Monday, August 13, 2012

2012: The Year of..."Let's just wait and see."

This guy looked good.
The Detroit Lions opened their 2012 preseason with a 19-17 loss to the Cleveland Browns and there were some things to get excited about...and some things to get upset about.

But more than anything else...there was a lot of..."meh...OK..."

The Franchize, Matt Stafford,  did not look especially good.  He threw a pick on what was probably a miscommunication between he and tight end Brandon Pettigrew.

If high school kids dream of playing in college and college kids dream of playing in the pros...then Calvin Johnson still looks like he should be dreaming of playing with a level of football beyond even the NFL...like in Valhalla or something.  He's just awesome.

Defensive End Willie Young made me think it wouldn't have been that big of a loss to lose DE Cliff Avril in a contract dispute....and so did DE's Lawrence Jackson and Everette Brown....
And these guys were in midseason form....

The Lions running game, which was one of the worst in the NFL last season....looked a little bit better than adequate as they almost piled up 200 yards against the wayward Browns....which means the offensive line looked pretty good.

If the Lions miss anybody they lost from last year...they probably miss Drew Stanton the most...

Because this year's third string quarterback, Kellen Moore should not be in the NFL.  He simply doesn't have a strong enough, accurate enough arm to play in the big leagues.  Sorry, kid.
These guys came too.

But seriously, it's 2012 and my biggest complaint so far is....the third string quarterback...how things have changed here in Detroit.

Possibly the most promising story of the night was rookie cornerback Bill Bently.  A kid who actually looked like he belonged playing in a defensive backfield...unlike some of the jokes that have passed for defensive backs in the past few years.

Sure he got burned early, but this was his rookie debut.  It was his first time on the professional stage and he most assuredly had a few butterflies, but by the end of the night, he had one pick on a great read and react play and he almost had a second.  Not bad for a rookie third round pick!
But, sadly, no cheerleaders showed up...

So, all off season, the national opinion pendulum has swung back and forth in regards to the Lions.  At first they were "Super Bowl Contenders" and then seemingly every player on the team was arrested for something...anything from jay walking to high treason...(I think I heard a rumor that Ndamukong Suh took Airforce One for a joy ride sometime in May....) it seemed anyway...and then the Lions were just "undisciplined pretenders."

I don't know which they are yet either...usually I'm completely decided by this time of the year....usually I think they're just  a bunch of bums and I'm telling everybody about how "I hope I'm wrong, but..."  This year, I know they have talented players.  I know they can make the playoffs.  I just worry that injuries or expectations will hold them up.

Welcome to 2012!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The Lions' Offseason in a nutshell

Five hours apart?

 

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