Detroit Sports Thread

[ALinChainz]

They didn't seem to know what to do with the wind either on offense.

Throw when it's at your back, take your shots then.

I don't think Mooch has much confidence in Joey at all.

[Warham]

Do you think they'd do any better with McMahon in there?

[ALinChainz]

Personally, I do not. McMahon is mobile, and can run, but is terrible in the accuracy department.

I think they'll give Joey one more season, his 4th. Brees is in his fourth, and they say it takes 3-4 years for a QB in the WCO.

The line needs to step up, Joey gets hit and sacked more than ever. It seems like they can do one or the other and right now they seem to be ruyn blocking ok.

I don't like Mooch's play calling either. He keep running that screen play and it never works, we simply don't look like we know what we're doing.

[Warham]

I haven't been able to watch the games. I just listen to them.

Does Jones have the quickness off the snap and the lateral moves, or is he more of a north south runner who takes a few seconds to get to top speed?

[ALinChainz]

He had trouble dancing too much before hitting the hole. He found that saving the moves until you are into the line or past it worked a helluva lot better.

Patience letting some blocks form first too and then the burst at the right time.

He should have had more playing time also, but it was probably his picking up the blitz and pass protection that kept him out. He should have had more carries after his bout with the ankle.

He is running now like he has a chip on his shoulder, something to prove. He looks like the real deal.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Originally posted by Warham
Do you think they'd do any better with McMahon in there?

He has to be better, he's a 'Burgh QB.... It's in the genes bro...

[ALinChainz]

Dude's never won at any level has he?

I think he was 0-11 at Rutgers his senior year.

His accuracy is atrocious. He can move though, no question.

And he is starting to get some support from the players in the locker room I've read. He may play 2 of the last 3 so they can determine if they bring him back.

I still think they'll give Harrington 1 more season.

[ALinChainz]

Harrington comes through in the clutch and his best game as a pro, and a botched snap keeps them from overtime.

The holder didn't have a shot at this thing and had to dig one out of the dirt earlier from the rookie snapper.

Unreal man.

[ALinChainz]

That's the spirit! Lions work OT on Christmas Eve

BY CURT SYLVESTER, FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

On the day before Christmas, the Lions practiced.


They were on the field Friday morning at 10:55 sharp, worked until approximately 12:15 p.m., took a break for lunch and then went into meetings.


Even with a 5-9 record and only a remote mathematical chance of making the playoffs at the end of yet another disappointing season, they still have work to do.


"I think the guys want to finish strong," coach Steve Mariucci said. "I think the guys want to compete, guys want to win a couple games here.


"They want to feel good about all the hard work they put into this thing, way back when, in the off-season. It's been a lot of lifting, a lot of running, a lot of practice and we want to have something to show for it. And there's a lot of other things that motivate these guys, too."


After four wins in the first six games, the Lions have gone steadily downhill, sinking to four games under .500, in need of victories against the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Ford Field and in the season finale Jan. 2 at Tennessee to avoid a fourth consecutive season with 10 losses or more.


After the Lions had a strong off-season -- signing guard Damien Woody and cornerback Fernando Bryant, and drafting wide receiver Roy Williams, running back Kevin Jones and linebacker Teddy Lehman -- there was a feeling they would be ready to contend in 2005.


With seven losses in the last eight games, there is less confidence that the Lions will be ready to compete for anything meaningful next season.


But they had an urgency -- even on Christmas Eve -- to get the necessary work done in order to gain whatever they can Sunday. A win and a 6-9 record -- with the possibility of 7-9 -- are better than a loss and 5-10, with the likelihood of 5-11. That was their record last year in Mariucci's first season as coach.


"It's progress in the win-loss column, but there's other ways to evaluate the team and it's development," Mariucci said.


"But, yes, we'd like to do that, obviously."


So they met, practiced and met some more in the afternoon before going home to enjoy the holiday with families and friends.


Mariucci said they watched Friday's practice on film and had general review sessions, which they normally would have done this morning.


Moving that work to Friday made for a longer day of preparation, but allowed the players and staff to spend Christmas Eve and most of Christmas at home.


Most players understand they are obligated to play -- whether it's on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or the day after Christmas.


"It's different when you're 9 years old," defensive end Cory Redding said. "You don't understand. But once I got a little older and once you understood, you still have to go out and do your job, and make time to celebrate with your family."


Redding said he had no problem mixing his football with his religious beliefs.


"We know what Christmas is really for -- the birth of Christ in Bethlehem and all that," he said.


"We incorporate Christ within our playing -- before the game and after the game. Even in your individual time, you see Shaun (Rogers) in the back of the end zone. He prays before the game. Certain guys in the locker room get together and pray."


And if the game Sunday against the Bears works out the way they're hoping, they will give themselves the gift of victory.


Quarterback Joey Harrington was in a giving mood as he wrapped up a week of practice and looked forward to the Chicago game.


Harrington was asked if he were approaching the Bears with the same gunslinger attitude that got him a career-high 361 yards passing in last Sunday's 28-27 loss to Minnesota.


"Sure," he said, laughing.


"It's Christmas, I've got to spread some (passes) around, give the guys some presents, get 'em some touchdowns."


NOTEBOOK: It appears cornerback Fernando Bryant will miss his third consecutive game with a sprained left ankle. He did not practice since testing the ankle Wednesday. ...


Wide receiver Az-Zahir Hakim (groin) did not practice, but Mariucci hopes he will be ready to play Sunday. ...


