The Detroit Lions beat the Denver Broncos 25 - 20 in their second preseason game of the 2010 season. The win came from an unexpected source. With 3:19 left to play, Drew Stanton ran a quarterback draw and took the ball 25 yards for a touchdown.
This was the game I was looking to for the first real test for the new defensive line and they did not disappoint. With the Lions up, 3-0, Denver drove down to the Lions 26 yard line before Dre Bly intercepted a pass and returned it to the Denver 27 yard line. Though the Broncos were driving down the field, they should have gone three and out to start the drive. On 3rd and 6 at their own 24 yard line, Orton completed a pass for no gain and what should have been a punt coming up turned into another 3rd down try because of a Denver illegal formation penalty. Again, Orton's pass only made it to their 24 yard line again, but this time Vanden Bosch hit a pile too late and got a personal foul and gave the Broncos a 1st down. Then on another 3rd down attempt, an incomplete pass turned into a 1st down on a pass interference call on Chris Houston.
The Lions starting defense blanked the Broncos starting offense out until the 2nd quarter when they gave up a touchdown, making the score 13 - 7 and cutting the Lions lead to 6 points.
Ndamukong Suh looked good once again though his stats don't show it. Again, he was double teamed constantly and still managed to force the running back to change course and knocked down one pass. Kyle Orton was feeling pressure during much of his time on the field.
Stafford once again looked good, but still shows some lack of accuracy at times. There were passes that receivers had to reach behind them to haul in as well as his misses. But in the end, he still completed 13 of 18 attempts and had a touchdown with no interceptions.
All in all, the Lions are looking impressive in the preseason. They are giving fans a lot to get excited about. I want to warn you to back off of that excitement a little. Don't let yourself get too caught up in a team that is looking good in the preseason. After all, it is just that. Meaningless preseason games where teams are not game planning to beat an opponent but to test players in situations. .... But the fact is, how can I tell you not to get excited when I am getting excited myself?
I still am only calling 6 wins at this time, but the more I watch Stafford control the offense, Best turn on speed and change directions and the D-line attack the quarterback, the more I am starting to believe they can do better.
Showing posts with label Preseason Articles 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Preseason Articles 2010. Show all posts
8/14/10
Lions Preseason Week-1 in 2010
I know. The preseason doesn't count. It does not matter if the Lions win or lose each game in the preseason. But the truth is, the preseason is not necessarily pointless.
There are things one can take out of the preseason games. We can get a flash peek at certain individuals. A small look at particular units. This is what I saw in the game. At least up until CBS lost its signal. Which was before the lightning postponed the game.
Matthew Stafford gave me hope. There were again some short routes he was off on. One of which was thrown too high to Jahvid Best and ricocheted off of the rookie running backs hands for an interception. Twice he under-threw Calvin Johnson in the endzone and forced the giant receiver to play defensive back to save him from interceptions. Yet for the most part, Stafford showed decent touch on his passes and accuracy. If he continues to play this way, he just may turn out to be as good as hoped.
Jahvid Best gives me hope. With 7 carries in the first quarter, Best racked off 36 yards. That is more than 5 yards per carry. He showed his speed as he sped around the corner for over ten yards on one particular run. Yet his most impressive run was a run between the tackles. After taking the hand-off, Best found himself face to face with two Steelers and came to a dead stop, spun away and ran away from them. A play in which he should have been dropped for a loss, he took for a few yards gain.
The receivers all did well. Calvin Johnson showed his usual great abilities and brought in a touchdown, but it was the consistent production from Bryant Johnson and Nate Burleson that made me smile.
Though, if you want to talk about reasons to smile, lets mention that the cornerbacks and linebackers were almost invisible to me. The reason that is worth smiling about is it means the Detroit Lions defensive line looked as impressive as expected. More so.
After the Lions went 4 and out in their first drive, the Steelers started at their own 49 yard line. From that point on, the Detroit Lions defensive line controlled the game while their starting unit was on the field. Suh was taking on double teams while Vanden Bosch and Cliff Avril were all over the quarterback. If this was a preview of what we can expect from the front line, the Lions defense will be a fun one to watch this year.
Again, this could be just a flash in the pan, but it is hard not to get excited when they play as well as they looked today.
There are things one can take out of the preseason games. We can get a flash peek at certain individuals. A small look at particular units. This is what I saw in the game. At least up until CBS lost its signal. Which was before the lightning postponed the game.
Matthew Stafford gave me hope. There were again some short routes he was off on. One of which was thrown too high to Jahvid Best and ricocheted off of the rookie running backs hands for an interception. Twice he under-threw Calvin Johnson in the endzone and forced the giant receiver to play defensive back to save him from interceptions. Yet for the most part, Stafford showed decent touch on his passes and accuracy. If he continues to play this way, he just may turn out to be as good as hoped.
Jahvid Best gives me hope. With 7 carries in the first quarter, Best racked off 36 yards. That is more than 5 yards per carry. He showed his speed as he sped around the corner for over ten yards on one particular run. Yet his most impressive run was a run between the tackles. After taking the hand-off, Best found himself face to face with two Steelers and came to a dead stop, spun away and ran away from them. A play in which he should have been dropped for a loss, he took for a few yards gain.
The receivers all did well. Calvin Johnson showed his usual great abilities and brought in a touchdown, but it was the consistent production from Bryant Johnson and Nate Burleson that made me smile.
Though, if you want to talk about reasons to smile, lets mention that the cornerbacks and linebackers were almost invisible to me. The reason that is worth smiling about is it means the Detroit Lions defensive line looked as impressive as expected. More so.
After the Lions went 4 and out in their first drive, the Steelers started at their own 49 yard line. From that point on, the Detroit Lions defensive line controlled the game while their starting unit was on the field. Suh was taking on double teams while Vanden Bosch and Cliff Avril were all over the quarterback. If this was a preview of what we can expect from the front line, the Lions defense will be a fun one to watch this year.
Again, this could be just a flash in the pan, but it is hard not to get excited when they play as well as they looked today.
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