I agree that this is the first head coach I’ve actually been excited about in all my years as a Lions fan. It is tough to put a finger on it, but it seems like there is a different dynamic with how he speaks to the media, how he’s related to the fans, and how he has handled his team to this point.
Maybe the results aren’t making their way into the win column yet, but I still believe they’ll get there. I just hope that the state this team was in when he inherited it doesn’t ultimately cost him the job before it’s completely turned around.
We’ve all seen just how depleted this team still is, in spite of some early enthusiasm about the direction this team is headed. The reality is still that this was an 0-16 team last year, and aside from some nice additions this is still a poor football team from a talent and depth standpoint. It will take time, but the NFL is a results driven business and time is not usually in anyone’s favor.

is when he goes for it on 4th down.

We did it twice in the Packers game, one time when we could have had a field goal but he wanted a touchdown.

Yes, we didn’t convert those two. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t, law-of-averages and all that.

But when a coach recognizes that his team is overmatched in terms of talent, and 4th-and-short comes up, he has really two options:

1. Punt the ball away or take the field goal, keep the score closer. This helps deflect blame because the coach is making the “safe” decision.

2. Take some chances, give yourself a bigger chance to win, even if it comes with a bigger chance of losing by a larger margin.

Schwartz is a smart guy—he knows when he’s better off going for it, and he’s willing to accept the consequences when it doesn’t happen to work out. There were some games where Marinelli would just punt the ball away late in the game instead of trying to keep the drive alive and get points. When you’re behind by multiple touchdowns, and you punt late in the fourth quarter, it signifies that you’ve quit on your team, that it’s more important to just play out the field position battle and keep the score closer, rather than taking a chance.

I love it when a coach is willing to take risks and show confidence in his offense, even if it backfires __% of the time, rather than quitting on his team.

I think Schwartz’ calculated aggressiveness will come around and pay off, even if it didn’t in Green Bay.

Finally, a coach who is not philosophically tied into some type of scheme or brand of football. Schwartz seems to be a person who will look at his resources first, then design a scheme to maximize their potential. If he does not know what a player can do he is not afraid to try him so that a decision can be made whether further changes are necessary.

Schwartz is a DC with an avid interest in all phases of the game. He also seems to be a confident, cool, and inspiring leader. I think we have our man for the next ten years or so. That would be the biggest change.

When Schwartz came aboard, the expectation was that the Lions would become a smashmouth running team, with some nice deep play-action passes to Megatron sprinkled in.

So far, I’m not feeling it…Although the OL has stepped it up some on run blocking, we’ve got to get the running game going. Kevin Smith is only adequate so far. He needs to bust out big. I think Aaron Brown should be given more carries – despite his inability to pick up blitzes. If he’s running the ball, that’s not an issue. He has speed that Smith does not…
We really need to draft a couple young stud run blockers! Pettigrew fits the mold of the identity, but cant do it alone. Running the ball takes a lot of the pressure off of Staff and CJ. Let’s establish that as the Lions identity.

Next, we need more guys like Delmas! Our Defense needs to be feared as being crazy tough. When you play us, you know you are gonna be on ice on Monday. We need to be the football equivalent of the “Bad Boyz Pistons”.
I think Schwartz can make it happen, but it’s gonna take a few drafts. I support him.

Jim Schwartz reminds me of another coach we once had (in many aspects but not all). A coach who identified with the players and the fans, a coach who was a player himself, a coach who tried many different things in an attempt to produce a winning combination, and a coach who once “restored the roar”. If you haven’t figured it out yet, Schwartz reminds me a lot of Wayne Fontes (insert laugh track here).

Yeah, I know what some of you are probably thinking…..they are completely different, it was a different game then, we had a lot more talent etc etc. Are they so much different? I think that Schwartz is a much more cerebral coach than Fontes was, and I think that he handles the team with a firmer approach, but other than that I believe they are very comparable. Fontes changed up his personnel on the field constantly. Fontes brought his personality, tenacity, and desire to win to the table. Fontes was a winner (and a loser). The biggest differences between the Lions of the Fontes era and the Lions of the Schwartz is that the old Lions pretty much had one player who they could rely on to generate offense (except for the one year that Mitchell threw for 4500+ yards and Herman Moore and Brett Perriman set the tandem receiving record), and the Lions of old either had a very good defense and a horrible offense, or a very good offense and a horrible defense (even that is not much different from now, except it has been one or the other on a weekly basis and not all season).

The new Lions, under the direction of Jim Schwartz, are looking to build balance on both sides of the ball. Schwartz and company have already started putting some of the pieces in place with the first draft of the young coaches era. We now have a “franchise” QB, a solid RB, a good FB, a TE with huge potential, a superstar WR, a stud rookie at safety, and a pretty solid linebacking core. The offense is neither great nor horrible, and the defense is neither great nor horrible. Right now, our offense and defense are pretty average, but we have the beginnings of balance on both sides of the ball. Of course, those facts can not be entirely credited (or blamed) on the head coaches, but they certainly have their pull and they directly influence who is drafted and who is not. That is the main difference between Coach Wayne Fontes and Coach Jim Schwartz……influence.

