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As you can imagine, there isn’t a whole lot of positive news coming out of the Lions’ loss to the Raiders on Sunday.
The 31-24 loss proves particularly hard to swallow on a day where every other team in the NFC North lost. It was a chance for Detroit to gain some ground.
I get it, trust me I do. We put HOURS into this every single day. We work our tails off during the week. It’s the little things we have to correct. Nobody wants to win as bad as we players do. We just have to get out of our own way. It’s still #DetroitVsEverybody we all we got... https://t.co/JvEdDtieKD
— Damon Harrison Sr. (@snacks) November 4, 2019
But alas, it was not so. Therefore, your notes are pretty much a compilation of “the Lions are circling the drain” articles.
No Lions player offered specifics why the defense is failing, but Darius Slay offered harshest criticisms, saying they aren't putting the puzzles pieces in the right spots and every opponent is beating them the same way with the same plays, since Week 1.
— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) November 4, 2019
I would say enjoy! But, well, you won’t.
- We’ll start with Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press explaining why the Lions are pretty much out of the NFC North race and it’s Matt Patricia’s fault. “It was he, the team’s coach, who couldn’t figure out a way to stop Oakland. And it was he who hasn’t been able to get this defense right all year.”
- Next we head on over to Chris Burke for The Athletic: “It’s apparent by now that the Lions’ issues run deeper than one or two areas. The personnel, the coaching, the performance on the field … it’s all shy of where it needs to be.” (Subscription required.)
- John Niyo of The Detroit News believes that failed fourth down play symbolizes the Detroit Lions’ lack of awareness in the game: “Hope is not a strategy that suits the Lions all that well.”
- Just... this.
Throughout Davis’ career, his pass rushing has been the only consistently productive attribute
— PFF DET Lions (@PFF_Lions) November 4, 2019
Has earned a sub-50 grade in 2 of his 3 years in Run D, Tackling, and coverage
Davis is 3rd since 2017 in total pressure (53) by LB, but he’s also T-3rd in unblocked pressures (20) https://t.co/XX0Uq68QFq
- From ESPN’s Michael Rothstein: “On a team for which quarterback Matthew Stafford is having a career year and has two receivers who can make almost any catch, that defense is going to be what dooms Detroit back to mediocrity. Again.”
- Hope for the future? Nah, probably not — playoff odds are down to 4 percent per MLive. “They probably need to win 10 games to make the playoffs, which means they can only lose once in the second half of the season. And even that might not be enough.”
- I won’t send you off into the world with nothing but gloom, though. 77 veterans and 10 former Detroit football players were taken on an honor flight from Kalamazoo to Washington D.C. And when they returned, they were taken to the Air Zoo Museum, where hundreds of people stood waiting for their servicemen to come home.
The @Lions flew 75 veterans to Washington, D.C. this morning to visit memorials of the wars they served in. They were accompanied by 11 former players. What an incredible way to kick off our #SaluteToService. pic.twitter.com/PGIiMeUwGr
— Rod Wood (@RodWood_Lions) November 3, 2019
I have the honor of accompanying David Moore on today’s Honor’s Flight. David served in Vietnam as a sergeant in the AirForce.
— Herman Moore (@HMAN84) November 2, 2019
I’m honored to share this special journey this hero is allowing me to take with him!#salutetoservice pic.twitter.com/sw4EVYtJ72
Today it was my great pleasure & honor to hang with Navy-man Rick Moorhead, Viet Nam Vet, on the Detroit Lions Honor Flight tour of the Washington DC Monuments. These heros deserve our love & gratitude. If you haven't served in an Honor Flight, do yourself a favor & sign up! pic.twitter.com/0j9R1hsD8L
— Doug English (@englishpwrdrive) November 2, 2019