Hello there,
My name is Ryan James and I would like to welcome you to my first official blog entry!
I'll save all the "get to know the writer" information for another time, because right now there is something from The World of Professional Football that, as a Michigan resident, has me burning!
So, did anybody get a chance to see the Detroit Lions play today? Let me rephrase that, did anyone turn on their television to FOX around 1:00pm eastern time today, and have the unfortunate luck of seeing the Detroit Lions? Look, I admit that I was one of the few Lions supporters out there. Believe me, that is a lonely feeling! But after today, how can you support a team that isn't just 0-4, but that has been BLOWN OUT each game!
For those of you that do not follow the lions, the past four weeks have been rough, very rough! Week one of the NFL season, the Lions played the Atlanta Falcons. The same Atlanta Falcons whose head coach jumped ship during the regular season last year. The same team that lost their starting QB, Mike Vick, to federal prison, because he was more concerned with running an underground dog fighting business, than becoming a proficient pocket passing NFL quarterback. But hey, who wouldn't jump at the opportunity to trade being an NFL star, and one of the leagues highest paid players for a criminal record, a league suspension, and a prison cell for 12-18 months?
Anyway, back to what I was saying.
Week one, the Falcons were starting a rookie quarterback (Matt Ryan), a rookie left tackle (Sam Baker), and a first time NFL head coach (Mike Smith). With Detroit’s whole off-season focused towards bringing in players that "had experience", and "knew the Tampa 2 system" (what lions head Coach Rod Marinelli really meant by that statement was, bringing in old washed-up players that he coached during his stay in Tampa Bay) and finding players that "play fast" (In other words, we'll bring in players that have a ton of speed, but can't tackle to save their lives.) All this was done to improve their defense, which was ranked dead last in the NFL last year, that gave up an average of 377 total yards to opposing offenses.
So what did all that "speed" and "knowledge" get us week one, against the newly renovated Atlanta Falcons? It got us a 23-21 Loss where this defense, full of Rod Maranelli's players, gave up 474 total yards, 318 of which came on the ground.
Rod said, after the game, that they just needed to "get back to work”, and work on things like “finishing games", "sprinting to the ball", and "finishing our tackles". Finish your tackles! This isn't pee wee football we're talking about here, this is professional ball! These Athletes are making millions of dollars to play a game! I'm sorry, but when I hear a coach say that he needs to have his team work on things like "sprinting to the ball," I question the motivation, the heart, and the intensity of the players he's talking about. Why wouldn't you sprint full speed? Why wouldn't you finish your tackles? I think the wrong questions were asked in this case.
Moving on, week two held a follow up performance that only the Lions could have in store for their fans. A 48-25 blow out loss to the Green Bay Packers, once again giving up an astonishing 447 total yards offense. This week the rush defense was better, but the passing defense was torched for a total of 324 yards through the air. It's worth a note that this is the Packers team that is playing with first year starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers at the helm on the offense, not the legendary Brett Favre. Of course, Favre was traded the New York Jets this past off-season. It's also worth mentioning that the Lions starting QB Jon Kitna threw three interceptions in the fourth quarter, two of which where returned for touchdowns. Way to finish the game Rod!
Week three, the Lions traveled to San Francisco to take on former Detroit offensive coordinator, Mike Martz. Martz was fired by Marinelli at the end of last season. He was the one who took the blame for the tame Lions offense, and the inept running game, or lack-there-of. I also have to mention that when Mike Martz packed for San Fran, he brought along back up quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan. Martz had previously said that J.T. had the ability and arm strength to make all the throws a successful NFL quarterback needed to make. However, in Detroit, J.T kept the bench warm for "Mr. Three picks in the fourth quarter, but I’m not the reason we lost," Jon Kitna.
As you might expect, the Lions took their third loss of the season. It was a 31-13 defeat that wasn't even as close as the final score shows. Having proved they couldn't stop the run, like in week one, or the pass, like in week two, Martz picked apart Marinelli's troops by exploiting both weaknesses, accounting for 370 total yards (188 yards passing, 182yards rushing).
If you haven’t noticed a trend here, I would like to point out that the Detroit Lions lost their first three games, to three first year starting quarterbacks! One a rookie, one that was on the bench for three years behind Bret Favre, and one that was a career backup and journeyman, even for them.
Then came the bye week. The Lions had two full weeks to fix their problems on both sides of the ball, and prepare for a division match up game against the Chicago Bears. Yes, week four is often earlier than a coach and players would want their bye week to be, but in this case, it was just what Lions needed. (I hope the NFL’s television ratings won’t suffer... yeah right!) All week the Lions spread word to the media that they were going to make improvements on each side of the ball, and be ready to go.
The biggest surprise of the entire Lions season, perhaps, came during that bye week. Detroit’s owner, William Clay Ford Sr., parted ways with Lions’ President and General Manager, Matt Millen. Millen's firing was very surprising because Ford had publicly stated, many times, his support for Millen over the years, and is on record saying he would not fire him. However, with a record of 31-84 since he took over as the man in Detroit, his firing was one of the most inevitable actions in sports, and fans have been calling for it, for years. Finally, it happened!
This is an important move, because Millen is the one who hired the underachieving Rod Maranelli just three seasons ago. With a new General Manager in town, maybe a new head coach is in the very near future. One can only hope.
This bye week we have also seen the firing of Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin, whose record was 5-15, (1-3 so far this season) and Rams coach Scott Linehan, who had a record of 11-25, (0-4 this season). By the way, Marinelli is 10-26 (0-4 now this season) so far in his three seasons as the Lions head coach.
