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The Prodigy

Jul 15, 2008 Jan 30, 2009 2 97

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The End

I just got back from the game, and I still cannot believe the ineptitude that this team possesses.  The defense, from the front four through the secondary, were downright pitiful.  I have never seen anyone more lost in a football game then Brian Kelly was today.  He has little to no man-to-man coverage ability, and when they go to zone he has ZERO break on the ball.  Aaron Rodgers was abusing him all afternoon, but yet Barry kept trotting him out there.  The rest of the secondary were marginal at best, but it seems as though they have an uncanny ability to get exploited on 3rd and long.  The packers were 9-16 on 3rd down (compared to the Lions 2-12), and i can remember at least five of them were seven yards or longer.  Is it really that hard to sit back in cover 4 and get a little pressure on the quarterback?  It's not like the Lions were worried about the run game.

Jon Kitna is an absolute joke.  He drops back and immediately gets happy feet, whether there's any pressure or not.  He stares down receivers and has the most piss-poor attitude I have ever seen from a NFL QB.  It's like he thinks he's too good for the team, so he pulls off stupid stunts like walking off the field on the last interception for a TD.

I don't know what it is with this team, but there is nothing that they do well.  From the top down, they are atrocious at every position.  Marinelli is clueless, and everyone seems to be catching onto the crap he's feeding the press.  "We'll wait to see the film", and "We're pounding the rock" are two of the most BS statements I have ever heard from anyone, especially when you manage a whopping total of 49 yards on the ground.  The staff pays no attention to special teams, no one can tackle, and Marinelli's prized d-line could be one of the worst units on the team (one sack on Rodgers). Marinelli could easily be gone by week 8.  This could very well be the worst team in the Matt Millen Era, and 0-16 is a very real possibility. 

7 comments  |  1 recs

Time to start over

When I think back to the beginning of the season, and all the hope I had for the blue and silver, it really disappoints me how this season will end.  Most likely it'll be 2-14, with the opportunity for the #1 pick to come here.  This year, however, the Lions can't rely on just the draft to bring in new, young talent.  They need to go out and sign free agents, make trades, and try to find hidden gems, because it's time for the franchise to start over.

It's been 50 years of rebuilding, and I'm sick of it.  I'm sick of "good potential", and "showing heart".  As far as I'm concerned, heart never won a football game and potential is a way around the fact that your football team sucks.  Those phrases have been rampant in Detroit since 1957, and it's never amounted to anything except one lousy playoff win.  One!  But now it's time to do all over again.  Do what has been done wrong for 50 years, and do it right.  Rebuilding.  You have to clean house in Detroit.  I don't want two borderline starting quarterbacks, I want one that is gonna get the job done.  I don't want depth on the offensive line, I want five guys that will knock the snot out of defensive lineman and play with a serious mean streak.  I don't want "injury depleted" to be an excuse for why the front seven sucks every year.  If one guy can't get the job done, then bring in others who can.  If he's injured, trade him for a starter.  And finally, get coaches that can do the job.  I still think that Rod Marinelli might be on to something with his disiplined approach, but he needs to have it be consistant.  You can't disipline Mike Williams, but then leave Shaun Rogers be.  Create a technique for the disipline and stick to it.

We're still probably 3-5 years from being able to cheer on the Lions in January, even if this "rebuilding" is done right.  Because after this year it's back to square one, and it's a long climb up.  I don't care if it's Marinelli or someone else, Millen or someone else, or even Ford or someone else.  As long as the job's done right.

2 comments  |  0 recs