http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor...ns-couldnt-go-0-16-again-could-they/73655962/
<section id="module-position-OfQniqDvvMA" class="storytopbar-bucket story-headline-module story-story-headline-module">[h=1]Detroit Lions couldn't go 0-16 again, could they?[/h]</section><section id="module-position-OfQniqD4EAo" class="storytopbar-bucket story-byline-module story-story-byline-module">
Bob McManaman, azcentral sports 4:07 p.m. MST October 10, 2015
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Oct 5, 2015: Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) reacts after fumbling at the goal line against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter at CenturyLink Field. Seattle defeated Detroit, 13-10.<meta content="" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Photo: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports)
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You can tell by looking into a man’s eyes.
That’s how former NFL linebacker Paris Lenon could tell some of his teammates on the 2008 Detroit Lions had decided to start packing it in and stop giving their all during that particular season in hell.
The Lions didn’t win a single game that year, becoming the first team in NFL history to finish the regular season 0-16.
“You could see the letdown. You could see the air let out and guys get all down and out,” Lenon told azcentral sports in 2012 during the last of his three seasons with the Cardinals. “You could see it in their eyes like, ‘Here we go again,’ and that’s the one thing you can’t allow to happen.”
It couldn’t happen to the Lions again, could it?
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Entering Sunday’s game against the Cardinals at Ford Field in Detroit, they are the league’s only winless team at 0-4 and the oddsmakers are convinced they’ll fall to 0-5 for the fourth time since 2001.
Nothing is going right for this team. The Lions are ranked 29th in scoring (16.5), 30th in total offense (292.8 yards per game) and last in rushing (47.0). Thanks to that controversial no-call in the end zone at the end of Monday night’s game in Seattle, they also have not scored an offensive touchdown in their past 15 possessions.
Only a quarter way through the season, it’s way too early for the Lions to think about throwing in the towel – if they would even dare do such a thing. Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu is surprised the Lions are even in this predicament in the first place.
“Very, very surprised,” he told Detroit writers during a conference call. “You look at those guys’ personnel on offense, along with Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate, I think those two guys alone have you raising your eyebrows as to wondering why they haven’t been putting up a lot of points this season.
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Will they?
If the Lions are going to stop their skid and avoid potentially becoming the only team to ever go through three full losing seasons – Detroit went 0-11 in 1942 – their best chance likely will come during the next two weeks when they play the Bears (1-3) and Vikings (2-2) at home.
Although Detroit’s defense is starting to pick up the slack, already having forced nearly half as many turnovers (nine) as the 0-16 team did in 2008 (20), neither of those two games can be considered “gimmies.” If the Lions’ offense can’t start generating big plays and converting in the red zone, they could easily fall to 0-7.
And if that happens and they lose again in Week 8 at the Chiefs, well, all bets are off. The Lions would be sitting at 0-8 entering their off week and that’s usually when bad teams make big changes. Coach Jim Caldwell may be asked to fall on the sword.
Just getting his team to emotionally move on from Monday night’s backbreaking loss to the Seahawks is a big enough challenge.
“It’s one of those things that every team kind of handles things a little differently,” Caldwell said on a conference call. “It’s not easy because we’re all a bunch of competitors and winning is what we’re hired to do. When you fall short, obviously that does indeed have an effect on you.”
So does this – rumblings that opposing defenses know what plays the Lions are going to call before they run them. Tate, who has yet to catch a touchdown this season, suggested that was the case during each of Detroit’s first three losses this season.
“I’ve had a couple occasions in literally each game where they called out our play for one, then afterwards been like, ‘Hey, we knew what you guys were doing,’ ” Tate told Detroit Sports 105.1. “I don’t know how they know or what film they’re watching that we’re giving away. That’s something we got to back and watch our tendencies to figure out where we line up or what formation or whatever may be.
“We’ve got to figure it out because we’re clearly giving (something) away. All three weeks, a player’s come up to me and said, ‘We knew what you were going to do.’ That’s bad.”
