Any pride left in these Lions?

October 17, 8:15 PMHouston Texans ExaminerAlan Burge

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Okay, if others can write stupid and annoying headlines like "Houston, you have a problem," so can I.  Since we play these guys only once every four years, it's not like you'll have to read any cute Lions headlines from me for a while - unless we meet them in a Super Bowl before our next much-anticipated meeting  .... bwahaaaahhhaa ... (sometimes I crack myself up).

Qucikly changing the subject, as I was listening to Marc Vandermeer and Brooke Bentley today on SportsRadio 610, I actually heard Brooke allude to this being a (and I quote) "trap game."

Note to Brooke:  I always look forward to watching your Texans TV features.  Keep up the great work.  But when you're a 1-4 team, there is no such thing as a trap game.  At least there shouldn't be. And if there is, we really do have a problem.

There is no such thing as a trap game for a team that leads the league in badness in turnover margin,  is near the bottom of the league in interceptions, and is worse than the Lions in quarterback sacks.

As I peruse gamebooks, newspaper articles and stat sheets it appears that one of the few things the Lions have done well recently is putting pressure on the quarterback.  They had a bunch of sacks against the Vikings last week and the defensive pressure most certainly kept them in a game that they should have won.

But, thanks in part to a lousy pass interference call by the zebras, the Motown boys come in here hungry as hell for their first win.

But I wonder about them.

Head Coach Rod Marinelli is 10-27 overall and he appears to be on a very slippery slope - and I have a sense that his players are playing more for themselves than they are for him.

The Lions are most certainly in the midst of  transition given the recent trade of Roy Williams to Dallas and the seemingly permanent ouster of John Kitna at quarterback.

On one hand, the Lions transition appears to be headed toward youth with Dan Orlovsky taking over the reins at QB, but at the same time the Lions this week benched rookie right tackle Gosder Cherilus, the promising rookie out of Boston College who was taken 9 spots ahead of our yet-to-miss-a-snap rookie left tackle Duane Brown in this year's draft (and also ahead of Jeff Otah and Sam Baker). 

Cherilus had a bad game against the Vikes  - who happen to have one of the toughest defensive fronts in the league so what rookie wouldn't have a hard time against them? 

But Lions offensive coordinator Jim Colletto decided that Cherilus needs to sit for a while - so he replaced him with veteran George Foster who Coletto had benched for the same reason three weeks prior - a move that has at least one Lions insider a bit baffled.

By the way, Foster was at Denver with Smithiak so familiarity may breed something there on Sunday.

The Lions offensive line concerns go even deeper.  Starting guard Stephen Peterman is listed as questionable but is expected to play, however there are reports that his line-mate Edwin Mulitalo will not play.

This is an offensive line that has had trouble when healthy, so if the Texans defensive front can't get it going on Sunday, they never will.

Likewise, the Lions secondary is banged up with Leigh Bodden and Travis Fisher both listed as questionable.  Fisher is expected to play.  This is a secondary that has struggled all year and if the Texans offensive line gives Matt Schaub enough time, and the Lions choose to blitz as they did against Minnesota, this could turn into a turkey shoot.

At least it should.

There's no reason the Texans shouldn't be able to dominate the Lions in all three phases on Sunday.  The keys as usual are not committing turnovers and not letting them hang around long enough to think they have a chance.  

Getting up by 14-17 points might just break the Lions spirit, and while the Lions are no Indy, even a 17 point lead might not be safe when you're talking Texans. 

At least until there's under a minute left.

Extra points:

• Several Lions players have Texas (or Texans) connections.   University of Houston alum Brandon Middleton is the Lions #4 wide receiver and returns kickoffs;  Lions backup fullback Moran Norris is a Madison High graduate who spent four seasons with the Texans;  North Shore HS and UT alum Cory Redding is in his 6th season at defensive tackle for the Lions; and the "Hey! You can never have enough quarterbacks," guy aka Drew Henson, is the Lions #3 QB.