News: 10/15/01

The term "stupid play" entered a new dimension Sunday when Germane Crowell turned upfield after catching a pass instead of stepping out of bounds and giving the Lions a final chance at a miracle.

Charlie Batch didn't see the play, but he didn't think he had to watch. He was dumped to the Metrodome turf after releasing the ball. No problem, he thought. He'd get one more crack, and the way the Lions were moving the ball against Minnesota -- no, that's not a misprint -- he didn't doubt that a little magic was possible.

"But then I'm getting up and I'm hearing the fans counting down the clock," Batch said after the 31-26 loss to the Vikings. "I'm just shaking my head because we wouldn't have enough time to get our offense up to the line and stop the clock. When you're on the road, time is your worst enemy."

When you're the Lions, you're usually your own worst enemy.

But you've got to give them some credit for providing fresh fodder for critics in a season growing repetitious.

This time, though, there was no questioning the quarterbacking.

Batch delivered the best numbers of his career -- 31 completions (only Eric Hipple and Chuck Long have completed more in team history, 33 each in games in the '80s) in 41 attempts for 345 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

He looked more authoritative in the pocket, seemingly growing more comfortable with the rhythmic pace of the West Coast offense.

His job's safe -- at least until next week anyway.

"I don't necessarily feel any vindication," Batch said, "because I thought all along that I should have been the starter. That never changed. But it was a situation that I couldn't control and it wouldn't have done me any good to talk about it, so I just kept quiet and kept working hard and preparing myself. You figure you would get another chance and then you've got to take advantage of that opportunity."

The opportunity came against a squeezably soft Vikings' defense that figured the game was over after the Lions trailed, 31-6, in the third quarter.

And that's precisely why it's smarter not to read too much into Batch's numbers, primarily garbage yardage against a garbage defense.

A glimmer of hope? Hardly.

The offense looked smooth when the game still looked hopeless. But as the game tightened in the closing moments, so too did the Lions. That two-minute drill was one of the worst you'll ever see, and that's not even factoring in Crowell's climatic brain freeze. Two meaningless short passes in the middle of the field gained all of eight yards while taking 38 precious seconds off the clock, and then David Sloan failed to get out of bounds on an 11-yard reception.

In some ways, it was the only meaningful two minutes of football the Lions have played in four games, and their comical failure underscores the problems that have this season destined for disaster.

"It wasn't the end that bothered me as much as it was the beginning," said team president Matt Millen. "We didn't stop anybody and put ourselves in the hole once again. And then we make the same stupid mistakes. It's never just one thing with us or one player. It's always a combination of things."

Millen joked that this job was going to give him a heart attack. And at his postgame news conference, Marty Mornhinweg was more visibly shaken than at any time in his short tenure.

He knew Batch had played reasonably well, but he couldn't bring himself to shower him with much praise.

"It's not about me at this point," Batch said. "We didn't win. Regardless of how I played, it doesn't matter when you look up at the scoreboard. We lost. We're 0-4.

"But the season is not over. It's still early. I don't know how many teams have made the playoffs or turned their seasons around after a 0-4 start, but the way we came back in the second half should give people hope that we're getting close."

Close to what? Respectability? Why don't they just end the charade and call this season what it's been since the first day -- a rebuilding campaign.

The quarterback situation is no better this morning despite Batch's small strides forward. It's just been momentarily overshadowed by far more glaring deficiencies, such as a meek defense that almost seemed afraid to take on the Vikings' 260-pound quarterback, Daunte Culpepper, when he charged into the open field at full gallop.

"I think with all the adversity that Charlie has had this year and that we've had with the quarterback position this year, Charlie came out and did a great job," said Crowell, who led the team with nine receptions. "Our offense did some great things at times. I know the media and the fans are sick of hearing this, but the second half showed how good we can be."

But it also showed how stupid they still can be.

RECAP:

Charlie Batch provided encouragement for rookie coach Marty Mornhinweg, but the Detroit Lions are still searching for their first win.

Daunte Culpepper ran for two touchdowns, including a 33-yarder, and threw a 47-yard score to Cris Carter as the Minnesota Vikings opened a 25-point lead and held on for a 31-26 victory over the Lions.

