I’m in my 50’s and have never enjoyed true success with the lions, as I suspect most non-boomer fans can relate. We had a few good seasons but no structural success was ever built into the team….that is until now.
This team feels different and I suspect this mostly has to do with MCDC, BH, and SFH. This is what gave me hope last year for this year’s season, and they have met expectations…mostly.
That is why the games since the Ravens have been so disheartening. It is enormously frustrating to see a team struggle against inferior teams when they can do better. It’s a let down. We know this team is different. We know they can succeed, but for some reason they can’t help but get in their own way, whether it’s offense, defense, and more likely, coaching.
In the past, watching the lions was kind of a masochistic affair. I enjoyed the game but when they lost it was SOL. Now? It hurts. It hurts because the organization is a real team…top to bottom and they’ve given this city and it’s fans REAL hope.
We want them to succeed so badly because it’s been so long since this city and fans have enjoyed anything positive. Detroit and southeast Michigan are full of awesome people and great history. But we’ve been the punching bag for the rest of the nation. Whether it’s being the poster child of urban blight and decline, or high crime and unemployment, or simply being has-beens that aren’t worthy of anything good, this city has endured endless ridicule and humiliation on a national level.
And I’m tired of it. That is why the lion’s shortcomings are so much more hard to take right now.
That being said, I do think this team embodies the best of this city and state. I believe we will make it there if we stay the course, maybe with a few tweaks and adjustments. In the end, I know I will be completely done with this team if they lose their focus and revert to SOL. But for now, I have faith in them and belief that Detroit’s best days are ahead of her.
I watched a good chunk of the Ravens game this weekend as well as the Eagles game. Very much came away from that realizing that, while the Lions have the best team in decades it is still a few pieces away from the caliber of what their teams show on the field. Grit and determination only go so far. We still have some issues that need dealt with to be a super bowl contender. Could we make it there and win with this team sure, but odds are there are a handful of teams that are just better than us still.
I’ve watched for nearly five decades also, so I can’t believe what I’m hearing you say. If you can’t see how this team is different, and we’re on the rise no matter what happens this year, I’ve got nothing for you. Too many Lions fans apparently felt like we were going to the Super Bowl, and so anything short of the NFC title is a failure.
The NFL season in terms of won/loss records has to be looked at as a whole. We’re 8-3, and it’s okay to be disappointed at our performance the last few games, but to slander THIS front office and coaching staff goes too far.
I would take our offense against anyone’s moving forward, particularly when Jonah Jackson is back. Our defense can be a liability, but this panic mode over somehow being out of the division race is baffling. I firmly believe we will get that one playoff win this year, and that Brad Holmes will address the defensive line and other areas in the off-season going into next year. Stay strong you guys.
I firmly believe we will get that one playoff win this year,
We will be lucky to get one more win this year. You guys are delusional.
This losing to inferior teams whine has to stop. It happens in EVERY sport. Difference is, NFL is only 17 games so it makes the margin of error much smaller. Even teams like the Eagles have had many lucky things have to go their way to be 10-1. A few different things happen, and they are 8-3 or 7-4. If the Lions cut out the turnovers, they will be fine.
Not to mention that loss is to fucking Zach Wilson. There are exactly 0 teams in the NFL who don’t have an embarassing loss or two but lions fans will melt down saying “good teams don’t lose these games”. If that’s the case good teams don’t exist
I’m an older fan like the OP. I’ve watched this team for decades. For most of us, we’ve had incredible patience. We are the ones that were shunned because we supported the Lions in the bad times. We continued to fill their stadiums when they were absolute garbage. We would fill their coffers just because of Calvin or Barry.
And we were the best, and the worst, fandom, in all of the NFL. The addicts who couldn’t put down the bad stuff.
But now we’re in a new era and aren’t really sure how to react. We’ve got a really good team that’s not quite to the brink of a championship level yet.
I know I’ve let myself get caught up in all the hype. All the stuff I read online and see on TV. I’m just gonna try and dial it back to my off-season expectations and hope we can win the division and maybe a playoff game. I know there’s a lot more good things to come.
