September 14, 2008
PREGAME
OK, now that the technical difficulties are fixed (thanks to my lovely cable operator), let's move on to some football. Game 2. Home opener. Don't pretend you don't care. I know you do. There is noise in at Ford Field -- at least it sounds that way from my television set. The Packers are in town. The Lions' defensive lineman are going crazy after tackles -- redemption, anyone? -- and Green Bay is about to punt after taking the opening kickoff and gaining exactly three yards.
Already, things look better than a week ago.
Take a deep breath.
FIRST QUARTER
6:00:Clearly, the Lions look interested today. But why does it take an embarrassment a week ago in Atlanta to elicit professionalism? In other words, isn't opening day enough motivation? Wait, I'm digressing. We are looking forward. And so are the Packers as they move down the field.
2:07:I was about to suggest that the defense looks a little better. Then Green Bay started opening up holes in the middle. And Aaron Rodgers is finding seams in the secondary. And avoiding the rush. And slipping out of the pocket to convert third downs, to pick up yards on the edge, and to, finally, find a receiver in the end zone.
Last week it happened in a blur. This week it happened -- so far -- like ice freezing. All of it appears inevitable. 15 plays. 86 yards. No one on the defense able to exert any semblence of will to stop it. Green Bay 7-0.
1:14:So, what now? I'm sure you're looking at the clock, noticing that it's 30 measly minutes into football Sunday, and thinking: "I feel sick." I'm suggesting that you give Jon Kitna and the offense a chance to answer the score. Anything else is just nihilism. (Though I wouldn't blame you.)
0:00:Kevin Smith has vision. Quick feet. And isn't afraid of contact. He may not have top-end speed, but he has tools to work with. If Jon Kitna can find Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams, Smith will find even more room to run. Lost in the demoliton to the Falcons last week was an offense that looks like it could drop an easy 30 points. Then again, they need the ball. And after one quarter, they didn't get it much. End of the quarter: Packers 7, Lions 0.
SECOND QUARTER
13:35:I'm all for establishing a ground game. I'm also all for chucking the ball down the field on first down. What I'm not all for is running between the guard and tackle on second-and-long, which invariably leads to third-and-long.
Oh. And I'm not all for dropped passes. As I said, the points are out there. But overthrown balls, split-second lapses in concentration, and missed assignments are out there, too. Why must this be in Detroit? It's almost surreal.
11:07:Less than two quarters into the professional football season in Detroit, and the boos have arrived. A receiver 40 yards downfield with no one around? An announcer comparing the Lions defense to school kids at the mercy of a bully playing keep-away? Almost 190 yards given up less than 19 minutes into the game? What else is there to say? How about 14-0 Green Bay?
7:05:One drawback to watching football on televison is that it's difficult to tell why certain things unfold they way they do. For example, did Jon Kitna just get sacked because he held on to the ball too long? Or did he not have enough time? Or was everybody covered down the field? One thing is for certain, the Packers' receivers are clearly not. They continue to find seams. It's amazing that for the second week in a row, it seems to be collapsing so quickly.
6:47:OK, maybe it's not so surprising. We are dealing with the Lions. But then that's why you continue to watch, and buy tickets and read stories and study stats. Because there is always hope. Every Sunday is like going to church.
You tell yourself that no matter how chaotic the world is, there is always next week. You just want that inevitabiltiy to settle in so quickly. You just want to get to halftime. 21-0? It's beyond losing, really.
5:49:If you choose to bump-and-run a receiver, don't you have to bump? Otherwise, they just run. As the Packers' Jordy Nelson just did on his way to a 29-yard touchdown pass. Meanwhile, Roy Williams just got called for his second offensive pass interference call in as many weeks.
3:15:Not only does Jon Kitna hold the ball too long, but he doesn't seem to be scanning the field. Perhaps that's because of Green Bay's pressure. Still, at this point in the game, the offensive line is providing at least some protection. What's more troubling is why Williams and Johnson aren't getting off the line against considerably smaller defensive backs.
1:29:Aaron Rodgers is good. He's mobile. He's accurate. He throws a ball with zip. Will he be great? Who knows? We also don't know how good Green Bay is. Yes, they beat Minnesota last week. But the Vikings' quarterback, Tarvaris Jackson, can't throw. And as for what the Packers are doing against the Lions, well, what does that mean, really? It's pretty pitiful when you can't gauge the team beating you by three touchdowns.
0:17:Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson look gassed. Jon Kitna just got crushed. Rod Marinelli is yelling at the refs. Yet a little disarray may not just be a bad thing. Neither is Mike Furrey. The Lions are moving the ball. And threatening to score.
0:14:Here's a question: If Marinelli's favorite offensive package is the one they are in now, and if that package is the one they used to score last week, and if that package is why, almost two quarters into the game, the Lions are finally on the scoreboard, why don't they use it more? I don't want to oversimplify, football is obviously a complicated game in some ways. But if you're big receivers can't find space down the field, but your second and third receivers can, then why wait until you are down by three touchdowns to start slinging the ball to them?
HALFTIME
At this point, six quarters into the season, we know a few things: The Lions aren't very talented. And though they don't seem to be beating themselves as much as in years past, talent still counts for just about everything. Is it possible to be better coached but worse on the field? I know this doesn't make sense. But that's what I see so far: they look more like team; just not a very good one. Packers 21, Lions 3.
THIRD QUARTER
11:29:I know you wanted six. 21-10 doesn't seem as bleak, especially considering how the Lions got outplayed in the first. Still, they moved the ball. They are down two scores. Now, for the defense?
