Rosey on Lions
Posted: December 26th, 2008 | Filed under: Other Sports | 58 Comments »
My fascination with the Detroit Lions and their quest for 0-16 knows no limits. It probably says a lot about me that I did not have one-tenth the same interest level when the Patriots were on their 16-0 crusade a year ago. I guess I’ve always had a pretty good outsider sense of 16-0 — why it’s so hard to do, what kind of luck and determination it takes to get there, what it means.
But 0-16 — that’s a whole other thing. Anyone who watches the NFL closely realizes that there are plenty of lousy teams in this league, and there are many, many more teams that CAN BE lousy on any given week. It seems to me that to go winless in this environment takes something more than awfulness.
1. It takes an ability to descend to the occasion*.
*The Lions have played four teams with losing records and, except for their relatively game effort against Houston, they have not come even close to winning any of those:
Green Bay (5-10): Lost 45-28.
San Francisco (6-9): Lost 31-13
Houston (7-8): Lost 28-21
Jacksonville (5-10): Lost 38-14
2. It takes an ability to pull off remarkable, almost mystical, feats of horridness.*
*I think the Lions loss that tops them all was against Tampa Bay; Detroit led 17-0 at the end of the first quarter. This was at home. This was against a Bucs team that had had trouble scoring point all year. Of course, the Lions were losing by halftime, and the game was way out of reach before the end of the third quarter. … Of course falling behind 35-3 to the Tennessee Titans in the second quarter on Thanksgiving Day was one for the ages too.
3. It takes a high level of comic chaos.*
*So, in one year the Lions FINALLY fired Matt Millen as general manager, but they kept on their head coach who will probably be best remembered as the guy who got offended when someone asked him if he wished his daughter would have married a better defensive coordinator. Their most outspoken player has been their kicker, Jason Hanson, who is having a remarkable season (the guy is 8-for-8 beyond 50 yards) — how do you go 0-16 when you have a kicker that good? Five different quarterbacks have thrown passes this year including one guy who retired (Daunte Culpepper), one guy who probably should have retired (Jon Kitna) and two guys named Drew**
**Not many people made it all the way to the end of that Thanksgiving Day game, but if you did make it you got the treat of watching Drew Henson throw two passes. Yes, THAT Drew Henson. It was wild to see him, a beautiful blast from the past, sort of like seeing Dwayne from “What’s Happening†in a major motion picture or hearing a new “The Dream Academy†song on the radio. Funny thing is I mentioned this to three or four friends, and they all had the same reaction: “No, that wasn’t Drew Henson, it was Drew Stanton, the kid from Michigan State.†And I was like, um, no, it really was Drew Henson. But they had me so unnerved that I actually went back to the boxscore. Twice. And, of course, it WAS Drew Henson. I didn’t dream it.
4. It takes a group of players who, when it comes right down to it, just want the season to end.*
*Seems to me there are two ways a really, really bad team can go. The team can suck it up at the end of the year and put together professional efforts in order to show some semblance of pride. Or they can accept their fate and try to get the heck out without getting hurt. We will see how the Lions respond in Green Bay, where it will no doubt be miserably cold and generally awful. Their 42-7 loss at home to New Orleans last week does not promise good things.
Of course, it isn’t just the team that fascinates me … it is also the fan reaction to the team. In many ways that intrigues me even more. How do fans handle a potential 0-16 season? Do you, at some point, root for bad history? Do you rage against every loss? Do you simply pretend it isn’t happening? This is especially poignant in Detroit, where times are tough, and the harsh winter hits, and the Tigers just had a miserable season and time seems to have passed the Pistons by (though the Red Wings seem about as good as ever).
My good friend Michael Rosenberg, brilliant chronicler of all things Motor City for the Detroit Free Press, offers this excellent little essay on what Lions fans want:
I know quite a few Lions fans want their team to beat Green Bay and be just another 1-15 team. But based on anecdotal evidence, I can tell you that a lot of fans are rooting for the team to go 0-16 — far more than you would find if, say, the 49ers or Raiders or Bears were 0-15. These are people who have embraced Rasheed Wallace, Dennis Rodman and Bob Probert, yet they want their football team to lose. To understand why, you have to understand the history of the franchise and its relationship with its fans.
