Detroit Lions Weblog

Week 4: Lions Vs. Rams Preview

The Lions Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz gets to return to his old stomping grounds this week when the Lions play at St. Louis, in a game that should be one of the more intriguing games of the week. With all of the personal and professional turmoil Mike Martz suffered from in St. Louis last season, this game should have major significance for him. That being said, the Lions have been a terrible road team throughout the Millen tenure, so it is hard to imagine that they will find a means to rectify that after an 0-3 start to the ‘06 season.

On offense, the Lions made some major steps forward last week against an admittedly awful Packers defense. Hopefully, the offensive output by the Lions was not an anomaly, the Rams are a vulnerable defense, too whom, under the right circumstances, may yield some major yardage to the Lions this week. I strongly believe that any offensive success the Lions may enjoy this season will come when Kevin Jones has an effective game carrying the ball, even with Coach Martz’s proclivity towards the passing game. The Lions receivers aren’t consistent enough too be productive when teams don’t have to load up the box to prevent Jones from grinding up yards carrying the ball.

The Rams have been successful playing a “bend, but don’t break” brand of defense, which hasn’t given up a lot of points but teams have been capable of moving the ball against them. A major factor for the Lions will be whether or not tackle’s Jonathan Scott or Jeff Backus can limit the Ram’s edge rush. If they can prevent Leonard Little from pressuring Kitna, the Lions may be able to find favorable match-ups with their receivers and tight ends against the Rams weak secondary. I expect that Rams will roll coverage towards Roy Williams, forcing Kitna to find another receiver to rely upon, in this case, likely Mike Furrey. Hopefully, with the recent release of Corey Bradford, Mike Williams and Shaun Bodiford can make some sort of offensive contribution this week to the passing attack.

On defense, the Lions NEED to establish some form of a consistent pass rush against the Rams banged up offensive line. Marc Bulger has been sacked quite a bit, largely due to his propensity to hold the ball until the very last second. If Bulger has time to operate, he will pick apart the Lion’s secondary whether they are in man-to-man or zone coverage. The combination of Jamar Fletcher and Fernando Bryant must limit WR’s Isaac Bruce, Kevin Curtis, and Shaun McDonald from being overwhelmingly effective. Torry Holt will get his catches and as long as he doesn’t burn Dre Bly for numerous big plays, will not defeat the Lions single-handedly. The Lion’s have proven to be very good at stuffing the running game, but may receive one of their staunchest tests this week. Steven Jackson is very capable of helping the Rams defeat the Lions. It will be interesting to see if the Lions choose to walk the safeties closer to the line of scrimmage in an attempt to limit Jackson’s effectiveness. If they decide to place the game on Bulger’s shoulders by neutralizing Jackson, it remains to be seen whether or not the the Lion’s secondary will be capable of preventing big plays from the Ram’s receivers.

As much as I want to see the Lion’s prospects for victory optimistically, the fact that they are on the road and have recently struggled mightily against the passing attacks of the Bears and Packers indicates to me that it is very likely that Bulger will throw for about 300+ yards and the Rams will have a comfortable lead heading into the 4th quarter, at which time they can bury the ball into Steven Jackson’s hands and watch the clock melt away as the Lions fall to 0-4.

Rams 31 Lions 17

Week 4 Lions Vs. Rams Statistical Match-Up

19. Detroit Offense vs./ 18. St. Louis Defense

Yardage
Yards 920/ 966
YPG 306.7(21)/ 322.0(18)

Scoring
PTS 37/ 44
PPG 15.7(21)/ 14.7(7)

Passing
YPG 243.7(8)/ 192.3(14)
TD 2(18)/ 2(10)
SACK 12(29)/ 5(22)
INT 1(4)/ 6(2)

Rushing
YPG 63.0(29)/ 129.7(23)
TD 2(13)/ 3(22)

17. St. Louis Offense vs./ 24. Detroit Defense

Yardage
Yards 949/ 1047
YPG 316.3(19)/ 349.0(24)

Scoring
PTS 47/ 74
PPG 15.7(21)/ 24.7(26)

Passing
YPG 214.3(14)/ 269.0(29)
TD 2(18)/ 7(30)
SACK 10(26)/ 5(22)
INT 0(1)/ 0(29)

Rushing
YPG 102.0 (19)/ 80.0(6)
TD 0(27)/ 0(1)

Turnovers
——-TakeAways——–GiveAways–/+/-
——INT–FUM–TTL—-INT–FUM–TTL
DET–0—-4—–4——-1—–4——5—/ -1
STL–6—-4—–10——0—-3——-3—/ +7

Injuries: DET: OUT S Kennedy, LB Lewis QUES CB Bryant, OL Stokes, OT Tucker, OG Verba PROB DT Rogers STL: QUES OT Pace

Time of Possession:
DET 27:58 Opp 32:02
STL 32:31 Opp 27:29

3rd Down Eff.
DET 9/35(25.7) Opp 15/38(39.5)
STL 16/45(35.6) Opp 15/36 (41.7)

Penalties
DET 27/211 Opp 19/178
STL 21/159 Opp 11/102

Det is +5 at St. Louis
Over/Under is 43 1/2 PTs.

