2008 Detroit Lions Thread

Lions will upset the Titans on Thanksgiving


28-27

Lions gonna win

The joke on my local radio this morning was that for the Lions Thanksgiving Day game, the Titans HAVE ALREADY SCORED A COUPLE TOUCHDOWNS and the game is not until Thanksgiving!

GO LIONS

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

The joke on my local radio this morning was that for the Lions Thanksgiving Day game, the Titans HAVE ALREADY SCORED A COUPLE TOUCHDOWNS and the game is not until Thanksgiving!

Just a couple? Are you sure it wasn't couple dozen :haha:

catbox_9 wrote:

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

The joke on my local radio this morning was that for the Lions Thanksgiving Day game, the Titans HAVE ALREADY SCORED A COUPLE TOUCHDOWNS and the game is not until Thanksgiving!

Just a couple? Are you sure it wasn't couple dozen :haha:

They said today that the Titans are up 42-9 already! The 9 is because of Hanson.

Probably 3 60 yarders by Hanson. Titans defense won't let us get much closer than that.

Go Hanson!

The Thanksgiving game has been sold out which means it'll be televised.

catbox_9 wrote:

Probably 3 60 yarders by Hanson. Titans defense won't let us get much closer than that.

Go Hanson!

GO HANSON!

Losers losing 21-3.

How 'bout them Lions :haha:

Spoiler:

47-10 gives them a 0-12 record.

Thursday, November 27, 2008
FOWL PLAY: Lions are NFL's biggest turkeys
They already have been plucked for 11 losses. Can they stop the torture?
John Niyo / The Detroit News

This week, at least, they might have to make history to avoid it.

Still winless and perhaps destined to become the first team to finish a season 0-16, the Lions host the 69th annual Thanksgiving Day game today at Ford Field (12:30 p.m., CBS). The opponent is a Titans team fresh off its first loss.

And if that weren't ominous enough for the hobbling Lions, opponents have been gobbling them up like leftovers on Turkey Day. Detroit has lost six of its last seven traditional Thanksgiving games, including four straight by an average of 20 points.

"This is the win that's right in front of us, right now," coach Rod Marinelli said. "With the national spotlight, we've got to go fight."

But can they really win this fight?

"Based on records, if 0-11 Detroit beats 10-1 Tennessee, you would have to throw this game into the argument of being one of the greatest regular-season upsets in the history of the National Football League," CBS play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz said. "It would definitely have to be right up there, if not the biggest of all, if Detroit was able to spring that upset.

"Now to make this clear, I'm not comparing this to (Joe) Namath and the Jets beating the Colts in Super Bowl III, or anything like that that has happened in the postseason. I'm dealing with records. Based on that, this would have to rank right up there."

Thursday, November 27, 2008
Lions crushed by Titans, fall to 0-12
A real turkey: Worst-ever Thanksgiving loss gives Lions a losing holiday record
Dana Wakiji / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- The Lions now officially have a losing record on their traditional Thanksgiving Day game thanks to their worst Thanksgiving Day performance.

In the 69th edition of the game, the Lions lost to the Tennessee Titans, 47-10, to remain the NFL's only winless team at 0-12 and fell to 33-34-2 on Thanksgiving.

Including this season, the Lions have been outscored 179-62 in their last five Thanksgiving Day games, with Thursday's 37-point margin of defeat the largest in team history.

This was terrible from beginning to end," cornerback Travis Fisher said. "We didn't do anything right."

Kicker Jason Hanson, who has played in 17 Thanksgiving Day games, said the Lions are going to have to try something else.

"I think everybody here is or should be upset that on a big day that we couldn't do better than that," Hanson said. "We did play probably the best team in the league. Right now record-wise we're the worst. Bluntly, it's kind of like, well, did we expect different? Of course we did but I'm just saying now looking back, everybody here should do something different to get ready for games because whatever we're doing isn't cutting it. Even if they're leagues above us, which I don't know, we still should have been able to do something better than that.

"All we're doing right now is making everybody just laugh."

The game started off kind of how the entire season has gone for the Lions. After a short pass reception, Shaun McDonald fumbled and the Titans' Kyle Vanden Bosch recovered and threw a backwards pass to Keith Bulluck, who took the ball to the Lions' 34-yard line.

Brandon Jones ran 28 yards on a reverse and rookie Chris Johnson took it the final six yards for Tennessee's first score just 1:30 into the game.

