Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Lions at Vikings Film Breakdown

Lions at Vikings Film Breakdown

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

Tom “Killer” Kowalski has again done an excellent series of articles breaking down the film on the key plays of the Lions’ loss at the Vikings. Here they are linked in order:

  1. Can’t Complain about the Calls (at least not all of them)
  2. New Plays/Formations
  3. Shaun Hill Buys Time on One TD Pass
  4. Domino Effect of Blown Coverages
  5. Best Keeps Barry Comparisons Coming
  6. Poor Throw Costs TD
  7. Raiola Has Eventful Game
  8. Teams Will Isolate Wade
  9. Lions Lose shot at Momentum, Tie game
  10. Houston Robbed of INT, Lions of Fumble
  11. Total Collapse on Short Yardage Woes
  12. Lions Pushed Around on 80 yard TD

Ty at The Lions in Winter has some additional thoughts on the game - including a Viking Perspective. He also did a great read on 4th down decision making I strongly recommend that you check out.

Killer also did a nice piece that sums up my feelings on the Defensive Line and the Lions’ pass rush as well. Considering how badly the Lions secondary is doing now, imagine how it would have been with last year’s pass rush (or lack thereof). Can you say 21-0 by the end of the first quarter? It can’t be understated how much difference the pass rush is/will make for this team. It hasn’t shown up in the win column yet, but the Lions are no easy team to beat at this point — and teams are going to feel it. As I’ve been saying, the defense may not win the fight yet but the other team is sure going to know they were in one.

Rating: 7.8/10 (4 votes cast)

Monday, September 27, 2010

Path of Regression?

Path of Regression?

September 27th, 2010 | by detfan1979 |

I was sick today. Down on the knees in worship of the porcelain deity. While it wasn’t the Lions that made me sick today, it certainly was toss-worthy yesterday. For the Lions Congregation, a couple of guys essentially said we’d see the “same old Lions.” I was skeptical. All season, the phrase had yet to cross my mind. While the NCMV (Near Comeback Moral Victory) was classic Lions — it was also typical of a team that is close but not quite playoff ready.

This week it was not even close.

In typical inept fashion the Lions literally fumbled away the game with their usual boneheaded plays — even the Defensive Line got in on the act, erasing a fumble. The officiating, as usual, was horrendous — Raiola makes what could be his first ever pancake block and they call him for holding on the play. He wasn’t, they were just sure it couldn’t possibly have been a great play. The Lions DB’s didn’t even have to touch the Minnesota wideouts to draw a pass interference (not even illegal contact) while the Lions WR couldn’t draw a flag unless the opposing DB mugged them so well they got their wallet from their inside pad pocket. Even then… The Refs were calling so little (on either team at one point) that the game got very very out of hand. That crew damn well better have heard about it today. You’re not calling it right if you have offsetting personal foul calls more than 3 times in a game, much less 5 minutes.

The whole game was sloppy for both teams – late hits, clipping. Yes. Clipping. When is the last time you saw someone actually get clipped? Horrible, horrible performance by players, coaches, refs. period. All of them.

The Vikings walked away with a win, and they deserved as the less awful of the teams taking the field. I would not feel good about the path Minnesota is on any more than the path the Lions are on after that game. Minnesota got the win that was predicted, but they didn’t “get well” in the least. The only thing they found out is that when they play 11 on 5 Adrian Peterson can still run, and Favre can throw the ball to guys that don’t have a DB within 30 yards of them. Even Shaun Hill and Maurice Morris could have pulled that off. Well, maybe…

Specifics, you ask? Okay… here’s just a select few nuggets of negativity before we get to what I liked (yes, I did like some things about this game. No, I’m not crazy.)

