12:29 EDT — I don’t even know which Lion player was being interviewed (I’m listening to FM 97.1 in lieu of FOX audio), but when asked what he felt was the key to the game, he said, “We just gotta hone in on the details.” Hone in. Hone. In. What a terrific omen. I know it’s just a word, and not an exceedingly uncommon one, but when a word that close to your last name is the crux of a good sentence, it feels nice. I wish someone other than Marco Rubio was the person who made fun of Trump when he misspelt a tweet “Great Honer”. I wish the person that made fun of Trump for that was an authoritative voice like Liev Schreiber or Morgan Freeman or a sexy voice like Lake Bell. Cuz it’s cool having a sound bite of “Great Honer”, but think of Marco Rubio’s voice and where it places on the continuum of voices from good to bad. Can’t win ’em all I guess.
12:39 — We’re psyched for the first true autumn Lions Sunday!! Puppy has enjoyed both a good nap and some playful exercise in this beautiful 50ºF sunshine. We’re getting settled in here in the family room, ready to dive head-first into this pit of fun-feeling anxiety (henceforth funxiety) disguised as a football game. We’ve got some very against-the-grain snackage on deck. Gonna eschew the French press coffee for a trip to the Keurig, and we’ll be sipping on a cup of coffee with chicory from Café du Monde, dat place down dere N’Awlins way. Also, gonna forego game-time snacks for a spicy salmon sushi roll at half. Let’s see if the zig-zag brings good fortune. Chicory in the coffee is a great change of pace. When I was young and smoked cigarettes (everyone without pre-existing lung conditions should smoke a few cigarettes for 2-3 years in their early 20s), every 15 packs or so I’d mix in one of menthols or, if the mood would strike, Djarum blacks. It’s the same principle. Gotta keep it fresh.
12:44 — Campbell’s interview is full of what feels like genuine praise for Bryce Young. Results thus far aside, I’m inclined to agree with our beloved Coach Maniac. Quick release, quick processor, useful legs. He seems like the real deal and the deef is gonna have to bring nothing less than it brought against the Packers. This will be an interesting test of the Lions and their ability to avoid a letdown. The true greats don’t have letdowns. Con. Sis. Ten. Cy. That’s what separates the goods from the championship contenders.
12:49 — A list of the Lions’s inactives is truly scary. No Sun God. No Jah Gibbs. No Briguy (formerly Brian) Branch. There are ample players at their positions to shore up those losses, but those three guys are very good, dynamic players. Thank goodness the lines are relatively healthy. They’ll need to play well to help neutralize this disadvantage at which the Lions are starting. We need town-car sized holes for the run game and “WITNESS MEEEE!!!!” from Mad Max: Fury Road levels of madness on the pass rush.
12:55 — The radio pauses for station identification and y’know what? I’m gonna follow suit. Not enough websites pause for identification. I’m not sure any do. Maybe this’ll start a new trend in internet. Here goes: this is the website michaelwritesthelions.com and now, here’s your host, Michael.
12:56 — That turned out excellent!
12:58 — About 20% of local radio ads in Detroit employ some variation of “We’ve waited a long time for the Lions to be good again in Detroit, and now they are!” and then they just fold “winning” into their call to action. “Make sure you pick a flooring expert who’s a winner… like the Lions! Call Jefferson Flooring today.”
1:00 — The coin toss. Let’s hope these idiots pick tails.
1:01 — They picked heads and obviously won. Good call by them, doff of the cap from your boy. They take the ball, though. I think that’s bold and again doff my cap to Frank Reich and the Panthers. Let’s see if our defense can step up to the challenge. Dapper Dan on the radio call nails it: today’s is a Take Care of Business game.
First Quarter
14:52 — Young tosses out of an empty backfield and gets an easy 8. He is, at worst, a baseline competent QB as a rookie. Justifies a #1 pick for a bad team.
13:48 — After giving up a quick first down, Hutch gets the deef in the game with his first TFL. I didn’t see him do any dancing, what’s the deal?
12:38 — On 3rd-and-12, Young completes a shoestringer to former Leo DJ Chark, holder of one of the sneaky coolest-sounding names in the league. But a-ha! A challenge from Campbell. My first reaction at the replay is… dammit. I don’t think they’re gonna overturn this.
11:15 — They definitely didn’t overturn it and the Panthers are kinda marching down the field until we stop them on this 3rd-and-5. Campbell being 0-2 on home challenges is bothersome. They’re going for it on 4th…
11:07 — No, they’re not. They try to get us to jump, but we don’t. They instead take a delay of game to make room for the punter. Not an ideal start for our defense, but a perfectly acceptable one. Way to self-fortify in the nick of time, boys. Lions get the ball back.
