At what point will all you assholes just believe.

[Deuce]

Truer words have never been spoken.

Although don't say "Futbol"......, only stupid cunts say that.

LOL

[froot loops]

It's alive and well in my area. Over 60 kids on each middle school team with hopes to play HS. Every school around here has the same problem.

I think you're in Flint? It would be a nice problem to have, it is sure a problem down in the Detroit area. The team I work with would normally have 33-34 kids, we have 26. Soccer is really taking a lot of kids. A lot of our best athletes are choosing soccer. Lacrosse is hurting it as well because a lot of the lacrosse players are playing year round.

[Futureshock]

I think you're in Flint? It would be a nice problem to have, it is sure a problem down in the Detroit area. The team I work with would normally have 33-34 kids, we have 26. Soccer is really taking a lot of kids. A lot of our best athletes are choosing soccer. Lacrosse is hurting it as well because a lot of the lacrosse players are playing year round.

I'm in Grand Blanc. Every numbnutz who watches football has their son out there skurrying (sp?) around. Even if they aren't fit to be out there. Most are extremely small. They even went the full length to limit the bigger kids by not allowing kids over 120 lbs to play until they can play in middle school. Of course the middle schools get killed when they parade those little kids out there.

My son started when he was 8 and was playing against, and holding his own, against boys 2-4 years older then him.

he has had to play in a rec league for 2 years because he has been bigger then that since he was 9 actually (his last year in the youth league he only got to get down to weight in the last game, after practicing hard all year). So he has been playing catch-up this year and these idiots play the kids that they had in the youth league more.

I wish it was only a few kids. Because these fools can't coach to save their lives and since they can't teach a kid to play his natural position they just throw him in on the line. AND since every kid HAS to play my son gets very little playing time. The first game we won after my kid (playing LT) walled off the D-Line (Not just his guy, the whole line) for the game winning TD against Lapeer.

This week he got a lot less PT and it was noticeable. We played Fenton that has a HUGE team. They just ran the ball right at our little guys and our little guys couldn't block them. When he did play he did not miss a single block but he was about the only one.

[Futureshock]

We do about an hour after practice to make up for what he is not getting with the coaches. I just try to keep him positive and I tell him that a lot of these kids have an expiration date. The HS coach (who has spoken with me about my son because he knows he will need him down the road) is not going to sacrifice wins to put little Johnny out there.

Football is huge in this area.

[froot loops]

Do you guys have a lot of soccer programs out there?

[Futureshock]

Yeah. GB is like the SD of Michigan. EVERYONE is active doing something. They also have lacrosse, cross country, etc...

The HS is bigger then most malls.

[DanO]

I remember when Escanaba beat Grand Blanc in a playoff off game. Think it was played in Petoskey. Grand Blanc went up 21 -0 due to some non typical errors. We came back and won. Jeff Nault sacked Steve Smith, who went on to play for UM, seven times. He was all over hiss ass. We lost in the finals that year but won the next.

[Drew]

I remember that, DanO. It was the first time I'd heard of Escanaba. Steve Smith and GB came to Davison that year and whipped us pretty good.

My dad grew up in GB and played football and/or the marching band there. Then he marched at Meeeeeee-chigan.

[The Cat]

Regardless of your opinion of this article Samuelson raises an interesting point.

