Detroit Lions Weblog

Week 6 Statistical Matchup:Lions vs. Carolina Panthers

31. Detroit Offense/vs. Carolina Defense 30.

Yardage

Yards 980/1710
YPG 245.0(28)/342.0(24)

Scoring

PTS 71/116
PPG 17.8(21)/23.2(23)

Passing

YPG 147.3(28)/259.2(27)
TD 4(24)/9(27)
SACK 8(9)/5(30)
INT 7(24)/6(8)

Rushing

YPG 97.8(19)/82.8(3)
TD 5(7)/3(12)

17. Carolina Offense/ 7. Detroit Defense

Yardage

Yards 1515/1292
YPG 303.0(26)/323.0(19)

Scoring

PTS 127/75
PPG 25.4(5)/18.8(14)

Passing

YPG 206.4 (20)/207.8(17)
TD 8(7)/5(9)
SACK 8(9)/10(15)
INT 5(19)/ 7(5)

Rushing

YPG 96.6(20)/115.3(21)
TD 7(3)/2(4)

TEAM Efficiency——————————-
——–OFFPLAYS—-RUSHAVG—-PASSAVG—-OFFAVG
CAR—-300———–3.29———–6.75———–5.05
DET—-239———–3.55———–4.57————4.10
——–DEFPLAYS—-RUSHAVG—-PASSAVG—-DEFAVG
CAR—324———–3.31————6.51———-5.28
DET—258———–4.35————5.47———-5.01

Time of Possession—————————-
DET 28:36/OPP 31:24
CAR 29:43/ OPP 30:17

3RD downs————–
Det 21/55(38.2%)/OPP 23/58(39.7%)
Car 29/65(44.6%)/OPP 32/70(45.7%)

4th DOWNS————
CAR 0/0(0)/OPP 1/5(20.0%)
DET 1/6(16.7%)/OPP 2/5 (40.0%)

Penalties—————-
DET 22/169 YDS
CAR 33/273 YDS

RED ZONE———————————-
——-OFFPOS—-TD—-FG—-SCOR%—–TD%
DET–12———–7——2——.750——–.583
CAR–16———-12—–2——.875——–.750

——-DEFPOS—TD—-FG—-SCOR%—–TD%
DET–10———-4——1——.500——–.400
CAR-14———-7——-3—–.714———.500

Turnovers—————————————–
——-TakeAways————-GiveAways—-/+/-
—–INT—FUM–TTL——–INT–FUM—TTL—-
DET-7—–4——11———7—–1——8—/+3
CAR-6—-6——-12———5—–6—–11–/+1

QB Comp——————————————
———–CMP/ATT—-PCT—-YDS/G—TD/INT—RATE
Delhomme-54/145—-57.9—-220.0—-8/5——-86.0
Harrington-59/115—-51.3—-149.3—–4/7——52.7

Receiving
———REC—-YDS—-LNG—AVG—-TD
Smith–33——-473—-65—–14.3—-6
Johnson-13—–110—-25——8.5—–0

Rushing
———-CAR—–YARDS—AVG—-LNG—TD
Davis–91———291——-3.2—–39—–7
Foster-41———185——–4.5—–19—-0
Jones–71——–205——–2.9—–14—–3
Bryson-11——-96———8.7——77—–1

Injuries:
OUT:DET QB Garcia, LS Muhlbach, CAR NONE
DOUBT: DET DE Hall, LB Lewis, CAR HE HATE ME (Smart)
Ques: DET KR/WR Drummond, S Fox, FB Schlesinger, WR Williams, CAR LB Ciurciu, RB Davis, RB Foster, CB Gamble, FB Hoover
Prob: DET None, CAR OT Gross

Could the Lions use C-Rog NOW?