Since William Clay Ford Sr. bought the Lions in 1964, the team has won one playoff game. That is a disappointing year for the Patriots. But it’s not even the losing that drives Lions fans craziest. A lot of teams lose. It is that Ford does not seem to try. He kept the same general manager, Russ Thomas, from 1967 to 1989. He kept Wayne Fontes as coach for more than eight years. And of course, he kept Matt Millen for eight years as well.
We often say that fans here love their Lions, but the truth is that they love football, and the Lions happen to be the team that play here. Obviously, fans have great affection for a lot of the Lions’ players, but they have none for the franchise. The Lions are not lovable losers; they are just losers. In 2003, when the Tigers threatened to eclipse the 1962 Mets’ modern-day record for losses, most fans pulled hard for them to win games in the final week. At the time, owner Mike Ilitch was widely ridiculed for losing so many games, and the team had been bad for a decade. But most fans still had fond memories of when the Tigers were good — and on some level, they knew Ilitch cared, because he had won so much with the Red Wings. They did not want their team to be embarrassed by losing 120 games.
This is different. Many Lions fans think it would be a nice change if their franchise is embarrassed. Some of them figured that 0-16 would shame Ford into meaningful change; I never bought that, and Ford’s announcement last week that he is keeping the team president and interim general manager show he is still the same lousy owner he always was. That was never really the point, anyway. Lions fans have tried to love this team for years, but the team never loved them back. After a while, you don’t expect to be loved any more. You just want the team to feel the way you have felt for all these years.
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Misery loves company, indeed.
Joe,
As a Lions fan, this did not fill me with Christmas… err… Boxing Day cheer when I read this today.
The amazing thing is that they weren’t even supposed to be THAT bad this year. Your good friend LeBatard picked them as his “sleeper” team this year.
As a Tigers fan, and a Detroit sports fan in general, my suffering knows no bounds in general (except for the Wings, God bless ‘em), but for the Lions specifically.
I grew up watching the Lions and when I was 7 (1970), they made it to the playoffs! It was so exciting. And they lost to the Cowboys, 5-0. I said “what the fuck?” for the first time then.
But the Lions are not a study in total franchise futility. They made the playoffs six times in the 1990s. You want futility, visit that city on the big bend in the O-hi-o (Joe, hope you’re going to the Chiefs game in Porkopolis Sunday; it’s gonna be hilarious).
The Lions? I want this to happen. 0-16.
And then, I want it to happen next year.
Looks like they slept all year long.
I don’t know the Ford family. MAYBE Bill Ford really is a jerk who doesn’t care how bad is team is. It’s possible.
But…
When I was a kid growing up in New York, I used to hear the EXACT same thing about Giants owner Wellington Mara. Sportswriters were all but unanimous in their insistence that Mara was the only reason the Giants had been so awful from 1963-1979. Every other week, I’d read columns angrily denouncing Mara as a greedy, conniving SOB who deliberately put lousy teams on the field because the Giants made so much money that he had no incentive to try to improve things.
In reality, for all his faults, Mara DID care. he cared a great deal. He made a lot of mistakes, but the idea that he had made a cold, rational choice to put a lousy football team on the field for 15 years was not only false, it was absurd. Mara was a highly decent man who was TRYING his best.
Things turned around when Pete Rozelle urged Mara to hire George Young as his General Manager. Young drafted Phil Simms and Lawrence Taylor, and suddenly, Mara didn’t look like such a callous, uncaring owner any more.
Is it so impossible that Ford’s image could do a 180, if he just hired the right GM?
It’s also harder to be this bad in a salary cap, free agency era where the field is supposedly level. Of course if you draft receivers in the first round for years and never address the defensive problems or the offensive line or QB … the Lions are proving that it can be done.
Congratulations to the Ford family on this monumental achievement.
As a Lions fan, I hope they go 0-16. The reason is I’m sick of national reporters consistently picking the Lions as their “sleeper” team of the year (It happens at least once every season). This franchise is not mediocre, it is horrible, perhaps only better than the Clippers in all of professional sports. Joe, you only scratched the surface on the bizarre decisions that have led the team to this point.
Astorian, the NFL tried to do the same thing with the Lions that you described with the Giants. William Clay Ford reacted to their advice by giving Matt Millen a five-year, $25 million contract extension.
