Giants offensive line hasn't exactly been stellar so far this year. The Kong, KVB, Corey Williams and Cliff Avril might be able to get some pressure of their own too.

Hope is evil, isn't it?

Why the Giants will stomp the Lions...

Let me come out right off the bat and give the number one reason why there is no chance whatsoever that the Lions can win this Sunday at the New Meadowlands....if the Lions manage a win and the Vikings lose against the Cowboys (a real possibility) the Lions will exit the NFC North cellar for the first time in over two years.

Think about that, the Lions not in last place. What are the chances? Not good in my opinion.

At the beginning of the season, I thought this would be the year the Lions finally escape last place, but I never dreamed they could possibly be climbing up over the Devil and the Vikings.

The Giants are killing quarterbacks at an alarming rate

The Giants are second in the NFC with 19 sacks over the first five games of the season. They sacked Jay Cutler 9 times IN THE FIRST HALF two weeks ago. Can the Lions offensive line hold up? Fat chance.

Not coincidentally, the Giants are #1 in defending the pass in the NFC and 4th against the run. That does not bode well for the Kansas Kid and Jahvid Best.

Eli Manning and Hakeem Nicks

I don't know who this Nicks dude is, but he apparently jumped out of a Jersey swamp with the single objective of catching touchdown passes. The guy is on fire. He leads the NFC with 6 TD receptions so far and is averaging a little over 80 yards a game. Not bad for a swamp thing.

Eli Manning might be a middle of the road quaterback, currently ranked ninth in the NFC, but that's better than the Kansas Kid (11th). And Manning gets to throw against the Lions secondary whereas Hill has to fire passes into the brick wall of the #1 passing defense.

The Giants are 3-2 in the thick of things already

The Leos are 1-4 and just trying to break into the realms of respectability. The Giants are a closet Super Bowl pick by meth heads and Manhattan crack whores...(Hey, they might not be all there in the head, but they watch, dammit. It's a real demographic the NFL shoots for.)

Nobody thinks the Lions are worthy of anything.

The NFL is killing me!

To say that the NFL is upside down, topsy turvy and backwards is an understatement this season. I went a horrific 4-10 last week, bringing me to a season record of 43-33. Ugly.

Steelers over Browns

Dolphins over Packers

Ravens over Patriots

Lions over Giants

Bears over Seahawks

Jets over Broncos

Colts over Redskins

Saints over Bucs

Chargers over Rams

Texans over Chiefs

Falcons over Eagles

Raiders over Niners

Vikings over Cowboys

Titans over Jaguars

A smoking ember of optimism

Everyone is very excited about the massive beat down the Lions put on the Rams this past Sunday, but lets try and put this game in perspective.

First of all, the Rams made a lot of mistakes. A lot of BAD mistakes. I'm not even counting going for the onside kick to open the game, which is a choice I liked...and not because I'm a Lions fan. What a great way for a visiting team to immediately seize all momentum and neutralize the crowd than to demoralize the home team by stealing the ball right off the bat? It's surely not an aggressive play you'd see the Lions ever try. It hearkens back to the Saints onside kick in the last Super Bowl. Catch the other team off guard and then go to work while they're still in shock.

And lets not even speak of the dropped gift interception the Rams refused from the Kansas Kid early in the first quarter. You don't think there was a pretty good chance the Lions would go into their usual shell-shocked mode if that were to have happened and the Lions?

And penalties! The Rams gave a lot away too.

So the monster win over the Rams doesn't give me hope. It does make me very happy and it really makes me believe that the Lions can win against the teams they are supposed to beat, but it doesn't exactly give me hope for the rest of the year.

But something else does...the NFL as a whole. It's crazy this year. It's the wild, wild west and everybody's going into shootouts with cooked spaghetti. In other words, it makes no sense at all.

Who has the best scoring offense in the NFC? The Detroit Lions. Who is winning the NFC West? The Arizona Cardinals--and they've been outscored by 50 points this year. The Packers just got beat by the Redskins who were beaten a week ago by...you guessed it, the Rams, who the Lions just destroyed.