The Lions will a little short-handed this Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. They in all likelihood will be without Charles Rogers (4 game suspension), and Roy Williams (strained quadriceps). That means veteran Kevin Johnson, rookie Mike Williams, and injured Scottie Vines and Eddie Drummond will need to pick up the slack. The Lions brought former first round draft pick Troy Edwards in for a workout, have Glenn Martinez they could sign from off of the practice squad, and also both DB’s Dre Bly and R. W. McQuarters have offered to pull double duty by helping run patterns (Where’s Mike McMahon when you need him).

I think it also safe to expect more double Tight End formations with Casey
FitzSimmons and Marcus Pollard. The Lions have really been let down by Charles Rogers. It is far from surprising that things would work out this way for the Lions after Rogers’s suspension. The Lions really need McQuarters and Bly to concentrate on their tasks at hand, so it will be very interesting to see how the Lions plan to remedy their current lack of depth at the position. In many ways, the best way to beat the Panthers is to throw the ball. Since that is the most deficient aspect of the Lions offense and they are suffering from a lack of depth in their receiver corps, it is hard to expect the Lions will be able to exploit this weakness on Sunday. Maybe Drummond will have to let McQuarters take punt returns so that Drummond can focus on kickoff returns and taking a more active role in the offense.

More is being made each day about the Lions problems in the locker room. Many are focusing on Dre Bly pointing out to Joey Harrington that he missed a wide open receiver last Sunday. Also, Roy Williams has made some statements in regards to Kevin Jones in a SI.com article, as well as all but saying that the starting QB job will be Garcia’s when he is healthy. You certainly can’t question the resillience of Joey Harrington, a lesser man would have given up long ago. I do firmly believe he will never amount to a decent starting NFL QB but has exhibited some of the heart and toughness that Lions fans believe he is so deficient of in spite of the ever growing tide that is demanding ouster.

Ravens Bake a Cake, Bring Ribbons, Balloons to Ford Field

It is incredibly hard to stifle the Edgar Allen Poe references (get it, Baltimore Ravens) when evaluating the macabre pall that hung over Ford Field on Sunday afternoon. The stench of NFL mediocrity and a bad case of the inmates running the asylum all contributed to a Lion’s victory that was an absolute gift from the Ravens to the NFC North-leading home team. The Ravens showered the Lions with many gifts, in the form of a mind-numbingly undisciplined display of penalties and four very costly turnovers. In my last post, I mentioned that these offenses could setback the game 50 years, I will qualify that statement, they setback the game 100 years in their absolute ineffectiveness.

The Lions gained more yards from penalties than they did in their passing game on Sunday. In their two “victories”, the Lions have been the benefactors of an average of 18 penalties/game! Many conspiracy theorists believe that the Lions were being repayed a debt from the NFL after their controversial loss last week in Tampa. It is indicative, that when Joey Harrington’s best pass of the day was a side-armed, limp-wristed, “fumble” that was advanced for a gain by a very disgusted Kevin Jones, that there are MAJOR problems with this offense.

Harrington has now had 36 starts as an NFL QB. That is more chances than probably 80% of all QB’s on NFL rosters will ever receive. Joey Harrington is a fallow, miserable husk of a NFL QB. There is no longer any hope this guy might through divine inspiration of some sort figure out how to be an accurate passer or capable leader. The Lions have to move on. Harrington may hold the job until Garcia returns, or guide the team to a 7-9 first round playoff loss. The time is now to start planning how to win in spite of Harrington’s deficiencies and to begin the evaluations of potential future prospects to take over in this QB purgatory.

The receiving corps doesn’t get cut from it’s share of the blame for the offensive ineffectiveness. Marcus Pollard, Mike Williams and Roy Williams all either dropped passes, alligator-armed passes, or showed a lack of effort that cost the team. Granted, they are probably increasingly frustrated with the damage Harrington is doing to their performance bonuses and contract escalators, but unless they start living up to the Barnum-like billing this offense will sputter its wheels constantly.

