Northbound Train
Footballguy
ReallyWhat worries me now is that listening to Schwartz on the radio is the he is becoming Lionized..the losing is starting to wear him down and his whole personality is changing.


ReallyWhat worries me now is that listening to Schwartz on the radio is the he is becoming Lionized..the losing is starting to wear him down and his whole personality is changing.
last two teams to face the Cowboys have lost and fired their coach following the game
sorry, text I got from Verizon NFL text thing, didn't bother checkinglast two teams to face the Cowboys have lost and fired their coach following the gameDetroit and the Giants...
and finally a crushing loss to the powerful Kitna lead Cowboys. :X
I assume you posted this before the 4th quarter complete collapse/meltdown/Royal Rumble.Another prime example of our team having a solid half and coming out completely overmatched at half....Schwartz has to be held accountable for one colossal meltdown after another. Far better discipline today but the lack of execution/game pland in the 2nd is mind boggling. I bet we've lead every game this season at some point with some being considerable leads![]()
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your team when from one of the worst of all time to competitive, by your own admission, in all those games you listed. in just 2 seasons, with a complete waste of a top pick. its one of the biggest accomplishment for running a team of all time in the nfl.Pretty sure he gets a 3rd season next year and can see the logic behind it as it does take some time to build a team from ground up but for f u c k sakes can he get something/anything done!!!!
The Lions were just outplayed yesterday. They don't have the peeps to play with a team like NE. That Smith got absolutely schooled all game yesterday, that had nothing to do with coaching, he's just simply overmatched.I mean, the game was far from perfect from a coaching perspective but it wasn't coaching that cost that game yesterday. We're all frustrated with the lack of success the Lions have had, even in the Schwartz era but he's not getting fired nor does he deserve to. There are signs of improvement and although that's a tough pill to swallow, that's all we have.Here's a quick breakdown of our 11 games this year. I know many of you guys see the highlights/scores and say "Wow, the Lions are improving"....fact of the matter is that those of us that watch this club that'll rip your heart out week in, week out know that it's more than just a tight score showing progress...this team is regressing 27 games into H.C Jim Schwartz' tenure...we are not playing anywhere near 60 minutes a game and often times like today (glad you all finally got to see it) we come out flat and have no answers in the 2nd half. That is the responsibilty of the H.C...don't give me the Stafford being injured angle! All kinds of "good" teams overcome adversity and just plug another player in there (Bledsoe-Brady anyone). Until we win a "statement game", get a road W or at the very least get our pre-snap penalties in order you can count me in as one guy that has seen enough already.
Teams like the BUcs, Bears, Seahawks, Rams, Chiefs to name a few that have either a young/new H.C or an average team f you will are finding ways to get it done. SCHWARTZ IS NOT!
Week 1) Lead division rival in CHI a couple minutes into 2Q and do not score again
Week 2) Lead Eagles 17-7 eight minutes thru 2Q and then allow 28 unanswered before a couple late meaningless TDs .
Week 3) Take 7-0 lead at MINN before trailing 14-10 at half....never scored again. 2 end zone INTs + a pair of DEF penalties negating turnovers became our undoing
Week 4) Down 21-14 at half at GB we settle for 4 2nd half FGs and lose by 2...one of our better 2nd halfs but not enough
Week 5) Complete game rout the Rams at home
Week 6) Lead 7-0 at Giants but 11 penalties unravelled them.
Week 8) Lead 7-0 early and need 23 pt 4Q effort by the Leo's to put away the Skins. Solid all around game for the most part.
Week 9) Lions lead 7-0 and 21-10 late at home vs JETS before a complete meltdown
Week 10) Lions don't score TD until 14 seconds left in game vs previous 0-8 Bills...terrible game from the onset
Week 11) Lions lead 12-7 at Dallas before completely unravelling in the 3Q
Week 12) Lions lead 17-10 at home on Turkey Day before coming out the tunell at half and gettting outscored 35-7 in the 2nd half....complete joke!!!