The Bears are leading the NFC North with a 4-1 record, but do you really trust them? Nope. Aaron Rodgers went down with a concussion last week and probably won't play this week, not to mention the injury bug is all over the Packers locker room in spades.

The Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys, early Super Bowl favorites, are both 1-3.

The Lions play the 3-2 NY Giants this weekend. This is a team that laid down and died against the Colts and the Titans. The Titans looked horrible a few weeks ago.

My point is that you just don't know who is going to show up every week at any game.

On the Fox pregame show on Sunday, Micheal Strahan said, "the word around the league on the Lions is that they are a 'caged' animal, once they get that first win and get loose, watch out."

Here's hoping he's right.

Deja Vu has got me petrified. Lions win!

1. The similarities between this win and the last big blowout victory for the Lions are too many to let me sleep easy on this one.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm happy as a clam that the Lions won...but people eat clams, so I'm still pretty damn nervous. It's been three wins and forty one losses since the last Lions' blow out victory.

From the Shaun Rogers/Kong interceptions to the number and yardage of carries by the leading running back and the quarterback numbers...too much of this game echoed that last victory.

2. The Lions still give up way too many stupid penalties. They will never be a respectable team until they can control themselves from jumping offsides all the time.

3. Jahvid Best almost broke a half a dozen runs to the house. I can't wait til he starts racking up Chris Johnson-type numbers.

4. Nate Burleson makes all the difference in the world. The more times he can catch the ball and then split the seam all the way to the house, the more times Megatron is going to see single coverage.

5. Brandon Pettigrew is turning into a stud. He currently leads the league in receptions for a tight end.

6. Unless the Kong falls off the face of the planet, he should be going to the pro bowl this year.

7. The Kansas Kid has really redeemed himself these last couple of weeks.

8. Alphonso Smith keep picking them off and taking them to the house and we'll start forgiving the stupid penalties. Smith has picked off three passes in the last three games. Smith and Houston might actually turn into an NFL caliber corner back tandem.

9. Stafford should not come back this week. The Giants defensive line sacked Jay Cutler nine times last week...in the first half alone. No reason to bring back the Franchize just to see him pounded to goo on his first possession.

10. The Lions should be in every game from here on out. And I'm not high when I say that. This is not cornbread speaking as much as it is total confusion about the league as a whole. The Rams were 2-3 and just beat Washington. Washington just beat Green Bay...who can understand any of it?

3rd and 3 or less

In the NFL, teams work to get respectable gains on first and second down with the obvious intent of being able to get the most manageable third down possible. Working this way allows a team to control the tempo of the game and bleed the clock. So an offense works to get to the situation of 3rd and 3 or less. But what does a team do when they are successful in getting into this enviable position is huge in the success of a football team. I maintain that since the average NFL rush goes for approximately 4 yards, it is in the best interest of teams to run 85-100% of the time in this situation.

Against the Rams, the Lions were good enough to force seven different 3rd and 3's or less. They passed six times, converting three and ran once successfully. So far this season, the Lions are 6 of 9 rushing and 6 of 11 passing.

Still haven't blocked a punt?

As well as the team played yesterday--and they played well, in all phases of the game--they still haven't blocked a punt in years. Rushing eight men to block a punt successfully is a sure fire way of turning any momentum in your direction. It almost always leads to a touchdown and it shows that a team going to be coming at all times. Playing it safe on punts is a gambit for the meek.

By the way, Stefan Logan and his 105 yard kick off return for a touchdown was awesome, but is it just me, but I don't think that guy is tall enough to ride roller coasters at Cedar Point.

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

I know it seems weird, but the Lions were on TV and there were no cheerleaders in the background. It WAS actually a home game and it was televised and they won. Surely the sun will turn black at any moment and the seas will open...

The Fox crew did however pan across the stadium, showing the Pride in their self paid for seats...thank you Mr. Ford.

Next week, the Lions will play the mighty Giants at their new bajillion dollar stadium...to bad they didn't have enough cash to get themselves some cheerleaders. They leave that classy move to the Jets.

Where's the fade stop?

