2008 was the worst season I have ever been through as a Detroit Lions fan. Of course that statement holds true for most all Lions fans. The problem is that this season might be worse!
The Lions hit a record low last year going winless for the first time for any team in the NFL. It was a disappointing and discouraging year as we watched the worst football team in NFL history. But last year we all knew the talent was desolate. We all knew that the Lions as a team were at an all time low. This year was supposed to be different!
Jim Schwartz took over a the coach. Gunthar Cunningham was the new defensive coordinator. Together they were supposed to build a much better tam and show a much more aggressive style of play. In came Larry Foote, Julian Peterson and Grady Jackson. They drafted a young hitting talent in Louis Delmas. They signed two new cornerbacks. On the offensive side of the ball, they drafted what is supposed to be the Lions future star at quarterback and Tight End. This year was supposed to be different!
So where is that difference? When a team as bad as the St.Louis Rams comes into Detroit and the Lions still lose, is this improvement? Are the multitude of dropped passes any different? Are the collage of missed tackles on each play anything new? The horrible accuracy by a quarterback, is that new? The stupid penalties and bad offensive line play, is that something we have never seen? Other than all of the new names on the roster, where is the difference?
How can a team look so much better on paper, be just as bad as the worst team in NFL history? How is it possible the Lions have not improved? Over 2009, don't they improve by simple default? So they won a game this year. You know what? That doesn't mean they are better! That only means one of their opponents finally had a horrible day!
When will the Lions finally get a clue as to how to put a real NFL team together? When Barry Sanders was here, the Lions still sucked! They weren't a good team. They just won some games because they had arguably the best running back of all time. Sure Sanders had some awesome years, but it wasn't because he had a great offensive line blocking for him. In fact he did not even have a decent line in front of him. That is why Barry was as well known for his one or two yard losses as he was for his 80 yard touchdowns. Because the line sucked and far too often he was hit as he took the hand off. Barry retired early because he was sick of the Lions losing ways.
Year after year the Lions place an emphasis on improving the running game. Every coach says the same thing. They will emphasize the running game. Yet no coach is willing to do what it takes to have a good running game. Get a decent offensive line!
Here are two extremely common yet very very accurate cliches in the NFL. ... "The game is won in the trenches" and "Defense wins Championships"! Oh how about, "You build a team from the inside, out!" I have debated many times before that if you give me an average quarterback with a great offensive line, I will beat a team with the best quarterback in the NFL history who has a bad line. So can someone please tell me why the Lions continue to draft high profile players like quarterbacks, Running Backs and Receivers?
If the Lions are improved, they need to start showing it. They do not get a free pass because they are using a rookie QB. They shouldn't have drafted him in the first place! If he is not ready, they should play another QB! It is time for our rookies to begin showing us why they were drafted so high! Delmas needs to wrap up on his tackles. Pettigrew needs to get open and catch some passes. Stafford needs to become much more accurate! If they cannot start showing they are a better team, the Schwartz needs to go. Even after only one year. Yes I agree a coach needs three years to put his team together with a scheme of his own. But when you come to a team as bad as the Lions and add so much more talent and get the same results, that is inexcusable!
Showing posts with label Defense 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Defense 2009. Show all posts
10/15/09
Lions Fans Often See what They Want to See
Human nature. It is human nature to survive. It is human nature to learn. It is the nature of learning that curses the fans of the Detroit Lions.
If a child touches matches and you ignore it, he will sooner or later burn himself. If you slap his hand when he touches them, once, twice or a dozen times (depending on how intelligent the kid is), he will learn not to touch those matches. When the Lions lose as often as the Lions have, the fans learn to expect it. When the Lions play bad football for as long as they have, the fans learn to focus on the bad football. I saw evidence of this since last Sunday's game against Pittsburgh.
Culpepper has not started a single regular season game this year. He comes in against the defending Superbowl Champs. Almost immediately in the game, he loses his star receiver Calvin Johnson to an injury. Let's face it, the guy was up against some pretty harsh circumstances for his first game since the preseason. Yet Culpepper threw for almost 300 yards, 62% completion, a TD and scrambled for two big first downs to keep drives going.
