Waiting another year...again

Shaun Hill is starting Sunday. OHTHANKGOD

Ahem. Now, I'm faced with a quandry: normally, it's around this point in the season where I and other Lions fans start to speculate on the events of the coming offseason and next season, usually because the Lions are playing so abysmally that there's really no there alternative; Hope is seen from a distance, not in front of our faces. This year, Detroit is playing really well in comparison to past efforts, so there's no need to focus on future hope when it's staring at us right in our faces.

So I guess when I start my speculations, it's less of a life preserver (a way to keep hope's head above water) and more of a condiment (a compliment to the hope already here). So let's crack this bottle of ketchup, eh?

INJURIES:

This season has provided a myriad of devastating injuries levied (PUN INTENDED) on Detroit, some minor and aggravating and some enormous and devastating. The fact of the matter is that teams generally don't seem to get crapped on this frequently in subsequent seasons. Last year Stafford, Pettigrew, and Kevin Smith had season ending injuries. This year we've had scads of injuries, but only one real horribly season-altering injury (Stafford, although cases could be made for Jahvid Best). Frankly, three years in a row is just ridiculous. Next year (fingers crossed, knock on wood) should be better in that aspect.

PERSONNEL:

This is a markedly improved team from last year, but there are still holes, and those holes are costing this team some wins. The biggest problem areas seem to be Linebacker, Offensive Line, and Secondary. DeAndre Levy is a lock in the middle (assuming, of course that he doesn't break apart like a movie-prop wine bottle), so the main needs are outside LB's. Julian Peterson is crap, Zack Follett, although good, isn't great enough to make a huge impact. Offensive line is a more interesting story. Rob Sims is fantastic. Gosder Cherilus is playing much, much better this year than last, and actually seems to be legitimately improving. Dominic Raiola is, for some reason, deeply ingrained in this franchise and won't be going anywhere. Jeff Backus is alright and Stephen Peterman is terrible, therefore the biggest needs are LT and RG. With Backus, honestly, he's not terrible. He's alright. Unfortunately, success in the NFL can't come with a left tackle who's serviceable - look at Stafford and his litany of injuries. The secondary is far better than anyone could have predicted, and Alphonso Smith just may be turning into an integral part of the team's future. Houston is playing good, Spievey is developing at a reasonable pace, and Delmas is awesome. Any upgrade would occur if something tremendously fantastic were to just plop down into the Lions' lap. The upcoming draft has two absolutely amazing corners available (Prince Amukamara from Nebraska and Patrick Peterson of LSU), but seems to be weaker in LB's and OL's as opposed to previous years. Basically, the offseason rests on Martin Mayhew kicking ass and taking names. So, hurray!

Combined with the development of talent and the cultural shift from utter defeatist to hopefully competitive, there's no reason this team can't compete for a divisional title next year....assuming there's a season. What? OH YES, THAT.

The absolute worst thing that can happen to the Lions next season is if there isn't one. The NFLPA and the NFL administration can't seem to stop being unfathomably greedy (and frankly, the NFLPA seems to be making the more ludicrous of the demands), and an ensuing work stoppage would not only alienate legions of fans and retard the gravitational popularity of the league (remember the '94 MLB strike?), but it would also really be a slap in the face to franchises like Detroit, Tampa Bay, and St. Louis that are actually gaining momentum in their developmental process. It would be criminally unfair not to see the fruits of all their labor, especially for tortured fanbases.

But anyway, the next year should be very appeasing to us, and the rest of this season should be lots of fun as well. My gosh, for the first time since, what, 1997?, it's kinda nice to be a Lions fan.

i absolutely adore these goofy lion pictures. I feel like Matt Millen desperately wanted these on the helmet, and doodled different variations of them in his coloring books, because far be it for that lummox to color inside the lines. I hope he gets banned from the state of Michigan. So residually angry...

'Skins 'n Such

I'm not normally a politically correct person, but I still think it's absurd that the Washington Redskins still retain their name. I won't go into a rant, because what hasn't been said before? Anyway.

