Monday Hangover

Ugh. Even after trying to sleep off that loss, the bile still remains, sloshing around. Blech.

The Lions have been castigated in the Freep, Detroit News, MLive, and CBS so far, and Kevin Seifert's excellent NFC North blog managed to criticize the Lions amidst three pages worth of Vikings stories. What that means is both positive and negative: people are noticing the Lions.

I bet every Lions fan feels conflicted about the game yesterday. On one hand, they hung tough against one of the best teams in the NFL. On the other hand, they choked a win away. It's almost an internal battle of feeling appreciative and ungrateful, where we know we should be absolutely ecstatic about the Lions' performance but still we are angry about a loss. Has pure, unadulturated hope made us bitter?

It's funny when you think about it: two seasons removed from an 0-16 season, in the midst of a 100% roster upheaval and cultural overhaul, Lions fans are suddenly indignant with a supreme effort and marked improvement. I knew they probably wouldn't win this game, just as everyone else did the same. Sure, they blew a huge lead in a stupid way, but the positive of it all is that they really could have won that game. They are light years away from what they were, and that is exceedingly encouraging. They need probably another offseason on roster upgrades (linebacker and offensive line probably needs the most, the secondary turned out to be better than they thought. Unless Amukamara or Peterson is available. Oy. Probably a different post) and Schwartz needs to keep learning about coaching for success in the NFL (it seems like he's been learning how to not lose bad, and just how to coach period). I dunno. I think this should be seen as somewhat of a positive, and that if there's an NFL next season then the Lions could, actually and realistically, challenge for the NFC North. And that, my friend, is awesome.

NOW, schedule evaluation!

10	Sun, Nov 14	Buffalo Bills@ Buffalo (0-8)	1:00 pm EST
11	Sun, Nov 21	Dallas Cowboys@ Dallas (1-7)	1:00 pm EST
12	Thu, Nov 25	New England Patriotsvs New England (6-2)	12:30 pm EST
13	Sun, Dec 5	Chicago Bearsvs Chicago (5-3)	1:00 pm EST
14	Sun, Dec 12	Green Bay Packersvs Green Bay (6-3)	1:00 pm EST
15	Sun, Dec 19	Tampa Bay Buccaneers@ Tampa Bay (5-3)	1:00 pm EST
16	Sun, Dec 26	Miami Dolphins@ Miami (4-4)	1:00 pm EST
17	Sun, Jan 2	Minnesota Vikingsvs Minnesota (3-5)	1:00 pm EST

Okay, let's assume that this loss doesn't break the Lions, but instead pisses them off. I'm going to go ahead and assume also that Matt Stafford and his stupid injury-prone self will be missing the next few games, if not the rest of the season. So, where does that leave us?

Wk 10 @ Bills - I see this as a win, because they must feel that if they can't beat the Bills, then what good are they? They needs this as a moral victory, and although the Bills have been playing freakishly hard I think the Lions are going to punch them in the face. (3-6)

Wk 11 @ Cowboys - The Cowboys are playing some of the worst football in the league. They don't run the ball, Jon Kitna is their QB, and Wade Phillips is one of the worst coaches in the NFL. All the better if Jerry Jones freaks out and fires him. I think this could be a win, and two road wins in a row should get this team sufficiently pumped. (4-6)

Wk 12 Patriots - I make this pick angrily. VERY angrily. I think NE wins this game. HOWEVAH, coming off of two road wins and going into probably the biggest moral game of the season for them (Lions games ARE Thanksgiving games), I can envision an upset. Still, I'm going on record picking the bloody Patriots. (4-7)

Wk 13 Bears - The Lions have been looking forward to this since week one, man. I think this is a decisive win, and it really helps keep Detroit's head above water morally. (5-7)

Wk 14 Packers - Another revenge game. The Lions know they can win this, and it's at home, and they're pissed. Lions win, and they try to decapitate Aaron Rodgers. (6-7)

Wk 15 @ Buccaneers - I have to change my pick from earlier in the seaon. The Bucs are playing terrific football right now, and Josh Freeman has made a believer out of me. I have a buddy who is a Bucs fan, and he talks about the mega home field advantages of TB (Bucs' home jerseys are white, opponents go dark and play under a sweltering sun, etc.). I could envision an upset, but I don't want to actually pick it. (6-8)

Wk 16 @ Dolphins - I still think the Lions win this game. It is a pick without rhyme or reason. Especially if Matt Stafford decides to play this week. (7-8)

Wk 17 Vikings - Revenge game, and a nice way to close out the season. I also think Ndamukong Suh cripples Brett Favre. (8-8)

Wow, that's better than I initially thought, eh? Of course, I bet my prediction will be off by a win or two. However, 6-8 wins? For the Lions? After the last couple seasons? Cause for joy, mon frere.