  • Jonathan Wade – just get it over with and sign someone, anyone. Re-sign Bly. I don’t care. Houston still looked okay – not great. Wade was picked on constantly yet again, and the only plays he really made were bad ones. Not. Good. If Aaron Berry were healthy he’d be getting a look as a starter right now, but he’s not. And what does it say about Spievey that Wade and Aplhonso Smith are ahead of him? Yikes.
  • It wasn’t just Wade. The Linebackers outside of Levy (who didn’t look 100% healthy) also did zip. zero. nada. all game long. Smith held onto one gift wrapped Favre INT which was a miracle in and of itself. (not the INT, the fact he didn’t drop it.) Levy only gets Kudos because he was mostly on the tight ends, who were held in check over the middle when he had them.
  • I was serious about 11 vs 5 when Minnesota was on offense. I knew the secondary and LB were weak but ye gods – give us Paris Lenon back it’s that bad!
  • Dropped passes. Poor runs. Even before Best went out, the running game was going nowhere. But the passing game could have been — they just need to feed it to CJ until they triple him (he can beat the double – he did a couple of times in this game) then start running against the lighter fronts. Best wasn’t getting a lot of room — Morris had none.
  • Pettigrew made up for last week’s great performance with some key drops against Minnesota. He needs a lot more consistency.
  • Shaun Hill is trying really hard to make sure he kills his positive win record as a starter before Stafford comes back. He is also proving why he is a backup, and not starting. Those two end zone INTs were just awful decisions, and bad plays by the thrower and receiver. He just doesn’t see the field the same way Stafford does.
  • Clock management and play calling by the coaches. Quit being stubborn about the run. Go max protect and throw it up there with a run mixed in. Anything is better than slamming into the line over and over.
  • Hill’s trouble with end-zone INTs are why Schwartz kicked the FG at the end of the half.
  • Logan’s fumble was his only big error so far. And it was a real zinger of a one too. Good thing he’s been returning well — and even had a nice gain on his one offensive play. It can happen to anyone, but the timing was an awful momentum switch the Lions never got over.

I could go on and on and on about the negative, but there was some positive as well in the game.

  • The defensive line continues to play well and pressure the quarterback. Even getting some average linebackers and secondary behind them will lead to a solid defense soon. (crosses fingers Lions will finally find those)
  • Corey Williams took full advantage of his time in Green Bay with Favre and was doing a great job reading him all game. Nice INT too.
  • The defensive line continues to take advantage of being singled due to other members needing to be doubled — and still guys like Suh are beating the double team.
  • Sammie Hill continues to improve, and is a legit “starter” in that 3-man defensive tackle rotation.
  • CJ finally caught a few passes before the last quarter — they need a “Randy Ratio” to him ASAP.
  • Sheffler stepped up again with a nice game.
  • Derrick Williams finally showed up at WR. The Lions need to pass more often
  • Even though things would be looking not so great if Hill was the long term starter, he isn’t. Morris isn’t the long term starting RB. In the past, they would have been the starters — but not any more. Stafford and Best will both be back, and if the defense can also get a little healthier we may see some good things as the Lions get into the back half of the season.
  • Minnesota, Green Bay, and Chicago on the road in the first 4 weeks of the season. That is brutal no matter how you look at it and but for one ridiculous “process” the Lions would exit 1-3.

Green Bay will be a brutal game against a top tier team (even without Ryan Grant – Aaron Rodgers makes that offense click). Still, it must be taken for what it is and how well the Lions hold up against a far superior team will be a possible barometer for how they will play when they face a team closer to their level.

Rating: 6.8/10 (5 votes cast)
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2 Responses to “Path of Regression?”

  1. By Lionfan73 on Sep 28, 2010

    Typical bad game in Minnesota. I hate that dump. I agree with everything you said….but I think it’s time to do something about Bryant Johnson. No production what so ever. Time to give Williams more of a shot.

    Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)
  2. By DetroitFanTC on Sep 28, 2010

    I like the idea of bringing back Bly. I’d like to see another LB as well.

    After seeing the quotes from Fat Williams about the Lions o-line and team in general, I’d LOVE to see an old fashioned brawl at the 50. Screw the Viqueens!

    Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Behind Enemy Lines: Lions at Vikings

Behind Enemy Lines: Lions at Vikings

Saturday, September 25th, 2010

I once again contacted a blogger for our division foe – this week, Eric Thompson who writes the Vikings Throne blog for Fanball.com. After the Vikings have fallen from their division throne with an 0-2 start that matches that of the Lions, they are looking to the Lions far a hand up. Will the Lions help them stand up, or kick them off the dias? Lets see what Eric thinks (My side of the Q&A Follows)

DetFan1979: There are quite a few references to Brett Favre “looking old”. My gut says it’s just Media Spin. Is he really losing skills, or is the Minnesota offense just not in sync?