Lions Release Bradford, Millen’s Personnel Woes Continue…

The Lion’s released veteran WR Corey Bradford on Wednesday so that they could sign former Rams OT Blaine Saipia. The Lion’s were very thin depthwise on the offensive line with the injuries that have been sustained by Rex Tucker, Ross Verba, and Barry Stokes. Saipia is a very versatile linemen (he can play all of the O-line positions and even occasionally serve as a “jumbo” tight end) and has a great deal of familiarity with Mike Martz’s offensive scheme after playing in St. Louis.

Bradford had recently fallen out of favor with the coaching staff and with each passing week seemed to be being utilized even less than the game previous. The decision to release Bradford was a costly one. The Lion’s essentially paid Bradford a million dollars per game (or catch) in his short tenure as a Lion. Bradford, who can be an excellent downfield threat, never has shown particularly good hands or exhibited that he could be a consistent factor in a given offense.

Matt Millen really must have liked Bradford as player, he decided to pursue Bradford twice in free agency before finally signing him this offseason. It is apparent that the current coaching staff really likes the potential that Shaun Bodiford possesses if they decided to keep him rather than a player with a proven NFL track reocrd like Bradford. Hopefully, Millen will be much more successful in his decision to keep an undrafted free agent than he was in selecting a veteran to solidify an overhyped and underperforming receiving corps.

Lack of Effective Pass Rush is Lion’s Undoing

In week one, the Lion’s were able to create consistent pressure on Seahawk’s QB Matt Hasselbeck and sacked him 5 times. Since that game, where they thoroughly dominated one of the stronger offensive line units in the league, they have not been able to garner any kind of consistent pressure on opposing QB’s.

In order for the team’s new Cover-2 zone scheme to be at all effective, the front four has to carry the load pressuring the QB so that the defensive backs and linebackers can provide adequate pass coverage. Since week 1, with the lack of consistent pressure, opponents have been able to score over 30 points in each game and have generally had their way throwing the ball against the Lion’s.

Both Chicago and Green Bay utilized double- and triple-teams on DT Shaun Rogers and often used running backs or tight ends to chip away at him. Rogers has struggled to be effective after his dominant game 1 performance. It is not uncommon for D-Linemen to face double-teams, where the Lion’s failing begins is the inability of their other linemen to exploit their one-on-one matchups with the other opposing offensive linemen. As the front four continues to struggle, the Lions have had to abandon their zone defense and often employ blitzes and man-to-man coverage in hopes of pressuring the QB, which also opens up major opportunities for opponents to create big plays,

Both Brett Favre and Rex Grossman were getting rid of the ball very quickly against the Lions. The lack of a pass rush gives opponents better opportunities to “flood the zone” with receivers or find open spaces in the zone defense to exploit. A major indictment of the Lion’s pass rush failure is that they have no sacks since week one and stunningly, were unable to even register one QB pressure against the Packer’s Brett Favre. This kind of ineptitude is a surefire means for other opponent’s to game plan to beat the Lion’s. The simple fact that both Green Bay and Chicago converted on 50% of their third downs, is a major indication of the lack of a consistent pass rush.

The extended drives and demoralizing conversion of third-and-long yardage situations, eventually will wear down the Lion’s defense and render them ineffective as the game presses on. It keeps their offense off of the field and destroys any rhythm or continuity they are able to achieve.

In my eyes, DE’s James Hall and Kalimba Edwards hold the keys to turning this situation around. Hall, the team’s most consistent edge rusher, and Edwards, the enigmatically-gifted but ineffective defensive end, are both capable of getting to the QB consistently. Edwards was the recipient of an off-season pay raise, so the Lion’s mus have increased expectations for his performance. If neither can come to the fore, it will likely be a long season filled with opponents scoring 30+ points and opposing QB’s posting fantasy league-winning stats as the Lion’s continue to unceasingly wallow in futility.

