Detroit Lions Weblog

Week 15: Statistical Match-up

27. Detroit Offense vs./ 24. Cincinnati Defense

Yardage
Yards 3462/ 4257
YPG 266.3(27)/ 327.5(24)

Scoring
PTS 203/ 259
PPG 15.6(25)/ 19.9(18)

Passing
YPG 171.2(27)/ 210.4(22)
TD 10(29)/ 17(17)
SACK 28(16)/ 22(28)
INT 14(19)/ 27(1)

Rushing
YPG 95.1(21)/ 117.1(20)
TD 10(16)/ 12(20)

4. Cincinnati Offense vs./ 19. Detroit Defense

Yardage
Yards 4769/ 4128
YPG 366.8(4)/ 317.5(19)

Scoring
PTS 350/ 257
PPG 26.9(4)/ 19.8(17)

Passing
YPG 242.7(6)/ 191.5(10)
TD 27(1)/ 16(15)
SACK 16(2)/ 27(18)
INT 8(3)/ 15(7)

Rushing
YPG 124.2(11)/ 126.1(26)
TD 12(11)/ 9(12)

—————-Turnovers—————
——-TakeAways——-GiveAways
——INT–FUM–TTL—INT–FUM–TTL–+/-
CIN–27—11—-38—-8—–6—–14–+24
DET–15—11—26—-14—-9—–23–+3

—————-QB Comparison
———ATT/CMP–PCT–YD/G–YD/ATT–TD/INT–RATE
Palmer–426/287-67.4—249.4-7.61——27/8—-103.2
Garcia–152/89—58.6—159.8-5.26——2/3——68.9

—————RUSHING————————
———————ATT–YDS–YD/G–LNG–AVG–TD
Johnson————285—1235–95.0–32—-4.3—-10
“No Show” Jones-168—-586—-48.8-40—-3.5—–5

1st Downs
CIN 280 Opp 265
DET 215 Opp 240

3rd Downs
CIN 63/157(40.1) Opp 66/159(41.5)
DET 66/184 35.9) Opp 62/170 (36.5)

4th Downs
CIN 2/8 (25.0) Opp 6/13 (46.2)
DET 6/16(37.5) Opp 5/10(50.0)

Penalties
CIN 97/815 DET 95/696

Time of Possession
CIN 30:48 Opp 29:12
DET 29:41 Opp 30:19

EFFICIENCY (OFF/DEF)
AVG/PLAY
CIN 5.8 OPP 5.3
DET 4.4 OPP 5.1

INJURIES: OUT: CIN RB Perry, DT Robinson DET LB Bailey, TE FitzSimmons
DOUBT: CIN DE Powell, DET LB Holmes, RB Jones
QUES: CIN S Ohalete DET LB Curry, RS Drummond, FB Smith
PROB: CIN C Braham, RB Johnson, TE St. Louis, DT Thornton DET
RB Bryson
IS IT APPROACHING THE END OF THE MILLENIUM???????????

Support the “Orange-Out” Protest This Sunday

This Sunday, while the Lions host the Bengals, several fans will be exhibiting their right to protest by holding a peaceful demonstration outside of Ford Field. They will be collectively expressing their contempt for all of the failings of the Lion’s organization it’s implicit endorsement of organizational mediocrity. Another group, organized by the Lion’ Fanatics, will be staging an “Orange Out”, using orange clothing as an expression of their disgust. I think that these protests are a bit surreal, but should prove effective in expressing Lion’s fans displeasure over the recent course the team has taken. If you’d like to read more, check out Lion’s Fanatics for more details. It is unbelievable that people care this much, yet many of us have devoted a lot of time , energy and money towards this team. We are passionate enough to believe that you are either part of the problem, or part of the solution.

FIRE MATT MILLEN NOW!!! STOP THE INTERMINABLE REBUILDING PROGRAM!!!!

The Lions F@#kin Stink Out Loud!

Is there anymore disappointment left to be had? The Lions invent new ways to lose each year. Last year, with a chance to tie a game late, Don Muhlbach muffed a snap on an extra point to lose the game. Last night, the Lions were jobbed by a referee’s reversal of their prior call, in which some combination of strange penalties occurred. To further enhance the misery, Shaun Rogers committed the most idiotic unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in Lion’s history during the overtime when he pushed Samkon Gado after he was well out-of-bounds. As far as I am concerned, as dominant as “Big Baby” can be at times, he should not be allowed to play against Cincinnati next Sunday. Plays like this can’t be tolerated, if this franchise ever plans on turning things around.

