Ross Gives Detroit Bigger Bite

The Detroit Lions were supposed to be pro football’s version of a homecoming opponent. There was every reason to believe the Lions would be a gimme, starting the summer day Barry Sanders announced he was gone, retired. Then it got worse. Detroit’s No. 2 offensive weapon, Herman Moore, has missed almost the entire season. Two of the team’s top three draft picks haven’t been able to play a down because of injuries. Four people have played right tackle. A converted tight end is playing center. Sanders’ replacement got hurt, and the No. 1 quarterback has missed four games.

Yet the Lions are 7-4, tied for first place in the brutal NFC Central. Some patsy.

The head coach, Bobby Ross, ticked off a dozen reasons Tuesday morning to explain it. He mentioned fill-ins and free agents, rookies and reclamation projects, even a few veterans who’ve played at an all-pro level. But Ross didn’t mention the No. 1 reason the Lions have been able to survive, then thrive this season: the head coach.

Ron Jaworski, the former Eagles quarterback and the enlightening ESPN analyst, has seen plenty of the Lions in person and on video. “With Barry Sanders and Herman Moore, I thought Detroit was going to be a .500 team,” Jaworski said Tuesday. “You lose those two guys, I was one of those doubting Thomases. I thought it would be a real struggle for them, particularly in that division. But you look at them now, they’re a complete team. It’s a good, disciplined team. Guys don’t make mistakes. The backups are so well-prepared. Guys who haven’t been playing come in and look like they should have been playing all along--now, you’re talking about Bobby Ross.”

You would think Ross would have built up some benefit of the doubt by now. The University of Maryland hasn’t won anything since he left in 1986. Georgia Tech, which had gone 5-20 before Ross arrived, won a share of the national championship with him on the sideline in 1990. The San Diego Chargers have been to exactly one Super Bowl in franchise history, when Ross led them there in 1994. Everywhere he’s gone, he’s won big. He’s one of the fine football coaches at any level the past 20 years. Yet, Ross found himself under attack after the Lions went 5-11 last season. The attack became a full-out assault when Sanders’ retirement was dumped in Ross’ lap. It was Ross’ fault Sanders was unhappy, Ross’ fault Sanders left and wasn’t coming back. “I love reading the papers, but I just had to remove myself,” Ross said. “I just stopped. I guess inside, it bothered me a lot.”

I’d make the argument that if the objective is winning football games, Ross has been a lot more effective as a coach than Sanders was as a running back. What has Sanders won in his career to justify the way he acted toward his teammates, and toward a coach who got Stan Humphries and Natrone Means to the Super Bowl? Ross, however, didn’t waste time arguing. Losing Sanders bothered him, but going 5-11 hurt. Ross went to several people he trusted within the Lions organization and told them to critique him, no holds barred. And even more important, was some good old-fashioned soul searching.

“Whenever you have that bad a year, you need to look at yourself,” Ross said in a conversation Tuesday morning. “I made mistakes last year. I lost communication with the players. I secluded myself from people. I wasn’t as positive with the players as I used to be. I was bound and determined not to do those things again.”

The rap on Ross was that he wouldn’t adapt, wouldn’t evolve. Ross listened, then acted. “I’ve compromised,” he said. “We got out of pads earlier, in terms of practice. I didn’t like it at first because of injuries, but then I noticed, ‘Well, this is working pretty well.’ I always prided myself on being a good listener, but maybe I wasn’t listening anymore. I needed to be in tune with what the players are feeling. If you’re going to demand excellence, you’d better give it.”

This season, Ross brings breakfast every morning for the players. Veterans get single hotel rooms on the road. The smallest, seemingly most inconsequential things become the biggest deal to millionaire athletes. The players love that Ross is listening. Communication is no longer an issue.

Preparation and strategy never have been an issue. Ross is one of those coaches who has the knack of putting anybody who lines up for him in position to be better than one would expect. Jaworski says Ross is one of those coaches who is so thorough, “at the end of the day players say, ‘He made me better.’ ”

And now that Ross is more in tune with his players, there’s a feel-good mood that didn’t exist last year. It’s not every day that a 62-year-old coach who has always done things a certain way makes the effort to change. They appreciate that Ross has, and that in turn allows Ross to still be demanding when he really needs to be.

It also helps Ross that more than a dozen players have embraced his program and had great seasons, including defensive tackles James Jones, Luther Elliss and Kelvin Pritchett, defensive end Robert Porcher, and offensive tackle Barrett Brooks. The guys acquiring the players--Ron Hughes and Larry Lee--are among the best in the league. “We’ve got some strong internal leadership,” Ross said. A trip to the playoffs without Sanders was unthinkable when the season began; a victory over the Redskins today in Detroit would make it likely.

Still, Ross perceives a sense floating around even in Detroit that the Lions have come as far as they can, that the injuries are about to take their toll, that the young players and fill-ins are going to wilt under the pressure to make the playoffs. “I think they’re waiting for us to collapse,” he said. “The talk now is about how long it’s been since we’ve beaten the Redskins [1965]--all it does is cause the fur on the back of neck to stand up, and for me to get back to my film.”

He has the kind of team veteran coaches always love to coach, one long on effort, strong on defense, and something resembling a chip on the shoulder. Many are determined not to let Sanders’ departure hold the team hostage. “We’ve all felt a little challenged here,” Ross said. “We’ve all feel we have something to prove.”