Forget What Lions Did; It's What They DIDN'T Do That Was Lovely

I'm sure some of it wafted over to you, like something foul-smelling from the kitchen garbage, in the first quarter. The Lions capped off a 99-yard drive by ... throwing an interception into the end zone. Maybe you didn't get it that badly until Roy Williams made like Mike Williams and let an easy catch spurt out of his hands, into those of a timely Raiders DB -- late in the third quarter, leading to a gap-narrowing TD. Certainly it must have been there in full force, midway thru the fourth quarter, when the Raiders took their first lead after spotting the Lions 17 points.

You know what I'm talking about. The "here we go again" feeling that I believe has been copyrighted and trademarked by Lions fans. I can't imagine any fans of any other NFL city being able to get such a feeling without the expressed written consent of those in metro Detroit, and the surrounding areas.

BUT -- and this is where we should officially declare that there may be, kinda sorta, possibly, I'm hoping, some change in paradigm here -- the Lions didn't flinch. They didn't implode. They didn't engage in monkeyshines in the fourth quarter. They didn't curl up into the fetal position while turnovers and penalties and a Swiss cheese defense exposed itself.

Yes, it's what they DIDN'T do, I think, that was most impressive about the Lions and their 36-21, Opening Day victory over the Raiders, in the Black & Silver Nation's backyard.

We've seen plenty what the Lions CAN do, when the spirit moves them. Yes, they can move the ball. Yes, they can put up some points on occasion. Yes, they can take first half leads. Yes, they can silence another team's home crowd for periods of time. Yes, they can set themselves up for victory. This we know. So it was quite refreshing to see them NOT do some of those other, uglier things.

The Raiders are not an elite NFL football team. This, we know also. They will, by all rights, be lucky to win more than three games all season. But, as we all know, the quality of the Lions' opponent has rarely mattered in the past. They've lost to bad teams before. Plenty of them. Another come-from-ahead loss, to a brutal Oakland team, would have made 2007 a long season, in the shadows of Labor Day no less.

Didn't happen. See? Today is all about what DIDN'T occur.

But back to Raider Nation for a moment -- specifically that stupid "Black Hole Cam" that Fox Sports employed, ad nauseum, throughout the game. How many times, Mr. Director, are you going to show us the same damn camera shot of idiots dressed up like Kiss meets Darth Vader? Didn't they have any consideration for the viewing audience in Detroit? Sheesh. Shame on Fox, for stooping to such minor league, local cable-type shenanigans.

OK. Back to the Lions. If they can get any assemblance of a running game going -- say, maybe 120 yards per game -- then they'll be awfully hard to defend. Kitna threw the ball to everyone. I think the only Lions receiver who didn't get a touch was Herman Moore -- kind of like how Herman was used during the Bobby Ross days. Tatum Bell hit for 87 yards on just 15 carries. Pretty efficient. But rather than Bell getting chunks of yards -- the majority of those 87 were on but a few carries -- to pad his stats, I'd like to see him grind them out more. It may sound crazy, but I think I'd prefer 25 carries for 100 yards than 15 for 87. More rushes means the offense is more balanced. It also probably means the Lions aren't down by two touchdowns at halftime, as has been their wont.

The Lions blew a big lead, but didn't fold. They lost momentum, but didn't panic. They regained the lead, then didn't let the Raiders back into the game.

And I didn't have heartburn at the end, after watching these guys play. Yes, it was a "didn't" type of day, indeed.