Mistakes like Rogers’s are endemic to this franchise. I nearly cried when the slant pass play was dropped by Roy Williams (Easily, the best thrown pass during Garcia’s tenure as a Lion) in the fourth quarter. At the very least, Williams would have put the team in field goal range with all of the open real estate in front of him. My immediate impression, was that Williams dropped that pass because he lost his concentration. I firmly believe that he was too focused upon the contemplation of what his end zone celebration dance was going to be if he scored a touchdown, rather than making sure he caught Garcia’s dart. I have lost a lot of respect for Roy Williams because of his conduct throughout the season and thought his “Lambeau Leap” after scoring earlier in the game was classless when you consider that his team was 4-7 at the time. The Lions have consistently lead or have been near the top of the league in dropped passes for several years consecutive now.

The dropped passes are partly to be blamed by the complexity of the Lions passing scheme (timing patterns) and the inacurracy of their Qb’s throws. Yet, the lack of concentration by Lions receivers in crucial situations is a trademark organizational failure. How does Marcus Pollard, an ordinarily sure-handed receiver in his time with the Colts, become as clumsy and ineffective as former Lions TE’S Stephen Alexander or Mikhail Ricks overnight? Their is some intangible that is sorely lacking in the intensity or focus of Lion’s players which, in theory, should begin in training camp moving forward. Somehow, this organization takes fairly talented players and reduces them to rubbish upon their arrival.

The coaching staff is also highly culpable. Their late game clock management was terrible. The Lions defense stopped the Packers on their last drive, forcing them to punt. The Lions commenced to let 30 seconds run off the game clock by not using a time out. Then, when they did gain possession after the Packers punted, inexplicably, they conservatively ran the ball. Subsequently, they then decided to call a time out. Later, it appeared that they had decided that they wanted the game clock to run out and go into overtime. Puzzlingly, Shawn Bryson ran out of bounds on third down, giving the Packers ample time to receive a Lions punt and take a few more shots at a late score. Their was visibly apparent disorganization amongst the coaches and players with these late game decisions.

I won’t second guess the coaches decision to try and go for a TD on fourth-and goal at the 1 yard line. It made sense to try for a TD. If they didn’t score, the Packers would have very poor field position. I will, however, second guess the coach’s decision to run three straight plays into the middle of the Packer’s goal-line defense that features a 400 LB. fire hydrant/run stopper like Grady Jackson, who makes a practice of siphoning up tackles on running plays. With Garcia’s supposed ability to scramble, why not run a play-action pass where Garcia has the option to run or pass on a rollout? That would be playing to a purported team strength, right? Dick Jauron has done nothing to in his three games to inspire the confidence of Lion’s fans in his coaching abilities.

If I were an incoming offensive coordinator, I know one thing that would be my first order of business. I would grab the Lions 2005 offensive playbook, sandwich it snugly around a few sticks of a dynamite. I would then giggle with glee, as I lit the fuses and viewed the disintegration of the remaining vestiges of such gross incompetence and failed design.

Entering this season, I was relatively optimistic. Not 10-6 optimistic, but I did expect for the Lions to improve and play competitively. At this point, I can’t say with any confidence, that this organization is one fraction of an iota better than it was when Matt Millen took the helm. Several of team’s key components (Kalimba Edwards, Jeff Backus, Eddie Drummond and Shawn Bryson) will be free agents next year. By all accounts a few others (Jeff Garcia, Charles Rogers, Joey Harrington) will be shown the door and not welcomed back. By my tally, the Lions will need at least one offensive tackle, and in all likelihood they will also be in the market for: a TE, a Weakside LB, a DE, a CB, a FS, a QB (or 2) and a Guard, and that is probably viewing the situation optimistically. Any way you view it, the Lion’s interminable rebuilding program has become more of a feedback loop or moebius strip, their just appears to be no end in sight.

FIRE MATT MILLEN NOW! STOP THE INJUSTICES EXACTED UPON THE INNOCENT NOW!!!

WEEK 14: ESPN SUNDAY NIGHT GAME DET vs. GB

“To Try to all of a sudden become a WEST COAST OFFENSE, I think doesn’t suit us. I have never liked it. I am quite frankly not a proponent of the short passing game. If you want to get 3 yards, hand it off” Mike Tice in regards to Brad Johnson

My sentiments exactly Mr. Tice. If the Lions are going to go to Lambeau Field Sunday, in the cold, amidst a rabid crowd of Packer fans, on national televison and attempt to save face, Jason Hanson can’t be their game MVP. Not only will kicking be difficult in the unfavorable environs of the frozen tundra, the Lions must run the ball consistently and effectively. They also must use the size of their wide receivers to attack and exploit the undersized Packers secondary like they did in Week 1.

