Well here we are, facing a good team that is not doing so well. A game between two underachieving teams.
I know it is hard to call the Lions underachievers when they are 1-1 and lost to a team that was expected to beat them, but its not who beat them, but how they beat them. The 49ers did not do anything special to pull out a victory. The Lions simply played bad in every facet of the game. Now they face the Titans and I am not so sure things will get better.
One might expect the Lions to have a field day against the Titans right? After all, shouldn't the Fearsome Four be all over a rookie quarterback? Yet I look at the fact that the Lions have a history of making bad QBs look good. Average quarterbacks continuously complete a high percentage of their passes against the Lions secondary. So far, Jake Locker has completed 66% of his passes against the Patriots and Chargers. They may not have great defenses, but I seriously doubt their secondary is as bad as the Lions. Then again, Locker has only been sacked twice so far. If the Lions D-line can lay the lumber on the rookie a couple times early, maybe they can rattle his cage enough to make some bad passes. But then, dont we hope for that against all quarterbacks?
The fact is, the Lions should be able to beat this team. The Lions have a great D-line that should make Locker very uncomfortable. THey have the talent on offense to destroy defenses. LeShoure will make his debut, though I dont expect that to be as great as many fans do. The problem is, the Lions coaches seem to have no idea how to use the talent they have.
Linehan has one of the most talent passing teams in the NFL, and cant seem to get it going until the fourth quarter when teams play bend but dont break defense. Against a run stop defense in SF, he forced the run, over and over again, with an underpowered Center and no lead blocker. He continually calls short pass plays to the sidelines. In my opinion, he is just not a very good coordinator at all.
Cunningham shows a very vanilla defense. When he does blitz, he rarely hides it. He will show it a lot, than not blitz, but when he actually does blitz, he rarely disguises it. He uses very few stunts on the D-line and just never does anything different. He had almost a year to find a way to counter the wham play that teams used against them last season to spring their RBs open so successfully. Yet SF used it again with ease and the Lions defense used the same formations and rushes they used last year.
As I pointed out last year, Schwartz has yet to show me he is a good In-Game coach. Sure he is great in the front office duties of the coaching job. He gets great talent to sign and knows talent. But in the game, he is far too often out-coached and I have yet to see him out right out-coach his opponent. Last week, with almost a full minute on the clock, Schwartz was satisfied to run the clock out and go into halftime, down by 8 points. With Staffords arm, and the abilities of these receivers to stretch the field, there is no reason to think they could not get within field goal range inside a minute. Maybe even score a touchdown. To run the clock out is a losers mentality. He was playing "not to fail" rather than to win! Kneeling before the half is ridiculous. Throw a bomb for God's sakes! Just throw it up there and let the best receiver in the NFL out jump his competition for a completion. If they happen to intercept a deep hail mary, the odds of them returning it are extremely slim. Whoever catches it, is likely going to be tackled right away on that kind of play. But to be happy with running the clock out and not even use your superior talent is a losers mentality.
The Lions should be able to beat the Titans, and I am even going to predict they will. But it is no sure thing. With this coaching staff, and this scheme, I could not count any game a sure win.
Lions 23
Titans 20
Showing posts with label 2012 Preseason. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2012 Preseason. Show all posts
9/21/12
8/26/12
Thoughts On Lions 3rd Preseason Game
The Preseason means very little. I am not even going to mention the score because it doesn't mean anything and does not give a lick of information that is useful. In fact, in all honesty, I do not even know the final score because I didnt bother watching the fourth quarter and I dont care about the final score. The preseason is not about winning or losing. It should only be used to evaluate particular players and situations. With the third week of preseason being through, these are my thoughts on the Detroit Lions before the season starts.
No the fourth week does not matter. The starters will play very little and it will only be used by the coaches to help decide on what players will make the team.