I’d like to hear Calvin Johnson or Kevin Smith stand up and say something like “I know I’m a rookie so I really shouldn’t be calling out my teammates, but com’on… the NFL can’t be this hard can it? Any given Sunday, right?” …I feel sorry for the good rookies on this team. I think somebody from the ‘76 Bucs should take them to therapy during the off season.
Since the 16 game season began in ‘78, here’s the most points any defense has allowed in a season…
533 – Colts in ‘81 (2 wins)
487 – Saints in ‘80 (1 win)
486 – Lions in ‘08 (0-15 so far)
486 – Colts in ‘01 (6 wins)
484 – Vikings in ‘84 (3 wins)
If the Packers score 48 on Sunday, the Lions will have allowed 534. Even if that doesn’t happen, the Lions are almost a lock for being only the 2nd team to allow 500+ points. Yikes!
I feel bad for Ernie Sims, we were classmates and I root for them because of that. He was great and lead the team to 4 state championships.
Dear Lions Fan,
The franchise of futility is not in Cincy, it is in Phoenix. The Cardinals have not had a ten win season since the 70’s. The have two postseason wins in 55 years of postseason play.
Of course if you want really, really crummy, the lions (so bad I think that proper grammar should be to not capitalize the name) over an 8 year stretch have won 31 games. The Bucs were that “winning” over an 8 year period in the 80’s, but there were only 9 games in 1982 (when the Bucs went 5-4), so their winning % was noticeably higher.
William Clay Ford should sell the Lions and donate whatever he can get for them to help bail out the Ford Motor Company.
Kevin Smith has been pretty outspoken, especially for a rookie.
The Lions kept 11 defensive linemen on the team coming out of training camp. That’s like having four quarterbacks on your roster. And the defensive line is probably the worst in the league, despite having Corey Redding, the highest paid defensive tackle in the NFL. And did I mention that the defensive line is Rod Marinelli’s specialty.
I could go look this up but I’m fat and lazy today…TODAY???
Anyway, am I reading this right? Detroit has played only four teams with losing records this season? That’s one reason that they are in the predicament that they find themselves…
I can get my head around the fact that this team is about to go 0-16. What is more shocking to me is that this team was 6-2 last season. How the heck did that happen?
Boy, I need to brush up on my NFL knowledge/viewing!! I have never heard of Corey Redding (okay, maybe I have?), but he’s the top paid def lineman in the NFL?! WHO KNEW!!???
As far as the Lions being 6-2 last season, I do recall Jon Kitna started out the season like he was a true Pro Bowler. Then reality set in…
Mark, you could probably throw in the Vikings, Bears, and Redskins as they would be a combined 2 games above .500 if you threw out their five wins against the Lions. They have had a tough schedule, to be sure – they played the South divisions, which have been much better than expected. Of course, part of the reason the Souths have been better than expected is padding their win totals against the NFC North. The NFC South is 13-3 against the NFC North and the AFC South is 10-5 (and Houston will probably make it 11-5 after ending the Bears season Sunday.)
their kicker, Jason Hanson, who is having a remarkable season (the guy is 8-for-8 beyond 50 yards) — how do you go 0-16 when you have a kicker that good?
I first became conscious of football, and the Lions in particular, in 1980 – Billy Sims’ rookie season.
Since that time, the Lions have had two kickers: Eddie Murray, and Jason Hanson. That is probably one of the most singular remarkable things about the Lions: 2 kickers in 27 seasons.
As a long-suffering Leo fan, I have probably spent as much time rooting against the Lions as for them. During the Wayne Fontes years we kept hoping they would be just bad enough to finally get him fired (ahh, to think now that those were the good years!). I think I remain with the majority of Lion fans now, in hoping for 0-16.
Corey Redding was (is?) the top-paid defensive tackle in the NFL. He signed a seven-year, $49 million contract ($16 million guaranteed) in 1997 after one good season. It now turns out that his success was based on teams double-teaming Shaun Rogers.
I think that you have to pull for 0-16. To win Sunday would spoil a noteworthy season.
Btw, the likelihood that the Lions will win an outdoor game (on grass!) in December is almost zero. I’m too busy to run the numbers. But the Lions are traditionally awful on the road, outside, in the cold. They haven’t won in Wisconsin since pre-Favre times, for example. They’re like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a dome.