Even with two weeks of preparation, the Bears destroyed the fight-less Lions 34-7. The Lions were not able to sustain any offense, at times looking like the receivers were running the wrong play. The defense looked as though they where going to hold the Bears offense to a modest game, giving up only 3 points in the first quarter. However, when you don't get consistent pressure on the quarterback, and you have the challenging task of covering the speedy Devin Hester, 34 points add up fast. Not to mention the fact that the defense tires out when Detroit's anemic offense can't keep drives going, allowing time for the defensive players to rest.
I was very curious to see what the players and the coaches had to say after the Lions’ fourth straight loss to start the season. I got online and went to www.prideofdetroit.com to see what I could find. Here it is, let’s see what they have to say:
Opening Statement: Just two injuries so far: we've got (Jon) Kitna, had back spasms and that's why we didn't bring him out in the second half, and (Dan) Orlovsky has got a high ankle sprain. Again, we don't know how bad that is, so that's where we're at right now."
Yeah well, if I was Jon Kitna, and I'd been playing as poor as he has this season, let’s just say I'd be having "back spasms" too.
On what happens now after he has spent two weeks evaluating and making changes: "We just go back to work. We tried to get some no-huddle in; that's what we worked on quite a bit these last couple weeks, and it's no magic to it. It's not like you run it and all of a sudden everything opens up. You still have to communicate and execute, and we didn't do that. So we'll continue to work with it and try to improve it and go from there."
A bunch of the same old, Rod Marinelli typical answers. "Back to work." Why don't you try something new Rod, how about, I don't know... Go to work for the first time?!
On if he expects to be fired today or tomorrow: "I think I've repeated this a lot to you, that I don't look in the future, right? I think I've said that to you, right? Would you agree? Your silence is agreement. If you're silent then you agree with me. Good; so I've already said it."
Rod, I am not being silent! I do not agree! Tons of fans and analysts agree with me, you should not be the head coach of the Detroit Lions anymore!
On why he expects to keep his job when he hasn't been able to win in a year and a half: "I'm going to again tell you exactly what I've said in the past: I'm going to get up in the morning and go to work."
And I was afraid I wouldn't sleep tonight. Come on Rod, be honest! You say that over and over again because it sounds a lot better that the truth. You don't want to be up there and say that the truth is you SHOULD be fired, and that you AREN'T the right man for the job! Quite frankly, you would be respected more if you'd just realize it and steped down. Why should you keep your job, when Lane Kiffin, and Scott Linehan have both been fired this season?
On why he thinks he can turn this season and this team around: "Well, I think we have to go back and just keep evaluating talent, get the right people in here and keep working on what we do in terms of our system and improve it."
Maybe it's just me, but didn't they have the whole off-season to evaluate talent? Shouldn't they know what they have by now?
On if coaches are concerned after today's performance that the players have quit on them: "I don't believe they have."
No, Rod? The players haven’t quit on them, huh? That’s why they looked like they didn’t know it was game day, and showed up for a practice against the Bears, who blew them out. That’s why wide receiver Roy Williams expressed his frustration on the field by yelling at the WR coach, and kicking the air after an interception that was a pass intended for him? Come on Rod, the players have quit, and even if they haven’t they aren’t coached well enough to be successful.
On if QB Jon Kitna would still be the starter if everyone is healthy next week: "We'll go back next week and look at - Yes, yes, as I'm sitting here right now. Yes."
Why not put in one of the younger quarterbacks and see what they can do? Clearly Jon Kitna is not the future of the franchise, and this is not going to be a winning season. Why not plan for the future, and see what either Orvlousky, or Stanton can do? Both are more mobile than Kitna, and a change might just spark the offense.
On when he will come clean and tell them what the real problem is: "I'm coming clean. We have to coach football better. We have to get these guys ready to play, we have to find a way to get them to execute, and that's our job."
Finally a little honesty! Yes, they do need to coach better; yes, they do have to get the players ready to play. Except, I think they had their chance, now let’s move on. The interim GM has already said that there won’t be a coaching change until after the season, if there is at all. Well, I think enough is enough, and there’s no time like the present. Rod was the wrong hire two seasons ago, so cut the ties, and let’s get someone else in there. The chances of him staying the coach next year are not that good and while, yes, I agree, a new coach right now would probably mean giving up on the rest of the season, because it takes time for a coach to get used to his players, and players take time to get used to a new system, but if we get someone in here now, we have a better chance at starting strong next year.
Another concern is, what are the Lions going to do with disgruntled WR Roy Williams? It was speculated that he could be traded before the season, and now it is speculated that he will be traded before the October 14 trade deadline. He is in the last year of his contract, and has no reason to return to Detroit next year. I really think it’s time they move him and get the most value possible in return. It’s hard to suggest that you trade such a talented wide out, with size, and speed. But the Lions need so many other positions to be solidified, and they still have Calvin Johnson. Yesterday, Roy was showered with boo’s in his home stadium, and once he started showing his frustration on the field, he was met with fans chanting "Trade Roy!" Like I said, move him, but get proper value, maybe someone who can be a legitimate starter on the offensive line, or in the secondary, and, please, someone who never played for Tampa Bay. Even a first round draft pick would be acceptable, but I hope they don't force a trade to get rid of him. Proper value in return is the key here. Matt Millen is gone, hopefully so are the bad roster moves!
Well if your still reading up to this point, let me know what you think, give me some feedback! Let me know what you think the Lions should do with Rod Marinelli, or Roy Williams, or anyone for that matter. Who do you think is a good candidate to take over as President/GM or even the head coach position? Any feedback is appreciated, and I will also be taking questions.
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