"We played very well in the first half and not nearly as well in the second half," Vikings coach Dennis Green said. "Like most NFC Central Division games, it could have gone either way."

After scoring just one offensive touchdown in their first 14 quarters of the season, the Lions got three-second half touchdown passes from Batch. He completed 31-of-41 passes for a career-high 345 yards and nearly pulled out the victory.

In the final seconds, Batch hit Germane Crowell with a 26-yard pass to the Minnesota 20, but Crowell opted to gain more yards instead of stopping the clock and time expired.

"I felt like I let my team down," said Crowell, who finished with nine catches for 125 yards. "Maybe we would have scored, maybe we would not have. I kind of blew the opportunity. I knew how much time was left but in that situation I have to get out of bounds. I have to be a smart player."

The Lions are 0-4 for the first time since losing their first five games in 1989.

"We must play smart," Mornhinweg said. "We played with a huge amount of intensity, character, toughness, all those things but it doesn't even matter."

Culpepper scored on a seven-yard run in the first quarter and broke off a 33-yard touchdown with 25 seconds left in the second quarter, staking the Vikings to a 24-6 halftime advantage.

"He (Culpepper) has a real good solid game," Green said. "He was running the ball when he had to and made some nice throws."

Culpepper completed 20-of-27 passes for 244 yards and a touchdown with an interception and rushed for 83 yards on seven carries.

Carter made a lunging catch down the right sideline for his 47-yard touchdown with 10:25 left in the third quarter, increasing the lead to 31-6.

Carter finished with eight receptions for 111 yards, his first 100-yard game of the season. Randy Moss had six receptions for 78 yards for the Vikings (2-3), who have won four straight and six of the last seven meetings from the Lions.

Batch hit fullback James Stewart with a 15-yard TD with 5:40 left in the third quarter. He connected with Crowell on a 16-yard score 40 seconds into the fourth quarter and threw a 20-yard touchdown to Johnnie Morton with 6:18 remaining.

"You could see the momentum shifting at the end," Batch said. "It was a tough hole to come out of, but it shows what kind of character we have on this team."

Mornhinweg benched Batch in favor of Ty Detmer after a season-opening 28-6 loss at Green Bay. But Detmer was intercepted seven times in Detroit's second game and threw a key interception in last Monday's loss to St. Louis.

Mornhinweg switched back to Batch as his starter for Sunday's game, but did not elaborate on his quarterback's performance.

"Charlie played pretty well. Next question," Mornhinweg said.

Stewart rushed for 108 yards on 16 carries for the Lions.

Detroit recorded six sacks, two each by defensive end Robert Porcher, rookie defensive tackle Shaun Rogers and linebacker Chris Claiborne.

Minnesota sacked Batch four times, including 2 1/2 by defensive tackle Chris Hovan.

"We just didn't move the ball and we didn't match their intensity (in the second half)," Culpepper said. "They played a really good second half. We just have to do a better job playing four quarters."

The Vikings opened the game with a 10-play, 80-yard drive which lasted 6 1/2 minutes. Culpepper hit Moss with an 18-yard pass and rookie Michael Bennett, the team's first-round pick, broke off a 23-yard run before Culpepper scored on a seven-yard run.

Jason Hanson kicked a 19-yard field goal after Stewart was stuffed at the 1 on a 3rd-and-goal to pull the Lions within 7-3 with 3:59 left in the quarter.

The Vikings responded with a nine-play, 55-yard drive which Culpepper highlighted with a 22-yard run. Travis Prentice capped it with a one-yard TD run 14 seconds into the second quarter.

Hovan recovered a fumble by Batch at the Detroit 32 to set up a 41-yard field goal by Gary Anderson, increasing the lead to 17-3.

Hanson kicked a 51-yard field goal for Detroit midway through the secopnd quarter.

But Culpepper scored on his 33-yard run with 25 seconds left in the half.

