Detroit
07
Carolina31
Detroit
Carolina
| 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | FINAL | |
| Detroit | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Carolina | 0 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 31 |
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| DET | TD |
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| CAR | TD |
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| CAR | TD |
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| Team Statistics | Detroit | Carolina |
| First downs | 12 | 20 |
| Rushing | 5 | 5 |
| Passing | 5 | 12 |
| Penalty | 2 | 3 |
| 3rd-Down Efficiency | 1 - 15 | 3 - 14 |
| 4th-Down Efficiency | 0 - 0 | 0 - 0 |
| Total Net Yards | 122 | 385 |
| Total Plays | 58 | 63 |
| Average Gains | 2 | 6 |
| Net Yards Rushing | 73 | 75 |
| Rushes | 22 | 30 |
| Average Per Rush | 3.3 | 2.5 |
| Net Yards Passing | 49 | 310 |
| Completed-Attempted | 12 - 30 | 21 - 33 |
| Yards Per Pass | 4.0 | 14.7 |
| Sacked-Yards Lost | 6 - 57 | 0 - 0 |
| Had Intercepted | 2 | 0 |
| Punts-Average | 11 - 46.3 | 8 - 49.2 |
| Return Yardage | 67 | 84 |
| Punts-Returns | 3 - 20 | 9 - 15 |
| Kickoffs-Returns | 3 - 47 | 1 - 22 |
| Interceptions-Returns | 0 - 0 | 2 - 47 |
| Penalties-Yards | 11 - 100 | 4 - 55 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2 - 1 | 1 - 0 |
| Time Of Possession | 26:17 | 33:43 |
News: 9/16/02
There's that familiar aroma of another Lions season spontaneously combusting. And the fumes from tempers burning and false hope collapsing into ashes are suffocating this franchise.
This is the lowest that this organization has ever fallen.
The Lions are without question the worst team in the NFL, an indignity wrested away from Carolina on Sunday in an embarrassing 31-7 loss.
The steady rain added to the funereal mood. The players and coaches stood mummified on the sidelines as the second half unfolded, reflecting a quiet resignation that nothing's getting better.
They resemble a team that's gradually giving up on their coach.
Afterward, Marty Mornhinweg had the look of a man in the cross-hairs, dodging reporters' questions so as not to provide a target for what will be the most-asked question in Detroit this week: How much longer does Marty have?
"I'm fine with Marty," team president Matt Millen said. "I'm not fine with how we're playing. We've got to re-examine everything from the top on down, and you better know that that also includes me. This was ugly. It was pathetic. We need to take a step back and take an assessment of where we are."
Only two games old, and already this season is beyond salvaging. And Mornhinweg's job is beyond saving.
Millen professed no lack of confidence in his coach, but he has been around this game long enough to understand the inevitability of the snowball rolling down the hill. It doesn't stop. It doesn't reverse course. It just gains size, strength and speed as it approaches its destination, steamrolling all in its path.
It's just a question of time before Millen pushes Mornhinweg in its path. He'll have no alternative.
But Millen must be equally accountable for this clown act masquerading as a professional football team. If he jettisons Mornhinweg and the team doesn't significantly improve by season's end, he should tender his resignation. He came here preaching front-office accountability, a foreign concept to previous administrations. It would be hypocritical to grant himself a reprieve while firing those he deemed qualified to build a championship team.
"I'm past disgusted," Millen said. "I don't know what it is that comes after that. I believe that we have the talent on this team to do better than what we have, but we haven't done anything right in these first two games. We've given up 80 points, haven't forced one sack or caused one turnover. And today we couldn't complete a pass."
But the strongest indictment is that the Lions didn't compete. That's unforgivable. That speaks to a team's pride.
Trailing, 10-0, at halftime, the Lions knew they were facing the most crucial 30 minutes of their coach's career, and, quite possibly, this franchise's history.
There was some semblance of life when they completed a 76-yard drive for their first score, cutting the Panthers' lead to three. But, once again, a porous defense knocked any momentum out of them. Rodney Peete hit running back Lamar Smith, who blew past the Human Pylon, cornerback Eric Davis, for a 58-yard gain.
Carolina had two touchdowns within a minute, and the Lions wilted.
In successive weeks, they've attained a new level of dazed and confused.
People want answers, and soon they'll demand heads. There's little confidence that Millen and Mornhinweg possess the aptitude to resurrect what they ripped asunder.