Daunte Culpepper did an admiral job under those circumstances and yet, throughout the week I have heard far more complaining than I have heard praises for the veteran quarterback. People want to point out his mistakes. That he had an interception and an intentional grounding called on him. It doesn't matter that the intentional grounding was nothing more than him trying to throw it away and would have been legal if he would have gotten the ball three more yards down field. The fans still say it was a stupid play. It doesn't matter that his interception came while he was scrambling for his life and he overthrew a wide open receiver. The fans want to say it was a stupid play on his part. Not a bad throw, but a stupid play. If he would have thrown the one another three plays, the fans would have said he did what he should have done. If he would have hit that receiver, the fans would have said it was a great play then forgot about it. We don't remember the good but we look for the bad.
The Lions got called for a personal foul for hitting the QB low. Replay showed it was an awful call by the refs. Rather than the Lions having the ball after an interception, the Steelers got it back plus a first down, plus an additional 15 yards. They scored a TD they should never have had. Take that away and the defending champions only scored 21 points against the Lions defense. Yet I have not heard anyone saying how well they played. I hear how the Lions could not tackle again.
Every team except for Jacksonville scored last weekend. How could that be? If other teams always played perfect, they would shut their opponents out. So how come even all of the great teams of the NFL were scored upon? How did Philadelphia give up 14 points to Tampa bay? How did Minnesota allow the lowly Rams to score 10 points? How is it the great New York Jets defense gave up 31 points? Could it be that maybe they don't play perfect every play? Could it be that they miss tackles sometimes and miss coverage sometimes?
The fact is, every defense, even the great ones will mess up sometimes. They all let teams score on them. The Steelers offense is no push over. They can run and they can pass. The Steelers are a very good team in the NFL and look how much they crushed the Lions by. Eight points! And seven of those came from a lousy call by the refs.
The Lions played a pretty good game Sunday against the defending Superbowl Champions. They played pretty darn good on offense and defense. Under the circumstances, Culpepper played very good. Far better I think than most of us thought he would in that situation.
Lions fans need to shed the losing mentality just as much as the team does. If they play really bad, the fans need to let them know it by screaming out about it. But when the Lions play a decent game, win or lose, the fans should acknowledge that as well. Last weeks loss aside, I saw a much improved Lions team on the field from what I saw last year. If they continue to improve, the fans will have a much brighter future ahead of them.
If a child touches matches and you ignore it, he will sooner or later burn himself. If you slap his hand when he touches them, once, twice or a dozen times (depending on how intelligent the kid is), he will learn not to touch those matches. When the Lions lose as often as the Lions have, the fans learn to expect it. When the Lions play bad football for as long as they have, the fans learn to focus on the bad football. I saw evidence of this since last Sunday's game against Pittsburgh.
Culpepper has not started a single regular season game this year. He comes in against the defending Superbowl Champs. Almost immediately in the game, he loses his star receiver Calvin Johnson to an injury. Let's face it, the guy was up against some pretty harsh circumstances for his first game since the preseason. Yet Culpepper threw for almost 300 yards, 62% completion, a TD and scrambled for two big first downs to keep drives going.
Daunte Culpepper did an admiral job under those circumstances and yet, throughout the week I have heard far more complaining than I have heard praises for the veteran quarterback. People want to point out his mistakes. That he had an interception and an intentional grounding called on him. It doesn't matter that the intentional grounding was nothing more than him trying to throw it away and would have been legal if he would have gotten the ball three more yards down field. The fans still say it was a stupid play. It doesn't matter that his interception came while he was scrambling for his life and he overthrew a wide open receiver. The fans want to say it was a stupid play on his part. Not a bad throw, but a stupid play. If he would have thrown the one another three plays, the fans would have said he did what he should have done. If he would have hit that receiver, the fans would have said it was a great play then forgot about it. We don't remember the good but we look for the bad.