BOO HOO HOO, I HURT MESELF AGAIN

Ahhh....hmm.

Just read an interview with Justin Tuck pertaining to the Lions. He made some pretty intelligent observations, mostly regarding the competitiveness of the Lions, vocalizing how they should be 4-1 right now, maybe even undefeated.

The tone of the rest of the article, however, seemed to intimate that the Lions have a twinkie's chance in fat camp. The Giants physically destroyed Jay "the Incredible Sulk" Cutler; I've seen shark attacks that were more merciful than what NY's defensive line did to the Pouty One. The Giants then went out and put a shellacking on Houston. Houston, supposedly this year's "It" team.

Now, granted, my tirade against the Rams was fueled by irritation born of many pundits picking them as a better team against the Lions. I railed against them and presented them as a sham. I was wrong - they're no sham team, they're a team on the rise. The point I was trying to get across was that the Lions are the better team. However, some of my observations weren't that far off. Let's try a bit of that with the Giants, eh? Schedule examination!

Sunday, 9/12	1:00PM ET	FOX		W, 31-18
Sunday, 9/19	8:20PM ET	NBC		L, 38-14
Sunday, 9/26	1:00PM ET	CBS		L, 29-10
Sunday, 10/3	8:20PM ET	NBC		W, 17-3
Sunday, 10/10	1:00PM ET	FOX		W, 34-10

Their first game is against a Panthers' team that may or may not be deserving of a top 5 pick this April, and they got murderized. The Colts are a wounded animal thsi season, and they murderized the Giants. The Titans, well, I can't seem to get a read on them, but they beat the Giants. The Bears? Probably the definitive sham team right now, and the Texans, although a good team, have collapsed previously against the Cowboys and did so against the Giants.

What does that tell us? Aside from the fact that parity has rendered the NFL a crapshoot in terms of picking a winner, it tells us that the Giants run either hot or cold. They are a good team, but their consistency seems a bit off, as exemplified by Eli Manning and his unpredictable performances (as many INT's as TD's). The parity thing actually seems to work in the Lions favor, though: if the Cardinals can topple the Saints then certainly Detroit can beat NY. Actually, it seems like there's a weird upset every week, and I certainly don't see why Detroit can't be that upstart this weekend.

So, for now, I'll say that if it's a clear day void of rain, the Lions will win this game as long as they force Eli into bad choices (not that difficult) and contain Bradshaw and Jacobs (this can also be done). Also, God willing, the Lions offensive line can play its best game, because this game will feature a Giants' defensive line that could be arguably better than the Lions, and that's terrifying.

Yikes.

Rams look v.1.0

So, the Detroit columnists are beginning to hypothesize about the impending matchup this weekend with the St. Louis Rams. Drew Sharp touches upon it in his own impish, antagonistic way (I can only imagine how absolutely dire he'll make it seem by this weekend), and Carlos Monarrez gives a brief description of how the Rams are rolling this year.

Granted, I do think this is a must-win game, if that phrase can even exist this early in a season, but if the Lions do lose, it will be close and probably due to some cruddy officiating. I just don't think the Rams are capable this time around. Let's break their schedule thus far down:

1	Sun, Sep 12	vs Arizona	L 17-13
2	Sun, Sep 19	@ Oakland	L 16-14
3	Sun, Sep 26	vs Washington	W 30-16
4	Sun, Oct 3	vs Seattle	W 20-3

This doesn't seem like the hardest schedule when you actually look at it, eh? Losses against a Cardinals team that is absolutely atrocious and a Raiders team that is, well, pretty bad as well. They beat Washington at home (Washington is pretty inept, honestly) and Seattle at home (Look at the Seahawks roster. Is it even better than a collegiate team? Really?). Steven Jackson is pretty beaten up, so running into the Lions healthy front seven could knock him around. The defensive line has been pretty dern good against Jay Cutler, Brett Favre, and Aaron Rodgers. They did an okay job against Mike Vick, but really, how do most "good" teams do against him? Bradford is, lest we all forget, a rookie. If the Lions keep constant pressure on him, give him little to no time to make decisions, then I don't see why they can't force him into turnovers.

Get ahead, attack the QB when they need to air it out, and just keep grinding with Best and Smith, and I don't see why this can't be the first decisive victory of the season.