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Member Since:
December 06, 2007
Hometown:
York, PA
Favorite Team:
Detroit Lions...Pittsburgh Steelers
Favorite Player:
Barry Sanders...Troy Polamalu
 


 
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About

16 Thanksgivings is a Detroit Lions weblog, written by a fan who wishes he could eat turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes every Sunday during NFL season. Just hold off on the cranberry sauce.

*******

About the author:

Doug Walters discovered the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day back in 1994. He ...

Welcome

This site is about being a Detroit Lions fan. It's about one day a year that everyone around the country watches our team play, and fifteen other days that are almost just as good. So pass the pumpkin pie and a turkey leg, sit back, and enjoy the spectacle that is Detroit Lions football.

Week 7: Lions 21, Texans 28

Performance Rating: rancid cranberry sauce followed by two hours of vomiting, then 2 turkey legs and 1 serving of mashed potatoes. But the potatoes are cold by the time you eat them, so there isn't so much satisfaction.

The Lions fell behind early...again...and by the time the offense got moving ...

Now What?

When Millen was ousted, things were supposed to get better.

Even though we all knew it wouldn't happen right away, I'm still a little surprised that the Lions haven't won a game since the management shake-up. The loss to Minnesota was aggravating enough...the loss to Houston was embarrassing, ...

That Pesky QB Problem

Quick quiz: who was the last Lions QB to make a Pro Bowl roster?

Answer: Greg Landry in 1971. Before him it was Bobby Layne in 1956.

If you remember, Scott Mitchell was snubbed back in 1995. He was the closest thing we've had to a big time signal caller since Landry. Maybe even since Layne.

Now ...

Week 7 Analysis

So, when is an 0-6 team not really an 0-6 team?

The Lions are winless, that is a reality that we cannot change. But if you look at their performance this year through a slightly different light, you will see that a team's true value is usually different than what their won-lost record indicates.

He... ...

3 Days To Go Until...Week 8

BREAKING DOWN ROD MARINELLI'S CONFERENCE CALL:

1. You must execute your package.
2. Oh boy! Clinton Portis is a violent runner.
3. The snapping of the ball is also violent and physical.
4. Redskins T Jon Jansen has good-to-great footwork.

BREAKING DOWN CORY REDDING'S CONFERENCE CALL:

1. Clinton Portis ...

Epic Thanksgiving

I just realized what's happening this Thanksgiving.

Thursday, November 27th, is going to be ginormous.

At 12:30 PM (EST) we'll get to see our one nationally televised game of the year while we sip our apple cider and nibble on appetizers. Or whatever. And our one big game of the year just happens ...

2 Days to Go Until...Week 8

BREAKING DOWN DETROIT'S BREAK DOWN:

1. Orlovsky is unable to please himself. He only pleases himself when the Lions win.
2. The Lions don't spend enough time with the ball in their hands.
3. Kevin Smith capitalized on some "explosion plays" against Houston.
4. Detroit plans to defeat Washington with ...

Madden Ex Machina

In other words, come gather 'round the great metal box as it unveils it's Madden 09 Week 8 Forecasts:

WAS 21, DET 17: The Redskins play sloppily but come back with a fourth-quarter TD and win. The Lions pick off Jason Campbell three times and DAN ORLOVSKY IS STELLAR, completing 28 of 32 passes ...

Week 8 Analysis

Washington 25, Detroit 17 - the game met pretty much all of my expectations in terms of scoring, player performance, etc. Detroit actually led at halftime but couldn't stop the 'Skins offense from racking up 439 total yards and scoring 19 points in the second half to pull away.



There are a few ...

Famous Last Words

This week, let's search back through history and find some "famous last words" that could apply to the Detroit Lions as they continue their epic surge towards 0-16.

MATT MILLEN

Before his firing: "My story is a love story, but only those who are tortured by love can understand what I mean. I was ...

Brad Johnson is a Good Choice…eh…N ot Really



Yep. That's Brad Johnson, your new 2008 Dallas Cowboys quarterback. Does anyone remember this guy winning a Super Bowl? Because I sure didn't. That Super Bowl winning Tampa Bay squad will go down as one of the least memorable squads of all time, if anyone remembers to put them on the list in the first [...]

The Pride Cycle in Sports  

Defined as: the sequence where the team conceives, believes, achieves and then gets fatheaded from too much praise.

Usage: from coach Bronco Mendenhall, BYU Cougars: "Our players are aware of the manifestations of the pride cycle and will find the necessary diligence and consistency and stewardship and accountability within them to avoid it, otherwise it would be a program failure."

A well-known self-destructive cycle of democratic behavior has been attributed to an eighteenth century historian by the name of Alexander Tytler. Whether Tytler is the original author or not, the concept of democratic self-destruction has been proven accurate, right here in America.



"From bondage to spiritual faith;

From spiritual faith to great courage;

From courage to liberty;

From liberty to abundance;

From abundance to complacency;

From complacency to apathy;

From apathy to dependence;

From dependence back into bondage."

As applied to a team:

"From weakness to trust; (through changes in management or coaching)

From trust to great courage; (through hard work and vision)

From courage to triumph; (by defeating a greater opponent)

From triumph to dominance; (by defeating all opponents)

From dominance to complacency; (as resistance shrinks, so does effort)

From complacency to apathy; (through fat contracts and loss of integrity)

From apathy to dependence; (through loss of trust)

From dependence back into weakness." (through loss of talent, both players and coaches)

As applied to a player:

"From weakness to trust;"

(through the building of positive relationships with teammates, coaches, and through assimilation into one team unit that functions to achieve the goals set forth by the management of the organization)

"From trust to great courage;"

(through hard work, perseverance, study, and continual self improvement)

"From courage to triumph;"

(through the achievement of set personal and team goals, the birth of synergy)

"From triumph to dominance;"

(through the achievement of all personal and team goals)

"From dominance to complacency;"

(through a lack of new positive goals and a loss of interest in self improvement)

"From complacency to apathy;"

(through a complete loss of interest in anything other than self)

"From apathy to dependence;"

(through the loss of trust in teammates, coaches, and the organization's vision, a destruction of synergy)

"From dependence back into weakness;"

(through the loss of teammates, coaches, vision, and an increase in selfish behavior no positive goals to reach toward pride)



Breaking free: players and teams find prolonged success through the following steps.

1.At their weakest point, they will find that they care more about team than they do about self.

2.They will be vulcanized with their teammates as they struggle together.

3.A leader will emerge in the form of a new coach, or a strong teammate.

4.Teammates and coaches will begin to trust each other.

5.They will begin to realize that they will produce more through synergy than they will by working as individuals.

6.They will begin achieving positive goals they will grow together.

7.They will steadily grow until they reach the pinnacle of success.

Here is the crux of the whole matter it is when these teams have achieved all of their goals that they face a difficult decision. In sports there is a ceiling once you win a championship, it is easy to lose focus. Do you continue to push yourself? Most athletes will not. They have earned a respite. Most players will move toward complacency rather than continue to exert themselves.

The truly great teams are the ones that don't stop pushing. They know that pride is the enemy of success. There will always be those who succumb to the fame and fortune, but the great ones stay put. They know there is more work to be done, another championship to win, another goal to attain.

Prolonged success is found by avoiding complacency. It is found by exerting a consistent effort even though there is nowhere to go but down.
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