The Lions got called for a personal foul for hitting the QB low. Replay showed it was an awful call by the refs. Rather than the Lions having the ball after an interception, the Steelers got it back plus a first down, plus an additional 15 yards. They scored a TD they should never have had. Take that away and the defending champions only scored 21 points against the Lions defense. Yet I have not heard anyone saying how well they played. I hear how the Lions could not tackle again.
Every team except for Jacksonville scored last weekend. How could that be? If other teams always played perfect, they would shut their opponents out. So how come even all of the great teams of the NFL were scored upon? How did Philadelphia give up 14 points to Tampa bay? How did Minnesota allow the lowly Rams to score 10 points? How is it the great New York Jets defense gave up 31 points? Could it be that maybe they don't play perfect every play? Could it be that they miss tackles sometimes and miss coverage sometimes?
The fact is, every defense, even the great ones will mess up sometimes. They all let teams score on them. The Steelers offense is no push over. They can run and they can pass. The Steelers are a very good team in the NFL and look how much they crushed the Lions by. Eight points! And seven of those came from a lousy call by the refs.
The Lions played a pretty good game Sunday against the defending Superbowl Champions. They played pretty darn good on offense and defense. Under the circumstances, Culpepper played very good. Far better I think than most of us thought he would in that situation.
Lions fans need to shed the losing mentality just as much as the team does. If they play really bad, the fans need to let them know it by screaming out about it. But when the Lions play a decent game, win or lose, the fans should acknowledge that as well. Last weeks loss aside, I saw a much improved Lions team on the field from what I saw last year. If they continue to improve, the fans will have a much brighter future ahead of them.
9/9/09
Lions Defense Ready for Drew Brees
“He’s not going to know what we are going to do, and I think that gives us an advantage,” Schwartz said. “There’s not tape from last year on this group, and what we did in the preseason is not what we are going to do at the Superdome. He’s not going to be sure what he’s going to be seeing, and that will help us.”
Schwartz went on to talk about how in the preseason, they showed a very vanilla defensive scheme and in the first week they will come and hit Brees with the whole thing.
I look back at the preseason and to be honest, I did not think the defense looked all so bad. There were a few drives where the opposing offenses moved the ball at ease, but there were more drives that the Lions defense either made the other teams punt or kick field goals.
I happen to be a bit of a geek when it comes to the Lions. When I watch the games, I take notes for when I write my article. One thing I have kept track of each game was the blitzing of the Lions defense. In every game, the Lions defense blitzed ten times or more during the first half alone. During those blitzes, only twice did the Lions give up more than three to five yards. Most of the blitzes did a good job of putting pressure on the quarterback or stopping the run. The Lions were not spectacular during the blitzes, but they were pretty decent. Yet they only ran a few man coverage plays, and only showed a few different blitzes.
Forgive me for this moment of dreaming, but wouldn't it be nice to see the Lions go after Brees with a variety of blitzes and actually keep him under pressure on Sunday? Wouldn't it be exciting if the Lions entered the 4th quarter and still in the game? Think about it. If the Lions are still in the game in the fourth quarter, against one of the NFL's most high powered offenses, that would be speaking volumes for how far this Lions defense has come from 2008.
Yet I cannot help but to be worried. In 2008, the Lions blitzed continuously during the preseason and finished 4-0. Yet with all of that success, when the regular season started, the Lions rarely went after the QB with a blitz. Now here we are and the Lions went 3-1 and blitzed a lot. I cannot help but to be worried that come Sunday when the games really count, the Lions will forget how to blitz and go back to the bend but don't break pansy and gutless defensive scheme.
As the first game draws nearer, I cannot help but to wonder. Will Jim Schwartz be a Kitten, or will he be a true Lion? Will he play pansy ball or will he play aggressive NFL style football? I believe this coach will be different than the others. I believe that Schwartz will be a Lion!
Let us pray that I am right.
Schwartz went on to talk about how in the preseason, they showed a very vanilla defensive scheme and in the first week they will come and hit Brees with the whole thing.
