2014 Detroit Lions

[Cincinnati_Kid]

They need to get some durable offensive linemen. Dallas's defensive line is mediocre and will be beaten down by Seattle. The Lions, on the other hand let this unit get 3 sacks.

I think this was Suh's last game as a Lion.

And Ford has to demand more than mediocre management.

Sure, Mayhew is better than Millen as a 4/10 is a much higher score than 0.00004/10. However, drafting Ebron and Van Noy when there were offensive linemen on the board has come home to roost.

I agree about drafting O-Lineman. That is a weakness, also Odell Beckham Jr was still on the board when they took Ebron. I bet they are kicking themselves in the gazoo for that one.

[Midnight Rambler]

Any chance Stafford stays in Texas & doesn't return....any?

[[0-18 against winning teams on the road).

Stafford? After six seasons I've seen enough. There's no question he's a Big Hoss but he will never be an elite quarterback in the NFL. He simply doesn't possess the intangibles [[superior intellect, superior instinct, superior reflexes). He's doomed to be Dan Fouts: all stats and no Super Bowls.

[Pickford-Bentler]

I agree about drafting O-Lineman. That is a weakness, also Odell Beckham Jr was still on the board when they took Ebron. I bet they are kicking themselves in the gazoo for that one.

Well, Ebron can block

Time for the Kool Aid.

Swanson > Raiola

Lucas = a decent back up at LT

I think the Lions primary need is a stud at guard. The center of the line, on many occasions, did not:

Prevent a push up the center during a pass, thus keeping the QB from stepping into throws.

Create a center drive on run plays that caused any real respect by any defense they faced.

Good teams win the trenches.

Dallas and Detroit are lob sided.

Detroit can win most battles on the defensive side but rarely on offense.

Dallas wins on offense but will be exposed as pitiful on defense.

[Thruster315]

Hey, had you bet the Lions in Las Vegas sports books, you had a winner. Dallas failed to cover the 7 1/2 point spread.

That was about the ONLY saving grace for me this miserable weekend. I made a few bucks because Dallas couldn't cover- but then neither did Cassius Vaughn on the Lions either.

I'll take the blame for the loss because I was watching and posting here. I should've added to the collective push that should've launched the Lions over the Cowboys- but NOOOOOO. I was an over confident dope babbling away here instead.

But seriously what I saw was a conservative offense in the second half. Momentum swings all the time in a game. We had it and lost it immediately and never really regained it. I thought our play calling got a little too predictable and timid And hell if it was the tandem of Rod Marinelli and Scott Linehan on the other side helping orchestrate our defeat. The one saving grace was none of them were carried off the field on the shoulders of the Cowboys.

I agree 2010% with Pickford-Bentler about upgrading the offensive line. We need some depth there. Garrett Reynolds as a back-up was atrocious this year and I'm being gracious with that comment. Not only do we need a new guard but having some depth there never hurts. We just never seemed to have a cohesive bunch this year at all.

[emu steve]

I agree about drafting O-Lineman. That is a weakness, also Odell Beckham Jr was still on the board when they took Ebron. I bet they are kicking themselves in the gazoo for that one.

I post, at NFL draft time, on a different board and wanted the Lions to trade down and go for Zach Martin. Some evaluators thought he was the real deal at OG and could start early. This isn't 20-20 hindsight.

I also liked a WR like Bechham or my choice was probably Cooks.

For me, with a Stafford, building a solid off line is paramount.

Bad DBs get beat. Bad OLs mean the QB gets beat up.

Eric E. might become a very good TE, in time, but I wanted either an OG or WR.

[Pickford-Bentler]

That was about the ONLY saving grace for me this miserable weekend. I made a few bucks because Dallas couldn't cover- but then neither did Cassius Vaughn on the Lions either.

I'll take the blame for the loss because I was watching and posting here. I should've added to the collective push that should've launched the Lions over the Cowboys- but NOOOOOO. I was an over confident dope babbling away here instead.

But seriously what I saw was a conservative offense in the second half. Momentum swings all the time in a game. We had it and lost it immediately and never really regained it. I thought our play calling got a little too predictable and timid And hell if it was the tandem of Rod Marinelli and Scott Linehan on the other side helping orchestrate our defeat. The one saving grace was none of them were carried off the field on the shoulders of the Cowboys.

I agree 2010% with Pickford-Bentler about upgrading the offensive line. We need some depth there. Garrett Reynolds as a back-up was atrocious this year and I'm being gracious with that comment. Not only do we need a new guard but having some depth there never hurts. We just never seemed to have a cohesive bunch this year at all.

The Detroit Lions have not had one all-pro or pro-bowl offensive lineman in this millennium.

[Hypestyles]

so where are they looking at placement-wise in the 2015 draft? Are Bush, Johnson and Tate still under contract?

[gnome]

When the impossible happens, Detroit is always in the Headline.

[emu steve]

Keeping Fairley [[probable?) and Suh [[maybe?) will be HUGE.

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nf...ions/21319955/

Our DL has such great abilities and potential.