And what was Mornhinweg thinking with his quarterback shuffling? He speaks of his "plan" to slowly bring in Joey Harrington while retaining Mike McMahon as the starter. But Mornhinweg's credibility drops with each humiliating loss, and soon he could become a caricature like his coaching predecessors.
They're probably preparing his room now at the Old Lions Coaches' Home -- getting his rocking chair ready along with his knitting needles and ball of yarn. He'll have plenty in common with Darryl Rogers, who -- for the time being -- remains the last Lions coach canned during the season.
"I understand everyone's frustrations and I know that it's going to be pointed in my direction," Millen said. "I'm OK with that. But I still believe that we're going to start playing better. We're going to look into everything and see how it goes, but it's not pretty right now."
No, it isn't, and Millen's ultimately accountable for the accelerated erosion in talent. He brought in Az-Zahir Hakim, a.k.a. the Playmaker, who dropped two passes. He brought in Davis, Todd Lyght and Brian Williams, defenders on the downside of their careers.
"The best thing about this team right now," Millen said, "is the new stadium."
What's sad is he wasn't joking
The battle of the two worst teams in the NFL last year was a one-sided Carolina rout, with the Panthers looking like a very good football team in a 31-7 victory.
"People will have a tendency to say `That's just the Detroit Lions, who cares if you beat them?"' receiver Muhsin Muhammad said. "But what if you lose to a team like that? It doesn't matter who you beat or how you beat them, all wins are important."
Rodney Peete passed for 310 yards and a touchdown, Lamar Smith ran for two scores, Mike Minter returned an interception 40 yards for a TD, and Julius Peppers lived up to his billing with three sacks and a forced fumble in Carolina's 31-7 victory.
The victory doubled the Panthers' win total from a year ago -- Carolina lost 15 straight to end the season -- and got them off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 1996.
"People try to slight who you play and how you play, but winning breeds confidence and we're a lot more confident now than we were two weeks ago," new coach John Fox said. "And it can't really get any better than 2-0."
The Lions (0-2) dropped their 10th straight road game, a streak dating to last season, and showed signs of being just as bad as they were a year ago when
Detroit went 2-14 and didn't win its first game until Week 13.
Lions coach Marty Mornhinweg took no questions after the game, instead uttering just a short statement before storming off.
"Our offense was horrible," he said. "We had trouble completing basic passes. Stayed close at halftime and then did absolutely nothing ... it's as simple as that, we've got a lot of work to do."
It's still too early to judge just how bad the Lions might be or if Carolina is actually any good.
The only thing that's certain is the Panthers are definitely better this season than they were a year ago.
"Two wins does not make a season, but this is something that we can look at and know we can get better," said Peete, who went 21-of-32 for 310 yards, the most since he threw for 323 on Sept. 27, 1992, when he was a starter for the Lions.
He moved the ball around by throwing to eight different receivers, and wasn't afraid to go long or throw into double coverage. He tossed a 58-yard pass to Smith to set up one score and tested the Lions by drawing several pass interference calls.
He hit Muhammad eight times for 107 yards and hooked up with him on a 22-yard touchdown right before halftime.
"I thought Rodney played great and it speaks volumes that he's still got it," Muhammad said.
Smith ran for 56 yards and touchdowns of 3 yards and 1 yard, and also added two catches for 70 yards.
In all, Carolina's offense had 388 total yards and gave the Panthers enough of a cushion that quarterback Chris Weinke got some playing time late in the fourth quarter.
The Panthers' defense was also solid, with six sacks, while limiting the Lions to 122 total yards and constantly harassing the quarterback combination of Mike McMahon and Harrington. Each was intercepted once.
Peppers, the second overall pick in the draft, got his first NFL sack early in the first quarter. He got another a few minutes later, and registered his third on the final play of the first half when he drilled McMahon from behind, knocking the ball loose and leaving McMahon motionless on the ground for several moments.
It reassured Carolina fans that the Panthers made the right choice in picking Peppers, who was taken right before the Lions selected Harrington.
"They can't go wrong in choosing me," Peppers said. "Everyone in this locker room and organization feels the same way."
McMahon recovered from Peppers' pounding to start the second half, leading Detroit on its only scoring drive, then falling apart when Minter intercepted him on the second series and returned it 40-yards for a touchdown and a 24-7 lead.
