In the Lions' first game after the firing of Matt Millen, all fans were quickly reminded of just how bad this team is. The Lions were dominated in all four quarters by the Bears on Sunday and lost 34-7.
Detroit was lucky to keep it that close as the offense stunk and the defense got shredded by Kyle Orton. Jon Kitna left the game with "back spasms," and Dan Orlovsky looked terrible while filling in for Kitna. All in all, this was just an embarrassing game that sums up how bad of a team the Lions really are.
As I sit here trying to think about what I should write, nothing really comes to mind. There just isn't anything more to say about this game than the Lions suck. We already knew that coming in and this game simply confirmed that the coaching is terrible, the players lack talent, and a couple players really need to get their heads in the game from now on.
Specifically, I'm referring to Roy Williams, who complained and acted like a selfish idiot every time Dan Orlovsky threw a bad pass in his direction. Despite the fact Roy dropped 4 passes during this game, he still bitched and bitched throughout the second half and pretty much gave up on the team after one drive came to an end. Honestly, if he was to be traded for a 7th-round pick I'd be happy with the move right now. That is how much I'm sick of his antics.
Anyways, below is a briefer than usual rundown of what happened during this game. Like I said, there really isn't much to say beyond the results. This was a typical Lions game filled with typical Lions mistakes. And on top of that, as usual, the opposing quarterback looked like one of the league's best. Considering Kyle Orton is nowhere near being a top QB in this league, that should tell you how bad the defense was.
1st Quarter
- The Lions went three and out to start the game.
- Chicago drove down the field and was held to a field goal. They should have started this drive at the Detroit 28 after a great punt return by Devin Hester, but an offside penalty negated the play. Instead, they started at their own 47.
- Detroit went three and out again.
- The Bears had to punt later on in a drive that featured a 52-yard pass from Kyle Orton to tight end Greg Olsen.
- The Lions went three and out yet again.
2nd Quarter
- Chicago punted about a minute and a half into the quarter after driving into Lions territory again.
- Jon Kitna got hit from his blindside and fumbled. Chicago recovered at the Lions' 24. Jeff Backus did a terrible job blocking and let Alex Brown go right by him to hit Kitna. Kitna should have a better clock in his head of when to move up in the pocket or get rid of the ball, but there's no excuse for blocking that poorly.
- The Bears went for it on 4th and 1 and didn't convert after Dewayne White tackled Matt Forte for no gain.
- After a personal foul by Ramzee Robinson on a punt, the Bears started at the Lions' 37-yard line.
- Orton hit Forte for a 9-yard completion and a touchdown. Forte's knee looked like it hit the ground before the ball broke the plane, but a challenge by the Lions was unsuccessful.
- The Lions picked up back-to-back first downs on 13-yard passes to Roy Williams before having to punt a few plays later.
- Orton completed a 12-yard pass to Devin Hester for a touchdown, giving the Bears a 17-0 halftime lead.
3rd Quarter
- Chicago drove down the field in less than four minutes to open the half with a 1-yard Forte touchdown run.
- Dan Orlovsky came into the game for the first time after Kitna left with what Rod Marinelli called "back spasms."
- Jerome Felton made a catch and carried a defender for 5 or 6 yards before fumbling. The Lions challenged, though, and the call was overturned since Felton's head hit the ground before the ball came out.
- One play later Orlovsky threw a bullet to Roy Williams and it hit off Roy's hand. Charles Tillman caught the deflected pass and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown, giving the Bears a 31-0 lead. The pass was high and fast, but Roy shouldn't let it hit right off his hand to a defender. On top of that, he shouldn't complain about the pass when he helped cause the interception.
- The Lions went three and out but recovered a fumble on the proceeding punt. Hester was hit hard by Daniel Bullocks and Ramzee Robinson fell on the ball.
- With the great field position, Kevin Smith ran for 12 yards and a touchdown on the third play of the drive following the fumble for the Lions' only score of this game.
4th Quarter
- Robbie Gould kicked a 45-yard field goal to give the Bears a 34-7 lead, which is what the final score would be.
- A pass to Mike Furrey on 4th and 3 went for only 2 yards, meaning the Lions turned the ball over on downs.
- Following a near 4-minute drive that resulted in only a punt for the Bears, the Lions went into the shotgun and started airing it out. They managed to get into Bears territory before Orlovsky was sacked on 4th and 7. Orlovsky hurt his ankle on the sack.
- The Bears went three and out and Orlovsky just handed off to Smith to end the game.
As you can see, things definitely did not go well for the Lions. Jon Kitna supposedly is injured, and even if he is healthy someone else should probably start at quarterback. Problem is there is no one else on the roster really qualified enough to be the Lions' starting QB. Dan Orlovsky isn't very good and Drew Stanton has only recently fully returned to practice after recovering from his thumb injury. Obviously no one can do much worse, but the question really is starting to become just how bad things are going to get.
At this point Rod Marinelli and the entire coaching staff really do deserve to be fired. The only thing is that if Marinelli was fired no one on the coaching staff is good enough to be named the interim coach. That should tell you how unqualified many of these coaches really are and just how bad this season could turn out. Going 0-16 certainly seems like a tall task, but trust me, this Lions team seems like they could certainly pull it off.
The Lions head to Minnesota to play the Vikings next Sunday. I expect Gus Frerotte to tear apart the Lions' secondary in between Adrian Peterson touchdown runs. The march to 0-16 will continue at 1 p.m. on FOX. I'll be here providing live updates, but I am implementing a four-touchdown rule. If the Lions fall behind by 28 or more points, I am no longer going to provide live updates. I have to set some limits as I'll either be laughing at how bad this team is or crying. I hope it's the former, but either way, I don't want to waste my time watching this garbage team if they're getting blown out again.