Off To The Superbowl?

Every year its an on going joke that when Lions fans see their team win we find ourselves getting over excited and claiming that this is the year we finally make the Superbowl. Lions fans around the globe were definitely feeling that vibe this Sunday when the Lions beat the New England Patriots 26-10. From the start of the game, Detroit moved the ball more effectively. Lions defence came out strong and didn't allow the Tom Brady offence to even convert a 3rd down until late in the second quarter. I believe the biggest factor laid into place why the Lions beat New England is the fact that they were able to have a running game for the first time in literally five years. For the first time since Thanksgiving 2013, a Detroit Lions running back rushed for over 100 yards in a game. This stat might not seem like a very big deal until you realize that in that gap of time there have been over 300 one hundred yard rushers from other teams. Another important detail is the Detroit rusher who claimed the 100 yard game is rookie back Kerryon Johnson. The fact that he is only a rookie means he has a lot of improving yet to do and adjusting to how the NFL is different from football at a collegiate level. Personally I think that Johnson is going to have a very successful career with the Lions and will be an All-Pro back.

Lions defence also showed a lot of energy in Sundays victory. They held Tom Brady to only 133 yards and one touchdown. Corner back Darius Slay had an interception late in the game which almost sealed the game. While watching the defence this week, I noticed on many occasions, the second the ball got handed to the back at least 3 or 4 defenders were right on him ready to make the pay. Detroit had more spring in their step than anybody on the Patriots. Another key in why we were able to come out with the win is the fact that the Lions were able to keep the ball out of Tom Brady's hands as much as possible. Lions had the ball on offense for nearly 70% of the game, which didn't leave the Pats much time for a comeback. Overall this win was a well needed win to avoid going 0-3. Next week the Lions play at 1 ET against the Dallas Cowboys in Dallas. Both teams are 1-2 and are trying to get back to .500. No matter what team your cheering for this next week, it will be a good game. Check out the blog next week for another update and rundown about the game.

Conflicting Schedule

Week two of the NFL season has come and gone, and there were quite a few interesting games. One of those games was definitely the Lions vs 49ers game. Ever since the Lions suffered a big loss to the Jets in week one, I was ready and hoping that they would bounce back against San Fransisco. But before I could get too excited for the game, one of the worst things possible happened. I got scheduled for work, during the game. DUN DUN DUN! I knew that there was no way I was gonna be able to focus on working at all without knowing what was going on in the game, so I set up my strategy. I work at McDonald's, but I'm in the back making the food, so costumers don't see if I whip out my phone to check the score. The main part of the plan is hoping that the manager that is working is one of the more "chill" or laid back managers that don't care if you look at you phone as long as you work. I pull into the McDonald's parking lot, ready to go inside. The moment of truth, who is the manager. Turns out it was one of the chill managers, but I still wasn't able to focus on work. Every time I went to do something I thought "What if we just made a huge play that everyone will be talking about and I missed it". This led to me checking my phone an over obnoxious amount of times. One of my coworkers said that he could tell how the game was doing simply on how quickly I worked. If Lions scored I would be bouncing around, quick to do what I was asked. On the other hand, when 49ers were scoring I slowed down. Towards the end of my shift I give one last glance at my phone, Lions losing 13 to 30 in the fourth quarter. That's when I stopped checking. No way they were going to come back from down 17, with only around 10 minutes to play, right.

 But I was wrong, when I got out of worked and looked at my phone, Lions were only trailing by 3 points with the score 27 to 30 and only 3 minutes to play. I decide to stay in the McDonald's parking lot to watch the end of the game on my phone.49ers had the ball, Lions need to play good defence and retain possession of the ball to get any chance to win. 3rd down comes, all we need is a stop and the balls ours. Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers quarterback throws the ball, and Lions pick it off and run it into field goal range. I begin to celebrate in my car until I notice that there was a flag on the play, holding. just like that, the 49ers have the ball back and a first down. My celebration quickly turns to frustration and I begin to yell at the refs through my phone, or at least till I see an older gentleman give me a weird look. he was probably thinking "working at McDonald's isn't that bad, is it". Lions defence does end up getting a stop, and Lions get the ball but time is too little and the are unable to score, therefore giving us another loss. Next Sunday, Lions play the Patriots at 8:30 on NBC. Also make sure to read next weeks blog to get some of my opinions about Tom Brady and why the Lions should or shouldn't have beat him.