Calvin Johnson's touchdown reception was very close to a fade stop, but it was more of a plain old fade, which works just fine...if you follow it up later with a fade stop. I still maintain that this is the hardest play to stop when the wide receiver has a half a foot size advantage on pretty much every DB in the league.

Weird item of note...

Every team in the AFC south is 3-2.

Tales of the Inept

1-2 Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings play tonight against the Jets. I don't see the Vikings staying on this list very long, especially since they just got back the guy the Lions thought they'd be better off not drafting...after all Terry Fair was going to be a stud...

1-3 Dallas Cowboys. Who can understand the Dallas Cowboys. The only thing I can think of is that they have Roy Williams...and Roy is playing really well. He can only do that on lousy football teams. Dallas lost 34-27 to Tennesseee.

1-4 Detroit Lions. The Detroit Lions pretended to be a real football team yesterday and shellacked the St. Louis Rams. 44-6.

1-4 Cleveland Browns. The Browns and the remarkable Peyton Hillis hung around for most of the game before losing late to the Atlanta Falcons, 20-10. Some might remember that Hillis was the third back in the Arkansas unstoppable running attack which featured Darren McFadden and Felix Jones.

0-5 San Francisco Forty-Niners. The Niners played well and were in the game until the end against the Philadelphia Eagles. They lost 27-24 on a field goal in the closing minutes. Mike Singletary is on his way out the door.

0-5 Carolina Panthers. The Carolina Panthers continue to display how vital it is for the team to keep John Fox as coach...losing again. This time they lost to Chicago, 23-6, who were playing a 39 year old career back up as quarterback. That's ugly.

0-5 Buffalo Bills. I will be surprised if Chan Gailey gets a second season in Bills' Town. This team looks so bad...I'm thinking there's a real chance a second team can go 0-16.

Items of note for Sunday and beyond

In the past, Steven Jackson has run over the Lions like a train runs over the tracks. If Jackson gets 120+ and more than one TD, the Lions are doomed.

Matthew Stafford started throwing this week, which is a good sign, but in Lionsland you can't believe everything you see. I still am thoroughly convinced he will not take another snap this year. If he does it's a bonus, if he doesn't...that's the Lions luck.

Jahvid Best is back, pretty much to full strength. So look for a pretty good running day. Former Lion James Hall is no Clay Matthews or Julius Peppers and Chris Long may never live up to his #1 overall draft pick status.

The Kansas Kid needs to have a big day and take full advantage of Megatron against (we say this every week!) those smaller cornerbacks.

The Rams have built their team in pretty much completely the opposite way the Lions did. They built a defensive line (although it can be debated how well they've built that D-Line) and an offensive line and then went and got their QB. They're 2-2...Lions are 0-4 and have been much worse much longer.

If it turns out that Chris Houston and Alphonso Smith are pretty good DB's and Delmas lives up to the hype...and Amari Spievey takes over for C.C. Brown and looks as good as a third round safety should look...I still think the Lions need to draft a corner with their first pick next year.

But there are a lot of "if"'s in that last paragraph. We'll see.

I remember the year Stevin Jackson came out, it was the year the Lions took Roy Williams and Kevin Jones. I remember watching him the fall before at Oregon State, where he looked like a man among boys. The guy is still a stud and well, you know where Roy and Kevin ended up...

Why the Lions will devour the Rams...

I got sucked into the hype last year about how the Lions were supposed to be able to beat the Rams...and the Lions screwed me. It won't happen again this year.

Although there are reasons for hope and I do want them to win, of course, I'm certainly no where near convinced it's going to happen.

The Kong!

Sam Bradford, in the first four weeks of the season, has been sacked 10 times already and thrown six picks. The Lions front four should be able to apply ample pressure to the rookie signal caller.

Add in the fact that Bradford's collection of targets is far from sparkling and a formula becomes clear to beat the overachieving Rams. No quarterback does well with pressure in his face, especially rookie quarterbacks. If the Lions can press the mediocre wide receivers and tight ends, make Bradford hold on to the ball for an extra second or two, then the Kong, KVB, Avril, and Corey Williams should be able to bury him in the field turf.

Of course that should be the recipe for defeating every quarterback, but in this case the Lions probably have a better chance of making it work this weekend.

