The NFL is full of feel-good stories...
Unfortunately, the Lions are normally on the wrong end of those stories.
For example...
Jeff Garcia, when he QB'ed the Lions last season, looked old and broken down. He was washed up. Stick a fork in him, he's done. This season, after stepping in for an injured Donovan McNabb, Garcia has led the once stumbling Eagles on a 3 game winning streak. They are now on the verge of a wild card playoff berth. Garcia just may have saved the Eagles' season.
Dick Jauron, the Lions interim head coach after Steve Mariucci got canned, was run out of town on a rail. He was never considered for the Lions gig. This season, Jauron had led the Bills out of the AFC East cellar, has them at 7-7 in the tough as nails AFC, has turned around the career of JP Losman, and is 5-2 in their last 7 games.
Joey Harrington...Well I don't need to describe his travails as a Lion. This season, after replacing the injured Dante' Culepepper in Miami, Harrington is 5-5 as the Fish's starter, and spanked Detroit hard on Thanksgiving.
The Lions needed a QB after it was decided that Harrington was never going to make it in Detroit. Drew Brees was available, but never seriously considered. The Lions went in another direction, signing both Jon Kitna and Josh McCown, and between the two, felt they felt they had stabilized the QB position. On the other hand, the lowly Saints broke the bank for Brees with even blinking. This season, Brees leads the NFL in passing yards, having thrown for over 4200, and has led the Saints to that promised land called the playoffs. Brees is also one of the top candidates for league MVP, deservedly so. Kitna leads the league in turnovers, and excuses. McCown has played, but only as an emergency receiver.
Notice how the Lions are never on the other end of these kind of stories? When the Lions sign players, rather than step up their game, they rest on their laurels and collect very large paychecks. Shaun Rogers, Damien Woody, Rick DeMulling, Fernando Bryant, and Kalimba Edwards come to mind, to name a few that are still on the Lions roster.
I think we can describe the Lions thusly...
The Detroit Lions, driving their fans crazy, yet making the rest of the league feel good, for over 50 years.
I am eating some major crow in regards to Garcia. As you said, he looked completely shot in Detroit last year. But perhaps it's become even clearer that injuries may have affected him more than he let on.
ReplyDelete(Of course, having some real play-callers - and yes, I'm including Marty Mornhinweg in that category - supporting him in Philly might help, too.)
But really, isn't it the Saints' revival that's the most painful? Couldn't that sort of reclamation have been done in Detroit with the right men leading the way? Unfortunately, we may never know.