Pretty sure he gets a 3rd season next year and can see the logic behind it as it does take some time to build a team from ground up but for f u c k sakes can he get something/anything done!!!!!![]()
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A smokescreen can only hide things so long, eventually the better team wins.I'd imagine there aren't 25 coaches in the NFL that could coach the Lions to be up on the Pats in the first half. You guys are looking for a second rabbit out of his hat and Schwartz just doesn't have one. When/if the Lions get good, I'm sure it would be nice to just play a vanilla offense and defense and still win. They can't do that yet and they need exceptional coaching to beat the Pats. 8 other teams lost to them and they have an excellent record led by a Superbowl/HOF QB and the top coach in the game. It's cool if you set them beating the Pats as a goal for them to achieve but to chastise them for not doing what most teams fail to do seems like a bit much.If we duplicated the Pats roster and each Schwartz and BB coached one group in a game, do you think Schwartz would win? or the guy that has a to of rings? They have a wealth of improvement still to doNorthbound Train said:Another prime example of our team having a solid half and coming out completely overmatched at half....Schwartz has to be held accountable for one colossal meltdown after another. Far better discipline today but the lack of execution/game pland in the 2nd is mind boggling. I bet we've lead every game this season at some point with some being considerable leads![]()
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mebbe a dominating personality like mike singletary amirite?As a Packer fan, I can say that I pay pretty close attention to the Lions every year. My opinion is that you need to get a dominating personality in there to run your organization. All of the loser types will preach patience, but the fact is that the Lions are still losing at a rapid clip and that should be unacceptable. Before the game yesterday, I was telling my family that this was one the Lions needed to win...well, it looks like they folded again! Get rid of Schwartz, at best this guy might be able to coach your team to the playoffs once, if that is what you are gunning for, it is no surprise that you fall woefully short every year.
The Matt Millen effect is underrated if anything. I don't think another human being could purposely go out and attempt to destroy a franchsie worse than Millen tried to make it better. His talent evaluation, drafts, free agents and coaching selections were awful. They literally set this team back a whole 5 years. Schwarz will turn this thing around. You can see it. In the old days, a coach was given 5 years to right the ship. Now its maybe 2. Thats why teams stay in the muck. They don't give a guy a chance to turn it around. Yea teams get lucky and have an aberation of a season but then they are back in the dumps again the next (Sporano, Marvin Lewis, etc). Quick success doesn't always mean sustained success. I think Schwarz is building something that will last.Walter34 said:The Lions are getting the bad karma after running up the score on the poor rams in week 5.Seriously, this team was a virtual expansion team in 2008. They didn't have a single player on the roster that was a piece to a future puzzle other than CJ. We under estimate the damage that Millen did to this franchise. They weren't just a bad team that had a bad year and could turn it around like some others (Rams, Raiders, whoever). They were as rock bottom as it gets and the worst team in the history of the NFL at that time. In two years they have added a half dozen or so decent players, but are still miles away from playoff contention. - Stafford has had 1 game in his career over a 100 qb rating- Suh and delmas are good young players, but are raw and have barely gotten out of the cradle- Add calvin and 32 yr old vanden Bosch and that's about it.This team is still far away and should be happy if they get to 4 or 5 wins this year. They are more than one more draft or FA season away from the playoffs. That said, schwartz seems like a decent guy, but clearly there have been some game management issues. Player discipline with penalties is a coaching staff responsibility in my opinion and tactical errors in game management is as well. He may be a nice guy, but there doesnt seem to be evidence of him being a good coach yet. Time will tell. The positive that I would draw as a Lion fan is that the Lions have only blown 1 high 1st round pick in the last 4 and have hit on a couple of 2nd \ 3rd rounders. That is a start in the right direction. I would expect the following progression if I was a Lions fan:2010 - 4-122011 - 7-92012 - 9-7Anything more than that is just not realistic.
Schwartz needs at the very least two more seasons. Matt Millen left the Lions is worse shape than a first year expansion team. So Jim should be treated as taking over and starting a team from scratch.The Matt Millen effect is underrated if anything. I don't think another human being could purposely go out and attempt to destroy a franchsie worse than Millen tried to make it better. His talent evaluation, drafts, free agents and coaching selections were awful. They literally set this team back a whole 5 years. Schwarz will turn this thing around. You can see it. In the old days, a coach was given 5 years to right the ship. Now its maybe 2. Thats why teams stay in the muck. They don't give a guy a chance to turn it around. Yea teams get lucky and have an aberation of a season but then they are back in the dumps again the next (Sporano, Marvin Lewis, etc). Quick success doesn't always mean sustained success. I think Schwarz is building something that will last.Walter34 said:The Lions are getting the bad karma after running up the score on the poor rams in week 5.![]()
Seriously, this team was a virtual expansion team in 2008. They didn't have a single player on the roster that was a piece to a future puzzle other than CJ. We under estimate the damage that Millen did to this franchise. They weren't just a bad team that had a bad year and could turn it around like some others (Rams, Raiders, whoever). They were as rock bottom as it gets and the worst team in the history of the NFL at that time.