The Rams' Schedule

OK, so the Rams are 2-2. So what! Look at who they've played.

They lost to the Arizona Cardinals, a team that has already fired two quarterbacks this season.

They lost to the Raiders who has already fired one quarterback and frankly...we all know how the Raiders have been so jealous of the Lions ineptness the last ten years that they've tried as hard as they can to be just like the Lions...

They managed to beat the Washington Redskins...um, guys, the Lions beat the Redskins last year....the Redskins do not appear to know how to beat the teams they are supposed to beat.

And lastly, they beat the Seattle Seahawks, a team from the NFC West, need I say more...let me go this far, if the Lions could somehow trade places with any team in the NFC West, they'd most likely be talking playoffs.

That's how bad the NFC West is as a whole.

The Cavalry is starting to come back

Nate Burleson is supposed to return this week to take some more pressure off of Megatron. Best is now two weeks away from his turf toe injury and should be that much more healthy.

The Kansas Kid has started to really rely on one of the Lions offensive strengths, the tight end. Brandon Pettigrew, a few drops aside, has turned into a formidable receiving threat.

Alphonso Smith is most likely taking over the corner back position formerly held by the pylon wearing the "Wade" jersey and C.C. Brown is looking like he's on his last legs.

In other words, the Lions are getting healthier and better by the sheer fact they're starting to bench the guys that have played pitifully. If the Lions can just get the Franchize back and DeAndre Levy, good things could start happening all over the place.

Well, I can hope anyways...

Bad, but not the worst picks....

Last week I did pretty awful, but not as bad as two weeks ago...of course that's probably because there were two less games--9-5 last week....looking for another big rebound this weekend. So far this season I'm 39-23.

Bengals over Bucs
Texans over Giants
Packers over Skins
Ravens over Broncos
Rams over Lions
Chargers over Raiders
Eagles over Niners
Falcons over Browns
Colts over Chiefs
Jags over Bills
Panthers over Bears
Saints over Cards
Cowboys over Titans
Vikings (and the Devil) over Jets

The Lions have major "hump"ing issues...

If I hear one more time about how the Lions "just can't get over the hump" I'm going to punch somebody. Not only is it a tired cliche, I think it starts from a clearly deluded belief that the Lions should really be 3-1 or 2-2 instead of the 0-4 they really are.

Almost every game in the NFL is won by eight points or less. This is a league of parity, it is designed to keep games close and teams (and more importantly paying fans) hopeful.

When the game is on the line, good teams step up and make the plays that ensure victory. The Lions do not do that, instead they watch the opposing teams do that.

After recovering the onside kick against Philadelphia, did the Lions then stick the ball down the Eagles throat and grab victory by the balls? Nope, they ran four poorly designed plays poorly and gave the ball back, then crawled back to their slimey holes in defeat--as usual.

Against the Packers, with the defense actually playing remotely well, or the Packers offense just biding their time, the Lions had opportunity after opportunity to smack the almighty Packers down--in their own house--but instead they settled for field goal after field goal. When the game was on the line, after pinning the Packers deep in their end and needing a stop to get one last chance to take the lead...the Packers run out the last 6 and a half minutes...game...Lions crawl back into their slimey holes in defeat--as usual.

Against the Bears...ok, the Lions won that game, dammit! But still you have to wonder what kind of a psychological impact that having that game stolen from them by a poor call has had. Do the Lions have a new invigorating look if they start off the season 1-0 with a brilliant come from behind victory? Do they have the confidence to beat Philly? To down the Devil? To end the Lambeau curse? Who knows?

The point is that in each of those games if the Lions really were a different team, they'd have seized those moments instead of having the most important points in the game dictated to them by the opposition. That's the same old Lions.

How will the Rams batter the Lions into submission?

Just like last season, everyone has pointed to this game as a great chance to mark up a victory for the Lions. Last year, the Rams won...their only victory of the season. Why should this game be any different? Hell, the Rams are 2-2 and the Lions are the all too familiar 0-4.

