First off, I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! I certainly did, in spite of the Lions. This Lions debacle turned out to be the worst one ever on turkey day, as they fell 47-10 to the Titans. There really isn't a whole lot to say about this game. The Lions were dominated by a much better team. Onto the gameballs...
GAMEBALLS
Cliff Avril
I have to give out a gameball to a Lion. Other than Jason Hanson, Avril is the only one that I really think deserves one this week. His sack & forced fumble on Kerry Collins led to the only TD the Lions had.
Chris Johnson, Lendale White, and Rob Bironas
These Titans players all put up huge stats for my fantasy teams. Thanks guys.
GROIN-KICKS
Lions coaches, offense, defense, and special teams
I don't think I even need to explain this one
Jeff Fisher
The Titans coach displayed a total lack of class that was Belichick-esque. With about 3:30 left in the game and a 37 point lead in hand, Fisher threw the challenge flag to force instant replay on a Calvin Johnson catch (which proved to be a legit catch). At that point, I officially became anti-Titans. I will cheer against Tennessee in every remaining game this season.
WHAT ELSE?
0-16 is almost here. Whether they go 0-16 or 1-15, this is the worst NFL team I've ever seen. They will almost assuredly have the #1 overall pick in next April's draft. It may be too early to speculate, but it's never too early for Lions fans. So, onto the speculation: the last 2 weeks has brought regression in Culpepper and we've seen Drew Stanton get injured yet again. Dan Orlovsky is still injured and rumor has it that the front office doesn't like him (hopefully, those front office people will be fired!). Like most other positions, QB is looking questionable. That's why early speculation indicates that the Lions may be looking at a QB. The most likely candidates would be Georgia's Matt Stafford and Oklahoma's Sam Bradford (both are underclassmen, though, and have yet to declare for the draft). This is such a tough call, though. If these guys are as good as advertised, it would be hard not to pick them. The problem is, though, that the Lions have oh so many needs. I'm not sure any QB could succeed behind that horrible offensive line, and comparing the defense to swiss cheese would be an insult....to swiss cheese. That's why I'd be leaning towards drafting a LT 1st overall at this point, while focusing on defense for the remainder of the draft (maybe throw in an OG or WR with KR skills, too).
We'll have plenty of time to speculate about those things, though, when this season mercifully ends. There will also be a search for a new head coach after Marinelli gets fired and more than likely, a search for a GM after Martin Mayhew gets the ziggy. Nobody likes to see good people fired, but it's very necessary in this case. What really needs to happen (and probably never will) is for the Fords to sell the team. Our only hope in the meantime is for Bill Ford, Jr. to get more control of the franchise from his father. That still wouldn't inspire too much confidence in anyone, but I can't believe that he'd be any worse at running things than his father has been.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Well, this is it. The next game has the Lions staying home for a battle with Minnesota, in what many believe will be their last shot at a victory this season. I happen to agree. The remaining schedule has the Lions going on the road to Indy (loss), back home to face New Orleans (double loss), and then closing at Green Bay (the Lions haven't won there since '91, so triple loss). What gives them any chance at beating the Vikings, though? Well, a few things: Brad Childress is not a very good coach, Gus Frerotte is a mistake-prone QB, Their 2 best defenders (Pat & Kevin Williams) are likely to get suspended next week, and finally, Daunte Culpepper will be motivated for revenge against his former team. These are good, legitimate reasons that the Lions can win this game. Unfortunately, I don't think they will. I actually thought they would win this one last week at this time. However, after watching them quickly blow a 17 point lead to Tampa and then not even show a pulse on turkey day, I think 0-16 is going to happen. Their defense is so atrocious, that I don't see how they will be able to stop Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. As always, I hope I am wrong. Thanks for reading!
Greg
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