Mike Vandermause
column: Lions make it too easy in this one-side series
Oct.
6, 2013 |
Green Bay Packers' Jermichael Finley dives for a first
down againstDetroit Lions' DeAndre Levy and Ezekiel Ansah. The Green Bay
Packers host the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field October 6, 2013 in Green Bay,
Wis. Wm.Glasheen/Post-Crescent Media
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Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford
walks off the field after a 2-point conversion fails in the fourth quarter
Sunday at Lambeau Field. / Benny Sieu/USA TODAY Sports
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The
Detroit Lions had the perfect excuse for their 23rd straight road loss to the
Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
Everyone
in the record-setting Lambeau Field crowd of 78,200 knew the Lions didn’t have
a chance when their best player, wide receiver Calvin Johnson, couldn’t play
because of a knee injury.
But
can we be completely honest? With or without Johnson, there was no way the
Lions were going to win.
In
the end, no matter who is on the field, the Lions will find a way to lose to
the Packers. They always do. It’s simply the Lions being the Lions.
The
Packers can always count on their division rival from the Motor City to come
through. There’s always something with the Lions, whether it’s a stupid
penalty, a blown assignment, a missed block, a coaching miscalculation or some
other kind of screwup.
The
sight of the Packers’ uniforms turns the Lions’ preparation and good intentions
to mush. They act like deer caught in headlights. They play as if their demise
is inevitable.
How
else can you explain the Packers’ overwhelming control in this series? And we’re
not just talking about the Lions’ long road losing streak against the Packers
that dates to the elder George Bush administration. The Packers under coach
Mike McCarthy have owned the Lions for the past eight seasons.
McCarthy
has a remarkable 14-1 career record against Detroit, with the only loss coming
in 2010 when quarterback Aaron Rodgers missed half the game with a concussion.
Packers
defensive lineman Ryan Pickett has been around for every one of those 15 games
and has seen the Packers’ superiority firsthand.
“We
match up good with them,” Pickett said. “I don’t know, it’s a division
opponent. We’re familiar with them. I think our record with everybody in our
division is pretty good since I’ve been here.”
That’s
true, but the Packers’ regular-season record against the Chicago Bears (9-5)
and Minnesota Vikings (10-4) doesn’t match their utter domination against
Detroit under McCarthy.
“We definitely don’t take those guys for
granted,” said cornerback Tramon Williams of the Lions. “There’s a lot of talent
on that side. We know it. ... We just find a way to win.”
Or
to put it another way, the Lions find a way to lose. Some games against the
Packers have been blowouts, others have been close calls, but the end result is
always the same.
Little
things add up to Lions’ losses, and it was no different in their 22-9 setback
on Sunday. Let’s count the ways:
■
In the first quarter, a Lions’ tripping penalty enabled the Packers to avoid a
punt and instead drive for a field goal.
■
In the second quarter, the Packers failed to convert on fourth-and-4 from the
Detroit 40, but a Lions holding penalty kept the drive alive and led to another
field goal.
■
In the third quarter, Packers receiver James Jones ran a deep route and somehow
was left to roam free on an easy 83-yard touchdown bomb.
■
Later in the third quarter, Clay Matthews of all people was left unblocked and
recorded a 12-yard sack loss to kill yet another Lions drive.
And
so it goes for the Lions in their futile quest to beat the Packers.
“I
wouldn’t like to come over and play us if I were them,” Packers guard Josh
Sitton said.
The
Lions are as close to a guaranteed win on the schedule as it gets for the
Packers, although no one will admit it publicly.
“It’s
not easy getting a win against Detroit,” Pickett said.
That’s the politically correct thing to
say, but we all know better.
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