After watching four games of Detroit Lions football, a very important fact has dawned on me. The Lions, after so many years of losing, are allergic to leads. Seriously, think about it. They seem to avoid taking the lead in any football game, and when they do have them, they have a violent reaction that gets it away from them in the most efficient way possible. The Lions lead by a touchdown, the Vikings will be forced to punt...two plays later, the score is 7-7. The Lions lead by 11, it's almost halftime...90 seconds later, that lead is one point, and their starting quarterback is out indefinitely. The Lions dominate the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, moving the ball at will and winning the turnover battle. After holding the Packers' offense scoreless the entire [...] Continue reading → | Calvin Johnson catch, Detroit Lions, Detroit Lions losing streak, Matthew Stafford

How is it possible for two 0-2 teams from the same division to be so very different, yet have the same basic goal when playing one another? Before this week, I would have said it wasn't possible. But here we are, and we may never see a pair of 0-2 teams as different as the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. Both teams are winless, neither has lost by more than a possession. Minnesota's season point differential is -9, Detroit's is -8. Both teams went for it on 4th-and-short last week, neither did terribly well with it. Detroit is missing its starting quarterback. Minnesota is starting to wish it was, too. And then there's Jahvid Best, who last Sunday taught everybody why the Lions traded up to get Minnesota's pick in the first round to select him. The matchup is chock [...] Continue reading → | Detroit Lions Brett Favre, Detroit Lions losing streak, Detroit Lions Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions Week 3, NFL Week 3

Well, this is awkward. Barely a month after the Detroit Lions exorcised a 19-game losing streak, they now have the opportunity to give the St. Louis Rams their 18th. What's more, that 18th straight loss would also send the Rams to 0-8 on the season, halfway to the mark the Lions put up  in the Season Which Shall Not Be Named. Now, by no means am I saying the Rams are going to go winless this season (they do play Tennessee in December), but the Lions can exorcise a little more of their recent history by keeping the Rams on that path. Sure, what's done is done, and last season can never be erased. But it can be printed over. If the Rams exceed the Lions' losing streak and run it to 20, then at the very least, the Lions are not the most recent big-time [...] Continue reading → | Detroit Lions losing streak, Detroit Lions St. Louis Rams, St. Louis Rams losing streak

Remember last week? Remember life before Sept. 27, 2009? It was a time fraught with anxiety, despair, hopelessness. It was a time where columnists like myself were predicting that last Sunday's game against the Washington Redskins was going to be the Detroit Lions' last chance at a victory until after their week seven bye. Now, suddenly, that seems a bit hasty. This team has finally won a game, and in somewhat convincing fashion. They didn't sneak out a win, they—dare I say it—dominated most of the game, and almost let the Redskins sneak away in the final seconds. That one win changes the complexion of the rest of the season. No longer is the question, "can the Lions win this week," it's "will they?" The Lions have proven they [...] Continue reading → | Detroit Lions Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions losing streak, Detroit Lions Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions win

Now you can be disappointed. At the end of the first half against the Vikings, the Detroit Lions were in complete control of the football game. They were up 10-7, and the seven didn't come until after the two-minute warning. Final score: Vikings 27, Lions 13.  That's something to be angry about. Last week, at New Orleans? Not so much. That was a game the Lions were supposed to lose, and while they hung around, they never gave the impression they were a better team than the Saints. That has since been confirmed, as the Saints went on to torch the Philadelphia Eagles, a trendy preseason Super Bowl pick, by a greater margin than they beat the Lions. Against the Vikings, though, the team was different. The Lions were getting pressure on Brett Favre, stopping Adrian [...] Continue reading → | adrian peterson, Brett Favre Vikings, Detroit Lions losing streak, Detroit Lions Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions New Orleans Saints