Kevin Jones, on the other hand, gave an admirable tough-minded effort that should make it exceedingly clear what the future of the Lions offense could be. Other than the concussion inducing blows of the Ravens on their ridiculous six play goal-line stand, Kevin Jones won nearly every aspect of the physical battle on the field Sunday. His stats were not glossy, holding true to form for the season, but if the Lions had attempted to bolster their offensive line in the offseason as opposed to adding to a increasingly disappointing cadre of skill players Jones may not have had to struggle for every inch he has gained thus far. I can assure you, that even though Paul Smith has been respectable, Kevin Jones is counting the milliseconds until Corey “Sledge” Schlesinger cuts a devastating swath through opposing defenses as a lead blocker for him.

The Lions are still the 2-2 NFC North Division leaders a third of the way through the 17 week season. The Lions now must take some hard looks at it’s personnel if it is planning a potential playoff run. I love what Jason Hanson has done, but it may be time to consider a Long Field Goal/Kickoff specialist being added to the roster. The Lions will not win the field position battle if teams continually begin drives on the 30 yard line instead of the 20 yard line. The Lions are anxiously anticipating the returns of Schlesinger and Garcia, now with the rash of receiver injuries Sunday, Charles Rogers suspension may lead to the necessity for an additional wide out being signed so that the team can field enough receivers to spell it’s starters. It is also not beyond the realm of comprehension, that the team should consider trading for an NFL-quality QB that is currently residing on a bench (i.e. Jon Kitna) or begin bringing in others who are hanging on the periphery of NFL rosters (Shaun King, Jim Miller, Tim Couch) to potentially back-up Garcia should the Lions become completely disgusted with the downward spiral that Joey Harrington’s career now appears headed for. Steve Mariucci, Matt Millen, and the Ford’s no longer have the luxury of their interminable “wait-for-next-year” excuses. This is a winnable division for a team that is trying to establish itself as contenders and not pretenders. They have been the recipients of 2 gifted wins, it is time for them to earn their paychecks!

Week 5 preview: Lions Vs. Ravens

First off, I have the good fortune of being the recipient of a couple of tickets to attend Sunday’s game (Thanks Bro!) against the Ravens at Ford Field. That being said, the two underperforming and lackluster offenses that will take the field on Sunday quite possibly could set football back 50 years. Both teams are emblematic of the absolute necessity of having a capable starting QB to be succesful in the NFL.

The Ravens have struggled as much if not more than the Lions offensively. The Ravens inability to jump start their running attack has made it so opponents can pin their ears back and pressure QB’s Kyle Boller and Anthony Wright. Boller is out, and Wright has shown that he doesn’t have the ability to carry a team to victory. If the Lions can contain RB’s Jamal Lewis and Chester Taylor (Toledo), they stand a very good chance of winning the game. If Baltimore is forced to rely on Wright’s arm, the Lions DE’S Jared DeVries and Kalimba Edwards, who have done a very good job of bolstering reliable DE’s James Hall and Corey Redding, could really tee off on Wright. It is also very important that CB’s Keith Smith and Andre Goodman do not allow big plays like they did for Joey Galloway against the Bucs. Ravens WR Derrick Mason is not the gamebreaker he used to be, but will move the chains and could spring a big gain if the Lions young CB’s have any lapses in coverage. Veteran TE Todd Heap, the Ravens most reliable receiving target, will try and find space through the middle to carve up the Lions secondary. It is very important for Lions linebackers and safeties to limit the ability of Heap to keep Ravens drives going. Besides Heap and Mason, The Ravens have young WR Mark Clayton and undependable WR’s Clarence Moore and Randy Himes. Moore is 6-6 and has terrible hands. Moore can be a major matchup problem for undersized CB’s, especially in the red zone. In my eyes, the defining element to the Lions success will be the run-stuffing of Shaun Rogers, Dan Wilkinson, Marcus Bell and Earl Holmes. The Ravens offense will have a real tough time if their RB’s are ineffective.

