Detroit Lions Weblog

Joey Harrington QB Rating

Joey Harrington currently has the 10th best QB rating in the league at 91.1. He has completed 59.6% of his passes and averaged 187.3 yards/game passing. He has also managed to have 6 TD’s against 2 INT’s. Not a bad start, all things considered. Should he maintain this QB rating through the duration of the season he would be ranked quite high in Lions history for passer rating in a season with a minimum of 200 attempts.

1. Dave Krieg		101.7	1994
2. Scott Mitchell	 92.3	1995
3. Joey Harrington	 91.1	2004*
4. Greg Landry		 89.6	1976
5. Earl Morrall		 86.2	1963
    * thru week four

Based on his past performance and the recent loss of depth on offense due to injury depletion, it will be very difficult for Harrington to continue at this pace.

Roy Williams Miscellany

Roy is currently eighth in the NFL in receiving yards. He has 17 catches for 277 yards and four touchdowns. He has averaged 92.3 yards/game and 16.3 yards/catch. A nice job for someone who has played in three career games.

With Roy’s back-to-back 100+ yard games he has become the most recent receiver to have that kind of performance. It was last accomplished by Johnnie Morton on 9/9/01 and 9/23/01. Looking down the road, the last to have three straight games of 100+ yards receiving was Germane Crowell. He did that on 11/14/99, 11/21/99 and 11/25/99. Even more difficult would be 4 straight games. Herman Moore, was the last receiver to accomplish that feat. That goes back to 9/21/97, 9/28/97, 10/5/97 and 10/12/97.

With the added attention Williams will garner, and the total lack of a running game, it will be very difficult for Roy to match these performances. Here’s a look at the most 100-yard receiving games in Lions history:

1. Herman Moore		35
2. Johnnie Morton	18
3. Terry Barr		15
4. Brett Perriman	14
5. Gail Cogdill		12
6. Leonard Thompson	 8
7. Pat Studstill	 7
   Germane Crowell	 7

Roy has an outside chance of joining this group by the end of the season at this rate.

The Running Game

The Lions total lack of a running game is a major concern. They have yet to really establish the run with any authority in their three games. Now with injuries to Kevin Jones and Corey Schlesinger it will be even more difficult for them to establish the most important element of any football game.

The causes for the lack of a running game are multi-faceted. The offensive line has been a disappointment. Dom Raiola, Jeff Backus, and Stockar McDougle are no longer rookies. They can no longer earn a free pass. They have to get some movement and push off the ball or the Lions will never improve.

The lack of experience in the Lions backfield may be another reason for the lack of success in their running game. Kevin Jones runs hard, but seems to have difficulty in recognizing where his running lanes are. He also has a tendency to want to try and get to the edge by taking the ball outside of the “box” around the line of scrimmage. In college, he may have had the quickness to turn these runs into positive gains but with the pursuit speed and knowledge of pursuit angles among NFL defenses this is a difficult task. Artose Pinner runs hard, but he has not exhibited the ability to run with any consistency.

The team itself has to play well in order for the Lions to establish any sort of running game. So often in games, the Lions fall behind early and have to abandon their ground attack. The Lions need to get off to good starts in games and not be forced to enter into a “circle the wagons” mode from the onset.

Most puzzling, the Lions offensive coordinators often seem to get away from the ground game, even when it has been moderately succesful. It may be my midwestern-bred, Big Ten football-sensibility speaking here but I think the most important element of a succesful football team is its running attack. The West Coast offense when run properly is supposed to create opportunities for the running game. Often though, it seems that the proponents of the offense get so caught up in showing how intelligent they are with their game planning they often lose sight of the beauty and savagery of “three yards and a cloud of dust”!

Joey Harrington, Esq.

Tony Siragusa’s comments this Sunday have caused quite a stir. I would be remiss if I chose not too address them. I think maybe Tony tapped into some general discontent and frustration among Lion’s fans, that has been unresolved for some time now. Joey Harrington is just the latest target as a member of one of the most poorly run and unsuccesful franchises in all of professional sports.

