Puddy Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Furd - you started the tradition here. Does this 4-game streak to end the season offer enough evidence that not every Lions post ends with ? There is a general feel amongst Lions fans and football fans in general that the Lions are not the same doormats that Millen made us. So...when do we get to remove the ? Do we have to make the playoffs first? Plus we only qualified for the Edmund Fitzgerald postcard once this year. By 21 points to the Pats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I would say things are looking up. Now you just need Stafford to stay healthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historymike Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 As a Lions fan I am removing my bag. Although we only finished 6-10, that was good enough for third place, and IMHO a team that can finish this strong after so many QB injuries is pretty damned surprising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furd Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Furd - you started the tradition here. Does this 4-game streak to end the season offer enough evidence that not every Lions post ends with ? No. There is a general feel amongst Lions fans and football fans in general that the Lions are not the same doormats that Millen made us. So...when do we get to remove the ? Do we have to make the playoffs first? Not the playoffs. I think that a winning season is in order before the bag issue is addressed. 4 games is nice and all, but I don't think that it removes much of the tarnish from the Lions' historic ineptitude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 (edited) As a Lions fan I am removing my bag. Although we only finished 6-10, that was good enough for third place, and IMHO a team that can finish this strong after so many QB injuries is pretty damned surprising. More importantly they were competitive; a few plays here or there and they could have even had a winning record, and that despite a variety of key injuries. They appear legit. Edited January 3, 2011 by BeeR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 (edited) They seem to be putting the parts in place. Stafford must stay healthy though. Stafford, Calvin , Best have the makings of a nice triple threat on O but Best and Stafford need to stay on the field. Suh seems like the real deal and the d was pretty aggressive. You seem headed in the right direction Edited January 3, 2011 by whomper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh 0ne Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 The bag will come off soon. You might have to loan it to us Vikings fans for a few years unless we can find ourselves a QB in the draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTSuper7 Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 When you look at the four game winning streak, the only win that is truly impressive is the road win at Tampa. Tampa was a team fighting to make the playoffs, and Detroit still managed a road win. When you look at the Green Bay game, there is an asterisk on that win since Rodgers got knocked the F out. And Miami and Minnesota hardly played inspired football - both teams with lost seasons and horrendous QB issues. In the end, this season Detroit beat a rookie QB in Bradford (early in his rookie year to boot), Donovan McNabb (with Rex Grossman at the two minute drill), Matt Flynn, Josh Freeman, Chad Henne (Dolphins finished 1-7 @ home), and Joe Webb. Not to knock 6-10, as it's an improvement for the Lions, and it's something to build on, but they are still in the bottom 1/3 of the league. However, they seem like they are only a few upgrades away from being a .500 team (OL, DE, CB). I will say this about Detroit this year - they were more exciting to watch, particularly on defense. They were only really out of a couple games this season - stayed competitive for 60 minutes in all but 2 or 3 games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddy Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 When you look at the four game winning streak, the only win that is truly impressive is the road win at Tampa. Tampa was a team fighting to make the playoffs, and Detroit still managed a road win. When you look at the Green Bay game, there is an asterisk on that win since Rodgers got knocked the F out. And Miami and Minnesota hardly played inspired football - both teams with lost seasons and horrendous QB issues. In the end, this season Detroit beat a rookie QB in Bradford (early in his rookie year to boot), Donovan McNabb (with Rex Grossman at the two minute drill), Matt Flynn, Josh Freeman, Chad Henne (Dolphins finished 1-7 @ home), and Joe Webb. Not to knock 6-10, as it's an improvement for the Lions, and it's something to build on, but they are still in the bottom 1/3 of the league. However, they seem like they are only a few upgrades away from being a .500 team (OL, DE, CB). I will say this about Detroit this year - they were more exciting to watch, particularly on defense. They were only really out of a couple games this season - stayed competitive for 60 minutes in all but 2 or 3 games. I don't agree with the Green Bay part. It was almost halftime when Rodgers got hurt. The Lions defense was dominating Green Bay the entire first half and Rodgers led his team to exactly 0 points in almost a complete half. Then his replacement, Matt Flynn, promptly went out and put up 26 points on the Patriots the following week. So I'm not buying that one. And for the Lions to win back-to-back games on the road after losing an NFL record 26 straight on the road is extremely impressive in my book even if one of them was against the Dolphins. Vegas didn't have them picked in that game. Sure we beat Joe Webb yesterday. The same Joe Webb who beat the 3rd seed Eagles the prior week. Hard to say they weren't playing inspired football when they just came off that win. Maybe our defense made it look like they were uninspired None the less...the bag will remain. For now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historymike Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I don't agree with the Green Bay part. It was almost halftime when Rodgers got hurt. The Lions defense was dominating Green Bay the entire first half and Rodgers led his team to exactly 0 points in almost a complete half. Then his replacement, Matt Flynn, promptly went out and put up 26 points on the Patriots the following week. So I'm