Wide receiver Tai Streets (knee) and defensive tackle Marcus Bell (ankle) practiced and are expected to play.

[DrMaddVibe]

As long as Ford owns the team...they won't win shit!

He's happy taking the money off of the rubes dumb enough to pay for a ticket and a beer at "his" house than he is concerned about a Lombardi Trophy. A stroll to cash his checks is enough for him.


Some people NEVER learn. Even the greatest running back to play the game quit because of his tenure with that mediocre team. What does it take for the rest of you?

[ALinChainz]

Case of drops besets Lions

BY CURT SYLVESTER, FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

By an unofficial count the Lions receivers dropped at least six passes Sunday.


But the blame -- in the eyes of Lions fans and even coach Steve Mariucci -- always seems to fall on quarterback Joey Harrington.


The fans -- perhaps because the Lions never trailed against Chicago -- actually took it easy on Harrington, even though he completed only 15 of 30 passes for 166 yards and threw an interception returned for a touchdown.


But when Mariucci was asked about the drops -- including at least three by Roy Williams, two by Stephen Alexander and one by Az-Zahir Hakim -- his immediate response Monday was to focus on Harrington.


"We can help that situation with a heck of a lot more work, obviously, by throwing the ball more accurately," Mariucci said.


He also commented on improved pass protection for Harrington and improved routes by the receivers, but -- when pressed on the issue -- the coach's focus was clearly on Harrington.


"What I'm saying is if a ball is down here, on a catch, that's a tougher catch than if it's right here," Mariucci said, demonstrating the difficulty of catching a ball thrown low as opposed to a throw that was on target at chest or shoulder level.


"The location of the throw figures into the equation. Yes, we'd like to catch the ball more; yes, we'd like to throw more accurately. How do we throw the ball more accurately? It's not just the two that are playing catch, it's everything around them."


In frequent cases during the season, Harrington's throws have been off-target, forcing receivers to extend or dive or leaving them in positions where they are vulnerable to hits from defensive players. If a receiver misses a throw under those circumstances, it is not considered a drop.


But the six drops Sunday -- some feel there were seven or eight -- were balls that were catchable, balls that hit receivers in the hands or the chest or could be caught in stride with major yardage to be gained.


Although Harrington said he had no quarrel with Mariucci's comments, Williams said the receivers -- himself included -- had to accept their share of the blame for the dropped balls.


"I don't know what he's saying," Williams said, referring to Mariucci's comments. "It's my job to catch the football, my job to come off the line when I'm supposed to.


"But the best thing about it is I've got another week to showcase what I can do. I want everybody to stay tuned for next week. There ain't going to be no more of that mess."


Williams admitted that two dropped passes showed "a little lack of concentration, I guess you could say" -- but said the third was a result of losing the ball in the bright sun shining through the atrium at Ford Field.


"It's fixable," he said. "I can catch the ball, I can catch the ball anywhere it's at. A receiver's not going to catch every single ball. He hopes and dreams he can catch every single ball, but the great ones drop them, you know. It's going to happen.


"I know what kind of football player I am, what kind of hands I have and the ability I have to catch the football. It's not tough, it's just a little pigskin. I'm not going to make it a big deal. I've dropped the ball before, I've never dropped two in a game. That's the first time; that's my last time."


Harrington, however, said Mariucci's demands for perfection were in line with the quarterback job description.


"That's the job of being a quarterback," Harrington said. "I expect more of myself than Coach does. Everything that Coach says, I feel myself two or three times over.


"This is the job of a quarterback -- to be perfect every time he goes out there. I know that's what both Coach and I expect."


Some observers close to the team view Mariucci's comments as an ongoing indication that the coach is not entirely sold on his quarterback's ability and his long-term possibilities of directing the team to the playoffs and beyond.


Harrington said he was not offended if he were not considered "Mariucci's guy" at this stage of his career.


"Because if he thinks this is as good as I can be, then we've got different problems," Harrington said. "I know there is more I can and need to do for this football team, so I don't think of it as 'I haven't won him over.'


"I just think both he and I think I can play better and need to play better for this team to get on the track that we want to be, because so much of an offense feeds off a quarterback. I think both of us just want me to play better."


NOTEBOOK: With Sunday's win, Detroit clinched third place in the NFC North, meaning its 2005 schedule is nearly intact. The breakdown: Green Bay, Chicago, Minnesota, Atlanta, Carolina, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Arizona, at Green Bay, at Chicago, at Minnesota, at New Orleans, at Tampa Bay, at Cleveland, at Pittsburgh and at the New York Giants or Washington -- whichever finishes third in the NFC East.


Contact CURT SYLVESTER at 313-222-2621 or sylvester@freepress.com.

[BITEYOASS]

All I have to say is that at least they don't play as piss poor as the Arizona Cardinals.

[POJO_Risin]

You gotta give Harrington 4 games...with healthy players...and see what happens...

depend on the schedule...shoot for 3-1...and go from there...

[POJO_Risin]

I don't care if McMahon is the bastard child of Marino and Montana (which would be interesting), he's not the answer either...

[ALinChainz]

Oh yeah. McMahon has never even been a good prospect, let alone a possible solution.

His accuracy is awful, he hasn't won at any level, including an 0-11 his senior year at Rutgers.

He is an athlete, no question, should look into a position change.

I would be amazed if he is ever a starter anywhere.

Drew Brees' success this season actually helped Harrington out in my mind, being his 4th year in the elague, next season being Joey's.

He has just said he would restructure his deal, as long as there is an extension that goes with it.