response 68 of 199:

Oct 9 17:48 UTC 2001

        The Lions made it to Gaylord.

response 70 of 199:

Oct 10 17:25 UTC 2001

Charlie Batch is the "new" Starting QB this week.  Terrific.  Maybe he'll
actually sustain a drive.  

response 72 of 199:

Oct 11 04:28 UTC 2001

It's way, way too early to give verdicts on the new management yet.  While
I don't agree with Mornhinweg's quarterback switching, he has otherwise
appeared fine as a coach.  Remember, the M&M pair are still suck with
personnel developed during the Bobby Ross era, a package completely unsuited
for the type of team they want.  They could, in fact, have more success now
running a Bobby Ross style offense (big line, two tight ends, play action
passing, vanilla playbook) but they're thinking about the future, too.  Bobby
Ross would have most likely played Mike Mcmahon already--with Marty, there
appears to be no chance of doing that before he's ready, a wise move if you
want him to develop properly.

My theory is that Batch didn't really practice all that well with the West
Coast system, but Marty wanted to see what he could do in a game.  He has
recent experience with a quartterback (Jeff Garcia) whose practices are
unimpressive but whose play in games was far better.  With the acquisition
of Ty Detmer (they clearly thought they'd need him, but we didn't know why
yet), he no longer had to stick with Batch if Batch didn't get the job done
in games.  Batch didn't get the job done.  In comes Ty.  Ty apparently knows
where to throw the ball, but he can't get it there--Ron Jaworski pointed to
a good play-action fake which left Johnnie Morton breaking into a wide open
middle 30 yards down field--Detmer was set and had time to throw, but he
scrambled for a two yard loss instead.  

The team is stuck, and Mike Shanahan couldn't make it win.  When M&M's
personnel arrive and start playing, then we'll know.

response 74 of 199:

Oct 12 17:08 UTC 2001

Probably more like a younger brother...

response 76 of 199:

Oct 13 21:39 UTC 2001

Syracuse won today, in dominating fashion, 42-10 over Pittsburgh.  I was 
rather surprised, not realizing that SU had that much offensive 
firepower.

I didn't manage to see the UM game, but it sounded (from the people that 
I talked to afterwords) as if UM looked good in their win.

UM and Syracuse are both undefeated in their conference.  I would say 
that UM has a better chance of finishing the season that way ... I don't 
think Syracuse can beat both Virginia Tech and Miami, if they can beat 
either one at all.  Syracuse might still end up with a bowl game, which 
would be cool (although my roommate (who's in the Marching Band) would 
not be happy about having to cut his break short)

response 78 of 199:

Oct 14 00:18 UTC 2001

Michigan played well against Purdue, but not great.  The turnovers were
frustrating, but things eventually settled into a steady win.  Of course,
Michigan is now the only undefeated team in Big Ten play--a status that wil
last only in cases of extreme luck.  Dangerous games against Iowa (that's
right, Iowa) Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State loom.

Yeah, Ohio State is dangerous.  Remember, they always target Michigan, and
they've had a bullseye on November 24th since Jim Tressel walked into town,
and they'll be ready.  Sadly, they are an embarassment to the Big Ten in most
other cases, blowing a 17-0 home lead to Wisconsin for the second straight
time.  

Michigan State looked good against Iowa.  UM-MSU could be for the conference
title this year, keep your eyes open.

response 80 of 199:

Oct 15 00:12 UTC 2001

The UM game was definitely frustrating in the beginning--at least two almost-
sure touchdowns foiled by horrible turnovers.  I was starting to wonder if 
they'd oiled the ball.  Marquise Walker had both stellar moments (a 43-yard
return on a 44-yard punt; several of his trademark brilliant catches) and 
stellarly bad moments (responsible for two turnovers:  tripped and dropped the
ball once, threw it to a Purdue defender once).  Michigan should have won
by a much, much larger margin; they were clearly the better team.
The defense, except for the opening drive, was fantastic.  At one point the
offense fumbled on our own 14-yard line, and the defense held on, pushed them
back, and forced a field goal instead of a TD.  There was also a beautiful
blocked punt at the end of the first half that was either 8 yards or 8 seconds
shy of being a Michigan TD

I wish we'd quit making silly mistakes.  

response 82 of 199:

Oct 15 03:54 UTC 2001

Actually, they had more illegal formation calls later that night in the
Florida-Auburn game.  A lot of them around the country Saturday, actually.

The Lions finally played like a professional football team int he second half
today, and it was nice to see.  Batch was splendid in his control of the
offense, and James Stewart was effective.  It was a valiant effort, worth
getting excited about, and lots of fun to watch.  Still, the Lions are now
0-4.

A discouraging 0-4 at that, yet... all the teams we've played are quite good,
and three of these games were likely losses to begin with (Green Bay and
Minnesota are always tough games on the road, and St. Louis is St. Louis).
Marty is starting to impress some, some discipline on this team, and the rest
of the schedule is downhil.  They aen't going to make the playoffs, but the
possibility exists for an encouraging late-season push to .500, which would
get the fans excited for Ford Field next season.  Of course, the stronger
possibility is that this was a one-half abberration and the team will return
to lousiness next week.  I'm leaning in that direction.

response 84 of 199:

Oct 15 17:34 UTC 2001

The game wasn't already lost.  They were a good two-minute drive away from
winning.  The odds were not in their favor, but it was relevant.  

It's a narrow margin, to be sure, between a game that is over and a game that
is barely winnable by comeback.  Michigan's "comeback" against Syracusein '98
was a game that was over, and everybody in the stadium knew it.  However, the
Lions had a lot more going for them.  Games in the NFL just aren't over until
they're over--you never see backups in the game unless the fourth quarter is
halfway gone and the winning team is up by 35.  Remember the Jets last year?
The Dolphins do, and they remember again this season.  The Fins just blew a
17 point halftime lead (and the game was not that close at the time) to lose.

response 86 of 199:

Oct 19 03:24 UTC 2001

I was surprised today to hear that the Lions have sold out all but one of
something like the last fourteen home games.  Hope blooms eternal?

response 88 of 199:

Oct 20 23:45 UTC 2001

Syracuse has new Uniforms.  I don't like them.  They replaced the Blue 
home jerseys with Orange.  The numbers are Blue, with a White shadow, 
and are very hard to read from a distance.  They kept the Orange pants 
that they were wearing (that is the biggest mistake, imho ... I think 
that teams should not wear the same color pants as the jerseys (with 
the exception of Penn State's white jerseys/white pants road uni's) 
just don't look good).  The walls around the field at the Carrier Dome 
are also Orange, so the players blend in with the walls.

Oh yeah, they won 45-3 too.

response 90 of 199:

Oct 21 16:08 UTC 2001

I would've thought it was a one time Nike promotion except for the fact 
that none of the official apparel places either inside or outside the 
stadium had the new jerseys.  If it was just a promotion, they would've 
had the new jerseys in the stores a few days before the game, so people 
start seeing the jerseys and thinking about buying them.  Then the game 
comes, the team is wearing the new uni's, and people are thinking "wow, 
new jerseys.  I have to buy one".  Make no official announcements, but 
wear the new jerseys for one or two games, just long enough to sell a 
bunch, then go back to the old ones.