Words do not do this justice. Superlatives can't capture the entire essence of what's going on. Fans of other teams wouldn't understand. Monday Night. Pfft, big deal. Everyone's been there. Well, almost everyone. Except for the Lions. It's been a while. Ten years. Thirteen since they last won on Monday night. There's a lot of seasons of ineptitude interspersed in the years since. They went 0-16, remember? It wasn't even 3 full years ago when this roster was the worst in NFL history. Now? Now this. On October 10, 2011, the Lions squared off against their most hated rival and came away victorious. More importantly, they came away with a newfound respect from the rest of the league and its fans. No longer are the Lions our secret savior - the entire nation is onto their tricks, and the names Best and Megatron and Stafford and even Willie freaking Young were forced down the throats of everyone watching around the country. The roster isn't merely good, it's great. It's official - there's no denying it. Why should you? The Detroit football Lions are 5-0, and they've yet to play a complete, A-grade game yet. Last night was the closest they got to such an effort so far this season. They threw the ball efficiently, ran the ball extremely well, and there aren't enough condolences that can be extended to Jay Cutler for the beating he took.
He was pulverized. Destroyed. A symbolic effigy crucified as a decade's worth of misery slid off the backs of every fan in the state of Michigan. The Lions have had enough, and they took it out on Cutler tonight. His offensive line did him no favors, and he played a very good game, but he had to play the perfect game to survive the waves of Detroit defenders coming at him on every play - and he simply couldn't do it. Noone can. When Suh, Williams, and Vanden Bosch end up taking a backseat to guys like Willie Young and Lawrence Jackson rushing the passer - you know this team has something special brewing. The defense turned out exactly as everyone had hoped in the preseason- sure, they don't have any All-Pro's in the secondary, but the pressure they provide up front masks any potential weaknesses they have downfield. This is what they were hoping for when they selected Nick Fairley thirteenth overall. A few years down the line, when teams are splurging fifty million on other Asomugha's to shore up their secondary, the Lions will continue to sign Chris Houston and Eric Wright-types to plug holes that Fairley, Suh and Cliff Avril intend to hide on any given pass rush. This is the master plan. This is what Mayhew and Schwartz wanted to build. And it's being built faster than even the most ardent Lions supporters expected.
Expectations is a fuzzy word. Most would say Jahvid Best has fallen short of expectations since the Lions moved up to draft him in the first round last year. He produced plenty of catches and a nice first few games his rookie season, but slowed down considerably as the season went on and averaged just 3.2 yards per carry. Of course, he also played through two excruciating turf toe injuries that often shelves players for entire seasons, but to Best's credit he has not used any of it as an excuse as he continued to try and find his way in this offense. On Monday night, you saw why guys like Jahvid Best are a priority to this organizations brain trust. In an increasingly pass-heavy league where the run is more of a compliment to the air attack, lightning-fast back like Jahvid Best are at a premium for their ability to make opponents pay for providing the slightest bit of daylight. With only a few minutes to go in the third quarter, the Lions Oline opened up a huge hole at their own twelve yard line, and Best was in the endzone 88 yards later.
The Lions have guys like Best and Calvin Johnson who can turn an entire game around with one play if you make the slightest of mistake. That's where the value lies in this football team - with it's playmakers offensively and defensively. The difference now is the rest of the roster has caught up to make the plays necessary to play a solid sixty minutes of football and give themselves a chance against most teams. Any team, really. Ask yourself: do you think ANYBODY looks forward to playing the Lions at Ford Field anymore with the sort of homefield advantage they displayed yesterday? 9 false start penalties, and it didn't matter how early they jumped because they still lost everyone one-on-one matchup in the trenches. The Lions are 5-0 now, and as long as Jim Schwartz keeps these guys focused, they could be on their way to playing meaningful games in January. With Nick Fairley and a rejuvenated Jahvid Best on board, they're just getting started.
A few notes:
- I told you so about that Willie Young guy. He made life a nightmare for whatever unfortunate soul had to block him. The coaches seemed to increase his snaps this week, and he responded with a sack and plenty of pressure. The penalties were the only thing holding him back from a perfect game.
- I just wrote a whole article without barely mentioning Matt Stafford. He continues to efficiently scan the field and take some pretty good chances deep. He was inches off the receivers on a few nicely drawn-up downfield strikes.
- Can we finally put this "we need an every-down back" thing to rest? More and more teams around the league have followed the lead of teams like New England, Green Bay, and New Orleans that don't find solace in trying to find one back who does everything for them. Instead, the value is found in mixing a number of backs and utilizing their strengths differently. Jahvid Best is a great receiver and and sensational in space - if the Oline opens up a hole for him, he can make long TDs happen that most backs can't. When Mikel Leshure comes back next year, the offense will be even more dynamic and creative. In the new pass-heavy NFL, the running game acts more like a compliment anyways - and that's exactly how the run game serves the Lions. On Monday Night, they showed they have the power to impose their will on the ground too from time to time.
- Didn't I tell you San Francisco would be a scary game? All Lions fans need to be even more geeked up for the 49ers coming into town. They're quietly one of the best teams in the league, Harbaugh has them moving in the right direction, and the defense has been downright scary at times. The Lions still have some questions defending the run, and the 49ers have one of the best rushing attacks in the league led by Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter. Hopefully the Lions don't experience a mental letdown after all the hoop-la about last nights game.
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