Detroit Lions Weblog

Winter of Discontent:Lion’s 2005 Postmortem

27. Detroit Offense / 20. Detroit Defense

Yardage
Yards 4319/ 5158
YPG 269.9(27)/ 322.4(20)

Scoring
PTS 254/ 345
PPG 15.9(28)/ 21.6(21)

Passing
YPG 178.0(26)/ 194.9(13)
TD 15(26)/ 19(14)
Sack 31(10)/ 31(24)
INT 18(24)/ 19(7)

QB Comparison
———-ATT/CMP—YDS–%—YPA–TD/INT–RTG
Harrington-330/188-2021-57.0-6.12-12/12–72.0
Garcia—–173/102–937-59.0–5.42-3/6—-65.1

Receiving Totals
———–REC–YARDS–AVG–LNG–TD
Pollard—46—–516—–11.2—86—3
R. Williams-45–687—–15.3—51–8
Vines——40—417—–10.4—40—0
Bryson—-37—284——7.7—-63—0

Rushing
YPG 91.9(26)/ 127.5(24)
TD 10(22)/ 15(20)

Rushing Totals
——-CAR–YDS–AVG–LNG–TD
Jones-186—664–3.6—40—-5
Pinner-106–349–3.3—19—-3
Bryson-64–306–4.8—-77—-1
Turnovers
——Takeaways—-Giveaways—-
—INT–FUM–TTL—INT–FUM–TTL–+/-
—19—12—–31—-18—12—-30–+1

Team Efficiency
OFFENSE
—Oplays–RushAVG–PassAvg–OAvg–
—955—–3.64———5.17——4.52

DEFENSE
—-Dplays–RushAvg–PassAvg–DAvg–
—1006——4.18——6.02——-5.13

Red Zone
OFFENSE
—-OPoss–TD–FG–Scor%–TD%
—-36——-18–12–.833—-.500

DEFENSE
—-DPoss–TD–FG–Scor%–TD%
—53——-27—17–.830—-.509

Time Of Posession
Det 29:13 Opp 30:47

First Downs
DET 258 Opp 308

Third Downs
DET 87/224 (38.8) Opp 82/208(39.4)

Fourth Downs
DET 7/17(41.2) Opp 6/11(54.5)

Penalties
DET 115/838

Grading the 2005 Team
Offense: D- Defense C-
Special Teams: C Coaching: F-
Front Office: F

OFFENSE:D-

QB’s: C-
Garcia and Harrington each get better grades than they probably deserve. Harrington was saddled with an ill-fitting offensive sceme, poor line play, the lack of a run game and no support from the coaching staff. Garcia gets a better grade due to his toughness and desire to play even if his former talents have quite obviously grown dormant. Dan Orlovsky remains an unkown commodity. Nothing warms the cockles of Lion’s fans hearts than an unblemished QB.

Weaknesses: Offensive Scheme, Poor Personnel, QB Carousel
2006: The Lions could be facing the acquisition of 2 new Qb’s. I believe that Joey will restructure his contract and return to the Lions to compete for a starting job. Who ever assumes the H.C. job must find a way to mold this offense and break it’s bad habits.

RB’s: D
I don’t know if there was a more under-utilized talent in the entire NFL than Kevin Jones this season. Even with nagging injuries, poor blocking and a terrible offensive philosophy neutered the very promising Jones. Artose Pinner did a valiant job as a sub. I believe that Pinner is ill-suited to the future of the Lions. He is not fast enough or adept enough to become the 3rd down back and is not a strong enough runner to become a short yardage back. Shawn Bryson did an excellent job, even if Steve Mariucci’s gushing man-crush for Bryson was a constant cause for nausea.

Weakness: Lack of Consistency, Ill-defined roles
2006: It is paramount that the Lions establish a consistent ground game. The new H.C. must determine the roles of each back on the roster and not suffer from the same brain-lock as the previous 2 H.C.’s. Will Matthews will hopefully emerge as a potential replacement for Corey Schlesinger. If not the Lions will need to find a young FB.

