Not the 'same ole Lions'

[DougW]

yeah, yeah .. I'm sure there is a NFL thread that I should be posting this in. And I know, preseason, blah blah blah. And yes, the Leos have been "predicted to improve" and disappointed a ton of times in recent history. But, just wanted to warn you all - these boys are legit.

Expect to a top flight passing game (especially if Staff can stay healthy, but Hill will still move the ball). On the other side, expect to see it 'not easy' to run the ball, and INTENSE QB pressure.

If you're 'stuck' watching a Lion game. When the Lions are on 'D', forget about the ball, and keep your eye on Suh. There really is no 'hype' .. he's a flat out beast. He could quite possibly be the best DT I've seen. Time will tell, maybe he falls out, maybe he gets bored, maybe his physical attributes decline - but right now - he's fast, strong, smart and hungry. And I think he has that side of the ball 'believing'.

Still young, and something to learn - so I'll be quite happy with just playing in some meaningful games near the end of the season; but soon enough - this core of guys will be realistic super bowl contenders.

I"m stoked.

[stevew]

Lions looking good in preseason.

[molson]

I hope so for the Lions fans but it does seem the token "they're really good now!" NFL team tends to disappoint.

[DaddyTorgo]

Can't get this game in the hotel on the west coast (news is on) despite them saying it's a "nationally televised game" and the online tv guide saying it should be on here.

fuck you L.A.

[panerd]

I remember hearing the same thing about Cincinnati a few years back. Let's face it we both cheer for losing franchises and the Lions will figure out a way to screw this season up. I am pulling for you guys though. I enjoy the rags to riches teams that finally turn things around for a season or two.

Super Bowl contending core? You can't be serious.

[DougW]

Originally Posted by panerd

I remember hearing the same thing about Cincinnati a few years back. Let's face it we both cheer for losing franchises and the Lions will figure out a way to screw this season up. I am pulling for you guys though. I enjoy the rags to riches teams that finally turn things around for a season or two.

Super Bowl contending core? You can't be serious.

Oh no, I can see your disbelief. And, I don't think they'll make the playoffs this year. But yeah, I'm serious. This core is really good. With at least a trio that seriously could be 'great'.

[Buccaneer]

I picked the Lions to be a Wild Card team this season.

[Big Fo]

I'm not sure how good they'll be this season but they're certainly giving Brady a rough time tonight which is nice to see.

[panerd]

Suh is about to lose some money from his next paycheck. The problem with this guy is while he is quickly becoming one the league's defensive stars he is going to get in trouble for a lot of dumb stuff (late hits, fighting on the field) and eventually he will start getting suspended. Thats the reality of the NFL under Godell.

[thesloppy]

Something perhaps not obvious to fans of other teams is that the attitude of the Lions organization has turned the corner. It might not turn out to mean anything in terms of wins or losses, but even in Barry Sanders' best years there wasn't nearly as much cohesion and positive energy as there is in the organization now.

I know that doesn't mean crap to anybody else until the wins and losses have been recorded in cement, but if you've been a longtime fan of one of those handful of sad-ass teams with a proverbial 'losing culture' you probably know/dream of the relief that can come simply just from seeing a positive attitude out of your team, for once. For that alone, I give Schwartz and Mayhew a ton of credit, as they've brought about that drastic change in morale in a short amount of time, while still struggling to assert themselves in the standings, yet literally dozens of Lions' coaches and GMs (and perhaps thousands of players) before them were unable to change the organization's attitude, even when they were winning.

...all that said, I felt pretty good last year, until Stafford crumpled in what seemed like the very first nano-seconds of the season. So knock on particle-board, and all that.

[Julio Riddols]

Yeah, for what its worth, Stafford is probably the hottest QB in the NFL this preseason. Would love to see him stay healthy so we can see what he can do in a full season. And I also agree about Suh. He is the best DT in the league already, IMO.

[ColtCrazy]

Just watching them abuse Brady makes them okay in my book. They are a fun team on offense and have a promising defense, especially that terrific line.