Sam Bradford

Hey, the kid looks pretty damn good. And he's doing it without any real wide receivers. There was a lot of talk about whether or not the Lions should have waited on drafting the Franchize so that they could get Bradford. I don't know if that would have really worked out. I think Stafford has the much bigger arm and appears to be a much more outspoken leader than Bradford--but it's hard to argue with the results that St. Louis has seen so far. Bradford has been in four games and is 2-2. Stafford has been in 12 games over a year and a quarter and is 2-10...

Of course, St. Louis is playing in the NFC West which looks like it's teams might have a hard time in the WAC.

Stephen Jackson

Let me put this as simply as I can, when the game was on the line last Sunday at Lambeau, a nobody named John Kuhn carved up the Lions front and ran off the final six and a half minutes...JOHN "F'&^%&" KUHN!?!?

Who the hell was this guy? Well, I can safely say this, Kuhn is no Stephen Jackson. Jackson ran for something like a 150 yards last year in the Rams victory over the Lions. He's still there and he can still run.

Steve Spagnuolo and the Rams Defense

The former NY Giants defensive coordinator, the one who actually had a good Giants defense that caused havoc and racked up tons of sacks, is building a pretty formidable defense in St. Louis.

The Rams defense is giving up a meager 19 points a game and just held the Seattle Seahawks to a paltry 3 points...

This game is in no way a gimme. I always truly fear the games the Lions are "supposed" to win. Those are the ones that hurt the most to see them lose.

One more thing before St. Louis...

Penalties, penalties, and more penalties... and dropped passes...

Not to sound too much like prior Lions coaches, but there are simple, simple things that good teams do to be competitive. Things that are not supposed to be talent based. They are instead pure common sense.

These are things that are no longer supposed to have to be coached at the professional level. These are things that Lions players apparently have electroshock therapy to remove before arriving in Allen Park.

There are five core things that any NFL team can do and if they do them successfully can at the very least hang around the .500 mark.

1. Penalties.

As the great Bobby Ross once said, "We don't coach that stuff!" Now there are all sorts of penalties and all sorts of reasons why penalties do and don't get called. A lot of times I think the color of the uniform has a major influence on the refs, but still...

Off sides penalties are completely ludicrous and should never happen no matter what Jim Schwartz says. I don't care if the D-line is trying to get a jump on the snap...it's stupid and shouldn't happen. They line up directly over the ball for Christ's sake...

I can understand holding penalties, maybe I'm a little more perplexed at how randomly they're called or how they are called with such exacting precision against the Lions in crucial parts of the game. I think the mostly ignored issue with holding penalties is way beyond coaching...it's a talent issue. Or more correctly a lack of talent issue. Jeff Backus is not good enough to dominate a Julius Peppers the entire game without bending the rules a bit. The Lions simply do not have talented enough players on their offensive line.

On a side note, if the NFL really wants to protect their prized franchise quarterbacks (for the good of the game, we're told) then they should quit putting dresses on the quarterbacks and allow them to be hit, but loosen the rules for holding calls. That is in the spirit of the game, calling every defensive player swiping at the ball as they pass by the QB for unnecessary roughness is not.

Pass interference penalties are another issue of pure lack of talent. The Lions corners and safeties are pretty much sub par. They are not fast enough to keep up with opposing receivers, nor are they sound enough in technique to redirect opposing receivers where the defense needs them to go. The Leos will be called all season long for these.

A team that doesn't commit stupid penalties and can avoid the "talent deficiency" penalties is miles ahead of the game.

2. Turnovers.

Some turnovers are probably unavoidable. There are times when a defensive player just gets lucky and puts his helmet on the sweet spot of the ball during a tackle and it is out there. But most of the time, that is not the case.

Properly securing the ball during a run is a coaching issue. Catching the ball instead of letting it bounce off your hands where it can be easily intercepted...

If you look at the turnover differential in the NFL you will see that most of the teams that having winning records have a "+" in that category.

3. Dropped passes.

Why does Peyton Manning have so many passing yards and touchdown passes? Because his guys don't drop the ball. Even after Marvin Harrison retired and Reggie Wayne was hurt, the Colts managed to draft and bring in nobodies and you know what they routinely did...that's right, they caught the damn ball. Manning doesn't put up with dropped passes. If his receivers show a propensity let the ball hit the ground or, even worse, pop up into the air for easy interceptions...guess who's not getting the ball thrown their way? More likely, guess who doesn't get on to the field.