ET: Well, he is really old, so if anything he’s looking his age, right? I think it’s ridiculous for anybody to expect Favre to play as well as he did last year since it was a career best in a lot of categories. He has definitely looked his age the first two games; however, check out his numbers from his first two games in 2009 compared to 2010:

2009: 37-48, 265 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
2010: 37-63, 396 yards, 1 TD, 4 INT

He has just as many completions and over 100 more yards more than he had at this point last year. The two big differences? The interceptions (obviously) and the opponents. Last year Minnesota played the Browns and the Lions to start the year–not exactly murderer’s row. (Sorry.) This year, they played the defending Super Bowl champions and a Dolphins team that looks above average at the very least. If Favre’s play continues to suffer against the porous Detroit secondary, then I think he might be on his way down. But I won’t count him out just yet.

DetFan1979: There is a lot of noise about the loss if Sidney Rice. Which receivers – if any – do you think will step up against the Lions’ weak secondary?

ET: Great question. My short answer–PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SOMEBODY! SIDNEY, COME BACK!

My long answer: I think TE Visanthe Shiancoe will still be Favre’s go-to target this week, but the rest of the receiving corps must get more involved for this offense to get on track. I’m worried that Percy Harvin’s health is worse than the Vikings are letting on–he hasn’t shown any of the explosiveness that makes him so dangerous yet. After Harvin, I think Greg Camarillo will be more and more involved as the season comes along. Bernard Berrian might be able to make a play or two, but Favre doesn’t seem to trust him. (The Vikings fans don’t trust him either.) I don’t expect anything from new acquisition Hank Baskett this week. Or the rest of the year for that matter.

DetFan1979: The Lions lead the league in sacks (tied with Green Bay at 10). How do the Vikings plan on protecting Favre?

ET: This is definitely one of the ways that the Lions could do some damage against the Vikings. Favre’s ankle appears to be just fine, but nobody’s going to confuse him withMichael Vick in the pocket. Minnesota has used more max protect packages to keep Favre upright, but I think that’s part of the reason why the passing game has been off. Bryant McKinnie and Phil Loadholt, the Vikings tackles, need to play well–they’ve been inconsistent through the first two games. If McKinnie and Loadholt can handle the vastly improved Detroit pass rush without too much help, the Vikings should be able to put up quite a few points. If not, it might be another long day for #4.

DetFan1979: The Vikings run defense seems as stout as ever, but how is the pass defense faring? With Stafford out, how do you feel the Viking defense is going to attack the Lions to neutralize both Best and Calvin Johnson?

ET: The secondary has started the year incredibly banged up. Cedric Griffinblew out his knee in the NFC Championship game last year and hasn’t played yet this year, and rookie corner Chris Cook is still healing from a training camp injury. Yet the Vikings have only allowed 335 yards through the air; guys like Hussain Abdullah and Asher Allen have filled in well for the injured players for the most part. The defense is most definitely not the reason why the Vikings have faltered out of the gate.

I think the Vikings’ front seven will attack Hill early and often to try and force some mistakes. The Vikings don’t have anyone to match up with Megatron’s size, but I expect them to double team Johnson most of the game. The easiest way to slow Best down would be for the Vikings to get a big early lead and force Detroit to pass more. If not, the Vikings run defense is still tough to beat, but from what I’ve seen of Best so far, he could make a couple big plays.

DetFan1979: This is a road game at the Metrodome for the Lions – despite the struggles of the Vikings recently how do you feel it will play out on Sunday?

ET: The Lions haven’t beaten the Vikings in the Dome since 1997–that’s 12 in a row. Brett Favre has never lost to the Lions at home–he’s a perfect 18-0. History is definitely on Minnesota’s side. While I don’t think the Lions are are an automatic W anymore, I don’t think they’ll buck those trends just yet. I think the game will be close–Lions games always seem to make Vikings fans way too nervous. But in the end the Vikings still have more talent on each side of the ball and that will come through in the end. My prediction: Vikings 27, Lions 21.