[Matthean]

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

Something perhaps not obvious to fans of other teams is that the attitude of the Lions organization has turned the corner. It might not turn out to mean anything in terms of wins or losses, but even in Barry Sanders' best years there wasn't nearly as much cohesion and positive energy as there is in the organization now.

I know that doesn't mean crap to anybody else until the wins and losses have been recorded in cement

This is still Front Office Football Central - cohesion and football teams mean a lot around here

[DougW]

Today was a game the "same ole Lions" would have definitely lost. While I'll admit, the Vikings probably lost this game more than the Lions won it - still - this is a game we'd have found a way to lose, no matter how much the Vikings were trying to give it away.

[CleBrownsfan]

Lions are for sure the "other team" I'm rooting for this year. I love the make of the team... just hope Stafford can stay healthy!

[Butter]

Nice to see the jinx thread out so early.

[Schmidty]

This is fun to watch, but it's only been 3 games. The long-suffering fan in me just won't allow me to look too far ahead, or get too excited.

[Matthean]

The two games against Chicago will be huge. At least the Thanksgiving game might be interesting for once.

[Matthean]

[Schmidty]

I remember that as a kid. 1980 was the first time I ever noticed the Lions, as I was only 5. I've been hooked ever since then.

[DougW]

Originally Posted by Matthean

.....

See ... Billy ... Run. Couldn't catch him with a gun ! haha

Goes very well with my favorite running play !



"Oh my goodness, did you see that ? He hit Steve Brown with what looked like a KARATE kick" ! haha.

Haha .... Thanks so much Matt ! That song and the Bless you Boys song the Tigers had in '84 never fail to get me all pumped up haha.

[B & B]

Originally Posted by panerd

Suh is about to lose some money from his next paycheck. The problem with this guy is while he is quickly becoming one the league's defensive stars he is going to get in trouble for a lot of dumb stuff (late hits, fighting on the field) and eventually he will start getting suspended. Thats the reality of the NFL under Godell.

Cant wait til Fairley gets in the lineup. If you thought Suh was dirty, just wait till you see this beast in action. Nasty!

[SackAttack]

Wow. First time in my lifetime the Lions are 3-0. That's insane.

[Logan]

I'm surprised at the surprise that the Lions are doing so well. They're pretty much showing that when you consistently draft at the top, especially when you have 3 picks in the top 2 in close years, you should be able to build a solid roster as long as you don't draft a WR each time.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Matthean

Wow. That is EXACTLY what came to my mind when I heard about the first 3-0 start since 1980. I was 9. We moved from Michigan the next year. I can still remember driving out to an apple orchard on a cool Sunday afternoon, listening to the Lions game on the radio, and hearing this song after one of the early season wins. Brought back all sorts of childhood memories for me.

[Ksyrup]

I also remember the Thanksgiving OT kickoff runback by the Bears, which I believe was later in this same season.

[JediKooter]

Do you think when Matt Millen goes to bed at night, it is preceded by a couple of hours of intense crying?

[Ksyrup]

No, that's the millions of people who still have to listen to him.

They should pair him with Craig James to call a game in an empty stadium and let the terrorists have at it. Because if those two fucktards are employed, they've already won.

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

No, that's the millions of people who still have to listen to him.

They should pair him with Craig James to call a game in an empty stadium and let the terrorists have at it. Because if those two fucktards are employed, they've already won.

Haha!! I'd throw Joe Buck in there with them.

[panerd]

Originally Posted by panerd

Suh is about to lose some money from his next paycheck. The problem with this guy is while he is quickly becoming one the league's defensive stars he is going to get in trouble for a lot of dumb stuff (late hits, fighting on the field) and eventually he will start getting suspended. Thats the reality of the NFL under Godell.

At least 2-game ban likely for Ndamukong Suh of Detroit Lions, sources say - ESPN

[Thomkal]

so glad he met with the commisioner so he had a better idea how to behave during a game. Maybe a suspension will get the point across.

[RainMaker]

Seems fair, especially if the NFL continues to pretend to care about player safety. He's a repeat offender and at some point needs to stop before someone gets seriously hurt.

[miked]

But he was being held down and just tried to balance himself...

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by miked

But he was being held down and just tried to balance himself...

lol

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by miked

But he was being held down and just tried to balance himself...