While Wayne Fontes was an outstanding coach who knew what it took to win, Jim Schwartz is also an outstanding coach, who knows what it takes to win, AND he is in a position where his influence can be utilized to a far greater degree. Fontes took over in the late 80’s (1988, week 12) when the Lions were mired in mediocrity and the previous head coach (Darryl Rogers) had never coached the team to more than 7 wins. However, the Lions were already into the re-building process at that point and some of the pieces were already in place (namely Lomas Brown, Kevin Glover, Jerry Ball, George Jamison, Chris Spielman, Dennis Gibson, Bennie Blades, and Eddie Murray). By 1991, when the Lions went 12-4 and marched all the way to the NFC Championship game, they had added Barry Sanders, Robert Clark, Willie Green, Brett Perriman, Eric Andolsek, Mike Utley, Ken Dallafor, Marc Spindler, Tracy Hayworth, Ray Crockett, William White, and Mel Gray!! Schwartz takes over when the Lions are pretty much at the point where there is NO choice but to rebuild. Sure, he already had Calvin Johnson, Kevin Smith, Backus (ugh), Raiola (ugh), Cherilus, Peterman (ugh), Ernie Sims, Cliff Avril, and DeWayne White in place, but Backus should be on his way out of here (he is no Lomas Brown to be sure) and I think we could also improve at C, RG, and LG (Raiola, Peterman, and Jansen/Loper/Ramirez are no where near as good as Andolsek, Utley, and Glover were), not to mention DT and DE (namely Jackson and White). So in all reality Schwartz comes in when all he has is CJ, Kevin Smith, Gosder, Sims, and Avril to work with.

My point is this…..Schwartz was brought in as the head coach because he was known to be very intelligent and he had been very successful as a defensive coordinator. It was known that he knew what it took to build a great defense. That knowledge was to be put to immediate use as the head coach of the Lions, in that he would be given the opportunity to help build the team, basically from the ground up. He has been given far more influence than Wayne Fontes had, and his approach is clearly different with a focus on balance. Schwartz and Mayhew have worked together to bring Larry Foote, Julian Peterson, William James, Anthony Henry, Louis Delmas, Marquand Manuel, Grady Jackson, Sammie Lee Hill, Turk McBride, Copeland Bryan, Jason Hunter, DeAndre Levy, Brandon Pettigrew, Jon Jansen, Loper, Salaam, Bryant Johnson, Dennis Northcutt, Will Heller, MATT STAFFORD (maybe the biggest one of all), and multiple others in through the draft, free agency, and via trade. These acquisitions have brought us a team that is vastly improved (even if they are only average) and far more balanced than Lion teams of the past. Not only has Schwartz helped to bring talent and balance to Detroit, but he has also laid a solid foundation of players to build on (in less than 1 season)!

In comparison, Wayne Fontes already had Lomas Brown, Kevin Glover, Jerry Ball, George Jamison, Chris Spielman, Dennis Gibson, Bennie Blades, and Eddie Murray when he took over in 1988. By 1991, he had those players plus Barry Sanders, Robert Clark, Willie Green, Brett Perriman, Eric Andolsek, Mike Utley, Ken Dallafor, Marc Spindler, Tracy Hayworth, Ray Crockett, William White, and Mel Gray (not to mention Rodney Peete and Erik Kramer, who were servicable but not “franchise” QBs). That is 20 solid players (22 if you count the 2 QBs), not including the depth players. Before the end of his first season, starting from nothing, Jim Schwartz has MATT STAFFORD, CJ, Kevin Smith, Gosder Cherilus, Ernie Sims, Cliff Avril, Larry Foote, Julian Peterson, William James, Anthony Henry, Louis Delmas, Marquand Manuel, Grady Jackson, Sammie Lee Hill, DeAndre Levy, Brandon Pettigrew, Jon Jansen, Bryant Johnson, Dennis Northcutt, and Will Heller, who are all relatively young and average or better! That is 20 players to build on in less than HALF of a season! Sure, we can improve over James, Jansen, Henry, Manuel, Jackson, and probably Bryant and Northcutt, but 13 of those 20 players is an outstanding start in my opinion. Imagine what he will do for the team in the span of 3 years that Fontes had!!

Jim Schwartz is going to lead us to the Super Bowl…..I have no doubt about that. The ROAR will once again be restored!!

While the results haven’t come yet, I’m pretty hopeful for his future here, just like every other rookie we have.

just give the man some time and talent

was fixed with a new logo?