Lions are blowing it

4 straight losses; Minnesota is now tied with them at 6-6: the Eagles and Skins lost but the Cardinals and Bears are winning at halftime. An 8-8 record might be enough for the last spot, but the Lions need to win!

Lions blew it when they lost to Arizona!

That started the whole downturn

Yep! I predicted that loss, too! So did Vegas!

Damn loss!

LOL! They were only 1 point underdogs, too!

Damn Underdogs

There's a reason Vegas wins, they don't set stupid lines!

DAMN VEGAS!

MINNESOTA 42, DETROIT 10
MICHAEL ROSENBERG: Lions can't play pretend anymore


December 3, 2007
BY MICHAEL ROSENBERG
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST

MINNEAPOLIS -- Give the Lions this much: They wore the playoff-contender costumes all the way into December this year. I don't know how they did it. It must have been sweaty in there.

The Vikings ran over and around the Lions on Sunday. The final score was 42-10. This was the kind of loss that leads columnists to make snarky comments about when Detroit will get a pro football team.

But I won't do that. I'll let the quarterback do it.

"That is just not pro football," Jon Kitna said.

Kitna also said, in response to the first question he was asked, "Our boat is not very full."

Kitna did not elaborate, but I suspect he meant that players are not giving their full effort to the cause. It is also possible he wants more waiters serving coconut shrimp on the deck. But I'm going with that effort thing. The Lions have lost four straight. They look like they expect to lose the next four, along with their wallets, keys and sense of humor.

The most popular question after this debacle was, "What happened to the team that started 6-2?"

I understand the question. But I think it is flawed. I think it's like asking why that woman who looked good when she was across the street was not so attractive when you saw her up close.

Why should we assume that the Lions who started 6-2 were the "real" Lions, and the ones who have lost four straight are imposters? By any objective measure, the Lions are fortunate to be 6-6. For the season, they have been outscored by 44 points. They have lost three games by at least 30 points.

Does that sound like a good team?

They don't even pretend they have a running game -- Sunday, they rushed three times in the first 56 minutes. Their theoretically explosive passing game remains just that: a theory. Their secondary is so bad, I expect cornerbacks to line up with their backs to the line of scrimmage, just to get a head start. Their most talented player, Shaun Rogers, has been a nonfactor for most of the past month.

They are technically still in the playoff race, in the way that those lobsters in tanks at seafood restaurants are technically still alive.

But look what's ahead.

Next week the Lions host Dallas. It's one NFL game, anything can happen, the moon could crash into the earth at any moment, etc. Right. I can think of only one way for the Lions to win: If Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo steps to the line of scrimmage, looks at the Lions' secondary, salivates wildly and chokes on his tongue.

After that, the Lions take a trip to underachieving San Diego. Just think of the hurdles in that single innocent sentence:

1. Under Matt Millen, the Lions are 8-46 on the road.

2. San Diego is considered "underachieving," but is still 7-5, better than the Lions.

3. The Chargers have more Pro Bowlers on either side of the ball than the Lions have on both.

OK, so that's a loss. And that almost certainly puts the Lions at 6-8 heading into the Dec. 23 game against Kansas City. They will be on a six-game losing streak. They will be out of a playoff spot. Kitna will be giving interviews in a life jacket.And yet ... well, the Chiefs stink. They are 4-8 and have lost five straight. We've seen a lot of strange things in the Millen era, but we haven't seen a game where both teams lose. The game is in Detroit.

Let's say the Lions win.

That puts them at 7-8 with a season-ending trip to Green Bay, where the Lions have lost 16 straight. They have lost when the Packers were good and when they were bad, in snow and in the sun, in sickness and in health, and may do so till Matt Millen parts.

But there is one scenario in which the Lions can win: if the game means nothing to the Packers. That is possible -- the Packers might be locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC at that point. Even if that's the case, the Lions will be underdogs. I don't like their chances. But let's say they win.

That would put them at 8-8. That might give them the No. 6 seed in the playoffs. But would anybody really buy that this is a successful season? A lot of franchises fire coaches after 8-8 seasons. An 8-8 year would only be
impressive if you grade on the Millen Curve.

The jury is not in, but I hear the jurors' footsteps. The verdict is coming, and it will sound awfully familiar.

SIXTEEN straight losses in Green Bay

I knew it was a lot and I knew I didn't remember them ever winning there (I'm 20) but SIXTEEN games in a row there? That's almost as bad as Washington (20-some losses in a row...they've NEVER won there).

I would be happy if the Lions finished 8-8 and made the playoffs

Since they aren't going to the playoffs...

I'll be happy if they win @ Lambeau and lose the other 3.

They have not been eliminated Yet! GO LIONS!

Done. Finished. Finite. Kaput!!

Not Yet!

Lions lose again! They trail the Vikings by a game for the last playoff spot with three games left to play

Lions need to win out and Vikings need to lose! Arizona, Washington and New Orleans also need to lose. Lions are 10th in the NFC right now!

GO LIONS!