Things just went from bad to worse for the Lions, another crushing defeat, this time at the hands of the Forbidden City Dragons, 16-0, to put just another nail in the coffin of this forgettable season. The Lions were just simply no match whatsoever to the Dragons, right from the outset, and while they have given the Dragons a scare in their opening four drives, three of the next four (excluding the 1 play prior to half time), the Dragons scored each time. Quarterback Harry Abney once again struggled with the Lions offence, going 18/34 with only 169 yards and a disgusting 5 interceptions, the most ever by a Lions quarterback.

The Lions, now languishing down at 2-7, look to be all but out of contention for a postseason berth this season and are likely to be better off just getting through the next seven games, try to get another win or two, and just make it to the offseason, regroup and start again next season, but the question also remains, will the ownership make a coaching change in the offseason or just write this one down to a poor everything. Questions haven’t subsided over the last few weeks, and they will most likely intensify as the schedule begins to wind down. The Lions have given up the equal third most points this season (only behind Star City and Maastricht) and face teams who have given up considerably less over the remainder of the season, starting with the Entebbe Elders, who are the 7th best when it comes to points conceded (89 so far this season), but sit at 4-5, and still in with a shot at a postseason berth, alongside also in serious contention for the FB East division title.

Talking to the media this week, Team Owner Leam Mark Farrar, for the first time, conceded that some of the changes the team made in the offseason haven’t worked and there have to be some tough questions and answers coming for the Lions between now and the draft at least:

“Look, we made some bad calls this season. Giving up the players we did, not sticking it with the nucleus of the team that gave us the season we had last year, trading the players we did and picking up who we did, it all has not helped. That isn’t to say that they were all mistakes, we made the decisions at the time we made them based on the information we had at the time, and some of those decisions have been good for the team, but a large majority of them have not worked and I, as Team Owner, accept that and know that over the next seven weeks and into the offseason, we have some very tough choices to make and some tough questions that we need to answer”

The Elders come into the game on the back of three straight losses, most recently to the Paris squad 22-3, having only scored 16 points in the last three games, while the Lions have 12 points to their name in the same timeframe. Both teams are hovering around the 63-65% pass completion rate range, and while the Elders have a considerable advantage in the rushing yards department (74.2 per game compared to the Lions at 46.3), the Lions are still close to 190 passing yards per game, which is much better than the Elders who are at 178.6. The game, like most others, will be won and lost with the offensive and defensive lines, with Entebbe giving up around 147 passing yards per game and 87.6 rushing yards (the Lions give up 125 rushing yards and 171 passing yards).

Both sides are looking to get out of the slumps that they are in, both sides have as much to gain from a victory as they have to lose with another loss on their records. There may be just slightly more riding on this for Entebbe on Sunday, but the Lions could stand to lose a whole lot more when the time expires.

INJURY REPORT

The Lions are most certainly now in a major injury crisis, with several players now having to play through some tough moments on their bodies, with the likes of both Frank Bell and Steven Martelli both holding injuries over from the previous weeks. The team have opted to rest both safety Urban Montaigne and defensive end Paul Buckley after they both failed their concussion tests and both will be reevaluated over the week, so may be ready for Week 11. The other major issue is with tackle Thomas Wright, who may be forced to miss the remainder of the season with a nasty ankle injury while defensive end Gavin Blair has passed fit but will play limited time due to an arm complaint that came up during the week in practice.

Game Prediction: Elders to win this one by 7 points

Despite the victory last week, the Lions are still well behind the 8-ball and are still searching for a multitude of answers to their woes this season, as they head into another potentially tough divisional game, this time against the Florence Fools, who will also be looking to bounce back after the close 2-point game back in Week 2. The game could be the one that ends the Lions' season, but with the season all but on life support, sitting now at 3-7, it could just be a nail in the coffin, or it could be all over, but the questions are still there about everything from the offense, to the defense and even the coaching staff. Many are also questioning the bizarre and often stupid decision a few weeks ago to trade Napoleon Whitmore away to a team that is sitting pretty at 7-3 and could have become even better, and not just for this season, but for years to come.