10:55 — Our first play on offense is a 24-yard frozen rope from Goffmeister to the Wiz Kalif.
10:20 — Another terrific Goffie to Marv Jones. We’re seriously driving.
9:43 — Holy smokes, it’s a TOUCHDOOOOOWN DETROIT LIONS!!! WHAT A RUN FROM DAVEY!!! He looked mostly stuffed at the line but bounced it out right and found a large lane through which he ran quite speedily. I didn’t know he had those wheels. Jameson Williams had a perfect block that sealed off the left third of the field. What an insanely hot start for the Goffense and for Davey. 7-0, Dee-TROIT!
9:31 — The deef expertly sniff out of a first-down screen pass. No dice.
8:40 — Young completes a nice pass across the middle to convert 3rd-and-long. When he’s un-pressured, he ain’t bad.
7:28 — INTERCEPTION! Holy smokes what great hands from Hutch, who gets the 4th pick of his career in his second year at defensive end. What a sentence that is. That was seriously one of the most athletic plays you’ll see a lineman make all year. Hutch is already a better player than I dreamed he’d be in his prime.
4:53 — After some tough gains, 3rd-and-goal from the 4 yields a TOUCHDOOOOOOWN DETROIT LIONS!!! YOOOOO!!!!! GOFF-TO-IOWA SAMMY!!!! A terrific grab to the right side of the field and Sam was open enough to hip-shake himself into the inside of the front pylon, untouched. LaPorta is so great, I’m not gonna belabor the point too much. He’s just awesome. This start is so good I’m stupefied. It’s like the Green Bay start all over again. Let’s hope we keep the intensity up. 14-0, Motor City!
4:44 — Hutch looks like he might have a bad wheel or something. He’s not back in and he looks kinda disappointed, which doesn’t really jibe with how awesome he’s played early in this game. This is slightly concerning. Much more concerning: as we come back from commercial they’re bringing the whole medical crew out for an injured Panther O-Lineman. You hate to see this. I hope that guy’s okay.
4:17 — The very next play sees Emmanuel Moseley go down. Sheesh! Thankfully, he walks off on his own. But he looks less than spritely.
3:25 — After completing to Thielen for a first down, Young completes another pass to Thielen on the next play. Thielen has caught, I think, every pass from Bryce Young so far. Carolina looks to have settled and they’re marching.
1:17 — An illegal formation penalty finally slows the Carolina parade through our defense.
0:47 — In an effort to slow Adam Thielen, Iowa Jack decides to pancake him in the middle of his route. Traditionally this is a football no-no and the referees remind Jack of this. Fresh set of downs for the Panthers.
0:00 — Another catch by Thielen ends an eventful and injury-laden first quarter. 14-0, Good Guys, but Carolina is at the Detroit doorstep.
Second Quarter
14:56 — Andy Dalton makes a cameo to sneak a conversion to start the second quarter. Ol’ Andy Dalton. The Crimson Missile. Was that his nickname?
13:35 — A great pass deflection on 1st-and-goal from the 8. Give Carolina credit, their offense isn’t panicking and they’re dictating the flow of play big-time.
12:48 — Bryce Young throws a nice dart to his tight end off play-action and Carolina gets on the board. Very impressive drive by their whole offense. 14-7, still up.
11:14 — After a regrettable Reynolds drop, Goff goes right back to him on an offsides free-play, and Reynolds makes the deep grab. We’re into Carolina territory.
11:00 — Bad, bad drop from Jamo Williams.
10:12 — After a series that saw 3 Lions drops, Carolina turns us over on downs as pressure finally forces Goff into a less-than-ideal throw. Does Sun God telepathically bestow good hands upon the rest of our receiving corps, but only when he’s in uniform? Seems to be the most likely explanation.
9:58 — FUMBLLLLLLLLE! The D-Line knocks the ball out of the Panther ball-carrier’s hands. Officially they give the force to Alim and Chuck Harris recovers. Leos got the ball back in Carolina territory. What a nice turn of events.
7:55 — On 4th-and-1, Campbell opts to go for it and this time it works. Davey seems reliable on those.
6:30 — On 2nd-and-8, Davey gets a few on the right side. Aside from their early hiccups, the Carolina D-Line has done a pretty solid job of keeping plays well-contained.
5:50 — A screen to Davey gets a hard-fought first on 3rd-and-6. Davey is running with a rugged determination today. Most underrated pickup in the league so far this year.