Thanks Eric! Good insight from a Viking point of view!

Here is my side of the Q&A with Eric that you can find at Vikings Throne:

ET: It appears that Matthew Stafford won’t be available for Sunday’s game. How do you feel about Shaun Hill’s relief performance so far? What does he do well, and what does he need to do better?

DetFan1979: Shaun Hill is demonstrating why he is one hell of a backup quarterback, but a marginal starter. He was pretty good overall, but he missed his fair share of guys who were open, and pretty much folded on the last four downs where the Lions only need about 15 to 20 yards for Jason Hanson to send that game into overtime with 4 downs and over a minute and a half. That is where Stafford shines, and where Hill did not — under pressure. That being said, if he can just calm down and take some more shots down the field instead of going safe constantly and keeping it conservative it will help immensely. Remember, the Lions were pretty much dominating the Eagles until that meltdown with 90 seconds left in the half. Even then, Hill managed to make some nice throws and get them into a position where they could win it, he just couldn’t close the deal. I’ll take him as Stafford’s backup any time, even though after Stafford returns I hope not to see him again any time soon.

Short answer: Best use of a Lions 7th rounder in a long time.

ET: Jahvid Best has burst onto the scene with two excellent games to start his NFL career. What has helped him be so successful so early?

DetFan1979: Calvin Johnson and Tony Scheffler along with an overall improved Lions line. Mostly CJ and Scheff. The Eagles chose to double up Calvin while putting a DB on Sheff. This left either Best or Pettigrew on a DB and left running lanes underneath. Both players took great advantage and showed why they were drafted where they were. Don’t forget, Pettigrew had 108 yards receiving along with the monster yards/TD’s Best had.

ET: The Lions added defensive stud Ndamukong Suh and other players to shore up their defense, yet they have given up 436 yards a game the first two weeks. Why is the Lions defense still struggling so far in 2010?

DetFan1979: The other 7 guys on defense. They are referred to collectively as “the back 7″ and sometimes divided into “linebackers” and “the secondary”. Against the Eagles and Bears there wasn’t a player outside of Safety Louis Delmas that really showed they belong back there. If secondary stands for second rate, that’s still too high for what the Lions have going on back there. Aaron Berry showed some flash — but was lost for the season. Two dropped INT’s later, the Lions secondary and linebackers can’t cover well enough to take advantage of a ferocious Lions pass rush.

Any time your Dline has 8 sacks on its own and your team has one INT, you know the rest of the team back there is exotically awful (well beyond just plain awful). Quite frankly, Matt Millen left the Lions worse than an expansion franchise and there were just too many holes to field even an average team in just two years. The Lions are getting closer to be sure but they aren’t there yet.

Add in the fact that the Lions were playing their third string MLB (Levy was injured, and his backup Jordan Dizon went on IR near the end of the preseason) and an aging Julian Peterson is their best LB. Not. Good.

ET: We know the Lions have many more weapons than past years thanks to players like Best, Calvin Johnson, and Suh. Name one Lions player that people aren’t talking about that will have a big impact on Sunday’s game.

DetFan1979: One guy who could have a huge impact is Deandre Levy. A back injury kept him out of camp, and then he pulled his groin in the preseason. He is right now the Lions’ best cover LB. Levy has the size, speed, and smarts to man the middle effectively. His ability to match up on Visanthe Shiancoe will, in my opinion, be the major key to the game. If Levy can take away that hot read underneath then the Lions have a good shot to take some big hits on Favre. They had Vick feeling it last week — Favre is not going to be happy or healthy if he has to take those kinds of shots.

ET: The Lions haven’t won in the Metrodome since 1997. Give us your prediction for Sunday’s game–will this year be different?

DetFan1979: It should be a knock-down drag out affair once again for the Lions. In the end, the Lions offense without Stafford isn’t quite as aggressive so points will come difficult against the Vikings D. On defense, Favre gets rid of the ball much faster than Vick so the Lions DB’s will have to step up and take advantage of those Brett Favre throws that are miracles or INT’s. I don’t have confidence they have the talent to do so. I also am not confident the Linebackers as a unit will be able to stop the run from getting to the second level. These Lions aren’t good enough to win very many fights yet, but they sure are going to let you know you were in one.

