Detroit Lions

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The NFL on Friday fined Panthers linebacker Jon Beason $5,000 for grabbing Lions quarterback Daunte Culpepper by the facemask on a play that didn't result in a penalty.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Forgive Buccaneers quarterback Jeff Garcia if he has no love in his heart for Detroit.

After helping lead Tampa Bay back to the playoffs last season, Jeff Garcia wasn't thrilled to learn the Buccaneers were looking for another quarterback in the offseason.

Rookie running back Kevin Smith has set career highs for rushing yards in each of the Lions' past two games. The reason? " 'Cause I'm getting the ball," Smith said. "That's obvious."

San Francisco offensive coordinator Mike Martz has been fined $20,000 by the NFL for his criticism of the officiating at the end of the 49ers' 29-24 loss in Arizona.

Daunte Culpepper? The Lions have been down this road before. They signed another supposedly washed-up, three-time Pro Bowl quarterback not long ago. His name was Jeff Garcia.

Jeff Garcia looks to lead the Buccaneers to their third consecutive victory on Sunday when they visit the winless Detroit Lions.

Get the fast facts as the Lions look for their first win of the season against the Bucs.

The one-two punch of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart dazzled with a record-setting day on the ground for Carolina. The Panthers needed all those yards to squeak by the league's only winless team.

This blog has moved. The Lions Insider is now a part of MLive's Detroit Lions page. Please look for Tom Kowalski's blog entries at http://www.mlive.com/lions. If you are subscribed to the RSS feed from this blog you'll want to change...

AP PhotoJerod Mayo, top, tackles Wisconsin quarterback Tyler Donovan in the 2008 Outback Bowl. Tennessee linebacker Jerod Mayo is in Detroit for a predraft visit with the Lions and he could potentially be a first-day pick. Because of his versatility,...

There has been a lot of chatter recently about the Detroit Lions considering outside linebackers Keith Rivers (USC) or Jerod Mayo (Tennessee) with their first- or second-round pick in the draft. It makes sense on the surface of it because...

“Have we failed? Yes. Have I failed? Yes. Am I going to give up? No way,”, “Am I discouraged? No way. I’m not.” Those were the words of Detroit Lions Head Coach Rod Marinelli this week, as his team looks to end an atrocious 10 game losing streak. Detroit is off to its [...]

From: MLive Lions Receiver Calvin Johnson, after missing one day with a thigh injury, returned to practice on Thursday and will start Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Receiver Mike Furrey, who was sidelined last week after suffering a concussion against Jacksonville, went through some individual drills but it’s unlikely he’ll play. Center Dominic Raiola didn’t [...]

MVN's first original sports talk television show "Boom, Outta Here" unleashes its second episode with criticism of the NBA's discipline for Kevin Garnett after an errant slap to Andrew Bogut's face. Discussion moves to President-elect Barack Obama's campaign for a college football playoff system and an important question: Is it more likely the Detroit Lions go winless or the Tennessee Titans run the table?

Hosts Pat McSweeney and Brandon Rosage also give props to American League MVP Dustin Pedroia and lobby for his Red Sox to offer a deal before his head blows up, and finish with pessimism about Mark Cuban's future as a sports owner.

Cowardly About the Lions, Bucs Must Beware the Oh

By JC De La Torre
JC De La Torre's Tampa Bay Sports Blog

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers take their show on the road Sunday to Detroit, where they face the Bizarro-Patriots, the Detroit Lions. The Lions are 0-10 and making a run to become the first team since the 1976 expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers to go winless for an entire non-strike shortened NFL season (the Indianapolis Colts finished 1982 strike year 0-8-1). While playoff favorite Tampa Bay should dominate the Lions, history suggests that the Bucs should be worried about facing a winless team this deep into the season. Not including the 82 strike season, since the Expansion Bucs achieved the Oh, thirteen NFL teams have started 0-10 or worse, five of those teams found victory in their 11th game. Guess which game is the 11th for the winless Lions?