Scott's Game Commentary:

When the Lions were down 31-6, I thought there wasn't anyway possible they would have a chance to win the game, given they had only scored one touchdown in 14 quarters. But they almost pulled off a miraculous comeback sparked by Charlie Batch's best day at QB (who would of thought). Unfortunately, the game ended when Germane Crowell had a mental breakdwon and forgot to get out of bounds with with the Lions out of timeouts and only seconds left in the game. Instead of having a crack at the endzone from the 24, Crowell gained four extra yards and that was the game...which puts the honolulu blue and silver at 0-4 for the 1st time in 12 years. The offense, which had 457 yards for the day, still has yet to score a touchdown in the 1st half the entire year. When it finally looked like they did, the Vikings challenged that Crowell was out of bounds, which he was...the ensuing play, Stewart gets stuffed and Morninweig elected to play it safe and kick the field goal. Once again, penalities cost the Lions dearly. After the defense forced the Vikings to punt, the special teams were called for offsides and the Vikings decided to go for it on 4th and short that led to a touchdown. A 40 yard pass interference call was a back breaker, committed by Jimmy Wyrick, who was in the game because of all the injuries suffered on defense (Boyd, Fair and Rice all left the game). Although the Lions came back, they find themselves winless will be one of two teams that will be 0-4 heading into next weeks game aginst the 1-3 Titans.

Grades:

Offense: --- B. With the offense only scoring 6 points midway through the 3rd quarter, I was ready to give them their 4th consecutive failing grade...but to my surprise the offense scored three touchdowns in the 2nd half and may of gotten another if they hadn't run out of time. Charlie Batch, who threw for the most yards in his career (345), also had three touchdowns. I just hope this is a sign for things to come, but you just never know with the Lions. Germane Crowell had his best game of the year, but his decision not to get out of bounds cost the Lions a chance to win the game. There are no excuses what so ever for Germane not to get out of bounds. The Lions had plenty of time to march down the field, but elected for plays in the middle of the field that ate the clock up...a pretty lousy two minute drill, if you ask me! Johnnie Morton had a great catch in back of the endzone late in the game on 4th down that pulled the Lions to within five. James Stewart had his best game of the year...and the offense line finally had a mediore game...all in all, the offense put enough points on the board for the team to win and for the 1st time this year was not the reaon why the Lions lost the game.

Defense: --- D. Losing Ron Rice, Stephen Boyd and Terry Fair to injuries in the same game was devistating...the Lions are so thin on defense, especially the secondary, its scary! They are now without five starters, which is a reason why the defense has completely fallen apart in the 2001 season. I hate to say this, but if the "D" had every one healthy, there is no way the Vikings would of won the game...but that's just way it goes. Rookie Shaun Rogers continues to show he was the steal of the draft getting two sacks...Chris Claiborne and Robert Porcher also had strong games. Still, giving up 31 points to a Vikings offense that has been struggling this year killed any chances of the Lions winning the game...to the defense's credit, they held the Vikings in check for the final 25 minutes of game...but that wasn't enough.

Special Teams: --- C. Hanson nailed two field goals, including a 52 yarder...he attempted a 65 yarder, but was short by five yards. Desmond Howard finally had some decent returns. Coverage was mediorcre...one time Hanson had to make a touchdown saving block.

Coaching: --- C. Morninweig was perfect on his challenges...I still question his call to go up the middle after the touchdown was taken off the board in the 1st quarter...and to kick the field goal, was very conservative call...Morninweig was extremely animated when Crowell didn't get out of bounds, and frankly, I can't blame him. After the game he spoke like Bobby Ross did...with a lot of anger and said there is no such thing as a moral victory.

Overall: --- C. Nobody thought the Lions would have a chance to win in Minnesota, but they almost did. Its just too bad that almost half the defense is out with injuries. Hopefully the Lions can take their 2nd half plaing into the Titans game. Still, the bottom line is the Lions are 0-4 and are one of the worst teams in the NFL after almost making the playoffs last year. They are the only team in the NFL not to have the lead for a single second this season. That is pathetic! Unfortunately, their road isn't going to get any easier. The Titans, although 1-3, are much better than their record indicates and will be a tough team to beat. The following week the much improved Bengals come into town and then its off to play the surging 49ers. Winning two of those games would be a lot to ask for. Unfortunately, the 2001 year is over for the honolulu blue and silver...forunately, there is a lot to look forword to next year.

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