SCOTT JACOBS

You know the expression, ‘close is only good in horseshoes and hand-grenades?’  Well, nowhere in that saying is the game of football.  So say what you want about Detroit’s surprisingly respectable performance against a blazing hot Colts team that has now one seven in a row.  They played hard, they gave like 110% or something like that.  They still lost by 10.

Yes, the Lions have officially showed us that they will not quit on lame-duck coach Rod Marinelli, and they have shown heart in their last few weeks, pushing the Vikes to the wire last weekend, and giving the Colts a little scare this weekend.  But do the math and the Lions are no better than they were yesterday.  They’re no closer to avoiding history.  But they’re very close to becoming history.  With just a pair of games left, at home against the Saints and at the Packers, the Lions are not only staring infamy in the face, they’re looking at it right in the eyes.

It’s always nice when a team that has had nothing to play for, for months goes out and puts together a good game.  But the Lions are approaching unchartered territory here.  With their 14th straight loss to start the year the Mowtown Miserables matched Tampa Bay’s 1976 Yucs with their 0-14 record.  But in the 70’s they only played 14 games.  Nowadays, they play 16.  And with a potential regular season schedule of 18 games in 2010 the Lions might be the last team to venture into this kind of misery.

Consider: like the Patriots last year, the Lions have to play more games then the 72 Dolphins or 76 Yucs.  And because of that winning all your games, like losing em all are both harder then ever to do. But boy are the Lions giving the record a run for their money.

With next week’s final home game against the Saints, the Lions are probably looking at their last shot for a win.  Will the Saints come out flat knowing they’re not going to the playoffs, or will they come determined not to lose to ‘that team.’  When you turn pro there are no moral victories.  This is just sad.  This is the NFL.  The National Football League.  Paid professionals who have the best resources available are stinking up the joint in historic fashion.  Just imagine if you were a salesman and the entire year you didn’t make a sale.  You’d be fired!  Instead, people are just starting to feel sorry for the Lions.  Screw that!

I’m sorry for their fans.  The economic climate in Detroit isn’t exactly shooting through the roof, and all the fans that paid good money to see a woeful product really got royally screwed.  If I were the Lions and I lose ‘em all, I’d offer them a refund.  It’s the same thing as going to a concert only to see no one show up.  You better believe you’d get your money back or there’d be problems!

So the Lions are close.  Real close now.  They may be closing the gap, or they may just be giving everything they have left, and slowly realizing its not enough.  Whatever it is, 1-15 is tolerable at this point. 0-16 is just a slap in the face.