This team is this || close to winning in January.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Still think Caldwell should have shown some moxie, and went for it on 4th and 1. Dallas didn't have a problem going for it on 4th and 6, and look what happened. You have to take chances sometimes.

[Smirnoff]

so where are they looking at placement-wise in the 2015 draft? Are Bush, Johnson and Tate still under contract?

All are still under contract.

[Smirnoff]

Still think Caldwell should have shown some moxie, and went for it on 4th and 1. Dallas didn't have a problem going for it on 4th and 6, and look what happened. You have to take chances sometimes.

Exactly, in playoff games, teams caNNot just play safe? Listening to the stats yesterday, the Lions had over a 70% chance to make the 4th down conversion [[1 yard). Appears they still rather blame the officials, sad, very.....

Stafford: 0-18 against winning teams on the road.....time to start Kellen Moore as QB

[Pickford-Bentler]

A pass on 3rd and one and a punt on 4th and one tells us all we need to know about the offensive line.

And, knowing that, I disagree with Caldwell.

A good punt pins Dallas to their ten so that they take a couple more minutes to get a winning score.

I think he was rolling the die and hoping that a longer drive by Dallas increased the odds of a turnover.

All that said, a team without a line that can pound out a yard is not going to go very far in the post season.

[Thruster315]

Exactly, in playoff games, teams caNNot just play safe? Listening to the stats yesterday, the Lions had over a 70% chance to make the 4th down conversion [[1 yard). Appears they still rather blame the officials, sad, very.....

Stafford: 0-18 against winning teams on the road.....time to start Kellen Moore as QB

I don't think the Lions are "blaming" their loss on the one horrific call by the refs. Hell, the NFL admitted that they blew the call already. That's fact. We can all disagree that it was probably too safe of a play to call but I haven't exactly heard any of the Lions pinning the sole cause of their loss on the botched call.

And will you quit with the asinine call for Kellen Moore to even start? I'd almost much rather start Mary Tyler Moore than Kellen Moore at QB. There's a reason he's third string on this team- he can't even beat out Dan Orlovsky to being the second string QB. I doubt if he could even beat Orlovsky at a good hand of euchre at this point.

[Bong-Man]

I think if Warford or even Swanson were in the game, Caldwell might have went for that fourth down, or even ran on 3rd. Since we had the lead, and our line was banged up, punting was the right thing to do. Of course punting a net 5 yards [[counting the delay of game call) was NOT the thing to do. We should have had them trapped inside the 10 yard line.

[Thruster315]

A pass on 3rd and one and a punt on 4th and one tells us all we need to know about the offensive line.

And, knowing that, I disagree with Caldwell.

We all agree the O line for this game was beat to a gooey pulp. It was so patchwork it wasn't even funny. And while we can all disagree with Caldwell after the fact because the call for a pass failed, it's also 20/20 hindsight. I'm sure on the other side of the ball Dallas knew the strength and weakness going into it as well. Deception's a part of the game too; sometimes it works and the coach is a genius. Sometimes it bombs and the coach gets second guessed as a dope who was too wimpy. He gets paid the big bucks for making that call whether we agree or disagree with it now.

A good punt pins Dallas to their ten so that they take a couple more minutes to get a winning score.

I think he was rolling the die and hoping that a longer drive by Dallas increased the odds of a turnover.

I'm sure Caldwell was pinning his hopes on matching our defensive strength against their offense. There was no guarantee that Dallas was going to score but Caldwell had to play it out based upon what got the Lions this far and that was their defense.

All that said, a team without a line that can pound out a yard is not going to go very far in the post season.

Even if was a QB sneak, we still needed some O line push and we obviously weren't getting it with this group at this game. Not only do we need a revamped offensive line- we need it to gel, stay healthy, AND have some depth to boot too. Last year's offensive line was good because they stayed pretty healthy and they worked as a unit. This year's unit was primarily Rob Sims, Dominic Raiola, Reilly Reiff and whoever rotated in due to injuries. It was tough to get any sort of cohesion going. But it's time to revamp it. Swanson looks like the future at center. Warford and Waddle need to be healthy for all the games. Reiff is Jeff Backus light and seems to hold his own against some pretty imposing monsters on the other side. Which brings up the question of do we re-sign Sims? Signing Raiola as a back-up [[he'd better get over the idea of being a starter and coming in a a dirt cheap price if he wants to be here)?

[Thruster315]

I think if Warford or even Swanson were in the game, Caldwell might have went for that fourth down, or even ran on 3rd. Since we had the lead, and our line was banged up, punting was the right thing to do. Of course punting a net 5 yards [[counting the delay of game call) was NOT the thing to do. We should have had them trapped inside the 10 yard line.

Seriously who'da thunk Sam Martin was gonna shank the football like it was a soggy ass bean bag? He'd been lights out pinning other teams back all year too.

I look back at it was one huge combination of bungled plays, the effed up call by the refs, and a litany of quirky things that led to our loss. It blows but sh!t happens. I'm still seriously bummed because I thought we had it in the bag early on. We had Jerry Jones chewing on his rope for most of the game until the second half.

