Week 13. BEARS @ lions 12pm

[WEFFPIM]

The offense was terrific today, both aspects of it. Defense almost seemed caught off guard in the first half but picked back up, holding the Lions to a field goal after the Cutler fumble was the turning point of the game. And I didn't think that that was a penalty, but like most have said, the Bears were in position to score anyways. Completely different than Week 1.

Wasn't pretty, but they're 9-3. Beating the Pats this week would be a nice graduation present, whaddya say Bears?

[BIGGIEsmalls 23]

The offense was terrific today, both aspects of it. Defense almost seemed caught off guard in the first half but picked back up, holding the Lions to a field goal after the Cutler fumble was the turning point of the game. And I didn't think that that was a penalty, but like most have said, the Bears were in position to score anyways. Completely different than Week 1.

Wasn't pretty, but they're 9-3. Beating the Pats this week would be a nice graduation present, whaddya say Bears?

Let's get a victory against the Patriots....GO BEARS!!!!

[dingojazz]

Did any one see Risdon's take on the penalty called against Suh in his week 13 rundown? This really pissed me off, and I e-mailed him to tell him about it. Here is his quote:

4. Once again the Lions are victimized by horrific officiating. Ndaumkong Suh got flagged for unnecessary roughness on a play identical to a DJ Moore hit on Tony Scheffler early in the game that didn’t get a second glance. It directly led to the winning TD, which would not have been possible without the awful call. Two times this year the Lions beat the Bears, but both times it was ruined by the officials. And shame on Mike Pereira for always defending his former colleagues even when they’re so obviously wrong. To top it off, Rolando McClain KO’d Darren Sproles on a very similar hit in full view of three officials and none threw a flag in the OAK/SD game.

Read more: http://football.realgm.com/src_wiretap_ ... z17LX3x07i

I'm tired of hearing people bitch about this. Like has been said on this board, if the call was not made, the Bears faced a 2nd down and 2 from the 14 yard line! To say the winning TD would not have been possible without the call shows ignorance and stupidity. It was a 7 yard penalty on 2nd and 2.

Risdon get on this board and defend your statement that 2 times this year, the Lions have beat the Bears and had it ruined by the officials. That is F***ing ridiculous.

[Icness]

Did any one see Risdon's take on the penalty called against Suh in his week 13 rundown? This really pissed me off, and I e-mailed him to tell him about it. Here is his quote:

I'm tired of hearing people bitch about this. Like has been said on this board, if the call was not made, the Bears faced a 2nd down and 2 from the 14 yard line! To say the winning TD would not have been possible without the call shows ignorance and stupidity. It was a 7 yard penalty on 2nd and 2.

Risdon get on this board and defend your statement that 2 times this year, the Lions have beat the Bears and had it ruined by the officials. That is F***ing ridiculous.

Suh gets a penalty for a perfectly legal hit, a shove to the back of a ball carrier in the open field. He did not hit his head and he did not hit with his forearm, he was extending his arm. For that to get flagged and the hits on Heath Miller and Darren Sproles to not get flags is a crime against football. The Lions all knew that and went into their typical "woe is us" mode on the next play. That's an ongoing issue for the Lions, handling adversity with poise. It's no small part of why we're 2-10 but have been squarely in almost every game despite playing backups and band-aids all over the place.

You're going to argue that a TD is a given in that situation, 2nd down from the 14 yard line? Chicago's red zone offense is 26th in TD% heading into the game, scoring TDs on about 46% of red zone possessions. Two months ago y'all would have preferred to just send Gould in to kick the FG on 2nd down instead of risking the turnover. A hit like Suh delivered is the kind of play that gets teammates fired up. It's at home in the louder end zone (still quiet by most NFL standards though) and the Bears OL was clearly sucking wind. NEVER assume points!

That bad call completely took the Lions off their game at the most critical juncture. The argument that that is a Lions problem is valid, but it doesn't eliminate what happened and how it impacted the game. Without that bad call the Bears are at best a 46% chance to win the game. And don't even get me started on the Calvin Johnson catch in the opener...

[mattbulls]

Yes we would have scored a td despite the penalty. Plus that last drive we made it into fg range before we took a knee. Just as easily as you can say we wouldn't have scored at td, we can say we could. Plus the Lions can't handle adversity so as soon as we tied it they would've buckled.