3:50 — After a tough stymying of Davey on 1st-and-goal, the Panthers give up a TOUCHDOOOOOWN DETROIT LIONS!!! Goff-to-Reynolds (henceforth The Special Relationship) nets a terrific little touchdown with Reynolds having great feet near the back of the endzone. A critically needed, lead-extending drive for the Lions, and the mood in the building is positive again after some concerning defensive displays. 21-7, Leos.
3:29 — ANOTHER PICK FROM JERRY JACOBS!!!! His third in less than two games! What a great read on an admittedly terrible throw from Bryce Young.
3:22 — WHAT THE HELL?!?!? A REVERSE-TURNED-FLEA-FLICKER?!?! AND IT WORKS!!?! TOUCHDOOOOOWN DETROIT LIONS!!! Good gravy in a boat!!!!! This has been a crazy minute of football. Goff-to-Iowa Sam, who is having the best start to a tight end career in league history, after a bunch of backfield chicanery. What a great call by BenJo. Total haymaker right as their hands are dropping. 28-7, LIONS BABY.
2:00 — Time to give credit to the Panthers offense again. Their own mistakes have helped put them in this deep hole, but they certainly don’t give up. They’re quickly inside the Lion 25 with just a few quick strikes. Obviously there’s heavy Thielen involvement. I can’t believe the Vikings jettisoned that guy. Not that receiver is the only Vikes problem, but he’s Minnesota through-and-through. He should’ve spent his whole career there.
1:00 — After a short completion to his tight end, Young completes another to his tailback for no gain. Leo defense needs to dig deep and keep them out of the end zone.
0:17 — After Jerry Jacobs holds and gives Carolina a fresh set, they’re quickly back in 3rd down, where a great dose of Lion pressure forces Young to throw it away. We kept them out of the endzone!
0:06 — The Carolina kicker boots through the consolation prize, 28-10, and the Good Guys get the ball to start Act II.
Third Quarter
14:11 — After a few middling plays to start the half, Goff-to-Iowa Sam comes through and converts to give us a fresh set of downs. Sam LaPorta is just excellent, and his chemistry with the Goffmeister is mind-boggling.
12:25 — Though we’ve quickly moved into Carolina territory, they’re starting to get decent pressure on Goff. Maybe they’re close to solving the puzzle, BenJo will need to keep an eye on that and maybe exploit their desperation with a screen.
11:33 — The Panther defense gets a nice stop on Davey and forces a 4th-and-1…
10:56 — Which doesn’t matter!!! The same D-Line that was showing such improvement gets a neutral zone infraction and they present the Lions with a first down in a friendly fashion.
9:49 — Carolina quickly has the Lions in a 3rd down situation (again) while there’s another injury timeout.
9:20 — This time, pressure gets home and the Panthers get a good-hit sack on Goff that actually knocks the Lions out of kicking range. Terrific outcome there for Carolina. Jack Fox & The Silver Liners come in to punt.
8:27 — Foxy pins them on the ten. Let’s see how the Panther offense settles down in the second half. This one’s far from over. Here’s hoping our 3rd quarter lull doesn’t repeat itself for the third straight week.
7:27 — After giving up huge chunks of yards on consecutive plays, a holding call on the center is the only thing slowing down the Panthers. Detroit’s third quarter badness is getting very reliable.
6:36 — After a Young overthrow forces 3rd-and-12, the Lions defense blitzes hard and Hutch spin moves the hell out of the right tackle to get himself a sack! Not a bad day from the superstar, and he seems to have a knack for good timing. Still up 28-10 and getting the ball back.
5:21 — Well that went quickly. After two terrific pressures from Carolina force Goff into non-throw throws, a completion to Jamo Williams only goes for four due to a shoestring tackle. I have to imagine Jamo doesn’t feel so great about his first game back. It’s been… not excellent. Foxy & The Silvies come out to punt and they net 55 yards. The Silver Liners rarely fail to come through. Let’s see if the defense can keep the Panthers down, momentum seems to be slightly shifting their way.
5:17 — A false start and an intentional grounding has Carolina staring down a 2nd-and-25. Young completes a 7-yard pass for breathing room.
4:33 — On a 3rd-and-19, the Lions force an incompletion and take over at midfield after the Panther punt. Terrific job taking advantage of Carolina’s mistakes. Let’s see the offense hold serve and show some 3rd quarter success. I think it would do wonders for their mentality. Gotta get this 3rd quarter albatross off our necks.
