As a Detroit Lions fan, it’s important to relish in the fun moments. We don’t get a ton of those every year, so I’m fully of the belief that you should flaunt it. It’s why we made “Africa” the official Victory Monday song.
So after Lions beat the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, you should’ve been stunting all Sunday evening. Flaunt the Lions’ undefeated record even if that’s only true by technicality. Dig on Bears fans for their lowly one touchdown this season, or the fact that their only win came after one of the worst roughing the passer penalties I’ve ever seen.
If you’re a Lions fan, enjoy it. Be yourself, because that’s all you can be, and this is one of those rare moments in which it’s actually fun.
Lions - Chargers Week 2 Song of the Game: “Because I’m Me” by The Avalanches
The Detroit Lions are allowing Matthew Stafford to be himself, too.
Much like the protagonist in this song by the Australian electronic band, Stafford exited the 2018 season wondering why the coaching staff and the fans couldn’t love him for the player he was.
Jim Bob Cooter handcuffed Stafford, and instead of embracing his talent as a deep-ball passer with a monster arm, he tried to change him. That’s not how you build a relationship. You don’t change someone. You make concessions and embrace people’s faults and even celebrate them.
If she don’t love me, what can I do?
Just put on my best pair of shoes
Because I, I’m me
The minute offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell came into town, it was clear Stafford was going to have to put on his best pair of shoes. The former Seahawks coach had the Lions’ franchise quarterback on the move with rollouts and play-action passes. Hell, he’s even dialed up a few read option plays to get defense’s respecting an underrated—but recently neglected—part of Stafford’s game: his mobility.
Two games in, Stafford already has 35 rushing yards, nearly half of the output he had for the entire 2018 season (71).
Not only that, but Stafford’s long ball is back.
To a better love, let the wings spread
It’ll always come back, baby
Come back, shellac black, baby
A come back, flat black paint on a Chevy
Bevell has let Stafford’s wings spread, and when you let that happen, it’ll always come back, baby.
Matthew Stafford now has 28 fourth-quarter comebacks since entering the NFL in 2009 (most in the NFL in that span) #Lions
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) September 15, 2019
The Lions now sit comfortably in second place in the division, and they seem to be the only team that is moving the ball somewhat efficiently. Meanwhile the Packers, Vikings, and especially the Bears, are trying to figure out how much more they can get out of their shaky quarterback play.
We ain’t got no guns, we just let the bears witness
The Grizzly, maybe Polar
You ain’t ready, you ain’t ready ‘ready rolled up
The Lions still have plenty of cleaning up to do. After all, they’re just “being me” and “me” hasn’t been all that great lately. The defense isn’t where they want it to be, the offensive line isn’t creating holes for the running game. But instead of criticizing the flaws, let’s spend a day to accept them. This is who this team is. We knew they’d never be perfect. But they went out and beat a really good team on Sunday, and for today, that’s good enough for me.
Pulling a machete, cut the bamboo paper
And let’s roll out baby
You can catch up on all of our Song of the Week choices right here. And our season-long Spotify list is embedded below (if you can’t see it, click here)