Ross' humble Lions nearly embarassed the Pats at home. I didn't have the game on anything local in Virginia so I didn't get to see the game. What happened? Pats have been struggling with injuries so my guess is that was the big problem.
the Leos were actually winning the game. If not for a couple of late interceptions (well, one was basically a last-ditch effort) and a fumble by Kitna, the Lions would have probably won. The Pats set their season high in penalties and penalty yards, which obviously helped detroit. I think at one time, the patriots had 6 or 7 penalties to none for the Lions. In particular, I remember some silly procedural penalty against one of the New England guys when Detroit was punting on 4th and 4... needless to say, that was a first down. I believe the Lions drove to a TD on that drive. They were getting pressure on Brady during that part of the game too, which resulted in some poor throws and at least one interception. But, you can't keep giving that team chance after chance, and they finally went ahead and then put the clamps down. Still, it was a very un-Patriot-like game. I remember the Lions having 3rd and 22 after a sack, and they got it on a simple screen pass. They ran the same play again right after that and got maybe 15 more yards. I was thinking "wtf happened to that Pats D?"... but maybe this will go down as one of those games where they come out w/ the W, but still get scared enough to motivate them through the rest of the season. That's a pretty good QB you guys have. Where'd he go to college, anyway? Oh yeah...
<does the victory dance>
Thanks for the recap. Their secondary is all torn up, to the point where they're using Troy Brown on defense more than offense. Losing Seau in the middle has really caused a problem, I think they moved one of their outside guys inside and put the second string linebacker outside. So now their passing D isn't close to what early season numbers suggest.
I think they lost one or two O-linemen, too, which makes the whole line more susceptible to penalties, and makes protection harder. Still, I can't remember a game where they got that many penalties. The Chicago game had two huge pass interference calls (both were really lame calls) that added up to a lot of yards, but it wasn't carelessness or failure to execute.
I guess these are things that happen to a battered team late in the season. They did find a way to win. But, I just don't have the confidence that they can go the distance in the playoffs in the shape they're in.
hey ross, what's the general consensus on Josh McCown up there? He seemed like a decent prospect a couple years back when he was playing for Arizona. With Kitna's mediocre play, I was wondering why he hasn't gotten a chance to start yet?
if i had to guess, it's because kitna's errors seem to come as a result of trying to make plays when they're almost out of time. One of his picks yesterday was basically a fly ball he threw up in desperation at the end of the game. The fumble was just crappy pass protection (I think Colvin came around the right tackle and stripped him while he was looking down field). I think they look at Kitna as the team's leader and, even though he's sucked a little lately, they want to keep him in there and try to get the team to believe that if they all do their jobs then they'll win. I think putting in the second string guy for some experience sends the message to the rest of the team that "hey, we're not trying to win anymore" and then it sucks for everyone. If McCown comes in and some of his O-line guys are half-assing it and the receivers break off patterns, it's probably not going to do much for his development. On the other hand, we'd get another super-high draft pick to waste.
McCown has actually been playing wide receiver lately. He caught two balls vs. the Pats, and actually caught another for a long gain but got (rightly) called for offensive pass interference.
zomg chargerz!!
It seems like the QB always gets blamed when the team is losing, even if it's not really his fault. I've always been a fan of Kitna - I think he got a raw deal in cinci when they drafted Carson Palmer, but he never complained about being the back up. After the cowboys cut QCar and had to go with Vinny Testaverde as their starter, I was really hoping they'd offer to trade a 5th or 6th to Cinci for him.
McCown as a WR? I never thought he was all that fast, but that's kinda cool they're trying to work him in like that.
he's not that fast really, but he's kinda big and being the QB he obviously knows the plays...