On Offense, the Lions are coming off a game against an excellent Buc’s defense and face an even more ominous task of trying to rely on QB Joey Harrington and the rest of the offense to move the ball against the formidable Ravens defense. In a near mirror image game plan, the Ravens will try to stuff Lions RB’s Kevin Jones, Artose Pinner and Shawn Bryson. It is unfortunate that FB Corey Schlesinger likely will be unavailable to play against the Ravens. He possibly help create some running lanes blocking against the Ravens undersized linebackers. If the Ravens successfully stop the run (highly likely), the game falls completely on QB Joey Harrington’s shoulders. Actually, this could be the defining game of Harrington’s career to this point. If Harrington is patient, accurate in his throws, and refrains from costly interceptions this is a winnable game for the Lions. If Joey “Scarrington” or Joey “Checkoff” rears his ugly head, the Ravens will inflict more punishment on the Lions than an angry prison bull meeting a new inmate who likes to wear lipstick and boasts about being a virgin. If Harrington fails, there will be about a three to four week countdown before Jeff Garcia assumes the helm as starting QB and the Lions begin investigating their future plans for the position. The Lions are without receiver Charles Rogers, so Kevin Johnson and Mike Williams will have to step up their games. The Lions will be facing the deepest and most daunting secondary in the NFL, you can’t reinforce enough how careful the Lions receivers and QB will need to be in the passing game. The Ravens have yet to intercept a ball, but it would take very little for them to intercept a couple balls and turn them into scores. A major concern for the Lions, will be the disruptive influence of Terrell Suggs. If Jeff Backus does not at least slow Suggs, this could be a very long game for Lions fans.

I want to be optimistic about the Lions chances against the Ravens. They are at home, coming off a tough loss against the Bucs on the road. If Kevin Jones remains a non-factor, the game will placed squarely upon the shoulders of Joey Harrington. It is hard to have faith in Harrington’s ability to drive this offense. Recently, former Cowboys and Dolphins Coach Jimmy Johnson said that the he thinks “this offense has a governor on it. It’s called Joey Harrington.” If Harrington repeats his past performances and the Lions allow a big play on defense they will be in for a long afternoon. I am going to exhibit some blind faith here, though.

Lions 13 Ravens 10

Week 5:Lions vs. Ravens Statistical Matchup

Detroit Offense 31./Baltimore Defense 1.

Yardage

Yards 714/782
YPG 238.0(29)/260.7(2)

Scoring

Points 36/52
PPG 12.0(28)/17.3(13)

Passing

YPG 164.0(27)/190.3(1)
TD 3(24)/3(7)
Sack 7(12)/6(24)
INT 5(23)/0(31)

Rushing

YPG 74.0(27)/70.3(2)
TD 1(21)/0(1)

Baltimore Offense 29./Detroit Defense 6.

Yardage

Yards 842/905
YPG 280.7(26)/301.7(15)

Scoring

Points 30/58
PPG 10.0(31)/19.3(16)

Passing

YPG 212.0(17)/201.0(14)
TD 2(28)/3(7)
Sack 9(21)/9(14)
INT 5(23)/5(6)

Rushing

YPG 68.7(29)/100.7(14)
TD 1(21)/2(8)

——–Turnover Ratio——–
—–Takeaways——————Giveaways——-+/-
—–Int—-FUM—TTL———–INT—–FUM—TTL
DET 5——2——7————–5——–1——6—/+1
BAL 0——1——1————–5——–3——8—/-7

QB Comp.
————-ATT/CMP——-PCT———YDS/G———TD/INT——–RATE
Harrington 92/49———–53.3———166.7———3/5————–57.3
Wright—–92/59———–64.1———-190.0——–2/4————–70.5

Injuries:
Baltimore Out:DE Anthony Weaver, QB Kyle Boller, Questionable: FB Alan Ricard, Probable: TE Todd Heap
Detroit Out:QB Jeff Garcia, LS Don Muhlbach Doubtful: FB Corey Schlesinger Questionable: S Vernon Fox, CB Andre Goodman, DE James Hall, LB Alex Lewis
Probable:DE Corey Redding K Jason Hanson

Players Getting Chippy in Allen Park

The Lions had an interesting practice yesterday. The offense was not playing well and team president Matt Millen stepped onto the field and started barking at the team. Joey Harrington also huddled up the offense and berated the offense for it’s lack of effort. Offensive Tackle Kelly Butler and Defensive End Corey Redding got into some sort of melee, as well. The pressure appears to be being ratcheted up a bit, which is a good thing.

