I have been around many of the SB Nation sports blogs and they all say, If this would have happened, or if this person had not been injured, or if you could have finished that one game, the Lions would be 4-5 or 5-4 right now. Now many times a teams gets a hit of bad luck through the middle of the season and since they have already won enough games and have momentum. But we all know, when this "turning point" occurred for the Lions.

We go back to the first week of the 2010 NFL season. September 12th to be precise. Lions @ Bears. The Lions, coming off another great draft and off-season, were predicted to win this game by many. We skip ahead to :28 left in the 2nd quarter. Ball Hiked. In less than two seconds, Julius Peppers blows by Jeff Backus (His one of two sacks given up this year, so don't start hating) and strips the ball from Matthew Stafford, in the process, dislocating Stafford's throwing shoulder.

We as Lions fan just sit there staring, at the TV, or listening to the radio. The POD game thread, goes about as silent as an online blog can get. Our hearts hit the pit of our stomach, as we see, once again our Hero laying there on the ground, getting up and holding his shoulder. Some deny it, some close their eyes, some just stare in disbelief. Why........goes through most of our heads.

We jump ahead to :31 left in the 4th quarter. Shotgun formation. Ball Hiked. And at :29 the ball is heaved by Shaun Hill towards the end zone for Calvin Johnson. At :27 the WR jumps up, makes the catch, comes down, ball hits the ground but in control of the WR. TOUCHDOWN!! We all cheer, hope renewed, Lions win, and on the road too!! But wait.....he did not have control.....BUT HE DID! we shout. Still our shouts are useless, call....overturned. Lions lose 19-14. It was not till many weeks later, that the NFL reviewed the catch and such catches are now touchdowns. Yet....too late for us.

I'm not one to make excuses for the Lions failures throughout the season. Still, the first game of the season, this one game. It took away all momentum, all life from this team. It took away our Leader! We prayed and hoped and said to ourselves, The Lions can still do it! Deep down though, we knew, it would not be the same without Stafford, it would not be the same since that first loss. Take away Peyton Manning from the Colts. Take away Drew Brees from the Saints. Take away Tom Brady from the Patriots. It's not the same. We can fight all we want, we can almost win all we want. We can even win a few, get some hope, and then have it come crashing down again in another two losses.

The truth is, this is the fate of the Detroit Lions. Something like this will occur once a season, whether in the beginning, the middle, or the end. But the same thing happens to other teams, how do they overcome it? The Lions will be the real NFL team we know they can be, when and only when they over come these tragedies, penalties, injuries, bad calls. Because the Lions will always receive these horrible things. It is when we overcome and say NO MORE SHALL WE STAND BY AND TAKE IT. When we overcome that big injury and still win. Then and only then have the Detroit Lions arrived. GO LIONS!

P.S. I would like to give great respect to one man who has played his heart our for this team since he came here. Calvin Johnson. 49 rec. 679 yds. 9 TD this year so far. Also only one fumble and not lost. Even after that fateful "No Catch" he continues to play at his level. I salute you Calvin. You defy even being drafted by Millen. GO LIONS!