the Detroit Lions Preview

The Detriot Lions have not had a winning season in over a decade.  They have averaged under 5 wins a season since that 2000 campaign where they were a dominating 9-7.  To be kind, they have been a clear cut example of how not to run an profesional football franchise.  Former General Manager Matt Millen drafted four wide recievers in five years with their first round pick, all of which were top ten selections.  While I still hate the Armanti Edwards trade and the JaMarcus Russell selection,  Millen's draft selections from 2003-2005 are the worse in NFL history.  Not necessarily the players themselves but the impact those three players had on the Lion's franchise.

Since Millen's firing in 2008, the Lion's record hasn't imporved but their drafts have.  Ndamukong Suh is a freak talent and a cornerstone that every team dreams to build around.  Due to surgery on his left foot, Nick Fairley is yet to make his NFL debut.  But when the time comes for Suh and Fairley to line up side by side NFL centers and guards will freeze harder than a deer in headlights.  Matt Stafford, in the rare instances that he's been healthy, has earned enough respect around the NFL for my boss to draft him over super bowl champion Eli Manning and coming off a ten win season Josh Freeman.


See the Picture above.... Stafford has only played in 13 games since being drafted first overall in 2009.  While their success this season may live and die on Stafford's health, the Lions still have a few other obstacles preventing them from becoming a playoff contender.  The Lions have lacked a consistent rushing game for the past four seasons, averaging around 90 yards a game.  Not to mention the play in one of the toughest divisions in football.  The Lions will be playing both contestants of the 2011 NFC Championship game twice this season. TWICE!  Also on tap for the Lions is the NFC South which hosted three 10 win teams.  (Lions are away in 2 of the 3)  Their schedule is too tough for me to jump on board that this will be their "break out" season.  I see the Lions only winning 5-7 games 2011 but their future looks bright.

The Jurgen Klinsmann Era Begins

The Klinsmann Era must have missed the starting gun.  The US looked like 11 zombies going through the moitions during the first half of play.   The Mexicans fluid game dominated the pace of the match early and often, rarely making a costly turnover.  Any flow the US created was quickly thwarted by a Mexican defender or a careless pass.  A rather bleak beginning to the match.

The substitutions made by Klinsmann seemed to immediately spark the US and in the second half things began to turn around.  The ball remained in the US's attacking third for the overwhelming majority of the last thirty minutes.  Juan Agudelo's vision of play continually lead him to dangerous points of a attack for the US and eventually helped create Robbie Rodger's goal in the 72nd minute.  Agudelo finding never ending holes in back lines allows Landon Donovan to roam freely.  At times Donovan struggles to find his home on the pitch but with Agudelo's passing prowess, he's able to play off the ball and be that dangerous goal scoring threat.


Don't want to overreact to only thirty minutes of play but Brek Shea was a nice addition to the midfield.  His shear height and physicality are rare to see in soccer and gave the smaller Mexican side fits.  Just not sure where he fits with Dempsey in the lineup.  Overall, we were very unfortunate not to awarded a PK or be playing up a man for the final seven minutes when we continued to pour the pressure on the Mexican defense.  A draw isn't what the US wanted but it is something to build on going forward.

Klinsmann has several matches this fall leading up to 2014 Qualifying and will be able to tinker with his lineup until he finds the right team to have fun with each other.  And that's what soccer is all about.  Having fun.  Finding a team that builds off one another.  Football is a game of strength.  Basketball a game of rhythm.  Soccer is a game of creativity.  That's what Klinsmann was brought her to do, instill creativity in our players.

We Supported Butch!

The Butch Davis era at UNC is no more, leaving the majority of the UNC fan base scratching their heads.   Not so much the decision to relieve coach Davis of his duties (Nine NCAA violations in four seasons, 14 players suspended last season on Opening Day, an associate head coach on payroll with an agent, and so on) but the timing of the decision, coming only six weeks before kick off against James Madison.  Chancellor Holden Thorp did not point to a specific transgression for the abrupt firing but stated that, “What started as a purely athletic issue has begun to chip away at this University’s reputation.”

UNC will also lose athletic Director Dick Baddour, who went to bat several times for former defensive end Michael McAdoo during the hearing for McAdoo’s ineligibly appeals.  McAdoo was suspended at the beginning of the 2010 season for receiving impermissible help from a tutor and blatant plagiarism.  McAdoo's term paper appears to be a collage of sources pieced together rather than a student's work.   

Now the question has to be asked; was this worth having a relevant football program?  To befoul a prestigious public university?  To be black balled like a baseball player’s career after steroids?  UNC knew full well the risks associated with hiring a coach like Davis, like Kentucky’s hiring of John Calipari. (Just wait Kentucky, you’re time will come… just wait)  To be surprised that during Davis’s tenure these violations were possible is simply naive.

UNC had only one winning season in the past six prior to Davis’s hiring.  Did no one wonder how Chapel Hill was suddenly was overflowing with five star recruits and NFL first round draft picks?  College football programs are not built over night but Butch did just that.  He made UNC relevant on a national level with talks of BCS championship potential before the 2010 season, and the 14 players being suspended. 

Butch’s name alone made UNC an attractable option for top tier talent over night.  So UNC fans can’t be that upset.   Those were the best four years your program has seen in the past decade.  And just like that girl you dated that was way out of your league, you knew that she would break your heart someday.