1991 Detroit Lions

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argofan87
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1991 Detroit Lions

Post by argofan87 »

I was watching something on YouTube about Herman Moore yesterday and it got me thinking of the 12-4 1991 Detroit Lions. Their win over Dallas in the NFC Divisional is their only playoff win in the Super Bowl era. Obviously, they had one of the best running backs in Barry Sanders, but what made this team tick? I see a team that finished 22nd in passing and 19th in passing defense and a team that finished 10th in rushing and 19 in rushing defense. Were they simply taking advantage of a pre-Favre weaker division?
Brian wolf
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Re: 1991 Detroit Lions

Post by Brian wolf »

The 1991 Lions team had lots of talent on their roster, especially on offense. When lineman Mike Utley went down with a vertebrae injury, he gave a thumbs up to the fans that became the rallying cry for that season as the fans were electric in helping the team with support.
7DnBrnc53
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Re: 1991 Detroit Lions

Post by 7DnBrnc53 »

The 91 Lions played ten games against teams that finished .500 or worse. They were 3-3 against winning teams, but they played against a Bills team with nothing to play for in Week 16, or that probably would have been 2-4. Those three losses included decisive losses at SB Champ Washington and the 49ers, so it shows that they weren't quite ready to play with the big boys yet (they beat Dallas twice, but the Cowboys weren't quite there yet, either).

While Dallas did blossom into a mini-dynasty, however, the Lions never were able to win another playoff game. QB instability was a big reason, but the losses of Utley and Andolsek didn't help, either. Utley was a solid guard, and Andolsek was becoming one of the better guards in the NFL. If those guys were there in 92, the O-line could have continued to gel, and they probably don't need to bring in several FA's in 93 (although, I don't know what Andolsek's and Utley's FA statuses would have been).
Brian wolf
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Re: 1991 Detroit Lions

Post by Brian wolf »

That team in retrospect should have stuck with Kramer at QB but they thought Ware was the answer, while Peete was up and down. Willie Green was an underrated player for them but they had the players in place to win. They just couldnt win away from the Silverdome. The Cowboys learned their lesson in being overconfident for that playoff game. The 93/94 wild card game against GB was a classic ...
Jay Z
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Re: 1991 Detroit Lions

Post by Jay Z »

I think the 1991 Lions were really the second best team in the NFC. But it was a weird year.

Parcells split from the defending champions. Giants' margin was too thin to survive that, and Handley wasn't the answer. So they didn't make the playoffs.

49ers had great stats. They're also the kind of team that usually has some motivational issues, two years past a SB win. Spirited title defense, then players start looking for more money. Made a great late season run, but didn't make the playoffs.

Eagles lost Randall Cunningham in the first game. Great defense, but McMahon and co. were a big falloff. Didn't make the playoffs.

Cowboys, yes they had Aikman, Irvin, Emmitt, but the supporting cast was still meh. O lines and D lines not performing well enough. A big difference between this team and the 1992 team.

Jim Mora's Saints? Playoffs?

So the Lions really were not all that great, kind of got 12-4 and the home game and the bye in a vacuum. But no one else qualified, so they deserved it in context. Predictably got spanked by the Redskins.

1995 Lions probably had more talent than the 1991 team. Moore, Perriman, Morton as receivers were better. Scott Mitchell was about the same as Kramer, another one year wonder QB. Mitchell laid an egg in the playoffs and thereafter. But still, that Lions team was not getting by the Cowboys, 49ers, or Packers. Tougher competition.
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74_75_78_79_
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Re: 1991 Detroit Lions

Post by 74_75_78_79_ »

I don’t know. I simply don’t think that Detroit was the ‘2nd-best’ team in the conference. Their 12-4 finish/CC-appearance, to me, was a product of an easy schedule and just so happening to have Dallas’s number if only for that one season (they were decimated by them in ’92, at home, by a score of 37-3; and Barry Sanders played and rushed for 108 yards). Those blowout defeats to Wash and San Fran still speak volumes with me. Yes, #20 wasn’t present in that 45-0 opener, but still.

On the ’91 regular season Power Rankings thread, I placed them at #11 just behind Denver and just ahead of Philly. Chicago didn’t make it but maybe I should have placed them ahead of Detroit just as I placed them (also a wild card) ahead of Tampa in my ’79 such rankings. On second thought, I think Eagles with McMahon beat the Lions even in the Silverdome (now Birds with Kemp, Ryan, or Goebel? most-likely a different story).

They were a barely-good team but not at all great. Maybe this isn’t an excuse, but in addition to Lions having their # in ’91, Dallas simply may have been ‘spent’ going into Pontiac after beating those numerous good teams down the stretch as well as, then, eliminating Ditka’s Bears at Soldier. Plus, there were still a couple more growing pains to get out the way en route to the Dynasty - Wk#5, MNF, at the Vet the following year being the last of them!

I agree that the ’95 Lions had more “bite” than the ’91 installment. But they could not have picked a worse time to play their worst game possible in the 1st-Rd as Rhodes/Peete’s bunch could not have overachieved more than they did in front of their fans!
7DnBrnc53
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Re: 1991 Detroit Lions

Post by 7DnBrnc53 »

In a 1992 preview (I think it was Street & Smith's) issue, someone pointed out how the Lions made a mistake winning as much as they did in 91. I think the point was that they could have used another high draft choice. Another CB like Troy Vincent would have been a great addition for them, but they had two holes in the O-line (and they would have a third when G Eric Andolsek was killed a few months later).
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