2013 Detroit Lions

**Thruster315** · October-06-13, 10:08 PM

Originally Posted by Bobl

Yawn. They still might win eight games.

Um, we did season predictions a few weeks back. You're a little late to the party.

**Thruster315** · October-06-13, 10:11 PM

Originally Posted by smogboy

And I’d also like to grade down Jim Schwartz towards the end of the game today too. It was a moment of bad gamesmanship in my opinion. With less than a minute left, Green Bay was willing to take the knee and run the clock out. Schwartz decided to call a time out, make Green Bay punt, and then rather than go for it, he decided to take the knee with the ball and end the game. HUH? It’s not like we get additional points for having the ball when the clock runs out. That made absolutely no sense whatsoever; at that point concede graciously and not put any of the players on both sides of the ball at jeopardy. The only thing it produced was a penalty to Tahir Whitehead.

I'm going to blast Schwartz for calling way too conservative of a game. Linehan didn't exactly do anything too innovative with the play calling either. They shouldn't have played such a conservative game and I think it ended up costing them the game. It's one thing to get a nice commanding lead and drop back a little bit but we never had the lead! First half ends and we were still close but by the time the second half rolled around we were getting clowned.

**gnome** · October-06-13, 10:49 PM

Why do my posts keep disappearing?

**Thruster315** · October-07-13, 12:50 AM

Originally Posted by gnome

Why do my posts keep disappearing?

Have you been typing with that invisible ink in the reels again?

I was starting to wonder where your Lions' insight was immediately after the game. It's not like you to skip out tossing in your two cents worth here.

Go find yourself and c'mon back. There's still some cornbread left on the table for you.

**Downriviera** · October-07-13, 06:48 AM

I made my game prediction before Calvin was announced inactive. But I stand by it and will take my lumps. Agree totally about the play calling. No adjustments were made. Where was the quick slant pass to compensate for the Packs rush?

**Pickford-Bentler** · October-07-13, 07:33 AM

I think it is time to give up on Jason Fox. I read he left the game with an injury. Corey Hilliard was doing ok and plays an entire game, when he starts. Besides, I would like to see Waddle activated and used. The Lions are a mid to low overall talent team and need to keep developing young players who can stay in games.

**rb336** · October-07-13, 08:24 AM

It looked like they had a game plan that had Calvin playing and never prepared for the contingency and never adjusted. Remember, it wasn't just calvin, it was both of their top receivers. Take any team, make them play without two of their five best players and see what happens

**Thruster315** · October-11-13, 05:03 PM

Originally Posted by Downriviera

I agree, this needs to go back under sports heading.

Damn. I had to delve deep deep down into the regular thread to nearly pull this thread out of obscurity. With all of this Kwame & Bobby going to jail shit going down, sports just isn't as important any more to some. If I had waited another hour who knows? Maybe another thread about a Cheesecake Factory would've bumped us to the next page.

**Thruster315** · October-11-13, 05:06 PM

We should be discussing how many sacks Suh & Fairley are going to have with the Cleveland statue Weeden this week. That poor dude's been poached more times than not by opposing defensive lines. It should be a thing to see this weekend.

**Thruster315** · October-13-13, 01:34 PM

I want to jump up and down, rant and rave but it ain't happening.

First half is in the books and here’s my take so far.

Not much.

Outside of the DeAndre Levy interception there hasn’t been too much to jump off the couch and hoot about. Sure, sure Kris Durham’s doing his best Calvin Johnson impersonation but offensively we haven’t done beans. The running game has been stuffed- whether it be Bush, Bell or even… gasp, LeShoure! And there’s got to be something amiss with Calvin beyond what’s been reported; if he’s able to even out there on the field in any sort of capacity, he should still be the world’s greatest decoy. He also missed a few tosses his way too so it makes me wonder if there isn’t something wrong with his hands too. Edwards & Durham just don’t have the grip of a premier receiver.

Defensively we’re tackling well but they’re still getting some decent runs off of the wildcat. I’d prefer some stuffs and some more coverage sacks. We’ve been staunch in the red zone but I’d almost prefer the Browns never even getting near there.

Somebody needs to go into the Lions locker room and light up an M-80 or something like that to wake this crew up. This has been a pretty lackluster first half without much passion or tempo. We need to dial up this game offensively and defensively. Even if we went into the locker with a lead, this game has been a snoozer but seeing as how we’re trailing these guys, the coaching staff had better come up with a better game plan for the second half to win this game. It’s still winnable.

