Dec 28th 2008 4:16PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Lions, Packers
The Detroit Lions lost to the Green Bay Packers today, earning a place in history as the first 0-16 team ever.

For Detroit, it was both an embarrassing conclusion to the season and a fitting end of an era; in the eight years since Matt Millen took over the Lions’ front office, they’ve been the worst team in the NFL. Millen is gone, but not forgotten.Continue Reading

Dec 26th 2008 3:10PM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: Lions, Packers, NFL FansOur unnamed resident FanHouse Packers fan is convinced that the Lions will avoid 0-16 thanks to the generosity of Green Bay’s defense. I find that very hard to believe because Detroit hasn’t won a game this season and are fresh off a 35-point home loss to the 8-7 Saints.

When you include the starting quarterback situation, the head coaching situation (or, if you’re Rob Parker: the defensive coordinator/son-in-law situation), and the general apathy towards winning, well, oh-for-’08 appears eminently doable.

More proof: Detroit cornerback Travis Fisher either has very little confidence in the Lions’ chances or he LOVES walking. “If we win, man, I ain’t catching the plane back home,” Fisher said today. “I might walk. I’ll walk back. I’ll walk back to Detroit.”

Asked jokingly whether the media can hold him to that, Fisher said, smiling: “That’s a guarantee. I’ll walk back to Detroit.” It’s not an Anthony Smith-style guarantee, and certainly less eye-gouge-worthy than when ESPN employee Sean Salisbury’s “promised” to walk naked from Bristol to DC should the ‘Skins make the playoffs. But, if nothing else, it was a lighthearted moment for a team in desperate need of one. (Assuming you’re not into the comedy stylings of Rob Parker, of course.)

It’s probably worth mentioning that Fisher suffered a concussion against the Saints, although he sounds more lucid here than Marinelli has at any point this season.

Dec 27th 2008 12:53AM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Lions, Packers, NFC NorthFellow FanHouse-r Bruce Ciskie touched on this earlier but the fact is that the Detroit Lions haven’t won a game in Wisconsin since 1991. That means that in the Lions’ quest to not be 0-16 for the season, they will have to win in a state they’ve lost in 17 straight times (18, if you count their playoff loss at Lambeau in 1994).

The 0-15 Lions take on the Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

Their last win in Wisconsin was a season before some guy name Brett Favre arrived in Green Bay. Favre would never lose to the Lions at home during his entire stay as a Packer. It was also the season Detroit won their last playoff game and wound up in the NFC Championship game. They’d lose to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Washington Redskins.

Continue Reading

Dec 26th 2008 10:00AM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: Jets, Packers, NFL Fans, NFL Injuries, NFL Media Watch, NFL Real TalkThere needs be no explanation of what a horrible person Brett Favre is simply for putting us through the torturous media coverage of last year when he couldn’t make up his mind about retiring. Defend him all you want — that was a total and utter nightmare to live through as a sports fan.

But if you thought it would be any easier this year, you were wrong. wrong.
“There’s some throws I personally think I can make, but at times I haven’t,” Favre said. “I attribute some of that to age. I think . . . the physical that every player goes through after the last game will shed some light on some things.”

“This very well could be my last game,” Favre said. “I’m aware of that. I’d like to make it a memorable one.”
And this “could very well be” my last day at my job, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop everyone that walks by my desk to let them know that. Unfortunately, Favre is an attention junkie, so we all knew this was coming. He’s already fashionably destroyed the entire Green Bay fanbase — Aaron Rodgers 5-11 season isn’t helping matters — and now it’s New York’s turn.

Unfortunately, they don’t have the history with the gunslinger that the cheeseheads do, and there’s a decent chance they just run him out of town when he tries to do the retirement shuffle. We can only hope anyway.

Dec 24th 2008 11:40AM by Bruce Ciskie (author feed)
Filed under: Lions, Packers, NFC North, NFL Coaching

Even if you vehemently dislike the Ford family or Rod Marinelli, you’re probably not openly rooting for the Detroit Lions to suffer through the humiliation of an 0-16 season. If you are, may Santa deliver you the proverbial lump of coal Thursday morning.

Detroit’s last chance to avoid the embarrassing first-time achievement comes Sunday at Lambeau Field, where they will take on the Packers. Detroit hasn’t won in Wisconsin since 1991, and they haven’t won anywhere since 2007. They’re a nine-point underdog to a team that has lost five straight.

Marinelli has already talked to his team about avoiding the 0-fer. Surely, the topic has been brought up as the team prepares for the Packers.