[mattbulls]

Oh and don't get me started on that redskins game where cutler fumbled AFTER he scored a td, but the refs missed it. The lions can have week one, and we will take the redskins game. That was easy.

[emperorjones]

Without that bad call the Bears are at best a 46% chance to win the game. And don't even get me started on the Calvin Johnson catch in the opener...

That is a horrible use of a statistic. 1st off, that is the Bears efficiency for the entire year, not since the bye week when things have been different and play calling has been better. Secondly that's the Bears efficiency against the entire league. Lucky for the Bears the entire league was not playing defense at that point, just the Lions (who Jay Cutler plays extremely well against) In THIS game the Bears were 3-3 in the red zone. Thirdly, if you are suggesting the Bears would not have scored a TD, I can't argue no one knows. But if you are also arguing that we would not have hit a <30 field goal I'd say ?

At a minimum the game gets tied up. The Lions (who gained 49 yds of total offense in the 2nd half) get the ball back. To say the Bears only 46% chance at best to win is ridiculous.

[dingojazz]

Yeah I don't get the 46% chance of winning argument. Yes, the Bears convert 46% of trips in the redzone to a touchdown. That's irrelevant. If you really want to put a percentage on it, you need to compare TD odds from 2nd and 2 from the 14 to a 1st and goal from the 7.

I would argue that at most, that increased their odds of scoring a TD by what, 5%? 2nd and 2 is a down and distance offenses love, and it's almost a given the Bears could have picked up the first down and had a first and goal.

I don't buy the argument that the Lions pouted after the call was made and went into a woe is me mode, give me a break, they are professional athletes. That is BS in my opinion. They played just as hard on the following play and got beat with a surprise pass to Brandon Manumaleuna.

Even if the call changed that drive from a touchdown to a field goal, guess what, the Bears most likely still win the game. Cutler and Bennett were picking them apart and well inside field goal range when they kneeled out the clock.

[BIGGIEsmalls 23]

Did any one see Risdon's take on the penalty called against Suh in his week 13 rundown? This really pissed me off, and I e-mailed him to tell him about it. Here is his quote:

I'm tired of hearing people bitch about this. Like has been said on this board, if the call was not made, the Bears faced a 2nd down and 2 from the 14 yard line! To say the winning TD would not have been possible without the call shows ignorance and stupidity. It was a 7 yard penalty on 2nd and 2.

Risdon get on this board and defend your statement that 2 times this year, the Lions have beat the Bears and had it ruined by the officials. That is F***ing ridiculous.

Suh gets a penalty for a perfectly legal hit, a shove to the back of a ball carrier in the open field. He did not hit his head and he did not hit with his forearm, he was extending his arm. For that to get flagged and the hits on Heath Miller and Darren Sproles to not get flags is a crime against football. The Lions all knew that and went into their typical "woe is us" mode on the next play. That's an ongoing issue for the Lions, handling adversity with poise. It's no small part of why we're 2-10 but have been squarely in almost every game despite playing backups and band-aids all over the place.

You're going to argue that a TD is a given in that situation, 2nd down from the 14 yard line? Chicago's red zone offense is 26th in TD% heading into the game, scoring TDs on about 46% of red zone possessions. Two months ago y'all would have preferred to just send Gould in to kick the FG on 2nd down instead of risking the turnover. A hit like Suh delivered is the kind of play that gets teammates fired up. It's at home in the louder end zone (still quiet by most NFL standards though) and the Bears OL was clearly sucking wind. NEVER assume points!

That bad call completely took the Lions off their game at the most critical juncture. The argument that that is a Lions problem is valid, but it doesn't eliminate what happened and how it impacted the game. Without that bad call the Bears are at best a 46% chance to win the game. And don't even get me started on the Calvin Johnson catch in the opener...

Whether a fan agrees with this particular penalty or not, it happens every week, month, & year in the NFL. I might as well add 3 victories to the Bears record every year because we have been hit with questionable calls, also.

I could ALMOST understand if it was 4th & 14 with 30 secs remaining in the game. Our Defense woke up in the 2nd half & the game really was over at that point anyway.

