NGT- Could not figure out what the Lions were thinking yesterday

[BluesCruz]

It seemed they raced to a 17 point lead and satisfied sat on their hands for 30 plus minutes

Then they decide to forgo two FGs to as one comic said to  "Hit me on a hand of 18"

I guess there is no mystery why they have no trophies.  That go for it stuff should be regular season only.  Playoffs are one and done.  I like Dan Campbell but he needs to face playoff reality next time.

Feel bad for Barry Sanders in attendance and their long suffering fans

As for the last 4th down attempt   Man that was ugly. Could not even figure out what the play was.  Seemed like they had 5 Evan Neal look-alikes blocking for them. Ole' Ole' Ole' Ole' Ole'
 
I am really sick of the 49rs representing the NFC and inevitable blowinng it.  Sadly, it looked like McCafferty got tossed right on the crown of his head.  I hope he does not have a serious neck injury.  That guy gives 1000% on every down. Fluke tackle

One 49r I do like is John Lynch.  Great player now great GM.

Want to look forward to a good contest on Feb 11th (My Birthday) no scratches please.

[DaveBrown74]

First off, I would just say I think Campbell has done a superb job, as has the GM there. They haven't been there for long, and not only were the Lions in total disarray when they showed up, but they have been in total disarray for their whole history. To get to the conference championship game and lose by a mere field goal to the number one seed in their own building after a 12 win season is remarkable. They deserve a ton of credit, and it's a young team that is going to be a factor for some time. I see them only getting better next year.

As for Campbell's decisions. Look, he has been aggressive all year, so it's hard to kill him for being aggressive again. If I want to be critical, I would say he should have kicked the field goal on that first decision. He had a chance to be up by three scores, and instead he breathed life back into the crowd and kept it a two score game. The second 4th down decision I had no issue with going for it.

To me his biggest gaffe was the decision to run the ball towards the end of the game with like 1:20 on the clock down by 10 points. By doing that, he risked having to lose a timeout, which he ultimately did. That meant the only way to have had a shot at coming back at that point was to recover an onside kick, which these days is close to impossible (think less than 5%). I thought that was the worst decision he made all game. You can't make that mistake in that situation.

But still, everyone loves to nitpick from their couch with their bowl of popcorn in their laps. The guy has done a fantastic job. I give him a ton of credit.

[BluesCruz]

First off, I would just say I think Campbell has done a superb job, as has the GM there. They haven't been there for long, and not only were the Lions in total disarray when they showed up, but they have been in total disarray for their whole history. To get to the conference championship game and lose by a mere field goal to the number one seed in their own building after a 12 win season is remarkable. They deserve a ton of credit, and it's a young team that is going to be a factor for some time. I see them only getting better next year.

As for Campbell's decisions. Look, he has been aggressive all year, so it's hard to kill him for being aggressive again. If I want to be critical, I would say he should have kicked the field goal on that first decision. He had a chance to be up by three scores, and instead he breathed life back into the crowd and kept it a two score game. The second 4th down decision I had no issue with going for it.

To me his biggest gaffe was the decision to run the ball towards the end of the game with like 1:20 on the clock down by 10 points. By doing that, he risked having to lose a timeout, which he ultimately did. That meant the only way to have had a shot at coming back at that point was to recover an onside kick, which these days is close to impossible (think less than 5%). I thought that was the worst decision he made all game. You can't make that mistake in that situation.

But still, everyone loves to nitpick from their couch with their bowl of popcorn in their laps. The guy has done a fantastic job. I give him a ton of credit.

I do too
But he had played his cards according to Hoyle
He would be on his way to Vegas

A shame

[DaveBrown74]

I do too
But he had played his cards according to Hoyle
He would be on his way to Vegas

A shame

He's not the first coach to lose a heartbreaker in a conference championship game or maybe to have a playcall or two he'd like to have back. The loss will sting for a while, but this is a team that's in a very good place right now.

The NFC North figures to be a very tough division next year. The Packers are clearly on the rise, the Lions are one of the best teams in the league, and the Bears are going to have a ton of young talent coming in including, possibly, a new QB. Plus they finished last year strong. The Vikes are always at least solid. Admittedly I'm not sure what they're doing at QB, but the Kevin O'Connell seems to be a pretty good coach. They had a ton of injuries to contend with this year and they still managed to win 7 games.

