Ugly Win But Lions Fans Will Take It
by Joshua Lobdell, Contributing Writer and Loyal Lions Fan
The Detroit Lions won round one of the 16 round NFL fight that is the 2012 season. No matter how ugly, no matter how potentially disturbing this performance won the simple fact remains the Lions are 1-0. That is a major accomplishment, because winning any NFL game isn’t easy.
With that said the number that keeps popping out at Lions fans is three. QB Matthew Stafford had three 3 interceptions (and that should really be four). For most of this game he did not look like an elite NFL QB. In the end his stat line reads 32 for 48 for 355 yards, 1 TD, and three picks.
The better news there might be that 10 different Lions caught passes from Stafford, and the Lions scored two TD’s on the ground. This is an offensive unit that is one great running back away from being unstoppable. Again the St. Louis Rams did little to disrupt the Lions offense, it was the Lions offense that stopped itself.
Defensively the Lions gave up 251 yards, 198 of which were through the air. The held Steven Jackson to 53 yards rushing but the Rams are a team rebuilding. It is important to keep these stats in their proper context. The Lions struggled to beat a not so great football team. Jeff Fisher is going to make them great one day, but that day will not happen in 2012.
The better news there is the Defensive line was dominant for stretches. Corey Williams, Ndamukong Suh, and even Nick Fairley had sacks. However an already depleted secondary may have lost Bill Bentley who left the game with a possible concussion. That could be a devastating blow. Already injuries are starting to pile up for this tam, especially in the secondary.
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Based on this performance, which was certainly the best they are capable of, next week at the San Francisco 49ers is gonna be a real challenge. They put 211 passing yards up against the Green Bay Packers, and that passing attack features Michael Crabtree, Randy Moss, and Vernon Davis.
In the end a win is truly a win, and the Lions accomplished the goal of wining round one. However, they still have a long way to go towards the ultimate goal of being a legit Super Bowl contender.
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