| Curtis A. Clark. 18th September, 2006 - 12:02 pm
 When Rod Marinelli took over as head coach of the Detroit Lions he did so saying he would bring discipline, execution, and accountability with him. In Detroit’s lopsided 34 to 7 loss to the Chicago Bears, the Lions mustered only one of those, accountability. Which is not the one you want to see in your football team‘s post game press conference.
Accountability in sports generally means someone is owning up to a mistake, and Rod Marinelli lead the accountability charge himself by owning up to the Lions lackluster performance. When asked about the Lions failures Marinelli had this to say.
"That goes back to me, number one. When we're not hustling that reflects on me. That's not their fault. That's my fault -- 100 percent.”
And what exactly was his teams short comings? A lot of mental mistakes that‘s what.
Detroit committed 14 penalties totally 114 yards, including one potential game changing play. Lions linebacker Boss Bailey intercepted a Rex Grossman pass and returned it for a touchdown that would have put the game within 10 points with over a quarter and a half remaining. However the play was called back on a hands to the face penalty by Lion’s cornerback Jamar Fletcher. The Lion’s never created any momentum after that.
Penalties were not the only Lions error. Detroit committed 2 turnovers in their first two offensive possessions. Quarterback Jon Kitna and running back Kevin Jones both fumbled in Lion’s territory. Kitna’s was a result of bad protection, a theme throughout the game. Chicago had 6 sacks while the Lion’s defense, which had 5 sacks last week, didn’t manage to get any pressure on Grossman.
Despite all of these miscues Detroit’s units competed, but their 1 for 9 third down efficiency kept the defense on the field to long and the offense out of rhythm. Detroit was never able to manage the mental discipline needed to compete against an upper echelon team like the Bears.
“As I said to the players and staff, all places -- there wasn't one place that was acceptable," Marinelli said. "Offensive execution. Turnovers. Jumping offside on defense.”
The Lions' penalties, turnovers, and poor execution have to be addressed, especially considering Marinelli sighted them as his hallmarks when taking the job. Detroit plays the 0 and 2 Green Bay Packers next week in Detroit, a game the Lions have to win if they hope to salvage their sinking ship. The Lion’s have done to much talking and not enough working so far this season.
When Lions' wide receiver Roy Williams decided to guarantee victory against the Bears he should have remembered something his head coach said before the season started.
“Football always has been a ‘show me’ game. Sometimes there’s too much talk. It’s about time to show. That’s all we have to do: work and show. “
Detroit is yet to show their fans much this season. Roy Williams may have been better suited to spend his energy studying the stifling Bear’s secondary, working towards a victory, instead of talking about one.
The city of Detroit is notorious for quickly turning their backs on their football team. The Lions can’t survive another failed metamorphosis and expect their fans to understand. Marinelli and his staff still have a few weeks to show that this team is different from years past. But come the middle of the season this could get ugly if Detroit hasn’t started to play the way Marinelli described in his first press conference as Lion’s head coach.
The Marinelli mantra. “The issue is how hard we are willing to play, fundamentals, details, and learning to finish everything we start as a football team.”
That is how the ship can be righted.
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