Here are the worst starts since the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers -

The 1977 Tampa Bay Buccaneers continued the NFL's longest losing streak...continue

By JC De La Torre
From JC De La Torre's Tampa Bay Sports Blog
http://tampabaysportsblog.blogspot.com/

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers take their show on the road Sunday to Detroit, where they face the Bizarro-Patriots, the Detroit Lions. The Lions are 0-10 and making a run to become the first team since the 1976 expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers to go winless for an entire non-strike shortened NFL season (the Indianapolis Colts finished 1982 strike year 0-8-1). While playoff favorite Tampa Bay should dominate the Lions, history suggests that the Bucs should be worried about facing a winless team this deep into the season. Not including the 82 strike season, since the Expansion Bucs achieved the Oh, thirteen NFL teams have started 0-10 or worse, five of those teams found victory in their 11th game. Guess which game is the 11th for the winless Lions?

Here are the worst starts since the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers -

The 1977 Tampa Bay Buccaneers continued the NFL's longest losing streak for 12 more games (26 straight losses total, still a record today), before finally getting the franchise's first victory in New Orleans in Week 13, beating the Saints 33-14.

The 1980 New Orleans Saints came the closest in the quest for Oh, going 0-14 before finally beating the New York Jets 21-20.

The 1983 Houston Oilers lost their first 10 games before finally breaking through against the Detroit Lions 27-17

The Oilers loved the quest for Oh so much in 83, they decided to try for it again in 1984, starting once again 0-10 before beating the Kansas City Chiefs 17-16.

1984 was apparently a banner year for bad as the Buffalo Bills started 0-11 before upsetting the Dallas Cowboys 14-3.

The 1986 Indianapolis Colts went 13 weeks without a win, before finally beating Atlanta 28-23. The Colts went on to win their final 3 games to finish 3-13.

The 1991 Indianapolis Colts would try once more, going into Week 11 before finding victory against the New York Jets 28-27 .

The 1993 Cincinnati Bengals under David Shula started 0-10, before finally beating the Los Angeles Raiders 16-10.

The 1997 Indianapolis Colts took another stab at "Oh-mortality" starting off the 97 campaign 0-10. The Colts shocked the eventual NFC Champion Green Bay Packers 41-38.

The 2000 San Diego Chargers went 0-11 before finally getting their first win against the Kansas City Chiefs 17-16.

The 2001 Detroit Lions started 0-12 before beating the Minnesota Vikings 27-24.

The 2007 Miami Dolphins went 0-13 until finding victory for the 1st time, getting the Baltimore Ravens in overtime - 22-16.

The eggheads at AllExperts.com say, "When the NFL was formed in 1920, winless seasons were not uncommon. In fact, for the first ten years, from 1920-29, there was always at least one team which went winless. Between 1930 and World War II, only the 1934 Cincinnati Reds went winless. The Reds were 0-8-0 when they folded with three games remaining in the season. A new team, called the St. Louis Gunners, was formed. The Gunners had been an independent team operating in the area and they went 1-2 in the remaining three games.

World War II saw a fewer players available for NFL action and, as a result, some teams suffered more than others. The 1942 Detroit Lions went 0-11; the 1943 Chicago Cardinals went 0-10 and the combined Card-Pitt team of 1944 went 0-10.

Since World War II, only the expansion Dallas Cowboys of 1960 (0-11-1), the expansion Tampa Bay Bucs of 1976 (0-14), and the 1982 Baltimore Colts (0-8-1 in a strike-shortened season) have gone winless. "

Winless Teams in the NFL history are -
1934 Cincinnati Reds (0-8)
1942 Detroit Lions (0-11)
1943 Chicago Cardinals (0-10)
1944 "Carpets" (Chicago Cards-Pittsburgh Steelers merged team) (0-10)
1960 Dallas Cowboys (0-11-1)
1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-14)
1982 Colts (0-8-1) (strike-shortened season)
source: AllExperts

The Buccaneers have never lost to a team that was 0-10 or worse, but they definitely do not want to join that dubious list. Four of the Lions last six games were decided by a touchdown or less and we all saw what the Bucs did in Kansas City. The Buccaneers have the propensity to play down to their opponents.After the Bucs, the Lions host Tennessee on Thanksgiving in the NFL's first ever 11-0 vs. 0-11 matchup. Then Detroit hosts Minnesota before going to Indianapolis, coming home for the Saints, then ending the year in Green Bay.

Tampa Bay may be the Lions last real shot at victory in 2008. The Bucs must end those thoughts quickly with a good start in Detroit.