MVN - Most Valuable Network

Merry Christmas Dallas, 28-27

Pick up the ball, Paris Lenon. When will the players in the NFL get off the glory kick. Paris Lenon falls on a Tony Romo fumble late in the fourth quarter with the Lions ahead 27-21 and the game is over. Instead, he tries to pick it up and run with it, and kicks it right back to the Cowboys.

Tony Romo is going to get all this credit for a game Detroit gave to his team. In every stage of this contest, Detroit simply stunk. Field goals instead of touchdowns. The normally automatic Jason Hanson misses a 35 yard field goal that would have given the Lions a nine point lead.

Mike Martz, who finally came up for air and realized the Lions could run the ball, only did so to go back to the pass, instead of stick with something that worked. It had been an astounding 40 games since the Lions, as a team, had three rushing touchdowns in a game. Kevin Jones, 23 rushes for 92 yards, two touchdowns. T.J. Duckett, his best game as a Lion, nine carries, 60 big yards, and a score. It was not the running game that continually put the club in third and long. The Lions had Dallas on the ropes big time, and decided to hang themselves with the rope instead.

Head coach Rod Marinelli, who is obviously sick and tired of the porous Lion special teams give up giant returns (aren’t we all), started pooch kicking instead of kicking deep, repeatedly giving the Cowboys excellent field position. How’s this for pathetic? Detroit became scared to death of Miles Austin. He has a 60 yard return, the only damage he did the whole game, and because a practice squad player for the Vikings last week returned a kick for 103 yards and a score, Marinelli panics. Goodbye, special teams coach Kwan. You’re toast.

Shaun Rogers, lose some weight. Be the Pro Bowler everyone seems to think you can be. How many times did you have to come off the field in this game? Many times when the defense needed you most. Once on Dallas’ final drive when you could not waddle on or off the field fast enough and got us flagged for 12 men on the field on a play where Romo is spiking the ball. No times outs, and the Lions allowed the Cowboys to waltz down the field.

Lions, learn how to tackle. Better than last week? Of course, because anything would have better than last week’s horrible display. Travis Fisher? Horrible. Kenoy Kennedy? Terrible. Cory Redding, how about a sack, which would be your first of the season, for that $49 million contract the team gave you in the off-season. You know who the Lions best defensive lineman is overall? Jared DeVries, believe me. Who? Never mind, he is, just believe me.

The officiating was atrocious. A pass interference call should have been called on Dallas safety Roy Williams in the first half, covering third tight end John Owens. Yes, that’s how bad Williams is in pass coverage, and that’s how much help the officials gave him. A non-call of pass interference on Pat Watkins on wide receiver Calvin Johnson with the first half ticking away at mid-field stalled a Lion quest for a field goal. Running back Marion Barber III spikes the ball viciously out of bounds after a first down run, somehow proving how much of a man he is, goes uncalled. Johnson spikes a ball after a catch of no gain that equaled dropping a football, is flagged. Numerous non-calls, like Dallas needs the help.

Give me a plate of whatever Baltimore is having. After writing off their comments about the NFL loving the Patriots and wanting them to win as sour grapes, my mouth now puckers with the same taste as the league would certainly benefit from a  Dallas-New England Super Bowl. Are these great teams? Absolutely they are, without question. Why the nod from officiating crews? Do 12-0 and 11-1 teams need THAT much help?

The Lions stink, you know it, and I know it. I’m not trying to snow anyone here. I know they aren’t a Super Bowl team or a playoff team. They had this game won. They had it won early. They had it won big if they had an ounce of competence amongst them. I don’t know how this team will ever come through in the clutch and is going nowhere this season. I’m not stupid (well, I am a Lions fan and have been all my life, but go with me here), and I know it doesn’t help to have talent if you don’t know what to do with it. Part of it is the mentality of players today (fall on the ball Paris Lenon) and the Lion front office.

There were stats in this game, but today, screw the stats. Here are the Lions in a nutshell. They scraped up a Jason Witten fumble on the one yard line, preserving their six point lead after he had recorded his career best receiving day (finishing with 15 receptions and 138 yards). They did not figure out how to cover him all day, and after all of that, his longest reception, 16 yards, was the one he made, wide open, and the final drive, winning the game 28-27.

Terrell Owens? Three catches, 21 yards.

Hard luck Lions? Maybe, but then again, sometimes you make your own luck, don’t you?

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 9th, 2007 at 4:52 pm and is filed under Terrell Owens, Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, NFL, Football, Blogroll. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.