4:20 — The Special Relationship goes for 20+ yards. That was an impressive throw from Goff off his back foot.
3:33 — Another injury timeout, this time for Bam Knight. Hopefully just a stinger but it doesn’t look like his shoulder feels terrific.
2:30 — After a Davey first down, Goff is sacked again by very quick pressure. This is the second game in a row where, despite some offensive success, Goff has taken several heavy hits.
1:13 — Goff-to-Wiz made it a manageable 3rd-and-6, and a direct snap to Davey nets 10 yards and a fresh set of downs! Chalk up another nice one for BenJo, and the Lions executed beautifully.
0:00 — The final play of a scoreless 3rd quarter sees Davey barrel down to the Carolina 1. Things are looking pretty good in Lionsville. Let’s hope they keep the pedal to the metal for 15 more minutes and close these bros out.
Fourth Quarter
14:56 — TOUCHDOOOOOOOWN DETROIT LIONS!!! They line up Davey at single back but he’s a decoy and the Goffmaster General sneaks it off Frank Ragnow’s right butt cheek. Another BenJo zig while everyone else zags. Give the man credit for some excellent calls today. Give the boys credit for executing his vision quite well. 35-10, Good Guys. Time for the defense to nail down the coffin’s lid!
13:19 — More of the same from the Carolina offense on the drive’s start: big chunks of yardage and the Lions defense looks a half-step slow. Carolina is more in this game than the current score indicates, they’ve just made their errors at critical times and the Lions haven’t failed to capitalize.
11:52 — Speaking of capitalizing on mistakes, the refs make one of the worst roughing-the-passer calls I’ve ever seen, and Young throws a TD pass over the middle on the very next play. Carolina cuts into the lead, now down 17-35. The Goffense has to hold serve, or at the very least keep the Carolina offense off the field for a while. For real, that call was really awful. Sadly, there’s a veneer of comfort when you see the Lions get some terrible calls. Feels like home.
10:59 — The Special Relationship goes for another long gain (27) despite being interfered with. An absolutely beautiful arcing pass from Goff.
9:33 — Two dynamite runs in a row from Craig Reynolds behind an O-Line that appears to be wearing Carolina down.
9:00 — Reynolds AGAIN! A truly terrific run from the late-game-blooming Craigster. Down the left side and inside the Panther 5.
7:27 — After they barely contain him on 1st-and-goal with a TFL, Reynolds gets the rock again and dances through the ‘Lina line almost untouched for a TOUCHDOOOOOOOOWN DETROIT LIONS!! What a great drive from a very fresh-legged Craigster. 42-17, Lions. Big lead late. Love it.
6:38 — Carolina offense still looks sharp. Running for big chunks, timely play-action calls, a clear toughness; they could compete for that wacky division in a very short time.
3:05 — A completion to Thielen puts the Panthers in the red zone. I can’t say it enough: if they eliminate their crucial mistakes the Panthers might have something here. Lions force a 3rd-and-5…
2:23 — And are again called for a weak (though not as egregiously awful as the first one) roughing the passer. Fresh set of downs based on some nonsense for Carolina. Again, bad calls for a Lions fan are like a warm blanket in front of a fire.
2:00 — Thielen gets down to the Detroit 2 before the warning. It’ll be 4th-and-goal…
1:55 — And they convert. A begrudging doff of the cap to Thielen who stretched the ball across the plane of the goal line with the mastery of a savvy veteran. That was a good play. They’ve cut the lead and are down 24-42. I assume an onside kick is on the way…
1:53 — And Iowa Sam nabs it! What a feather in his cap. What a cherry on his Sunday (sundae).
1:49 — Goffster’s day is over as Teddy Bridgewater is in to handle hand-off duties, followed by…
1:08 — TAKE A KNEE DUTIES!!! LIONS WIN!!! LIONS TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS AND COVER THREE SPREADS IN A ROW!!
0:00 — I hope you all enjoyed reading this Running Diary as much as I did writing it. We believed this good start was possible, but to actually be 4-1 (and while enduring some key injuries) is a truly terrific feeling. This Lions team is tough, focused and talented. If they can put together 4 quarters of their best stuff, they’ll be very hard to beat. The focus now is on making incremental improvements to that A game every week, and on playing well in the 3rd quarter. Next week at Tampa will be a tough test, but for now we celebrate our fourth win!! Have a terrific Sunday, see ya next week! There’s gonna be previews, picks and maybe even our first foray into not-totally-Lions-specific writing. Goooooo Lions! Auf Wiedersehen!
