Before making any assumptions about the NFL season (and the Detroit Lions) I took the high road this year and waited until after the Thanksgiving games before making any "official" decisions on any one team. Sure, it may be the middle of a week of the NFL schedule, but, considering I'm a Lions fan (yeah, I know, but at least I can admit it) it makes some sense.
Since I have a lot to say about the Lions-and their latest Thanksgiving Day fiasco-I'll get to everything else in the NFL first.
Let's face it-there really isn't very much parody in the NFL this year. Through 10 and a half weeks we have 4 really good football teams: the Patriots (as always this century), the Colts (likewise), the Saints, and the Vi-queens (sorry, I can't help it-they are my most hated team of the NFC North).
On the flip side we have twice as many lousy teams: the Lions (as always in the 21st century), the Buc's (really not surprised), the Rams (ditto on the lack of surprise), the Seahawks (just goes to show you how important depth is in the face of massive injuries), the Redskins (wtf happened here?), the Browns (like my Lions, as expected), the Bills (Owens really proved to be the "missing link" there, hasn't he?) and the Raiders (so much for talent).
The remaining 20 teams are lumped in the middle. the Bengals (!!!?) are the only real surprise of the group-they will most likely end up sweeping their divisional games. The only question left is whether they will get a home play off game because they aren't catching the Colts or the Patriots.
Denver-come on, did we really think Kyle Orton was that good? I didn't, and I knew it was only a matter of time before he proved what he was: a lousy quarterback. If he had a good running back this year, all he would have had to do is "manage" the game, but with no running game defenses can easily confuse him. Therefore, pencil in the Chargers as that divisions winner-again.
Chicago-way to high of expectations by Cutler given they have no other weapons around him and a mediocre offensive line at best; and losing Urlanbacher guaranteed they had no chance of making the playoffs.
The Cardinals are still the Cardinals-great passing game, little running game, but do have an improved D. All in all, they have the luxury of taking advantage of a lousy division.
Green Bay seems to be coming on, but, come on: anyone with my home team on their schedule twice (for now I hope) should have a good chance of making the playoffs.
Nice to see V. Young grow up-but how the Titans could start off 0-6 still baffles me.
The Steelers will have difficulty defending their title given that they will most likely be competing for a wild card slot given the emergence of the Bengals (!!!!?) as their Division's powerhouse.
The rest aren't worthy of conversation-they are what they are-mediocre, at best, football teams.
Now for my Lions…I have a lot to say about my home team.
I'll start with their rookie class of draft picks.
--Matthew Stafford: it took me 4 games before I started to believe in him ,and when he was hurt and Culpepper had to play it became very obvious to me why he won the starting job: Culpepper is done like a Brit cooks their meat. Stafford has already had a game or 2 that he played really well in, and showed us Lion faithful what the future could have in store for us. I only hope that they can keep him up right and healthy.
--Brandon Pettigrew: I hated his pick. How they could draft a TE with the 20th overall pick while having so many needs on defense I'll never know. It took me until their win against the Browns to see why they chose him…From the beginning I liked Pettigrew's ability to pass block, but the perpetual drops were too much for me to say that the was 'worth" the trade for Roy Williams. However, after watching him settle in and finally develop some chemistry with Stafford (they are both rookies after all, and Stafford did miss 3 weeks) I get why they drafted him. And, if the Lions coaching staff can continue to make him an important part of the offense, opponents will have a hard time keeping their safeties back to cover CJ on the deep ball.
--Aaron Brown: late round draft pick with mad speed. When he touches the ball things seem to happen, I only wish they could find ways to use him more right now.
--Louis Delmas: I love this guy. I love him from the beginning. He is the Bob Sanders/Troy Polamalu of the Detroit Lions. The guy loves laying the wood on anyone who comes over the middle of the field. That causes fear in your opponents-something only Barry Sanders ever caused Lions opponents; so, needless to say, that is saying a lot.
--Sammie Hill and DeAndre Levy: Hill isn't a starter. I don't care what the coaching staff "thinks", but he doesn't have the talent. Against the best guards and partial double teams he disappears-there was obviously a reason why he didn't get drafted early; but, this just goes to show you how little talent the Lions have on their D-line: that a mid round draft pick could start for them there. Levy looks to be making Earnie Sims expendable. Levy is great at blitzing and has a nose for the ball. I only hope that if the Lions can trade Sims (I don't know his contract status) they can get something for him. If not, at least they can cut him loose to make room for their high draft pick next year.
--Kevin Smith, Calvin Johnson and Gosder Cherilus: Smith and Johnson have disappointed me this year. CJ seems to all but disappear-this could simply be because the rest of the receiving corp suck major you know what, or because he is not as good as we all thought he was. Either way, I think he needs to step it up. The same goes for Smith-the guy is a work horse, and I love his toughness, but he is not the breakaway running threat that we need at running back. He is an excellent pass catcher, but we need a real runner back there. I mention Cherilus because he was our 1st round draft pick last year and, besides the surprising Manny Ramirez, is our best OL.
Thanksgiving game: How much longer are we Lions fans going to have to put up with lousy Thanksgiving Day performances? I see much hope in the team for the future, but saying this year in and year out is getting old really quick.
Anyways, I have a lot of questions to ask about this game:
To start with: why was Stafford still in that game when it was already a lost cause? I appreciate the guys toughness, but if he is the future of this franchise and you want him to get as much real game experience this year as possible, why would you risk him by playing him-already injured-when the game is already decided?
--What happened to Aaron Brown? The guy was a huge reason for helping Stafford get the win against the Browns but he never got the ball against the Pack. The guy shows great potential and, as I said, things happen when he touches the ball on offense-so why aren't they giving him a bigger role?
--Why don't they blitz Julian Peterson more? The one time they blitzed him all he did get a sack and force a fumble, why can't they do that 5-6 times a game with him from different LB spots throughout the game?
--Could our defensive line be any worse? Good lord! How much time can you give a QB to throw the ball? They are so bad that I think they should play 4 CB's, 2 safeties and 6 LB's-forget putting DL out there: the ones they have are useless. They get no pass rush and me and 5 of my 150lb-when-soaking-wet-with-cloths-on-friends could hold them off long enough for a QB to find an open receiver. Calling them terrible is the understatement of the year.
--Can anyone else besides Pettigrew catch a ball? B. Johnson was supposedly this great addition-a former high draft pick who some say wasn't given a fair chance; but now we know the truth: the guy is lousy. So is Northcutt. It's a shame that 4th rounder Derrick Williams got hurt, otherwise he may be starting in place of either of these 2 lackey's.
OK, I've rambled long enough about my Lions. I see some potential-unfortunately almost all of it is associated with their 09' draft class. I do think that Pettigrew going down in the first series screwed their offense: he is proving to be the real deal now that he has learned to catch a ball from Stafford, and I think that the Lions would have given Green Bay a much better game if he hadn't of gotten hurt as his presence frees up CJ over the top and he is a great blocker. Regardless, injuries are a big part of the NFL, and if you don’t' have depth, then you are effed-just like every one else in the league.
Hopefully the Lions will pull out another win or 2 this year. It's unlikely, but as a Lions fan all I have had for the last decade is hope-which got old 5 years ago-but with some of the pieces they have in place right now, their does look to be a light at the end of our very long and dark tunnel…But, lets be honest-I'm only hoping.
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