On the flip side, while they haven’t talked much about it yet, the Packers have plenty to discuss this week, too.Continue Reading

Dec 23rd 2008 11:55AM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, Packers, NFC NorthI have to just keep telling myself how much I love this team, because they are torturing me this season. I know I’m not alone. Last night’s game should have been so much easier. The Packers were reeling big-time. Yeah, you do have to assume they are gonna show up to play spoiler in the rivalry game. Bravo to them for being professional enough to play with pride like that. They deserved to win the game, as they outplayed the Bears in nearly every facet. In the end, though, two huge special teams plays swung the pendulum in the Bears favor, and clutch-kicking Robbie Gould put the icing on the already frozen cake.

The Bears offense was dreadful. Just dreadful. The defense played admirably when you consider how many bad situations in which they were repeatedly put. The most notable example of this being a blocked field goal — by Alex Brown — to send the game to overtime after a ridiculous horse-collar five yards out of bounds by Adrian Peterson after terrible kick coverage.

If you’d like the Packers fan point of view here, I’ve got Bruce Ciskie on the horn:Continue Reading

Dec 22nd 2008 12:00PM by Bruce Ciskie (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, Packers, NFC North, NFL Eliminated TeamsIn the midst of a four-game losing streak, with their defense in shambles, the Green Bay Packers have finally taken the band-aid off the bullet wound.

Someone in the organization had the brilliant idea to move Pro Bowl starting cornerback Charles Woodson to safety. Theory was apparently that Woodson could play safety, Tramon Williams could slide into Woodson’s spot, and there wouldn’t be any reason to adjust the Packers’ aggressive man-to-man coverage scheme.

Um. Wrong.

While Woodson didn’t play badly, Williams was a disaster. We tried to convince the Packers this was a bad idea, but they have just now figured it out.

It’s too late to change Green Bay’s dead-in-the-water playoff plans, but Woodson moves back to cornerback for Monday night’s game in Chicago. Second-year pro Aaron Rouse starts at safety.

It’s about time.Continue Reading

Dec 22nd 2008 12:45PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, Packers, Vikings, NFC North, NFL Real TalkAs if the Chicago Bears needed an extra boost of motivation for tonight’s rivalry game against the Green Bay Packers. It’s been provided anyway, courtesy of former unproductive Bears’ wide receiver, Bobby Wade, who is currently a Vikings wideout. “We need the Bears to blow it,” Wade told reporters in Minneapolis with a laugh. “Where are they playing, at home? Great. They’ll definitely blow it.” I don’t know what’s so funny. The Bears beat the Vikings 48-41 earlier this year in Chicago, and the Vikings blew the opportunity to control their own fate this week by losing to the Falcons at home. In fact, if you wanna talk about blowing it, the Vikings fumbled the ball seven times and lost four of them. This translated into a loss despite significantly outgaining Atlanta and winning the time of possession battle. If the Vikings didn’t blow that game, the Bears wouldn’t even presently matter to them.

Maybe Wade’s laughing about how he’s never mattered in the NFL, or that casual fans wouldn’t recognize the difference between him and a used car salesman?Continue Reading

Dec 22nd 2008 3:38PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, Packers, Ravens, Steelers
There was a controversy in the NFL this season when Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs suggested that his team had a bounty out on Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, and then backed off those comments. But anyone who thinks bounties aren’t a part of life in the NFL should talk to Jim McMahon.

Best known for winning a Super Bowl with the 1985 Bears, McMahon was once injured by a player on the Packers, Charles Martin, who openly talked about having a bounty on McMahon and other players on the Bears. And at an ESPN-sponsored event today to promote tonight’s Bears-Packers game, McMahon said bounties are an everyday part of pro football.

Asked if he knew about bounties in the NFL, McMahon said, “Every week.” He added, “I played for seven different teams. There are bounties out every week on everybody.”

That’s certainly not the image NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell likes to project of his league. So the question becomes: Has the NFL changed significantly since McMahon retired? Or do teams just do a good job of keeping their bounties quiet?

Dec 22nd 2008 4:59PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, Packers, NFL Media Watch, NFL VideoAt an ESPN event today in Chicago, I pulled Monday Night Football play-by-play man Mike Tirico aside to ask him a few questions about his preparation for the games, Ron Jaworski’s film study, and whether Tony Kornheiser talks too much about Brett Favre:

Tirico, Jaworski and Kornheiser conclude their season with tonight’s Packers-Bears game.