Now dropped passes is a talent issue...which the Lions do not have much of, but it is the mark of a good team. Brandon Pettigrew has looked really good for the most part of the season, but he drops too many passes, especially at crucial times in the game. If I hear one more announcer say after a supposedly elite receiver drops a pass, "You don't see that too many times..." I'm going to stick my head in an oven. You hear it all the time about Calvin Johnson. Why? Because he drops too many damned balls.

And that goes for the defense too. Why is CC Brown playing? I'm not even talking about his total ineptness, the dude has a big cast on his hand...how can you expect him to catch anything?


4. Tackling.

Again, supposedly another talent issue. When one guy misses a tackle, typically the play goes for at least three to four more yards, in the Lions case that is routinely 15-20 yards, and sometimes eighty.

Why is the Baltimore Ravens defense always high in every statistical category? Because they do not miss tackles. Not in the open field, not in the backfield, not at the line of scrimmage.

5. Time Management.

This is pure coaching. Knowing when it is prudent to run the ball, ie to run clock and keep the other teams offense from torching your abysmal secondary, perhaps, and to pass the ball. When to run the two minute offense. When to use timeouts to properly save time at the end of the half or the game. This is not rocket science.

Personally, my firm belief for the Lions, is they should be pulling every gimmick they can out, ie go no huddle the whole game or throw in a few trick plays. Try to block a punt!

But most importantly call give your team time to make plays at the end of each half to score more points, to take extra shots into the endzone...

In conclusion...

Teams that do these things are at least .500 by default. Most are considered Super Bowl contenders and these are not foreign concepts pulled from the hut of an evil witch doctor...they are sound football practices that seem to disappear for every coach and player that goes through the gates of the compound in Allen Park.

The most frustrating thing about being a Lions fan is that there really are never any "Bus tickets out of town." There are no consequences for pathetic play. If teams like Indianapolis and New England and New Orleans can pick up waiver wire scrubs and turn them into viable players, how come the Lions can never do it?

Damn Lions sucked me in again....

1. Tom Kowalski brought up a really good point on the Monday morning radio broadcast on WDFN. On Charles Woodson's interception returned for a touchdown, which looked like he trapped the ball, the referees didn't have more than two angles to judge the replay from. In other words, they couldn't get a definitive angle to overturn the call.

Why?

Because nobody wants to see the Lions on television. The NFL had a minimal TV crew on site, not like premiere games like Pittsburgh/Baltimore or Philadelphia/Washington where they could probably build 3D holograms of the whole damn stadium...This is just another product of a bad team getting zero respect from the league. This game, it probably cost them seven points.

2. The Kansas Kid almost pulled off a miracle. He threw for 337 yards and two touchdowns and also had a great 40 yard ramble up the middle of the field. But the most important six yards of the game, with open field in front of him, he declined to take and instead threw incomplete to Bryant Johnson.

3. For several years now, I have made the statement that "the Lions cannot afford to take their foot off the petal until at least 25 minutes after the game is done." In other words, when you are as bad as the Lions, you can never relax. You must be aggressive at all points in the game.

Which brings me to the Lions not trying a long field goal to take the lead with 6:50 left. It would have been a 54 yard attempt by Jason Hanson, who had previously missed from 55 yards, but hit from 52 and 49...When you're the Lions you have to take every chance at points you can. And you can NEVER trust your defense.

4. The Kong registered his third sack in four games against the Packers. I just wish he'd start hurting the opposing quarterback...

5. The Leos sucked me into believing they were actually going to end the streak on Sunday. Not because I believed in the defense, but because it felt like they had built up so much momentum in the fourth quarter. Of course, as usual, they proved me an imbecile again.

6. The Kansas Kid was smart enough to throw the ball to Megatron in the endzone at the end of the first half even though he was double covered. Result, TD. Let's keep up that kind of thinking. The reason the play worked despite double coverage was because Hill threw a jump ball to the 6'5 CJ when the two corners are barely 6 foot. Major advantage Megatron.