<section id="module-position-OfQniqDvvMA" class="storytopbar-bucket story-headline-module story-story-headline-module">[h=1]Detroit Lions couldn't go 0-16 again, could they?[/h]</section><section id="module-position-OfQniqD4EAo" class="storytopbar-bucket story-byline-module story-story-byline-module">
Bob McManaman, azcentral sports 4:07 p.m. MST October 10, 2015</section><section id="module-position-OfQniqCNJDA" class="storytopbar-bucket google-survey-module story-google-survey-module"></section><!-- p402_premium class is utilized by Google Consumer Surveys --><section id="module-position-OfQnizO0m00" class="storymetadata-bucket expandable-photo-module story-expandable-photo-module"><aside class="single-photo expandable-collapsed" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" itemscope="" itemprop="associatedMedia">
Oct 5, 2015: Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) reacts after fumbling at the goal line against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter at CenturyLink Field. Seattle defeated Detroit, 13-10.<meta content="" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Photo: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports)
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You can tell by looking into a man’s eyes.
That’s how former NFL linebacker Paris Lenon could tell some of his teammates on the 2008 Detroit Lions had decided to start packing it in and stop giving their all during that particular season in hell.
The Lions didn’t win a single game that year, becoming the first team in NFL history to finish the regular season 0-16.
“You could see the letdown. You could see the air let out and guys get all down and out,” Lenon told azcentral sports in 2012 during the last of his three seasons with the Cardinals. “You could see it in their eyes like, ‘Here we go again,’ and that’s the one thing you can’t allow to happen.”
It couldn’t happen to the Lions again, could it?
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Entering Sunday’s game against the Cardinals at Ford Field in Detroit, they are the league’s only winless team at 0-4 and the oddsmakers are convinced they’ll fall to 0-5 for the fourth time since 2001.
Nothing is going right for this team. The Lions are ranked 29th in scoring (16.5), 30th in total offense (292.8 yards per game) and last in rushing (47.0). Thanks to that controversial no-call in the end zone at the end of Monday night’s game in Seattle, they also have not scored an offensive touchdown in their past 15 possessions.
Only a quarter way through the season, it’s way too early for the Lions to think about throwing in the towel – if they would even dare do such a thing. Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu is surprised the Lions are even in this predicament in the first place.
“Very, very surprised,” he told Detroit writers during a conference call. “You look at those guys’ personnel on offense, along with Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate, I think those two guys alone have you raising your eyebrows as to wondering why they haven’t been putting up a lot of points this season.
<style>.oembed-asset-link ** background: #fff; border-bottom: 1px solid #e1e1e1; }.oembed-link-anchor ** display: block; clear: both; }.oembed-link-thumbnail{ float: left; padding: 14px; }.oembed-link-thumbnail img ** max-width: 78px; max-height: 60px; display: block; }p.oembed-link-title ** font-size: 75%; color: #009BFF; margin: 0 14px; padding-top: 12px; font-weight:normal; text-align: left; line-height: 120%; }p.oembed-link-desc ** font-size: 100%; color: #666; font-weight: normal; margin: 0 14px 14px 14px; font-family: 'Futura Today Light'; text-align: left; line-height: 120%; }</style>
Will they?
If the Lions are going to stop their skid and avoid potentially becoming the only team to ever go through three full losing seasons – Detroit went 0-11 in 1942 – their best chance likely will come during the next two weeks when they play the Bears (1-3) and Vikings (2-2) at home.
Although Detroit’s defense is starting to pick up the slack, already having forced nearly half as many turnovers (nine) as the 0-16 team did in 2008 (20), neither of those two games can be considered “gimmies.” If the Lions’ offense can’t start generating big plays and converting in the red zone, they could easily fall to 0-7.
And if that happens and they lose again in Week 8 at the Chiefs, well, all bets are off. The Lions would be sitting at 0-8 entering their off week and that’s usually when bad teams make big changes. Coach Jim Caldwell may be asked to fall on the sword.
Just getting his team to emotionally move on from Monday night’s backbreaking loss to the Seahawks is a big enough challenge.
“It’s one of those things that every team kind of handles things a little differently,” Caldwell said on a conference call. “It’s not easy because we’re all a bunch of competitors and winning is what we’re hired to do. When you fall short, obviously that does indeed have an effect on you.”
So does this – rumblings that opposing defenses know what plays the Lions are going to call before they run them. Tate, who has yet to catch a touchdown this season, suggested that was the case during each of Detroit’s first three losses this season.
“I’ve had a couple occasions in literally each game where they called out our play for one, then afterwards been like, ‘Hey, we knew what you guys were doing,’ ” Tate told Detroit Sports 105.1. “I don’t know how they know or what film they’re watching that we’re giving away. That’s something we got to back and watch our tendencies to figure out where we line up or what formation or whatever may be.
“We’ve got to figure it out because we’re clearly giving (something) away. All three weeks, a player’s come up to me and said, ‘We knew what you were going to do.’ That’s bad.”