Lions O-Line Struggles with Injury Bug

The Lions acquired several veteran offensive linemen in the off-season who have checkered injury history’s. Rex Tucker, Ross Verba, and Barry Stokes all have had a high frequency of injury in the past. Tucker has struggled to get onto the field this season and Verba started against Green Bay, but had to be replaced by Rick DeMulling early in the game. Tucker and Verba are listed as being week-to-week with their injuries and Stokes is day-to-day in the team’s evaluation.

If there is a bright side to all of this, rookie Tackle Jonathan Scott looked pretty good in his first start. The negative aspect of the injury situation is that the Lions have only green rookie Guard Frank Davis for depth with the injuries to Tucker and Verba. Apparently, according to Coach Marinelli’s press conference, the Lions will be looking to add more help on the O-Line from elsewhere.

21-62

What more really needs to be said? The Lions are 21-62 during Matt Millen’s tenure. In the NFL there are no easy victories to be had. That being said, if there was ever a game where it was certain that the Lions had an excellent opportunity to attain victory, it was at home against the Packers. Now when you cast your eyes upon the horizon it is difficult to see where the Lions can feel confident in their chances of winning ANY game left on the schedule.

What mystery is left for fans of this team? Fast forward to April, Matt Millen will yet again muff another Top 10 draft pick. The team will enter training camp with high expectations that will be left unmet. The cycle continues……

Lions Vs. Packers Preview

Sunday at Ford Field will likely be the last time that Packer’s veteran QB Brett Favre will ever play against the Lions in Detroit. I believe that Favre’s legacy as a player will extend several years after his careeer ends, but unfortunately he currently seems to be a mere shadow of his former playing self. That being said, Favre still possesses the cannon-shot arm and gunslinging demeanor that has earned him legions of fans throughout the land.

The Lions need to win this game. The Packers are a beatable team who have struggled. The Lions, schizophrenic as usual, have exhibited brief glimmers of a team who could be competitive in the weak NFC North. Offensively, the Lions need to establish their running attack with Kevin Jones. This has been a lingering problem which needs to be reversed. In order to do so, the O-Line needs to be consistent and avoid the costly penalties that plagued them last Sunday against the Bears. They also need to exploit the weak Packers secondary. Hopefully, the Lion’s receivers will have a big game and show signs of becoming the offense that was hoped for when the Lions hired Mike Martz in the offseason. The Lions offense has been so glaringly ineffective, it is hard to expect any sort of instant turnaround. In order to beat the Packers, there will have to be dramatic improvements made.

On Defense the Lion’s need to exhibit more of the characteristics of the dominating front seven that they showed against Seatle and less like the meek one that was absolutely manhandled by the Bears. If Shaun Rogers is as dominating as he was against Seattle, the Packers will be forced into a lot third and long distance situations which will place the outcome of the game squarely upon the erratic Favre’s shoulders. If the Lions can pressure Favre into turnovers and poor passes, it could be a very long game for the Packers.

The Lions 27 Wisc. Gov. Favre 13

Jerry Porter Rumors, FitzSimmons returns

The rampant rumors that started this week surrounding Raiders WR Jerry Porter possibly coming to Detroit in a trade seemed outlandish enough to me that I wanted to wait before I commented about them. Porter has been a wildly inconsistent player who at times has been an effective downfield presence at receiver when given the opportunity. The thought that Lions Team Pres. Matt Millen would approach the owner of his old team, Al Davis, to discuss a player exchange is logical. The illogical aspect of such a move would be taking such a big risk on a player who has produced so little in his brief career, especially considering the Lion’s recent travails at that position. If the Lions are serious about taking risks with their personnel, then they should investigate the possibility of acquiring a big time playmaker like Randy Moss instead of Jerry Porter.

The Lions will have another weapon available to them on Sunday. Casey FitzSimmons, who was the recent beneficiary of a contract extension, will return from his wrist injury and play with a cast. FitzSimmons will play FB, H-Back, and TE which will increase the offensive packages that Coordinator Mike Martz can utilize. This is a big season for FitzSimmons to establish himself and attempt to meet some of his promise. He has exhibited a lot of potential, but has never exhibited the consistency and play-making ability necessary to distinguish himself from the “Boo” Williams’s and Doug Jolley’s of the league. I don’t think that FitzSimmons will be ever be a top-flight TE, but he could easily play as well as players like Chad Lewis, Stephen Alexander, etc.

