2006 Detroit Lions schedule & results

[racosun]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/mopmonkey/MWilliams.jpg
Did Mike Williams just save Matt Millen's job?

3-13; Last Place in NFC North
WEEK -- OPPONENT
preseason:
8/11 Win vs. Denver Broncos, 20-13
8/18 Loss @ Cleveland Browns, 20-16
8/25 Loss @ Oakland Raiders, 21-3
8/31 Loss vs. Buffalo Bills, 20-13

regular season:
01 - Loss vs. Seattle Seahawks, 9-6
02 - Loss @ Chicago Bears, 34-7
03 - Loss vs. Green Bay Packers, 31-24
04 - Loss @ St. Louis Rams, 41-34
05 - Loss @ Minnesota Vikings, 26-17
06 - Win vs. Buffalo Bills, 20-10
07 - Loss @ New York Jets, 31-24
08 - Bye
09 - Win vs. Atlanta Falcons, 30-14
10 - Loss vs. San Francisco 49ers, 19-13
11 - Loss @ Arizona Cardinals, 17-10
12 - Loss vs. Miami Dolphins, 27-10
13 - Loss @ New England Patriots, 28-21
14 - Loss vs. Minnesota Vikings, 30-20
15 - Loss @ Green Bay Packers, 17-9
16 - Loss vs. Chicago Bears, 26-21
17 - Win @ Dallas Cowboys, 39-31

[racosun]

0-5 to start the season isn't what Matt Millen hoped for, I bet. After this season, Millen will have had 7 full seasons to turn around a franchise that had a winning record the year before he took over. The Lions will probably also be positioned to get another very high draft pick in next spring's NFL Draft, and it could be our highest slot yet. Looking at the remaining 11 games, the Lions don't seem to match up very well with most of them. Possible wins could be over the Bills, Niners, Cardinals, Dolphins and Packers. That would give us a 5-11 record, which would definitely be near what it'll take to get the top overall draft choice. Now, beating those five teams isn't a given, especially with the way we've been playing all season so far. It's easily possible that we only get one win all season, or even do the unthinkable...0-16. I think another 4-12, 5-11 season might be good enough to ouster Millen and start yet another rebuilding process.

[racosun]

What was supposed to be the strength of the team (defense) has turned out to be the Achille's Heel of the Lions. They are on pace to give up over 400 points this season, something that just 17 other teams have done over the past four years. And, of course, none of those teams made the playoffs the year they gave up the 400 big ones. In 2004, the Vikings gave up 395 points, backing into the playoffs with two straight losses and a .500 season. They had an offense capable of making up for all those points, with Culpepper and Moss playing "Randy-Ball".

Here are the most points given up by a playoff team since '02:
2005 - Cincinnatti Bengals, 350 (11-5 record)
2004 - Minnesota Vikings, 395 (8-8)
2003 - Indianapolis Colts, 336 (12-4)
2002 - San Francisco 49ers, 351 (10-6)

As you can see, any team that desires to make the playoffs has to have at least a decent defense, or a really outstanding offense (as in the '03 Colts or '04 Vikings). I wonder if Matt Millen knows about this? For all of those years, he's gone with offense on draft day, up 'til this latest draft, when he took Ernie Simms (LB) in the first round and Daniel Bullocks (FS) in the second. He was obviously thinking that he could sign enough FA's to maintain a decent defense (never happened), while building an offensive juggernaut through the draft (we all know how most of those draft picks turned out for us). Harrington is starting for the Dolphins, Chuck Rogers is sitting at home rolling doobies, and Mike Williams is rotting on the bench, getting bumped out of playing time by cheap veteran receivers or practice squad players. The only ones who've turned out halfway decent are Roy Williams and Kevin Jones. Yeah, it's time, Mr. Ford. Fire Millen. This team is going nowhere.