nd there are signs they may have a hard time getting back into the division race.When coach Matt Patricia met with reporters on Monday Limited Marcus Peters Jersey , he didn't wait for their questions on his team's 24-9 loss to division rival Minnesota."There's a lot of corrections to be made, a lot of things we obviously have got to do better," Patricia said in his opening remarks. "There were some good things on the tape, but just way too many bad things that overshadowed it."Those good moments certainly would have been condensed to tiny snippets. The bad ones were splattered all over the game tape.On Monday night, the Lions fired special teams coordinator Joe Marciano."I spoke to Joe and informed him of my decision to relieve him of his responsibilities with our team," Patricia said in a statement. "I appreciate Joe's leadership of our special teams units over the last three and a half seasons and have great respect for his many years of service as a coach in the National Football League. On behalf of our team and the entire coaching staff, I want to personally thank Joe for his commitment to the Detroit Lions and wish him and his family the best moving forward."Detroit's team has been in reverse lately.The Vikings (5-3-1) limited Detroit to a season-low 209 yards as the Lions (3-5) lost their second straight. Minnesota's defense sacked Matthew Stafford a franchise-record 10 times."I am embarrassed," Lions center Graham Glasgow said. "It was a bad day for us, and our team. We need learn from this."Detroit was held to single digits in points for the first time since a 17-6 loss to the New York Giants on Dec. 18, 2016. The Lions put together just two drives of more than 30 yards and were 4 for 15 on third downs."What happens is as the season goes on and you have some success in certain areas, teams are going to gear up to try and stop those things that you do, and you're going to have to do it differently," Patricia said. "We've got to be able to handle those changes better than what we're doing right now."And on the other side, the Lions have allowed a run play of 40 or more yards in five games this season."We've had weeks where we feel we didn't necessarily perform on the one day of the week where we have to perform well," Patricia said.As he readies his team for another division road game Sunday at against the NFC North-leading Chicago Bears (5-3) Aqib Talib Jersey , Patricia is convinced that player for player, his team matches up equally with every other team in the division."I think we have a lot of good players on this team, I really do," Patricia said.Patricia said talent isn't the issue bringing down his team."I would say with both offensive and defensive lines, the point of emphasis is fundamentals," Patricia said. "Some of our fundamentals got out of whack. Some of our techniques weren't necessarily where it needs to be on a consistent basis."Fundamentals and execution is what's holding us back now. That's where we've got to start."The problem he faces is that with the majority of practice time each week dedicated to game-planning, Patricia will be hard-pressed to find time to go back to basics with his team.After a 1-3 start, the Lions won two straight and looked to have righted their season. But these past two losses have them struggling again."As a team, we need to get better," receiver Marvin Jones said. "It is definitely disappointing, but at the same time, we just have to go out there and execute. We cannot shoot ourselves in the foot. I think we definitely did that and we just have to get better."Lions offensive lineman Frank Ragnow perhaps summed up the state of the team as they reached the midseason point."If you're not taking a step forward in this league, then you're taking a step back," Ragnow said. It’s not common to hear the phrase “leave the politics out of my sports” in comment threads all over the internet. And this sentiment makes sense on a macro level — the world feels extremely chaotic right now and the idea of slipping away from reality to enjoy a football game is like a warm bath of comfort. The NFL has had some backlash over the past couple of season for being “too political” with the protests to police brutality. And the NFL has paid the price with many fans turning their backs in record numbers. However, as much as we wish the existence of the Los Angeles Rams was an apolitical thing that didn't have any connection to reality... it’s just not true.Everything is political. Football is political. Right now Sam Shields Jersey Salute to Service , the Rams are political.The LA Rams are currently facing the realities of two events head-on that have major political ramifications — a mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, California that was roughly four miles from their practice facility and significant wildfires that are ravaging the same area, displacing thousands from their homes and even making it so that the Rams can’t practice. This is going to be a big part of their season personally, beyond the wins and losses that comes from the games. Though Coach Sean McVay gave out the tried and true “thoughts and prayers” line for reporters, he then said something a little more revealing:“It’s something that makes you step back and gives you a perspective,” McVay said. “I know me personally, I’m very guilty of losing perspective, because you’re just in your own little world and it’s all football, all the time, and then you have things like this that occur and re-gather your priorities and your perspective on what’s really important, and (serve as a reminder to) not to get bent out of shape on some of the things that maybe I tend to do, just being in the role that I’m in.”McVay doesn’t feel like a guy who is going to say anything close to political at all, so just the admission that he’s been rattled by this tragedy is telling. The Rams are part of this community and it’s not always going to be about football. LT Andrew Whitworth had this to say about the shooting in Thousand Oaks that left 13 people dead.“I just don’t believe that sitting there wondering is the best way,” Whitworth said. “Find a way to put your feet on the ground and take action and get involved in some way.”Whitworth is basically saying that the team feels for the community and wants to offer their love and support. There’s a level of horror that these players are feeling about the death toll that struck so close to their home at the same time that many of these players have been forced to evacuate their own homes due to the fires. I wonder if, and this is a big if Authentic Brandin Cooks Jersey , the players’ rage and feeling of helplessness will extend to a bigger step in becoming more proactive in making change in their community. Gun control is obviously a topic that the NFL wants no part of — it would alienate even more fans in a negative way and I’m sure Roger Goodell is begging every player to say “thoughts and prayers” and move on. But as the Rams players step forward to become part of the recovery effort, they are going to see first-hand how devastating this tragedy really was. And to be clear: I’m not saying that Rams players are going to be pushing for stricter gun control because a mass shooting happened near them; but for change to happen, community leaders need to feel the effects of a problem and right now, the Rams are horrified by what happened in their home town, which is also coincidentally a raging inferno.The effects of climate change has struck once again in the southland, burning up acres of land, including many of the homes of the coaches and players for the Rams. But this is just part of living in Southern California, right? Well, it didn’t used to be, but things change. And maybe the next thing to change will be more players speaking up about it. Owners, NFL executives, and many fans don’t want the players to speak up because of the simple truth that it’s messy. Toes will get stepped on. But we’re already down the rabbit-hole — maybe toes should get stepped on until the chaos slows down. The world is on fire and it’s not a game anymore. Meanwhile, the LA Rams are right in the middle of it.