Jamie Samuelsen, co-host of the "Jamie and Wojo" show at 6 p.m. weekdays on WXYT-FM (97.1), blogs for freep.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. You can reach him at jamsam22@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter @jamiesamuelsen and read more of his opinions at freep.com/jamie.
Is the Lions' season over?
The playoffs don’t start for another three months. But give credit to the NFL and NBC for how they scheduled this game. The real elimination games may be way down the line – but Sunday night is an elimination game to be sure. Win and the Lions fight to play another day. Lose and it’s over. Not officially over – but over in every other way.
That’s not what the Lions had in mind when they first looked at this home opener looming after difficult road trips to San Diego and Minnesota. Coming off an 11-5 season and only their second playoff appearance in 15 years, the Lions didn’t expect to be fighting for survival this early in the season. Normally, the home opener is full of passionate optimism. Sunday night, Ford Field will be full of palpable fear. I expect a strong, loud, supportive crowd – right up until Matthew Stafford throws his first pick or Peyton Manning throws his first touchdown pass. Lions fans are loyal and they believe sometimes against all evidence to the contrary. But they’re also realistic and pessimistic. If things go badly on Sunday, the crowd will get very quiet and then get very angry.
But let’s not worry about those things, at least not yet. Despite the lousy start, there is still hope. Despite being 0-2, there is still a chance for the postseason. Don’t laugh. There really is.
History tells us that the chance is very small. Since 1990 when the playoffs expanded, only 23 of 204 teams that started 0-2 have made the playoffs. That’s 11.2%. You didn’t need me to share that little nugget with you because you’ve heard it 4,000 times since time ran out on the Lions last Sunday in Minnesota. But I do think that stat is a little misleading with respect to the Lions.
If you start 0-2, most of the time you’re just a bad team. The 2008 Lions started off 0-2. Last season, the Raiders, Bucs and Jaguars all started 0-2. The fact that a very small percentage of NFL teams start off 0-2 and don’t make the playoffs says more about how bad those teams are and less about how hard it is to come back from such a slow start. The 1993 Cowboys started 0-2 and won the Super Bowl. The 1995 Lions started 0-3 and finished as one of the hottest teams in football (That heat dissipated significantly when they went to Philadelphia for a playoff game.) The 1992 Chargers started 0-4, won 11 out of their next 12 and made the playoffs. Bad teams start 0-2 and die from there. Good teams can rebound.
Which of course raises the question – what are these Lions? The easy call is to say that they’re bad. After all, they’re the Lions. They’ve lost four straight games going back to last season. They lost Ndamukong Suh. DeAndre Levy hasn’t played yet and looks doubtful again for Sunday night’s game. Their offensive line is in tatters. And Matthew Stafford is off to one of his worst starts.
But before you write the Lions off and start looking towards the draft next spring, consider a few things.
First, the Lions are going to win on Sunday night.
It’s not because they’re better than Denver or because they always win when their season is on the line. (Come to think of it, they never win when their season is on the line.) It’s because this is what the NFL sets us up for. The Broncos are 2-0 coming off two rather unimpressive wins. The Lions are 0-2. The crowd, the emotion and most importantly, the urgency will be on the Lions side. The Broncos will want to win and will play to win, but won’t need to win in the same way the Lions do. It’s similar to what happened Thursday night in New York. The 0-2 Giants destroyed the 1-1 Redskins from the opening kick. It was one of the biggest locks of the year even though the Giants were favored by only 1 ? points. The Broncos are better than the Redskins. But the Lions are better than the Giants. We’ve seen this happen dozens of times before in the NFL. It’s what leads to parity. It’s what leads to belief. It’s what leads to fans buying up tickets and merchandise. I’m not suggesting a conspiracy or a fix. I’m suggesting that this is usually how football works.
The other thing to point out is the Lions have played really, really poorly in their first two games (there’s a hot take for you). They might not be a Super Bowl contender, but they are not nearly as bad as they’ve showed the first two weeks. Stafford clearly has room to improve. If Joe Lombardi shows a bit more patience, the running game can clearly improve. Assuming that Levy returns at some point in the not-too-distant future, the defense can improve.
Lions fans are down on this team and they absolutely should be. The first two games were a dumpster fire. But remember that the reason the fans are so down on the Lions is because so much was expected of them coming off last year. So much was expected of them because they do have a talented roster. Just how talented it is will be determined over the next few weeks.
Baseball teams aren’t counted out after twenty games. Basketball teams aren’t eulogized after 10. That’s the equivalent of what the Lions have played so far, and neither of those games were at home. The odds are clearly stacked against them. They’ve shown no reason for us to have any optimism. If I had to bet on them to make the playoffs, I wouldn’t.
But just remember that there are still fourteen weeks to go. There are eight home games to go. And there are match-ups left against teams like the Bears, Saints and Raiders which look awfully winnable. Be pessimistic. Don’t be defeatist.
Unless they lose on Sunday night, in which case you can do whatever you want.

[Lionsfan123]

Regardless of your opinion of this article Samuelson raises an interesting point.

