15 and Counting: Lions Head to 0-16
Burning Questions | by Mike O'Hara | 12.21.2008/8:16PM
DETROIT—- Mike O’Hara’s burning questions from the Detroit Lions’ 42-7 loss to the New Orleans Saints at Ford Field on Sunday, leaving them with a 0-15 record with one game left:
Q. That’s 0-15 for the Lions, and one more loss to make it 0-16. Will they make history – the first NFL team to go 0-16 in a season – in next week’s season-ending game at Green Bay?
A. Yes. History beckons the Lions. They’re 0-15, headed for 0-16. It’s s shame, and a terrible burden to bear for the people connected to this team, but there is no logical way to predict a victory at Green Bay.
Q. Is it hopeless in Green Bay?
A. There is no such thing as hopeless, but this is as close as it gets. It was hopeless last year for the Miami Dolphins when they were 0-14, but they beat Baltimore in overtime for their only win of the year. Every team has a chance, however small
But the Lions are down to one game – one last chance to avoid infamy – and the odds against them are stacked as high as the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit.
Q. Is it just history working against the Lions? Their last win on Green Bay’s home field was in 1991.
A. It isn’t history. It’s the 2008 Detroit Lions – the way they play, the way they don’t play. It’s their own ineptness that works against them. It has nothing to do with what happened 17 years ago, or last year, or the years in between. It’s this year’s team.
Q. Describe Sunday’s game in one word.
A. Dreadful, just like the weather. No fancy sermon or long-winded explanations are needed.
One word sums it up: dreadful.
It was dreadful from the moment the first fan entered the stadium until the Lions trudged to the locker room with another loss.
In fact, it was more than dreadful. It was as close to hopeless as it can get.
Q. Was there a low point?
A. The whole day was a low point, but one that stood out was early in the third quarter, when the fans started chanting for Joey Harrington. He’s the Saints’ third-string quarterback. Harrington was the fans’ favorite whipping boy in four seasons with the Lions, and the chants mocked him and the Lions.
Q. What action do you expect from the owner, William Clay Ford, after the season?
A. We’ll get to that after next week’s game, but you can expect massive changes in the coaching staff and some tweaking in the front office. But now, the concentration is on Sunday’s game and the last week of this mess.
Q. OK. What were the highlights – or lowlights – for the Lions against the Saints? Start with the defense. What was wrong?
A. Whether it’s the system, the players or a combination of both, it’s the worst defense in the history of the franchise. The Saints are out of the playoffs and had nothing to play for, but they ran and passed through the Lions like they were running training-camp drills.
The first-half stats were stunning. The Saints had 19 first downs – that’s five more than the Lions’ offense averages in a GAME – and they converted all six third-down situations. That means nobody on the defense made a play.
Q. What about the offense?
A. What offense?
Q. Seriously, what about the offense?
A. It had a few moments – mostly Kevin Smith’s runs and Calvin Johnson’s catches – but there were no stars on that side of the ball, either.
Q. What were some of the biggest shortcomings?
A. The score speaks for itself, but there were times when the Lions looked disorganized. They had trouble getting substitutions on defense.
And a couple of times, the offense was ragged.
A touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson was called back because the tackle, Gosder Cherilus, was lined up too far off the line.
On the fourth play of the second quarter, the Lions had third and one at the Saints’ 45. They called time before running a play. At this stage of the season, that should be automatic.
Worst of all was the first play of the second half. The Lions tried to call time, but the officials already had thrown the flag for having 12 men in the huddle.
They had the whole halftime to call a play, and they couldn’t get the right people on the field. That’s a disgrace on any level of football – and unforgivable for pros. That’s bad coaching, nothing else.
Q. The Lions scored a touchdown – a one-yard run by Kevin Smith – in the second quarter. It was was a strange drive. Not counting a penalty, the Lions ran 12 plays, and the ball went to Smith and Calvin Johnson on all 12 plays. Smith ran eight times. Johnson caught three passes and had another thrown to him in the end zone that was incomplete. What does that say about the offense?
A. It means the offense has two playmakers – Johnson and Smith. And that might be two more than the defense has.
Q. Last question: will the Lions win at Green Bay?
A. The Lions are chasing history – and history wins. The Lions are looking at 0-16, and they can’t stop it.
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