Meanwhile, the Charles Rogers media circus continued with his making some statements in regards to his 4 game suspension. Rogers’s teammates were supportive, yet, also questioned how Rogers’s let this become an issue that would affect the team. Corey Schlesinger may have put it best, in his comments. “I expressed my opinion to the players. I’m not really going to express it to the media.” After a brief pause, Schlesinger said that “I don’t have any tolerance for it (Rogers’s suspension). R. W. McQuarters put a sign over Rogers’s locker that said “He is not available” in response to the swirl of requests to get statements from Rogers. This is a far cry from Marcus Bell’s tribute to retired former Lions Kelvin Pritchett. Bell will not let any equipment people remove Pritchett’s gear from his locker.

The Lions had an open roster spot due to Rogers’s suspension which came in handy since they needed to find a replacement for injured long snapper Don Muhlbach. They signed veteran Joe Maese. Hopefully, this will be the last mention of Maese. Anytime you mention the long snapper’s name, they invariably have made a very costly mistake.

Charles Rogers receives late Nobel Prize nomination

How do you spell first-round disaster? Charles Rogers, who will receive a 4 game suspension for his third offense of the league’s substance abuse policy, is an unmitigated disaster as a first round draft pick. Rogers, after his appeal of his suspension and subsequent four game suspension, will have missed nearly 30 games in three seasons as a Lion. The nearest comparisons I can draw to Rogers are such unnotables as R. Jay Soward, David Terrell, Freddie “Don’t Call Me Fred-Ex” Mitchell, and Koren Robinson. Has anyone began to wonder what the possible salary cap ramifications are for releasing two first rounders in one season (Rogers, Harrington)? The Lions may have the honor of pulling a trifecta by not re-signing Jeff Backus to a new contract after this season. That would be three first round draft picks gone with a quickness!

Let’s face facts here, the Lions are helmed by a President who has built a 17-50 record during his tenure, coached by a coach who came to the Lions with the highest of credentials and yet thus far has come nowhere even close to a .500 career record with the team. The team also features an over-rated assemblage of high-priced skill players (Harrington, Rogers, Williams and Williams, and Jones) who are costing the Lions $125 million dollars and have produced a whopping 12 points/game 3 games into the 2005 schedule. Things are just not going well in Motown.

In the Tampa Bay game there were signs of encouragement. Kalimba Edwards is moving closer to be a productive NFL performer. The Lions defense has accounted for itself quite well, thus far. At some point, with all of the offensive struggles and deficiencies, the defense will weaken because it will spend too much time on the field trying to bail out the offense. The defense will suffer from more injuries, increased fatigue, a noticeable lack of concentration and an overriding sense of frustration if this offense continues to underachieve. Their are dark clouds ahead.

Charles Rogers is emblematic of the Lions struggles towards respectability. Rogers was a glossy pick. Hometown favorite. Exciting superstar. Yet, in the process, he has failed to live up to his hyped billing. The most galling aspect of this failure is the fact that Rogers has been the most selfish and vocal member of the team about his place within the Lions organization. How dare he, whine and moan to the media about not getting the ball when he was fully aware that he was soon to be suspended. I hope the Lions let him rot.

One has to wonder if Matt Millen was being proactive when he chose Mike Williams over Kansas City LB Derrick Johnson in last year’s draft. Johnson may have been the more sensible pick, but Millen may have realized that the chances were slim and none that Rogers would make it though a complete season. I hope that was the case, otherwise, who is the captain of this ship?

