0311030270
DETROIT FREE PRESS
031103
Monday, November 03, 2003
METRO FINAL
1D
MITCH ALBOM Free Press columnist
WEEK 9
Copyright (c) 2003, Detroit Free Press
SOME THINGS OLD, NEW WORK IN HONOLULU BLUE
DET. 23 OAK 13
It had been eight weeks since the Lions won a football game, long enough for a
Broadway play to open and close, long enough for a criminal trial to start and
reach a verdict, long enough for farmers to harvest the crops, long enough for
Ben and J.Lo to cancel, plan and cancel another wedding.
There were green leaves on the trees when the Lions last tasted victory, and
the leaves now are red or gold or gone. Late summer has faded to mid-autumn.
Warm has gone to chilly.
But finally, finally, on a Sunday afternoon, Steve Mariucci got to console the
other coach, Joey Harrington had something to smile about, and the Lions were
able to jog off the field without a feeling of dread, doom or despair.
"We were trying to decide who to introduce before this game, offense or
defense," Mariucci said after the 23-13 win over Oakland, "and we decided to
introduce everybody -- because whether you'd been with the team for 12 years
or 24 hours, we needed you to contribute today."
He wasn't kidding about the 24 hours. Thanks to a rash of injuries that makes
Sneezy the Dwarf look healthy, the Lions threw several new players onto the
roster, including cornerback Doug Evans, who was signed on Friday.
Friday? Yep. Friday. He arrived on the red-eye from Seattle, took a shower,
and was a starter Sunday. Never mind that he hadn't played since early in the
season, before the Seahawks cut him. Evans forced an early Jerry Rice fumble,
then high-fived his new teammates.
"How many of these guys can you name?" Evans was asked later in the locker
room.
He looked around. "Maybe five or six."
"But you were high-fiving all of them."
"That's football," he said, smiling. "When you do something good, you're one
of the guys."
Hmm. Maybe they should hold open tryouts.
Victory turns on Cory's moment
Of course, what Evans suggested is pretty much the mentality of the city
today. The Lions did something good, they won a game, so everyone's a little
more embracing. Does it mean the Lions are much better at 2-6 than they were
at 1-6? No. But you can't start an avalanche without some snowflakes rolling
downhill.
Never mind that the Lions' key offensive play was a deep route for -- sitting
down? -- Cory Schlesinger. The fullback who, in another era, might carry the
nickname "Cement Head," was the best receiver the Lions had Sunday. He got
behind an Oakland defender -- and I wouldn't want to be that guy in the film
session today -- and Harrington hit him with a 33-yard touchdown pass, and
happy days were here again, not that anyone can remember when they were here
last.
"Usually, they throw to me in the flat, in the flat, in the flat, so when I go
downfield, nobody's expecting it," Schlesinger said. "I knew I was in good
position because I was seeing all these defenders' backs."
Right. Usually, he's looking at 11 guys in front of him.
"Joey threw it, and all I said to myself was, 'Catch it. Catch it.' "
On such moments can a Sunday turn.
Harrington needed that. He needed Sunday, a victory. It wasn't a thing of
beauty, but at least he didn't exit with a quarterback rating below the
Mason-Dixon Line. So much of quarterbacking, like offense itself, is rhythmic,
a groove, and Harrington -- thanks to butterfingered receivers and his own
jumpy motion -- had all the rhythm of Orrin Hatch at a rap concert.
He has taken an unfair amount of blame for the Lions' six-game losing streak.
His receivers, once Charles Rogers went down, have been as reliable as Robert
Downey Jr. And with no running game to threaten anyone, just how afraid are
teams going to be of Harrington?
"This was much needed," he admitted. "I'm not going to lie. It's been
difficult."
Defense played its part
Same could be said for the defense, criticized and ineffective since the
opening day victory over Arizona. On Sunday, the defense was mostly terrific,
intercepting three passes and keeping the Oakland receiving corps out of the
end zone, and that includes Rice, Tim Brown and Jerry Porter.
A note here on the Raiders: Take heart, Detroit. Oakland fans should be even
angrier than you. Remember, last January, these same Raiders were in the Super
Bowl. They were considered a model of offensive efficiency. Rich Gannon? Rice?
Brown? Al Davis?
Look at them now. They lost to the Lions? They are 2-6? If someone, before the
season, had offered Detroit the same record as the Raiders midway through, you
don't think the Lions would have jumped at it?
Fortunes change. Don't misunderstand. It's still over for the Lions this year.
Halfway through the campaign, their Oreo cookie is two victories on the
outside, and six white-flag defeats in the middle.
But you take what you can get.
"What about your new teammates?" someone asked Harrington.
"I didn't get a chance to meet all of them," he said, "but I'm sure I'll
introduce myself on Monday."
Win first, say hello later.
Contact MITCH ALBOM at 313-223-4581 or albom@freepress.com. Catch "The Mitch
Albom Show" 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WJR-AM (760). Catch him signing copies of his
new book, "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," at 7 p.m. tonight at Borders,
30995 Orchard Lake Road, Farmington Hills.
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