Oh, those Lions

Frustration, frustration. The Detroit Lions need a vacation. Or, a hug?

For the second straight week, Detroit shot itself in the foot with moronic penalties. Didn't the team learn its lesson after Ndamukong Suh's Thanksgiving stomp against Green Bay? The fall out from that is way worse than anyone could have imagined.

As an NFL viewer, it boggles my mind. Eleven penalties for 107 yards on Sunday night against New Orleans, a team that leaves no, not even a spec, of room for error. I'm questioning Head Coach Jim Schwartz's discipline with his players. This can't happen for a team that's fighting for its first playoff spot in 12 years.

Half, if not most, of the Lions' penalties were out of pure frustration. As NFL professionals, you must keep cool. Granted, I'm not an NFL player, and I know tension must be high, but you're paid the big bucks to act professionally. The most idiotic flag of the night came after Stefan Logan shoved a Saints player after a play in the third quarter. Logan was benched, never to return. Later, tight end Brandon Pettigrew was flagged for coming into contact with an official who was trying to stop him from laying a hand on a Saints' defensive back.

These bone-headed penalties whipped out some big, important plays that had significant impact on Sunday's game. The Saints won, 31 to 17, but it should have been way closer. If I were Schwartz right now, I'd be shitting 17 bricks. I expected him to be more pissed off than he was with his players, but he's a professional. The same can't be said for his team.

Detroit is a decent team; it has weapons –– quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 408 yards on 31 completions on Sunday. The Lions were making plays, but many were negated by nonsense. For example, wide receiver Nate Burleson was called for offensive pass interference three times. Three times in a single game! That has to be a record. He wouldn't learn. He kept pushing his defender off.

There are disciplinary issues with the Lions. It's clear as day. It's good to be aggressive, but Detroit is trying too hard. While trying to be the "toughest" team in the NFL, its actually being the dumbest. The team isn't going to see the playoffs if it can't control its temper.
It's really aggravating to watch people kill themselves. I wonder how they feel?