The Lions are fortunate they are trailing by just a point. There is this "what if" quality about the Lions that is maddening. What if Sam Martin didn't fumble the snap from center? What if Calvin Johnson had actually hung on for a TD? What if Ndamukong Suh didn't try to throw a chop block on DeAndre Levy's interception return? What if Matthew Stafford's pass hadn't been tipped before being intercepted? What if Chris Houston had just turned around and played the ball instead of face guarding the receiver? What if Bill Bentley had been able to hang onto to that Christian Ponder pass that hit him right in the hands for a possible pick 6? What if Brandon Pettigrew didn't drop the ball nearly every time the Lions depend on him? They almost had another "what if" moment when Joique Bell, unwisely, like he did last year, exposed the ball jumping over the goal line. This team still doesn't appear to be fundamentally sound.
What if? What if? What if?
- By the way, haven't we seen enough of Pettigrew? He dropped a pass and fumbled in key situations on back-to-back plays late in the second quarter. It was definitely history repeating itself and a dreadful example of NFL football. Yet, he was still out there for the next drive/. There doesn't seem to be much accountability sometimes with the Lions.
- What was that with Louis Delmas and the after-the-whistle penalty. Awful.
- This has been an unimpressive NFL debut for Martin so far. The botched snap was brutal. So was that 33-yard shank he booted in the second quarter. That wasn't even a good punt for a high school kid.
- There have been two big plays the Lions' defense has allowed, the long TD run by Adrian Peterson and a long pass to Jerome Simpson, which setup Minnesota's second score. But the Lions' defense has been much better overall than the Lions' offense, which has mostly floundered. It's a good sign the Lions' defense has forced a couple turnovers.