It was a game filled with exciting moments. A game filled with times of aggravation. You will find fans who will sound as if the Lions played awesome and fans who can do nothing but complain about what the Lions did wrong. In the end however, the Detroit Lions beat the Washington Redskins for a second year in a row.
It was Matthew Stafford's first game back and his numbers look pretty good. Throwing for 212 yards and one interception, he also had 4 touchdown passes. Stafford was erratic. He had passes behind his receivers and well over their heads. Twice he tucked the ball down and could have gotten a first down if he would have continued to run but instead he stopped at the line of scrimmage and threw it for an incompletion. He was inaccurate enough that I wonder if he might have taken a step backwards in his development as he looked more like he did last year than he did in the preseason. But in the end, he was accurate when he needed to be and connected for 4 touchdown passes.
Calvin Johnson continued his recent roll of tearing up defenses. With 9 catches and 101 yards, Johnson added another 3 touchdowns to his season totals, bring it to 8 touchdowns for the year. Johnson has now had touchdowns in 4 continuous games in which he has had a total of 7 in that time.
As impressive as Stafford's 4 touchdowns is, or Johnson's 3 receiving touchdowns is, they were not the true stars of the game. The Lions defensive line came off the bye week and simply dominated from start to finish. Kyle Vanden Bosch, Cliff Avril, and Suh all had two sacks, but it was Ndamukong Suh that topped them both as his 2 sacks brought his total to 6.6 on the year and he added a fumble recovery he returned for a touchdown to put the game away as well.
Suh has been astounding the entire season, on pace to have one of the best seasons ever for a rookie if he was a defensive end. To be a defensive tackle and do what he is doing is simply amazing. It is hard to believe that there were actually Lions fans who wanted them to draft Gerald McCoy over Ndamukong Suh.
For the most part the Lions defense dominated Washington's offense. The Lions offense had its moments of good as well as looking pretty lethargic again. Yet the only reason this game was even close was the terrible play of the Detroit special teams as they could not cover Brandon Banks on returns. Banks had 2 punt returns for over 20 yards and three of his kick returns were for 46 yards, 96 yards for a touchdown, and 27 yards. Due to the lack of coverage skills, the Redskins started far too many drives in Lions territory.
All in all however, it was a good game to start the second half of the season after the bye-week. Stafford made some good plays, the defense looked solid and it gives the fans hope for more wins to come.
Showing posts with label 2010 Games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2010 Games. Show all posts
10/31/10
10/18/10
Lions Lose to Giants in Week-5
It looked like it would be another exciting weekend for Detroit Lions fans when in the first drive for New York, the Giants got one first down before Kyle Vanden Bosch sacked Eli Manning. Two plays later the Giants punter mishandled the snap and fumbled the ball. Lawrence Jackson recovered at the Giants 43 yard line.Nine plays and 4 minutes later, Shaun Hill threw a 14 yard touchdown to Nate Burleson.
Then it was mostly down hill from there.
The Giants went on to score the next two touchdowns before the Lions gt another field goal. Then the Giants scored another touchdown to go up 21-10. With 1:20 left in the first half, Shaun Hill was hit low and as he fell forward he landed on his left hand, breaking his arm.
In came Drew Stanton, the Lions 3rd string quarterback. Stanton did a serviceable job, throwing for 222 yards while completing 55.9% of his pass attempts. He had 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
In the end however, the Giants ended up beating the Lions by a score of 28-20, but it was more the Lions beating themselves than the Giants playing so well.
The Lions, who already lead the league with penalties, added 11 more to their total while the Giants only committed 2. Many of the penalties were at crucial moments, giving the Giants a 1st down when it looked like the Lions had stopped them on a 3rd down. Other penalties were plain idiotic, like Cliff Avril losing his head and starting fights.
Offensive Coordinator, Scott Linehan can take some blame as well as he once again fell into his unimaginative play calling. Other than on 3rd and long downs, I do not think Shaun Hill even attempted a pass more than five yards down field. When all of the plays are short, it serves only to bring the defense in tight, then everyone wonders why Jahvid Best has no room to run the ball. Best, by the way, had a total of 16 yards on 12 carries. I lay that at the feet of Linehan for not opening up the offense and forcing the defense to back off a little.
