Detroit Lions: Opportunity is knocking, but will they answer?
By Robert Jones
s the Detroit Lions go back to work, everyone has to wonder which team will show up; The one with two big wins or the one that let opportunities get away?
The Detroit Lions spent their bye week trying to get healthy and preparing for a crucial stretch of games that start in Miami today. Through their first five games, the Lions have played anywhere from good to horrible, with very little time in between.
All the anticipation of Detroit Lions football this season was quickly deflated on opening night when an average to poor New York Jets team invaded Ford Field and laid the wood to the Motor City Kitties.
After that, the Lions split their next four games by beating the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers but losing to the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. If this were the 1990’s that whole scenario would make sense.
But there was no Troy Aikman or Steve Young to torment the Lions in Dallas or Frisco, respectively. Yet future Hall of Famers Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers were tamed by this same team that couldn’t find a way to take advantage of clear opportunities to win against the Cowboys and 49ers.
For anyone who paid attention, there were a few definite trends that developed for the Lions in victory and defeat. When the Lions won, they played acceptable run defense and scored early forcing their opponents to play catch-up. Meanwhile in all the loses, the Lions defense was simply run over and the offense started slowly.
In a nutshell, the Lions have been inconsistent. This isn’t really anything new for Lions fans. For decades, this franchise has specialized in being wildly inconsistent. They have plenty of wins against teams they didn’t have any business beating, just like they have lost much more than their share of games they could have definitely won.
In other words, being a Lions fan is kind of like opening up that Christmas gift from your quirky Aunt. Sometimes it’s pretty cool, but most of the time it’s something you can’t toss in the trash soon enough.