The team ffs is 8-3 what’s hurting?
Nothing enjoy the ride. The Lions can’t win every game. As a matter of fact, no team wins all their games. So enjoy the ride. The Lions have won more games than nearly every other Lions team ever.
Enjoy it.
So my concerns with the Lions this year are mainly the defensive scheming, not so much the defensive players, and Jared Goff’s limitations.
We’re not going to oust Aaron Glenn at 8-3 but in the losses and narrow wins it has felt like the in-game adjustments just aren’t there. AG’s pick is sharp, his shovel is sharp and he’s quite content with staying the course. When he said the Lions were a top 10 defense after a couple games where that side of the ball looked suspect, I checked out on AG.
As for Goff, he’s great at his game, if he’s allowed to play that game. When he’s under consistent pressure, he’s little more than a better version of Jon Kitna or Scott Mitchell. He has no scrambling game and when he’s forced out it’s a danger of fumbling. Unlike those two, I love that he seems to keep a cool head when faced with adversity. But it’s better not to F up in the first place.
Which brings me to my next point. I love that this team stays focused regardless of what the score is. I’ve seen so many good Lions teams in the past get silly or check out mentally or get into “extracurriculars” in the past, to the point where I think that was really what killed them. The Schwartz era comes to mind. This team keeps it reeled in, they stay focused even when down 2-3 scores.
They might have some things to iron out yet and maybe this year won’t be the year for the Super Bowl, I’m still holding out for playoffs win, but overall they’re in a good place.
Next year, Goff is welcome but I say AG should take his self elsewhere.
If only we put this much time, effort and money into our children, education and put the best elected officials forward. The bigger issues of Detroit would change. And I have seen a lot of positive change in the city in last 10 years. Long ways to go but a lot more positive than negative. Downtown has been transformed.
As for the Lions, we are 8-3 but are playing like 4-6 right now. We just need to win the division and anything can happen In the playoffs.
They’re trending in the wrong direction for sure, but the NFL season is long and grueling, and any team can beat any team on any given day. 8-3 is not accident though, not a fraud. The bounce back is entirely possible.
That they didn’t LOSE the CHI and LAC games despite glaring weaknesses is encouraging, and it’s maybe a good time of the year for a full-body MRI. It’s that time of year when weaker teams gain strength and strong teams fade because they’re getting found out. Act 3 will be very telling. But don’t count them out yet. Crazier things have happened.
They won’t beat average or good teams unless they can get to the quarterback as well as play man to man in the secondary when they need to. The secondary has to play soft because they are not all that good. Also Goff is not sharp right now. Inaccuracy, fumbling , and interceptions is gutting the offense. The league has them figured out. Goff is a bridge. They need a quarterback that can improvise by running to and sliding to the first down market
Maybe the issue with SOLFs, or Lions fans in general, is reacting to strongly to the hype. Maybe a lack of nuance? I think I see the the realization of this than some of these replies. Other replies not so much.
If you delve into the details and look at the team’s strengths and weaknesses I think you’ll see that a loss the Ravens was kind of predictable. And so are some of the losses we have coming in the near future.
I say this is a helper and maybe a therapist. But keep in mind this could have been part of the rebuild, this year. It’s not. This was simply the first year of an open window. It’s okay to build gradually. Making the playoffs is a step forward. Let’s focus on that.
We just don’t have the talent to go against the big dogs. I think people confused productivity with talent a lot.
Call number two cornerback would not start anywhere. How much time would Raymond or Josh Reynolds see on better teams? Anzalone, Mike Barnes and Jack Campbell…could they start for any team in the league? What about pretty much any name we have on the defensive line that doesn’t end in Hutchinson? Probably only Hutchinson and McNeil would start other places.
They need to focus on winning the division. That’s all. They are 8-3. This is not horrible. They need four out of next six games. One game at a time. The man said wear a diaper. I now know what he means.