Still, there is the “black swan.” Unlikely events happen all the time. It’s just that it’s really stoopid to bet on any particular unlikely event to happen.
So, L! 0-16!
the 10 hardest schedules so far this year:
Team Win% Opp. W Opp. L
Steelers .598 153 103
Colts .594 152 104
Jaguars .559 143 113
Vikings .551 141 115
Ravens .551 141 115
Titans .551 141 115
Bengals .547 140 116
Texans .547 140 116
Browns .547 140 116
Lions .543 139 117
and the lowest 10 (that should say OPPONENT win % up there).
joe you should love this, the chiefs have one of the easiest schedules this year and are STILL terrible. i think the chiefs are probably a worse team than the lions. the raiders might be even worse still.
Dolphins .465 119 137
Panthers .465 119 137
Jets .457 117 139
Chiefs .453 116 140
Bills .449 115 141
Saints .449 115 141
Broncos .445 114 142
Raiders .438 112 144
Chargers .422 108 148
Patriots .387 99 157
Somehow I get the feeling that the Packers are going to outgain the Lions by a sizable margin, have the game in apparent control for most of the game and yet somehow give the Lions their first and only win of the season. I just feel this in my gut for some reason I can’t put my finger on…..oh that’s right, that’s because that’s what I have been seeing almost every weekend for the last couple months.
That would be the appropriate end to this season.
I agree with Dusty. The fact that the AFC West has had an easy schedule and still managed to suck is notable – this has to be the worst division of all time when analyzed from bottom to abyss.
The Lions have had a relatively normal schedule – their opponents are seven games above .500 when you take out their 15-0 against the Lions out of the equation.
How can any post about the ‘08 Lions be complete without mention of Orlovsky’s safety? He ran untouched out the back of the end zone… in a game they lost by two points! In a season they will go 0-16! Could this be the dumbest play in the history of sport?
The system in football is much better than baseball. However, you do have a few teams that take advantage of being bad and getting paid – AZ cards, Detroit Lions, Bengals etc. Of course, the Cards are making their first home playoff game in 45 years, so maybe they should be off this list – NOT!
Don’t you wish Coach Marinelli was the type of guy like John McKay who would provide some good stuff after these pathetic losses?
http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/pressbox/8121/mckay.htm
When asked what he felt of his team’s execution, McKay replied “I’m in favor of it.” After another defeat he was asked if saw anything good. “I thought we ran onto the field smartly,” was his response. There was the time a place kicker claimed that kicking in front of McKay made him nervous. “I plan to attend all the games,” was the reply. After another defeat, McKay told his team “Those of you need showers, take them.”
I think orlovskys true horrible play was being picked off against 49ers during a screen pass. He went 0-1 stats wise. How do you get picked off like that? So pathetic.
Actually it’s the Cardinals’ first home playoff game in 61 years. And only their eighth total in the 75 years of NFL playoffs, and they’ve been around for the whole thing.
I’m so glad you said what you did about Drew Henson. I saw about ten minutes of that game with my brother-in-law, and when Henson came in I said, “Holy [moley], is that really Drew Henson?” B-i-l just said, “Yeah, why?” Didn’t get it at all.
Orlovsky’s safety, while stupid, didn’t really come into play until the last two minutes of the game with the Lions up 10-9. The Vikings got a VERY generous 45-yard pass interference call, moved the ball another 15-20 yards and kicked the winning field goal with under 10 seconds left in the game.
And as horrible as the final score of the first Packers game was, remember that the Lions actually had the lead briefly in the 4th quarter at 25-24 before Kitna threw picks on consecutive possessions, one returned for a touchdown and the other directly resulting in a TD.
Did you know that the Lions are the only NFL team to have a player die on the field? Receiver Chuck Hughes died of a heart attack in 1971. They also are the only team (I believe) to have a player killed by a drunk driver while MOWING HIS LAWN! (Offensive lineman Eric Andolsek in 1991.)
Also, quarterback Bobby Layne put a curse on the Lions in 1958 when he was traded from Detroit to Pittsburgh, Layne said the Lions would not win for 50 years. Since then Detroit has had one quarterback play in the Pro Bowl, Greg Landry in 1970.
Listening to Jim Rome for your stories mate? You could have at least mentioned him as he’s been saying this in a funnier way for months now.