Rating: 10.0/10 (3 votes cast)

Friday, September 24, 2010

Lions Congregation: Viking Raid!

Lions Congregation: Viking Raid!

Friday, September 24th, 2010

After a busy week off, the Lions Congregation once again returns to the lineup. Now if only Matthew Stafford would return to the Lions lineup all would be better. This week, the Congregation looks at where the Lions are at in the grand scheme, as well as thoughts on the upcoming Vikings game. Have a question or thought for the Panel? Email Lionscongregation@yahoo.com

The Panel:

Zac of the Sidelion Report
Al of The Wayne Fontes Experience
NetRat of The NetRat Detroit Lions site
Steve of Detroit Lions Weblog
Blades Boyd formerly of The Church of Schwartz
Joshua “DetFan1979″ Pung of Roar of the Lions

Question 1 comes from “Larry” in Ann Arbor: Being the typical mentally unstable Lions fan, I am pretty pleased overall with how the Lions have played and see them as being 1-1 in a season where I thought they’d win 6 games. Am I alone in this?

Zac: I gain some satisfaction in the fact that the things that were supposed to be improved have been and the weaknesses of the team have been the things we expected. It is another sign that the organization is heading in the right direction. They aren’t there yet, but they are on their way. The Millen-era left this team with too many holes to fill so quickly and so Mayhew has upgraded when and where he can. Next year’s draft figures to be heavy on defense with a prospect or two along the offensive line; that is the next step in solidifying the entire team.

Al: We’re ALL unstable, it’s what makes us Lions fans!

Larry, you are not alone. Not at all. You can say the Lions should be 1-1, and have played well for long stretches in both games, and be correct. But in the NFL, moral victories still count as an “L” in the standings. I’m sure the Lions’ coaching staff would agree.

Nothing can change the fact the Lions still lack talent, most noticeably on defensive side of the ball, and lack quality depth pretty much everywhere else. Only two things can fix the talent and depth issues, time and smart drafting.

It’s obvious the Lions are improving, and are on the right track. The problem is getting on the right track is taking longer, and has been made much harder, thanks to Matt Millen leaving the franchise literally devoid of NFL talent.

I said before the season my expectation for the Lions was six wins, with eight being absolute best case scenario…but four wins could be worst case. I think losing Matthew Stafford for much of the 1st half of the season qualifies as a worst case scenario.

The Lions are still a couple of years away from playoff contention, even if they do get to the hoped for six wins. Patience is all we have left as Lions fans. So after 52 years, what’s a couple more?

NetRat: In my blog I predicted the Lions would be 1-1 at this point enroute to a 7-9 season. I didn’t predict the refs/rules taking the game winning TD away though.. nor did I predict that Stafford would be out for a number of games. However, the Lions are painfully, slowly, getting to the point where if one player goes down another can step in and the team can still compete. Unfortunately, at certain positions, neither the original starter or the backup are all that, but you have to field a team and you can’t fix everything wrong with a 0-16 team in just two years. Getting this team back to an “any given Sunday” level of competition was/is challenging enough (after just 2 years). Based on what I’ve seen so far this season, that is exactly where the Lions are at. So no, you are not alone.

Steve: No, Larry, when necessary, we all choose to view the Lions current “progress” as tangible and real. Unfortunately, even with the faint outlines of improvement in their offensive playmaking and with their exciting, and often devastating, defensive front four, it is time to strike up a rousing chorus of “Same Ol’ Lions!”, a Lions fan’s standard.

Blades: Yes, you are. With Stafford out for a couple more weeks it looks like we are stuck with Hill at QB and the more I see from this guy the worse I think he is. He has no arm, he throws an ugly ball and makes bad decisions. I guaranteed the Lions would go 4-12 this season and the more I look at it, the more I think they’ll go 3-13 or 2-12. The defensive backs and LB the Lions have are as bad as advertised and the offense is grossly inconstant. On a bright note, it’s absolutely amazing to watch a Lions game where they aren’t down by 20 in the forth quarter. For the first time in three years I actually watched back to back games from start to finish.

