Well... that was a kick in the nuts, Lions fans.

Who's more cursed...

Browns fans or Lions fans?

This proves that Jim Caldwell is slower than paint drying, dumber than "dumb and dumber"...The longest "Hail Mary" play to end a game in NFL history.

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With so many factors on each NFL play, it shouldn't be this easy to second guess one.

But, it's clear a coaching error and poor positioning by players hindered the Lions' chances of stopping the Packers' Hail Mary on Thursday night.

Why wasn't 6-foot-5 receiver Calvin Johnson on the field? Why wasn't 6-foot-5 defensive end Ziggy Ansah pass rushing or in position to knock the ball down? Why were two players standing around midfield? Why weren't any Lions players standing at the goal line trying to bat the ball down before it reached the end zone?

If the answer to any of these questions was different, the Lions might have avoided the heartbreaking, 27-23, defeat.

Asked to explain Johnson's absence, considering he's usually been on the Hail Mary defense in his career, coach Jim Caldwell said the Lions were expecting the Packers to try a miraculous lateral play, which led to the issues listed above.

"Because in that situation, we have a couple different things that we do," Caldwell said. "That was one where you're kind of looking for more of that pass-back-and-forth kind of thing because of the range. (Aaron Rodgers) ran around there so long, moved up, gave himself a chance to get in the end zone.

"We had plenty of guys back there. We had plenty of guys. We just didn't make the play. They did."

But, because of the defensive alignment, the Lions ended up having six players in the end zone compared to the Packers' five.

With the ball at the Green Bay 39 and no time left following a questionable Lions penalty, it seemed obvious the Packers would try a Hail Mary. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has one of the strongest arms in the NFL, and he said after the game he expected to get the ball to the end zone.

And when it arrived, Packers tight end Richard Rodgers made the catch with a surprising lack of interference, , marking the longest game-winning and -ending Hail Mary in NFL history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The Lions' defensive alignment started with three linemen, ends Jason Jones and Devin Taylor and tackle Haloti Ngata. Then, Ansah and Quandre Diggs effectively lined up as cornerbacks with the assignment of containing a play with laterals, which the Packers had tried the previous play.

The other six players — linebackers Tahir Whitehead and Josh Bynes and defensive backs Darius Slay, Glover Quin, Isa Abdul-Quddus and Nevin Lawson — ran to the end zone hoping to knock the ball down.
For Green Bay, wide receivers Davante Adams, Randall Cobb, James Jones and Jared Abbrederis joined tight end Richard Rodgers in running deep.

To be fair, Aaron Rodgers said the Packers would normally have a running back in the game to block, so their personnel grouping was abnormal. But, it didn't hurt their chances of completing the miraculous pass.

"Try not to let them catch it," Caldwell said of the defensive goal. "We weren't in position to get our hands on it. He was in a little bit better position than we were."

jkatzenstein@detroitnews.com


Well Richard can argue with his father now on who's TD was more improbable

One thing abundantly clear though, is if such a turnabout happens and being ill prepared or flat-out stupid is a factor... the Lions will be front and center in that discussion...now available on DVD at a motivational store near you "How not to convince new management that you are the man for the job" by Jim Caldwell.

Cam

The Vikings are getting fucked by the Seahawks but they're getting absolutely butt raped by the zebras.