He seems to encounter a lot of situations where he's unbalanced.

[molson]

Ouch. I admit I was a little disappointed after I heard about the incident and then saw the replay, i.e, "that's it?", the NFL does take priors and character into account and Suh is a big loser on both of those points obviously.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I picked the Lions to be a Wild Card team this season.

Told ya.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Told ya.

Good call, Bucc!

[DougW]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Good call, Bucc!

Indeed.

[Thomkal]

Congrats to you Lions fans for your team finally making the playoffs again. As a long suffering Cardinals fan until they made it to the Super Bowl, I know what you have been through. Given the talent on the roster, it should be a long run of playoff games in their future.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

Congrats to you Lions fans for your team finally making the playoffs again. As a long suffering Cardinals fan until they made it to the Super Bowl, I know what you have been through. Given the talent on the roster, it should be a long run of playoff games in their future.

Stafford and Johnson, when healthy, are a beast of a tandem. I hope it continues for another decade.

[EagleFan]

Problem is that it's not exactly a team that anyone who isn't a Lions fan can cheer for. They seem to want to be thugs and punks more than they want to win.

Seriously, WTF was that pregame crap?

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Problem is that it's not exactly a team that anyone who isn't a Lions fan can cheer for. They seem to want to be thugs and punks more than they want to win.

Seriously, WTF was that pregame crap?

Don't give a fuck about other fans. The Lions were the butt of every joke for the past decade (rightly so) so for those people to cheer for the Lions means little to me personally.

[cmp]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Problem is that it's not exactly a team that anyone who isn't a Lions fan can cheer for. They seem to want to be thugs and punks more than they want to win.

Seriously, WTF was that pregame crap?

And why should I as a Lions fan care if fans of other teams cheer for the Lions?

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by cmp

And why should I as a Lions fan care if fans of other teams cheer for the Lions?

Probably for the same reason that I as an Eagles fan can't stand the current Eagles team, because it's a group of players that aren't even easy for me to cheer for. As a Lions fan I would feel pretty much the same way, but where the Eagles have prima donas the Lions have thugs.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Probably for the same reason that I as an Eagles fan can't stand the current Eagles team, because it's a group of players that aren't even easy for me to cheer for. As a Lions fan I would feel pretty much the same way, but where the Eagles have prima donas the Lions have thugs.

I don't see the Lions as thugs at all. They have a few firey guys with firey tempers. Raiola has always been like that and he's been around for over a decade. Suh snaps at times but was also just given an award for being America's most charitable athlete this year. This whole notion of them being thugs and dirty. Is way overblown. Too many good guys and quality people on this team.

As a Lions fan would follow this team more closely and know that and would have no problem at cheering for them until you lose your voice.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

This whole notion of them being thugs and dirty. Is way overblown. Too many good guys and quality people on this team.

As a Lions fan would follow this team more closely and know that and would have no problem at cheering for them until you lose your voice.

Yeah, while the national media has jumped on every opportunity to label the Lions negatively (a lot of them certainly deserved), but if you follow the Lions through Detroit media you've been reading nothing but love and solidarity from this team for their city, from day one. Schwartz in particular since his arrival, and everyone surrounding him, have gone out of their way to connect themselves to the community, and align themselves with Detroit the city and the fans, and have always held up the long-suffering fans as their ultimate motivation for success. For them to be painted nationally so negatively, in one-note as a bunch of thugs without any care, is a disservice to the changes they've made to that perennial loser of a franchise, the dedication they've shown to their fans, and what a positive lift they've brought to the city.

[DougW]

Better season than I expected ! Is pretty cool to be part of this whole playoff thing again. Saints are a tough draw, but, the Lions are building something .

Go Lions

[Honolulu_Blue]

It certainly has been an interesting year. The positives definitely out weigh the negatives. It's hard to say that this season was anything but a success considering the Lions had their first winning season since 1997 and their first playoff appearance since 1999.