"When you're playing a team that good, you really can't shoot yourself in the foot," Daunte Culpepper said. "You can't make mistakes, and that happened."

One player the Lions have been thankful for over the years is Hanson. Hanson kicked a 53-yard field goal at 10:30 of the first quarter, cutting the lead to 7-3.

Hanson is a perfect 7-for-7 on field goals of 50 yards or more this season. He is only the second player in NFL history to have seven or more 50-yard field goals in a season. Morten Andersen had eight in 1995. Hanson also tied Andersen for first with 40 career field goals of 50 yards or more.

"That's a lot of fun to think about because when I came into the league, Morten had played for a while and he was the man and had done great things in New Orleans and Atlanta, so yeah, it feels good," Hanson said. "It feels good to be up there on a list like that with the 50-yarders. Earlier in my career I didn't hit them well. I was too nervous, too excited and I mellowed out and I'm putting them through now so that's good to do."

Four plays after Hanson's field goal, Johnson ran 58 yards for the Titans' second touchdown at 8:21 of the first.

Then the Titans' defense got into the act.

Culpepper threw off his back foot when being pressured and defensive lineman Dave Ball intercepted the pass and ran it 15 yards for another Titans' score at 2:22 of the first quarter.

"The last time I scored a touchdown was my junior year in high school, so I'm not exactly a frequent visitor to the end zone," Ball said. "It's certainly very warm and cozy there, I used to watch Barry Sanders have great games on Thanksgiving every year, so this was cool."

Nick Harris had a rare bad punt, shanking it only 15 yards and giving the Titans the ball at the Lions' 31-yard line.

The Titans really didn't need the help. LenDale White, cousin of former Piston Chauncey Billups, ran six yards to give the Titans a 28-3 lead at 14:20 of the second quarter.

White added a two-yard touchdown run at 2:48 of the second, capping a 15-play, 91-yard drive that took 8:25 off the clock.

White finished with 106 yards on 23 carries, while Johnson had 125 yards on 16 carries. Quinton Ganther added 23 yards on just three carries. As a team, the Titans had 292 rushing yards, third-most in the history of the Titans/Oilers franchise.

The Lions have allowed 250-plus yards on thr ground three times this season, including 318 to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. This is the second time in 11 days that they've let two backs rush for 100 or more yards in the same game.

Detroit's Kevin Smith, on the other hand, had just 22 yards on 12 carries with 21 yards coming on one run.

"Detroit, they're 0-11 (coming in)," White said. "So it's not no knock on them, but we expected to win this game. There was no way coming into this game that we thought we were going to lose. And it's not being cocky, we just knew we were the better team."

The only other bright spot for the Lions besides Hanson was rookie defensive end Cliff Avril. Avril sacked Kerry Collins for a 17-yard loss. Collins fumbled the ball and Avril recovered and returned it 10 yards to the 2-yard line.

"It was a kick protection which is what we call it and the running back is supposed to block me," Avril said. "I just put a move on the running back and the quarterback still had the ball so I swiped the ball, looked for it and tried to take off with it. I definitely thought I was in. I didn't know it was up for discussion until I saw the offense out there. But we still got the score, so it was all good.

Culpepper threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Michael Gaines for the Lions' first touchdown with 34 seconds left in the first half.

Rob Bironas kicked field goals of 49, 41, 45 and 43 yards in the second half.

The Lions have given up 31 points in four straight games and have been outscored 154-66 in that span.

Lions will win a game this season

Lions will beat the Vikings this week


23-16

Saturday, December 6, 2008
Detroit deals with blackout factor
All those empty seats at Ford Field are hurting a variety of businesses around downtown.
Terry Foster / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- As the Lions continue to lose, Steve Mallie, owner of Mallie's Bar in Southgate, has hit upon a win-win proposition.

On Sundays, Lions fans are invited to make a donation to breast cancer research and then take swings at a jalopy in the bar's parking lot.

It's a win for medical research and for the fans who can vent their frustration over the woeful state of their 0-12 team.

Mallie's promotion might be humorous, but it's no laughing matter to businesses and workers who depend on the excitement and bustle of NFL Sundays for their livelihood.

University of Detroit Mercy professor Mike Bernacchi, who studies sports and entertainment marketing, estimates that Sunday downtown business sales are down 25-50 percent because of television blackouts and lower ticket sales. That's not peanuts, except for Edwin Woodson.

Woodson, who is otherwise unemployed, sells peanuts for $1 a bag outside Ford Field.