[mattbulls]

[IlliniNRG]

Did any one see Risdon's take on the penalty called against Suh in his week 13 rundown? This really pissed me off, and I e-mailed him to tell him about it. Here is his quote:

I'm tired of hearing people bitch about this. Like has been said on this board, if the call was not made, the Bears faced a 2nd down and 2 from the 14 yard line! To say the winning TD would not have been possible without the call shows ignorance and stupidity. It was a 7 yard penalty on 2nd and 2.

Risdon get on this board and defend your statement that 2 times this year, the Lions have beat the Bears and had it ruined by the officials. That is F***ing ridiculous.

Suh gets a penalty for a perfectly legal hit, a shove to the back of a ball carrier in the open field. He did not hit his head and he did not hit with his forearm, he was extending his arm. For that to get flagged and the hits on Heath Miller and Darren Sproles to not get flags is a crime against football. The Lions all knew that and went into their typical "woe is us" mode on the next play. That's an ongoing issue for the Lions, handling adversity with poise. It's no small part of why we're 2-10 but have been squarely in almost every game despite playing backups and band-aids all over the place.

You're going to argue that a TD is a given in that situation, 2nd down from the 14 yard line? Chicago's red zone offense is 26th in TD% heading into the game, scoring TDs on about 46% of red zone possessions. Two months ago y'all would have preferred to just send Gould in to kick the FG on 2nd down instead of risking the turnover. A hit like Suh delivered is the kind of play that gets teammates fired up. It's at home in the louder end zone (still quiet by most NFL standards though) and the Bears OL was clearly sucking wind. NEVER assume points!

That bad call completely took the Lions off their game at the most critical juncture. The argument that that is a Lions problem is valid, but it doesn't eliminate what happened and how it impacted the game. Without that bad call the Bears are at best a 46% chance to win the game. And don't even get me started on the Calvin Johnson catch in the opener...

46% is extremely arbitrary. Even if they blow the next 2 downs, the Bears still get a tying, chip shot field goal from one of the NFL's most consistent kickers. The Bears' defense was dominant the whole second half, and the Lions have been awful in the 4th quarter (outscored 42-0 the past 3 games). With 8 minutes left, the Bears would have an excellent chance to win even with a no-call on the penalty, a no-gain on 3rd down, and a no-gain on 4th down.

I'm sure it must hurt sometimes to be a Lions fan. Plenty of Bears fans are also Cubs fans; we understand. But if you want to be taken seriously as a national (objective) analyst, you need to be less of a homer. Coming out and looking butthurt when your team blows a lead just loses you credibility.

Otherwise, I really enjoy your column. You're better than this.

[emperorjones]

CASE CLOSED

[BIGGIEsmalls 23]

Watching 1st & 10 on ESPN right now. Suh was on with Skip & Rob. Suh tried to explain that he was "going for the ball". Skip & Rob both said that it was the CORRECT call for the ref to throw the flag.

[Icness]

[quote="IlliniNRG]
46% is extremely arbitrary. Even if they blow the next 2 downs, the Bears still get a tying, chip shot field goal from one of the NFL's most consistent kickers. The Bears' defense was dominant the whole second half, and the Lions have been awful in the 4th quarter (outscored 42-0 the past 3 games). With 8 minutes left, the Bears would have an excellent chance to win even with a no-call on the penalty, a no-gain on 3rd down, and a no-gain on 4th down.

I'm sure it must hurt sometimes to be a Lions fan. Plenty of Bears fans are also Cubs fans; we understand. But if you want to be taken seriously as a national (objective) analyst, you need to be less of a homer. Coming out and looking butthurt when your team blows a lead just loses you credibility.

Otherwise, I really enjoy your column. You're better than this.[/quote]

Well said The stupid thing is that I hate all other things Detroit (I'm a Clevelander) and I now live in Houston, why I even care at all is a darn good question.

dingo--to respond to your point that the Lions are professionals and above letting a bad call cause them to collapse, I strongly encourage you to watch more Lions games. That's been their M.O. all year now. Every time a call seems to go against them they lose their composure and focus and it kills them time and again. It's most Lions fans biggest complaint with Schwartz and its his biggest complaint with his team, enough that they've actually drilled on it in practice. They should be above it, but they're not.