Purgatory -- One down, four to go

Help me out here. Those of you who thought playing Jeff Garcia at quarterback over Joey Harrington was the best thing for the Detroit Lions, how do you feel about that now? How did Garcia and his flaccid arm work for you yesterday?

What does the Lions' coaching staff see in Garcia that makes them think he gives the team a better chance to win games? What makes the other players believe in him? (And I still say Dick Jauron played Garcia to placate that not-so-silent majority, especially the defense.)

Hey, I'm just a fan watching the games on TV. I'm not in that locker room. I'm not in the huddle. I don't get to watch the film. What does Garcia do better? Are his "intangibles" the reason he's playing? Because there's no physical evidence to suggest the Lions have a chance to win with him at quarterback.

His 126 yards were the second-lowest total by a Lions quarterback this season (Joey threw for 97 against Baltimore, but the Lions won that game), and his 17 completions averaged seven yards per pass. That's a great average for a running game. It's terrible for a passing game.

A completed pass was a major achievement for Garcia yesterday. How many passes were thrown at the feet of his receivers? How many were thrown behind the pass routes? The man could barely complete a pass in the flat to a running back.

And when he did manage to hit one of those throws, how fast did Garcia bail out to his checkdown option? Wasn't that one of the big criticisms of Harrington, that he didn't give his wide receivers time to get open, that he checked down to his third or fourth option too quickly? Garcia didn't even bother going through his progressions yesterday. You can't even call it a "check down," because he didn't bother to "check." Garcia threw to the flat as soon as the ball was snapped on several plays, and TV replays showed that wide receivers and tight ends were open down the field.

Meanwhile, the quarterback on the winning side actually wanted to play in Detroit this year. Boy, that worked out well.

Yesterday's game made one thing painfully clear: Nothing is going to change over these last four games.

Last week, Matt Millen said he wanted to see better development of the team's younger players. And then he gave the interim head coaching position to a guy who seemingly has no interest in that whatsoever. Otherwise, wouldn't Harrington and Charles Rogers have been playing? Jauron preferred to carry a special teams linebacker over Rogers on the gameday roster.

Think about that: the third and second overall picks in the 2002 and 2003 drafts, respectively, didn't play yesterday. Did. Not. Play.

I understand that Dick Jauron wants to win games. That's ultimately what he'll be judged on. But trying to accomplish that with Jeff Garcia throwing to Scottie Vines, and giving roster spots to special teams linebackers over possibly the fastest wide receiver on the team does nothing for the Lions right now. Even if Greg Olson wanted to open up the offense and call for more downfield passing - which is what we all hoped for - he can't, because his quarterback doesn't have the ability to make those throws.

So what we're left with is cheering for guys running away from security staff while holding up "Fire Millen" signs. Do you think the Lions are somewhat relieved, deep down, that three of their last four games are on the road? That last home game against the Cincinnati Bengals could be ugly. The people might be holding pitchforks and torches. There could be effigies burning inside and outside of Ford Field.

Can this possibly get any worse? Actually, don't answer that. Please.

(Photos by Morris Richardson/ The Detroit News)