Yet again, in the end, the Lions still had a chance to win.
With all of the penalties, and the lousy play calling, in a game when it seemed the Lions should have been blown out, they were driving in the last minute in an effort to score a touchdown and a two point conversion to send it into overtime. With 7 seconds left, on the Giants 38 yard line, Stanton had Brandon Pettigrew speeding up the middle in a post route. The ball was thrown a little high, but it was definitely catchable, but rather than hauling it in for a reception and a possible touchdown, it went through Pettigrew's hands, only to be picked off by Antrel Rolle to end the game.
Another disheartening loss in a winnable game.
Then it was mostly down hill from there.
The Giants went on to score the next two touchdowns before the Lions gt another field goal. Then the Giants scored another touchdown to go up 21-10. With 1:20 left in the first half, Shaun Hill was hit low and as he fell forward he landed on his left hand, breaking his arm.
In came Drew Stanton, the Lions 3rd string quarterback. Stanton did a serviceable job, throwing for 222 yards while completing 55.9% of his pass attempts. He had 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
In the end however, the Giants ended up beating the Lions by a score of 28-20, but it was more the Lions beating themselves than the Giants playing so well.
The Lions, who already lead the league with penalties, added 11 more to their total while the Giants only committed 2. Many of the penalties were at crucial moments, giving the Giants a 1st down when it looked like the Lions had stopped them on a 3rd down. Other penalties were plain idiotic, like Cliff Avril losing his head and starting fights.
Offensive Coordinator, Scott Linehan can take some blame as well as he once again fell into his unimaginative play calling. Other than on 3rd and long downs, I do not think Shaun Hill even attempted a pass more than five yards down field. When all of the plays are short, it serves only to bring the defense in tight, then everyone wonders why Jahvid Best has no room to run the ball. Best, by the way, had a total of 16 yards on 12 carries. I lay that at the feet of Linehan for not opening up the offense and forcing the defense to back off a little.
Yet again, in the end, the Lions still had a chance to win.
With all of the penalties, and the lousy play calling, in a game when it seemed the Lions should have been blown out, they were driving in the last minute in an effort to score a touchdown and a two point conversion to send it into overtime. With 7 seconds left, on the Giants 38 yard line, Stanton had Brandon Pettigrew speeding up the middle in a post route. The ball was thrown a little high, but it was definitely catchable, but rather than hauling it in for a reception and a possible touchdown, it went through Pettigrew's hands, only to be picked off by Antrel Rolle to end the game.
Another disheartening loss in a winnable game.
10/3/10
Lions Lose to Packers in Week-4
After three weeks of showing no offense except at the end of each half, and almost beating, but still losing to lesser teams, the Lions face the Green Bay Packers. I did not hear even one fan say they thought the Lions could beat the Packers. I thought they would be crushed. In the end, it was not the Packers who beat the Lions, but it was the Detroit Lions who beat the Detroit Lions.
In the first half Jahvid Best fell down on a pass route. The pass from Shaun Hill looked like it would have been on the mark, but with Best on the ground, it floated dreadfully into the hands of a Packer. At another point, Jahvid Best fumbled a hand-off. Not the normal fumble you would expect. It looked to be a clean hand-off, but as a defender blitzed past him, it looked like he might have struck Best's arm. The ball shot away from Jahvid Best like it was thrown and fell into the trenches and in the scramble, it was Green Bay who came up with it. On yet another pass play, Best fell down and the ball sailed harmlessly away. Jahvid Best was a part of two turnovers. One lead to a Green Bay Touchdown and the other stopped the Lions from getting at least a field goal. In short.... Jahvid Best had a terrible first half.
But it wasn't just Jahvid Best who hurt the Lions this Sunday. It was the whole team. The Lions had an astounding 13 penalties for 103 yards compared to the Packers 3 penalties for only 31 yards.