The Lions were penalized 11 times for 100 yards. ... Carolina has yet to turn the ball over this season. ... Detroit's Scotty Anderson was called for a personal foul in the first half for a crackback, which could draw a fine from the NFL. ... Peppers also had five tackles and a deflected pass. ... Shaun Rogers blocked John Kasay's 46-yard field-goal attempt in the first quarter. Kasay also missed a 40-yarder. ... Lions guard Kerlin Blaise left in the first quarter with a sprained left knee.
Could it get any worse than last years pathetic 2-14 season??? It sure can!!! Unlike last week when the Lions played one of the NFL's elite teams, the honolulu blue and silver were playing a team led by journey man Rodney Peete that had the worst record in the NFL last year. That didn't matter as Peete passed for over 300 yards as the Lions suffered another humiliating defeat. How bad was it? The Lions offense could only produce 122 yards and were 1-15 on 3rd down conversions. The defense was if not worse than the offense as the secondary once again got shredded. The Lions have been outscored 80-28 in two games. I never thought it could get any worse than last year, but after watching the past two games, I cannot forsee a victory till November 3rd when the Lions play the Cowboys.
Offense: --- F. Could the offense play any worse??? Six dropped passes, give up six sacks and let rookie Julius Petters,
who was drafted right before Joey Harrington, look like a pro bowler??? Mike McMahon had one great drive to start the 2nd half that led to a touchdown but did nothing before or after that. Stockar McDougle played most of the game and was awful...another first round flop from the Ross regime. Jeff Backus played his worst game as a Lion as Peppers took him to school on several occasions. James Stewart had some decent runs, but his presence did not make a difference. Hakim dropped a couple passes and had one catch the entire day. Bill Schoeder left the game with an injury and looks to be another Millen free agent flop! 122 total yards offense, 1-15 on 3rd down conversions and several penalities is just pitiful! Even when Mornhinweg yanked McMahon on two occasions for Joey Harrington, the offense did squat.
Defense: --- F. The M&M boys were quick to blame Vince Tobin for the defenses woes last year and fired him. How about giving Kurt Schottenheimer his walking papers? Could the defense be any more pathetic after the first two games??? Making Rodney Peete and Jay Fielder looke like pro bowl quarterbacks???Not getting ONE sack in their first two games??? Giving up 80 points to teams that aren't known for their offense??? I still believe the Lions made a big mistake taking Joey Harrington instead of CB Quentin Jammer. Davis and Lyght would not start on any other team in the NFL. They are such a liability in the secondary its sick! Chris Cash and Brian Walker played a little, but looked nothing more than rookies. If there was one positive to come from the defense, they held the Carolina running game to under 100 yards, but what difference does it make if they give up 310 passing yards? Shaun Rogers and Robert Porcher, the two players everyone was looking up to this year, have been virtually non existant in the first two games. It should be quite interesting next week when Favre and company come to town.
Special Teams: --- C. Desmond Howard does not look the same since he got injured last year. Shaun Rogers deflected a field goal that had a low trajectory. John Jett's punts were nothing special and Hanson has yet to kick a field goal this year.
Coaching: --- F. Something has to be done with the coaching. Yes, the Lions are lacking talent, but Mornhinweg has no clue what he is doing. Case in point: McMahon had a few bad series, so he puts in Harrington, who throws an interception that leads to a Carolina touchdown. After McMahon gave the Lions their only TD of the game, he threw an interception...next drive, Harrington is in. Pick a QB and stick with him the entire game Marty!
Overall: --- F-. I said last week that this was a must win game for the honolulu blue and silver if they wanted to erase the nightmare from last year. I even took them in my NFL pool (what a mistake that was). Bottom line is this team will be very lucky to win one game before they play a team just as pathetic as they are. That will come on November 3rd when the play the Cowboys, ironically the last team they have beaten. I never in my wildest dreams thought it could get this bad during the offseason. It hurts to say it, but the Ford's gamble to let Millen clean house and run the team has blown up in their faces. It is quite obvious Millen has no clue what he is doing and it would not surprise me one bit if he ends up calling games for Fox in a year or two. Its a ashame this team is so bad because I was really looking forward to seeing them in Ford Field this year. But what is there to get excited about knowing they'll be lucky to win against the only teams they were able to beat last year (Dallas and Minnesota). To sum it all up, the season is over and I just hope the Lions can finish the season with a better record than the expansion Houston Texans, who already have a game on the Lions.
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