St. Louis at Lions: Gameday
October 31st, 2009 | by detfan1979 |The game is blacked out locally, and DF79 Clan will be moving my mother in law to my brother in law’s house where it will be easier for everyone to help out. I may even stay up to watch the game Sunday night, or get up early Monday to catch it on the NFL.com free game rewind.
For those of you who can see the game, or who will be catching it via streaming online feel free to post your thoughts here in the comments.
IF both Stafford and CJ play, with K. Smith healthy I can see all 3 having a BIG day vs. the Rams. This is a team the Lions should be able to blow out if their offense and defense are both clicking at the best level they are capable of right now. There are plenty of weaknesses to exploit with the Rams, and they are at least (if not more) bereft of talent as the Lions. The Ram offense is not even a shadow of its’ glory days, and the Lions should have no trouble bottling up Steven Jackson and pressuring Bulger. Even Detroit’s secondary should be able to cover the Rams’ WR.
The key words there are IF and SHOULD. IF not, then we are in for a Veeeery loooooong season. I think that the Lions will come out motivated at home and dominate. Just keep in mind, when it comes to predicting, I always think the Lions have a shot to win.
Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. The Little Pink Lions had a real blast, and so did Mrs. DetFan1979 and myself. 8-6-5 are a great age mix for Halloween — reminds me of back in the day with my brother, driving around to the other farms (we lived in the country) with a pillowcase. Good times.
By Swive on Nov 1, 2009
OK, well, I have a comment but as this is a family site I won’t post it. I greatly enjoy reading your site, Ty, but jeepers – every time ya think they have turned some sort of corner, along comes reality to smack you right between the eyes. You’d think that we would learn, after all this time, wouldn’t you? But no…
By chiefger139 on Nov 2, 2009
you could tell it was halloween cause this team delivered true horror to its fans-game made me sick-I thought stafford looked good but the idiots kept dropping the ball, and the stupid penalties!!! heller played awful, petigrew made one good catch but looked horrible dropping others. smith and morris and aron brown ran the ball nice at times but like i said dropped balls-how pathetic. i had hansen on my fantasy team-0 points-not even a extra point as we went for 2 and got it-never sniffed the end zone again- the safety was a interception as once again a receiver muffed a sure catch that went to the rams, so instead of a td we get 2 points-pathetic game-defense looked ok but no offense-we played like a true 0-16 team this week.
By Rob Stoker on Nov 2, 2009
Having now watched the game:
1. Stafford is not fit, he cannot throw on the run, which I am pretty sure is why we hardly ever saw the play action, and in particular the play action roll out, which killed the offense
2. Depressed about the recieving core, another 1st round pick perhaps?
3. Best game I have seen Delmas play, blew up a number of plays, and although he misses the tackle on the final TD, he’s the contain man, he forces it back inside, someone else has to fill that hole…
By Deano on Nov 2, 2009
Ouch. Apparently the rams wanted their first victory of the year more than the Lions wanted their second. How ironic, my the way, to see Paris Lennon get his first victory after…, well, you know.
Thoughts – hope Pettigrew learns fast – that would give Stafford a reliable checkdown as well as a deeper threat.
-Delmas kicked butt.
-No sacks????
-Our D did a pretty good job containing Jackson in the first half but then the second half started and… Ouch.
-How can our receivers be that bad? Ironic considering the previous drafts. Calvin – PLEASE heal quickly. That will make an immeciate improvement in the other recievers by taking most of the pressure off of them.
By kitabug124 on Nov 2, 2009
The coaching staff has swung the pendulum too far in the other direction. They require accountability which we haven’t seen in years but now many on the team are playing too tight worried that the least little mistake will cost them their jobs. I get the sense that the players and possibly the staff are starting to play anxiously. They are too busy looking over their shoulders to make the plays they need to make. They are just too tight. Other teams “just play”. These guys are trying too hard. Every play, every down is critical. Every snap will either solve poverty and cure hunger or bring on a nuclear holocaust. They are thinking too much instead of letting their football instincts and athleticism take over. These guys are professional athletes. It’s been said that the difference in talent between teams is not that great. I take the game between Detroit and Pittsburg as a case in point.
The players WANT to play perfectly. They WANT to win. They WANT to give the fans victory. They want it sooo much that they are almost paralyzed. They are analyzing every step, every angle, every tackle. They need to loosen up. The players, the coaches, and the front office need to RELAX. I am not saying we as fans or they as a team should accept failure or mediocrity. They need to chill. Effort, yes, but you can not achieve perfection. The monkey on their backs is the pressure of changing “the same ol’ Lions”. Don’t try to change franchise history. Just play the game. Play one game at a time.
I wonder if the competition has become cutthroat. You want players to compete to better themselves and the team. At some point, it becomes a competition to survive. Each player will not care how his play affects the team or any other player because it’s his paycheck and livelihood on the line. He will want to look good individually just to be valuable enough to stay next year or be picked up by another team. That’s when a coach has “lost his team”.
Schwartz has to take the pressure off his team. He has to find a way to motivate them to progress but without the burden, without the stress, without the weight. Only then will we cease to see players being Lionized.
Long-winded, sorry. What do you think?
By Clusterfox on Nov 3, 2009
Well put Kitabug, I was thinking along the same lines. But what bothers me is the fans that refuse to move on, grow up, or just plain look at themselves in the mirror.
I went to the game and was thoroughly disappointed. But the point is that I took my kids(9,7,2)with me. The lions fan behind me never had a good thing to say. Constantly berating the Rams, The Lions, and The Refs. I bring this up because 3 rows back and dozen seats over was a Rams fan who cheered for each and every player on his team by name. Never belittling the lions or blaming the refs, just simply rooting for “Stevie to break it” which we all know he finally did. Annoying? Absolutely. But during the verbal altercation that eventually occured, I couldn’t help but laugh when the guy behind me said “I would never act that way if I was in St Loius” and I had to agree. He would have berated his own team worse than they ever could have. My point in bringing all this up is the combination that I agree with the post from above and I think that becomes more and more difficult as you have idiots yelling at our QB from behind the bench. When are we collectively going to accept the role of SUPPORTING our team.
Sorry for the Rant,
Clusterfox