The Packers have a very capable defense. They have been susceptible to allowing teams to run the ball successfully against them, though. The Lions must establish the run and build a play action passing game off of it. Otherwise, the Packers will load up the box to prevent the run, put the Lions in third-and long yardage situations and have their DE’s Aaron Kampman and Kameer Gbaja-Biamila pin their ears back and pressure Lions QB Jeff Garcia. The Packers Defense has improved considerably since week one, the Lions will not have an easy road to hoe. Especially important, will be the effectiveness of Dominic Raiola and the Guards in handling the Packers DT’s Grady Jackson, Cullen Jenkins, and ex-Lion Colin Cole. With all the misery the Lions offense has suffered through this season, it would be nice to see O-Coordinator Greg Olson open the playbook and try to create some big plays for this offense.

Defensively, the Lions Front Seven must contain RB Samkon Gado and consistently pressure Brett Favre, so that the Lions can consistently drop their safeties back to prevent Favre from converting downfield passes as effectively as the Vikings were able to last week. I am very concerned about FS Jon McGraw, he could prove a liability if Favre is able to drop passes to receivers behind him for great gains. The Lions must also capitalize off of any Packer turnovers, which seem to be coming in a flurry of late.

I have a bad taste in my mouth, an uneasy feeling in my guts, and an impending sense of doom over Sunday Night’s game.

Favre= #of Passes Greater than 50 yards 2 or more, Interceptions 1 or less:
Cheeseheads 31 Limburger 10
Favre= # of Passes Greater than 50 yards less than 2, Interceptions more than 1:
Cheeseheads 27 Limburger 20

FIRE MATT MILLEN NOW: FREE THE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!

Weak 14: Detroit vs. Green Bay

27. Detroit Offense vs./ 8. Green Bay Defense

Yardage
Yards 3221/3477
YPG 268.4(27)/ 289.8(8)

Scoring
PTS 190/ 242
PPG 15.8(25)/ 20.2(19)

Passing
YPG 176.2(26)/ 167.6(1)
TD 9(29)/ 16(18)
SACK 28(17)/ 30(9)
INT 14(21)/ 8(24)

Rushing
YPG 92.3(25)/ 122.2(26)
TD 10(13)/ 6(6)

19. Green Bay Offense vs./ 15 Detroit Defense

Yardage
Yards 3821/ 3798
YPG 318.4(19)/ 316.5(15)

Scoring
PTS 239/ 241
PPG 19.9(17)/ 20.1(17)

Passing
YPG 240.8(8)/ 195.0(13)
TD 19(6)/ 16(18)
SACK 16(21)/ 24(22)
INT 21(32)/ 14(9)

Rushing
YPG 77.6(30)/ 121.5(25)
TD 8(19)/ 8(11)

—————–Turnovers———————
——-INT–FUM–TTL—INT–FUM–TTL–+/-
DET–14—10—-24—–14—9——23— +1
GB—8—–10—18—–21—10—–31— -13

———Team Efficiency—————————
——-Offense————————————
——Plays–RshAVG–PASSAVG–OFFAVG
DET–740—3.61——4.88———-4.35
GB—768—3.21——6.05———-4.98

——-Defense———————————–
——Plays–RSHAVG–PASAVG–DEFAVG
Det–735—4.14——-6.11——–5.17
GB–733—3.96——-5.54——–4.74

————–RED ZONE————————-
——-Offense———————————–
——POSS–TD–FG–SCOR%–TD%
DET–26—-13—-9—-.846——.500
GB—32—-19—-5—-.750——.594

——-Defense————————————
——POSS–TD–FG–Scor%–TD%
DET–35—–18—9—.771—–.514
GB—34—–16—15–.912—-.471

Time Of Possession
Det 30:01 Opp 29:59
GB 30:08 Opp 29:52

1st Downs
Det 204 Opp 221.
GB 238 Opp 211

3rd Downs
Det 61/169(36.1) Opp 56/154(36.4)
GB 66/157(42.0) Opp 52/152 (34.2)

4th Downs
DET 6/15(40.0) Opp 4/9(44.4)
GB 6/13(46.2) Opp 3/5(60.0)

Penalties
Det 90/646 GB 88/680

Injuries:
Doubtful: GB TE Franks
Questionable: DET (very) LB Bailey, LB Curry, TE FitzSimmons, FS McGraw, FB Smith GB LB Diggs, LB Thomas, DT Williams
Probable: DET T Backus, RB Bryson, LB Wayne, OG Woody GB QB Favre, DT Jackson, OT Tauscher

FIRE MATT MILLEN NOW EMANCIPATE LIONS FANS FROM PURGATORY!!!!!!!!