Week 3:Detroit Vs. Green Bay Statistical Match-Up

26. Detroit Offense vs./ 27.Green Bay Defense
Yardage
Yards 496/ 741
YPG 248.0(26)/ 370.5(27)

Scoring
PTS 13/ 60
PPG 6.5(30)/ 30.0(30)

Passing
YPG 206.0(16)/ 292.0(30)
TD 0(27)/ 3(19)
Sack 6(20)/ 5(13)
INT 0(1)/ 2(10)

Rushing
YPG 42.0(31)/ 78.5(11)
TD 1(14)/ 2(17)

21. Detroit Defense vs./ 15. Green Bay Offense
Yardage
Yards 652/ 647
YPG 326.0 (15)/ 323.5(21)

Scoring
PTS 27/ 43
PPG 13.5(23)/ 21.5(21)

Passing
YPG 243.0(8)/ 233.5(24)
TD 3(8)/ 4(26)
Sack 5(15)/ 5(13)
INT 3(25)/ 1(16)

Rushing
YPG 83.0(24)/ 90.0(15)
TD 2(6)/ 0(1)

———–Turnovers
——-TakeAways—-GiveAways—-DIFF
—–INT–FUM–TTL–INT–FUM–TTL–+/-
DET-0—-2—–2—–0—–4——4—/-2
GB–2—-2—–4—–3—–2——5–/-1

Time Of Possession
DET 27:18 Opp 32:42
GB 28:56 Opp 31:05

3rd Down Eff.
DET 6/23 (26.1)/ 8/23 (34.8)
GB 10/29 (34.5)/ 10/29 (34.5)

Penalties
DET 21/165 Opp 14/148
GB 10/76 Opp 6/39

Injuries: GB Doubt: T Junius Coston Ques: CB Al Harris, TE David Martin, CB Will Blackmon, G Jason Spitz Lions: OUT: WR Shaun Bodiford, S Kenoy Kennedy, LB Alex Lewis Ques: T Barry Stokes, G Ross Verba, T Rex Tucker Prob: DE Cory Redding, DT Shaun Rogers

Sagarin Rating: GB 12.36 DET 13.27
Lions Give 7 to the Packers PTS (Over/Under) 39

Coach Marinelli Falls on His Sword, “Big” Mike Spouts Off

Immediately following Sunday’s debacle in Chicago, Lion’s Head Coach Rod Marinelli symbolically “fell on the sword” for his team by assuming all responsibility for it’s inept, complete lack of execution in all facets of the game against the Bears. Admittedly, this is a chivalrous move, especially by a new head coach.

That being said, Coach Marinnelli should be reminded that other coaches in this organization have talked about “bars being raised” and have generously doled out platitudes about how things were going to be different and that expectations were being elevated. Actually, I don’t think that someone can be fully anointed the role of head coach in Detroit without having to render such a mea culpa to the media in a post-game presser. It is quite alarming that after two games that situation can already appear so dire.

I have faith that the current coaching staff will be able to rectify some of the team’s execution issues, but I am very concerned about the complete and utter physical domination that the Lions suffered from at the hands of the Bears on Sunday. As physical as the Lion’s played against Seattle, they were equally as limp and lethargic against the Bears, at a time where they needed to play EVEN more physically than they did just 7 days prior. I hate to prematurely load any Lion’s game with an additional sense of relevance so early in the season, but, if they lose this Sunday at home to Green Bay I think it will be exceedingly difficult for them to win ANY of the remaining games on their schedule.

If there is an upside to the harsh reality of being a poor football team, the Lion’s have had extremely good luck selecting running backs in the first round of the draft from Oklahoma colleges (see Sanders, Barry, Owens, Steve & Sims, Billy), so they may very well be positioning themselves rather nicely to make such a move again in a few short months (Adrian Peterson, are you ready?)

In regards to Mike Williams , please Mike, for the love of Yah-Weh, remove your head from your rectum briefly. I realize that it has to be frustrating and mildly embarassing that you have been placed so completely under the microscope in your relatively brief NFL career and that you have suffered through some deal of adversity that was beyond your control just to get this close to achieving your lifelong dream, but don’t let hubris block your path to being a major contributor to this team. You have the capabilities to be successful and your teammates desperately need your contribution. Referring to yourself as a “Poster Boy” for the new regime and voicing your anger to the media does absolutely nothing to ingratiate yourself with the new regime.

The biggest mistake this organization ever made was allowing it’s PR staff to generate the unwarranted pre-season hype of a year ago, that surrounded the “Big Three” receiving trio of first round draft picks. The whole situation has been an unmitigated disaster which will affect the team’s success in the future in numerous nefarious and undetectable ways, just wait and watch as it develops. I would rather watch seven Mike Furrey’s than watch an overweight, lazy, angry, underachiever who clearly has no intrinsic motivation to succeed and cares little about the future success of his team. Hopefully, the encouragement that his been given to Williams by the coaches and his teammates will eventually lead him to charting a new course that doesn’t end with him taking up residence with a new organization.