Jamie Samuelsen, co-host of the "Jamie and Wojo" show at 6 p.m. weekdays on WXYT-FM (97.1), blogs for freep.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. You can reach him at jamsam22@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter @jamiesamuelsen and read more of his opinions at freep.com/jamie.
Is the Lions' season over?
The playoffs don’t start for another three months. But give credit to the NFL and NBC for how they scheduled this game. The real elimination games may be way down the line – but Sunday night is an elimination game to be sure. Win and the Lions fight to play another day. Lose and it’s over. Not officially over – but over in every other way.
That’s not what the Lions had in mind when they first looked at this home opener looming after difficult road trips to San Diego and Minnesota. Coming off an 11-5 season and only their second playoff appearance in 15 years, the Lions didn’t expect to be fighting for survival this early in the season. Normally, the home opener is full of passionate optimism. Sunday night, Ford Field will be full of palpable fear. I expect a strong, loud, supportive crowd – right up until Matthew Stafford throws his first pick or Peyton Manning throws his first touchdown pass. Lions fans are loyal and they believe sometimes against all evidence to the contrary. But they’re also realistic and pessimistic. If things go badly on Sunday, the crowd will get very quiet and then get very angry.
But let’s not worry about those things, at least not yet. Despite the lousy start, there is still hope. Despite being 0-2, there is still a chance for the postseason. Don’t laugh. There really is.
History tells us that the chance is very small. Since 1990 when the playoffs expanded, only 23 of 204 teams that started 0-2 have made the playoffs. That’s 11.2%. You didn’t need me to share that little nugget with you because you’ve heard it 4,000 times since time ran out on the Lions last Sunday in Minnesota. But I do think that stat is a little misleading with respect to the Lions.
If you start 0-2, most of the time you’re just a bad team. The 2008 Lions started off 0-2. Last season, the Raiders, Bucs and Jaguars all started 0-2. The fact that a very small percentage of NFL teams start off 0-2 and don’t make the playoffs says more about how bad those teams are and less about how hard it is to come back from such a slow start. The 1993 Cowboys started 0-2 and won the Super Bowl. The 1995 Lions started 0-3 and finished as one of the hottest teams in football (That heat dissipated significantly when they went to Philadelphia for a playoff game.) The 1992 Chargers started 0-4, won 11 out of their next 12 and made the playoffs. Bad teams start 0-2 and die from there. Good teams can rebound.
Which of course raises the question – what are these Lions? The easy call is to say that they’re bad. After all, they’re the Lions. They’ve lost four straight games going back to last season. They lost Ndamukong Suh. DeAndre Levy hasn’t played yet and looks doubtful again for Sunday night’s game. Their offensive line is in tatters. And Matthew Stafford is off to one of his worst starts.
But before you write the Lions off and start looking towards the draft next spring, consider a few things.
First, the Lions are going to win on Sunday night.
It’s not because they’re better than Denver or because they always win when their season is on the line. (Come to think of it, they never win when their season is on the line.) It’s because this is what the NFL sets us up for. The Broncos are 2-0 coming off two rather unimpressive wins. The Lions are 0-2. The crowd, the emotion and most importantly, the urgency will be on the Lions side. The Broncos will want to win and will play to win, but won’t need to win in the same way the Lions do. It’s similar to what happened Thursday night in New York. The 0-2 Giants destroyed the 1-1 Redskins from the opening kick. It was one of the biggest locks of the year even though the Giants were favored by only 1 ? points. The Broncos are better than the Redskins. But the Lions are better than the Giants. We’ve seen this happen dozens of times before in the NFL. It’s what leads to parity. It’s what leads to belief. It’s what leads to fans buying up tickets and merchandise. I’m not suggesting a conspiracy or a fix. I’m suggesting that this is usually how football works.
The other thing to point out is the Lions have played really, really poorly in their first two games (there’s a hot take for you). They might not be a Super Bowl contender, but they are not nearly as bad as they’ve showed the first two weeks. Stafford clearly has room to improve. If Joe Lombardi shows a bit more patience, the running game can clearly improve. Assuming that Levy returns at some point in the not-too-distant future, the defense can improve.
Lions fans are down on this team and they absolutely should be. The first two games were a dumpster fire. But remember that the reason the fans are so down on the Lions is because so much was expected of them coming off last year. So much was expected of them because they do have a talented roster. Just how talented it is will be determined over the next few weeks.
Baseball teams aren’t counted out after twenty games. Basketball teams aren’t eulogized after 10. That’s the equivalent of what the Lions have played so far, and neither of those games were at home. The odds are clearly stacked against them. They’ve shown no reason for us to have any optimism. If I had to bet on them to make the playoffs, I wouldn’t.
But just remember that there are still fourteen weeks to go. There are eight home games to go. And there are match-ups left against teams like the Bears, Saints and Raiders which look awfully winnable. Be pessimistic. Don’t be defeatist.
Unless they lose on Sunday night, in which case you can do whatever you want.

Still don't like our chances against Denver.

[Malto Marko]

Jamie is usually very level headed with his obversations and he is extremely intelligent.

[Chuck Cunningham]

Usually, not here

[chemiclord]

Yep. No reason to even think about believing until March of 2016.

So now I ask you...

At what point will all you idiots just STOP believing?

[froot loops]

Maybe next week we'll start believing

[dpatnod]

I believe my Sundays are a lot more open.