Lions Competitive in Another Close Loss

Yesterday’s Lions game was mildly encouraging. The Lions played a probable playoff team very competitively and quite easily could have handed the Buccaneers their first loss of the season. The Lions defense was able to contain the Buccaneers offense all day, reducing the impact of rookie phenom “Cadillac” Williams, pressuring Brian Griese into costly miscues, and playing an aggressive, physical game. That being said, the Lions offensive schemes are the worst and most egregious misuse of personnel in the entire NFL (and CFL, too, eh?)

It is apparent that Steve Mariucci and Ted Tollner have little faith in Joey Harrington’s abilities and if Jeff Garcia were healthy he would quite likely be the Lions starting QB. Still, what about that late drive engineered by Harrington and the Lions offense? How about two very good passes in the end zone that unfortunately did not result in scores (Pollard’s was a travesty-there was NOT irrefutable evidence in which to overturn the referees call on the field)? I believe that what we saw on Sunday was a coaching staff who has failed to utilize the natural abilities of it’s offensive personnel in order to capitalize on the numerous opportunities the team was given by the struggling Griese and inspired play of the Lions defense. With all of the raw talent that Mike Williams, Roy Williams, and Charles Rogers posess, why not try to utilize their physical advantage over smaller corners down the field? Mike O’Hara mentioned today on WQTX 92.1 that the Lions work harder than any other team to gain 3 yards on a sideline out pattern(which is actually a 30 yard pass) than other teams work to get a pass 15 yards down the field in a play that is actually a shorter pass. He is correct, furthermore, opposing defensive backs are very happy to not to have to be challenged in coverage by the conservative Lions offensive scheme. They are very content to jam the Lions receivers and throw their timing off with Joey Harrington within the five yard contact umbrella, that the Lions stubbornly and continually throw into the teeth of. This offense is a joke, and for once I believe that the coaching staff was exposed for the fools that they are by Harrington’s clutch final drive and excellent passing under very difficult circumstances. Their is no reasonable justification for a passing game whose season passing totals were probably outgained in one game by Marc Bulger of the Rams against the Giants yesterday.

I also have to wonder why the best football player (Kevin Jones) on the entire Lions roster, and the one whose success is most directly linked with any future Lions successes, has been so invisible three games into the season. I realize he was poked in the eye during yesterday’s game. He has earned every yard he has gained this year and has played with a fury and a chip-on-the-shoulder intensity that has been unmatched by any Lions player in recent years. The Lions HAVE to find a way to get Kevin Jones going. His touchdown yesterday was the finest play I have seen from a Lion in quite some time. Not only was it mean-spirited and tenacious, he was trying to stir the listless Lions into playing a tough football game. I think the Lions need to find a way to better utilize this untapped commodity.

Finally, the discontentment of Charles Rogers. He is making it a habit of complaining after games about his level of involvement in the offense. Listen Charles, you need to run your routes, make blocks and play with maximum effort. Then you will earn your role in this offense. Rogers’s play has done nothing to indicate to me that he will ever be even a remotely capable NFL player. Who is he to complain about his involvement in the game plan when he rarely completes routes unless he is the designated recipient of the ball on a particular play? Why is he crying when he can’t fight through defensive backs jamming him at the line of scrimmage? This isn’t college football where he was able to routinely receive a large cushion because opposing defensive coordinators didn’t want Rogers to beat them deep. Their is no Bobby Williams on this coaching staff to mollycoddle his primadonna receiver. Worst of all, there are numerous rumors swirling that indicate Rogers is about to get into trouble for off the field issues. Another first round bust for the Lions? Imagine that.

The Lions are very close to being viable competitors in the weakest division in the NFL. It is time for Head Coach Steve Mariucci and the Lions to seize the wonderful opportunity they have been given and prove that they are the class of the division. That will demand courage, intensity and excellence in execution that we have yet to see from this era of the Lions organization.