PITTSBURGH -- None of the Detroit Lions players lost sight of the fact they were beaten by two touchdowns on Sunday. But, they also don't want team president Matt Millen to lose sight of what happened in the first half, either.
The Lions capped off the 2005 regular season with another loss, a 35-21 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who needed to win to qualify for the playoffs. The Lions finished with a 5-11 record, their fifth consecutive season with double-digit losses.
Several players, though, believe Detroit's first-half offensive performance is a testament that they could be on the right track. The Steelers, who had given up a total of only 12 points in the previous three games, allowed two Lions touchdowns in the first quarter. The Lions were sharp in every offensive phase.
"It definitely gives us hope," said tight end Marcus Pollard, who had four pass receptions for 50 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown catch. "We took a step tonight. Even though we didn't win, as a group, we took a step in the right direction."
Detroit's offense moved the ball effectively for most of the game, converting 10-of-17 third downs and going 3-for-3 in the red zone. Quarterback Joey Harrington completed 17 of 33 passes for 212 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions and had a passer efficiency rating of 102.1.
"I thought Joey played a good game, a strong game," said Lions interim head coach Dick Jauron. "I thought that he handled things well."
The problem was that three special teams mishaps led directly to 21 first-half Pittsburgh points and then, in the second half, the Steelers' running game took over. The Lions had one full possession in the third quarter -- and scored a touchdown -- but the Steelers didn't allow them many opportunities because Pittsburgh controlled the tempo. In the second half, the Steelers ran 31 times and threw just five passes. The Lions' defense couldn't get Pittsburgh off the field to give their own offense more chances.
"It's not my team, but I believe I'd keep the quarterback. I'd keep Joey," said Lions wide receiver Roy Williams, who had three receptions for 31 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown catch. "He made strides with this team, with the confidence, and I think everybody's starting to respect him now.
"You saw a bunch of big throws. We didn't win, but he put us in a position to win. But, it's a team sport, it's offense, defense and special teams -- you can't win just one or two."
Despite the team's poor record and shaky offensive performance this season, Williams believes the Lions would be better served by keeping most of the team intact and continuing to grow.
"Hopefully, everybody's back. I've only been here two years and I don't want to see a carousel of players coming in and going out," Williams said. "Let's get some continuity, stay together and let's keep this thing rolling."
Center Dominic Raiola echoed Williams' sentiments.
"There's no consolation in a loss, but there was a positive there," Raiola said. "You don't want to shut it down and do what they did in '01 and cut everybody and bring in a whole new team.
"You've got to have continuity. You can see it in Roy, he's taking on the role of a leader. We keep forgetting he's only in his second year, but he's taking that role and taking it to the next level. He played every snap and even more (important) than catching those balls, it was him digging out those safeties in the run game. That's why a few of those runs went, because he was digging out those safeties."
For his part, Harrington admits that it's important to have Williams' support -- but that's just the beginning.
"I'm not trying to prove that I'm not the problem, that's never been my mentality. But, I am trying to get their confidence," Harrington said. "As a quarterback, you need people to believe in you. Every quarterback in this league can play -- it's about the confidence and the trust that people have in the huddle. Everybody has talent, every quarterback can throw the ball, every running back can run and every lineman can block -- that's why you're here.
"Being successful is about having a relationship and a trust and a confidence in the guys in the huddle."
While Harrington is under contract for the next two years, his status is anything but solid. He's scheduled to make $4.45 million in salary next season and he'll also receive a $4 million bonus if he's on the roster on June 15. It appears the decision of whether to keep Harrington will come down to the desires of the new head coach -- whoever that's going to be.
If the Lions keep Harrington, they'll want to restructure his contract to make it more salary cap-friendly. If Harrington wants to leave, though, he can refuse to negotiate and make it tougher for the Lions to keep him.
"The first thing is getting the feeling that I'm wanted. That's issue No. 1," Harrington said. "I don't know what they want to do with me. Two months ago, the consensus was that I was on the first thing smokin' out of town. A month ago, now I'm staying. You can't let yourself get too high or too low. You can't let yourself get caught up in the mentality that the mob picks up."
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Originally Posted by WH Press Sec. Tony Snow
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eSoto, Texas, where he was a high school star and, earlier, quarterback on a national Pop Warner championship team. 
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