News: 11/5/01

In 10 seasons, Robert Porcher has been through the mill with the Lions -- everything from 5-11 last-place finishes to 10-6 NFC Central championships.

But that doesn't make losses -- including Sunday's 21-13 defeat by San Francisco that pushed the Lions to 0-7 -- any easier to endure.

"I think the difficult thing for me as a veteran at this point," he said, picking his words slowly and carefully, "is the longer you play this game, the one thing you realize is that you don't have many opportunities to get it done.

"I mean get it done in a big way. I think that's the hardest thing -- that another opportunity is slipping away real quickly, if it hasn't already. That's the biggest pill to swallow."

The 0-7 record is the worst start by the Lions since the 1942 team lost all 11 games in a last-place finish. And, with the coaches focusing on getting young players experience, the short-term outlook for this year's Lions is not especially bright.

"Nobody likes the way this thing is playing out," Porcher said. "But what can I say? There's nothing I can say."

Porcher has played steadily as the season has progressed. Two sacks against the 49ers pushed his total to seven for the season, but he finds little comfort in his personal accomplishments.

"I'd trade all of those in right now for one win," he said. "I'd go no sacks, no hurries, no nothing . . . for a win."

It's more like the Mike McMahon cameo appearance.
   McMahon, a rookie quarterback from Rutgers, played two series in Sunday's 21-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at 3Com Park. Under Coach Marty Mornhinweg's plan, McMahon played one series in the second quarter and one in the fourth.
   On his first series, McMahon directed a 10-play, 39-yard drive that ended in Jason Hanson's 39-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead.
   McMahon didn't fare as well in the fourth quarter. He played three plays. He was sacked twice and threw a long incomplete pass.
   Mornhinweg told McMahon that he would play two series. He made McMahon the No. 2 quarterback for the game, ahead of Ty Detmer.
   "He may get a shot sometime in the future," Mornhinweg said. "He gave us a little bit of a spark in the first half. He didn't have much of a chance in the second half."
   Mornhinweg would not commit to making McMahon the No. 2 quarterback for good.
   "Not necessarily," he said.
   Batch didn't criticize the move, but it was clear he wasn't happy about sharing time. Earlier in the season, Detmer started two games.
   When asked what he thought, Batch replied: "I don't have thoughts. It doesn't do anything to me. Read (into it) what you want to read.
   "That's a position you can't go back and forth on."
   Batch talked to Mornhinweg but wouldn't share what he said.
   "I expressed that with him," he said. "I wouldn't express that with you."
   McMahon, obviously, liked getting his first playing time of the regular season. He attempted four passes and completed two -- both on his first series. He ran two times for 11 yards.
   "It felt like the game always does," McMahon said.
   On his first series, McMahon went in when the Lions had a first down at their 40 and led 7-0. His two completions were 8 yards to Desmond Howard on second-and-9 and 8 yards to Cory Schlesinger on second-and-10.
   On third-and-2 at the 49ers' 16, McMahon rolled out around right end. He kept the ball but was stopped for no gain.
   On McMahon's second series, the Lions had first down at their 33. He was sacked on first down, threw an incompletion on second down, and was sacked on third down.
   Veteran Lions were told by Mornhinweg to expect McMahon to get some playing time. It is part of Mornhinweg's general plan for developing young quarterbacks.
   "He told our committee he wanted to work McMahon into the game," defensive end Robert Porcher said. "He wanted to do it when the game meant something."

RECAP:

Marty Mornhinweg probably wishes he was still with the San Francisco 49ers.

Jeff Garcia threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns to Terrell Owens as the 49ers rallied from an early 10-point deficit for a 21-13 victory over the winless Detroit Lions.

Mornhinweg served as Steve Mariucci's offensive coordinator for the last four years before being hired by Detroit. Mornhinweg was credited with the rapid development of Garcia.

"We have a way of traveling where it doesn't matter where we are going or who we are playing," Mornhinweg said. "The conditions don't matter to me. However, you do try to take as much of the emotion out of it as you can, especially up here in San Francisco. Being on the visiting side was different, the glare was pretty good. I have never been in the visitor's locker room ever."

Garcia struggled early, however, as Robert Bailey returned an interception 74 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. Jason Hanson's 49-yard field goal made it 10-0 before the 49ers' offense finally woke up.

Garcia engineered a seven-play, 74-yard drive, capped by a four-yard touchdown to rookie tight end Eric Johnson to slice the deficit to 10-7 at halftime. It was Johnson's first touchdown.

"It was great," Johnson said. "It capped off a really long drive for us and it gave us a boost. It is good to be a part of it, to get in there and get my first touchdown and have it mean something in a close game."

Owens opened the scoring in the second half with a 30-yard touchdown reception from Garcia to give San Francisco the lead for good.

A field goal cut Detroit's deficit to one point but the 49ers responded with an eight-play, 87-yard drive that ended with Owens catching his second touchdown, a seven-yard toss that madee it 21-13 with 14:26 left. Garcia found Owens for a 41-yard pass play earlier in the drive.

"It was very emotional week for us having suffered a tough loss against Chicago in overtime," Garcia said. "It was a game we felt we should have won. But I felt a lot of the guys did their job and stayed focused."

Owens had been critical earlier in the week of Mariucci's play-calling. He finished with nine receptions for 125 yards.

"I looked at the TV this morning and everybody was criticizing me for standing up, for just wanting to win," Owens said. "If wanting to win real bad is wrong, then I don't even want to be right.

"I am just trying to focus and stay in the game when my number is called, I am trying to prepare myself for every series. I think everybody contributed to the win today."