Speaking of penalties however, it seems as though the refs are not finished screwing over the Lions in 2010. In the 4th quarter, the Lions needed a first down when Shaun Hill threw a pass to Calvin Johnson. Before the pass was thrown, Johnson had a defender shoving against him. After the pass was thrown, that same defender was still all over him. As Johnson tried to pull in the pass, that defender was still draped all over Johnson. Yet no flag was thrown. Johnson cried for the flag, but the refs turned a blind eye to an obvious pass interference that would have given them a first down and put them in field goal range. A field goal would have given the Lions the lead.
At another point, Shaun Hill scrambled to his left and threw an incompletion in the end-zone. Yet it was obvious to any on lookers that if Hill would have tucked the ball and ran with it, he could have scored the touchdown himself. Yet that is understandable at least. It all happens fast down there in the red zone and by the time he was open to run with it, he had already committed his mind to pass the ball.
So after a game of massive amounts of penalties, players falling down and fumbling, and the refs once again making a mistake that hurt the Lions, the Detroit Lions lost to the great Green Bay Packers 28 to 26.
It was early in the second half when Shaun Hill had a pass intercepted by Charles Woodson, who ran it back for a touchdown. Those 7 points were the only points the Lions defense allowed Green Bay to score in the second half.
It seems the Lions have found a pattern and are holding to it this year. They get screwed over by refs. They fall behind early. They make a great comeback and they somehow find a way to fall short of winning.
In 4 losses thus far in 2010, the Lions have won one game and had it taken away because of the refs, lost two others that they could easily have won and were flat out beaten in only one game. Yet all in all, as much as another loss hurts, none of us thought they would have even competed with the Packers. That the Detroit Lions actually were in the thick of it right to the end, and played so well in the second half, that is far more than we expected to get from them.
In the first half Jahvid Best fell down on a pass route. The pass from Shaun Hill looked like it would have been on the mark, but with Best on the ground, it floated dreadfully into the hands of a Packer. At another point, Jahvid Best fumbled a hand-off. Not the normal fumble you would expect. It looked to be a clean hand-off, but as a defender blitzed past him, it looked like he might have struck Best's arm. The ball shot away from Jahvid Best like it was thrown and fell into the trenches and in the scramble, it was Green Bay who came up with it. On yet another pass play, Best fell down and the ball sailed harmlessly away. Jahvid Best was a part of two turnovers. One lead to a Green Bay Touchdown and the other stopped the Lions from getting at least a field goal. In short.... Jahvid Best had a terrible first half.
But it wasn't just Jahvid Best who hurt the Lions this Sunday. It was the whole team. The Lions had an astounding 13 penalties for 103 yards compared to the Packers 3 penalties for only 31 yards.
Speaking of penalties however, it seems as though the refs are not finished screwing over the Lions in 2010. In the 4th quarter, the Lions needed a first down when Shaun Hill threw a pass to Calvin Johnson. Before the pass was thrown, Johnson had a defender shoving against him. After the pass was thrown, that same defender was still all over him. As Johnson tried to pull in the pass, that defender was still draped all over Johnson. Yet no flag was thrown. Johnson cried for the flag, but the refs turned a blind eye to an obvious pass interference that would have given them a first down and put them in field goal range. A field goal would have given the Lions the lead.
At another point, Shaun Hill scrambled to his left and threw an incompletion in the end-zone. Yet it was obvious to any on lookers that if Hill would have tucked the ball and ran with it, he could have scored the touchdown himself. Yet that is understandable at least. It all happens fast down there in the red zone and by the time he was open to run with it, he had already committed his mind to pass the ball.
So after a game of massive amounts of penalties, players falling down and fumbling, and the refs once again making a mistake that hurt the Lions, the Detroit Lions lost to the great Green Bay Packers 28 to 26.
It was early in the second half when Shaun Hill had a pass intercepted by Charles Woodson, who ran it back for a touchdown. Those 7 points were the only points the Lions defense allowed Green Bay to score in the second half.
It seems the Lions have found a pattern and are holding to it this year. They get screwed over by refs. They fall behind early. They make a great comeback and they somehow find a way to fall short of winning.
In 4 losses thus far in 2010, the Lions have won one game and had it taken away because of the refs, lost two others that they could easily have won and were flat out beaten in only one game. Yet all in all, as much as another loss hurts, none of us thought they would have even competed with the Packers. That the Detroit Lions actually were in the thick of it right to the end, and played so well in the second half, that is far more than we expected to get from them.