Piss-Poor, Patsy Garcia, Performs Pathetically;Playoff Aspirations Reduced to a Piffle!

With a large sample to draw comparison to, Sunday’s performance from Jeff Garcia was without a doubt, the worst I have yet seen from a Lion’s QB. The sheer Everest-Like magnitude of the impotence of the Lion’s offense is astounding. There does not appear to be one compelling thing left about this team and organization. If someone wants to to view the glass half-full, they might say at least the team remained competitive until the end. In response, I say only 4 merciful games until this abortion of a season is over.

It is especially sad when viewing Sunday’s game because the most exciting event that occurred was a fan cavorting around the stadium with a sign that read “Fire Matt Millen”. The best contacted hit of the day was made by a security guard, while tackling the fan who celebrating his nationally-televised 15 minutes of fame. That avenging Ford employee should be signed post haste, he would make an excellent special teams participant.

Watching the game made me tearily reminiscent for days of yore. The poor performance of the Lion’s secondary conjured visions of the days when Terry Fair and Bryant Westbrook were routinely embarassed, or when Todd Lyght might get left in Randy Moss’s comet trail, or Eric Davis getting whirled around like a top as Cris Carter burned him. R. W. McQuarters, who is a decent nickel corner, should not be put in the position to be one-on-one on the outside with a player of Koren Robinson’s ability.

Where do the Lion’s go from here? Have they reached their lowpoint? Why in the Orwellian double-speak of Matt Millen, who claimed the Lions would use their remaining games to evaluate their underveloped young talent, would the Lions choose to continue to start Jeff Garcia at QB and leave Charles Rogers inactive. Not that I believe that Charles Rogers or Joey Harrington will ever amount to any sort of quality NFL talents, but with the investments the Lions have made on their behalfs, wouldn’t it be nice to have some tangible evidence of their failure? At this point, the Lions have to be one Frozen Tundra loss away from give Dan Orlowsky a whirl. I mean, what else is there left to do?

WEEK 13: Detroit VS. Minnesota

Only in the serendipitous world of the Detroit Lions do you: 1) Fire Your Head Coach 2) Name his good friend and Def Coordinator, Interim Head Coach (The Interim is a former Lions player who purportedly was a suitor to the owner’s daughter during his playing days) 3) Have your CEO state that a reason for your former Head Coach’s termination was an inability to develop younger players 4) In turn, allow your Interim to name a 35-year old, Hobbled, Glue-Factory Bound Qb as his starter while your 27-year old QB remains as the team’s token scapegoat and continues to erode away at large chunks of your team’s salary cap while ably clutching a clipboard. Tea with the Mad Hatter and Croquet with the Queen of Hearts can only be a few precipitous steps away, right?

This game should be close. If the Lions can’t find motivation to play well this Sunday, after the week it is coming off of, then the Lions should just go ahead and forfeit their remaining games for this season. Last Year, for several games, Greg Olson assumed the role as the team’s Offensive Coordinator and was able to call plays effectively enough that the team was able to have it’s most productive offensive outings of the season.

On Offense, the Lions will need for Kevin Jones, Shawn Bryson, and Artose Pinner to eat up chunks of yards and control the clock. If the Lions can finally establish a capable ground attack, they should be able to exploit a weakened Minnesota secondary. The team may need to exploit the edge of Minnesota’s defense, NT Pat Williams and MLB Sam Cowart are excellent run-stuffers. In their last 6 games, Minnesota has only allowed 72.8 YDS/G rushing and Darren Sharper is playing like the ballhawking, playmaker that he has been for his entire career. Jeff Garcia will be efficient, and should be capable in managing the Lion’s offense as long as he doesn’t give repeat performances like his pooch-punt pass of last week or his in-the-grasp, grenade-toss lateral from several weeks ago. I am not a fan of Garcia, I think he’s long been washed-up. I also believe that one way the Lions could have taken advantage of the Vikings is by attacking them downfield. This attacking passing game is not a viable option with the rag-armed Garcia at the helm. This week, TE Marcus Pollard, WR’s Charles Rogers, Scottie Vines, and Mike Williams will have to perform better than they have in recent weeks. I am positive that Minnesota will roll coverage towards Roy Williams to try and eliminate his big play ability and force Garcia to have to look elsewhere. Vines had an excellent game against Minnesota in Minneapolis, he may get a chance for a repeat performance. The Lions offensive line will need to block DE Lance Johnstone and replacement DT C.J. Mosley, so that Garcia can have the time to operate. Johnstone, in particular, has been a major thorn in the Lion’s side.

