By Jim Vallet and Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter
But, it could be coming to an end. To say the Lions currently have an injury problem is like saying the Titanic had an issue with an iceberg. According to espn.com, the Detroit Lions have more players on the injured reserved (IR) list than any other team in the NFL with 26. The average NFL team has 14.5.
Not surprisingly, some are jumping off the formerly crowded Lions’ bandwagon. The fantasy “experts” on both the NFL Network and ESPN that were (suddenly) Lions fans are backing off their support. This week, for the first time in a couple months, I see no mention of the price of Super Bowl tickets or hotel rates in New Orleans on my social media. Most of my Detroit area friends seem to be taking the glass half empty approach in phone calls, texts, and emails. Neutral “experts” on TV are talking about how difficult it will be for the Lions to reach the “Big Game”.
These fair-weather fans remember the two record breaking (at the times) field goals that beat the Lions on the game’s last play instead of the recent game winning Lion field goals. They remember the awful personnel decisions of yesteryear instead of the smart recent personnel moves. They remember terrible coaching decisions and coaches quitting mid season instead of the current coaching staff. They remember players, either because their best days were behind them or because they never had any NFL best days, who failed in key situations instead of the current players who are good. They remember undisciplined clowns instead of the current focused group of athletes.
And now, due to injuries, it’s over.
I sincerely believe in the current Detroit Lions. Remember when no one knew who Brad Holmes was and thought he was a “Rooney Rule” hire? Remember when it was cool to laugh at Dan Campbell and his passion? Remember when Ben Johnson was not considered to be a top NFL head coaching prospect? Remember when “experts” (like me) believed Jared Goff was “done” in the NFL? Remember when most “draft gurus” thought Kayvon Thibodeaux was a better first pick than Aiden Hutchinson?
This year, the LIons will play the rest of the season with the heart and courage that we have come to expect for the last two years. Dan Campbell will see to that. If it’s enough to beat the likes of Jalen Hurts, AJ Brown, Justin Jefferson, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, or Lamar Jackson this year, I don’t know. While Campbell and Holmes don’t block or tackle, they do get the players who do, and those players will bring the Detroit Lions back to the glory days of the 1950’s.
Here are my picks for this week against the point spread. Lines are from espn.com on Wednesday, Dec. 18.
Kansas City Chiefs
Pittsburgh Steelers (+6 ½) at Baltimore Ravens: Games between these two have been close. I will bet it only if TJ Watt plays.
Los Angeles Rams
Cincinnati Bengals (-7 ½) vs Cleveland Browns: I predict that we see Jameis Winston in this game.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
roll, and should be able to shred the Cowboys’ defense.
Green Bay Packers
Last week: 1-4
Robert’s picks
Tulane (+10 ½) over Florida: I’ve written several times before that I make a lot of bets that aren’t palatable to a lot of people because of the possibility that if I’m wrong, I could lose in spectacular fashion. This is one such bet. Maybe Florida just overwhelms Tulane with SEC talent and blows them out. Certainly, Florida has exceeded expectations this season. Most observers, including this one, expected the Gators to have a miserable season and coach Billy Napier to be fired before the season was even over. Instead, they’re 7-5 and in a bowl game. But aside from outbursts against Mississippi St. and Kentucky the Gators didn’t score more than 27 points against an FBS team this season. Playing against an SEC team is a big deal for Tulane, and they run the ball well enough and have enough spunk to keep this game within single digits and maybe even have a chance to win it outright.
Clemson/Texas under 51 ½: Clemson put 34 points on the board to spoil my bet on SMU in the ACC championship game, but 14 of them were direct results of short fields in the first quarter off of SMU mistakes, and the last 3 came after a 41-yard kickoff return that set up a long game-winning field goal. Realistically, the Clemson offense generated 17 points in that game. Texas hasn’t allowed more than 17 points at home this season except to Georgia, and I think this game looms as a dogfight in the trenches.
Panthers (+4 ½) vs Cardinals: I’m still kicking myself for not picking Dallas over Carolina in this column last week, but at least I atoned for that omission by making a bet on it Sunday morning. But I’m reversing course here. That was a similar situation to the 49ers the week before, when the line swung way too far because of public perception. Now it’s the Panthers who are benefitting from a line. The Cardinals are 2-4 on the road, and both of their road wins, at San Francisco and at Miami, were by 1 point. Now they have to win by a margin, but I don’t think they’ll win at all.
Eagles (-3 ½) over Commanders: Hopefully this line will go back down to 3, but even if not, this is a smackdown game. The Eagles have renewed hopes of winning the No. 1 seed with all of the Lions’ injuries. Four weeks ago, the Eagles outrushed the Commanders 228-93 and outpassed them 206-171 and it was a garbage-time touchdown that got the Commanders within the final score of 26-18. I think they’ll outplay them in similar fashion again.
49ers (pk) at Dolphins: The 49ers may be having terrible season in relation to their expectations, but judging by the way 49ers players reacted to the De’Vondre Campbell situation, I think they’re still an engaged team, and if so, they’re just better than the Dolphins, even in their diminished state.
Last week
College: No plays
NFL: 1-2
Season
College: 32-29
NFL: 28-15-1
Temperature: 44°F Town: Fernley
Pressure: 1020 hPa
Wind: 1 mph
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