NFC North: Lions' offense over going major changes
Sports Network | October 14, 2008
(Sports Network) - Things are about to get a little harder for the 0-5 Detroit Lions.
Detroit's sputtering offense, ranked near the bottom of nearly every category, is switching to a quarterback with just one career start under his belt. And to make matters worse, the Lions traded away their best offensive player as well.
Prior to Tuesday's trade deadline, the Lions shipped Pro Bowl wideout Roy Williams to Dallas for a trio of draft picks, meaning the club is officially staying in rebuilding mode despite having had a plethora of high picks over the last several seasons.
Detroit is getting Dallas' first, third and sixth-round picks in 2009, all likely to be late-round selections unless the Cowboys seriously implode from here on out.
The Lions, meanwhile, lose their 2009 seventh-round pick as well as Williams, who is slated to become a free agent as season's end. He had 17 catches for 232 yards and a touchdown through six games this year.
His departure now makes second-year wideout Calvin Johnson the main target for Dan Orlovsky, who appears ready to take over the starting quarterback spot with Jon Kitna going on injured reserve.
A report on The Oakland Press' web site said the club planned to place Kitna on injured reserve after failing to trade him. However, in an official release by the Lions, team physician Dr. Kyle Anderson said the decision was made to prevent further injury to Kitna's ailing back.
"This represents an acute exacerbation of a chronic condition," said Dr. Anderson. "Rather than risking further injury, it's the collective opinion of the medical staff that the best decision is to place Jon on the injured reserve list, allowing him to complete a rehabilitation program."
Kitna had thrown for over 4,000 yards in each of the previous two seasons, but had also thrown 42 interceptions to 39 touchdown passes in that span. This season, he threw for 758 yards in four games with five TD passes and five picks.
Kitna had made 36 consecutive starts, including one two Sundays ago when he left a loss to the Bears early because of back spasms. He did not play in this past weekend's 12-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Still winless on the season, it now appears the Lions are going with Orlovsky. That move isn't likely to help a pass attack that is averaging just 175 yards per game. Detroit has scored just 76 points this season, which is just 29th in the league.
Orlovsky, a fifth-round draft choice in 2005 out of Connecticut, started against the Vikings and threw for 150 yards and a touchdown. However, he also stepped out of bounds for a safety in the game, a big play in what turned out to be a two-point loss.
Marinelli said on Monday he hasn't lost confidence in Orlovsky.
"I thought in the second half, (he) did some nice things," said the head coach. "The one thing he didn't do, which was great, he didn't turn the ball over. In a game like that, you can't turn it over and you've got to be smart with the ball, and he was."
Still, with Drew Stanton now the backup, the Lions have close to zero experience at the game's most important position. Orlovsky's start on Sunday was his first in the NFL, while Stanton, drafted in the second round last year out of Michigan State, has yet to take an NFL snap.
UP NEXT: The Lions, who also began 0-5 two years ago, will try to avoid losing six straight for the first time since the 2001 club dropped its first 12 games. They will attempt to do so Sunday on the road against the Houston Texans. The teams have met just once before, with Detroit recording a 28-16 win on September 19, 2004.
VIKINGS: HOW MUCH LONGER CAN THEY WIN UGLY?
A questionable pass interference call is all that stood between the Minnesota Vikings being either tied for first place in the NFC North or left scratching their heads after an embarrassing loss.
Truth be told, the Vikings had no business winning Sunday's test versus the Lions. Despite an outstanding defensive effort, the club still needed a little help from the referees. Had that not happened, Minnesota would be making a few changes this week, perhaps even at the head coaching spot.
After all, Minnesota managed just two points in the first half of Sunday's win and totaled only 12 points against a club that was allowing 36.8 per game heading into this past weekend's matchup.
Yet somehow the Vikings walked away with their second straight win, a 12-10 triumph, and find themselves in a three-way tie for first place in the division with Chicago and Green Bay, which are also 3-3.
Head coach Brad Childress can thank his defense, which held the Lions to just 212 yards while posting six sacks. He can also thank a questionable pass interference call on the Lions' Leigh Bodden with just over two minutes to go. The penalty moved the Vikings 42 yards to the Lions 26, and after four run plays, Ryan Longwell connected on a 26-yard field goal with nine ticks remaining.
"Like I said, there are not a lot of walks in the park. Not many at all. Most of them are going to the fourth quarter," Childress said on Monday. "So again it feels good to get that win and I'm not turning it back. Those are hard to come by."
While Childress does have a point, too many ugly wins will get you noticed in a negative way. And if the "Fire Childress" chants that echoed from the home crowd on Sunday are any indication, the Vikings' faithful have noticed.
"Fans live and die by every play, so that's part of their prerogative to call for different plays, call a bonehead coaching move or guys not catching the football," said Childress. "That's been around as long as coaches have been coaching. It's always the body of work. You always get judged at the end of the year, so I can't afford to pay a lot of attention to it."
That is where Childress is wrong. Fans are more forgiving when you are winning, yet the boos were out in full force despite a victory. Obviously, things are starting to boil in Minnesota, and ownership is sure to pay attention.
