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Jim Caldwell (Lions photo)
Monday morning we expected to see one columnist after another write about the shortcomings of the Lions following the disappointing -- but perhaps not unexpected -- 31-27 defeat to the Packers Sunday night at Ford Field.
Count the Freep's Mitch Albom among those:
New year, same scent. The whiff of falling short still permeates our football winds. Never mind that the Lions are going to the playoffs. There are five days to talk about that.
But by every marker of success, they are not playing winning football right now, three straight defeats to playoff-bound teams, including this 31-24 defeat to Green Bay on Sunday night β a game not as close as that score suggests. And despite their insistence that βItβs a new season now,β the once-again second-place Lions let a golden chance to change their reputation fall from their grip.
Hey, it could not have been louder at Ford Field. The fans could not have been more supportive. But before the game was over, the Lions were missing a field goal, missing tackles, missing open receivers and missing the chance to change their history.
Once again, they showed a distinct inability to come out for the third quarter looking any different than the first two, while the opposing team made effective adjustments to win.