In two years they have added a half dozen or so decent players, but are still miles away from playoff contention.
- Stafford has had 1 game in his career over a 100 qb rating
- Suh and delmas are good young players, but are raw and have barely gotten out of the cradle
- Add calvin and 32 yr old vanden Bosch and that's about it.
This team is still far away and should be happy if they get to 4 or 5 wins this year. They are more than one more draft or FA season away from the playoffs.
That said, schwartz seems like a decent guy, but clearly there have been some game management issues. Player discipline with penalties is a coaching staff responsibility in my opinion and tactical errors in game management is as well. He may be a nice guy, but there doesnt seem to be evidence of him being a good coach yet. Time will tell.
The positive that I would draw as a Lion fan is that the Lions have only blown 1 high 1st round pick in the last 4 and have hit on a couple of 2nd \ 3rd rounders. That is a start in the right direction. I would expect the following progression if I was a Lions fan:
2010 - 4-12
2011 - 7-9
2012 - 9-7
Anything more than that is just not realistic.
then you dont deserve a good team.I just don't see the progress here
Oooops....yes, guess that sounds idiotic. OF course we are light years ahead of where we are since Schwartz has come aboard but what I meant was we haven't made much progress this season...as the weeks have rolled by we seem to be regressing this year. Pretty much one good half of football in the last 3 games...clearly not heading in the right direction right now. Players are getting real frustrated and Schwartz better get this team under control before he loses it.then you dont deserve a good team.I just don't see the progress here
You seem to know an awful lot about what goes on behind the scenes in Detroit? What Schwartz does and doesnt do, the frustration level of players etc. Give the guy a break, you can't turn around a mess like the Lions over night.Oooops....yes, guess that sounds idiotic. OF course we are light years ahead of where we are since Schwartz has come aboard but what I meant was we haven't made much progress this season...as the weeks have rolled by we seem to be regressing this year. Pretty much one good half of football in the last 3 games...clearly not heading in the right direction right now. Players are getting real frustrated and Schwartz better get this team under control before he loses it.then you dont deserve a good team.I just don't see the progress here
XLions made the playoffs 6 times in the 90s. I think they had the 4th most wins of any team in the decade.Believe me when I tell you I and all Lions fans have serious patience...this team has been atrocious for the better part of 20+ years.
.......and learn to win. They've got the heart, the coaches, the personnel but they just need to learn to win the close games.Detroit has the right coach to turn things around. They just need to stay healthy (Stafford and Best) and focus the next two drafts on Defense and OL.
Really couldn't disagree more. This is the exact same BS you here out of the ignorant Umich fans who want to can rodriguez after three years. You fall for the announcers schmaltz where they wax poetic about what this loss or this one play says about _________. Grading a rebuilding team on strictly wins and losses is asinine, and ultimately will produce the kind of mediocre success and results that you see in a place like the wash redskins, the NY mets, the new york knicks etc. When you 'feel you must win now because of jokers like the OP, you cut corners. You don't tear it completely down, you put masking tape over structural problems. While that may save your job in y1-3 as you patch together a couple of wins and and end up a game or 2 within the .500 mark. But you didn't change the mindset that is still there, you didn't install the system that you believe is best because your players obviously won't perfectly fit your system in y1-3 really of any regime. Sometimes the best thing to to do is TEAR IT ALL DOWN, and then build it back up right. That is what the lions are doing, and that is what the falcons are doing. Both historically inept franchises that now have good HC and GM's. It's not as flashy, hell the Falcons are almost an afterthought despite having the best record in the NFC. Grading on the short term/ "its a win now league" is a trite concept for those who don't have the intestinal fortitude and patience it takes to build a champion. Stay the course. And grade not on w/l for now, but on how different this team is playing/acting from those under ots previous regime. I think you'll see that this is gonna pay off in the not to distant future. So in short, calms down and shut up sally!Well, we had some back and forth in the Parcells thread but I figured this guy and his team deserves it owns thread.
I am the first to admit that I was thrilled of the Schwartz to Detroit signing last summer....figured coming from a long tenure with what I feel one of the most underrated Coaches in the game to Detroit that we'd finally start to turn the corner and come around.