There have been a lot of highs and lows. The great comebacks were thrilling. Winning consistently on the road was fun. The game against the Chargers was one of the most complete games the Lions have played in a decade. The meltdowns against Chicago, Green Bay and New Olreans were frustrating in that "same old Lions" type of way. In particular, some of the incredibly stupid penalties and undisiciplined play were insanely frustrating and, unfarily, painted the team as being "dirty."

Positives:

1. The emergence of Matthew Stafford. Stafford finally managed to stay healthy this year, which should put to bed all of the talk about him being a "china doll." He had some rough patches. He wasn't good against San Fran or Atlanta. And he struggled pretty badly during the whole "glove era". He ended the season very strong. He has been amazing since the 4th quarter of the Raiders games.

2. Calvin Johnson really becoming a top WR in the game. Calvin took his game to another level this year and it's a level that should be expected when you take a WR with the #2 pick overall. He dominated games at times.

3. Titus Young. A lot of Lions fans were pissed when the Liosn drafted Young in the second round, but he's been a great asset in the offense. He's made some big plays and has great hands. He's faltered at times, but as far as rookie WRs go, he's been solid.

4. The improve linebacker corps. The trio of Tulloch, Durant and Levy are the best group of linebackers the Lions have had in years. Really, one of the few years the Lions have managed to have a unit with three NFL-quality linebackers.

5. The 5-0 start of the season. It was a great five game run that ended with that great Monday Night win over the Bears.

6. Pass blocking. For the most part, the offensive line did a good job protecting Stafford.

Negatives:

1. Defensive Line. This was supposed to be the Lions strength this season. It was supposed to be the best defensive line in football. The Lions kept almost everyone from the year prior and added first round pick Nick Fairley. Fairley got hurt during training camp and has never really been healthy. Suh hasn't had the same impact he did last year. Cliff Avril has had an excellent season, but the line hasn't dominated as expected. They struggle to pressure the QB at times and teams have gashed them with the run because of their over aggressiveness to get to the QB and because the whole "Nine-Wide" scheme they run that appears to leave a big gap between the defensive tackle and defensive end. The Lions still have a ton of talent on the d-line, but I don't think the unit, as a whole, has performed as anticipated.

2. Discipline. Or, more accurately, the lack of discipline. The Lions take far too many penalties. They take far too many personal foul type penalties. Granted, ever since Schwartz implemented his "no toleranace policy" with regard to post-whistle personal fouls the Lions haven't committed any, that should have never been necessary. That stretch of games against the Bears, Green Bay and New Orleans was particularly bad for that. I think some of this is a result of the Lions feeling that they really need to "fight" hard to gain respect after being a league laughing stock and punching bag for over a decade, but it needs to be reigned in something fierce. They aren't good enough to overcome such nonsenses and good teams don't get that many penalties.

3. The running game. It's been non-existant. It didn't help that the Lions loss 2nd round pick Mikael Leshore in training camp, then loss Best for the season because of concussion and then had Kevin Smith come off the street look good and then promptly get injured again. Still, the Lions need to figure out how to run the ball effecitvely. The fact that they are the league's worst at "3 and 1" proves that the problem really is up front, the line can't create holes or gain ground when needed.

4. Meltdowns on the national stage. Other than that Monday night game, the Lions had a few chances to really show up on the national stage. Each time was brutal. The "NFL Game of the Week" against the Bears was an ugly game. The Lions played awful and were out of it early on. It didn't help that there were a few ugly incidents as well. The Thanksgiving Day game has been discussed enough. And the Sunday Night game against the Saints was brutal and marred by stpuid play by the Lions.

The rest is pretty much a wash. The Lions secondary was supposed to be horrible. They were decent in some games and horrid in others. For example, the secondary was great against the Chargers, they made a ton of plays all over the field, but couldn't cover anyone in Green Bay.

Hopefully, this will be the first successful year in a long stretch of successful years. They seem to have a pretty solid foundation with good, talented young players at some key positions.

If Fairley and LeShore can come back next year fully healthy if will almost seem like the Lions had additional first and second round picks in the 2012 draft. The Lions will need to add some pieces. The offensive line is getting old and the secondary needs help. For the first time in years, the Lions actually have some UFAs worth trying to re-sign, particularly Cliff Avril and Stephen Tulloch.