The chances have been there throughout this season to win games that we've ended up losing. The reasons have been various and generally game changing events or chances could be attributed to individual player errors. In post-game press conferences Coach Schwartz would point to these 'individual errors' and justifiably point out that but for these we may well have won, not lost, said game therefore faith must be maintained by staff and fans alike in the game plan/scheme/call it what you will. 'Successful teams have faith in what they do and maintain that faith in times of adversity' was the message to all those that were raising concerns about the Lions performances this season. The teams was slow out of the blocks, the team seemed incapable of maintaining an offensive drive until the 4th quarter, Special Teams looked like an accident waiting to happen etc The coaching staff were absolved of blame and even those of us that were raising concerns restricted the criticism to the Co-Ordinators. But now as we head into the final five games of the season, all of which need to be won if we are to finish with a winning season, the spotlight, in my opinion, should be shone very brightly on Coach Schwartz.
For me our two recent defeats have highlighted that there is an issue within the coaching set up that will need to be addressed if this particular class of Lions is ever to achieve the success they looked destined for. The Green Bay game shall now be know as the 'Titus Young Snr Bowl' and hopefully it'll be the last time this sorry excuse of a player takes the field in a Lions jersey. As fans and outsiders we have a very limited understanding of what players are actually like but their team mates and coaches should have a pretty good idea. Young's lack of maturity and selfish attitude were open secrets but as fans we could not have been aware of how much this affected his ability to be an effective player. The coaching staff would have and if they didn't then they should have. For the must win game against the Packers Young was thrown to 8 times of which 7 were incomplete. Despite having already been called for a false start penalty, causing Cherilus to get called for another and not catching a pass Young was still in the game as it went into the crucial 4th quarter. The coaching staff must have felt their decision was justified as Young finally caught a pass for a 24 yard gain. He followed this up with another incompletion on 3rd and 9 with the ball on the Packers 9 yard line. Then as the Lions looked to begin what we all hoped would be a game winning drive with the ball on the Lions 15 yard line Young was thrown to on both 2nd and 3rd down with both passes incomplete. We now learn that Young repeatedly lined up in the wrong position and it has been suggested he did this deliberately as an act of petulance. The coaches benched him for the final desperation drive of the game and suspended him from the Texans game but at that stage there was really little else they could do given how obvious the matter had become. Schwartz gave a little insight into the problems and implied that among the individual player errors that lead to this particular defeat those of Titus Young Snr had been prevalent. Actually Coach you and your coaches need to accept the responsibility of such a player being on the field in the first place. His issues would have been no secret to them, in fact they now seem so obvious he must have looked like he was covered in red flags as he took to the field. Making allowances for such an indisciplined player has likely had a detrimental effect on the locker room where patience in such a player must have worn thin, particularly among the veterans (Raiola's comments this week are worthy of note). For the Lions need to be building towards a winning season next year Young must become the poster boy of what is not acceptable within the team. Personally I would cut him today and not care about the cost either in cap hit or potential lost draft picks from a trade. The expectation is he will not play for the Lions again and this is as it should be.
Schwartz needs to learn too that indulging in the type of player Titus Young represents is not something he should be doing but the Texans game gave rise to the belief that this is a lesson he is some way from learning. The indiscipline problems of last season were detrimental to the success of the team and were something it was hoped would be addressed during the off-season. The errant challenge flag that Schwartz threw in the 3rd Quarter that adversely changed the momentum of the Thanksgiving Game tells me that the coach lacks self discipline. He can hold his hand up after the event all he likes and we can moan about the stupidity of the rule that allows a touchdown that shouldn't have been because the coach erroneously challenged the play but ultimately a coach in control doesn't throw the challenge flag. The faith in scheme and game plans is laudable but when mistakes are repeated and not corrected then there is a danger this faith becomes arrogance. The call in OT probably cost us the Titans game while the decision to throw the challenge flag gave life to the Texans in a game we were, until that point, controlling. The team should be a reflection of its Head Coach and it's worrying if these Lions are a reflection of Schwartz. These last five games offer the opportunity for Schwartz to demonstrate his grip on the team. The playoffs may now likely be beyond us but there is the opportunity to finish the season with a winning record and take that momentum into 2013.
Few would've expected that it would be the Colts and not the Lions that were looking to be playoff bound when the schedules were announced but here we are with that being the case. Despite the Colts success this season though this is a game in which it will be the Lions ability to perform that will dictate the outcome. This is the first game of the rest of the season and there is little for the Lions to be playing for apart from pride so we'll get a good indication of what they're made of. I'm of the belief that there is still much to build on and that Schwartz is still the man to oversee the progression of this team from losers to winners. I'm expecting this to be a statement of intent and for the expected order to be restored.
Prediction: Colts 17 LIONS 31
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