9:37:The Lions gave up 263 yards in the first half. The D-line got pressure up the middle. The problem? Aaron Rodgers. He continues to scramble, find receivers, or the first-down marker, as he just did -- though the Lions are challenging, suggesting he stepped out of bounds before he got the first. (Every reply I've seen is inconclusive). Whether Detroit wins the challenge or not, it's clear the Lions haven't given up this game. Recovering fumbles helps.
8:15:Let me get this straight. The Lions are down, 21-6. They recover a fumble in scoring position. Calvin Johnson is running down the sideline. He isn't open when Jon Kitna spots him, but he might be by the time the ball gets to him. Doesn't he have to take that chance, to fling it out there and see what happens? Johnson has his defender by six inches. Instead, Kitna tucks the ball and takes a sack. The Lions get a field goal. Reaching for mediocrity never looked so painful.
Throw the ball, no? Packers 21-9.
4:29:Nine times Green Bay has faced third down. Seven times they have converted. Is there a more demoralizing stat in football? On an unrelated note, I'd like to know why the announcers think Detroit is stopping the run. Almost a quarter and a half is left and the Packers have almost 90 yards. Not a bad pace. I guess relative to last week's gashing, today's defense is stellar. Wait, now they are telling us Green Bay always runs well against the Lions. What gives?
2:29:I know Green Bay has the ball. I know they are slicing up the Lions' secondary again. I know they are about to score. But let's talk about Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson. They have five catches and 70 yards between them. All that preseason talk about the best duo in the league? Maybe the Packers' defensive backs were right. Bump at the line, they said, and get them off their stride.
Johnson may be big and otherwordly fast. But what if he has nowhere to run? If you take anything away from the early part of this season, take this: What was supposed to be the most spectacular part of this team is so far the biggest bust. (I take it all back if the pair explodes in the fourth).
1:00:Second-and-18. Kitna underthrows Shaun McDonald. Third-and-18. Kitna underthrows Mike Furrey. Boos everywhere. So the Big Two receivers can't get open. The quarterback's arm looks tired. The offensive line has given up four sacks. I'd say the implosion is complete.
FOURTH QUARTER
13:15:But when he does get open, and catches the ball, and strolls into the end zone, he makes it look easy. Incredibly, Calvin Johnson just brought the Lions within one score (and a two-point conversion). Three minutes ago, they'd been outgained by 150 yards and more or less dominated. Now? Most of the fourth quarter is left, and the Lions are in the game. Is this a typical Detroit tease? Or is this the beginning of one of the strangest victories in recent memory?
11:41:The Lions are swarming? Flushing Rodgers from the pocket and finally bringing him down? A safety? Suddenly, the Packers look like the Lions always have, trying to find a way to lose. What happens after this punt will be telling: Do the playmakers keep making them? Will the receivers step up, as (ahem) the defense just did?
9:38:Right tackle George Foster is on the bench. Left tackle Jeff Backus just got called for his second holding penalty. Kitna just threw into double coverage on a third-and-long. And off trot the Lions, squandering the momentum and energy after a touchdown, a three-and-out and a safety. Then again, seizing the moment is what good football teams do.
7:51:And he slams the ball over the goalposts? Did he even jump? First lead of the season. Calvin Johnson -- and Roy Wiliams -- are stepping up. The same playmakers who couldn't find space in the first half are finding it now.
Most important? Detroit isn't beating itself. Even down 21-0, the Lions stayed focused and kept plugging. Are they discovering something about themselves here?
5:28:I don't remember the last time Cory Redding and Shaun Cody have looked so good. They are exploding off the ball. Having said that, Greg Jennings -- who played college ball at Western Michigan -- just took a slant 60 yards. Not the D-line's fault, necessarily. If nothing else, the game isn't boring. Nor is it irrelevant. And for the moment, that is a kind of victory.
5:17:After Jennings' big play, Detroit found a way to hold Green Bay to a field goal. This may sound crazy, but that was an enormously important stop.
27-25. Packers back on top. Johnson, Williams and Kitna get another chance.
3:31:For the second week in a row, Kitna throws a deflating interception. Last week's was the result of a receiver's mistake. This week? The kind of decision that has dogged Kitna his entire career: an underthrown, listless heave into double coverage. The Lions grab hold of this game, then miss a slant route and give up a field goal and follow it up with an even more discouraging pick.
That leads to a touchdown and a nine-point deficit. After the first-half debacle, Detroit found a way to make a loss even more painful. When will this narrative end?
2:00:Two more picks. Two more Green Bay touchdowns. Two more dejected walk off the field from Kitna. 48-25. When Detroit made this a game in the fourth, it was the play of the defense and the receivers. Kitna got the ball to his guys, but it was his guys who really made the plays. Kitna has always had a penchant for making the wrong decision at the worst time. But now it looks like he's lost some zip on his ball -- not that he ever had a big arm to begin with. All day, he had trouble getting the ball to the sideline. Or to a place where only his guys could get it. And remember, Johnson and Williams are two of the biggest targets in football.
POSTGAME
Jon Kitna finished the game on the bench. That doesn't necessarily mean anything for the future. This game is never won or lost with one player. But clearly, the quarterback play late in the game is what everyone will remember. Kitna's poor choices were lost last week in a blur of Atlanta running backs gouging Detroit's front four. That line played appreciably better today.
Yet the end result was the same. Detroit is 0-2 now. That isn't a surprise -- they've done it before. Nor is it a surprise that Detroit found yet another way to lose.
But a one-point lead with seven minutes left in the game? Followed by 24 unanswered points?
I can't recall the last time such goodwill vanished. The Lions actually resembled an NFL team today. Then it disappeared into the ether. And all the fan base has left is another week to shake their heads. Final score: Green Bay 48, Lions 25.
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