Heading into today’s game against the Indianapolis Colts the Lions are 4-7 and in the middle of a disappointing season with signs of regression everywhere. Sure you can say it’s been entertaining with the 4th quarters that leave you on the edge of your seat but in the end there have been too many losses with a lot of reckless play. And as fans you need to ask yourself one question, which starter is having a better year this year than last? An answer may be difficult to find with Nick Fairley being the only player I can think of due to the fact he had an injury plagued rookie season that held him out of a lot of games. Tight end Brandon Pettigrew is having an awful season and is responsible for three plays alone that has seemingly cost Detroit two wins. He (Pettigrew) leads the team with four fumbles and has disappeared as a red zone target. Furthermore Pettigrew has been targeted 91 times for only 54 receptions.
The team plays as undisciplined as their head coach Jim Schwartz’s actions. From yelling across the field at 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh, tracking him down the field after their first meeting to throwing a challenge flag on Thanksgiving off pure anger instead of letting cooler heads prevail. Football is war, every Sunday it’s war and the leader of men has to be above emotion.
Schwartz is a good coach, but his future as the Lions head coach is in question. His team is under performing and acting like fools on and off the field with Fairley, Leshoure and Aaron Berry’s (who was subsequently released) multiple arrests and Titus Young’s immature attitude. In essence the Lions currently incorporate a team with a rap sheet that would leave the Cincinnati Bengals scratching their heads.
The NFL is a bottomline business, it’s about wins and the Lions are going backwards after a 10 win playoff year last season. Stafford has been unable to start games efficiently, Calvin Johnson is having a big year but has had some big drops that have cost the team and Suh is in and out of trouble and has frankly earned a reputation nobody should want.
Jim Schwartz is a man of intelligence and due diligence, yet the little things have gone unattended. Schwartz stood by special teams coach Danny Crossman, stood by offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson who I’ll point out has his receivers trap football’s against the body too many times when they should be getting their hands out to Stafford’s passes. Are these area’s that need to addressed going forward? I guess these next final weeks will be crucial.
Essentially I do think Schwartz deserves one more year but two things need to happen. The Lions need to draft-for-need as many picks have gone wasted on the idea of drafting the best player available. And finally GET CONTROL OF THE TEAM! He has changed the culture here and I can’t go without noticing how the important players on this team have bought in like Stafford, Calvin Johnson Johnson, Stephen Tulloch and Corey Williams yet with Suh running around renegade it certainly doesn’t help.