The Lions are coming off their bye week, and it's a shame that the game will be blacked out in metro Detroit. It's funny that the hubbub surrounding that fact kinda overshadows the main problem with NFL game attendance in general: fans, the average blue-collar NFL-loving fans, are priced out of the games. Baseball games can be attended for 10 bucks. NFL tickets, the lowest priced ones, can cost up to 4 times as much. And do you think the yuppie fans care about this team? no, no they don't. Holy balls, I just realized I'm going into another "JUSTICE!" rant two paragraphs in. Geez, it's been a long week. Blech.

OKAY. Sunday's game against the 'Skins. I believe it's more than winnable. Last week's game of Chicago and Washington was absolutely hideous. Turnovers were everywhere, and it was one of those games where neither team felt like winning, and Washington just seems to be one of those kinds of teams in general. Their roster isn't impressive (especially their offense), and their defense, although they have some incredible defensive players, remain inconsistent.

Detroit, on the other hand, has remained consistent. It's just unfortunate that they have consistently been defeating themselves. Now, their roster is nearly intact and healthy. The main two components of this game, I think, is 1) Matt Stafford firing darts around (especially 2-3 DEEP bombs) and 2) Will Bleu Cheese Levy suit up and play well? So far I've read that he's likely to play, but is still (naturally) not totally healthy.

I swear, if this is a repeat of his last game (attempting to play, injury, out indefinitely), I'm going to have kittens. I mean it, I'm gonna blast felines out my hooch. The Lions let Larry Foote walk for this guy, and he has yet to prove he can lead this D. Ranting again? What in the world is going on today?

SO. ANGRY CAPS IT IS TO FOCUS. I PICK THE LIONS TO WIN THIS GAME, AND I FEEL ESPECIALLY CONFIDENT IN THIS PICK BECAUSE NDAMUKONG SUH REFUSES TO LOSE HOME GAMES ANYMORE. THE REDSKINS RECEIVERS CAN'T STOP DROPPING PASSES. JAHVID BEST CAN RUN AROUND ALBERT HAYNESWORTH (who is terrifying again). GOD WILLING, THIS WILL BE ANOTHER BLOWOUT.

Also, this past week Tom Kowalski wrote a phenomenal piece in MLive about how the Lions, now with Stafford, can stretch the field to a ridiculous degree. Calvin Johnson is a physical freak, correct? Kowalski reasons that if they run several straight up Go routes for Johnson, who can pace him? Landry is a bullet, but how are his coverage skills? Hall seems to thrive in chaos, but can he keep up with Calvin? This strategy is brilliant, and if the Redskins are playing Johnson honest, Stafford should be able to connect multiple times with Pettigrew, Burleson, and Scheffler.

Calvin smiles when he remembers he's wearing Az Hakim's old jersey number.

A New Season

If I may be permitted to spew some teenaged interweb vernacular,

ZOMG

Jahvid Best practiced today. Matt Stafford has been practicing. Calvin Johnson's arm feels good. Even DeAndre "Bleu Cheese" Levy is slated to play. To START.

I just pooped again.

Look, I know and you know the Lions won't run the table the rest of the way, but if they can stay healthy and close out those close games, then good grief, the cellar of the NFC North may not be their end of the season dwelling. Think about it logically, in terms of the Lions getting fully healthy and everyone else dying:

Vikings: Brett Favre broke his ankle. Do you think he's gonna take himself out? So, ergo, guess who's gonna keep getting destroyed, game after game, just to preserve his padinky record? Brad Childress is a moron. And now, after half a season, the Vikes look officially horrible.

Bears: Biggest sham team in the league. They're not terrible, but they are NOT the team their record displays them to be. The fact they are falling apart before our eyes is evidence enough.

Packers: I don't know how the Touch of Death shifted from Detroit to Green Bay, but, well, thank God. I feel bad for them, because watching your team's players dropping like flies is a form of torture just behind toothpicks under fingernails. However, their linebacking corps is in shambles, their running game is sub par, and Aaron Rodgers can be beat.

I believe that the rest of the season will go well for the Lions. And even if it doesn't, this team is a team on the rise, and if they gank a high draft pick.....man. Let's hope they get this labor hoo-ha straightened out so's we can enjoy us some winning foosball next year!

Bye Week Poopsense

Soooooo, the Lions' bye week is coming up, and you know what that means? Yup, it means now we have to watch some other NFC North team or a regional poo-fest. But hey, at least they get that big break to heal up and get ready to play the Redskins.

Well, unless you're DeAndre Levy.

