Detroit Lions Weblog

Lions Loss Disastrous in Indianapolis Pre-Season Game

Saturday evening’s pre-season game was one of the more pathetic exhibitions I have had to suffer through in my time as a Lion’s fan, which of course speaks volumes to how poor they actually played that evening.  The only positive I gleaned from this abominal 60 minutes of football was that Shaun McDonald looks like he will often thrive within this offense.   That’s it, and that may be me just being generous!

My paramount impression from this loss is that Jon Kitna absolutely can’t be injured during this season.    The Lions have no game ready backup QB’s on their current roster.  Their are no backup QB’s currently available, or who are going to soon become available, who can remedy this grievous oversight by the Lions front office.  

Journeymen QB J.T. O’Sullivan did plenty to prove to his many doubters that his NFL Europa experience and extensive seven team NFL pedigree are more a reflection of his inability to seize the opportunities that he has been given, rather than his possessing any latent upside that has been left untapped, throughout his intrepid career.  

O’Sullivan frequently telegraphed his passes and was unable to generate any sort of consistent offensive rhythm while helming the first string offense.  He did nothing to prove that he would ever be able to emerge gloriously from Mike Martz’s alchemical QB tutelage, which has previously nurtured from-out-of-nowhere talents like Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger.

The Lions defense didn’t acquit themselves well, either.  In their defense, they were on the field for far too long, due to the Lions poor offensive performance.   That being said, they had numerous opportunities to stop the Colts on third down, especially multiple third and long yardage situations, and failed to do so time after time.  

Peyton Manning was brilliant, efficient, and surgical in his dismantling of the Lions still nascent Cover-2 zone defense, which is beginning to resemble the hoped for, and unmet promise of,  the Lions unsucessful transition to the West Coast offense. (one immediate sign is that the Lions often resorted to using a zone blitz and man coverage to attempt to slow the Colts unstoppable offense)

The Lions also suffered from the litany of turnovers, penalties and missed tackles that have dogged them throughout recent seasons.   They did generate a semblance of a pass rush at times, something that they have often struggled to achieve, but overall the defensive line still wasn’t consistent enough in their execution to seriously impact either Peyton Manning or his backup, Jim Sorgi.

The Lions also are still unable to generate even a subtle hint of a consistent rushing attack.   The situation with Kevin Jones becomes even more perilous now that it is clear that they will desperately need what he can potentially provide for them when he’s healthy.   The Lions can ill-afford to rush Jones back from his severe foot injury, but they will be in a dire situation if he has to miss the first five games due to being placed on the physically unable to perform list. 

The combination of Tatum Bell, T.J. Duckett, Brian Calhoun, and Aveion Cason has been far from impressive.   I don’t believe that they have been utilized particularly well, either.   Martz’s maddening decision to run a sweep with T.J. Duckett during the second half on third down with one yard to go, still makes me shake my head in agony.  

Running the ball is clearly an afterthought within this offense, but one of the Colts clear weaknesses is that they are unable to stop a solid ground attack.    When it became clear in the second quarter that the Lions were in trouble, why not try and establish the ground game, score be damned.  If the Lions are eventually reduced to throwing 60 passes per game, Kitna will be injured by week 9.   It is clear after Saturday’s performance, what complexion the Lions season will take if Kitna misses any significant amount of playing time.

The worst news is that S Daniel Bullocks will likely miss this season, one which will be crucial to his future development, due to a knee injury.   The early prognosis would give that indication, at least.   Gerald Alexander and Idrees Bashir will be thrust into the lineup as Bullocks replacement in the interim.  That leaves the Lions looking for help both at backup QB and safety as they approach the beginning of the season.