9/19/10
Lions Fall Short Again - Week 2
In week one, the Lions made a comeback and lost after what looked like a game winning TD was called incomplete due to a rule that is written differently than it is enforced. This week that same rule was enforced again but this time the Lions were at the beneficial end of it as it was an Eagles receiver who dropped the ball at mid-field. Again, the Lions looked to make a great comeback but fell short again.
After taking a 17-7 lead in the second quarter, the Lions gave up four unanswered touchdowns and fell behind 35-17. Then the Lions finally scored again on Jahvid Best's third TD of the day. With 1:50 left to go, Shaun Hill hit Calvin Johnson for a 19 yard touchdown, the completed another pass to Johnson for a two point conversion. The Lions were now down 35-32.
On the ensuing play, Jason Hanson kicked an on-side kick and the Lions recovered. With well over a minute left to go and on their own Lions 43 yard line, it seemed all common sense left as Hill threw four straight incomplete passes in a row to end their hopes for a comeback.
Still, there was a lot of good in the game as well as a lot of bad. Jahvid Best looked like he was every bit the game breaking running back the Lions hoped he would be when they traded to move back into the first round to draft him. Best had 78 yards on 17 carries and two rushing touchdowns. On the receiving side, he had 9 grabs for 154 yards and another touchdown. A total of 232 all-purpose yards and 3 touchdowns.
It was also a good thing to see that the Lions are not to be considered out of it this year no matter how bad they look. Though they have yet to win a game this year, Detroit has made two come from behind efforts that were as exciting as any in the last minute of the two games they have played.
Yet the bad still out weighs the good as again the play calling was less than desirable. The few times they showed the play action pass, if that's what those were, they were not close to selling the run to anyone much less the defense. I did not see even one end around or one reverse in the game. In fact, the most imaginative plays came in the second half when the Lions brought Ndamukong Suh onto the offensive side of the game.
Near the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Lions found themselves in a 3rd and 1 situation. In came Suh. The play? A hand off to Best straight up the middle, which was stuffed for no gain. Detroit decided to go for it on fourth down and kept Suh on the field as a full back again. The play? A hand off to Best straight up the middle which was stuffed for no gain, again!
With the powerful Suh playing fullback, it had to be telling the defense that the Lions were going to try and power their way for a first down. With the Lions center, Dominic Raiola being undersized and having a reputation as being pushed backwards, by the time Suh reached the line , it was already a yard back towards him. Why telegraph the play to the world? Why not fake the hand-off and let Hill run it to the outside? Hill is not the most agile quarterback but he can run some. Why not let one of the tight ends slip away on a fake hand-off and hit him with a pass? Or better yet. Why not let Scheffler slip away and go deep on a fake hand-off?
For most of the game, the Lions would not throw the ball more than five yards down field again. When they brought in Suh on a short yardage third down, that would have been ideal for the deeper pass. It almost seems as if Linehan is one of those old men who do not like the idea of thinking outside the box. He has his set plays and will stick to them no matter how old, out dated, and unimaginative they are. Sometimes I think his play book must come from the days before the forward pass. My big question is, whose play book did the Lions use in the preseason?
After starting 0-2, it is difficult to hang onto the good but that is exactly what we need to do. We have to remember that the Lions are not a play-off team yet and if you had expected them to be, you were truly living out of Never Never land. But the Detroit Lions are an improved team. They have come very close to winning both of their games this year and have shown a lot of improvement.
Oh yeah. The defense had another 5 sacks and Suh had his second in two games.
After taking a 17-7 lead in the second quarter, the Lions gave up four unanswered touchdowns and fell behind 35-17. Then the Lions finally scored again on Jahvid Best's third TD of the day. With 1:50 left to go, Shaun Hill hit Calvin Johnson for a 19 yard touchdown, the completed another pass to Johnson for a two point conversion. The Lions were now down 35-32.
On the ensuing play, Jason Hanson kicked an on-side kick and the Lions recovered. With well over a minute left to go and on their own Lions 43 yard line, it seemed all common sense left as Hill threw four straight incomplete passes in a row to end their hopes for a comeback.
