Monday, January 5, 2015

An Excuse for Losing & We End on a High Note


The movie The Hustler was on tv this past week. Great movie, and it has one of the great all-time lines in it about losing. Check out this back & forth between Newman's Fast Eddie and George C. Scott's slimeball Bert Gordon:

Bert Gordon: Eddie, is it alright if I get personal?
Fast Eddie: Whaddaya been so far?
Bert Gordon: Eddie, you're a born loser.
Fast Eddie: What's that supposed to mean?
Bert Gordon: First time in ten years I ever saw Minnesota Fats hooked... really hooked. But you let him off.
Fast Eddie: I told you I got drunk.
Bert Gordon: Sure you got drunk. You have the best excuse in the world for losing; no trouble losing when you got a good excuse. Winning... that can be heavy on your back, too, like a monkey. You'll drop that load too when you got an excuse. All you gotta do is learn to feel sorry for yourself. One of the best indoor sports, feeling sorry for yourself. A sport enjoyed by all, especially the born losers.

A phrase/term I expect to hear about 700 times on any Lions sports radio show is SOL - Same Ol' Lions. I hate that phrase. I hate how some Lions fans can't wait to break it out, how they gleefully declare it, saying, "I was right. I knew they were going to lose. Same old Lions." I hate how the SOL crowd basks in their anti-fandom, about being right about the Lions somehow eventually losing and ending their season. I bet if they had played their way into the Super Bowl and lost on the last play of the game, I would still hear the idiots calling in with their SOL declarations.

Same Ol' Lions is a myth. The Same Ol' Lions weren't good enough to lose like that. They wouldn't have made the playoffs. They wouldn't have been beating a VERY GOOD Cowboys team with 5 minutes left in the game. But I do think that, like Bert Gordon said in The Hustler, the Lions were born losers, looking for an excuse to lose. In football they call it "playing not to lose" instead of "playing to win." The moment I felt it start to come apart for the Lions was after Sam Martin shanked his punt. The cameras turned to Dallas' sideline, where everyone was whooping it up like the game was already won. The Lions were still up by 3, but they looked shell-shocked as if they had already lost. It turns out, they had. They had lost in their minds before the clock ran out.


The excuse for losing the Lions found was the play shown above. The Lions had 3rd and 1 at the Cowboy 46, up 3 with about 9 minutes to play. Stafford tried a back-shoulder throw to Pettigrew, only he underthrew it and it bounced off of Dallas LB Anthony Hitchens for an incompletion. Hitchens had been tugging on Pettigrew the whole way and as you can see, shoved him in the shoulder before the ball arrived, so it was with little surprise that we saw the flag fly for pass interference. This would have given Detroit a first down at the 30. The crew chief even announced the call, but then they picked up the flag & said there wasn't enough contact to merit pass interference. I've never seen that in my life. They could've called holding, illegal contact, OR pass interference on that play (any of which would've given Detroit a 1st down) and instead called nothing (seemed like a home-crowd call to me). It was a terrible call but not WHY the Lions lost, just the EXCUSE for losing.

So what was the WHY for the Lions losing? They took their foot off the gas. They stopped blitzing on Dallas's winning drive, and they didn't go for it on 4th and 1. Why punt there? Martin shanked the kick, but he could've had it blocked, he could've booted it through the end zone... Why not try to extend your drive? The Lions had scored only 3 points in the 2nd half. The Lions were running the ball well & Joique Bell or Jed Collins could've picked that yard up. Instead, they played not to lose, and lost.

Stars...
Ndamukong Suh would be my #1 star in this game, for the Lions anyway. He had 2 sacks, 2 QB hits, and imploded the pocket whenever he was out there. He gave the most human interview I've ever seen him give in the post-game presser. I flip-flop on Suh. He's a great player, probably the best DT in the game, but his attitude gets in the way. It almost cost him a chance to even play in this game. He's standoffish with the media, never allowing access and rarely breaking his poker face. He gives clichéd or prepared responses. But that was real.

Ziggy Ansah was my #2 guy, getting a sack and 4 QB hits. He had a couple of brutal hits on Romo in the 1st half that had him wondering what day it was. My #3 star would go to the Lions offensive line. The run game was decent, averaging 4.1 yards per carry for 90 yards. Stafford got sacked 3 times, but per usual one or two of those was his own fault for holding the ball too long or not finding space in the pocket when it was there. I thought they did a pretty good job, especially considering the fact that they were playing 2nd stringers at RG and RT.

Scrubs...
Sam Martin gets the top scrub spot for shanking that punt. I've never seen a pro kicker shank one THAT badly, and at such a crucial moment. Oddly enough, DeAndre Levy gets my #2 scrub spot. Your top LB has to get more than 4 tackles. Levy got burned on pass coverage several times, missed a couple tackles, and was often caught up in the wash on running plays, leaving Ihedigbo to clean up his mess.

I debated on putting the Lions' secondary here (no INTs, 1 pass defensed, allowed 293 yards), but ultimately the #3 scrubs in this game were the refs. The pass interference no-call was pretty bad (in fact there were 4 different penalties they could've called on that play). They also had 2 questionable calls on Dallas' game-winning drive that gave the 'boys 1st downs. The first was a holding call on Don Carey that was no better or worse than what Hitchens did on the flag they picked up. The second was a holding call on Levy, when he tackled the RB on a playaction pass. You're supposed to be allowed to tackle the RB on a play-fake, per rule 8, section 4, article 6, supplemental note
Any offensive player who pretends to possess the ball and/or one to whom a teammate pretends to give the ball, may tackled provided he is crossing his scrimmage line between the offensive tackles of a normal tight offensive line.
The call gave Dallas a 1st & goal from the 8 instead of a 4th and 9 from the 15. Dallas would have gone for the tie & kicked a FG, giving Detroit the ball with about 3:30 left and only needing a FG to win.