**Thruster315** · October-13-13, 01:40 PM

Seriously does Cleveland look THAT intimidating? Or is it just our team looking mighty timid? Let's go bust 'em up and take this game dammit!

**gnome** · October-13-13, 02:38 PM

I am tired of having my posts deleted, so I won't bother

**Thruster315** · October-13-13, 03:07 PM

Originally Posted by gnome

I am tired of having my posts deleted, so I won't bother

Is there a moderator or some other web savvy person here who could make sure gnome's insights make it to the forum here? Hell, I don't know about anyone else but I miss his turban, wit & laser like observations.

**Thruster315** · October-13-13, 03:09 PM

This game had something I haven't seen out of the Lions in ages: second half domination.

Who the hell would've thought that would happen? We grabbed the momentum and just hung onto it. Just when we hand the ball back, we never give Cleveland a chance to do much.

**Thruster315** · October-13-13, 03:10 PM

And did Cleveland play like the Lions of old in the second half or what? Dropped balls, stupid penalties, and not much execution.

**Thruster315** · October-13-13, 03:16 PM

One play that I absolutely love was late in the game seeing Reggie Bush get the ball... and instead of him running to the sidelines, he slid, and kept the clock running. What a smart veteran play! Any other dopey ass running back would've either tried to lower his head inflict some pain or run out of bounds. We needed to eat the clock and Reggie was aware of what and where the team needed him. He easily chewed off a handful of ticks with his smart play.

It's damn nice to see our team play smart. We've played like undisciplined dumbasses over the years and it's just good to see smart ball play for once.

**Thruster315** · October-13-13, 03:19 PM

Stafford? He wasn't lights out but he managed the game well for us. The O line gave him time and opened up just enough lanes for Bell [[hopefully he's okay) & Bush to keep the Browns honest.

'Scuse me while I sip some more of the Kool Aid. The team did well today.

**Pickford-Bentler** · October-13-13, 03:24 PM

That is the kind of game the "same old Lions" would have lost. I went out and did some yard work because I figured they were toast at halftime and got a nice surprise. Anyhow, here in the DC area we got the Baltimore-GB game. Although the Packers won, they got hit hard with injuries to key players. Cobb got a nasty hit to the leg. So the NFC North could now be a race.

**smogboy** · October-13-13, 04:22 PM

Originally Posted by Thruster315

And did Cleveland play like the Lions of old in the second half or what? Dropped balls, stupid penalties, and not much execution.

It was nice to see our team play well. The most telling statistic of the game was the 24-0 dominance in the second half. It just spoke volumes as to how this team played in the game.

The 0 said that the Lions were on their defensive game. They held Cleveland out of the end zone and made life difficult for Weeden. The team didn’t blitz much but when it did, they were relentless in their pursuit. DeAndre Levy is playing like a man who just earned his new contract and a probably Pro Bowler at this rate. The Browns only rushed for a pitiful five yards in the second half. Amazing.

The 24 spoke to how the Lions, with minimal help from an injured Calvin Johnson, were willing to use other members of their offense to get points. Durham had a career game as well as The Dancing Joe Fauria. Reggie Bush had jump in the second half and was a threat every time he touched the ball. Matt Stafford didn’t exactly have a career game but he was smart in his decision making. He didn’t seem to force the ball into impossibly tight areas and his offensive line kept him upright. The Browns were sack machines and were #3 in getting to other teams’ quarterbacks. Even the much maligned Brandon Pettigrew was clutch for the team; perhaps this is him being more consistent?

The 24 also spoke to the Lions coaching staff changed things up at the half. They made all the right adjustments and came up with a victory.

Now the downside of this game?

Patrick Edwards? Ryan Broyles? A little disappointing to say the least. I recall seeing a huddle and Durham’s jersey was stainded with grass and Broyles jersey was as bright white as it could be. They’re either not running good routes or just not getting open but they’re not adding much to the Stafford air game. I’m hoping that somehow Kevin Ogletree can step up but I wouldn’t bet too much on it.

Joquie Bell might be out for awhile. All initial reports were something along the lines of his ribs being banged up. He was a nice story still developing and I think a lot of people were pulling for him. Maybe this could be the opportunity for Mikel Leshoure to work his way out of the doghouse, but Bell also brought a nice receiving game to the table too.

**Thruster315** · October-14-13, 12:45 AM

Originally Posted by smogboy

IPatrick Edwards? Ryan Broyles? A little disappointing to say the least. I recall seeing a huddle and Durham’s jersey was stainded with grass and Broyles jersey was as bright white as it could be. They’re either not running good routes or just not getting open but they’re not adding much to the Stafford air game. I’m hoping that somehow Kevin Ogletree can step up but I wouldn’t bet too much on it.

