Injuries, Tragedy Don’t Slow Lions

Look at the top of the NFL divisional standings and there is one name that does not compute -- Detroit. What on earth is holding the 9-4 Lions up in the National Football Conference Central? Who could have imagined the Monsters of the Midway, the Chicago Bears themselves, being tied for first place at this stage of the season with the Pussycats of Pontiac?

Surely, running back Barry Sanders isn’t doing this by himself. After all, he’s only 5-foot-8, and the Lions and their losing tradition are too big a load for one man to carry. This is a team that had seven straight losing seasons before their sudden reversal of fortune this year.

After their stunning 5-1 start, the Lions gave every indication of reverting to form during a midseason slump in which they lost three of four games. Quarterback Rodney Peete went down with a season-ending Achilles tendon injury and was replaced by Erik Kramer, a refugee from the Canadian Football League. As if that weren’t enough to break the Lions’ spirit, guard Mike Utley suffered a neck injury three games ago against the Rams that left him a paraplegic.

As Utley was wheeled off the field, he flashed his teammates a thumbs-up sign. They have played inspired football ever since. The Lions won that game against the Rams and then knocked off divisional rivals Minnesota and Chicago. On Sunday, the New York Jets visit the Silverdome, where the Lions are 7-0, and they should expect an emotional game.

What happened to Utley was a personal tragedy, but his reaction of concern for the welfare of the team was a reminder to the Lions of how close they were to developing into a winner. “The strength this team has is exemplified by the way Mike is handling the situation,” Lions nose tackle Jerry Ball said earlier in the week from Pontiac. “You cannot believe how strong he is. He holds the same conversations; he talks like Mike. He doesn’t want any sympathy.”

With Utley as their upbeat example, the Lions refused to give in to whatever thoughts they had of folding when things began to go wrong at midseason. Sanders has provided most of the offense, and a defense that ranked 28th in the NFL a year ago has improved tremendously in an effort to compensate for the loss of Peete.

Describing the feeling when Peete went down in the eighth game of the season, Ball said, “We had our moments of desperation, like, ‘What are we going to do?’ It was a point where we had to rally the troops to make sure we didn’t give away everything we worked for. We knew it would take time for Erik to get acclimated. He and Rodney are two different types of quarterbacks. The defense had to step up and play more solid to put the offense in good field position. We knew the offense couldn’t go 80 yards all the time.”

In the past three games, the Lions have forced 14 turnovers and lost only two, including just one interception thrown by Kramer. Cornerback Ray Crockett has intercepted passes in three straight games and broken up several deep passes. “Our secondary is knocking receivers’ jocks off,” Ball said. “They are laying the leather to receivers.”

The Lions’ interior defense isn’t doing a bad job of run-stuffing, either. While Ball takes on two or three blockers, inside linebackers Chris Spielman and Dennis Gibson and safety Bennie Blades come up and make the tackles. The Lions allowed an average of 149.3 yards rushing per game last season, but that figure is down to 101.3 this year.

“I think we’re strong up the middle, but (outside linebagker) George Jamison gets my vote for MVP on defense,” Ball said. “He’s a quiet person. Nobody knows about him, but he can win games for you.”

Their young players are coming into their own. “There’s a lot of talent on our defensive team,” Spielman said. “I’ve been expecting this for a couple of years, but we haven’t produced the way we should’ve in the past.”

One major reason for the Lions’ defensive problems last year was the inability of their run-and-shoot offense to control the ball. They held it an average of only 25:33 per game and emphasized the passing game over the running of Sanders.

But this season, Sanders’ average number of carries is up from 15.9 to 20.7, and his rushing yardage is up from 81.5 per game to 95.5. As a result, the Lions have controlled the ball an average of 28:55. Sanders romped for a club-record 220 yards rushing two weeks ago against Minnesota. The Jets play the same style of defense as Minnesota, so they can expect to see a lot of Sanders on the sort of draw plays that worked so beautifully against the Vikings.

There’s no question Sanders is a great player, but he’s not 9-4 by himself. This is a different Lions team, one that has replaced its losing tradition with a new thumbs-up attitude.