I’ve tried explaining this to a friend, but having a kicker who is 8 for 8 from 50+ yards is a great indication of how BAD the Lions really are. If they were any good they wouldn’t have to rely on Hanson kicking field goals from mid-field to get any points. Their offense would be moving them closer to and into the end zone if they were any good.
And to Jeff…Jim Rome has never said anything funnier than anyone else.
If you were referring to my stories, Jeff, I just have to tell you that I don’t find two people dying particularly funny.
“I’ve tried explaining this to a friend, but having a kicker who is 8 for 8 from 50+ yards is a great indication of how BAD the Lions really are. If they were any good they wouldn’t have to rely on Hanson kicking field goals from mid-field to get any points. Their offense would be moving them closer to and into the end zone if they were any good.”
Greg’s right – Hanson has as many field goal attempts from 50+ yards as he does from inside 40 yards. The Lions are so pathetic, they can’t even get into reasonable FG range.
Ping. I actually read this one on si.com. Usually I go here first, but I’ve been traveling and wanted to get the scores.
The Orlovsky safety is the signature moment of their season. I’m not sure a single play has ever more accurately summed up an entire year.
For my money, the five worst franchises in sports would be:
5. Los Angeles Clippers
4. Kansas City Royals
3. Cincinnati Bengals
2. Detroit Lions
1. Pittsburgh Pirates
I’ll give honorable mentions to and entertain arguments for the Atlanta Hawks, the Arizona Cardinals and the Chicago Blackhawks.
Also the New York Islanders.
A five worst list and it doesn’t include the Raiders?? (Justin Zeth) and what does it take to move out of a worst franchise list? (much less get on one)
0-16 !!!! they did it !!
sad.
A five worst list and it doesn’t include the Raiders?? (Justin Zeth) and what does it take to move out of a worst franchise list? (much less get on one)
———
Yeah, the Raiders should definitely be on the honorable mention list, but they haven’t been as awful as the Lions, and they haven’t been awful for nearly as long as the Clippers, Royals, Bengals or Pirates. The Raiders won the AFC six years ago. (Same reason why the Marlins aren’t there.)
What will it take to get off the list? New ownership. Which means all of these teams are likely to stay terrible for a long time to come.
Raiders. Islanders. Pirates. Worst franchises in sports! Be serious! All of these teams were dominant and feared at one point or another and each won multiple championships. Sorry. Learn some history before making such dim-witted statements.
BTW, the Pirates DO have new ownership, so you are are now twice as wrong or very, very dim.
You can whittle down the “worst franchises in sports” list by first eliminating teams that have won a championship that a significant portion of their fans actually remember.
The Pirates and Royals have won championships in the last 30 years. We’re not just talking one lone season of serendipitous bliss here, either. K.C. and Pittsburgh had decade-long stretches as perennial contenders.
The Expos/Nationals have existed since 1969. They’ve won their division twice, but failed to win the NL pennant even once. In that time the Pirates and Royals have combined for 15 division championships, 4 pennants, and 3 World Championships.
The Senators/Rangers have been failing horribly since 1961: 4 division titles (all since 1994), not one league pennant.
Obviously, this all depends upon how one defines “worst” with regards to sports franchises. There are other ways to look at it.
I grow up in Detroit area and do not really get all that excited about pro sports because, these kids get paid so much money for playing a game. I am not sure if I have the right year or even all the exact details 100% correct. But, as I recall in 1974 Al Kaline’s last year of playing for the Tigers the organization offered him a $100,000 plus contract and he turned it down becuase he said no one was worth a $100,000 to play a game. Again not sure if all that is correct but, that’s what I recall.
As I said I was born in the area in the early 50’s and moved away in 1989. I will always be a Detroit sports fan because we are some of the best anywhere. Where else in the country can someone say the 4 major pro sports teams came to Detroit and have not left?(WHY because of the great fans) However, maybe it is time for the Lions to leave or should I say Ford should leave town. He is the only person who could make Barry Sanders mad enough to just walk away from football.
I also recall a season in the 80’s when the team was on a roll and had thier own team song ( I can not remember what it was for the life of me) which fired the players and fans up. However, as I recall it Ford gave some order to coach Wayne Fontes to make the players stop. Well as I recall what happen the team starting losing big time.
