How bad was the Detroit Lions loss last night?

If we just look at the scoreboard it is pretty bad. 24-6 is about as ugly has NFL losses come. Granted Calvin Johnson didn't play but if this is the offense the 2013 Lions will have when Calvin is not on the field this team has issues. The point here I guess is that this was a pre-season game, but we saw a lot of the issues that have plagued this Lions team for years. A small list:

• three personal foul penalties...this team still plays with a lack of discipline
• the running game was pretty awful: 51 total yards and just 2.4 yards per carry
• the tackling, or lack there of which has been a hug problem for a long time

Even though the story of this game is gonna be how bad the Lions looked on the road, I think there is one positive and that was the play of Reggie Bush. Sure he only rushed for 15 yards on 8 carries but he did add five catches for 44 more yards, And he has proven he is a weapon that this offense needs, and he is a good locker room guy. If the Lions O line can step up he might be bale to put together a special season.

However, Lions fans are fed up. This game was the epitome of 'Same old Lions.' It looks like Detroit fans are just sick and tired of this team looking like that on the field. Here is a sampling of texts I got during the game last night from random Detroit sports fans:

• The Lions are getting beat like a tone deaf Jackson kid
• They could not beat Stephen Hawking and the Golden Girls
• The Lions are as effective as sandwich bag birth control
• George W. Bush thinks the Lions make bad decisions under pressure
• Offensive line is less productive than a circle jerk
• How did the Lions manage to go out and make Detroit look worse?

The good news the for the Lions is their fans are still engaged enough to be pissed off at the losing. Things could be much worse just ask Joe Dumars and the Detroit Pistons who have become irrelevant in the world of Detroit sports, and not just because their own is actually in Auburn Hills. 

Sure, it was just one pre-season game and in a month no one is likely to remember that, but let us not forget they did play this game in a town that not that long chanted 'Detroit is bankrupt.' the real problem I see is a lack of pride. The utter lack of caring what the team looks like, and today they look like buffoons. 

If the Lions defense made Brandon Weeden look that good what is going to happen next week when they play Tom Brady?

This loss is a tough one to swallow, but at the end of the day it is one loss, a pre-season loss at that. Let's hope the Lions put it together and come September 8th they are ready to play for real. 

Related Links:

• Detroit Football Examiner
• Detroit Lions news and notes