Strangely enough, I don’t feel as bad about the 19-14 loss to the Detroit Lions as I did about the 9-7 win against the Rams last week. This wasn’t, after all, the 0-16 Lions. It was the 0-2 Lions, who are barely recognisable in any way from the record setting 2008 variety. Likewise, we’re not the 6-2 Washington Redskins who opened up 2008 so strongly.

So it’s all the same complaints on the offense as last week: bad calls, no running game, Jason Campbell still looking like a deer in the headlights. However, we can compound the offensive problems with some defensive ones too: 99 yard drive for a touchdown? Check. Below average 3rd down performance? Check. This was shocking.

Needless to say, I struggled to find three things I liked this week.

  • Randle El‘s tip-toe catch on the final scoring drive. Great take, good awareness… just an all around heads-up play.
  • Campbell to Moss for a 57 yard catch and run.
  • Campbell to Sellers for a short TD. See, Jason, that’s how you should manage the redzone. Take your time, move about if you need to, find an easy play and make it. Sellers gains points for falling backwards with the temerity of someone who knew he was near the goalline, but loses them for not knowing exactly where he was.

    • Things I didn’t like… well, there’s too many to mention, but I join the clamouring call of people who want someone other than Jim Zorn calling the plays. I like the guy, but it might be too late for him already.
    I didn’t like last week’s Touchdown-or-Bust call and I liked it less this week. I didn’t like the final play either: I know in my head that the game was over, but toss it up to the endzone and see what happens. We were never going to be able to lateral it to a score. In other areas, the state of the O-line makes me wince everytime the ball is handed to poor Clinton Portis, or when they form a pocket. Pretty much anything they do, actually.

    Apart from some of the defence, practically the only other player who came out with any credit was Hunter Smith, whose superb punting did its best to pin the Lions back. So it’s come to this: I’m praising the punter… yeah, I don’t even want to mention the punter, let alone pick him out as doing well.

    Anyway… 1-2 and propping up the NFC East. That’s where I think we’ll be at the end of the season, so at least my expectation is being correctly managed. But if we can’t be at least 3-3 after the Buccaneers, Panthers and Chiefs games, then we really are in trouble.

    With thanks to randomgoodness from Flickr for the image