[BluesCruz]

Are you happy with Daboll?

[DaveBrown74]

Are you happy with Daboll?

I'm not happy with a great deal about our team. I remain supportive of Daboll though, at least for the time being.

[LennG]

Being aggressive all year is one thing, being silly in the championship game is stupid. He needed to kick that thing FG and take some of the momentum away from the miners. Plus it wasn't 4th and inches it was 4th and 3 or so. If he kicks that FG he ties the game later on.
And don't get me started on that run call with 1:20 left. That was just plain stupid. I said so at the time and will continue to say it until next year.
That call was about as dumb as Pete Carrolls call on the SB on that ridiculous pass at the goal line.

[jgrangers2]

Being aggressive all year is one thing, being silly in the championship game is stupid. He needed to kick that thing FG and take some of the momentum away from the miners. Plus it wasn't 4th and inches it was 4th and 3 or so. If he kicks that FG he ties the game later on.
And don't get me started on that run call with 1:20 left. That was just plain stupid. I said so at the time and will continue to say it until next year.
That call was about as dumb as Pete Carrolls call on the SB on that ridiculous pass at the goal line.

The issue with these arguments is that they treat the field goal like it's a guarantee. Listen to some Lions fans and you'll see that many of them didn't have a ton of faith in Badgley on anything beyond 45 yards. This is how the Lions have operated all year and it's worked for them. Can't blame Campbell for sticking to that. Running the ball on that third down late in the game OTOH was a huge mistake.

[uconnjack8]

I thought not kicking the FG up 14 was a mistake at the time and also thought it might not matter. 

Sometimes you have to look at the situation and make the decision you havent made all year.

Its Campbell's 1st championship game and if he made a mistake I am sure he will learn from it.  The team is physical and talented and now has some experience under their belts in a situation this big.

Remember how Andy Reid "wasn't a big game coach" until he was?

Detroit finished last year strong and it carried over to this year.  The arrow is pointing up for the Lions and their fans should be happy about that.

[4 Aces]

This game obviously had that big game feel - Giants fans know it well. A Championship Game. Every play huge. Do you ever remember the DET Lions in that type of game? I sure don't.

Campbell showed he wasn't a big game coach. You've got to call these games differently.

[BluesCruz]

This game obviously had that big game feel - Giants fans know it well. A Championship Game. Every play huge. Do you ever remember the DET Lions in that type of game? I sure don't.

Campbell showed he wasn't a big game coach. You've got to call these games differently.

I like the Lions and was very disappointed

I thought at half time they were in danger of complacency and they did not disappoint.  When you have a viscous team on the ground you have to step on their throat

Sad really

One thing they obviously need is a pressure D.   No sacks til it almost did not matter

[y_so_blu]

You don't abandon aggressive football when it's what got you there in the first place. Another Lions touchdown would have effectively clinched the game, but when they didn't get it, the Niners seized the momentum and never gave it back. Gotta respect that.

The Lions didn't lose because they passed up a field goal in the third quarter. They lost because of how they reacted to the Niners coming back. They got nervous and sloppy while their opponents stayed focused. That's a valuable learning experience for a team that was playing with house money anyway. Congratulations to both teams.

[Brooklyn Dave]

Bottom Line is that while Campbell is a good coach, Shanahan is a better one

[DaveBrown74]

Bottom Line is that while Campbell is a good coach, Shanahan is a better one

Perhaps.

Shannahan has been at this awhile now, and his GM has given him consistently some of the best players in the league. He hasn't won a SB yet. No doubt he is a very capable coach, but I'd like to see him deliver some hardware before I start crowning him as anything spectacular.

Not that no coach without a Lombardi isn't a good or even great coach, but he has the talent on his roster to do it, so it's on him now.

Campbell has done an excellent job so far in Detroit. This is the Lions we're talking about. He has been on a steady up-trend since his arrival.

[katkavage]

Both are good coaches, though I prefer the coach not holding the Chinese take out menu and constantly looking at what to order as opposed to what's going on on the field. Campbell made some mistakes, but let us not forget the biggest blunder of all that happened to Pete Carroll in the Super Bowl. It's a blight on his overall career because the mistake cost him a Super Bowl win but he is still regarded as solid, Super Bowl winning coach.