As I wrote in my column for Monday (see link below), I put the Lions' loss to the Seahawks Sunday almost entirely on quarterback Matthew Stafford's shoulders. Other than his foibles, I didn't think the Lions played poorly.
They ran the ball and defended it. They bounced back strongly from the disappointing loss to the Rams the previous week to take a 17-0 lead. They didn't let the game get out of hand in the second half. They still had a shot in the waning minutes until Stafford's fifth interception.
The Lions did sellout defensively. They did play and hit hard - several players got hurt as a result. Special teams weren't good. Too many long returns. Jason Hanson's kickoffs aren't very good, either. He did routinely kick a 50-yard field goal, but he might still not be 100 percent from his training camp injury. Or maybe father time is catching up to him.
The disappointing part is the Lions let real progress slip away. They should be 3-5 and pointing to a bright future. Instead, they're 1-7 and the Same Old Lions.


Random Thoughts

- A lot of people panned the Maples Leafs for the Phil Kessel trade. They may be wrong. They are a much better team with him. We saw why Saturday against the Red Wings. Speed does matter. Kessel's got that.

- A Ben Wallace Hat Trick - Two points, no assists, 16 rebounds. Yeah. That was his line Sunday vs. Philly. At 3-4 with Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince hurting, the Pistons are doing all right under the circumstances.

- Rich Rodriguez is in serious trouble at Michigan. His team constantly folding at the first sign of adversity in these games is worst sign of all.

- Tom Brookens is a teriffic person, who had done well as a manager in the Tigers minor league system. Yes. I do believe he is being groomed as Jim Leyland's eventual replacement.

My column in Monday's Oakland Press about Matthew Stafford http://tinyurl.com/yg9s6ss