"Man, some people think I am a drug addict," Woodson said. "I'm not. I am just trying to make it. It is hard out here. I don't have a job and this is what I do to feed my family."

When things were going well, Woodson said he made about $500 in sales. This season he said he's averaging $100-$125.

The Lions had sold out every home game since Ford Field opened in 2002, until Oct. 26 against the Redskins.

Sunday's home game against the Vikings will be the fourth in the last five home games not to sell out -- and thereby blacked out on local TV.

Fans losing interest

The Lions are averaging 56,038 fans this season, down from last year's average of 61,310. They hadn't drawn fewer than 60,000 to Ford Field until the final game of the 2007 season, when they announced attendance of 59,938 against the Chiefs. Now, five of the last seven games have drawn crowds below 60,000, including a Ford Field low of 49,096 on Nov. 23 against the Buccaneers.

Lions representatives declined multiple requests for comment. It's simple, however, to extrapolate that they're losing money.

Ticket revenue gets split between the home and visiting teams in the NFL (60 percent for the home team), with a little more than one-third of the gate receipts shared equally among the league's 32 teams. But hosts get to keep all of the revenue generated from luxury suites and club seating, which is one area where the Lions' woes -- coupled with the staggering local economy -- hurt the bottom line.

Next week, for example, the Lions travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts at brand new Lucas Oil Stadium, where the annual revenue from club and luxury seating is estimated at $25 million. Luxury suites at the Cowboys' palatial new stadium set to open next season will be sold for up to $500,000 a year.

"That's where you make your money," said one NFC front-office executive, who asked to remain anonymous. "So when you see those empty seats on the club level there (at Ford Field), that's not a good sign, obviously. But that is not just a problem in Detroit now. We're all facing challenges in this economy going forward."

That's an acknowledgement NFL commissioner Roger Goodell makes as well, telling the Associated Press last week, "There's no secret on sponsorship, advertising, licensing -- those numbers are going to be impacted by the current climate. We're aware of that."

Asked if individual teams already are struggling, Goodell said: "Sure. Absolutely. For (a variety of) factors: What's happening to sponsorship. What's happening to licensees. What's happening to our ticket holders, club seat holders, suite holders. This affects all of us."

The Lions share the NFL's healthy $8 billion annual revenue, which is derived in part from its network television contracts. Roughly 80 percent of national and local revenue is shared equally among the league's 32 teams.

Sound of silence

Matt Sobczek of Waterford and Dean Ceifetz of Milford were breaking up pieces of wood and feeding it into a blazing fire in a downtown parking lot across from the Skillman Library.

It is tradition for the men to join their buddies, Jeff Frank of White Lake and Mike Withers of Milford, for early morning tailgates that include breakfast, lunch and, sometimes, dinner. But 2 ½ hours before kickoff, they were one of only four groups in a lot that normally would be half-full by then.

"The optimism is gone," Frank said. "Sometimes this lot doesn't even fill up. You can blame the economy, I suppose. But the product on the field is so bad. People are so upset when they leave here."

Some parking lot attendants said they are getting 10-40 percent less cars in their lots. One, whose lot is just three blocks from Ford Field, said his first customer arrived at 11:37 a.m.

"This is terrible, terrible," said Darel Lewis, of Detroit, who was working with brother Donell at one lot. "People are not coming out like they usually come out. The other teams' fans are coming out and they seem to be enjoying themselves."

As if on cue, a few minutes later the Lewis brothers parked their first car -- filled with Buccaneers fans.

"I should charge you double," joked Frank Ventimiglia, of Grosse Pointe Woods, after waving the car in.

Ventimiglia's lot can fit 60 cars. He said he is parking about 50-55 at a reduced price, which means his revenue is down about $550 each Sunday.

"Fans are fed up," Ventimiglia said.

Buyer's market

Need more proof? Ask Kevin Williams of Detroit.

Williams was outside Comerica Park early Thanksgiving morning, wearing a gray Grambling jacket and holding a bright sign that read, "I need tickets." What he really was doing was trying to sell tickets. He had four suite seats with parking passes, as well as general admission tickets.

"I will tell you, bro, it's a grind out here," Williams said.

A group of Titans fans passed. Williams waved the tickets and yelled: "Who needs an upgrade?"

The crowd brushed by without a glance.

Scalping is illegal in Detroit, but scalpers -- who go by nicknames of Shorty, Cougar, Black and Smoove -- are plentiful.

