Week 2: Eagles @ Lions

[T3B0W]

Looking forward to seeing Michael Vick again this week - can he keep that week one momentum? I think he can. I am a Vick fan and called for fans to give him a second chance upon his release from prison. I like the way he has conducted himself since his return to the NFL and I am really hoping we see Vick start for the Eagles for the remainder of the season. He has the something that makes you want to tune in. Not many players have that today.

I think this will be a Eagles win and it's a shame Stafford is out. Shaun Hill is more than capable and I don't think the Eagles will have it all their own way here.

[da ThRONe]

Quote: Originally Posted by T3B0W

Looking forward to seeing Michael Vick again this week - can he keep that week one momentum? I think he can. I am a Vick fan and called for fans to give him a second chance upon his release from prison. I like the way he has conducted himself since his return to the NFL and I am really hoping we see Vick start for the Eagles for the remainder of the season. He has the something that makes you want to tune in. Not many players have that today. I think this will be a Eagles win and it's a shame Stafford is out. Shaun Hill is more than capable and I don't think the Eagles will have it all their own way here.

Vick has a monster game. First he finally has the proper work ethic for a QB now. Second his players believe in him. And last this may be his only chance to prove he's a starting QB in the NFL against an subpar defense.

[Blaze125]

Quote: Originally Posted by pietasterp

Right, but see you're thinking about this thing entirely the wrong way. You are talking about making moves and trying to do things that might actually help you win games. Taking risks, acquiring undervalued skill guys, building a team from the inside out....you'll never get hired by the Fords that way. You have to look at this like William Clay Ford and his idiot spawn Bill Jr: Detroit is a loyal sports town that loves their teams and supports the Lions come hell or high water. If revenues are currently in the neighborhood of 75-80% of what they would be if you fielded a winning (or at least semi-competitive) team, and it would take a huge investment of capital - say, $35-40 mil extra all-in - to improve the team, is it worth it to garner that extra 15-20% in revenues? The balance sheet tells you the red outweighs the black in that situation, so you don't bother spending the extra dough. Simple. Also, even if/when they do try to win, they are so insanely stupid they just don't know how. I mean, look how they ran the car company for the past 3 decades: slow, steady, inexorable march toward mediocre/bad. The Fords just aren't winners by any definition in any realm (sports, business, life...); if their last name weren't "Ford", they'd probably be slinging you your morning McGriddle at the drive-through. Total incompetence reigns, with no hope on the horizon: until the Fords sell the team (which will never happen in a million years), the Lions will never be a winner.

You know, it isn't like the Ford's haven't spent money. They didn't force Mayhew to trade down from the top picks in the draft, and did spend quite a bit of money signing them too.

If you're going to be blaming the Fords, then you're going to be blaming Mayhew and Lewand too, as well as Schwartz. A majority of Lions fans will agree that this team has improved tenfold since the new regime has stepped in. Yes, Backus did give up a sack, but Peppers isn't some scrub, he has quite a bit of talent. Also, Peppers only got 1 sack on Sunday, and the way you're making it sound is like he got 50. It's ridiculous.

This wouldn't be being talked about if there hadn't been the one bad play by the defense at the end of the 2nd quarter. They played well all game aside from the big play by Forte. Remember the goal line stand, where the Bears got the ball at the 1 and didn't score? You probably haven't mentioned that because it doesn't support your argument that the Ford's are the reason that "the Lions will never be a winner". The fact of the matter is is that they are turning things around. They were one ridiculous rule from winning their first road game since 2007, and they showed great improvement all around. Millen isn't our GM anymore, so please stop acting like the Lions will never get better.

[JBH3]

Quote: Originally Posted by Blaze125

You know, it isn't like the Ford's haven't spent money. They didn't force Mayhew to trade down from the top picks in the draft, and did spend quite a bit of money signing them too. If you're going to be blaming the Fords, then you're going to be blaming Mayhew and Lewand too, as well as Schwartz. A majority of Lions fans will agree that this team has improved tenfold since the new regime has stepped in. Yes, Backus did give up a sack, but Peppers isn't some scrub, he has quite a bit of talent. Also, Peppers only got 1 sack on Sunday, and the way you're making it sound is like he got 50. It's ridiculous. This wouldn't be being talked about if there hadn't been the one bad play by the defense at the end of the 2nd quarter. They played well all game aside from the big play by Forte. Remember the goal line stand, where the Bears got the ball at the 1 and didn't score? You probably haven't mentioned that because it doesn't support your argument that the Ford's are the reason that "the Lions will never be a winner". The fact of the matter is is that they are turning things around. They were one ridiculous rule from winning their first road game since 2007, and they showed great improvement all around. Millen isn't our GM anymore, so please stop acting like the Lions will never get better.

Dayum.