Despite having one of the best young running backs in the game, Minnesota has yet to play like the playoff contender it was billed as prior to the start of the season. The club has allowed six more points (119-113) than it has scored this year, and its inability to put forth a solid pass attack spells trouble, no matter how good Adrian Peterson is.
This output comes from a head coach who spent his previous four seasons as the Eagles' offensive coordinator before coming to town. Philadelphia is known as a tough town to coach in, and Childress said he is starting to see some of that negativity around Minnesota.
"It's driven some way or another, whether it's early on here or early success," Childress said of the fans being critical. "That's their prerogative, again. (They're) becoming more like Philadelphia fans, I suppose, a little bit more mean-spirited. I don't even hear the boos or the (cheers)."
Way to win the fans back over, coach.
UP NEXT: Minnesota will try to hold onto its share of first place when it battles the Bears on Sunday. The Vikings won both tests last year against Chicago.
BEARS: LOSE SOME BITE WITH LOSS
As the ball sailed through the uprights in the final seconds of Sunday's game, it had to feel like a punch in the gut to the Chicago Bears.
Just 11 seconds earlier, the Bears had taken a one-point lead over the Atlanta Falcons on Kyle Orton's perfectly-thrown 11-yard touchdown strike. Yet five seconds later after a short kick, Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan was dropping back and throwing a 26-yard pass to Michael Jenkins near the sideline to put the Falcons into scoring range.
With one second on the clock, Jason Elam banged home a 48-yard field goal and the Bears were staring at the scoreboard in disbelief after a 22-20 loss.
"It doesn't even seem like we lost this game just because of the situation that we were put in," said wide receiver and return specialist Devin Hester. "We came back and scored a touchdown and left them with 11 seconds on the clock. For them to come up and score in 11 seconds is bad on our part.
"We said that we have to start fast and finish strong and that isn't something that we did today. We didn't start fast, but we did finish strong."
Wins are too tough to come by in the NFL to be given away with 11 seconds left. Instead of a 4-2 record and sole possession of first place in the division, Chicago now finds itself in a three-way tie with Minnesota and Green Bay atop the standings.
"These are the type of games that really hurt," said defensive tackle Tommie Harris. "We thought we had it in the bag, and it's over. To have it taken away, well, I can't describe it."
What the loss can be described as is devastating. Chicago was riding the wave of a two-game winning streak, but now heads into this weekend's test with Minnesota with no momentum.
To make matters worse, Chicago's banged up secondary took some more hits. With corner Nathan Vasher already missing his second straight game due to a wrist injury, starting corner Charles Tillman left in the first half with a shoulder problem, while backup free safety Danieal Manning left with an injured hamstring.
"Of course it hurt us," head coach Lovie Smith said of the injuries. "When you lose three defensive backs that play, it hurts."
Chicago also learned on Monday that it will be without guard Terrence Metcalf for the next four games due a suspension that resulted from him violating the league's policy on anabolic steroids and related substances.
UP NEXT: Chicago tries for its first home win over the Vikings since 2006, having lost both tests versus Minnesota last year.
PACKERS: CLOSER TO GETTING ON TRACK
Green Bay made some big strides on Sunday by halting a three-game losing streak with a 27-17 victory over Seattle. But according to head coach Mike McCarthy, the club still has some work to do.
"I think we still need to stay committed to the extra time that we've put into the individual periods and work on the fundamentals,' McCarthy said on Monday. "It was a positive day (Sunday), but there's still some things that we can continue to work on...but we did a number of things better."
McCarthy realizes that one can't read too much into the Packers' win over Seattle. Though they outgained the Seahawks by a 313-177 margin and limited them to just 64 yards passing, they were also going against Seattle's third- string quarterback in Charlie Frye.
In other words, the Packers were supposed to beat the Seahawks.
McCarthy said on Monday that Green Bay's run blocking was better versus Seattle, but still has room for improvement. Specifically, he said he would like to see his line win more one-on-one battles.
The Packers' O-line got plenty of work, as running back Ryan Grant rushed a career-high 33 times and gained 90 yards. Grant, though, has yet to break 100 yards in a single game this year and also has yet to find the end zone. He was a major factor in the Packers' running game last year after bursting onto the scene in Week 8, breaking the 100-yard mark five times while totaling eight touchdowns.
Green Bay needs to get the Notre Dame product going to take pressure off quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has turned in consecutive gutsy performances while battling an ailing shoulder.
"Obviously when you're able to run the ball you can let that clock run a little bit," said wideout Greg Jennings on Sunday. "We were able to move the chains and get some crucial first downs. When you can keep a defense like that off the field, they're going to be able to play faster and make plays for you."
Grant's 33 carries were tied for the second most in a single game in team history. It had been done twice before by Dorsey Levens (1997) and Ahman Green (2004). Terdell Middleton holds the record with 39 carries in a matchup against Minnesota in 1978.
UP NEXT: Green Bay plays its final home test before the bye, a home battle against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts have won four of the past six meetings since the teams played to a tie in 1982. Indianapolis also won the most recent matchup, a 45-31 home decision in 2004.
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