Used to Disappointment

To be completely honest, if I had to sum up my life as a Lions fan in one word, it would be disappointment. That is exactly what I felt this past Monday when the Lions lost to the New York Jets, 44-17. Week one of the NFL season is always marked on my calender from the moment the previous season ends. There is always so much anticipation for the new year, and a fresh slate where every team has a chance to win the Superbowl, except the Browns, they got their own issues. Excitement was especially high this year after keeping most, if not all key offensive and defensive players on the team and only added talent and got better. There was also a lot of commotion for Lions new head coach, Matt Patricia. Patrica has been in New England as the Defensive Coordinator for the past five years and has been in that organization since 2004. When Detroit hired him after last season for the head coaching job, many people had hopes that he would be able to bring the same winning culture that is in place in New England to Detroit. Those hopes were dampened a bit after a huge loss to the Jets in week one. The expectations were that Detroit, a more proven and experienced team, would dominate against the Jets who were being led by rookie quarterback Sam Darnold. In fact, on the first play of the game, Darnold threw an interception to defensive back Quandre Diggs who returned it 37 yards for a touchdown.

I thought the game was over at this point. Rookie quarterbacks first throw turns out to be a pick six, no way he's going to bounce back from that very quickly. I was later proven wrong when two drives later, Jets march down the field and tie the game up at 7 a piece. Lions get the ball back and Mathew Stafford throws and interception, and Jets end up with a field goal. Lions again get the ball back, and again Stafford throws a pick on back to back drives. Luck goes Stafford's way though as immediately after the pick, the Jets player fumbles the ball and Detroit recovers. Lions, who have regained control of the ball attempt and miss a field goal. The fans at Ford Field begin to boo the home team. After what seemed like forever, halftime finally came. I was nervious, hoping we could come out of the tunnel more collected than we were in the first half. First drive of the game Lions march down the field and score a touchdown and ties the game at 17. Thats when the game goes completly down hill. Stafford contiues to throw 2 more picks and end the game with 4. Jets humiliate the Lions, beating them by 27 points, and not allowing them to score after the opening drive in the second half. Next week Detroit will try to bounce back against the San Fransisco 49ers on Sunday at 4:05 PM. They will be facing quaterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who also stuggled last week throwing 3 interceptions himself. Many Lions fans, including me are really hoping this past week was only a lack of preparedness and that they will bounce back next week and get a win.

Learning to Love the Sport

Detroit. Many different things come to mind when people think of this city. Companies like Ford made the city popular and earned it the nicknamed "The Motor City". The city of Detroit hasn't seen all great days though, as they have been plagued with bankruptcy and other big problems in recent years. Even amongst the turmoil the city always shows up to support the hometown Lions football team. My love for football and in particular the Detroit Lions came from my dad. Starting when I was ten years old I loved sitting on the couch on Sunday afternoons with my dad, continuously asking him questions about what was going on. Now looking bad I realize the patience he must have shown after being asked over and over what a holding call meant while he was just trying to enjoy the game. As I learned more about the rules of the game, and got to know the players, games started to become more enjoyable for me to watch. I began to look forward to Sunday afternoons, rushing into the house after church to turn the TV to the game. Weekdays I would be looking at players stats and comparing them to other players around the league. I very quickly fell in love with Calvin Johnson and his ability to make great plays. For my birthdays all I wanted was Calvin Johnson shirts, jerseys and posters. When I was young I would run around with his jersey on, throwing a football up into the air and catching them, pretending be a superstar like him. Now as I've gotten older and Calvin Johnson has retired from the NFL, I've realized that I was very fortunate to be a Detroit fan during his time on the team. I will be able to tell my children stories about him just as my dad tells me stories of Barry Sanders.

I decided to write my blog on the Lions because I really enjoy watching them week in and week out, win or lose. No feeling in the world compares to the feeling when your favorite team is losing by a little bit and the end of a game, and is looking to score a game winning touchdown. Or the feeling when your team beats that rival team that you can't stand to see win. Those feelings of adrenaline is what keeps me addicted to the sport. When I was told to write a blog for school, I immediately knew this was the topic I had to do, and I'm excited to write these posts each week and share my love for the sport.