Recently, the Lions signed former first round pick Bobby Carpenter to their skin-and-bones linebacking corps. They're having trouble picking which spot to give him the most reps in, though, because they aren't sure that Levy will be playing in Week 8. That's right: Levy, who has played ONE game this season, and missed gads of time in training camp and preseason due to a myriad of JV injuries, might miss yet another game. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, maybe his groin injury was something horrific, and maybe his ankle injury is unfathomably worse than is being reported... or maybe he can't suck it up like the rest of the Lions' defenders. Whatever. This is just getting ridiculous.

Levy was who the linebacking corps was being built around. He was supposed to be a cornerstone of the defense. Stafford was the same for the offense. Stafford's moneymaker, his golden right arm, was sprained. He can sit for as long as he needs to. Levy's ankle and groin were boo-booed. Delmas played with a groin injury. Everyone else is banged up. Why can't he be a leader? Remember Stafford against Cleveland? Right now it seems to me like if Levy wouldn't suck it up and play against Green Bay or New York (high profile games that really would have done wonders for the team if the Lions had won), how much can Schwartz and co believe in him?

Other odds and ends:

1) The Lions are the league leaders in dropped passes. Kevin Seifert of ESPN's NFC North blog wrote about it the other day, and says that "According to ESPN Stats & Information, they have 19. The league average is 9.6. " I wonder how many Brandon Pettigrew accounts for? Not to sound mean-spirited, but he has dropped a ton. At least he is showing remorse from it....unlike Byant Johnson. Blech.

2) Adding in Carpenter makes for yet another former high-round pick brought in by Martin Mayhew. Carpenter was the 18th overall pick by Dallas in 2006, Turk McBride was the 54th pick by Kansas City in 2007, Lawrence Jackson was the 28th pick by Seattle in 2008, and Alphonso "Man Crush" Smith was the 37th pick in 2009 by Denver. I kinda like this strategy, because they were all drafted high for a reason, and hopefully now they get the chance to capitalize on their high potential.

3) Is it me, or does the game against Dallas seem pretty winnable now? They look TERRIBLE.

I wish this was the logo on their helmets. Wow.

ALRIGHT ALREADY

So. Injured players. I understand that the nuances of professional football are physically violent, and the fact that these athletes manage to get up the morning after is nothing short of a miracle....

......HOWEVAAAH, I am getting awfully sick of this nonsense. The Lions have had a barrage of injuries dating back to August, and it seems like they're all in flux; some injuries linger, others seem to hop from player to player, but the constant is that these guys just seem to get and stay injured. Who are the biggest perpetrators thus far into the season?

3) Jahvid Best. Sure, he played last week and did rather well, but I have this horrible feeling his turf toe won't be going away anytime soon. And you KNOW that as a shifty, speedy player that his injury will impede his dynamic abilities. Hopefully Kevin Smith (who nearly took this spot on the list) is ready to rock and take some of Jahvid's carries to keep him healthy. I really do like Kevin Smith, and a tandem between those two should be great....if Best's toe doesn't turn into an issue.

2) Matt Stafford. The talent is obvious, as is the moxy. Everyone believes in the dude when he's playing....but the dude is NOT playing. As of this Sunday he will actually have missed more games than he has played. This. Is. Infuriating. The quarterback of the future remains just that, and not of the present. All this cloak and dagger BS about his shoulder needs to ease up as well. Does it really make that much of a difference if the other team knows Stafford is improving or could even play? DADDY DOESN'T CARE, DADDY JUST WANTS TO KNOW WHETHER OR NOT TO KEEP BELIEVING IN SHAUN HILL.

1) DeAndre Levy. I've had it with this guy. The Lions dissed Larry Foote and had him leave because they believe(d) so much in Levy, and it's one little nagging injury after the other. Shades of Teddy Lehman if you ask me. Follett came back from a concussion to play, and Julian Peterson is made of cast iron. This A-hole, on the other hand, cannot seem to get and stay on the playing field, and it's been this way since August. MY GOSH, DUDE, JUST PLAY! The D would surely benefit from having him, but God knows when that'll be.

"My mouth is strained from frowning! I'ma miss me another game!"

p.s.

Louis Delmas is injured. He's been injured. BUT HE'S ALSO PLAYED EVERY GAME AND PLAYED HARD.