Well, there’s something to be said for blowing off family this holiday weekend and enjoying a Titans blowout victory in person. What follows after the jump are disjointed thoughts from the 5th row.
1. There’s something to be said for the ability to buy a 5th row ticket on about the 32 yard line from the box office at the beginning of October. Something not very complimentary about fan support. Best ticket I’ve ever had, and for face value.
2. One drawback, though-the sideline TV camera that goes up and down was also behind the Lions’ bench, so my view of some plays, like most of the first quarter, was somewhat obstructed. For example, I couldn’t actually see the Lions fumble early in the game, but did see the mucking around that was the recovery.
3. I still love watching Bironas practice kicks. He hit 4 out of 5 from 58 in warmups, most with room to spare.
4. Another trip, another stadium that doesn’t announce inactives. It’s such an easy thing to do, just put it up on the video screen an hour before the game starts, and they don’t do it.
5. You know how normally the fans start clapping spontaneously when their team comes on the field in practice? Not really with the Lions-there was some clapping, but it was late and delayed.
6. Then again, that doesn’t compare to the pregame introductions, when by far the biggest ovation went to K Jason Hanson.
7. The Lions at one point had a Pro Bowl promo video-the “vote for our best players” thing. The Lions deemed worth of Pro Bowl voting: Hanson, WR Calvin Johnson, LB Ernie Sims, and P Nick Harris.
8. The single most common note from my jottings is “The Lions are bad.” I started underlining it, just so I didn’t have to write it every third play.
9. I’m not sure what it was about, but on Johnson’s long TD run on the draw, Jones and McCareins, the WRs to the right, were discussing something pre-snap. I figured it was route combo and timing, but apparently not.
10. One sign of a bad team: taking a delay of game after a time out.
11. Calvin Johnson was open a couple times, both against zone coverage and beating Carr in man, but Culpepper couldn’t find him.
12. Really, though, the game was over 90 seconds in after the Lions fumble and the Jones end-around and CJ run. The Lions fans started with some optimism, but after that happened, the feeling was clearly “Yup, these are the same Lions who started 0-11.”
13. Fairly early on, all the Lions defensive regulars were in a huddle with the coach yelling at them. This was close to in front of me, and the fans sitting nearby were heckling them.
14. I don’t claim to be one of the world’s better judges of body language, but LenDale’s body language when the Titans started in great field position after the 13 yard punt was really negative-like he didn’t understand at all why they kept giving CJ carries and didn’t put him in.
15. Amazing how much success the Titans had running the ball, considering the Lions had 8 in the box almost every danged played.
16. In case it wasn’t clear, Fowler had responsibility on Gaines’ TD catch.
17. I don’t understand why Fisher had CJ run instead of just kneeling the ball at the end of the first half. The chances of a good gain are minimal, you’re annihilating them, and you’re getting the ball to start the second half.
18. I must say, “Bear Down, Chicago Bears” is better than the Lions’ TD song. But they’re both bad, objectively speaking.
19. Telling: the Lions’ video ad for their football camp had a “” going the wrong way.
20. The biggest cheer of the second half came for the Dunkin Donuts race. This was after a Titans FG in the 3rd quarter, and the KO coverage team was out there wondering why all the fans were cheering so much.
21. I really feel bad for Lions fans. They care too much for this awful of a team.
22. I’ll probably put up some excerpts from the Lions’ game program on my personal site. It ranks pretty high on the unintentional comedy scale.
23. I was very surprised to see VY enter the game. I figured if he didn’t play that last drive in Kansas City, which was the perfect time, he wouldn’t be in the game.
24. The Lions’ chances of going 0-16 have to be at least 60%. I knew they were bad, but seeing them in person was this whole separate level of ridiculous badness.
25. Last note: I LOVED Fisher’s challenge of Johnson’s catch. I’m still not sure Johnson had control of the ball with both feet inbounds. Of course, I liked it because I didn’t want Drew Henson to get credit for a bad throw, but Fish’s heart is in the right place.
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