not buying that one. And for the Lions to win back-to-back games on the road after losing an NFL record 26 straight on the road is extremely impressive in my book even if one of them was against the Dolphins. Vegas didn't have them picked in that game. Sure we beat Joe Webb yesterday. The same Joe Webb who beat the 3rd seed Eagles the prior week. Hard to say they weren't playing inspired football when they just came off that win. Maybe our defense made it look like they were uninspired None the less...the bag will remain. For now. Agreed that the Lions were a couple of bad breaks / bad playcalls / shiiitey ref calls away from being as high as 9-7, maybe even 10-6. The O-line still needs to improve on pass protection, and the secondary still has some issues, but this was a competitive team every week of the season. Even in the Patriots game the Lions led at the half before failing to adjust to the offensive changes Belichick & Company rolled out in the second half on Thanksgiving Day. I am especially impressed with how the O-line developed as a formidable run-blocking unit, and how the WRs stepped up in run-blocking as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTSuper7 Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I don't agree with the Green Bay part. It was almost halftime when Rodgers got hurt. The Lions defense was dominating Green Bay the entire first half and Rodgers led his team to exactly 0 points in almost a complete half. Then his replacement, Matt Flynn, promptly went out and put up 26 points on the Patriots the following week. So I'm not buying that one. And for the Lions to win back-to-back games on the road after losing an NFL record 26 straight on the road is extremely impressive in my book even if one of them was against the Dolphins. Vegas didn't have them picked in that game. Sure we beat Joe Webb yesterday. The same Joe Webb who beat the 3rd seed Eagles the prior week. Hard to say they weren't playing inspired football when they just came off that win. Maybe our defense made it look like they were uninspired None the less...the bag will remain. For now. I realize the Lions were shutting down Rodgers in that game, but there is something to be said for halftime adjustments. Obviously we'll never know if Green Bay would have won that game if Rodgers played the entire way... My opinion is that Rodgers would have found a way. What you say about Flynn is true, but he had a week to prepare for New England. He had no time to prepare for Detroit. Backup QBs don't tend to come into the game guns blazing I guess... So yeah, I think an asterisk still belongs next to that win. Because the Lions' M.O. has been to play a strong 58 minutes of game just to let a guy like Rodgers put a dagger in their hearts at the end of the game. Flynn was ill-prepared to be that guy that day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddy Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 I realize the Lions were shutting down Rodgers in that game, but there is something to be said for halftime adjustments. Obviously we'll never know if Green Bay would have won that game if Rodgers played the entire way... My opinion is that Rodgers would have found a way. What you say about Flynn is true, but he had a week to prepare for New England. He had no time to prepare for Detroit. Backup QBs don't tend to come into the game guns blazing I guess... So yeah, I think an asterisk still belongs next to that win. Because the Lions' M.O. has been to play a strong 58 minutes of game just to let a guy like Rodgers put a dagger in their hearts at the end of the game. Flynn was ill-prepared to be that guy that day. Let's not forget that the Lions were rolling with their 3rd string QB in the Packer game as well. I'm not going to asterisk that win given the situation we had at QB as well. In any case, it feels a lot better being a Lions fan today than it has in a looong time. If we ever get back to the playoffs, this town will erupt (insert inevitable Detroit riot joke here). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MustOfBeenDrunk Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I can see the Lions getting 9 wins next year ,,, not sure if that will be enough to get them into the playoffs or not ? But at least they should be sporting a winning season. Of course I ( along with many others ) thought the same about SF this year Either way the Lions are headed in the right direction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTSuper7 Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 (edited) Let's not forget that the Lions were rolling with their 3rd string QB in the Packer game as well. I'm not going to asterisk that win given the situation we had at QB as well. In any case, it feels a lot better being a Lions fan today than it has in a looong time. If we ever get back to the playoffs, this town will erupt (insert inevitable Detroit riot joke here). The Lions only managed 7 points with their 3rd string QB. What one would expect, I guess. A little off subject, but... Drew Stanton hasn't gotten a fair shake IMO. He was a playmaker at State, and I really hope he has solidified his status with the team with his play. He played well against Tampa (276 tot yds, 1 TD) and gave them a chance to win which they did. I agree with you about Detroit erupting if they become a playoff team with this core. We take hockey for granted here, and the Tigers were a nice story a few years back when they made it to the World Series (as were the Pistons when they beat the Lakers in the finals several years ago). But it has been SO long since we've had a legit football team here that people would go nuts if the Lions won the division or even won a playoff game as a wild card team. ETA - The Bucs went up 20-17 on the Lions with under 2:00 to play, and the Lions had used all of their timeouts. I can't remember the last time the Lions tied the game in that scenario, let alone went on to win the game. Below is the play-by-play of how Stanton & Co. got into FG range: Detroit Lions at 1:39 1st and 10 at DET 32 (Shotgun) D.Stanton pass incomplete short left to B.Johnson. 2nd and 10 at DET 32 (Shotgun) D.Stanton pass short middle to B.Johnson to TB 49 for 19 yards (M.Lewis). 1st and 10 at TB 49 (Shotgun) D.Stanton pass short right to C.Johnson to TB 45 for 4 yards (E.Biggers). 2nd and 6 at TB 45 (No Huddle) D.Stanton pass deep right to C.Johnson ran ob at TB 22 for 23 yards. 