Still, there was a lot of good in the game as well as a lot of bad. Jahvid Best looked like he was every bit the game breaking running back the Lions hoped he would be when they traded to move back into the first round to draft him. Best had 78 yards on 17 carries and two rushing touchdowns. On the receiving side, he had 9 grabs for 154 yards and another touchdown. A total of 232 all-purpose yards and 3 touchdowns.
It was also a good thing to see that the Lions are not to be considered out of it this year no matter how bad they look. Though they have yet to win a game this year, Detroit has made two come from behind efforts that were as exciting as any in the last minute of the two games they have played.
Yet the bad still out weighs the good as again the play calling was less than desirable. The few times they showed the play action pass, if that's what those were, they were not close to selling the run to anyone much less the defense. I did not see even one end around or one reverse in the game. In fact, the most imaginative plays came in the second half when the Lions brought Ndamukong Suh onto the offensive side of the game.
Near the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Lions found themselves in a 3rd and 1 situation. In came Suh. The play? A hand off to Best straight up the middle, which was stuffed for no gain. Detroit decided to go for it on fourth down and kept Suh on the field as a full back again. The play? A hand off to Best straight up the middle which was stuffed for no gain, again!
With the powerful Suh playing fullback, it had to be telling the defense that the Lions were going to try and power their way for a first down. With the Lions center, Dominic Raiola being undersized and having a reputation as being pushed backwards, by the time Suh reached the line , it was already a yard back towards him. Why telegraph the play to the world? Why not fake the hand-off and let Hill run it to the outside? Hill is not the most agile quarterback but he can run some. Why not let one of the tight ends slip away on a fake hand-off and hit him with a pass? Or better yet. Why not let Scheffler slip away and go deep on a fake hand-off?
For most of the game, the Lions would not throw the ball more than five yards down field again. When they brought in Suh on a short yardage third down, that would have been ideal for the deeper pass. It almost seems as if Linehan is one of those old men who do not like the idea of thinking outside the box. He has his set plays and will stick to them no matter how old, out dated, and unimaginative they are. Sometimes I think his play book must come from the days before the forward pass. My big question is, whose play book did the Lions use in the preseason?
After starting 0-2, it is difficult to hang onto the good but that is exactly what we need to do. We have to remember that the Lions are not a play-off team yet and if you had expected them to be, you were truly living out of Never Never land. But the Detroit Lions are an improved team. They have come very close to winning both of their games this year and have shown a lot of improvement.
Oh yeah. The defense had another 5 sacks and Suh had his second in two games.
9/12/10
Detroit Lions Lose in Week One
Jahvid Best ran into two defenders at the goal line and was stopped dead in his tracks. As he fell along the goal line, he twisted around and the ball crossed the plain. It was Best's second touchdown of a game that the Detroit Lions lost 19 - 15.
With less than a minute to go and the Lions down by five points, Calvin Johnson made a leaping catch in the end-zone. With two hands having solid possession of the ball he came down with first one foot then a second. Still holding the ball cleanly with one hand, he fell to his butt. Than as he spun to his side, the hand holding the ball hit the ball to the turf and came away without the ball. With possession of the ball, Calvin Johnson got both feet down, and fell to his butt, yet because he hit the ball against the turf and then lost control of it, the replay official said it was NOT a touchdown. Instead of winning in the first week of the season, the Lions got a loss because of the worst rule in the history of sports.
According to the rule, to my understanding, a receiver must have control of the ball through the entire play. So even though he held clean possession of the ball far longer than a running back would have to when reaching the ball across the plain for a touchdown. Even though Calvin Johnson had possession much longer than a receiver would if he landed with two feet and spiked it to the turf, his reception was considered an incompletion.
Then after the replay official overturned the touchdown, the Lions came back with the same play and Calvin Johnson was literally mauled by the defense before the ball made it to him and no interference call was made.
Yet that is only one reason the fans have to be upset. In the first half the Lions offense was pitiful. The only touchdowns coming from being put in great field position after Bears turnovers. The offense never drove down the field for any points. Then late in the second quarter, Peppers broke free and hit Stafford from behind, driving him to the turf and injuring the Lions 2nd year quarterback. At this time there is no word as to how serious it is.