WR’s: F
Bad Habits, Lack of Discipline and a combo of too much hype and an inordinate amount of mollycoddling destroyed this much-maligned unit. Charles Rogers’ midseason suspension didn’t help matters, either. A new head coach, after tearing up the 2005 playbook and brooming out the dead weight, must find a way to appeal to these player’s sensibilities and help them salvage their young careers. Roy Williams is gifted but suffers from an obvious lack of focus. Mike Williams could have used another year of college football. The Lions must determine if he is a TE or WR and find a way to utilize his abilties. Scottie Vines deserves a lot of credit for being a pleasant surprise. Kevin Johnson looked promising until he was injured. Charles Rogers has earned the right to be considered a monumental bust on par with R. Jay Soward, Ryan Leaf, Maurice Clarett, et al.

Weakness:Poor hands, Lack of discipline and consistency, Lack of accountability
2006:Fred Graves was supposed to be a stern taskmaster. This group is plagued with idiocy. A new H.C. will have exhibit some serious tough love. First off, release Rogers. Then treat these guys as if they are on the roster bubble, like they should be. Find a consistent possession receiver who has sure hands and will convert third and long yardage.

TE’s: C-
Marcus Pollard made some nice plays. Still, he had some crucial dropped passes and didn’t deliver upon the component the Lions thought they would have with his addition. Again, the offensive scheme sorely underutilized his abilities. Casey FitzSimmons appears promising but did absolutely nothing to distinguish himself from your run-of-the-mill practice squad flotsam that nearly every roster possesses. If he can’t become a better run blocker or diversify his abilities (become an H-back or Long Snapper) he will be selling life insurance by this time next year.

weakness: inconsistency, lack of big plays, poor run blocking
2006: The Lions need a run-blocking TE with good hands. They also need to groom an eventual replacement for Marcus Pollard. I would like for a new H.C. to find a way to better utilize this position in the offense.

OLINE: D

The Line Group improved as the season progressed. Coach Pat Morris was fired along with Mariucci. At that point, new coach Pat Kugler dumbed down the scheme and the group was better. Routinely, the pocket collapsed on pass plays, blitzes went unblocked, and the line didn’t get much drive off of the ball in the ground game. Rick DeMulling was a free agent bust. Kelley Butler has a long ways to go but is promising. Jeff Backus improved as the season progressed. The team never possessed good enough guard on either side. Damien Woody is very vocal, but his performance has never matched his paycheck.

Weakness:Need I Elaborate?
2006: If the Lions lose Backus to free agency, they will be likely replacing 2 starters on the O-line. This group needs continuity and a coach who will find a way to build upon their end of season improvement. Damien Woody must come to camp in shape and ready to play. It should an off-season priority to find another competent starting guard.

DEFENSE: C-

DLINE: C+

The best personnel group the Lion’s have. If the Lions had been better at stopping the run and were able to generate a more consistent pass rush they would have scored a lot higher. “Big Baby”, “Big Daddy”, Marcus Bell and Shaun Cody were all consistent. The lack of consistency from the DE’s really hurt the team. At times, James Hall and Kalimba Edwards look very promising. Corey Redding is very consistent and dependable. He is not much of a playmaker, though. Jared DeVries and Marcus Bell provide nice depth. Shaun Cody should become a bigger factor next season.

Weakness: Maddening penalties and mental lapses, Lack of Pass Rush,
2006: “Big Daddy” Wilkinson’s advanced age should become a roster concern. He has performed well as a Lion but how much longer will he be able to do so? Shaun Cody needs to be more involved and hopefully help the team to generate more of an inside pass rush. Kalimba Edwards, a free agent, is the most dynamic member of this group. If he leaves, they must find a way to apply consistent pressure to opposing QB’s, a daunting task.

LB’s: C
Dogged by injuries, this group performed well at times. That being said, opponents were able to exploit their deficiencies. They were not consistent enough to stop the run effectively. MLB Earl Holmes may have been the team’s MVP prior to his injury. He is aging, but was on pace to have an exceptional year. WLB “Dirty” Davis was largely a non-factor. He is not very tough against the run and is not a play-maker. SLB Boss Bailey, has a lot of promise but has not provided the dreamt of playmaking ability that the Lions had once expected. Injuries have become a major factor in Bailey’s once promising career. LB Teddy Lehman needs an established role. The Lions need to determine if he is a future starter or more of a utility backer.

Weakness:Stopping the run, often burned in pass coverage, lack of play-making, game-breaking production.
2006:If A.J. Hawk is available still when the Lions draft, select him. Determine the roles of each backer. If they don’t sign Earl Holmes, find a competent MLB who is more versatile than the run-stuffing Holmes. Find a way to tap Bailey’s incredible potential.