Some have said and will say that you need patience...well, my responce to that is unless you've endured 10+ years of utter h#ll then please don't talk patience to me....this is a SHOW ME NOW league....and while we've made some strides on both sides of the ball this is certainly beginning to look like those same old Lions.
Penalties are a part of the game but the constant pre-snap offsides and false starts are part of a Coach and the discipline (or lack thereof in this case) that he instills on his club. Steven Peterman is on pace forf 20+ penalties and again was called for a penalty that negated a huge gain today....there has got to be accountability held for your players...sit his ####en ### down...I don't give a rats ### who or what we have for depth....DO IT!!!!
Finishing a game is how teams turn into winners and ultimately define how good a Coach is...this guy has not finished one game where it's been tight this year and in fact has had some collosal meltdowns (see Jets)...his play calling down the stretch has everybody in MOtown scratching their heads.
He has admittingly blown the usage of some timeouts in recent games that have undoubtedly factored into our losses not to mention some very poor management of the clock late in the first halves or late in the game.
He is 0-14 on the road in his season and a half.
After coming out of the BYE with a nice W against a Jeckyl and Hyde Skins club, he/we followed that up with a monumentous deflating loss vs the Jets where he can/should be held accountable...then he follows that up with a stinker in Buffalo allowing them their first W and finally a crushing loss to the powerful Kitna lead Cowboys. :X
I am seeing nothing but regression from this team lately and unless he can light a fire and reel off some W's down the stretch I honestly feel it's time to check out the FA Head Coach market and perhaps hire a known, proven winner ala Chucky, Cowher etc, etc...
Pretty much have had it with the Lions giving clowns like Marinelli, Morninweg + now Schwartz there first HC gig...there is a reason these guys were coordinators.
I also heard the arguement that he's made great strides on the defensive side of the ball, the offense is far better yada, yada, yada...this team has oodles more talent that the last 2 bafoons had and he's still not getting it done....
I think more than anything our GM has made better strides by drafting some solid players and filling some holes...I know Jimmy has some input in that but his job is to utilize his talent and make strides...the latter of which he is not.
He is 4-22 as a HC thus far...
Seems guys like MOrris, Spags, Carroll, Haley and others have made significant strides in as little or less time with as little or less talent...
This ship is sinking quick and it may be time to start perusing for the next Head Coach in Motown...
Did I mention that in the HISTORY of the game no Lions Head Coach has EVER went on to become a HEad Coach in the NFL again....EVER :(
:(
I agree with this."Seems guys like MOrris, Spags, Carroll, Haley and others have made significant strides in as little or less time with as little or less talent..."
The Lions had zero talent before Schwartz got there. None. Zippo. Zilch.
They have drafted well in the last two years and stuck with their program.
They are competitive in nearly every game against good football teams.
They have a solid core up the middle of both the O (Stafford, Best, Pettigrew) and D (Suh, KVB, Levy, Delmas).
Next year they will draft OL and continue to attract FA talent to add depth.
Quit whining.
They have played well enough to win 5 or 6 games. They don't know how to close. They don't take advantage of breaks or turnovers. They play not to lose.Three straight games (and four out of five going back to the Jets game) they have lost a second half lead.Jim Schwartz consistently gets out coached in the second half. Every single week.Record: 2-10-0, Currently 4th place in NFC North DivisionNFL Season SummaryScored 278 points (23.2/g), 14th of 32 in the NFL. Allowed 306 points (25.5/g), 25th. Differential of -28 points (-2.3/g), 21st. Expected W-L: 5.3-6.7. Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +1 (0.1/g), 12th.
I think they are actually doing a great job coaching in the first half. And they eventually lose because they lack talent. The secondary is atrocious. They are playing backup QBs. The OL needs a couple more pieces.There are a lot of different ways to analyze the job a HC is doing, but let's keep it simple:
They have played well enough to win 5 or 6 games. They don't know how to close. They don't take advantage of breaks or turnovers. They play not to lose.Three straight games (and four out of five going back to the Jets game) they have lost a second half lead.Jim Schwartz consistently gets out coached in the second half. Every single week.Record: 2-10-0, Currently 4th place in NFC North DivisionNFL Season SummaryScored 278 points (23.2/g), 14th of 32 in the NFL. Allowed 306 points (25.5/g), 25th. Differential of -28 points (-2.3/g), 21st. Expected W-L: 5.3-6.7. Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +1 (0.1/g), 12th.