[Bong-Man]

Well one thing is for sure.....I hope Chris Christie doesn't count on carrying Michigan in the '16 election, because hanging out in Jerry's booth pretty much killed his chances.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Well one thing is for sure.....I hope Chris Christie doesn't count on carrying Michigan in the '16 election, because hanging out in Jerry's booth pretty much killed his chances.

His fat _ss wouldn't get my vote anyway. He's just as corrupt as the rest of them. Jerry Jones says he's going to make sure that Christie will be in GB with him, on his dime. Calls him his "Good Luck" charm since Dallas has won every game he's attended. I hope the Dallas train gets stalled on the tracks in Lambeau. I hate the Cowboys. They've sucked the last 6 years and haven't been relevant since the mid 90's, now they have a good season, and everybody is a "America's Team" fanboy again.

[Pickford-Bentler]

We all agree the O line for this game was beat to a gooey pulp. It was so patchwork it wasn't even funny. And while we can all disagree with Caldwell after the fact because the call for a pass failed, it's also 20/20 hindsight. I'm sure on the other side of the ball Dallas knew the strength and weakness going into it as well. Deception's a part of the game too; sometimes it works and the coach is a genius. Sometimes it bombs and the coach gets second guessed as a dope who was too wimpy. He gets paid the big bucks for making that call whether we agree or disagree with it now.



I'm sure Caldwell was pinning his hopes on matching our defensive strength against their offense. There was no guarantee that Dallas was going to score but Caldwell had to play it out based upon what got the Lions this far and that was their defense.



Even if was a QB sneak, we still needed some O line push and we obviously weren't getting it with this group at this game. Not only do we need a revamped offensive line- we need it to gel, stay healthy, AND have some depth to boot too. Last year's offensive line was good because they stayed pretty healthy and they worked as a unit. This year's unit was primarily Rob Sims, Dominic Raiola, Reilly Reiff and whoever rotated in due to injuries. It was tough to get any sort of cohesion going. But it's time to revamp it. Swanson looks like the future at center. Warford and Waddle need to be healthy for all the games. Reiff is Jeff Backus light and seems to hold his own against some pretty imposing monsters on the other side. Which brings up the question of do we re-sign Sims? Signing Raiola as a back-up [[he'd better get over the idea of being a starter and coming in a a dirt cheap price if he wants to be here)?

Caldwell and I share a common interest - playing golf. There are two aspects to the game of golf that contribute to the odds of a lowest score. What you are capable of and the odds of doing that.

You have made a good argument as to how probability favored Caldwell's decision. And I have to admit that it is in the realm of 50:50 whether punting or going for it is the statistically correct choice.


Statistically stupid was Schwartz doing that fake field goal against the Steelers on a wet field - kind of like Costner going for the green on a par 5 in Tin Cup.

Ironically, Caldwell probably was right. The surprise of a pass to Pettigrew off of a play fake caused the LB to panic and do the right thing statistically - run over the receiver to, at worst, have a PI rather than a TD, with a small chance the the refs would not see the foul - which they did not [[:

[Pickford-Bentler]

Seriously who'da thunk Sam Martin was gonna shank the football like it was a soggy ass bean bag? He'd been lights out pinning other teams back all year too.

I look back at it was one huge combination of bungled plays, the effed up call by the refs, and a litany of quirky things that led to our loss. It blows but sh!t happens. I'm still seriously bummed because I thought we had it in the bag early on. We had Jerry Jones chewing on his rope for most of the game until the second half.

A very big factor was Mathis going out in the first half with a thigh injury. Vaughn got burned for the 73 yard TD that lit a fire of hope.

Before that injury, Dallas was being shut down.

[Pickford-Bentler]

Christie wants to replace Dan Marino in those Nutrisystem commercials we have to suffer through while watching the games.

[emu steve]

Well one thing is for sure.....I hope Chris Christie doesn't count on carrying Michigan in the '16 election, because hanging out in Jerry's booth pretty much killed his chances.

Christie is toast in Jersey [[yes, I know he's said he won't run again for guv).

Won't carry the state for president. Ditto Pa. Ditto N.Y. Ditto MI.

Don't most from Jersey root for Giants, Jets or Eagles? Christie has his choice - and picks "none of the above".

[PeachLaser]

Stafford? After six seasons I've seen enough.

That's pretty harsh talk. I remember the season before Stafford came on board, the Lions were 0-12. The man has taken that team to the playoffs. Detroit got a bad call on a crucial play. If that had not of happened, I think Detroit would be celebrating and Stafford a hero.

Also wondering... the official picked up the flag but did not throw a flag the week before with Suh against Green Bay. Was this a way of the officials protesting?

[baughlieve]

That's pretty harsh talk. I remember the season before Stafford came on board, the Lions were 0-12. The man has taken that team to the playoffs. Detroit got a bad call on a crucial play. If that had not of happened, I think Detroit would be celebrating and Stafford a hero.

He's better than what we've had, but still not an elite quarterback and that's why we drafted him #1 overall. Andrew Luck has already won 2 playoff games in his career. Stafford is 0-17 on the road against teams with winning records. There's no way to sugarcoat that. If we can keep this defense together, we might not need him to be great, but he has to stop turning the ball over.