In firing him after the 2017 season Detroit Lions indicated

ALLEN PARK Brian Burns Jersey , Mich. (AP) — Jim Caldwell era was just not good enough.But meaningless December football is back in Detroit again as first-year coach Matt Patricia’s Lions will play out the string with four games with nothing at stake but draft position remain.The Lions are 4-8 and all but mathematically eliminated from the NFC playoff race. Road games at Arizona and Buffalo are next before Detroit finishes with divisional games at home against Minnesota and at Green Bay.After Sunday’s 30-16 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Detroit has to win out to finish better than Caldwell’s worst of four seasons as coach. After three winning seasons and two playoff berths under Caldwell, the Lions will be .500-or-below for the 13th time in the past 14 non-Caldwell coached seasons.A lot of things have changed in Matthew Stafford’s 10 seasons with the Lions, but the franchise is back in the losing position he grew accustomed to in the first half of his career.“I come to work every day, work my tail off, try to push our team to be as good as we can be,” Stafford said Sunday after his fumble on an Aaron Donald sack ended a chance for the Lions to take their first lead in the fourth quarter.“There was some good in this game, there was some bad. We’ve got to fix the bad and keep doing a lot of the good. But I’m going to come to work ready to go.”Public reflection is rare during an NFL season, especially under Patricia, who was groomed under Bill Belichick in New England.“For me, it’s been pretty much the same from all the way through,” Patricia said Monday. “I don’t know what the team’s been previous, I don’t know what it’s been before I got here. I’m just trying to make sure we build from where we’re at.”Injuries have decimated Stafford’s skill position options, as wide receiver Marvin Jones (knee) is out for the season and running back Kerryon Johnson (knee) missed his second straight game Sunday. Wide receiver Golden Tate was leading the Lions in receptions for the fifth straight season when he was traded to Philadelphia on Oct. 30.After watching film Monday http://www.panthersfootballauthentic.com/greg-little-jersey-authentic , defensive tackle Damon Harrison, acquired Oct. 25 in a trade from the New York Giants, said he saw positives from Sunday’s defensive effort.“There was a lot more good than bad, we actually played a pretty good game, the score wasn’t a great indication of how close that game was,” Harrison said after the Lions trailed 16-13 heading into the fourth quarter against a Super Bowl contender. “It was encouraging to see everybody take the technique and the coaching and bring it into Sunday.”The Lions did have a win on Monday though.Offensive lineman Taylor Decker scored his first touchdown of his football career on Sunday, faking a block but releasing into a wide-open space of the Rams’ defense for an 11-yard touchdown.In his euphoria, Decker threw the ball into the stands. Later, on Twitter, Decker put out a plea to relieve the keepsake.“To whoever caught/has the ball I threw into the stands,” his tweet Sunday night began, “I’ve played football since first grade, and that was my first ever touchdown. I’d love to have the ball, and would be more than happy to hook you up if you’d be willing. #defendtheden #bigmantouchdown”The story had a happy ending, with Decker tweeting Monday morning that the case was solved.Decker tweeted: “I HAVE FOUND HIM!!!!!!! AND HE IS BEING GREAT ABOUT IT #socialmediastrikesagain”It’s the kind of karma that his team could use.“We need to keep pushing that forward and we need to go out and play better and we need to go out and win Will Grier Jersey ,” Patricia said. “We want to put it together the best we can, go out there and go play a really good ballgame. That would probably be the best thing for us.” DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — The subject was playing through pain, and Miami Dolphins running back Frank Gore drew on his extensive experience to share his thoughts with teammate Ryan Tannehill.Gore’s an ageless model of durability, while Tannehill plans to return from a throwing shoulder injury and start for only the sixth time in the Dolphins’ past 31 games when they play Sunday at Indianapolis .“He knows how much we need him,” Gore said. “It’s football, though. Everybody is going to be in pain from here on out. Talking to him when he wasn’t playing, he wanted to be out there. He knows that he’s going to be in pain, but you can tell that he wants to play, so that’s a plus for us.”The 35-year-old Gore will be in the lineup too, which almost goes without saying. He’ll start his 119th consecutive game, by far the most of any active running back.That includes 48 games with the Colts in 2015-17. They then let Gore go, providing him with a little extra motivation when he faces his former team.Not that he needs any.“I want to win,” he said. “I’m going to go out there and try to be me.”The Colts know he’ll do that, and remember Gore fondly.“He’s the kind of teammates everyone wants to have http://www.panthersfootballauthentic.com/christian-miller-jersey-authentic ,” Indy quarterback Andrew Luck said. “He always seemed like he was a step ahead, and I’d say, ‘How did you know that?’ And it was always hard for him to explain. He just knew.”The Dolphins (5-5) can count Gore as one of the bright spots in a season full of downers. He beat out the more explosive Kenyan Drake for the starting job and leads the team with 528 yards rushing, padding a career total that is the highest among active players and fourth on the all-time list.And this year may not be his swan song. Gore’s yards per carry average of 4.5 is his best since 2012 with San Francisco. Anyone who has watched him break tackle after tackle this year can believe he’ll be back at 36.“I feel like as long as I’m healthy and blessed and feeling good and know I can still play, I’m going to play,” he said. “I’ll evaluate myself at the end, my body, and see if I still want to go out in the offseason and train to get ready for another year. That’s when I’ll make my decision.”He’s already a rarity at a position not known for longevity. Last week he became the first player to rush for 500 yards in 14 consecutive seasons, one more than Hall of Famers Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith.The achievement won Gore plaudits from around the NFL — and beyond.“Frank is my favorite player of all-time that I’ve ever coached,” said former 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, who is now at the University of Michigan. “Surpassing Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith is incredible, just incredible.”Equally impressed — but not surprised — is Dolphins coach Adam Gase. He was a 49ers assistant in 2008, when Gore ran for 1,036 yards for them.“Our guys watch him practice, and it’s almost like you forget where he’s at in his career Jordan Scarlett Jersey ,” Gase said. “He treats it like he’s an undrafted free agent almost. He practices extremely hard. He finishes everything he does. There’s a lot of pride there. Seeing him 10 years ago and then seeing him now, there’s just not a lot of differences in how he plays and what he can do.”Gore is still chasing a Super Bowl championship ring, and hasn’t been to the playoffs in five years. He thought he would get there with the Colts, but injuries to Luck and others sabotaged their chances.“It just didn’t go the way I planned it, but I had fun,” Gore said. “The organization was great. Great people there. We fought.”It has been more of the same in Gore’s native Miami, with his homecoming undermined by a wave of injuries to Tannehill and others.Meanwhile, the old man at running back just keeps showing up for work. Others may be surprised Gore is still going strong, but he’s not.“I know how I train,” he said. “I know how I go out every day in practice. I know in the offseason how I get myself ready. Competing with guys younger than me at my position, being around them every day, that helps me.”And he learned a long time ago how to play through pain.