First off, Joey Harrington will never live down the “Joey Heisman” hype he was adorned with while at the University of Oregon. The 10-story billboard erected in Times Square increased people’s expectations for his performance and leadership. His high draft pick and the quality of his college performance contributed to Lions fans’ expectations. Whether he is capable of meeting those expectations is still be determined.

The Detroit sports franchises and local media have constantly churned out the concept that Detroiters want their athletes to exhibit a “blue collar” work ethic and attitude much like their own. That may have been a possibility in the past, when athletes were actually paid little enough that they often had to hold offseason jobs, but is that reasonable now? On top of that, isn’t it a sign of denial that we expect that ethic from local athletes when from the moment they exhibit any potential as an athlete they are pampered and treated differently from their peers? Furthermore, with the prices to attend games, buy merchandise and concessions how many “blue collar” fans are really able to support their team in this day and age?

Joey Harrington is generally a positive guy when he talks to the media. On the field, he doesn’t ever appear rattled regardless of the score. He doesn’t exhibit the fire and bravado many Lions fans would like to see. Would any of this matter were the Lions undefeated? Does “champagne versus beer” really extrapolate into any sort of authenticity as a team leader?

This is a pivotal time for Harrington and the Lions organization. All Detroit fans want to see Harrington become a top-flight Pro Bowl caliber performer. Rather than question Harrington’s fire, manhood, or choice of spirits why not question the management sense of the organization that implemented an offensive system that is supposedly so complicated that it takes 3-4 years to master in a time when first round draft picks are expected play and perform immediately? That is the real issue at hand in my eyes.

Roy Williams, Jack of All Trades

Boy, has Roy Williams made a quick impression on Lions fans. It almost helps to lessen the burn one feels over the loss of Charles Rogers for two straight seasons and injects all kinds of fantastic scenarios in the Honolulu Blue mindfields of what may be yet to come. On Sunday, besides essentially keeping the Lions in the game (for a brief while at least), he caught two touchdown passes, played defensive back on one play and threw a pass on a reverse.

As a Lion fan, I longed for a playmaker of this caliber for many a season. His talents have exceeded what many of us could have envisioned. That being said, teams will be directing their energies in attempting to stop him so players like Az Hakim, Tai Streets, Casey Fitzsimmons, and Stephen Alexander are going to have to step it up in order for him to continue to perform at this level.

As many may know by now, Roy is also a thespian. He will be appearing as a high school coach in “Friday Night Lights.” Roy also plays guitar, saxophone and piano. The Lions definitely hope that Roy and Joey Harrington will continue to make music together on the field.

Lions Most Yards Gained Rushing Career

1. Barry Sanders    15,269
2. Billy Sims        5,106
3. Dexter Bussey     5,105
4. Altie Taylor      4,297
5. Nick Pietrosante  3,933
6. James Jones       3,452
7. Mel Farr          3,072
8. James Stewart     2,890
9. Dan Lewis         2,698
10. Greg Landry      2,502

It is no shock that Barry Sanders, as the greatest player this franchise has ever had the good fortune of possessing, would lead by a great margin in career rushing yards. Nor is it a surprise to see usual suspects such as Bussey and Sims, but the appearance of Landry on this list was a surprise to me. Hopefully with good health and a few seasons, Kevin Jones can crack this list. Seeing James Stewart’s name made me saddened that he didn’t get another crack to play in the league this year and reminded me how sorely underappreciated he was as a Lion. He was cursed with the misfortune of having to follow the greatest player in team history and be a member of some of it’s worst teams (which is quite remarkable in itself when you look at the last 40 years!). It was great seeing Dexter Bussey come out at halftime at Ford Field for the Lions’ Alumni celebration this Sunday.

Lions vs. Eagles

I had the good fortune of being able to be in attendance at yesterday’s game. It was a beautiful day and my friends and I had a great time tailgating before the game. The game itself was a bit of a disappointment, even if I was mentally prepared for a Lions loss.