Inbetween
I thought Matt Stafford was the picture of inconsistency in this game. His stats looked pretty good - 66.7% completion rate, 323 yards passing, and a manly 9-yard run for a 1st down. He could have been even better completing his passes, but he had 2 passes knocked down by defensive linemen, one leading to an INT (it was pointed out that Stafford NEVER pump-fakes). He also had 5 passes defensed by LBs (which should NEVER happen), including one on the Hitchens no-call. The decision & throw to Pettigrew on that PI no-call were both poorly made, since a) Pettigrew wasn't really open, b) Pettigrew has terrible hands, and c) the pass was so far behind Pettigrew that he had to go THROUGH Hitchens to make the play. It still should've been pass interference because Hitchens didn't turn around, but it was a terrible pass and a bad decision to throw it in the first place.

Stafford also fumbled the ball TWICE on the Lions final drive, both times he should have sensed pressure and moved away. On the first fumble, he held the ball WAY too long and the rush came from the right side. It should've been easy for Stafford to sense this and step into the pocket, but Stafford never developed an awareness of incoming pressure, so he got plastered. Fortunately for Detroit, the D lineman who picked the ball up tried to return it for some reason, Garrett Reynolds poked it loose, and Riley Reiff recovered it. The second fumble was a blind-side rush, but Stafford still should have sensed it. Again, there was space in the pocket for him to step into, but he stood like a statue, waiting for the rush to get to him. Reiff got burned on the play, but Stafford needs to help him out by stepping up and giving him a better position to block from.


Something that was pointed out by Danny (we were watching a recording of the game at a friend's house, since we had a prior engagement scheduled during the live airing of the game) was that the playcall on this 4th & 3 was TERRIBLE. No one was open, most of the receivers were running WAY down field, and those that weren't were running outs. The one guy that made sense for Stafford to throw to was Theo Riddick, and he took forever to get open. By the time he WAS open, Stafford was going down. Why not a screen, a slant to CJ, a trick play? Anything but some vanilla pass play that was doomed from the start.

So my other inbetween spot goes to the coaching staff. I thought Lombardi called one of his better games, for at least 3 quarters. The playcalling on the final drive wasn't good though, and this 4th down play was pretty bad. 3rd down efficiency was a problem again as well, finishing 4/11 there. Caldwell not going for it on 4th & 1 was defensible but wrong. Teryl Austin's defense played well most of the game and got pressure on Romo early, but later in the game he sent fewer blitzes and Romo had time to find guys open over the middle. The Lions' mentality changed at some point in the game from being the attackers to that of being chased, and that is on the coaching staff.

What's Next?
I don't think anyone should be fired over this game. Lombardi was NOT a good OC and could potentially go, but it was his first season as a playcaller. I'm hoping he'll learn from this season and improve. Teryl Austin might get some offers to be a HC, but my bet is he sticks around for another year or three before taking a big job. I'm optimistic that a) this coaching staff sticks around for another season, and b) they have learned how to coach this team better.

The big question this offseason is whether or not Suh will stay in Detroit or take his talents elsewhere. It's been rumored he wants to play in NY, brand reasons or something. I don't know. He's not close to anyone on the team, which isn't a good sign, but based on the emotion he showed at the last press conference, he at least cares about his teammates on a deep, if not personal, level. Detroit may not be able to pay him what he wants, but if they can they should. He's the difference between them being a top 3 defense and a mediocre defense.

The NFL Draft is merely 3 1/2 months away, and we now know the Lions are picking 23rd. They could really use a CB, an OG or OT, and definitely a DT if Suh leaves for parts unknown. Another option would be to take Georgia RB Todd Gurley, who is actually the 23rd-ranked draft prospect by ESPN. Gurley was one of the top Heisman candidates until a suspension and then an ACL injury cut his season short. Check out his highlights vs. Clemson - he's got good straight-line speed, he doesn't go down easily, and he makes quick, smart cuts. Joique Bell is a good back, but Reggie Bush showed his age this year with his injuries and lack of explosive plays. Melvin Gordon is the top back in this class and should be long off the board by the time Detroit makes their pick, but Gurley will likely still be around. A better O line would help Detroit's rushing attack, but so would a top talent at RB.

I'll cover the draft ad nauseam after the combine, but those are my early thoughts.

***

I want to end on a good note, so here it is: the Pistons are on a 5-game winning streak! Detroit is 5-0 since dumping Josh Smith, 10-23 overall.  They've played great on offense and their team defense has been better as well. They've gotten some good production out of Jennings and Jodie Meeks, and Drummond & Monroe have shown more consistency on offense. Last night they played the Kings, and the hero was Brandon Jennings - 35 pts, 7 assists.


A 10-23 record is nothing to write home about, but 5 straight wins means SOMETHING. Since it's early, they're only 5 games out of a playoff spot, and none of the teams ranked 5-8 look particularly strong right now (CLE, MIL, BRK, MIA). I don't know if the Pistons can sustain their current level of play, but if they play over .500 ball the rest of the way, Detroit could finish somewhere between seeds 6-8.

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