DetFan1979: If you think you’re mentally unstable, you’re just crazy enough to watch the Lions. This panel is so unhinged we not only watch them, we research and write about them on a near daily basis all year long. (And yes. Even my Underarmour is Honolulu Blue.)

As far as your perception of 1-1, I think there are two ways to look at it. In the NFL standings they are 0-2. Period. Not Changing. However, we’re looking at improvement not NFL games yanked by the refs at the last instant on a BS interpretation of rule that can somehow mandates a need to calmly hand the ball to the ref after attesting to the TD by signing in triplicate a 72 page form while avoiding being knocked unconscious by the DB who is trying to take the ball away from you before you’re done and take it the other way for a score… {breathe. breathe. breathe.}

Seriously though, here is how I’m looking at it. Week one was a win everywhere but the NFL stats book — so for the sake of evaluating the team, I count that as a win. Now, week 2 is totally different. That was a typical NCMV (Near Comeback Moral Victory) game that really just means the team screwed up and lost a close game. But they still lost. We’ve had enough of that over the years thank you very much. So yes, I see them as 1-1 from an evaluation standpoint.

In the bigger picture I see where the units that were improved are noticeably better (backup QB, running back, TE, Defensive line) and the areas that weren’t addressed are still awful (the back 7) and the rest is still mediocre. This is a huge form of progress as those areas that are being improved are staying that way — showing a path to competitiveness in the next couple of years.

Question 2: Favre and the Vikings are playing just plain Lions 2006 awful football right now. Will the Lions finally get that elusive road win this week in Minnesota, or will the Vikings use the Lions to “get better” as they have so many times in the past?

Zac: My gut tells me that he Vikings will use this as a “get better” game but I’m not completely writing the Lions off yet. I told a couple Vikings friends of mine that something just didn’t seem right with the Vikings this year. They had a lot of drama leading into last year too but this year felt like a whole new level of dysfunction. If that truly is the case and Favre’s mobility is really as limited as it appears then the Lions might be able to steal the game. Even if Favre’s bum ankle is barking, I wouldn’t put it past him to use his quick release and knowledge of the offense to pick the Lions apart and neutralize their pass rush. The good news is that the Vikings will have to do more than simply show up to get their first win of the season.

Al: I honestly can’t say I believe the Lions will win on the road, not even against a struggling Vikings team quarterbacked by a septuagenarian diva. I’d feel much better about the Lions chances if Matthew Stafford were under center, or if Shaun Hill would throw a pass longer than five yards, or even look at to Calvin “I should be targeted 15 times a game” Johnson.

The Vikings have talent on offense, even if Brett Favre’s facade of being a good quarterback at 40 yars of age is cracking, and doing so quickly. There’s still Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin, Visanthe Shiancoe, all players who can gash the Lions’ porous defense…especially the inconsistent, talent lacking back seven. But if the Lions lone strength on defense, the front four, can pressure the mistake prone Favre into making bad throws, anything can happen…especially if the secondary can hold on to sure interceptions, instead of dropping them as if ball was was infected with canceraids.

Defensively, this is still the same team that was an OT away from the Super Bowl. They’ve only given up 28 points in two games, one of those teams being the Super Bowl champion Saints. The Vikings may have issues on offense, but are still a good team on defense.

Can the Lions win? Sure, the Vikings do have problems, and coach Brad Childress is on thin ice, for good reason.

Will the Lions win? Not happening this week. This game is being pushed as a must-win game in Minnesota. Their entire season is riding on the game, and they will play like it. The Lions are already playing for next year and beyond. That’s the difference between having a 40 year old quarterback under center, and a 22 year old one.

NetRat: With Favre and the Vikings anything is possible. There is one thing going for the Lions in this next game however… and that’s that Favre is no Vick. Meaning he isn’t as young, isn’t as mobile, isn’t as healthy and isn’t likely to handle the pounding he’s about to get (Lions are tied for 1st in the league with 10 sacks). Now if the Vikings keep Favre clean then it could easily swing into an ugly game (for the Lions). However, if the Lions can “bring it”… Favre may end up retired without having to worry about his deciding when.