I look back at the preseason and to be honest, I did not think the defense looked all so bad. There were a few drives where the opposing offenses moved the ball at ease, but there were more drives that the Lions defense either made the other teams punt or kick field goals.
I happen to be a bit of a geek when it comes to the Lions. When I watch the games, I take notes for when I write my article. One thing I have kept track of each game was the blitzing of the Lions defense. In every game, the Lions defense blitzed ten times or more during the first half alone. During those blitzes, only twice did the Lions give up more than three to five yards. Most of the blitzes did a good job of putting pressure on the quarterback or stopping the run. The Lions were not spectacular during the blitzes, but they were pretty decent. Yet they only ran a few man coverage plays, and only showed a few different blitzes.
Forgive me for this moment of dreaming, but wouldn't it be nice to see the Lions go after Brees with a variety of blitzes and actually keep him under pressure on Sunday? Wouldn't it be exciting if the Lions entered the 4th quarter and still in the game? Think about it. If the Lions are still in the game in the fourth quarter, against one of the NFL's most high powered offenses, that would be speaking volumes for how far this Lions defense has come from 2008.
Yet I cannot help but to be worried. In 2008, the Lions blitzed continuously during the preseason and finished 4-0. Yet with all of that success, when the regular season started, the Lions rarely went after the QB with a blitz. Now here we are and the Lions went 3-1 and blitzed a lot. I cannot help but to be worried that come Sunday when the games really count, the Lions will forget how to blitz and go back to the bend but don't break pansy and gutless defensive scheme.
As the first game draws nearer, I cannot help but to wonder. Will Jim Schwartz be a Kitten, or will he be a true Lion? Will he play pansy ball or will he play aggressive NFL style football? I believe this coach will be different than the others. I believe that Schwartz will be a Lion!
Let us pray that I am right.
8/8/09
Cliff Avril Looks to Have a Breakout Year
In 2008, the Detroit Lions defensive end, Cliff Avril, was a rookie. He ended the season with five sacks, tops for most among rookie defensive ends in the NFL last year. Avril says last season was more about learning for him while this year will be more on polishing things up. This is one reason to believe he will improve in his second year as a pro.
With the Marinelli regime moved on and Jim Schwartz in, Schwartz also brought in Gunther Cunningham to be the Defensive Coordinator. Both of these men are aggressive coaches and have been quoted saying they plan on blitzing about 40% of the time with a variety of blitz schemes. With the opponents offensive line having to worry more about the blitz, it will open things up more often for defensive ends to get free. Another reason to believe Avril will improve in his sophomore year.
If Avril produces well in 2009, he will force offenses to pay more attention to him, which in turn will allow others to break free more often. Sometimes a defensive line can look like it has no talent because it never quite gets to the quarterback. Sometimes all it takes is for one player to step up his game, allowing others to get free and suddenly the whole defensive line looks better. Sometimes a better scheme can make all the difference in the world. Sometimes the fans need a reason to have hope and after the 2008 season, I will take anything that gives me hope. This season I find a lot to give me hope and improvement from Cliff Avril is one amongst many.
With the Marinelli regime moved on and Jim Schwartz in, Schwartz also brought in Gunther Cunningham to be the Defensive Coordinator. Both of these men are aggressive coaches and have been quoted saying they plan on blitzing about 40% of the time with a variety of blitz schemes. With the opponents offensive line having to worry more about the blitz, it will open things up more often for defensive ends to get free. Another reason to believe Avril will improve in his sophomore year.
If Avril produces well in 2009, he will force offenses to pay more attention to him, which in turn will allow others to break free more often. Sometimes a defensive line can look like it has no talent because it never quite gets to the quarterback. Sometimes all it takes is for one player to step up his game, allowing others to get free and suddenly the whole defensive line looks better. Sometimes a better scheme can make all the difference in the world. Sometimes the fans need a reason to have hope and after the 2008 season, I will take anything that gives me hope. This season I find a lot to give me hope and improvement from Cliff Avril is one amongst many.