Then there is the play calling by the Lions offensive coordinator. It was seriously reminiscent to the days of Marriucci as the coach. Before the last drive where the Lions were ripped off by the refs, there was not one pass attempt to my memory that was more than ten yards down field. When the defense was stacked up on 3rd and short, they ran the ball up the middle and the Lions do not have the power to run up the middle behind an undersized line. There were a couple of quick slants called, and they worked well enough, but they did not go back to those very often. In short, the play calling did absolutely nothing to force the defense to back off in the least bit. The Bears played a tight short defense and came hard every play and Scott Linehan did not have the ingenuity to counter that.
After Matthew Stafford was injured, Shaun Hill was rendered useless. In fact he did not get more than one first down until the last drive when the Bears played bend but don't break defense to protect the lead. Though Jahvid Best had two touchdowns, he only had 20 yards rushing for the day because there simply was no place for him to go.
Yet after a very upsetting loss, there is something for the fans to be happy about. The Lions new and improved defense was nothing short of superb. With the offense putting the Lions defense in a bad field situation over and over again, the Lions defense only allowed 19 points and at one point stood up the Bears at the goal line. The Lions had four sacks on Cutler, all from the defensive linemen. Corey Hill, Ndamukong Suh, Sammie Lee Hill, and Turk McBride each had one sack. Along with the sacks, the Lions had 3 fumble recoveries and an interception.
With less than a minute to go and the Lions down by five points, Calvin Johnson made a leaping catch in the end-zone. With two hands having solid possession of the ball he came down with first one foot then a second. Still holding the ball cleanly with one hand, he fell to his butt. Than as he spun to his side, the hand holding the ball hit the ball to the turf and came away without the ball. With possession of the ball, Calvin Johnson got both feet down, and fell to his butt, yet because he hit the ball against the turf and then lost control of it, the replay official said it was NOT a touchdown. Instead of winning in the first week of the season, the Lions got a loss because of the worst rule in the history of sports.
According to the rule, to my understanding, a receiver must have control of the ball through the entire play. So even though he held clean possession of the ball far longer than a running back would have to when reaching the ball across the plain for a touchdown. Even though Calvin Johnson had possession much longer than a receiver would if he landed with two feet and spiked it to the turf, his reception was considered an incompletion.
Then after the replay official overturned the touchdown, the Lions came back with the same play and Calvin Johnson was literally mauled by the defense before the ball made it to him and no interference call was made.
Yet that is only one reason the fans have to be upset. In the first half the Lions offense was pitiful. The only touchdowns coming from being put in great field position after Bears turnovers. The offense never drove down the field for any points. Then late in the second quarter, Peppers broke free and hit Stafford from behind, driving him to the turf and injuring the Lions 2nd year quarterback. At this time there is no word as to how serious it is.
Then there is the play calling by the Lions offensive coordinator. It was seriously reminiscent to the days of Marriucci as the coach. Before the last drive where the Lions were ripped off by the refs, there was not one pass attempt to my memory that was more than ten yards down field. When the defense was stacked up on 3rd and short, they ran the ball up the middle and the Lions do not have the power to run up the middle behind an undersized line. There were a couple of quick slants called, and they worked well enough, but they did not go back to those very often. In short, the play calling did absolutely nothing to force the defense to back off in the least bit. The Bears played a tight short defense and came hard every play and Scott Linehan did not have the ingenuity to counter that.
After Matthew Stafford was injured, Shaun Hill was rendered useless. In fact he did not get more than one first down until the last drive when the Bears played bend but don't break defense to protect the lead. Though Jahvid Best had two touchdowns, he only had 20 yards rushing for the day because there simply was no place for him to go.
Yet after a very upsetting loss, there is something for the fans to be happy about. The Lions new and improved defense was nothing short of superb. With the offense putting the Lions defense in a bad field situation over and over again, the Lions defense only allowed 19 points and at one point stood up the Bears at the goal line. The Lions had four sacks on Cutler, all from the defensive linemen. Corey Hill, Ndamukong Suh, Sammie Lee Hill, and Turk McBride each had one sack. Along with the sacks, the Lions had 3 fumble recoveries and an interception.
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