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    Caliph Raymond shows that even the smallest lion has a mighty roar
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    Caliph Raymond shows that even the smallest lion has a mighty roar

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    5 minutes, 51 seconds Read

    Caliph Raymond waited for the ball to come out of the light, then caught it at the 10-yard line and ran. He passed the first Tennessee defender as if he had been thrown backwards, passed the second like a water beetle passes a lily, and then left the rest of the defense behind like a cannonball leaves the cannon behind. He reached the end zone so quickly that even the cheerleaders felt a tingle on their necks.

    Whiplash. With punt returns and receptions worth over 200 yards – and two touchdowns – Raymond had the day of his dreams. And he has been dreaming for a long time. This is a guy who went undrafted eight years ago and played for four different NFL teams before catching his first touchdown pass. He had more short-term contracts than a Motel 6. He got cut more times than sushi.

    But on Sunday, at age 30, he did something no Detroit Lion had ever done – returned a punt for a touchdown and caught a TD pass on the same play – and was the unlikely star of a most likeable afternoon.

    LIONS LEVEL: Special teams were exemplary in decimating the Titans 52-14

    “It was,” said Kalif after the 52:14 loss, “a really cool game.”

    Everyone loves Raymond.

    Complementary football, then simply free of charge

    Like an election, the Lions face off against the Titans about every four years. And Detroit has lost the last six times. Then Sunday came. And if this game were a presidential race, CNN would have called it at the coin toss.

    “This team (Tennessee) came out and played hard…,” Dan Campbell said. “I know it doesn’t seem like it.”

    No, that is not the case. But the Lions were responsible for that. Not only did they beat the Titans for the first time since the franchise moved out of Houston, they ran through them, overran them and then pushed them down an elevator shaft. Their defense kept stealing the ball from them. And the sideline became a Detroit superhighway, with various Lions outrunning a group of Titans defenders game after game for big gains or touchdowns.

    The Lions had 52 points on the board. And I think they missed the fourth quarter.

    “We didn’t play the cleanest ball,” Campbell said. “However, when you have four takeaways on defense, five-on-five in the red zone, and you have the returns that our special forces got…then you can get a lot of production. …

    “Once again, this team knows how to complement each other.”

    Yes. As in, “Good game, Caliph.” Nice game, David. Nice game, Sam. …”

    Remember, this was supposed to be a week where the Lions lamented who they didn't have: no Aiden Hutchinson, no Jamison Williams, no Josh Pashcal. Instead, they looked like a movie cast that barely had enough costumes for their stars.

    Raymond returned the punt 90 yards to the promised land. Jahmyr Gibbs ran 70 yards for a touchdown. David Montgomery ran for one and threw for the other. Both tight ends had TD catches. If the game lasted longer, the equipment manager would score.

    As strange as it may sound, the least impressive player was the Lions' biggest offensive star, their quarterback Jared Goff. And all he managed was 12 of 15 with three touchdowns. At 85 yards.

    “I’ll take it,” Goff said. “I had a lot of games where I had a lot of yards and not a lot of touchdowns.”

    But that's exactly what you get when your offense is humming, your defense is humming, your special teams are humming, and your opponent is singing like Tiny Tim.

    Tennessee (1-6) is a bad team that, we have to admit, is also poorly coached. On Sunday, the Titans not only threw two interceptions, lost two fumbles, drew eight penalties and allowed over 260 yards on special teams, but they also had the ball First-and-goal from the Lions' 1-yard line and called out FOUR STRAIGHT PASSES, all unsuccessful.

    It takes skill to be so stubborn. I don't want to say Tennessee made mistakes, but if her foot was a gun, he would shoot himself.

    “That,” their coach Brian Callahan said after the game, “is how you get beat by a really good football team.”

    So. Who can object to that?

    Little lion with a big roar

    But let's leave any further criticism of the Titans to the good people of Tennessee and instead return to Raymond, who at 5-foot-10 may be the shortest Lion, but probably the most popular.

    Goff admires him. His teammates hug him. And if you want to choke the badass Campbell, just ask him to tell you Raymond's 2021 arrival story.

    “We were fresh at work and (Brad Holmes, the Lions' GM) said, 'Hey, take a look at this guy from Tennessee.' He is truly a returner. … Do you think there's a place for him on offense?'

    “And I looked at about ten plays and thought, ‘Yeah. Absolutely there is. Take this guy now.' And bringing Leaf here has been a blessing ever since.”

    Remember, this is a man who played for Denver, the NY Jets, the NY Giants twice and the Titans twice before signing with Detroit. He admitted Sunday that there was a moment in 2018 when he walked off the field with the Giants and said to himself, “I just played my last NFL game.”

    “I had problems,” he admitted on Sunday. “I was very scared. Lots of doubts. …

    “I had a choice this offseason. I thought I could either go into the tank and just quit, or I could give it everything I had.”

    He chose the latter. He redoubled his efforts. Every minute dedicated to getting better. If you think about it, this is somewhat similar to the Lions since they started in Leagues 1-6 two years ago.

    Look at them now. They've turned that record around – they're 6-1 – and currently hold first place in the NFC. More importantly, they showed they could beat the hottest team (Minnesota) last week and the coldest this week.

    This is more impressive than it sounds. The NFL is not a college where expected failures typically occur. Professional teams are relatively close to each other. And this may be hard for you crazy kids to believe, but there was a time when Detroit lost games like this on a regular basis. Bad teams came to town, and Detroit stumbled and fumbled and handed them victories.

    It's hard to imagine the 2024 Lions doing that. You are too inspired. You take things too seriously. They are also just too good. They intensify whenever there is a hole. Or fill these gaps with new heroes.

    On Sunday they did it again. You didn’t hear anyone say, “Where’s Jamo?” at Ford Field. But you may have heard a few Titans screaming, “Where is Caliph?”

    Uh. He has your back.

    Everyone loves Raymond.

    Contact Mitch Albom: [email protected]. Check out the latest updates on his charities, books and events at MitchAlbom.com. Follow him @mitchhalbom.

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