Week Sixteen

Chargers @ LIONS

Not since Barry Sanders was in his pomp has there been a bigger game involving the Lions. How quickly the M***** years and the decade of losing have been washed away by Mayhew and Schwartz to find ourselves with such a game. In some respects it has felt like we are already in the playoffs the last couple of weeks such has been the importance of winning but now Christmas is on hold as we reach the stage of win and we're in. There is every chance the Lions already have enough wins in the bag to make post-season play but having got this close they really need to be make it by smashing their way through the front door rather than sneaking in through the back. Sadly for us over here Sky have chosen the Cowboys/Eagles matchup as their game of choice so the action for us is via our PC's which, especially for those of us that used to fine tune their radio's in the hope of listening to a Lions game on AFN, is as good as being in Ford Field itself. With a winning season now assured every win will be regarded as a bonus as it will continue this magical season while a defeat, save perhaps one, brings the journey to an end. So with that said let's embrace the fact that today's game is against the smoking hot San Diego Chargers, masters of the late season flourish and many experts pre-season tip as the AFC's Super Bowl representative.

Week Fifteen

LIONS @ Raiders

In what may well become dubbed the 'Flag Bowl' the NFL's top two penalised teams meet in Oakland with both needing a win to sustain their hopes of post-season play. As well as sharing the unenviable distinction of being the most penalised team these two also share the fan maddeningly ability to blow hot and cold. There have been times this season when the Raiders have looked like they could be serious contenders in the AFC this year and there have been times when they've looked like they could struggle to beat the Colts. The Lions temperature gauge can seemingly race to extremes within a single game let alone from week to week! After racing out to a 21-0 1st quarter lead against the Vikings last week they ended up requiring a sack/fumble on the last play of the game to seal the victory. With fans of both teams not knowing which of their teams will show up this could be one of those games where it's best to start off with a stiff drink and then just strap yourself in and let the thing unfold good or bad.

Week Fourteen

Vikings @ LIONS

Lions Defensive Co-Ordinator Gunther Cunningham summed up my thoughts this week with his 'we're 7-5 and it's time we started playing like it' speech. Whether you want to call it a lack of experience, a lack of discipline or a lack of maturity there is no doubt that the Lions biggest enemy this season has been themselves. The two recent defeats on national TV highlighted these deficiencies to the wider NFL world but it's not just been in this blog that they had been mentioned beforehand. Frustrating as it is if you accept that immaturity or a lack of experience have been contributory factors in the defeats it then becomes very difficult to apportion too much blame for those defeats on anyone, whether that be players or coaches. You cannot demand experience from someone who has none or little. As frustrating as the performances have been we may just have to accept that it is all part of the learning process for this essentially young team as they gain both experience and maturity. 

Week Thirteen

LIONS @ Saints

The trials and tribulations of the Public Enemy No 1 Ndamukong Suh have diverted attention from the team performance against the Packers. This is unfortunate for Suh who is taking one for the team in more than one sense as, for me, he has become a victim of the NFL's publicity machine as much as he is a victim of his own stupidity. Now he's been tagged as the face of evil there will need to be much work done by both player and coaching staff to prevent his career from suffering for his reputation. Suh's suspension from this game has hopefully provided the catalyst needed for both players and coaches to focus their efforts on beating the opponent rather than beating themselves. Having been flexed into prime time we have to hope it will be the Monday Night Lions rather than the Thanksgiving ones that turn up to play the Saints in front of a national audience in America and insomniacs here on this side of the pond.

Matthew Stafford has apparently been taking snaps with his bare glove free hands which has to be encouraging given his dire record playing with gloves. If he does return to the form he was showing before the broken finger then I do believe that questions need to be asked of both the player and the coaches. Of course it could just be a psychological issue rather than physical but I do maintain that the play calling needs to return to the balance that was shown in the Broncos game. The Lions are supposed to have a balanced attack, just like the Saints and Packers in fact, so it would be nice if we saw some balance with how the ball is progressed upfield.