Lions lose, but defense plays like champions against the Seahawks!

September 10, 2006 Detroit, Michigan Ford Field ÂFord Field was rocking as the Lions were introduced. It took me longer then usual to get to the press box as

September 10, 2006

Detroit, Michigan

Ford Field

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Ford Field was rocking as the Lions were introduced. It took me longer then usual to get to the press box as so many of you great folks stopped and wanted to talk about the Lions. Let me tell you that I never hesitate to stop and talk with all of you I love that.

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The Lions are looking to accomplish a lot this season and I for one am very excited about another year of Lions football. The Lions defense came out on fire and blocked the first Hawks field goal, and the offense was able to turn that into a field goal off of a very impressive drive. On the next Hawks possession, the Lions got a turnover when Alex Lewis caused a fumble. They were unable to punch it in, but a Nick Harris punt pinned the Hawks deep. With that drive again the Lions blocked another field goal, this time it was James Hall. The Lions however gave it right back on a Kevin Jones fumble. That turnover allowed the Hawks to march down and score a field goal, which was impressive because they stifled a very good Seahawk offense.

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The Lions defense came out hard hitting. New defensive co-coordinator Donnie Henderson is known throughout the NFL as a hard hitting kind of guy and his defenses are notorious for being such. The Lions didn’t disappoint holding the defending NFC champion Hawks on a 1st and goal situation with a field goal. With 5:59 left in the first half the score was tied at 3 that in and of itself were a victory for the Lions.

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The Seahawks ended the first half with a 51-yard field goal that made the score 6-3 that was itself a victory for this young Lions team. The Lions have struggled on offense in the rushing game with Jones having 7 runs for 12 yards, (14 rushes for 45 yards in the game) but they have opened up the passing attack, that although it hasn’t been huge, it has been effective.

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The third quarter gave us an interesting contrast. The Lions defense looked like a playoff unit. They dominated the Hawks and held them scoreless and the offense struggled. In Kitna’s defense he had a nice pass to Roy Williams that for some reason he didn’t even lift his hands to catch. With that said, near the end of the half, the crowd was louder than I had ever heard for a Lions game, and second only to the Super Bowl and it caused the Hawks to call a timeout.   As the quarter ended, Roy Williams caught his first pass a 21-yarder and you could feel the momentum turning to the Lions.

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It was a momentum switch and the Lions got within a 52-yard field goal but Jason Hanson was unable to convert and the defense once again held the mighty Hawk offense on the next series. They marched right down the field and had a drive stall with a bad intentionally grounding call but that didn’t matter because little Jason Hanson nailed a 37-yard field goal to tie the game at 6-6 for the good guys with seven minutes left in the game. The good news however was that the Lions not only had momentum, but they had a raucous crowd and a offense that knew they could move the ball and a defense that knew they could stop the Hawks!

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The Lions defense owned the Hawks on their next drive and gave Kitna the ball back at the Hawks 48-yard line with a roaring Ford Field screaming to a go ahead drive. It however never materialized and the Seahawks marched down the field after getting the ball back on a punt for the winning field goal with no time on the clock and the 9-6 win.

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This loss stinks because the offense killed itself and the defense played like the defending NFC representative in the Super Bowl.Â

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Ernie Sims lived up to the hype, as did Terrence Holt as they lead the team with 10 tackles.

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Grades

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Defense: A They owned the defending NFC Champs with one of the best offenses and perhaps the best RB in the game. They simply ran out of steam when the offense couldn’t do anything with what they had been given all day. They still only allowed 9 points to this unit and that was a great performance.

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Offense: F It struggled to move the ball and was able to get Hanson in position because of the defense providing dominating field position all day. The worst part was that they beat themselves and that is not acceptable. They were able to move the ball and mistakes killed them.

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Special Teams:Â C Blocked two field goals and missed one.

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Coaching:Â CÂ It would be higher but the offense was not good and the defense was great.