Seriously where the hell are these other receivers??? I miss the day of Smurf receivers or possession receivers that a QB could go to in a pinch. Calvin's the big dog in the pack and will always draw attention, but this is where these guys can be gold for us. Stafford doesn't seem to have a problem checking down to his second and third receivers if the situation presents itself. So why the hell aren't these guys available to snag a ball and get us a few yards. I'm not asking them to be the second coming of Jerry Rice, but damn...

Edwards targeted three times = 0 catches.
Broyles targeted two times = 0 catches.
Ogletree targeted one time = 1 catch for 5 yards.

Now I'm not gonna take Calvin Johnson off of that list either because his 8 targets only netted us 3 catches but they were for 25 yards.

It makes you wonder how much this game might've been different if these secondary dudes could catch.

**Thruster315** · October-14-13, 12:51 AM

And y'know what? Let's give Matt Stafford a rousing whoop whoop for playing a smart game. His only turnover happened on a tipped bouncy ball so he managed a smart game today. We had the better QB this week and it showed.

Like how we compared Stafford to Rodgers last week and how much more maturity he had to do to achieve that level? Weeden had a way to go to achieve what Stafford's got now. I've always been a subscriber to the notion that the best QBs know when to eat a ball or toss it out of bounds. Weeden didn't and got lit up. Maybe this might've been something that Stafford would've done a few years back but not this game.

We criticize him when he sucks the gaspipe but to be fair to the guy- let's chug some of his Kool Aid this week. He done good in getting this team a W on the road against what was perceived as a pretty hot team in the Browns.

**Thruster315** · October-14-13, 01:00 AM

Wanna talk about penalties by Detroit too? Only a meaningless 8 penalties for a piddly squat 65 yards. Toss out the Stafford spiking of the ball. Don Carey got busted far too much on Special Teams. The biggest calls were probably Slay's pass interference call. I'd even be willing to accept Suh's defensive offsides for being aggressive. Bu the yellow hanky coming our way was limited.

Is this team actually playing somewhat disciplined ball now? Dare I dream??

**Pickford-Bentler** · October-14-13, 05:55 AM

The pass that Stafford had intercepted was a perfect strike that a good receiver would have snagged. Edwards did not sense coverage and fight for the ball. Stafford in all of 25 years old and still learning the game. His arm strength allows him to do those back foot quick releases such as the first TD to Fauria. If the Lions ever develop a true power running game that enables Stafford to do play action passes, then they will be something.

**smogboy** · October-14-13, 05:06 PM

Originally Posted by Thruster315

Seriously where the hell are these other receivers??? I miss the day of Smurf receivers or possession receivers that a QB could go to in a pinch. Calvin's the big dog in the pack and will always draw attention, but this is where these guys can be gold for us. Stafford doesn't seem to have a problem checking down to his second and third receivers if the situation presents itself. So why the hell aren't these guys available to snag a ball and get us a few yards. I'm not asking them to be the second coming of Jerry Rice, but damn...

Edwards targeted three times = 0 catches.
Broyles targeted two times = 0 catches.
Ogletree targeted one time = 1 catch for 5 yards.

Now I'm not gonna take Calvin Johnson off of that list either because his 8 targets only netted us 3 catches but they were for 25 yards.

It makes you wonder how much this game might've been different if these secondary dudes could catch.

I think the Lions must've heard you. They just waived Patrick Edwards.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...rds-on-waivers

No one can say he wasn't given an opportunity here. He was targeted and simply put- dropped the ball [[no pun intended). I didn't think it was that difficult of a call.

**smogboy** · October-18-13, 12:20 AM

Originally Posted by smogboy

I think the Lions must've heard you. They just waived Patrick Edwards.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...rds-on-waivers

No one can say he wasn't given an opportunity here. He was targeted and simply put- dropped the ball [[no pun intended). I didn't think it was that difficult of a call.

And now he's back.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf...s_to_join.html

I'm still not sure what they see in this kid just yet. He was given the big stage last week and failed. It's not developing an offensive lineman where they might need to add some bulk, work on some footwork, and technique over time. I would say that leaving college and coming into the pro ranks that a wide receiver might have the easiest transition position. Thoughts on that premise??

But Patrick Edwards is back- albeit on the practice squad, so maybe thruster won't burst a blood vessel until Sunday's game.