I despise the term “Same Old Lions.” It’s reductive, it’s lazy, and it’s mostly touted by people who get their football knowledge from people who scream through their television or car radio. The kind of people who consistently say “Same Old Lions” are the same boring people that claim their SNL cast was the best and the current is trash. They don’t evolve. They don’t grow. They don’t learn. They hang onto the slogan, just so they can “I told you so” fans when the opportunity strikes.
But this all feels a little familiar, doesn’t it? The “Same Old Lions” crew may have trouble evolving, but so does this head coach. This game was a near replay of last year’s season opener against the Arizona Cardinals, but with even more dire consequences.
No fourth quarter defense. Run-run-passing to death, and of course... a loss—the 10th in a row for Matt Patricia’s Detroit Lions and the 13th of their last 14 games. This may not be the Same Old Lions, but it certainly does feel like the Same Old Patricia.
Detroit Lions Week 1 Song of the Game: ‘Once in a Lifetime’ by Talking Heads
Like any Talking Heads song, it’s hard to pull the meaning of “Once in a Lifetime” from the discordant lyrics. Some believe it’s about being appreciative of what you have and the passage of time. However, some lyrics suggest a much darker theme to it.
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Lions fans collectively agreed that 2020 would be Matt Patricia’s make-or-break season. Some may have wanted him gone after last year, but just about everyone agreed that the roster, coaching and culture overhaul should pay off in Year 3. If there’s no growth, no improvement, no actual signs of a future Super Bowl contending team, it was over.
We’re only one game in, but there’s an overwhelming sense that hope is never coming. We’re just wasting time while this boat slowly fills with water all over again.
You may ask yourself, “Where does that highway go to?”
And you may ask yourself, “Am I right? Am I wrong?”
And you may say to yourself, “My God! What have I done?”
This trio of lyrics represents my emotional state from the first quarter to the fourth on Sunday. I came into the 2020 season with some doubts about Patricia. I’ve never been one to hide my philosophical differences from him — but I tried to be open minded. Maybe he can make it work; maybe this highway leads somewhere other than the dystopian reality we’ve been living in all year.
And when Patricia surprised me with a defense that was keeping it together and an offense — AND RUNNING GAME — that was working, I started to actually believe this team could compete for a division title. They can establish the run. They can impose their will on other teams. Hell, maybe they can actually win their first NFC North crown.
But then the fourth quarter happened, and like a Scooby Doo villain, Matt Patricia took off his mask and revealed his true form. He is who we thought he was. He’s a coach that is far more satisfied to pick up two yards on a third-and-1 than he is to gain 20. He’s a coach that would rather run the clock down than run the score up. And I, for a moment, I fell for it. My God, what have I done?
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Letting the days go by, same as it ever was
Here a twister comes, here comes the twister
This isn’t the Same Old Lions. The Same Old Lions would actually come back and win a few of these games. Matthew Stafford used to be the king of comebacks, and, yeah, he was a dropped pass away from notching another one on Sunday. But it should have never come to this, and it always seems to with this head coach. Until he, or the Lions, do something about it, we’re just going to watch some of the actual talent on this team erode away.
Song of the Game is an opportunity for our staff to express their weekly feelings of being a Lions fan, but through the art of song. Each week, we’ll provide a song that perfectly encapsulates the Lions’ game and how we experienced it. By the end of the year, we’ll have a full Spotify playlist telling the story of the 2019 Detroit Lions season.
You can listen to previous year’s soundtracks right here: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019