Garcia completed 26-of-35 passes with three touchdowns, a pair of interceptions and also lost a fumble. Garrison Hearst rushed 21 times for 82 yards as the Niners outgained Detroit, 427-131.

"I think Jeff played a heck of a game," Mariucci said. "Nobody likes to turn the ball over three times. If you took those three turnovers out of his game, Jeff was very efficient."

The Lions were forced to punt twice in the fourth quarter before their final possession. A pass interference play by cornerback Jason Webster gave Detroit a first down at the Niners' 41 with 1:44 left.

But after three incompletions by Charlie Batch, San Francisco ran out the final 74 seconds for its seventh straight home win over Detroit.

"We were in position, I felt at least to tie the ballgame up," Mornhinweg said. "Offensively, we don't drop passes and we did today."

Despite the victory, San Francisco had problems with its field goal unit. Jose Cortez had two field goal tries blocked, including a 19-yard attempt with 1:51 left that could have sealed the game.

The Lions, held without an offensive touchdown, managed just 62 yards on 20 carries. Batch finished 8-of-20 for 74 yards and rotated time with rookie Mike McMahon at quarterback. McMahon had a pair of completions and ran for a first down to set up Detroit's first field goal.

"It all starts with the running game," Batch said. "We never got it going. Right now it's just tough because offensively, we didn't score enough points."

The 49ers registered four sacks for losses totaling 21 yards.

"Our scheme was just to go after them," Niners defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield said. "We didn't know what quarterback would be in there or offensive lineman because they rotated some of their offensive line. We just wanted to go after them."

Scott's Game Commentary:

No matter what the honolulu blue and silver did in San Francisco was going to trump the Michigan/Michigan State game. The only thing that can come close to that thrilling Michigan State victory on Saturday is a Lions playoff win...and that is years away. At least I have one team to fall back on, because the Lions just keep on losing!!! The San Francisco game was not like the past three games in that the Lions actually had a double digit lead...yes a double digit lead...their only one this year so far thanks in part to Robert Bailey running it back for a touchdown after intercepting Jeff Garcia. Morninweig decided to get rookie Mike McMahon's feet wet...he setup a field goal in the 2nd quarter, that gave the Lions the lead...but the defense, which once again had its highs and lows, could not stop Garcia and Owens. Todd Lyght had a nice interception in the 2nd half, but got burned many times by Owens. Just when the defense makes enough plays to win the game, the offense goes back to playing like it did in the 1st three games. Batch was out of sync most of the game and when it came down to crunch time, Batch threw a perfect pass to Larry Foster, who dropped, what would of setup a potential game tying touchdown. Its the same old story the past four games...come up a few plays short...but the bottom line is the Lions are still winless heading back to play the Bucs, who will definitely be big favorites to beat the Lions.

Grades:

Offense: --- F. No offensive touchdowns and only 132 net yards??? That is dispicable!!! But, with all the injuries and offensive line juggling, its not a big shock. Reuben Droughns, starting for the injured Stewart and Warren looked nothing more than a fill in. It was nice to see Mike McMahon come in for a few series when the game meant something...he lead the Lions to a field goal, but was sacked twice in his 2nd half series...he looked good scrambling and has a lot more mobility than Batch. The offensive line gave up four sacks and had a tough time keeping Charlie and Mike protected...no surpise there! Twice when the offense got the ball with good field position from turnovers, they went three and out! That is not cashing in on golden opportunities on the road!!! Johnnie Morton had a mediocre game and had a few costly drops...but Larry Foster had the biggest one...just like last year...the guy has the speed to be a great wide receiver, but misses catches and fumbles too much to be a decent receiver in the NFL...boy I really miss Crowell and Moore!

Defense: --- C. Robert Bailey's interception for a touchdown was the only touchdown of the day for the Lions. The defense forced three turnovers, although the offense couldn't get a single first down on either turnover. Todd Lyght's pick was a great play, but he still had a rough day taking care of Terrell Owens. Shaun Rogers continues to show he was definitely the steal of the draft...and Robert Porcher had his best game of the year netting two sacks. The defense definitely did its job to win the game...only giving up 21 points to one of the best offenses in football isn't too shabby. But, as has been the story all year long...the offense and defense have yet to play on the same level yet this year.

Special Teams: --- B+. Desmond Howard is the best returner in football!!! He had some nice runs once again that gave the Lions good field position...Hanson made two field goals, but also missed a 43 yarder, which he rarely does. the special teams also blocked a San Francisco field goal and coverage was good once again. Definitely one of the strengths of the Lions.

Coaching: --- D. The Lions are last in the league in penalities...Morninweig needs to get work on getting his team to cut out the stupid mistakes. Morninweig surprised me by letting McMahon play a few series...at first I thought he was nuts, but McMahon did nothing to hurt the Lions chances at winning...hopefully we'll see more of him against the Bucs.

Overall: --- F. For the 4th consecutive week, the Lions were in it to the very end, but once again lost! The bottom line is a loss is a loss and they are off to one of their worst starts in franchise history! The Lions could easily be 3-4 if they made a play here or there the past four weeks. And who would of thought at the beginning of the year that the Chicago Bears would be 6-1 and the Lions would be 0-7! This has been the strangest year in the NFL! Up next for the honolulu blue and silver are the unpredictable Tampa Bay Bucs. One week they look like a Superbowl contender, the next they look mediocre...but no matter what, they are better than the Lions and will send them to 0-8 heading into a possible victory against Arizona. Two months till this nightmare offically ends! Can't wait for the 2002 Draft!

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