7. I am really tired of hearing about how Kevin Smith is a "bigger, bruising back" than Jahvid Best. Smith has maybe ten pounds on the smaller Best, he can't break tackles and he is most effective as an outlet receiver...just like Best, but without the speed.

8. I really like Brian Billick. I love that he won a Super Bowl with the Ravens. Billick, a career offensive coach, won the big one with the best defense of all time. Billick is a good coach who was able to recognize the strength of his team and capitalize on it.

But, as he announced the game on Sunday, he repeatedly talked about the strength of the Lions front "7." No, the front four is a strength, the linebackers are less than mediocre.

9. Thom Brenneman, Billick's broadcast partner for the game, stated during the game that "Jason Hanson was one of the best draft picks for the Lions in the last 20 years."

Billick's status in my mind jumped quite a bit when he retorted to Brennaman, "Yeah, that's one of the problems." Zing!

10. If Alphonso Smith, who had a spectacular interception against the Packers, isn't starting for Jonathon Wade next week, then the Schwartz should be institutionalized.

3rd and 3 or less.

In the NFL the average run goes for 4 yards, why teams think that it is imperative that they pass in this situation is a huge mystery to me. The Lions faced 3rd and 3 or less four times in Green Bay, running twice, converting both and passing twice, converting once. For the season the Lions are 5 of 8 running and 3 of 5 passing.

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

The Packers don't officially have a team funded cheer squad, but I was surprised to see that they did actually have cheerleaders at the game. This came up last year too. Apparently, the Packers use a nearby college's pep squad to amp up their crowd. Yes, this is a cheap alternative, but at least they're doing something for their crowd.

The Lions used to have local high school teams perform, but I think they abandoned that when they moved to Ford Field.

Still no blocked punts...

The Lions haven't officially blocked a punt in over three years. Which is not surprising because I can't remember them ever actively actually going after a punt.

When you're offense is suspect and your defense is downright abysmal. You have to find ways to get positive plays for your team. Maybe the Lions don't have that great of a return game, but they can do their best to make some hay with a blocked punt or kick. Again, the Lions have to be more aggressive in every phase of the game.

Where's the fade stop?

The Lions did utilize Megatron's size for a touchdown at the end of the first half, but when they were desperate for points at the end of the game they rolled the Kansas Kid out and had them throw a lame pass to a bad receiver in Bryant Johnson instead of going to the unstoppable play.

Tales of the inept...

Sadly, the Lions are continuing to lead the inept in the race to the Lions Super Bowl...the draft. Whereas the number of undefeated teams has dwindled to a single franchize (the Kansas City Chiefs), the ranks of the utterly defeated lost only a single member.

1-3 Cleveland Browns. The Browns escaped the realms of the uttlerly hopeless with a 23-20 victory over the struggling Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Even though they tried their hardest to lose it late, the Browns were able to ride an underrated former fullback, Peyton Hillis, to a 100+ yards rushing and the victory.

0-4 San Francisco Forty-Niners. Mike Singletary's team led most of the way against the Atlanta Falcons before giving up and rolling over for a late field goal loss, 16-14. Alex Smith is not playing all that well and a defense that was supposed to be one of the leagues best is looking very Lions-like.

0-4 Carolina Panthers. The Panthers continue to put the nails in the coffin of head coach John Fox. They battled to a close fought loss against the Super Bowl champion Saints before giving out at the end, 16-14.

0-4 Buffalo Bills. The Bills rolled over for the Jets like a drunken prom date, 38-14--and it wasn't really even that close. This is a team that looked adversity in the face and decided to kick its starting quarterback out of the building. Not demote him...fire him. The Bills went through the entire offseason program and training camp with Trent Edwards as their starting signal caller and after only three weeks said "screw that, we don't need that guy..." This is a team that will give the Lions a run for their money for the #1 pick and maybe even a team that could threaten to go utterly winless.

0-4 Detroit Lions. There's no such thing as a moral victory and as long as the Schwartz keeps playing so conservatively the Lions will continue to be close to winning, but never actually doing it.