The offense was very ineffective and was unable to get off to a very good start. Their lack of a running game and the unknown status of Kevin Jones should both be causes for worry. Other than a stellar performance by Roy Williams, there was very little positive to be taken from the Lions offensive performance. The Lions had several opportunities to make the game score close but they appeared to be outmanned in the end. On paper Joey Harrington had a good day. He had a lot of completions and threw zero interceptions. Overall, he seemed very anxious in the first half (probably in anticipation of the Eagles blitz packages) and the offense never really developed a rhythm.

The defense was on the field way too long. Their complete inability to pressure McNabb made success difficult. The Eagles cut through the Lions defense with relative ease and the lack of a turnover or big play did nothing to stem this. The Eagles score immediately following Harrington’s first quarter lost fumble seemed to take the wind out of the Lions sails.

This should be a valuable learning experience for the Lions and its fans. Regardless of the heightened media attention that was received with a 2-0 start, this team has a long way to go to even garner consideration as being competitive with the elite of the league. Fortunately for the Lions they have a bye week to regroup and hopefully continue to improve and grow while preparing for their next opponent.

Lions/Eagles Matchup

For the first time in a few years, there is some excitement being generated in the football world by a Detroit Lions matchup. This is also the first time in a long while that Lions fans can be hopeful and nearly confident that the team will compete and not be embarassed while facing a member of the NFL elite, a team which has been one victory away from the Super Bowl for three straight seasons. All of the games in the NFL possess heightened importance due to its relatively short duration but this game has the utmost importance as a statement game for the Lion’s organization.

Offensively, the Lions will have get off to a good start in the game early. They have little margin for error while facing the Eagles big-play, high pressure defense. Tantamount will be the abillity of Lions running backs to make the proper blitz reads and to be effective in blocking against the Eagles incessant blitzing. The Lions RBs will also have to find those spots in the Eagle defense where they can help Harrington by providing a safety valve in his check downs from the Eagle pressure. This will be a big game for Artose Pinner, as he is supposed to be very capable in picking up blitzes. Shawn Bryson should also get a lot of opportunities because of his good hands and experience in blocking. I think that the Lions tight ends will have to be more involved in the game plan to help nullify the Eagle pressure and finding spots for Harrington to throw to. The Eagles have young cornerbacks in Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown, who have had to take up the slack of man-to-man coverage in the Eagles defense after losing two former Pro Bowlers in free agents Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor in the offseason. Hopefully, Roy Williams’ two touchdowns last week along with Az Hakim and Tai Streets’ seasoned experience will help Joey Harrington to be successful Sunday. This will be a true test of Joey Harrington’s knowledge, leadership and composure in his third season.

The Lions defense has the difficult task of trying to stop the two-way threats of Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook. McNabb is always a threat to run as well as throw and Westbrook may be even more effective in catching dump-offs in Andy Reid’s pass happy offense. This game is where the Lions will likely most miss Boss Bailey’s jaw dropping athleticism. He would be perfect to mirror McNabb and try to eliminate his scrambling ability. Bailey would also be effective in disrupting the passes to Westbrook. Hopefully, the young Lions linebacker corps will be able to prevent McNabb from converting long third down plays with his feet. The Lions will need big games from Shaun Rogers, James Hall and Kalimba Edwards (Kalimba the Ghost?) in pressuring McNabb and preventing Terrell Owens, Todd Pinkston and Freddie Mitchell from dicing up the Lions injury-depleted secondary. Not having Andre Goodman and Dre’ Bly on Sunday is particularly troubling. There will be a lot of pressure on young fill-in Chris Cash to perform well. In a game of this nature, the Lions can ill afford to give up big plays. I think it is possible the Lions will possibly allow the Eagles to have some success running the ball in deference and respect to their ability to pass.

Special teams have played a huge part in the first two Lion victories and this game will be no different. They have generated two touchdowns on big plays by their special teams. In games with so little margin for error the special teams importance is heightened. The Lions will have to defend very well in the return game. Eddie Drummond will have to do a yeoman’s job of keeping the Lions from being pinned deep within their own territory. Another touchdown on a kick return could possibly propel the Lions to victory. The Eagles kicker, David Akers is among the best in the business so another blocked kick appears unlikely.