7/27/09
Detroit Lions Defense May Be Fantasy Sleeper
We have all seen the change over on the Lions defense. The addition of Grady Jackson at defensive tackle will help immensely. Julian Peterson and Larry Foote being added next to Ernie Sims will give the Lions one of the better Linebacker crews in the NFL. There is no doubt that Anthony Henry and Phillip Buchanan will be an improved cornerback duo. Rookie Louis Delmas may be the best safety the Lions have had in recent years.
Now on top of the huge personnel improvements, the Detroit Lions new Defensive Coordinator plans to blitz about 40% of the time. Imagine that!
Remember last years preseason? Remember the Lions blitzing continuously and practically mugging the opponents quarterbacks? Remember the Lions defense knocking Chad Johnson out of the game because Palmer threw the ball too high while being hit? Remember the Lions defense looking like a havoc machine for all four games? That's what you get from blitzing!
Remember the Lions blitzing all of the time in the regular season? No? That's because they didn't! They very rarely blitzed in the regular season.
Remember the Lions defense harassing the quarterbacks every game? No? That is because they didn't harass any quarterbacks in the regular season. They gave every quarterback 5 or 6 seconds to find an open receiver. They gave every receiver 5 or 6 seconds to break free.
Remember the... oh what the heck, we don't want to remember the 2008 Detroit Lions defense at all! The defense that looked menacing in the preseason became the worst defense I have ever seen in the regular season. They were the same players, so what happened? They did not blitz in the regular season.
2009 is here and they have far better players. Best of all, the Detroit Lions have a coach and offensive coordinator who actually has some guts. They plan to blitz about 40% of the time. Do not let the 2008 defense scare you away. The difference between this years group of battle ready killers is so far from last years Pansy ass nose picking sissies will be like night and day.
Don't believe me? That is fine. Just do yourself a favor. Keep your eye on them as the season starts. If you play fantasy football, there is a very good chance you will be picking the Detroit Lions Defense up off of waivers in week two or three.
Now on top of the huge personnel improvements, the Detroit Lions new Defensive Coordinator plans to blitz about 40% of the time. Imagine that!
Remember last years preseason? Remember the Lions blitzing continuously and practically mugging the opponents quarterbacks? Remember the Lions defense knocking Chad Johnson out of the game because Palmer threw the ball too high while being hit? Remember the Lions defense looking like a havoc machine for all four games? That's what you get from blitzing!
Remember the Lions blitzing all of the time in the regular season? No? That's because they didn't! They very rarely blitzed in the regular season.
Remember the Lions defense harassing the quarterbacks every game? No? That is because they didn't harass any quarterbacks in the regular season. They gave every quarterback 5 or 6 seconds to find an open receiver. They gave every receiver 5 or 6 seconds to break free.
Remember the... oh what the heck, we don't want to remember the 2008 Detroit Lions defense at all! The defense that looked menacing in the preseason became the worst defense I have ever seen in the regular season. They were the same players, so what happened? They did not blitz in the regular season.
2009 is here and they have far better players. Best of all, the Detroit Lions have a coach and offensive coordinator who actually has some guts. They plan to blitz about 40% of the time. Do not let the 2008 defense scare you away. The difference between this years group of battle ready killers is so far from last years Pansy ass nose picking sissies will be like night and day.
Don't believe me? That is fine. Just do yourself a favor. Keep your eye on them as the season starts. If you play fantasy football, there is a very good chance you will be picking the Detroit Lions Defense up off of waivers in week two or three.
7/9/09
Lions Defense - To Blitz or Not to Blitz?
Everyone remembers the Detroit Lions 2008 pre-season right? When the Lions went 4-0 and pretty much dominated the other teams with their defense? Not just the back-ups either. The defense pounded on the other teams starting quarterbacks as well. If nobody noticed, there was a major difference between the pre-season defense and the Lions regular season defense. It was the scheme!In the pre-season, the Lions blitzed almost continuously and it caused havoc for the opposing quarterbacks. When the regular season started and the games counted, Marrinelli lost his courage and the Lions rarely blitzed. In the few games where the Lions defense looked good for portions of the games during the season? They were blitzing.