The usual stars will still be the usual stars. Stafford has looked sharp. He has been very accurate and for the most part has made great decisions. Calvin Johnson has shown his dominance throughout the preseason. Titus Young is continuing to grow and he and Burleson should be better compliments to Megatron than they were last year. Broyles has looked decent against back-ups, but I would not expect him to be a big part of the passing game this year. Brandon Pettigrew looks like himself as well and will continue to be a large part of the passing game. All-in-all, the Lions passing game will again be one of the best in the NFL.
Running the ball, however, will again be nearly non-existant. Jahvid Best will likely start on the PUP list and not play til near mid-season, if at all. Mikel LeShoure will be missing the first two weeks with a suspension, and will then become their best running back by default, even though he has had very little game experience. LeShoure will not be this powerhouse that will drag two players for five yards as it seems many fans fantasize about. He will still need a hole to run through, but at 233 pounds, in his limited action, showed he has quick feet. He ran one play where he sidestepped and made a tackler miss him completely and then turned around and ran another defender over on the next play. Smith has already shown he has not become a tough durable running back. Kieland Williams has not shown anything to make him a ray of hope and none of the other RB's have played against first string defenses.
Overall, I expect the Lions offense to look very similar to last year. A high powered passing game with very little running. Very inconsistent. Keep in mind, as good as he was last year, Stafford only completed 63.5% of his passes. That is a good completion rating for a quarterback, but you need to put it in perspective. He will complete a little more than half of his passes. The running game will not be very strong. When an offense can only be counted on to move the ball on 3 to 5 times every 10 plays, they will have a lot of stalled drives. Thus, like last year, the Lions offense will have a lot of drives die out early and then hit the big play to move them down field and have a chance to score. They will score a lot of points, but those scores will be quicker drives, leaving the defense on the field too long.
Ah yes. The Defense! The rookie CBs in Bentley and Lacey have both had moments of looking good. They have also been beaten at times. However good they may become in the future, they are not Corner Backs a team would prefer to have to count on this year. Unfortunately, they are the best CBs the Lions have outside of Chris Houston, so they will be counted on. Alfonso Smith has looked, quite frankly, terrible in the preseason and does not give me any hope that he has made any strides in improvement. Louis Delmas is injured again and it is possible he may not be ready for the first game. Amari Spievey seems to have regressed as a Safety. This leaves Coleman and Wendling as the Lions starters right now. Both are decent players and can make some plays, but they seem more suited for stopping the run and making big tackles, but not so top notch in coverage duties. The Lions greatest weakness in 2011 was the secondary. However much you believe they addressed this by drafting three CBs in the third round and later, the fact is, those CBs would not even be starting if Wright or Berry were still on the team. So whether you liked Berry and White or not, this unit is still weaker rather than stronger than last year and their play has not proven that different.
The Linebackers in Tulloch, Durant, and Levy are the same as last year. I have not seen where they are playing much better than last year but again, they have not regressed either. Time will tell what kind of difference they will make this year.
The strength of this defense is definitely, once again, the defensive line. Suh, Williams, Hill and Fairley will continue to pressure up the middle, freeing the defensive ends to get face one-on-one coverage and a chance to get to the QB. Unfortunately, Fairley is not looking like the dominant DT so many presumed he would be, so the D-line with him is not really improved over what it was. Avril will be pushed to duplicate last years performance because Willie Young and Lawrence Jackson look like they are getting better.
Unfortunately, the D-line can only do so much and I think the standard fan expects too much from them. Fans get upset when they dont sack every QB four times and crush him as he releases the ball another six, every game. The defensive line will get to the QB's, and will keep a QB from getting comfortable, but the back seven on the Lions defense will also allow WR's to break free early and often, giving the quarterback somewhere to throw the ball.
Overall, the Lions defense will not be shutting opposing offenses down, but on the other hand, they have shown they look better against the run than they did last year. If the Defense stays healthy, they will be a middle of the road to half way decent defense in the NFL. If there are injuries mounting up, they will drop to a bottom feeding unit in the league, as they did late last season.