On Defense, the Lions are going to be glad to have a hobbled MLB Earl Holmes returning and a healthier DT Shaun Rogers. Of late, the Lions rushing defense has been awful after a solid start to the season. The Lions can’t allow RB’s Mewelde Moore, Michael Bennett, and Ciatrick Fason to be effective. If they can contain the Vikings Ground Game, they will put the Vikings in more 2nd-and-3rd-and Long situations, where they must pressure the lead-footed Brad Johnson. If Johnson is allowed to manage the game efficiently and slowly pick apart the Lion’s secondary, meanwhile, controlling the time of possession the Lions will be in for a long afternoon. In recent weeks, DE’s Kalimba Edwards, Jared DeVries, and James Hall have been somewhat invisible. This absolutely has to change. Dre Bly and Andre Goodman will face a stiff challenge from Viking WR’s Travis Taylor, Nate Burleson, and Marcus and Koren Robinson. I am most concerned about the ability of H-Back Jermaine Wiggins to carve up the middle of the field and keep the chains moving for the Vikings. A performance from Wiggins similar to that of Atlanta’s Alge Crumpler last week, will spell imminent doom for the Lions.

The Vikings have a major special teams edge. Eddie Drummond and Jason Hanson are having down years. Meanwhile, Viking returners Mewelde Moore and Koren Robinson have been very effective. This game will come down to which team controls the ball, makes the fewest mistakes and has the best field position. Unfortunately for Lion fans that means:

Sex Boat 27 Mowtanic 13

Week 13: Detroit vs. Minnesota

27. Detroit Offense vs./ 28. Minnesota Defense

Yardage
Yards 2,998/ 3,720
YPG 272.5(27)/ 338.2(28)

Scoring
PTS 174/ 257
PPG 15.8(26)/ 23.4(24)

Passing
YPG 181.5(25)/ 225.1(25)
TD 9(29)/ 19(26)
Sack 20(8)/23(20)
INT 13(22)/ 17(2)

Rushing
YPG 91.1(25)/ 113.1(15)*
TD 9(14)/ 11(22)

*72.8 YDS/G rushing in last 6 games! Damning Statistic #1
25. Minnesota Offense vs./ 14. Detroit Defense

Yardage
Yards 3,166/ 3,453
YPG 287.8(25)/ 313.9(14)

Scoring
PTS 198/ 220
PPG 18.0(22)/ 20.0 (16)

Passing
YPG 196.4(20)/ 190.7(11)
TD 12(21)/ 14(15)
Sack 47(31)/ 22(22)
INT 14(25)/ 14(7)

Rushing
YPG 91.5(24)/ 123.2(26)
TD 4(28)/ 7(11)

———————Turnovers————–
——TakeAways———GiveAways——
——-INT–FUM–TTL–INT–FUM–TTL–+/-
DET–14—10—-24—13—9——22– +2
MINN-17—8—–25—14—10—-24— +1

———Damning Statistic #2————–
———ATT–YDS–YDS/G–LNG–AVG–TD
Moore-135–557—50.6——28—-4.1–1
Jones–159-523—-47.5—–36—–3.3–5

——–Team Efficiency———————
—-Offense———————————-
——OFFPLAY–RSHAVG–PSSAVG–OFFAVG
DET-681——–3.53——-5.03——-4.40
MIN-674——–3.71——-5.36——-4.70

—-Defense———————————
——DEFPLAY–RSHAVG–PSSAVG–DEFAVG
DET-678——–4.23——-5.86——-5.09
MIN-710——–4.07——-6.13——–5.24

———–RedZone—————————-
—-Offense———————————–
——OPOSS–TD–FG–Scor%–TD%
DET-23——–12—7—.826—–.522
MIN-33——–13—12–.758—–.394

—–Defense———————————-
——DPOSS–TD–FG–Scor%–TD%
DET-33——–16—9—.758—–.485
MIN-38——–20—8—.737—–.526

1st Downs
Minn 198 Opp 215
DET 185 Opp 201

3rd Downs
Minn 48/142 (33.8) Opp 62/147(42.2)
DET 56/156 (35.9) Opp 53/143(37.1)

4th Downs
Minn 4/9 (44.4) Opp 1/5(20.0)
DET 6/15(40.0) Opp 4/9(44.4)

Penalties
Min 86/669 DET 87/616

Injuries:
OUT MINN OG T. Fonoti CB F. Smoot DET FS T. Holt
Doubt MINN DT Kevin Williams
QUEST DET LB D. Curry FB P. Smith
Prob MINN DT S. Johnson DET QB J Garcia RB K. Jones