1st and 10 at TB 22 (Shotgun) D.Stanton pass incomplete short left to B.Johnson. 2nd and 10 at TB 22 (Shotgun) D.Stanton pass incomplete deep left to B.Johnson. 3rd and 10 at TB 22 (Shotgun) D.Stanton pass short middle to T.Scheffler to TB 10 for 12 yards (G.Hayes). 1st and 10 at TB 10 D.Stanton spiked the ball to stop the clock. 2nd and 10 at TB 10 (Shotgun) D.Stanton pass incomplete short left to C.Johnson (M.Lewis). 3rd and 10 at TB 10 (Field Goal formation) D.Rayner 28 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-D.Muhlbach, Holder-N.Harris. DRIVE TOTALS: DET 20, TB 20, 10 plays, 58 yards, 1:39 elapsed Edited January 3, 2011 by MTSuper7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muck Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 As shown here, according to my math, the Lions finished in the top half of the NFL (per my Power Rankings) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 It's got to bother Matt Millen that after he puts all the pieces of the puzzle together and the Lions are finally starting to win, he's not there to enjoy the benefits of his expertise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chavez Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Furd - you started the tradition here. Does this 4-game streak to end the season offer enough evidence that not every Lions post ends with ? There is a general feel amongst Lions fans and football fans in general that the Lions are not the same doormats that Millen made us. So...when do we get to remove the ? Do we have to make the playoffs first? The problem with the Lions was, and remains, their pass defense. It HAS upgraded from historically bad to bottom-third-of-the-league bad, but they need to be better. But still, my cray-zaayyyy out-of-my-ass prediction for the year was that the Lions would be within a game of .500 in the 2nd half of the year....and while that didn't quite come true, I think they played well enough where they clearly COULD have been there (heck, they're at 7-9 if Hanson doesn't get hurt on an XP penalty, after which their DEFENSIVE TACKLE dongs the XP off the crossbar....I've never even HEARD of something like that happening!). The Bears are consistently in it, I think GB, despite being 2nd place the past couple years, IS the team to beat in the division, but both those team should be sweating the Lions, they've accumulated a nice stable of talent, and Schwartz seems to have them on the right track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chavez Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I realize the Lions were shutting down Rodgers in that game, but there is something to be said for halftime adjustments. Obviously we'll never know if Green Bay would have won that game if Rodgers played the entire way... My opinion is that Rodgers would have found a way. FYI, halftime adjustments/finding a way to win at the end have NOT been staples of GB over the past 3 yrs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chavez Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 In any case, it feels a lot better being a Lions fan today than it has in a looong time. If we ever get back to the playoffs, this town will erupt (insert inevitable Detroit riot joke here). I don't think it's possible to make Detroit look more run-down and decrepit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chavez Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I can see the Lions getting 9 wins next year ,,, not sure if that will be enough to get them into the playoffs or not ?But at least they should be sporting a winning season. Both their Ls against Chicago had KEY flukey/weird ref calls. Their loss to NYJ was due to their K being injured and unable to convert an XP. I'm sure Lions fans can list off a few more, but that's 9-7 right there. Heck, all things being equal, the first loss to GB was due to a GREAT pick-6 play by Charles Woodson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 It's got to bother Matt Millen that after he puts all the pieces of the puzzle together and the Lions are finally starting to win, he's not there to enjoy the benefits of his expertise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTSuper7 Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 FYI, halftime adjustments/finding a way to win at the end have NOT been staples of GB over the past 3 yrs. Even if that's true, it doesn't trump the Lions' impressive track record of finding ways to lose winnable games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfer Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Furd - you started the tradition here. Does this 4-game streak to end the season offer enough evidence that not every Lions post ends with ? There is a general feel amongst Lions fans and football fans in general that the Lions are not the same doormats that Millen made us. So...when do we get to remove the ? Do we have to make the playoffs first? Plus we only qualified for the Edmund Fitzgerald postcard once this year. By 21 points to the Pats. To remove your bag you must be perceived as a solid franchise. Look at Houston. The owners think this is an elite team and yet they have no playoff appearances. They crumble every year but when they start 0-0 the following year they'll be brought up as the sleeper team to beat. Detroit can get there but it starts with Stafford under center 16 games. Best healthy again will be HUGH. This is no longer the 'same ol' Lions' that's for sure. Now pass that bag over here because 2011 is going to be rough for another team in the NFC North Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lkirc Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 It's got to bother Matt Millen that after he puts all the pieces of the puzzle together and the Lions are finally starting to win, he's not there to enjoy the benefits of his expertise. That is just wrong on so many levels. Just seeing that joker on TV makes me ill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearBroncos Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 There is bad and then there is bad. Lions have finally breached the "bad" barrier and should be a compeditive team for some years to come. Come next year, you can no longer automatically but a check mark in the win column when you play them. Glad to see it. Now, I just want to see Cleveland get back to their once former glory and be a force in the AFC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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