Detroit's atmosphere of defeat
"We have to find a way to get one more play on offense and special teams and to prevent one more play on defense," Schwartz said. He's right, technically. But he's also good at these small snippets of analysis that explain things but don't improve them.
Look, every Lions coach in this whole lousy decade has said "we need one more play" or "we need to turn a corner" or "we need to look in the mirror."
The truth is, the Lions made some plays -- some terrific plays, including another stellar touchdown by Calvin Johnson, a big burst run by Jahvid Best, and three big sacks by Cliff Avril, who is coming on strong with Suh on the line.
But there's collecting plays and there's collecting victories. The Lions lack a winning expectation; they seem too comfortable in the try-hard-and-keep-working-at-it mode. They had no turnovers Sunday, their stats were fine, but they still lost, 24-20. And I saw a relaxation in the locker room that I hadn't seen earlier in the season, a little less somber quiet, a little more looseness. You worry about such things when a team is losing, because it could mean a team had accepted its fate. Fans can do that. Players shouldn't.
"We wanted to be 7-9, but now we'll try to be 6-10," Johnson said. That doesn't get fans excited. Big plays get fans excited -- but only big plays that win games send them home happy.
In order for a team to go from pretty bad to playoff-bound, it first has to be pretty bad.This is the first season in a long time that the Lions have been pretty bad.Every year a team goes from pretty bad to playoff bound, and every year it's not the Lions.
In the 3 years before Rodriguez, UM finished 3rd, 2nd, and 2nd in the Big 10. In the 3 years with Rodriguez, UM has finished 10th, 11th, and 7th. Rodriguez has taken one of the best teams in the conference and turned it into a joke. Every week is still a sloppy mess and UM is getting smoked by quality opponents.The year before Schwartz became coach, the Lions went 0-16. There shouldn't be any comparison between these 2 coaches.Hipple said:Really couldn't disagree more. This is the exact same BS you here out of the ignorant Umich fans who want to can rodriguez after three years.
I think you guys are using the term "pretty bad" two different ways.In order for a team to go from pretty bad to playoff-bound, it first has to be pretty bad.This is the first season in a long time that the Lions have been pretty bad.Every year a team goes from pretty bad to playoff bound, and every year it's not the Lions.
Longest winning streak in Detroit since halfway through 2007.![]()
What makes you so high and mighty that you can "rip" the OPReally couldn't disagree more. This is the exact same BS you here out of the ignorant Umich fans who want to can rodriguez after three years. You fall for the announcers schmaltz where they wax poetic about what this loss or this one play says about _________. Grading a rebuilding team on strictly wins and losses is asinine, and ultimately will produce the kind of mediocre success and results that you see in a place like the wash redskins, the NY mets, the new york knicks etc. When you 'feel you must win now because of jokers like the OP, you cut corners. You don't tear it completely down, you put masking tape over structural problems. While that may save your job in y1-3 as you patch together a couple of wins and and end up a game or 2 within the .500 mark. But you didn't change the mindset that is still there, you didn't install the system that you believe is best because your players obviously won't perfectly fit your system in y1-3 really of any regime. Sometimes the best thing to to do is TEAR IT ALL DOWN, and then build it back up right. That is what the lions are doing, and that is what the falcons are doing. Both historically inept franchises that now have good HC and GM's. It's not as flashy, hell the Falcons are almost an afterthought despite having the best record in the NFC. Grading on the short term/ "its a win now league" is a trite concept for those who don't have the intestinal fortitude and patience it takes to build a champion. Stay the course. And grade not on w/l for now, but on how different this team is playing/acting from those under ots previous regime. I think you'll see that this is gonna pay off in the not to distant future. So in short, calms down and shut up sally!
Exactly. Go to Calvin early and often. Lions could be 7-7 right now. NE blew them out, but NE has blown out everyone.When you feature Calvin Johnson, not Jerome Felton, good things happen.
I think it's safe to say that was one of Calvin's best 1st halves of the year. It's sickening to watch him and Andre J. go 1-15 in the 1st half of games.Exactly. Go to Calvin early and often. Lions could be 7-7 right now. NE blew them out, but NE has blown out everyone.When you feature Calvin Johnson, not Jerome Felton, good things happen.