DB’s: D
Dre Bly is a play-maker who takes a lot of chances and often pays for them. The other Lion’s CB’s provide depth but none of them are suitable to being starters. R.W. McQuarters was very valuable as a complete package. He is ill-suited to being a starting CB, though. Stanley Wilson, Jr. is an unproven commodity who hopefully will find a larger role next season. Fernando Bryant has been a bust, largely due to injury. Andre Goodman gets burned much too easily. Keith Smith didn’t make the hoped for strides of improvement in his second season. This unit still allows too many big plays. SS Kenoy Kennedy is a punishing tackler but didn’t provide the consistent run support the Lions are paying him for. FS Terrence Holt didn’t have alot of range and often let receivers get behind him, a cardinal sin. FS Jon McGraw, was ineffective when he was inserted in Holt’s stead. Hopefully, the Lions don’t lose a very high draft pick over Mcgraw’s contribution.

Weakness:Big plays, lack of playmaking production,
2006: A replacement for FS and CB are probably in the works. I still like Terrence Holt as a player, the Lions need to groom him as a SS. A solid complementary CB to Bly would improve the Lions tremendously. McQuarters, who was a valuable role player, is a free agent. I believe that the Lions should re-sign him. A ball-hawking Free Safety could make a huge difference, too. Demand that Bly focus his attention on making plays and the performance of the defense, as opposed to popping off in the media and underming the offense with his opinions.

Special Teams:C

The Coverage Units allowed a lot of big plays. Nick Harris did an excellent job helping the Lions in the field position battle. Jason Hanson performed well after recovering from early injury. The Lions may need a kickoff specialist to lighten Hanson’s load as he advances in age. The Returns team’s did make some big plays, mostly when McQuarters was receiving kicks. Eddie Drummond is a free agent and may have lost a lot of money with his mediocre output.

2006:If Drummond leaves, find a return specialist.

Coaching: F-
This season appeared doomed from the onset. The ass-kicking the Lion’s received from the Rams in the pre-season exposed the Lions lack of preparation, mental toughness and physical toughness. I don’t the team fully recovered from not meeting preseason expectations and was sorely lacking in discipline. Mariucci’s stubborn nature and unwillingness to adapt will define his tenure as coach. Dick Jauron provided better preparation and did a noble job, probably does not deserve to become the new head coach.

2006: Use an offensive scheme which suits the abilities of the Lion’s young skill players. Broom out the garbage personnel-wise. Restore the order to the cancerous Lion’s locker room. 2005 was probably the most dysfunctional and openly contentious Lion’s locker room ever. Establish the standard’s for what is acceptable and accountable performance from the team’s personnel, top to bottom. For God’s sake, don’t be nice to these players!

Front Office: F

Failed draft picks (Mike Williams), lack of contribution from lower draft picks (Bill Swancutt, Johnathan Goddard, Stanley Wilson, Jr.), and poor free agent acquisitions (Rick DeMulling, Fernando Bryant, Dave Loverne, Bill Schroeder) are all emblematic of Millen’s checkered tenure. He must trust his football instincts and find a coach who will develop a team to match it’s team president’s personality. His failure to stand front and center to the team’s failings has been a huge disappointment. Seems to be improving, but his record speaks for itself.

2006 Lion’s Needs to Improve:
1) Establish a Ground game
2) Stop the opponent’s ground attack consistently.
3) Focus, preparation, discipline
4) Develop an offensive philosophy that suits the team’s perosnnel
5) Playmaking Defensive talent. Capable players on roster lack game changers!

Personnel Needs:
FB/backup FB (Will Sledge be back?Is Will Matthews going to develop?)
starting OG/OT?(Backus stays or goes?)
Consistent, Dependable Possession receiver (TE? Kevin Johnson if can recover from injury? Is Mike Williams a TE or WR?)
Return Specialist (If they don’t re-sign Drummond or McQuarters, who will field kicks?)
TE (the team needs a blocking TE and to develop an eventual replacement for Pollard)
Pass Rushing DE (The teams needs to back opposing QB’s uncomfortable more consistently. Will Kalimba return and put together a complete season?)
LB (Will Earl Holmes return? Desperately need a playmaker here)
CB (Who will start opposite Dre Bly?)
FS (They need a ballhawker who will not let receivers get behind him)