NFC Wild Card: (6) Detroit Lions (9-7) @ (3) Seattle Seahawks (10-5-1)

[The_Wise_One]

In hindsight, playing this game instead of a bye was a plus.

Russ got a game without the brace, O-line put up a solid performance, Rawls got some much needed carries and our receivers are playing with confidence.

The defense will show up so I'm feeling much better about the Atlanta game than I was a week ago.

[RJTurneR]

Quote: Originally Posted by PeoplesChampGB

Thats the epitome of what we did. Do you think only Aaron Rodgers separates us?

That and Jordy Nelson.

Golden Tate is no Jordy Nelson. And Marvin Jones is ..... well I can't use those words here.

[TracerBullet]

Officiating was awful last night. Not why we lost, but it still is definitely a talking point because it can affect the rest of the teams left when it is that bad.

We lost because we couldn't stop Rawls. The run defense began to fail once we played New York in all honesty.

Simply put, we don't have the talent to play with the other teams in the playoffs just yet. Depth really caught up to us.

Jim Bob Cooter's offense basically died after the Saints game. We lost Riddick and it's clear that he had problems adjusting the game plan. Without him or Abdullah, who had been gone all season pretty much, the short passing game suffered. We were near the top of the league in 3rd down % and I can't tell you how many of those were to Riddick out of the back field.

He's gotta learn to adjust the game plan better going forward to account for these situations. Stafford getting hurt didn't help. Clearly he wasn't the same.

One group that surprised me in a good way last night was the O-line. Missing two starters and they did fantastic against one of the best pass rushes in the league all things considered.

Quinn has some work to do. We played above our talent level this year I believe, so I'm not mad at Caldwell. He earned another year, despite all the random people saying that Detroit needs to "aim higher." Playoffs two out of three years for this franchise isn't bad. It is time to take the next step, however, and compete for the division, against playoff quality competition and in the playoffs.

Defense is going to be the focus this off-season, but I hope we pick up another wide receiver as well. Clearly it's a need and we missed Calvin Johnson a ton since the Saints game when our red zone troubles began to show.

Fun season, I believe we'll be back next year with a better roster.

[pietasterp]

Quote: Originally Posted by ProfessaPackMan

The Lions being the Lions go beyond anything that happened tonight. At least based on what I've seen from them over the years from playing them regularly.

Quote: Originally Posted by kehlis

I get the "Lions being the Lions" and I agree, yesterday is far different than that. You can say everything you said about pretty much every team that loses a playoff game (including the Raiders yesterday).

Quote: Originally Posted by RJTurneR

If the Lions were being the Lions we wouldn't have made it as far as we did. We would have been 7-9 or something worse with the coaching staff staring down the barrel.

Quote: Originally Posted by TracerBullet

He earned another year, despite all the random people saying that Detroit needs to "aim higher." Playoffs two out of three years for this franchise isn't bad. It is time to take the next step, however, and compete for the division, against playoff quality competition and in the playoffs.

OK, last thing I'll say here since the season's over. While these are all legitimate points of view, the whole "Same Old Lions" (conveniently the acronym is SOL... ) thing became a thing not because of any one season or any one stretch of play or any one result. The "Same Old Lions" refers to the fact that the team just never takes the next step. Ever. They occasionally flash glimmers of hope, some semblance of promise of brighter things in the future, but then it is quickly extinguished and never leads to anything greater.

Since the 1960's, the Lions had 2 decades of abject misery followed by some promise in the 90's during the Barry years with the Big Buck Fontes at the helm. During that stretch, we won our division a handful of times and other than the one bright shining moment of modern Lions fandom (when we decisively beat a future-dynasty Dallas team in the 1991 season divisional playoff round before getting squashed by the Redskins in the NFC title game), it was immediate first-round exits year-after-year, and always in some inglorious, ignominious fashion. In other words, there was never any sense we were building towards a title in Motown; basically we peaked at making ourselves a first round "opponent", the NFL's version of Steve Lombardi.

Obviously what came after was much worse, famously bottoming out in the 0-16 all-time debacle. But even now that things are brighter, the lack of longtime Lions fans to get behind the team fully is the overwhelming sense that the team is not really ever going to be a legitimate contender, therefore every time we have a chance to prove that narrative wrong, it seems only to get reinforced. Yes, Rome wasn't built in a day, but from my standpoint, we're talking 30+ years of watching this team play. I think that's enough of a sample size to adopt the "show me" philosophy with regard to the Lions, and they continue to fail to do so despite numerous opportunities.

I don't want to squash anyone's enthusiasm for the team, and I do hope we're building toward something this time. But that's the thing about the Lions - they do just enough to keep you hooked and then inevitably, it will end in disappointment. You think Art Regner was born a screaming lunatic? That's decades of Lions fandom speaking (read: 'yelling'). I mean, if they just flat-out sucked every year, they'd be the Browns and there would be no getting upset because there was never any hope. The Lions are something worse: the promise of false hope. Lions fans are Charlie Brown, and the NFL is Lucy. Every single time.

