Getty Tracy Walker after a Lions loss to the Vikings in 2021.
It’s nearly the halfway point of the 2021 NFL season, and the Detroit Lions don’t yet have a win to their credit. That’s cause for some concern for many as the season drags on.
Finding a win at this point is important, but it might not be easy at all considering thte team’s schedule as well as some of their problems on the field. The Lions didn’t look close to a win that many thought they could nab as part of a 44-6 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles.
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Detroit safety Tracy Walker spoke after the contest was over on October 31 in a press conference posted to DetroitLions.com about where the team is headed. The media broached the topic of going winless, and Walker offered a surprisingly blunt answer. As he said, he doesn’t believe the Lions are heading for a winless season, but if things don’t change on the field, anything is possible.
“(Going winless), that’s not a possibility in my mind. I’m just saying, if we don’t fix it, if we continue with the same problems, obviously, we ain’t going to win a game. So we got to fix it,” Walker said to the media after the loss.
So how can the Lions turn things around? As Walker said, he still believes it’s a simple matter of execution for the players.
“Honestly, executing our jobs. That’s what it boils down to. Us locked in out there focused every day, week in and week out trying to execute our jobs to the best of our ability,” Walker said.
Can the Lions find a way to get this done? It will be the challenge in the second half of the season.
Walker: Losing Makes Lions ‘Feel Like Trash’
Overall, the feeling of being a loser in the NFL is not a good one for anyone involved. As Walker explained after the loss, it brings about feelings of disappointment, especially considering how hard the players and coaches are working to make sure the losses don’t happen in the first place.
“Honestly, it makes us feel like trash. It’s not a great feeling. Losing is not a great feeling,” Walker told the media. “We work too hard I feel like as an organization, player, my coaches, we work too hard to go out there and present what we did (Sunday). I feel like we got to demand more from our teammates as well as my coaches and they have to demand more from me. We got to get better as a whole.”
Again, Walker admitted that he doesn’t see things getting much worse at all from where he sits, and the arrow is only set to point in the upward direction.
“I feel like we are going to get better. That’s my goal, that’s what I am going to demand. I am going to be a better me. That’s the best answer I can give you on that,” he said.
It’s up to the players finding some introspection on their bye week in order to get that done at this point.
Lions Have History With Going Winless
History isn’t on Detroit’s side in terms of avoiding making history again. The Lions became the first ever team to go 0-16 in 2008, and were later joined in that feat by the Cleveland Browns. Now, though, the league has added another game, so the Lions could make history again by becoming the league’s first 0-17 team. Looking at the schedule, the Lions might have a shot to make more history, considering they will continue to play tough teams from the AFC North as well as the NFC West in the second half of the season, in addition to a few more battles with their NFC North competition.
If the players don’t find the inches like Walker hopes, he knows they could be in a tough spot. That’s why he is doing everything he can to encourage them before things get out of hand.
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