Lions Preseason Week-2: Not to Worry

After the Lions beat the Cleveland Browns, thanks primarily to the 3rd stringers and Stanton's improved play, there are a lot of fans worried about the Lions this year. Do not worry yet....

Jahvid Best:
The greatest reason to worry might be Jahvid Best. He got his bell rung early on and was out for the game. His absence along with his bad choice to follow the hole and his fumble have many fans thinking he is not good enough. Some say he is too small. Many do not believe he is an every down back. Do not worry.....

Likely if it was regular season, he would have been back in the game. Players get their bells rung all the time in the NFL. Many players will take a hard hit, leave the game for a few plays and return. But since it is preseason, Schwartz was not taking any more chance with him than with Calvin Johnson. Even the smallest injury will keep his stars out of games in the preseason.

Defensive Line:
There are those who do not believe the defensive line is as good as we thought since they did not sack McCoy. Do not worry....

The truth is, the Lions defensive line was rushing McCoy's passes consistently. The starters have only played a total of two maybe three quarters and they are pressuring the QBs. The sacks will come.

Defense:
Some may worry that McCoy threw for three touchdowns against the Lions starters. Do not worry....

Two of the TDs came from the Browns getting the ball at the Lions 34 yard line and the Lions 21 yard line. Short fields like that will tend to give quarterbacks good chances of throwing touchdowns. This is not something that will continue to happen. Keep in mind that McCoy only completed 10 of his 18 attempts.

Run Defense:
The Browns had 135 yards rushing! What are the magic words?... Do not worry!!!!

81 of those yards came from one scamper later in the game. That means the rest of the game, the Browns were held to only 54 yards on 21 carries. It was also the back-ups who gave up the long run. Not the starting unit!

Finally:
Keep in mind two important points here. One - While it was not an exciting game, you have to remember they all wont be. But the Lions found a way to win it anyway (even though wins and losses make no difference in the preseason!). Secondly, is that it is only preseason. The coaches are not calling plays to win the games. For the most part, they are calling plays to see their team react to certain situations.