Two paused while working the pedestrians and talked wistfully about $1,500 days at the Pontiac Silverdome. Now they said they are scrambling to make $300-$500.

One man bragged: "Man, I once sold $800 in Pontiac and I didn't even leave the bus stop."

Williams offered his suite tickets to a man for $100 each. The man looked them over, waved his hand and headed toward Ford Field.

"These are good tickets and I offered him $100 each," Williams said.

"He wants to pay $10. And the sad thing is he will get it somewhere else. He will get it."

Lions fans are not buying because the product has been terrible. The team has lost 19 of its last 20 games and has an eight-year record of 31-93.

Foul mood

Bernacchi, the UDM professor, said fans don't spend as much before, during or after games when they are not happy.

Currently, thousands of Lions fans are entering and leaving Ford Field in a foul mood and spending less at bars, restaurants and concession stands.

Harry Kefalonitis, owner of Harry's Detroit Bar & Grill, said he used to open for breakfast around 8 a.m. and stayed busy until 10 p.m. on game days. Even in recent seasons when the team wasn't doing well, fans packed the stadium, and if the game got out of hand they'd often walk to nearby spots like Coach's Corner, The Harbor House, Hockeytown Café and Harry's to watch the rest of the game on TV.

They are less likely to do that these days. Now, Kefalonitis said, fans begin to trickle in around 11:30 a.m. and they head out by 5:30 p.m.

"It used to be that people would come down and be excited about coming down for the whole NFL experience," Kefalonitis said. "Now they are like zombies going through the motions. They are going because they already have tickets and they have to go."

Lions fan Erin Cady of Birmingham ducked into The Old Shillelagh in Greektown, with friends Kelly Dogani of Dearborn and Kristin Bazick of Westland, following a recent game.

They said they noticed people were leaving quicker to get home.

"Fans are frustrated," Cady said. "They want the Lions to do well but they are not competitive and I just think people get frustrated and angry."

Said Dogani: "I feel bad for fans. This is all a lot of them have to look forward to and their football team is really bad.

"You know, I do love them. It is your hometown team. You have pride in Detroit. But it is not good right now."

John Niyo contributed to this report. You can reach Terry Foster at (313) 222-1494 or terry.foster@detnews.com

Damn, I forgot to bet against the Lions today. I could use the extra money too.

bobrob2004 wrote:

Damn, I forgot to bet against the Lions today. I could use the extra money too.

If you took the money line you wouldn't win much. The Lions are winning at the moment somehow

catbox_9 wrote:

bobrob2004 wrote:

Damn, I forgot to bet against the Lions today. I could use the extra money too.

If you took the money line you wouldn't win much. The Lions are winning at the moment somehow

I would've won. Lions lose 20-16. 0-13.

Sunday, December 7, 2008
Vikings 20, Lions 16
Lions fall to 0-13
Dana Wakiji / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- The Minnesota Vikings tried to give the Detroit Lions their first win but the Lions just couldn't take it.

The Vikings threw two interceptions, had three fumbles and six penalties for 35 yards, but still managed to pull off a 20-16 victory as the Lions fell to 0-13.

"Detroit had 10 days to get ready and prepare and we knew we would get their best shot here," Vikings coach Brad Childress said. "I read somewhere that they thought this was their best opportunity and our guys had read this was their best opportunity (to win). They came out ramped up and we were a little bit off our game in the first half.

"Bottom line, they were in the red zone four times and had three field goals. We had a couple big fourth-down stops, one of those in the red zone right before the half that ends up being huge. A grind-it-out win. We will make absolutely no apologies for it."

The Lions got on the scoreboard first, thanks to kicker Jason Hanson, who capped a 13-play, 73-yard drive with a 25-yard field goal at 1:01 of the first quarter.

But they had a first down at the Minnesota 4-yard line and could not get into the end zone. Pat Williams tackled Kevin Smith for a three-yard loss and Daunte Culpepper threw two incomplete passes.

Hanson kicked a 23-yard field goal at 11:39 of the second quarter. Once again, the Lions had a first down at the Vikings' 11-yard line but still weren't able to reach the end zone.

"It happens all the time but if we could have gotten any one of those in the end zone instead of a short field goal, it's different," Hanson said. "We've got to get them in the end zone. Field goals don't help us, especially when you're scrapping to get your win. You need every advantage. That was disappointing. Defense was playing good. The offense, we just stalled. We couldn't punch it in."

The Vikings finally got on the board with Ryan Longwell's 35-yard field goal at 4:55 of the second.

