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Free Press – Dave Birkett dissects the loss of Lions to 49ers and wonders if there is reason to believe that a turnaround is forthcoming. Registered September 16, 2018.
Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press

Detroit Lions forward Taylor Decker (68) and center Frank Ragnow (77) sit on the bench during the second half of the 30-27 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, California. California, Sunday, September 16, 2018.(Photo: Ben Margot, AP)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – He took the plunge and grabbed the ball and tore the sideline, the wind behind his back, a victory coming closer to every stride.

On the sidelines, his teammates jumped and rushed to the edge of the field to get a better view. Right now, while Tracy Walker was running in the afternoon sun inside Levi Stadium, Detroit The Lions season is moving towards something more promising.

Then the flag fell. A ref called outfit. San Francisco managed to keep the ball, use more clock and pin the Lions on their own territory. They came out of there.

Heart raised. Crushed heart

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Where are they going from here?

For next Sunday, I guess. That's the easy answer, anyway. It's still next Sunday.

"It's not good enough," said Lions head coach Matt Patricia, whose team showed the kind of fight she did not have on opening night in Detroit. "It's really just that we do not play well enough."

True, coach, that's true.

But why?

It can not just be incompetence, is not it?

This does not explain our long half-century tragedy, nor the infinite ways in which the Lions continue to crush the spirit.

It must be something else, right?

So come clean. Tell me what you did to deserve that. What Detroit did to irritate the gods. It can not be just the Pinto.

Maybe Ford Field is built on a 500 year old cemetery. Perhaps the blue of Honolulu itself disrupts an old and mischievous spirit.

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Otherwise, how to report the call waiting on Quandre Diggs. A call that cancels the interception that changes the game. A risky call at best.

Of course, we could point to the gaps the Lions could not fill, as Matt Breida shredded them for 138 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown run that was notable for the 30-yard wide receiver block followed by Breida. end zone.

We could also point out the escape that Matthew Stafford spat. Or the clock Patricia missed the end of the first half. Or personal mistakes … really, LeGarrette Blount? You had to push a 49er to defend Stafford's honor?

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Or Theo Riddick's pass dropped near the midfield while the Lions still had a chance. Despite all these mistakes. Despite the call to bad luck against Diggs.

Yes, we could blame Patricia for all that. He did not do what he was committed to doing and he did not really get into his locker room.

However, making up for Sunday's 30-27 loss against the 49ers seems spiritually misguided.

He is the man. He's just not the man.

And this man, whoever he is, does not dig your Lions. What happened on Sunday is too familiar.

Lions stumble and grope and fight in the end. Only to find another way to break your heart.

Year after year. Coach after coach. Game after match

Frankly, it's exhausting. Just think about it.

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Here it is September and the season is basically over. Oh, of course, the percentages still give Lions a chance. But mathematics does not understand the spirits.

Or the New England Patriots, who will be in Detroit Sunday night to extinguish any flicker of optimism you have left.

So what?

A new coach? A new director general? A new list?

Nothing matters.

Think about it. Patricia did not forget what he learned in New England. Jim Caldwell won a Super Bowl before his arrival. Jim Schwartz led a good defense in Tennessee.

You can quibble with their resumes. You can pretend that Ford do not know how to hire a coach. But remember, these coaches are coming to our city because they have been successful.

Then they arrive here. Slip into the blue and the money. Slide the helmet. Take their place on the sideline. Watch in the void.

Eyes wide and stunned.

Heart of hope Heart crushed

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This happened again on Sunday afternoon, not far from the Pacific Ocean, at three time zones, stuck in a cruel and endless spatio-temporal continuum.

And now?

It is time to bow and to apologize. Burn some sage and double the bartender. Shepard the sweet across the street and calls mom. Every Sunday. And listen.

Do it and next time, maybe the referee does not see a call while Walker jumps on the sideline jumping off your couch, forgetting that you're a Lions fan, and that your team is beating on the touch, and everyone these Niner fans become silent.

Stunned.

Until the flag comes back. And they expire. As you shake your head, deep down you knew it was inevitable from the beginning.

Not the flag, but the end of another season before it really starts.

Again.

Contact Shawn Windsor at 313-222-6487 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ shawnwindsor.