Even with the short week of preparation, it is hard for me to conjure up a scenario in which the Lions win this game. That being said, I think the Lions will be respectable if overmatched Sunday. The Lions will suffer their first loss, 29-20.

Reunion Time

The back story for this weekend’s Philly versus Detroit matchup is quite interesting. First off, you have “T.O.”, Terrell Owens and the Mooch, Steve Mariucci. While they were both members of the San Francisco organization the two were oil and water. Mariucci didn’t approve of Owen’s juvenile behavior and there rifts were well documented. Interestingly enough, both Mariucci and Owens were unceremoniously expunged by the 49ers. Apparently neither fit into their long range plans. Their is no questioning of T.O.’s heart and ability, unfortunately for him that same passion goes unchecked while talking into the lollipops. Mooch, is a highly regarded head coach who has an infectious positivism that seems to be effective with the development of young players. He has yet to prove he can lead a team to the promised land, though. I believe on some level the two of them have some respect for each other. Turmoil and upheaval get priority in media coverage (i.e. if it bleeds it leads).

This Sunday’s game will also reunite Marty Mornihnweg, Matt Millen and the ghosts of Lion’s seasons past. I will never forget the bill of goods Lions fans were sold about these two blue collar guys cruising into town on their motorcycles and possessing the swagger and winning attitudes necessary to restore nearly forgotten football glory to Motown. We were all lead to believe that coming from the San Fran/Green Bay Tree of NFL coaches that their rebuilding program would be effective and immediate. Little did Lion’s fans know, that both would be learning on the job and that Mornihnweg was essentially keeping the seat warm should Mariucci (the team’s first choice to coach) become available. Also many of us were unaware of what kind of shape the organization was truly in and how it had fallen on such hard times personnel wise. It turned out that Mornihnweg was mostly jousting with windmills and that organizationally it isn’t sound football decision-making to attempt to implement an offensive system that takes too long to develop(purportedly 3-4 years) in the face of NFL parity, free agency, and the salary cap. The economics of the NFL make it very hard for you to live without immediate returns upon your investments. San Francisco’s continued personnel turnover as a result of poor decisions with structuring contracts within the salary cap may be another example of this.

Another interesting aspect to this matchup is Andy Reid and Mariucci. They along with Mike Holmgren, Jon Gruden, Mike Sherman, Dick Jauron, and Marty Mornihnweg are among the leading disciples of the Bill Walsh San Fran/Green Bay coaching tree. They both adhere to similar philosophies in trying to establish a ball control offense, that is efficient and insists that its quarterbacks complete a high percentage of short passes and make the correct decisions on plays that have a high percentage of success. Where their differences in that philosophy seem to lie in that Mariucci subscribes to the ground game being an important element of that game plan where Reid seems to have almost an aversion to it. Personally, I believe there are unmeasureable advantages to establishing the run and controlling the trenches that Reid can’t account for dinking and dunking for 3 yard gains. Both are attempting to prove that their lineage can lead teams to NFL glory. In the copycat world of professional sports, their philosophies may become old hat as quickly as they became en vogue.

Joey Harrington

It is very exciting to see Joey Harrington starting to show signs of his emergence as a team leader. In the fourth quarter of both games thus far, he has been outstanding. He was once referred to as “Captain Comeback” while at Nike U. so it should be no surprise. I hope he can continue to gain confidence and show the signs of his continued development. His 93.8 Qb rating and 63% completion percentage are both signs of improvement. Also the fact that he is taking more sacks may mean he is confident enough to let plays develop and is fighting the urge to take the teeth out of the Lions offense by “checking down” to a safety valve when pressured.

I also like the newfound enthusiasm he seems to be exhibiting. He has always celebrated TD scores by finger-wagging (this finger-wagging and requisite dead sprint actually remind me of a mulletheaded soccer player celebrating a game winning goal over “Manwich” United but that is another issue altogether) and sprinting to the end zone to join the post-TD celebrants. I believe, that he seems even more engaged in all aspects of the game and more deeply affected by it’s outcome.