Not, one thing is ever going to change with the Loins as long as Ford Family owns them. I think he must hang on to them just to piss off the Detroit sports fans. I am also a believer that the fans should boycott going to the games as long as Ford owns the team, he really does not care. The other story (again as I recall it) is that when Russ Thomas was the GM the city wanted his head on a plate. Having been NFL champions in the 50’s to having Thomas as GM and the losing ways started at that point. Ford told the press he did not care what the fans wanted it was his Football team and he would do what he wanted. (Again just as I remember this story not sure if all these facts are correct.)
It seems funny to me that Ford is able to get the NFL to come to Detroit for two Super Bowls becuase, he likes the attention but, will not do the same for his football team or for the fans who feel the losing the most. You know I believe that Ford was most likely hoping that his team would go 0-16 so he would be in the history books for something. It goes to show that money can not buy everything.
Gee ,the Lions can not even win on Thanksgiving Day anymore. But, again Ford likes the attention so the NFL does not move the game around. It use to be that a win on Thanksgiving was a pretty sure thing. Now, it just is a day to be thankfull your remote control is working.
Please Mr. Ford get the family out of the sports business for good. Try working on the family business of making a better car. I am sure that Henry Ford never expected his name to be linked to such a big LOSER.
The thing about being a player is at least they can play out a contract and get out of town. As a fan it goes with you.
AS ALWAYS MAYBE NEXT YEAR
( What the heck was a 4 -0 pre season all about anyway?)
Two Cents from:
One very ashamed fan that really does not want anyone to know that he is a Lions fan.
“I am sure that Henry Ford never expected his name to be linked to such a big LOSER.” — Terry
Well, there was the Edsel (which was even named after a Ford family member).
OTOH, Ford Motors did sell more than 0 Edsels.
BTW, if the Lions had won yesterday, would the Miami Dolphins ‘72 have one of their champagne celebrations?
Steve Spurrier and Lee Roy Selmon were finally forced to sadly shake their heads and walk away from the cooler full of RC Cola, never again to be opened.
how do you go 0-16 when you have a kicker that good?
I think having the worst defense in the HISTORY OF THE NFL probably helps a lot.
That kicker isn’t going to make up 30 point deficits all by himself.
[...] Rosey on Lions "Since William Clay Ford Sr. bought the Lions in 1964, the team has won one playoff game. That is a disappointing year for the Patriots. But it’s not even the losing that drives Lions fans craziest. A lot of teams lose. It is that Ford does not seem to try. He kept the same general manager, Russ Thomas, from 1967 to 1989. He kept Wayne Fontes as coach for more than eight years. And of course, he kept Matt Millen for eight years as well." At least Mike Brown doesn't suck this much. (tags: nfl) [...]
It seems to me that ever since Barry Sanders inexplicably retired the Lions have been an afterthought. The biggest joke is that some network will give Matt Millen a bunch of cash for his “expertise”.
I’ll say this about the Lions:
There is no possible way that they can look at their situation and say, “well, we’re close. We just need to tweak a few things and we’re okay.” They went 0-16…they’re literally as far away from okay as you can get. Then again, this is the franchise that stuck with Matt Millen for 8 years, drafted 4 wide receivers during that time, handed the QB job to Joey motherfletching Harrington, and had a coach who won the OT coin toss and DEFERRED.
I sure wish I had my old job back- that receiver, Michael Crabtree at Texas Tech, sure would make a great #1 draft pick.
I tend to agree that, in judging the worst franchises in sports, one must take a historical perspective first in the evaluation.
In that context it is a virtual toss up between the cardinals (NFL)and the clippers (NBA) with the cards getting the nod for two reasons:single familly ownership futility (the Bidwells have owned them since at least the early forties) and most cities abandoned(2) in achieving the futile results. The clips have only abandoned one city and have had (I believe) 3 different owners though Sterling has been there a long time.
The baseball evaluation would have to include the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers and Expos/Nationals in spite of their relative short life of less than 60 years. Lets be honest though. Were it not for their competitiveness over the last 5 years or so the Cubs would be the hands down winner.
As predicted above on Dec. 29 Matt Millen was an “expert analyst” on NBC this weekend. PATHETIC!
[...] found a pretty good blog post about the 0-16 Detroit Lions, written before they lost their final game of the season. The last [...]