Week #2: @ Chicago Bears

[racosun]

The Bears kicked the crap out of the lowly Packers up in Lambeau Field, 26-0, to open their division title defense. That was supposed to happen. Chicago QB Rex Grossman looked pretty accurate, although he only led the Bears on one touchdown drive. The rest of his passing yards led to a bunch of field goals. My guess is that Detroit's defense is a bit better than Green Bay's, so Grossman and the two RB's (Thomas Jones, Cedric Benson) will have a tougher time getting yardage. The real question is: how well will the Lions offense bounce back after a poor showing against the Seahawks? And, can they handle the pressure of Chicago's defense? Our O-line was shakey at best against Seattle. That'll need to be worked on this week if we are to stand any chance whatsoever. This might be another all-field goal week, and it could be a big statement game for the Bears and the rest of the league that the Lions are for real. We'll see.

[racosun]

This guy is certainly in line to take over for Terrell Owens as the league's biggest mouth fairly soon. After doing absolutely nothing to help his team in it's season-opening loss to Seattle, he comes out and GUARANTEES a win over the Bears!! Who does he think he is, Rasheed Wallace? What has Roy done in the league that merits such words? What an idiot! Here's a quote from Roy, and the hurried back-off:

"We'll win this game. We will win this game. You can all take that as a guarantee or whatnot, but we will win this game...

"I'm not saying... I'm just saying, we're going to go out there and play the way we're supposed to play. When we play the way we're supposed to play, we're supposed to win. That's what I'm saying, that we're supposed to win."

Roy admitted that he made at least 3 to 5 big mistakes in yesterday's loss, and acknowledged that the coaching staff placed the Lion's share of blame for the stagnant offense on the WR's. Roy said he missed quite a few run-blocks, and he also dropped a few easy passes. Like last season, something that really bothers me about Roy is all the damn smiling he does after a big screw-up. What's so damned funny? That you're getting paid anyways, no matter how badly you're dogging it? If he thinks he's the next Torii Holt, he's got a rude awakening coming shortly. He needs to shut up, play hard, and start acting like a professional football player and a winner. The last thing we needed is for the Bears defense to have any extra motivation to kill us next week. Thanks, Roy. You'd better back it up, or you'll be joining the other #1 receivers (Rogers and Mike Williams). I want at least 120 yards and two TD's from Roy, but I don't think the Bears are going to allow it to happen.

[racosun]

OUT
Lions - WR Shaun Bodiford (knee); TE Casey Fitzsimmons (wrist); G Ross Verba (hamstring)
Bears - None

QUESTIONABLE
Lions - None
Bears - WR Justin Gage (rib); S Chris Harris (ankle); DT Tommie Harris (ankle); LB Hunter Hillenmeyer (concussion); DT Israel Idonije (ankle); TE Gabe Reid (back); RB J.D. Runnels (ankle)

PROBABLE
Lions - None
Bears - None

[tigers527]

Oh well,

I am attending the days Tiger game today. So I think my neighbors might have to call the police to check on the normally noisy house (me yelling at those Lions in hopes of inspiring them, or at least insulting them), during a Lions game. I would think that, I might be home in time to watch the last series or two. Oh well, it is likely better for my mental health that I am going to miss this game. As I said earlier in a different thread, tell me the last time the Lions beat Chicago, in Chicago when the Bears had a pretty good team. Was it that one year when Bobby Lane went on a bender during 1/2 time, and then led the team on a great second half comeback?

[racosun]

...I think Marinelli's going to hit the bottle at halftime today. All the players say to expect an explosive offense. It's exploding, alright. Right into their faces. So far, this game is the opposite of last week. We can't seem to stop the Bears offense (what's up with that?), and everytime we get something going for our own team, we get two or three penalties and kill it. We were near midfield after a couple of nice Roy Williams catches, and next thing you know we're punting from the 20 and it's 4th and 31. So much for guarantees. Kevin Jones said his team was fired up about the Williams quote. I guess everybody but the O-line (and maybe the D-line, and the secondary). 10-0 heading into the second quarter, with no hope in sight.

[racosun]

It's a massacre. The offensive line has been truly offensive. Kitna is pretty pissed out there, and he should be. He's 11-for-12 passing, but he's been sacked 4 times and is constantly under pressure. The penalties are the real problem so far. Kevin Jones is averaging over 5 yards per carry, but has only carried it 7 times, and lost a fumble early. The Lions only scoring chance was blown by the O-line and Jason Hanson. Detroit made it to Chicago's 12, only to see Hanson miss a 42-yard field goal. It might be time for the Lions to look elsewhere for kicking duties. Hanson will milk the Lions for as much money as he can for as long as he can. He's been good to us over the years, but it's time to move on. He can't kick off worth a crap anymore, and now he's missing FG's as often as he's making them. But this 24-0 buttwhooping is nowhere near being Hanson's fault. The defense looks like a sivv, making Rex Grossman look like Peyton Manning. I'm not sure if it's going to be any better in the second half for the poor old Lions.

On a side note: Mike Williams hasn't played a snap yet. If this is another rebuilding year, why not play him? He can't be any worse than Hakim or Bradford, or even Furrey (although Furrey has been our only bright spot so far).

[racosun]

This was a complete joke of a game, beginning with the Roy Williams "guarantee" and finishing up with Kevin Jones' second fumble of the game on the Lions final possesion. We were outplayed in every way possible. I'm not saying we weren't able to do anything positive, we just followed every positive up with two or three negatives. Jon Kitna, for instance, had a great game. He scored the Lions only TD on a one-yard QB sneak in the third quarter, and for a second it looked like the Lions had some fight left in them. Boss Bailey picked off Rex Grossman's only mistake of the game and returned it for a TD, but (of course, and as usual) the Lions had a penalty, thereby nullifying the nice play. That would have made it a 24-14 game, with about a quarter-and-a-half to play. Instead, the defense let the Bears march down the field and score, putting the game effectively out of reach.

Some losses, you can take something out of it. Like last week. Roy Williams thought the Lions played so good against the reigning NFC champs that he just KNEW we'd beat the Bears on their home turf. Even the die-hard fans like myself thought this defense wasn't the normal Lions defense we are used to seeing. You can throw all that out the window. The Bears are known for their defense, and while they displayed it thouroughly and proudly, it was their offense that looked strongest. Why the Lions kept using that drop-back zone defense is beyond me, but Grossman simply picked it apart all day long. Many things need to be fixed before we play lowly Green Bay next week. First things first: duct tape Roy Williams mouth shut, and put some stick-um on those gloves of Kevin Jones.

The Bears come to Ford Field on Christmas Eve for a 1 o'clock game. Maybe the O-line will have gelled by then.

[racosun]

Chicago Bears 34, Detroit Lions 7
Passing:
Lions - Jon Kitna, 23-for-30, 230 yards, no TD's, no picks
Bears - Rex Grossman, 20-for-27, 289 yards, 4 TD's, no picks

Rushing:
Lions - Kevin Jones, 12 rushes, 44 yards, no TD's, 2 fumbles lost
Bears - Thomas Jones, 21 rushes, 64 yards, no TD's, no fumbles lost

Receiving:
Lions - Roy Williams, 6 catches, 71 yards, no TD's
Bears - Bernard Berrian, 5 catches, 89 yards, 1 TD

Kicking:
Lions - Jason Hanson, 0-for-1 fg's, 1-for-1 PAT's
Bears - Robbie Gould, 2-for-2 fg's, 4-for-4 PAT's