Detroit Lions: 10 Observations from the shutout loss at Carolina

2. Bill Parcells was wrong. The Detroit Lions are not as good as their record says

A famous quote from the Super Bowl champion coach states that “you are what your record says you are!” After watching the product the Lions have brought onto the field for ten weeks now this season, I have to disagree.

Detroit has stacked up several last second wins on the back of a long-time quarterback who deserves so much better. Overall though, they’ve consistently performed so much worse that even a 4-6 record on the outer fringes of playoff contention seems like a massive oversell. They’ve snuck by a few times against some teams that I suppose are a tiny bit worse, but the Lions have not resembled a playoff contending team in a single game this year (not even at Arizona).

3. Chris Spielman was also mistaken

Announcing the game on Fox, Spielman was repeatedly baffled by the lack of spark from the Lions, almost right from the opening kickoff. While playing as if physically and mentally disinterested, Spielman noted of his former team that they have to understand they’re fighting for a playoff berth.

No, they are not. The Lions have made it to this point in the year with a not-that-awful record, sure. But they’re 10th in the conference playoff standings, have made zero progress offensively or defensively all year, and haven’t hit the hard par of the schedule yet.

There’s a difference between fighting for a playoff spot and merely not being eliminated yet. Having played on four Lions playoff teams in the 1990s, Spielman probably knows the difference and was just being nice.