Again, Harry Abeny just struggled, going 20-for-29 and 268 yards, but two interceptions just did not have any answers to the Elders, who with Joe Montana under center getting much more, even with 3 sacks. It was Jeffery Paz's leg, kicking 3 field goals, and getting both PATs, including for what seemed like forever, a rushing touchdown (Robert Seibert) that won the game for the Lions, which was helped a little bit with the 13-point second quarter. The Lions seemed to have the right skills in the game and were able to get across the line, for a third victory in what has been a torrid season.

Speaking after the game, Head Coach James Jennings was not shy to speak honestly about the season that has been so far for the Lions and what it means for the remaining games this season:

"We know we have struggled this season, it just has been one tough loss after another, changes and decisions that even I've been wondering whether or not we have made the right call, but we won't be swayed by that. We just move on from those choices and do what we can to deliver as much as possible, and to keep fighting every single time, and for every single minute. We can't sit here and whinge, complain, cry and say that we've been hard done by, we just have to keep on fighting".

After the game, Team Owner Leam Mark Farrar was also asked about what the rest of the season is going to look like for the team and if they are going to be making any changes over the coming 6 weeks, or if it is all going to be just left until after the season:

"I think I've made it pretty clear before, we aren't going to make any rash decisions, we aren't going to make any sudden changes and just say that it's all a failure and we need to just clear the decks, make changes left, right and center and that suddenly, it's all going to be peachy and fine and that nothing is wrong, it's a new coat of paint. That is not how we approach things, and it's not how we are going to approach this. If this means that we don't feature in the postseason this time around, then it's a big wake-up call and we will have those discussions at the end of the season as to how we move forward into 2024, and how we move forward as a team into the future".

The Lions move into Week 11, and a game against the Florence Fools, who are themselves struggling at 4-6, but they are coming off a solid 17-6 victory over the Terriers and will look to get their fifth win of the season, however, they have struggled against the Lions, with the score currently sitting at 0-3, it could be another tough matchup to face for the Fools, but with the Lions also having their problems this season, this might honestly be the worst game to watch this weekend. The Fools have struggled also on the ground, with Leeroy Jenkins amassing a lowly 414 yards, while Frank Bell sits at 237 yards, and Steven Martelli at 148 yards. It seems this game is not going to be won on the ground, it may come down to just a few points, or it could be a dull and boring one, and decided by a single score.

Game Prediction: Lions to win by 3 points, it will be a close one.

The Lions finally did it, but they secured back-to-back victories with a lowly 6-0 victory over the Fools, with neither side looking anywhere close to being a postseason-contending team, it was the kicking of the punters that actually did anything, with Loose Shoe punting for 483 yards (11 punts) and Jeff Robinson with 286 yards (6 punts). It was the 2/3 field goals by Jeffery Paz that actually did any damage to the scoreboard.

The only real bright side from the game was the 64 yards from Frank Bell on the ground, his second-best rushing game of the season so far, and the 31 yards from Robert Seibert, his highest of the season. Other than that little improvement, nothing really has changed from last week, with Harry Abney once again struggling to place the ball in the right spots, going 29-for-43 and 241 yards, but being sacked twice and intercepted once, but again struggling to find the endzone, the best receiver being Paul Townsend with 50 yards on 4 receptions. The Fools didn't fare that much, with Hmmm Goodenough only managing 71 yards on 14 completions.

The Lions do improve to 4-7, which does put them tied for second in the division, behind the Bullfighters, and a game clear of the Tillamook Sharknado, who they play this week, but with such a large gap now between themselves and the Bullfighters (now at 6 games), with only five games left in the regular season, the division is all but wrapped up for the Bullfighters and the Lions are living on life support to manage a wildcard berth again, but with plenty of other teams in the conference some ways ahead on victories and decent rosters, the Lions may as well just call an end to this season and move onto planning for 2024. Speaking after the game, Head Coach James Jennings talked about the spirit going on around the locker room and what the team plans to do moving into the last part of the season:

"No use beating around the bush, we aren't getting any closer to the postseason as we thought we would, the Bullfighters have done something in the offseason to improve drastically and it has worked for them. We tried it our way and it hasn't worked. The boys, despite the win, know full well, the division title is not coming here, we aren't going to celebrate like we've won the whole thing, we will enjoy the victory, and move on to practice for the Tillamook game, and we will keep on fighting, and if it turns out that we get nothing else, then we can say that the moves we made, the decisions we took, were the wrong step forward, and we all learn from that and we all move onto the offseason and the 2024 season. But the main thing is, that we will not stop fighting for every single yard on the field, and we won't give up until the end of the last game of the season, no matter when that is"