The scoring picked up considerably in the second half.

Chester Taylor of River Rouge followed Peterson's 22-yard run with a 17-yard run into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game and the Vikings' first lead, 10-6, at 10:50 of the third quarter.

The Lions quickly responded when Culpepper found Calvin Johnson streaking past cornerback Cedric Griffin for a 70-yard touchdown pass at 8:55 of the third.

The Vikings regained the lead, 17-13, at 11:22 of the fourth quarter when Jackson connected with tight end Visanthe Shiancoe on an 11-yard touchdown.

Hanson kicked a 39-yard field goal to pull the Lions within one at 5:44 of the fourth. On the previous play, officials initially ruled that Johnson had made a 13-yard catch for a first down but it was overturned on the Vikings' challenge.

"That was huge," Culpepper said. "I thought he caught it, but I guess the referee thought differently. It was a big play -- probably the biggest play of the game. I wish we could have completed that and went down and got a touchdown, but we didn't and we had to take a field goal."

On the Vikings' next drive, Peterson ran for 25 yards on the first play. He also fumbled twice on the possession but once the ball went out of bounds and the second time he recovered his own fumble. Jackson fould Taylor for a 14-yard reception for a first down to Detroit's 31-yard line.

Longwell kicked a 50-yard field goal with 27 seconds left for the final points.

Former Lions quarterback Gus Frerotte finished 7-for-10 for 70 yards in the first half before suffering a lower back injury. Tarvaris Jackson was 8-for-10 for 105 yards and a touchdown while Adrian Peterson had 23 carries for 102 yards.

Culpepper was 14-for-24 for 220 yards and Kevin Smith had 63 yards on 22 carries.

Lions will win next week

They ain't going 0-16

bobrob2004 wrote:

catbox_9 wrote:

bobrob2004 wrote:

Damn, I forgot to bet against the Lions today. I could use the extra money too.

If you took the money line you wouldn't win much. The Lions are winning at the moment somehow

I would've won. Lions lose 20-16. 0-13.

Actually you'd probably have lost....

The vast majority of bettors on football bet on the point spread - Lions were 9.5 point underdogs and lose by 4 and therefore cover the spread. Unless you bet the money line (which I'd say less than 5% of football bets are of this type) you would have lost.

gs78 wrote:

Lions will win next week

Yeah, they'll beat arguably the best team in the NFL (the Colts are playing as good as anybody right now)...on the road :haha:

Lions 31


Colts 27


That is my prediction

Colts should never have moved to Indy


Baltimore got screwed in 1984

Big Time!

How are your Lions predictions so far this season? I think you are 0-13. I'm 12-1.

Monday, December 8, 2008
Lions' Raiola has no regrets for venting frustrations to fans
John Niyo / The Detroit News

ALLEN PARK -- The fans had seen enough. And as they vented their frustration, crossing a line into personal and family insults, the Lions' Dominic Raiola had heard enough.

Raiola, the Lions' starting center and one of the team's captains, responded verbally to the heckling -- and also with an obscene hand gesture -- late in Sunday's 20-16 loss to the Vikings at Ford Field.

Asked if he regretted "giving the fans the business" Monday, Raiola, while not directly acknowledging the gesture, didn't mince any words.

"Nope. Not one bit," said Raiola, who returned to the lineup Sunday after missing four games with a broken right thumb. "Not one bit. Because I wish everybody out there came into the film room and watched the film, watched the effort put out there. And, yeah, everybody makes mistakes, everybody messes up -- and I'm talking for everybody right now -- and, yeah, they're paying customers. But we're trying to put some wins on the board and give them something to cheer about. And I don't know what to say, other than what I said yesterday."

A Lions spokesman said Monday the team had no knowledge of the incident. NFL spokesman Randall Liu said the league is looking into the matter. Former Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was fined $10,000 from the NFL for making the same middle-finger salute to fans in Atlanta in 2006. San Francisco kicker Joe Nedney was fined $7,500 by the league last year for a similar offense.

"I don't take one thing back," said Raiola, an eighth-year pro whose string of 104 consecutive starts ended after getting injured Nov. 2 at Chicago. "I'll say the same thing to a fan that I see on the street. I wish I could give my address out to some fans -- I'd do that. But you can't. Nobody plays with fists. Everybody wants to play with metal. So I can't.

"I'm just so frustrated. I'm tired of being a doormat. For people to just talk to us how they want to talk to us, I'm just not gonna put up with that anymore."