On the other hand, I have seen the special teams make improvements in the third week of the preseason, as they were pretty dominant against the Raiders. However, I could not make up my mind whether the Lions special teams were playing so great, or Oaklands Special Teams was so bad. I tend to believe the Lions special teams are improved but not great. Still, they will be better than last year and that might make some differences in the win loss record.
My fears for the coming season is that if LeShoure actually shows he can run well, Linehan will once again fall into his rhythm of running the ball on first down nearly every play. Which would nearly counter the improvement of the running game. He needs to be smart and mix things up. He needs to let the great passing game set up the run rather than trying to make the so-so run game set up the passing game.
From the preseason, I have realized the Lions still have not figured out how to blitz very well. I saw one blitz that was well played, when the safety came in on a disguised blitz. Unfortunately there were several other times when the Lions simply had a linebacker or safety jog upt o the line and wait for the ball to be snapped before charging in. This does nothing but let the opposing offensive line know they need to block the extra rusher and thus, the Lions blitz rarely reaches the QB before he gets rid of the ball.
Some fans like to point out the easy games of the schedule and say they are playing an easier schedule. I disagree. Yes the Lions have some bad teams they will be playing, but keep in mind that last year, all ten wins came against teams without winning records.
I would logically expect the Lions (from what I have seen) to win 9 or 10 games this year. With the problems they have and the weaknesses that were not addressed, I think fans who predict 12 wins or more are just the typical fans who always believe their team will be great and refuse to look at the facts.
The Detroit Lions will once again, be a very exciting team to watch, but they will just as likely, not be a Superbowl contender. They could make the play-offs, but I do not expect it this year. I hope for it, but I do not expect it at this time. However, as the real season comes and I see the schemes they use when games count, that opinion could change. Or be enforced.
No the fourth week does not matter. The starters will play very little and it will only be used by the coaches to help decide on what players will make the team.
The usual stars will still be the usual stars. Stafford has looked sharp. He has been very accurate and for the most part has made great decisions. Calvin Johnson has shown his dominance throughout the preseason. Titus Young is continuing to grow and he and Burleson should be better compliments to Megatron than they were last year. Broyles has looked decent against back-ups, but I would not expect him to be a big part of the passing game this year. Brandon Pettigrew looks like himself as well and will continue to be a large part of the passing game. All-in-all, the Lions passing game will again be one of the best in the NFL.
Running the ball, however, will again be nearly non-existant. Jahvid Best will likely start on the PUP list and not play til near mid-season, if at all. Mikel LeShoure will be missing the first two weeks with a suspension, and will then become their best running back by default, even though he has had very little game experience. LeShoure will not be this powerhouse that will drag two players for five yards as it seems many fans fantasize about. He will still need a hole to run through, but at 233 pounds, in his limited action, showed he has quick feet. He ran one play where he sidestepped and made a tackler miss him completely and then turned around and ran another defender over on the next play. Smith has already shown he has not become a tough durable running back. Kieland Williams has not shown anything to make him a ray of hope and none of the other RB's have played against first string defenses.
Overall, I expect the Lions offense to look very similar to last year. A high powered passing game with very little running. Very inconsistent. Keep in mind, as good as he was last year, Stafford only completed 63.5% of his passes. That is a good completion rating for a quarterback, but you need to put it in perspective. He will complete a little more than half of his passes. The running game will not be very strong. When an offense can only be counted on to move the ball on 3 to 5 times every 10 plays, they will have a lot of stalled drives. Thus, like last year, the Lions offense will have a lot of drives die out early and then hit the big play to move them down field and have a chance to score. They will score a lot of points, but those scores will be quicker drives, leaving the defense on the field too long.