The Lions will now get the chance to head off to Tillamook for another divisional game and to try and make it a third straight victory, and Tillamook will be looking to get back into the winner's circle following a tough 14-6 defeat to the Les Republicains de Paris. Quimbus Baconmaker struggled with three sacks last game, and an average of 168 yards per game, but with Abney sitting only around 30 yards more (203.5 yards per game, in the 4 games he has played for the Lions), it may be a tough day for both teams, especially with both teams still trying to manage any sort of positive running game, the Sharknado averaging around 84 yards per game across all rushers, while the Lions are at the bottom with 51.8 yards per game. For the Lions to win, they need the run game to work better, but they also need the air game to do much better than they have been, and actually score points, otherwise; the Sharknado are going to run away with this one.

Game Prediction: Lions are sadly not going to get three in a row, Sharknado to win this one by 7 points.

The Lions came crashing back to the reality of the season, suffering their eighth defeat of the season, at the hands of the Sharknado, 26-10. The Lions were just the same team they have been most of the season, Abney suffered his lowest QBR of the season with the team, at a low 53.01, with 19-for-36 and only 180 yards (52.8% completion percentage) and once again, the run game was just non-existent, with both Bell and Martelli managing a pathetic 15 yards each, while Hydrothermal Benediction managed a season-high 115 yards on the ground, and Garrett Molyneux also getting a season-high 2 touchdowns in the game, and also the first of his season. With Tillamook getting three field goals and a touchdown on four of their first five drives of the game, there really was no comeback for the Lions.

After the game, the only question on everyone's lips was the future of Head Coach James Jennings, with many commentators saying that Team Owner Leam Mark Farrar needs to make a change now, even if the season is all but done with the team sitting at 4-8, but to get the team ready and in a position to go after a high calibre coach next season, but when approached; he commented that it just was not going to happen:

"Really, we are done for the season, the season is basically done for us. We aren't making the postseason, we aren't going to compete for the league title, we are as far behind that as we can be, and right now, it is not the time to be making those stupid changes just because the results aren't there. James has done as much as he can with what he has been given and what he is working with right now. He is going to stick it out, we have regular discussions and I am confident that once we get through the final games of this season, we will sit down, not just myself and Coach Jennings, but the whole staff, we will sit down and get down to the hard work of rebuilding the team, the roster, and our franchise. We will be back next year".

"We have badly struggled this year, it is no secret and our roster is taking it badly, they know it's not their season, they feel demoralized and frankly, many are just wanting to get to the end but we have been through ****, and we will come out the other side. Everyone in the locker room, including the coaches, are all serious about not giving up in any game that we have remaining. We aren't just going to lie down and say that it's all over and everyone can just have a victory over us. We will keep on going, every minute of the game, every down of the game and we will not stop until that final whistle".

The Lions now head back home to face off against a 6-5 Los Angeles Earthquake side that is coming off not just a victory, but a 44-0 drubbing of the Star City Slamhounds, having the game basically won by halftime, the result meant nothing much than a good tune-up for the Earthquake, who kept the Slamhounds more than quiet in the game, managing 22 first downs to 1, and limiting the Slamhounds to 40 total yards across the whole game (15 rushing, 25 passing). They scored on their first five drives, and never once looked like taking their foot off the accelerator, with Kit Katz getting 169 rushing yards, a career and season-high mark and Mike Tyson nailing every single one of his 8 passes, for a perfect passer rating, the first of his professional career, and becoming only the second place to manage this (Fromage Homage managed it in Week 4 against Seattle). The Lions will need to do more than just lift their game to the upper levels, they need to find a miracle for 60 minutes to manage something respectable from this game, or they risk dropping well off the cliff.

Game Prediction: Earthquake to smash this one through, winning by 14 points.

[PLACEHOLDER FOR GAME 14 PREVIEW]

Game Prediction: Seriously.... do we have to say it. The Bullfighters in a bloodbath this week. Losing record coming up for the Lions.