Quote: Originally Posted by TracerBullet

Officiating was awful last night. Not why we lost, but it still is definitely a talking point because it can affect the rest of the teams left when it is that bad.

OK, I lied. The last thing I'll say is that we were horribly mistreated by the officials and have been for years. Of course no one will say we lost because of it, but...it certainly didn't help. I would like to have seen Caldwell go yell at someone or throw his hat or something. Anything, really. But I guess that's not his style.

Say it with me, Lions fans: "There's always next year". Might want to keep that phrase handy to pass down to the kids....

[TracerBullet]

Quote: Originally Posted by pietasterp

OK, last thing I'll say here since the season's over. While these are all legitimate points of view, the whole "Same Old Lions" (conveniently the acronym is SOL... ) thing became a thing not because of any one season or any one stretch of play or any one result. The "Same Old Lions" refers to the fact that the team just never takes the next step. Ever. They occasionally flash glimmers of hope, some semblance of promise of brighter things in the future, but then it is quickly extinguished and never leads to anything greater. Since the 1960's, the Lions had 2 decades of abject misery followed by some promise in the 90's during the Barry years with the Big Buck Fontes at the helm. During that stretch, we won our division a handful of times and other than the one bright shining moment of modern Lions fandom (when we decisively beat a future-dynasty Dallas team in the 1991 season divisional playoff round before getting squashed by the Redskins in the NFC title game), it was immediate first-round exits year-after-year, and always in some inglorious, ignominious fashion. In other words, there was never any sense we were building towards a title in Motown; basically we peaked at making ourselves a first round "opponent", the NFL's version of Steve Lombardi. Obviously what came after was much worse, famously bottoming out in the 0-16 all-time debacle. But even now that things are brighter, the lack of longtime Lions fans to get behind the team fully is the overwhelming sense that the team is not really ever going to be a legitimate contender, therefore every time we have a chance to prove that narrative wrong, it seems only to get reinforced. Yes, Rome wasn't built in a day, but from my standpoint, we're talking 30+ years of watching this team play. I think that's enough of a sample size to adopt the "show me" philosophy with regard to the Lions, and they continue to fail to do so despite numerous opportunities. I don't want to squash anyone's enthusiasm for the team, and I do hope we're building toward something this time. But that's the thing about the Lions - they do just enough to keep you hooked and then inevitably, it will end in disappointment. You think Art Regner was born a screaming lunatic? That's decades of Lions fandom speaking (read: 'yelling'). I mean, if they just flat-out sucked every year, they'd be the Browns and there would be no getting upset because there was never any hope. The Lions are something worse: the promise of false hope. Lions fans are Charlie Brown, and the NFL is Lucy. Every single time. OK, I lied. The last thing I'll say is that we were horribly mistreated by the officials and have been for years. Of course no one will say we lost because of it, but...it certainly didn't help. I would like to have seen Caldwell go yell at someone or throw his hat or something. Anything, really. But I guess that's not his style. Say it with me, Lions fans: "There's always next year". Might want to keep that phrase handy to pass down to the kids....

I'll pass on loathing my way through a football season every year, thank you very much. Keep your phrases to yourself. I don't care how many years we spent or will spend in the dumps. 90% of this fan base is just people who wait for the next awful thing and never have any joy. Why watch? I'll be there believing every single losing or winning season. No reason to be a fan if you don't do that.

Go Lions.

[RJTurneR]

Quote: Originally Posted by TracerBullet

I'll pass on loathing my way through a football season every year, thank you very much. Keep your phrases to yourself. I don't care how many years we spent or will spend in the dumps. 90% of this fan base is just people who wait for the next awful thing and never have any joy. Why watch? I'll be there believing every single losing or winning season. No reason to be a fan if you don't do that. Go Lions.

People like you restore my faith in the real sports fan Tracer.

[pietasterp]

Quote: Originally Posted by TracerBullet

I'll pass on loathing my way through a football season every year, thank you very much. Keep your phrases to yourself. I don't care how many years we spent or will spend in the dumps. 90% of this fan base is just people who wait for the next awful thing and never have any joy. Why watch? I'll be there believing every single losing or winning season. No reason to be a fan if you don't do that. Go Lions.

Quote: Originally Posted by RJTurneR

People like you restore my faith in the real sports fan Tracer.

That's great. I'm not trying to bring anyone down. I'm happy you enjoy the team. But I reject the notion that only people that blindly compliment the team are 'true fans'.

Let's see what happens next season with a playoff-participant schedule.

[kehlis]

Quote: Originally Posted by pietasterp

That's great. I'm not trying to bring anyone down. I'm happy you enjoy the team. But I reject the notion that only people that blindly compliment the team are 'true fans'. Let's see what happens next season with a playoff-participant schedule.

There's no such thing as a "playoff participant" schedule.

If anything, by losing the division they made their schedule easier. Instead of playing a first place schedule and getting the Cowboys and Seahawks as their two variable games they instead get the Giants and the Cardinals.

There are only two games in a schedule that aren't pre-determined.