[pietasterp]

Quote: Originally Posted by Blaze125

You know, it isn't like the Ford's haven't spent money. They didn't force Mayhew to trade down from the top picks in the draft, and did spend quite a bit of money signing them too. If you're going to be blaming the Fords, then you're going to be blaming Mayhew and Lewand too, as well as Schwartz. A majority of Lions fans will agree that this team has improved tenfold since the new regime has stepped in. Yes, Backus did give up a sack, but Peppers isn't some scrub, he has quite a bit of talent. Also, Peppers only got 1 sack on Sunday, and the way you're making it sound is like he got 50. It's ridiculous. This wouldn't be being talked about if there hadn't been the one bad play by the defense at the end of the 2nd quarter. They played well all game aside from the big play by Forte. Remember the goal line stand, where the Bears got the ball at the 1 and didn't score? You probably haven't mentioned that because it doesn't support your argument that the Ford's are the reason that "the Lions will never be a winner". The fact of the matter is is that they are turning things around. They were one ridiculous rule from winning their first road game since 2007, and they showed great improvement all around. Millen isn't our GM anymore, so please stop acting like the Lions will never get better.

I have been watching the Lions for almost 30 years, and in that time, I have seen them win exactly 1 playoff game. And the fans that were watching for the 20 years before me? The same.

I'm not getting all over Backus because of 1 sack he gave up to Peppers; I'm getting all over him because he's been in the bottom 5 in sacks allowed almost every year of his 10-year career. As of 2008, Backus had the worst career allowed sack total, giving up more than any starting left tackle in 2008 did over their entire careers (even compared with guys that played 4 more seasons than he had at the time). There are any number of articles you can find that criticize, bemoan, and even wonder aloud how a guy this bad could have been allowed to play this long. Just one (which, while written 2 years ago, is still valid...unless you think Backus has somehow gotten better in the last 2 years):

http://lionsnetmix.com/2009/07/exami...ff-backus.html

This isn't an opinion issue; Backus is a poor left tackle by any standard.

So, wow...I actually can't believe I found someone that will defend the Fords...and you're from Michigan no less!!! The Fords spent money on a new stadium as an ego statement; they've spent at select times on the team over the years, but never consistently and never when it mattered (1992 comes to mind...). And to save you the trouble of looking it up, the Lions are #26 (out of 32 teams) in payroll this year. Your argument would hold some water if we were talking about, say, the Raiders or even the Browns - although they stink, they can't be accused of not shelling out cash (albeit unwisely). We stink and we historically have not spent what it took to get better.

Everyone in the Lions organization, both past and present, bears responsibility for the franchise's current state of futility - including Mayhew and Lewand (who never should have been hired in the first place, being Millen acolytes, although so far not too bad...) as well as Jim Schwartz. But anyone that blames any of the coaching or front-office positions, or even the unmitigated train-wreck disaster that is Matt Millen, is missing the big picture: the Lions have been bad for the better part of the past 50 years. In that time, we have had 15 or so head coaches, countless general managers, team presidents, scouting directors, vice presidents, etc...we've had Hall of Famers, coaches with championship pedigree (prior to the Lions of course...a stunning factoid: no coach of the Detroit Lions in the past 4+ decades has ever had another head coach position in the NFL after their Lions tenure....), and the greatest running back of all time. Still, since 1957, we have won exactly 1 playoff game and participated in the Super Bowl zero times. The one constant in all that time? The Ford family.

Look, I'm as big a Lions fan as there is - to the point that the DirecTV guy actually openly laughed when I was getting NFL Sunday ticket and told him I only really watch the Lions games (true story!). But pointing out their goal-line stand from last Sunday and the horrible BS call that robbed us of our first road win in 2+ years as evidence that the Lions are "turning it around" is missing the forest for the trees. Sure, they'll get better - but only because you cannot possibly get worse than 0-16 and 2-14. It's almost impossible NOT to get better after those two seasons. I don't need any minor, petty arguments to "support (my) argument that the Ford's are the reason that 'the Lions will never be a winner' ". I have 5+ decades of data and statistics to back up my claims that the Fords can't run a winning franchise. You have 1 game in which the defense played pretty well (and we still lost) to support your argument.

[LHSLax_D24]

I said 44-9 Eagles, but that was with Kolb and Stafford. Now, I'll go

27-6 Eagles.

[pietasterp]

Quote: Originally Posted by LHSLax_D24

I said 44-9 Eagles, but that was with Kolb and Stafford. Now, I'll go 27-6 Eagles.

Aw c'mon...you don't think Shaun Hill can get us one touchdown? Even by accident?

[Dog]

My prediction:


The Eagles will make this game a lot tougher than it should be. I say the Eagles win, but not a blowout. I would be surprised if they won big