Ah yes. The Defense! The rookie CBs in Bentley and Lacey have both had moments of looking good. They have also been beaten at times. However good they may become in the future, they are not Corner Backs a team would prefer to have to count on this year. Unfortunately, they are the best CBs the Lions have outside of Chris Houston, so they will be counted on. Alfonso Smith has looked, quite frankly, terrible in the preseason and does not give me any hope that he has made any strides in improvement. Louis Delmas is injured again and it is possible he may not be ready for the first game. Amari Spievey seems to have regressed as a Safety. This leaves Coleman and Wendling as the Lions starters right now. Both are decent players and can make some plays, but they seem more suited for stopping the run and making big tackles, but not so top notch in coverage duties. The Lions greatest weakness in 2011 was the secondary. However much you believe they addressed this by drafting three CBs in the third round and later, the fact is, those CBs would not even be starting if Wright or Berry were still on the team. So whether you liked Berry and White or not, this unit is still weaker rather than stronger than last year and their play has not proven that different.
The Linebackers in Tulloch, Durant, and Levy are the same as last year. I have not seen where they are playing much better than last year but again, they have not regressed either. Time will tell what kind of difference they will make this year.
The strength of this defense is definitely, once again, the defensive line. Suh, Williams, Hill and Fairley will continue to pressure up the middle, freeing the defensive ends to get face one-on-one coverage and a chance to get to the QB. Unfortunately, Fairley is not looking like the dominant DT so many presumed he would be, so the D-line with him is not really improved over what it was. Avril will be pushed to duplicate last years performance because Willie Young and Lawrence Jackson look like they are getting better.
Unfortunately, the D-line can only do so much and I think the standard fan expects too much from them. Fans get upset when they dont sack every QB four times and crush him as he releases the ball another six, every game. The defensive line will get to the QB's, and will keep a QB from getting comfortable, but the back seven on the Lions defense will also allow WR's to break free early and often, giving the quarterback somewhere to throw the ball.
Overall, the Lions defense will not be shutting opposing offenses down, but on the other hand, they have shown they look better against the run than they did last year. If the Defense stays healthy, they will be a middle of the road to half way decent defense in the NFL. If there are injuries mounting up, they will drop to a bottom feeding unit in the league, as they did late last season.
On the other hand, I have seen the special teams make improvements in the third week of the preseason, as they were pretty dominant against the Raiders. However, I could not make up my mind whether the Lions special teams were playing so great, or Oaklands Special Teams was so bad. I tend to believe the Lions special teams are improved but not great. Still, they will be better than last year and that might make some differences in the win loss record.
My fears for the coming season is that if LeShoure actually shows he can run well, Linehan will once again fall into his rhythm of running the ball on first down nearly every play. Which would nearly counter the improvement of the running game. He needs to be smart and mix things up. He needs to let the great passing game set up the run rather than trying to make the so-so run game set up the passing game.
From the preseason, I have realized the Lions still have not figured out how to blitz very well. I saw one blitz that was well played, when the safety came in on a disguised blitz. Unfortunately there were several other times when the Lions simply had a linebacker or safety jog upt o the line and wait for the ball to be snapped before charging in. This does nothing but let the opposing offensive line know they need to block the extra rusher and thus, the Lions blitz rarely reaches the QB before he gets rid of the ball.
Some fans like to point out the easy games of the schedule and say they are playing an easier schedule. I disagree. Yes the Lions have some bad teams they will be playing, but keep in mind that last year, all ten wins came against teams without winning records.
I would logically expect the Lions (from what I have seen) to win 9 or 10 games this year. With the problems they have and the weaknesses that were not addressed, I think fans who predict 12 wins or more are just the typical fans who always believe their team will be great and refuse to look at the facts.
The Detroit Lions will once again, be a very exciting team to watch, but they will just as likely, not be a Superbowl contender. They could make the play-offs, but I do not expect it this year. I hope for it, but I do not expect it at this time. However, as the real season comes and I see the schemes they use when games count, that opinion could change. Or be enforced.
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