Steve: This question makes my stomach churn because, quite obviously, we all intuitively know the answer. Haven’t you seen the Levi’s ads? Hasn’t the preceding years (and years) of John Madden’s Whitman-esque, and barely concealed man love for all things “Brett” conditioned us for what is likely to occur this Sunday?

Blades: The Vikes will win by ten. The difference is it won’t be Favre that beats them. I think AP will have a career day on the ground and the defence will pretty much destroy Hill. I can’t see our first win coming until we play the Rams in a few weeks but even they aren’t playing bad ball right now. My dream is that I watch Suh come in hard off the edge in a stunt and hit Favre so hard from behind that his neck snaps back and his head literally falls off. That’s how much I hate Favre. Favre the player and Favre the person. Keep in mind, this is still “training camp” for the Vikes because it takes some time to get in game shape for Favre. This weeks game will be like the regular season opener for him.

DetFan1979: It should be a knock-down drag out affair once again for the Lions. In the end, the Lions offense without Stafford isn’t quite as aggressive so points will come difficult against the Vikings D. On defense, Favre gets rid of the ball much faster than Vick so the Lions DB’s will have to step up and take advantage of those Brett Favre hurried throws that are miracles or INT’s. I don’t have confidence they have the talent to do so. I also am not confident the Linebackers as a unit will be able to stop the run from getting to the second level. These Lions aren’t good enough to win very many fights yet, but they sure are going to let you know you were in one.

Rating: 9.5/10 (2 votes cast)

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Film Breakdown – Eagles at Lions

Film Breakdown – Eagles at Lions

September 22nd, 2010 | by detfan1979 |

Tom Kowalski over at Mlive.com has started doing a great series where he breaks down the TV film integrating his insider info from the team into the equation. They are great pieces that give some insight into key plays. Here is the full listing of his articles for the Eagles at Lions game:

  1. Jahvid Best’s Explosion on Display
  2. Scheffler Ran Wrong Route
  3. Back to Back “Easy” Defensive Mistakes
  4. One Reason Can’t Find CJ
  5. Shaun Hill Second INT Avoidable
  6. Officials Are Terribly Inconsistent
  7. Defense Flopped on Final TD Run
  8. Final Four Plays Were a Nightmare

These are great reads, and I think sum up most of the thoughts I had re-watching the game as far as the breakdowns and errors. Some addtional thoughts on the game before we move on to looking at the Lions at Vikings matchup:

I liked what I saw out of Randy Phillips, while I was not liking what I saw out of CC Brown most of the time. Phillips looked like a rookie, but a rookie with upside. I would like to see him get to see some time next to Delmas as a way to see how he is really progressing. Still, he is a least playing at a solid backup level which is outstanding for an undrafted free agent.

The secondary was feeling the loss of Aaron Berry. So far, I like what I see out of Houston, but not what I’m seeing out of Wade. Not sure onAlphonso Smith yet.

At linebacker, the absence of Levy and the loss of Dizon is still being keenly felt in the middle of the field. 2 tackles at MLB Landon Johnson? Really? The defensive line is good, but not THAT good.

Considering how well Antonio Brown has played I can see why the Steelers decided to let Stefan Logan go — but it was a great pickup for the Lions that is already showing dividends. I would still like to see a couple more long returns, but it is early yet.

The Lions are getting better, but the best teams make the easy plays consistently, and the hard plays most of the time. Mediocre teams make the hard plays now and then, and the easy plays most of the time. The bad teams almost never make the hard plays, and make the easy plays look hard.

Any guesses as to where the Lions are still? I think it is dependent on how deeply Honolulu Blue tinted your glasses are… Personally, they are still a bad team at this point through two games, but are very close to becoming mediocre.

Rating: 10.0/10 (4 votes cast)
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One Response to “Film Breakdown – Eagles at Lions”

  1. By Andrew on Sep 22, 2010

    I agree that they’re a bad team, but close to becoming mediocre from your definitions. I think they’re getting better at consistently making tough plays (mostly courtesy of Best and the defensive line), but dubiously, they’re consistently miss on easy plays (4th and 1, dropped interceptions/passes, etc.)

    Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)