While some people are focusing on the undefeated Tennessee Titans and their quest to go 16-0, I would like to focus on something even more rare. The Detroit Lions are on pace to have the worst record in NFL history. The current record is held by the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 0-14. Can the Lions do the unthinkable and go 0-16? I sure hope so. This is a team that drafted a QB (Drew Stanton) in the 2nd round of the 2007 draft but have recently signed Dante Culpepper to be the starting QB even though he hadnt played in an NFL game all season and wasn't even invited to training camp by any of the NFL's 32 teams. This is a team that drafted WR's in top of the draft 4 out of 5 years. This team has became the laughing-stock of the league under the direction of Matt Millen and finishing 2008 winless would be the perfect way to cap the Millen era. Here are the last 6 games for the Lions and the percentage I think they have to win that game.
Week 12 at home vs Tampa Bay (7-3) - 10%. Tampa Bay's defense and ability to not turn the ball over should be enough to beat the Lions. Tampa Bay should be able to run the ball all day and get after Dante Culpepper and force some turnovers.
Week 13 at home vs Tennessee (10-0) - 0%. Its going to be tough for Detroit to get anything going against Tennessee. Tennessee will pound the ball against Detroit's soft front seven. Again the defense of the Titans should be able to tee off on Dante Culpepper and force turnovers. The game is on Thanksgiving Day only 4 days after the Tampa Bay game which wont give the Lions defenders much time to recover from the beating they will take vs the Bucs and it will be a long day.
Week 14 at home vs Minnesota (5-5) - 25%. Third straight home game, but again its going to be tough to beat the Vikings and Adrian Peterson. After getting beat up by the Bucs and Titans, the last thing the Lions defense will want to see is the beast that is Adrian Peterson. The first meeting in Minnesota was a close game, but this one might not be. Throw in the fact that the Vikins will desperately need this win to keep their playoff hopes alive and all signs point to another Lions loss.
Week 15 on road vs Indianapolis (6-4) - 0%. Unless Peyton Manning is injured and not playing in this game, the Lions will have no chance to win. The Colts will be fighting for a wild card spot and wont lose. Detroit is giving up 30.8 points per game and this should be a field day for the Colts offense.
Week 16 at home vs New Orleans (5-5) - 33%. By this time the Saints may be out of the wild card race, but they will keep fighting. Again Detroit's defense will be exploited by the Saints offense. The silver lining for the Lions is that the Saints give up 24.9 points per game and can be vunerable to the pass. In the end, the Saints will have too much offensive firepower for the Lions defense.
Week 17 at Green Bay (5-5) - 25%. The only reason the percentage is so high on this game is because the NFC North Champion should be locked into the 4th seed of the playoffs by the last week of the season. There is a chance that the Packers will not benefit from winning this game if they have the division wrapped up by Week 17. If they don't and the Packer need to win, the chances would diminish greatly for a Lions win.
The schedule is not favorable down the stretch for a Lions win. Every one of their last six games should have playoff implications. While this gives the Lions motivation to be a spoiler, it also means the competition should be ready to play as well. I don't see the Lions winning any of these games and finishing the season "perfect". 0-16 here we come!
Monday, November 17, 2008
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7 comments:
A better question would be how the tie by the Bengals will affect their draft status. That win (or non loss) will hurt them in any tiebreaker with another team with an equal amount of wins (Chiefs, Raiders, etc). Hope you enjoy that tie Cincy and stay classy San Diego.
Bengals lose by not losing. If any team ends the season with the same number of wins as the Bengals, they will pick ahead of them because they will have one more loss.
It is very hard for me talk about how inept the Detroit Lions are because I love the Oakland Raiders. Al has killed our once very proud, prosperous and winning franchise. We are an absolute joke in the NFL.
That being said...I still bleed Silver and Black. It's time for Al to step aside and get a GM to run the club. If that happens, we will get a coach and starting beating teams on Sundays!
Yes, the Lions are a joke. They've been a joke my entire life. They stink. I don't blame Barry for ending his career early. I can't say that I'm rooting for another team's demise but if they don't win a game this year, it figures!
PS
Go Trojans....Believe it!!!
The greatness of the Raiders is in their future never was more appropriate since this year's version is awful. Haha.
I will say that I believe they have a better shot at 0-16 than the Dolphins did last year. However, I'm appalled that you have them at a 25% chance of beating my Vikings. I would say more like 50% chance. The Vikings are embarrassing, but I guess I could be a Lions fan. Man, they are hurtin'.
The Lions have been playing better football then they did at the beginning of the season. The defense is as pathetic as they were early on and I believe there is still some life in Dante's arm. I think they will win at least 2 games down the stretch.
Go Bears!!! - Blaney
The problem with the Lions vs Vikings is that the Lions will have just played Carolina, Tampa Bay, and Tennessee the previous 3 weeks. Their run defense is bad enough, but after facing those three teams I am sure that none of the defensive players will want to tackle Adrian Peterson.
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