Lions' game Recap

Caputo says it so much much better than Mike!

PAT CAPUTO: Lions Thanksgiving Day stinker lies at Jim Schwartz's feet WITH VIDEO


Published: Friday, November 23, 2012


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Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz on the sideline in the first half of NFL football game against the Houston Texans at Ford Field in Detroit, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)

<p>To the rest of the nation, it was a thrilling game with great plays, miscues and questionable calls that will be debated from here to eternity.

For Lions fans, it was little Marty Mornhinweg taking the wind instead of the ball against the Bears in overtime, combined with Chicago’s Dave Williams returning the overtime kickoff for a touchdown on Thanksgiving Day, blended with Eddie Murray being wide right in San Francisco after Monte Clark clasped his hands together in prayer.








For those of us who have lived here all our lives, they are known simply as “Lions moments.”

And the “D” doesn’t stand for “D”ertoit nor “D”fense but rather “D”isgusting.

The Lions are better than they were a few years ago when they were the worst team in NFL history. Every game is competitive. They were right there with Houston Texans - perhaps the NFL’s top squad Thursday.

The close-but-no-cigar aspect of the Lions’ 34-31 overtime loss at Ford Field only brought more consternation than comfort.

If only Lions’ head coach Jim Schwartz had kept the red flag in his pocket instead of throwing it, which allowed a bogus 81-yard touchdown run by Texans’ running back Justin Forsett to become “unreviewable” for the replay officials and subsequently to stand.

The rule stinks, but Schwartz knew the rule. It’s inexcusable. He was upset about earlier questionable calls.

“It’s still no excuse,” Schwartz, accurately, said.

Tight end Brandon Pettigrew fumbled when the Lions were apparently in the midst of a game-winning drive in overtime. His lack of ball security, whether carrying it or receiving it, has become a tired act. It’s arguably cost the Lions two victories this season, which is the difference between being 4-7 and all but officially out of the playoff hunt and 6-5 and very much in it.

Jason Hanson is one of the best kickers in NFL history. He had a chance win Thursday’s game. Instead, he pulled a Scott Norwood in the Super Bowl and missed from 47 yards out in overtime.

Schwartz severely blundered, but the Lions had all kinds of chances to win anyway. They just refused to take advantage of opportunity.

“We have to continue to play tough, but we have to cut down the mistakes - myself included,” Schwartz said.

This game put was on quarterback Matthew Stafford’s shoulders from the start. He passed 61 times. He threw for 441 yards and two touchdowns. The Lions ran the ball for 106 yards. It wasn’t like defensively they didn’t make plays, including a tremendous interception in overtime by Chris Houston, that should have change the course of the game.

But every time the Lions got within reach of a victory, they let go. It’s become their most annoying habit. It’s true they have won some close games this season. It’s also true, in the last three - all losses - they faded at the times when it has mattered most.

The Texans were vulnerable in this game.

It wasn’t a coincidence the Texans emerged as a playoff team for the first time last season after signing cornerback Johnathan Joseph as a free agent. He was a good player with Cincinnati, but with the Texans featuring an exceptionally strong pass rush led by end J.J. Watt (he had three sacks Thursday), he became one of the best cornerbacks in football. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


He missed Thursday’s game with a hamstring injury. The Texans secondary was carved up by former Michigan QB and Jacksonville backup Chad Henne on Sunday with Joseph (he didn’t leave the game until overtime). As such, the field was slanted toward Stafford and the Lions having a big Turkey Day feast.

The Lions defense has played surprisingly well overall this season when considered the way they’ve had to patch up an already suspect secondary. It was a given the Texans would have their moments offensively.

Arian Foster is arguably the best running back in the NFL. Andre Johnson rivals Detroit’s Calvin Johnson for the title as “league’s best receiver.” Matt Schaub is an underrated passer.

This was destined to be a shootout, and the Lions didn’t have a chance if Stafford misfired, which he did too often Sunday vs. the Packers.

He didn’t, but Pettigrew dropped the ball and Hanson missed the field goal. Schwartz let emotion overcome him, and cost his team. It’s not a good example for his players, whose on-field and off-the-field discipline has been questionable, nor is it something exhibited by the best coaches.

Sure. The NFL makes a mockery of itself sometimes by over-thinking its rulebook. On the surface, it’s a great thing to review every touchdown play. It’s overkill to take away that review and penalize a team 15 yards if its coach throws the red flag. Isn’t the idea to get the call right on the field, not to overly penalize a team if it doesn’t know or forgets about one the league’s ever-changing and convoluted ways of enforcing the rules? As such, Forsett’s 81-yard touchdown run, with a massive national television audience watching, was an embarrassment to the NFL, more than the Lions. Ford Field rocked with boos. They were justified.

But it wasn’t only the officials who opened the door to the injustice, it was the Lions’ coach.

Schwartz and the Lions have taken a step back this season after a massive leap forward last season.

The factors causing this are simple to distinguish. Why they are occurring is more perplexing.

Schwartz should have known better. The Lions should be better. Period. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]




To the country, it plays as good drama.

To Lions fans, it is the repeat of a horror show.

One they seen for decades, and thought has been replaced by something more fulfilling.

Pat Caputo is a senior sports reporter and a columnist for The Oakland Press. Contact him at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and read his

I have to admit that if I had been the coach, the flag would hve hit the turf even faster than Schwartz's. This is a very fast game played with extreme passion. That is a poorly written rule. And I can remember past instances when a protest was missed because the flag was to slow.