Beat by Both; A Lions fan's perspective on Saints/Forty-Niners

I know what you're thinking, WTH is a Lions fan doing blogging on a Saints forum about the Forty-Niners? Well, let me tell you . . . being from the Motor City, I'm opinionated, never at a loss for words and in the unique postion of having been beaten by both New Orleans and San Francisco . . . so, without further ado, I would like to thank my hosts at Black and Gold for giving me the opportunity to write this blog and finally realize a lifelong dream of being a 'beat writer', lol.

Week #6 of the NFL, San Francisco blew into Ford Field and handed the Lions their first loss of the season. Week #12 and in the first round of the playoffs, New Orleans duplicated that task, twice. For the sake of comparison, I'll refer to the second game against the Saints for my NO stats. Now they face each other in the second round, who's the better team? Who better to know then someone who has suffered a loss at both their respective hands?

Coaches: Let's start at the top, the H/C. I warned the fans on the Lions message boards to watch out for Harbaugh (SF) ... "An army of sheep led by a lion, is far more dangerous then an army of lions led by a sheep ~ Sun Tzu". Harbaugh is 'that lion'. I was ridiculed and chastised for my trouble ... and then the Niners came into town and put an end to our 13 game win streak . . . and yes, that streak does include the last four games of 2010 & the preseason, but when you're a Lions fan, you take it where you can get it, alright? I know a lot about Harbaugh, he's a Michigan boy, he's a gamer, a competitor, but he's also a narcissitic jerk who doesn't deal with failure well. That's his achilles heel. Can't say I know much about Sean Payton other then he won a division title his first season as a H/C and that he's beat us pretty convincingly not once, but twice. Since joining the board, I did get to see a YouTube video of him getting steamrolled by #80 Jimmy Graham (NO) and then have the intestinal fortitude and sheer power of will to crawl on his hands and knees towards his clipboard to call the next play, and I have to say, the man's got heart ... miles and miles of heart ... and it shows in the way his team plays. EDGE: Saints

Offense: The 49ers ran up an impressive 314yds of total offense on us, the Saints almost doubled it with 626yds, that has to be some kind of a record ... oh, wait ... it is, a new playoff record. San Francisco ran over us with Frank Gore and 203yds on the ground, but who doesn't run against the Lions? New Orleans, though only running for 167yds, did it with style and panache using Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles to shred our vaunted defensive line. Through the air, the Lions limited SFran to 111yds, 0 TDs and Crabtree was their only threat ... Drew Brees, on the other hand, utilized 8 seperate receivers for 466yds and 3 TDs. And don't forget the Saints' All-Pro offensive line, best in the NFL ... and yeah, while every single member of that line may not be officially 'All-Pro', don't tell that to the Detroit Lions. 'Nuff said. EDGE: Saints

Defense: We weren't convinced after the San Francisco loss, we matched them for total yds, lost by less then a score, had more first downs and would have loved to see them again. Sure, Patrick Willis stuffed our 'run', but who doesn't? Yeah, they got to Stafford a few times, Justin Smith and Aldon Smith can present a problem, but the Saints All-Pro offensive line may have something to say about that. New Orleans' defense did bend against the Lions, but they didn't break and they made the plays when they needed to. Hey, they won the game by 17pts, somebody out there was stopping the Lions. EDGE: Forty-Niners

Composure: The FortyNiners are one of the few teams that out-penaltied the Lions, 15 penalties for 120yds to the Lions 6/54yds. That says a lot about a team's composure when you get more penalties in a game then Detroit. The Saints were 3/18yds to our 7/64yds. EDGE: Saints

Special Teams: Just throwing this one out there, we kicked the ball to Hester (Chi) and then didn't cover properly, allowing for a score on a punt return. It's too embarrassing for me to discuss. EDGE: Tie

Fans: This is where the blog turns fun, so remember, if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at? As a Detroit fan, I'm pretty blue-collar, drink Pabst Blue Ribbon as my beer of choice and have dealt with years of futility on the gridiron. A Saints fan prefers Budweiser long-necks, simmers redbeans & rice for after the game, totally sympathizes with the Lions fans and from what I hear, their recipe for alligator etouffe is to die for. The FortyNiner Faithful, on the other hand, drink Zima's, nibble on tofu after a game and basically evolved from the unwashed hippy movement of the '60s. EDGE: Saints

Reality T.V.: Down in 'WhoDat' Nation, they got a show called, "Swamp People" ... best reality show ever! And like one of the stars of the show, Willie, says, "If y'all think you can come down here and do it, well, good luck to ya'!". They also got "Billy the Exterminator". What kind of reality TV comes out of SanFran? The Bachelor? The Real World? IDK ... but really, what would you rather watch? EDGE: Saints

Message Board: If you try to register on The Red Zone of the Forty Niners, it takes a three week approval process to begin to post ... how convenient for them, by the time you're approved, the game has past and they've slandered your team all about their boards ... sure, one of their mods will swing by and offer to speed up the process for you, but it's a trap ... kinda' bush leagues if you ask this blogger. Register with the Black & Gold and you're on, posting and blogging away, and you'll be welcome. You're a guest though, so mind your manners ... they know how to deal with unruly visitors and they do offer a 'smackdown' section should you feel chippy. Well run and moderated, like the Saints offensive line, the Black & Gold is the best in the league. EDGE: Saints

Ok, in summary, I gotta' go with the Saints on this one. They're on a 9-game win streak, their offense is hotter then hell, their defense may not be that stout, but they'll contain Alex Smith (who?) & Co. Harbaugh is going to make it interesting, but the Saints high-powered offense is just too much for the FortyNiners to handle.

(Did I do alright Halo? Can I stay? ... hehe!)