Grade Jim Schwartz - October 2010

He’s doing as good a job as can be done. No one could get more out of these players considering where this team started. The fact that they are competing in every game and maintaining a positive attitude is clear evidence that Schwartz is an excellent coach. We just need to give him time to continue to build them up to an over .500 team.

That’s what I think he would give himself. He wants to be graded on wins – losses and that’s what he should be graded as. This might be harsh but I’m sticking with it (although in my heart I give him a B+)

I gave him a C last time. I think the coaches and players have both steadily gotten better, I hope the trend continues and we see some more wins.

from D to C.

If Detroit beats washington it will go to a B.

To get an A from me, Detroit has to win consecutively.

The Lions have lost some very close games to very good opponents. I do not fault Jim Schwartz for that failure, even though as head coach he will put the blame on himself. I see improvement in leaps and bounds, and I Schwartz is doing a perfectly good job. As such I give him a B still.

With the injuries and what this team was I just feel like what else can the guy do.

If he can’t stop the team from committing stupid penalties and have more discipline it could fall…

I mean, what more could he have done? I feel like we are so much better than last year… I don’t think many coaches would have us in any better postion

The guy’s done everything he can with a backup QB in the reigns (a season-ender for any other team dreaming for the playoffs). He’s taken talent many other teams have cast away and made it work in his system. He’s made some questionable calls but a 44-6 blowout isn’t terrible. No team has blown us out either.

He’s just not had wins which I chalk up to not having his starting QB. Shaun Hill played incredibly terrific given that the guy wasn’t supposed to see the field, but he made a bunch of mistakes (INTs, mostly) that led to giving the game away (Woodson’s pick-six, the goalline picks against a number of teams) at the last minute. Stafford would likely have made some, but not all of them.

In my mind, he deserves an A for keeping up with the best teams in the league with a backup and question marks for LBs each week but the excess of penalties holds him back. That’s really my only knock against him—too many penalties which should be cleaned up by good coaching.

The Lions are getting better in every unit and yard stick ……..except wins.

The wins will come, and the improvements we have seen so far this year will be validated.

I’m starting to feel uncomfortable with all this talk of improving and the thought of having consistency. This is not the Lion way. We need to quickly turn over this coaching staff before we actually start winning on a regular basis.

…removes tongue from cheek…

A few questionable game decisions and too many lack of discipline penalties hurts his grade.

Still, game preparedness seems high, and he’s helped turn players everyone assumed were busts into productive starters. The schedule gets a good bit easier from here, so hopefully the obvious improvement from last year will show up in the win column soon.

REALLY excited for year three of the Mayhew/Schwartz regime though.

1-5

I haven’t seen any "Marty Morningweg type, take the wind, calls. Good clock management, good game planning, no BS catch phrases. It seems to me that the players are the group who is beating the Detroit Lions these days, sure, they get some help from the refs.

Say B while we have only one win We have been very competitive with a team riddled with injurys.

It’s worth giving up a win just to have a head coach that I can respect.

I wouldn’t let that slimy little snail in Minn change the oil in my truck.

I really like JS but in this league you have to start winning. If we don’t pull in at least two of the next four, I will have to drop may grade a bit.

I had to give him a D based on the lack of wins at this point. I still like him as a coach and believe he’ll be successful but until the wins start accumulating I don’t know it. I want to rate him higher and think I will in the future but I can’t right now,

He needs to have Linehan open up the offense. It seems like they’re playing it safe to a point. They’ve got the weapons, take it to the opposing defenses.

The inflation of grading I think is affecting a few of you. Calling Jim average compared to other coaches is not that bad considering what he had to work with.

With another year of a massive roster overhaul. Leaning on a back-up quarterback. And fact that we have had 6 different MLbers this season. And dont forget that the major stars of this team is 25 years old or younger. I think Schwartz has done a good job of keeping this team together. Keep them fighting until the final whistle.

downgraded from a B. Too many stupid penalties that cost the Lions at least another win, got to coach the undisciplined play outta these guys.
I like the Schwartz and think he can turn it around, he just has to get some more Ws to prove it.

Considering the little bit of talent we have, it’s not really fair to give him too much Hell. Given all of the massive changes we’ve seen him (and the rest of the organization) make in two years, I give him a lot of credit. People aren’t laughing at the Lions as much and there’s a real reason why. I’d also say had we not have him here, we wouldn’t be as good as we are.

This year isn’t over yet, though. All is not lost. We’ve still got plenty of football left in us and plenty of opportunities to win every game we play. The time is now for the Lions. No matter what happens, the team is going to get better, whether it’s by trades, off-season moves, FA, the draft or just plain experience. We’ve got enough people to believe that we can resurrect the franchise and more and more people will come to help.

We are not 1-5 we are 2-4 thank you very much Bears referees. I placed this team at 6 wins on talent and schedule. But with all of the injuries and the lack of depth that dropped to about 4 wins now for what I would think is in tier wheelhouse. Anything better than that is going to mean the team is farther along than I thought.

But I don’t grade on record alone like some do. I grade on what has been done with the tools given for the job. That is why I see injuries as a factor, not an excuse. Take away Peyton Manning and I bet the Colts are right at the bottom of their Division too. This is why I like teams that build off a running game and defense over the Franchise QB models. A running game and defense is built off units, and while one player may effect that unit greatly, they do not stop functioning all together. Just look at teams like the Steelers, Ravens, and Jets. Those teams can lose their franchise QB and still compete. That is not the same for teams like the Colts, Patriots, and Saints who would struggle mightily without their main man.

Because we do not have any of those pieces locked in place, even our hopeful Franchise QB needs to take more than one step to get to that level, I tend to not expect much from the Lions in terms of wins. The fact that we have been competitive is enough for me this year. I am not expecting a playoff run. What I want to see is .500 at home and 2 wins on the road, that would be a huge step forward and put us right at that 6 win mark I talked about.

We have beaten the Rams at home and I think we have a very good shot to beat the Bears here later. The Redskins will be a good shot to win at home too. We should beat the Bills on the road and we certainly can beat either Tampa Bay or Miami on the road. The hard part for me is the other win at home. With the Vikings, Packers, Jets, Patriots left the Lions will have to beat someone that is clearly above their talent level.

I like the effort that’s being put out there. We are better than our record indicates.