I have heard the arguments enough times. The Lions don’t have the talent to blitz, right? Wrong! The lack of talent on the Lions defense in 2008 was why they needed to blitz and blitz a lot! The truth of the matter was, they did not have enough talent to play normal defense. They could not pressure the quarterback using just the defensive line. Opposing quarterbacks sat in the pocket for far too long, just waiting for a receiver to get open. The Lions defensive backs were not good enough to cover for more than 2 or 3 seconds tops. The Lions complete lack of talent in 2008 made it impossible to win games by playing conservative defense. If you cannot pressure the quarterback and you cannot cover the receivers, you WILL lose.
That is why bad defenses should blitz. Get pressure on the quarterback. Make him get rid of the ball early often enough and he will make mistakes. Will you get burned if you blitz a lot? Sometimes you will, absolutely. But ask yourself this…. How often did the Lions get burnt when they did not blitz? A lot! If you will get beat a lot when not blitzing, what do you have to lose by blitzing? Nothing.
It has always been argued that if you blitz too often, you will get burnt. The truth of the matter is, it is only the good defenses that don’t need to blitz. They have the talent to cover receivers. They have the talent where their defensive line can pressure the quarterback. They get it done without the blitz. If you want to win in the NFL, you need to pressure the quarterback. If your D-line is not good enough to get it done, you have to find a way to get it done. That is why they blitz. That is why the Lions need to blitz.
Mark my word… If the Lions blitz a lot in 2009, they will win 6 or more games. If they play a conservative defense again, they will win no more than 4 games at best.
7/7/09
Improved Detroit Lions Defense Gets No Respect
Will the Detroit Lions Defense be much improved in 2009? Many of the experts from fantasy football sites don't believe so.I have my own Fantasy Football blog called NFL Fantasy Guide. I was looking at defenses today to put out my Fantasy Defense Rankings. I was comparing what other sites ranked the defenses and I noticed something glaring. Of the three sites I looked at, the best ranking the Detroit Lions defense got was 29th. Are they truly going to be that bad again this year?
I am sorry, but I think this is a case of the experts not looking close enough. They have no respect for the Lions and rightfully so I suppose, so they just tend to rank them near the bottom. Yet if you truly look at it all, do you really place them that low?
The Detroit Lions have added a new Safety, two new starting cornerbacks, two new starting linebackers, and a good defensive tackle. That is over half of the starting defense that is new and for the most part, much improved.
With the additions of Larry Foote and Julian Peterson, to team up with Ernie Simms, the Lions linebacker crew went from one of the worst in the NFL to one of the best. That alone makes them better than a jump from 32nd to 29th only. Adding Grady Jackson in the middle of the defensive line will help them immensely when it comes to stopping the run. Though he has yet to play a down in the NFL, I do believe Louis Delmas will be a great improvement at Safety. The strength training the coaches have implemented will help as well. Every bit of improvement in the offense will help sustain more drives and keep the defense rested. That will help the defense's ranking.
Please don't get me wrong here. I have no false perception that the Lions defense will be a top defense in the NFL in 2009. I do not believe they will even be a top-15 defense. But looking at the improvements they have made, shouldn't they still be better than 29th? Don't forget, that 29 rank was the best of the three. The other two were 31st and 32nd. Seriously?
Larry Foote was the starting middle linebacker for the Superbowl winning Pittsburgh Steelers last season. They didn't just let him go... he left Pittsburgh and signed with Detroit for less money than he was offered from other teams, just because he is from the area and actually wants to play for Detroit. There is nobody who does not think Peterson will still be a very good linebacker. Grady Jackson will only play about half the downs. That is half a season more with a very good defensive tackle than the Lions had last year. Delmas has done nothing but draw rave reviews from everyone in the off-season workouts. In fact, in his first practice, he told Stafford he would be the first to pick off one of Stafford's passes. He made good on that promise.
For logical purposes and trying to keep my head grounded, I ended up ranking the Lions defense 25th overall. To be honest, I would not be surprised in the least if they ended the season ranked 20th overall, but I would at least expect 25th.
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