Detroit Lions Weblog

Hat’s Off to the Lions

I never expected that the Lions would be able to chalk up a road victory at this early juncture of the season, even if the win was against a team who appears to be among the worst in the NFL.  Furthermore, I didn’t expect for the Lions to exhibit the resilience necessary to take an early lead, blow it, reclaim it, and subsequently finish off their opponent with authority, in one of the NFL’s most notoriously hostile road environments.  Even if this victory was not accomplished without a hitch, the Lions did stumble at times, but didn’t fall on their faces, which marks, albeit briefly, a stark difference from seasons past.

The Lions offense appears to be as good as advertised, even if the development of a consistent running attack appears to be a work in progress.  The Raiders, who boast a couple of Pro Bowlers along their defensive front and a vaunted, athletic secondary, were unable to significantly slow the Lions passing attack throughout the game.  

I was amazed at the amount of cushion the Lions receivers were given by the Raiders secondary throughout the game.  Not only did Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson play as impressively as I’d hoped, but the Lions dueling waterbugs, Mike Furrey and Shaun McDonald, made it abundantly clear that opposing defenses will be less than excited to face the Lions in their three and four wide receiver sets.

Jon Kitna gave his most impressive performance as a Lion.   He lead the team with authority and was rarely off the mark with his passes.   No one can ever question Kitna’s toughness, considering his several near-decapitations in 2006, but I found the fact that Kitna was so effective in moving within, and out of the pocket, and throwing the ball on the run, easily one of the more pleasant surprises in this game.  Kitna will never be a scrambler, but the poise, and mobility, he exhibited are an early signal that his confidence within Mike Martz’s offensive playbook, and potentially his offensive line, have growned immeasurably since last season.

The Lions defense showed a lot of improvement, too.    Shaun Rogers, a well-documented enigmatic figure, had an incredible game, considering that he missed all of training camp and the pre-season games, besides missing most of last season, too. 

Rogers abilities have never come under questioning though, and his blocked kick and unmatched ability to blow up the middle of an offense, while commanding double and triple teams, are a prime example why he is likely given the widest berth of any member of the entire organization. He is just that damn good.   If he ever finds away to remain focused, happy and consistent, he could eventually develop into a Hall of Fame-quality player.

Kalimba Edwards even joined in on the party.   Edwards’ two sacks, along with DeWayne White’s late interception on a zone blitz, and an even later forced fumble, and subsequent fumble recovery, are all very positive indicators, in spite Oakland’s weak offensive line, that the tutelage of Rod Marinelli and Joe Cullen may be finally taking hold.

The Lions could have easily resorted to being the “Same Old Lions”, as they faced several impediments along their path to victory.   In spite of those impediments, at least for the time being, the Lions appear to be charting a new, unfamiliar, and hopefully, the long anticipated path towards future NFL success.  It warms the cockles of my heart that somewhere, likely a sports bar or in the confines of his home, that my good friend, “Yukon” Dan Lehman, was emphatically shouting “Super Bowl” while watching the Lions march to victory.

Lions First Game May be It’s Most Important of the Season

The Lions have been abysmal since Matt Millen took over as team president six years ago.   The Lions win/loss record with Millen at the helm, 24-72, and 6-42 in road games, are nearly unmatched in their ineptitude throughout NFL history. 

Considering that this ill-fated organization hasn’t won a championship in 50 seasons, 1957 to be exact, and has won exactly one playoff game since 1957, the Lions, if they ever plan on shaking these remarkable trends, absolutely need to win this Sunday’s game at Oakland.

Lane Kiffin may have helped the Lions a little bit, right off the bat.   His choice to start Josh McCown, if the Raiders stick to their plans, helps immediately.   Daunte Culpepper has owned the Lions throughout his career.   If you believe Tom Kowalski’s assessment on MLive.com though , this could be the worst Lions secondary in 20 years, so whomever is the Raiders choice at QB, it may not matter. Let the consternation begin.

The Raiders have a very good defense, even if teams held a sizeable advantage against them all last year because of the Raiders offense being so overwhelmingly poor. 

The Lions have shown little offensively in the pre-season to lead me to believe that they are going to go into the “Black Hole” and absolutely light up the Raiders defense, which they likely will have to be able to do in order to have any real legitimate chance of winning on Sunday.

If the Lions defense can generate some turnovers, and the Lions offense can reduce theirs, two things which seem mildly implausible, then I give the Lions a stronger chance to go grab a victory in Oakland.

As it stands, the Lions offense will likely be a little rusty, with Jon Kitna and Mike Furrey having missed most of the pre-season, and players like Calvin Johnson and Tatum Bell being a little inexperienced within this offense to be expected to be difference-makers immediately (something Bell will likely never be from early observations).   The truth of the matter is that defenses are usually a little ahead of their offenses developmentally, at this early juncture of the season. 

This is a case where if Mike Martz needs to show why he possesses such an esteemed status among NFL Offensive Coordinators.   This is a game where his playcalling has to be a difference maker.   If the Lions can string together some drives, and keep their defense off of the field, while putting some points on the board, they may be able to beat the Raiders.

My biggest concerns are that the Lions offense will sputter a bit, and the Lions defense will continually surrender on third downs, while generating no pass rush or turnovers to be spoken of, and the Raiders will blow the Lions out at home.   How does that taste Lions fans?  Raiders 31 Lions 17, by the way, I have them on track for a 6-10 season if Kitna remains healthy, and if not don’t ask………

The Lions Ground Game is Important Factor for Success During Upcoming Season

The Lions have struggled mightily in establishing their ground attack since Mike Martz’s arrival last year.   This season, if they plan on truly threatening to win 10 games, they have to be able to run the ball more consistently.  Without Kevin Jones active (due to injury) early in the season, in games where they stand a good chance for victory against teams like Oakland and Minnesota, establishing a strong ground attack may be the Lions biggest challenge, and may provide them with their best chance for victory.

Tom Kowalski writes that he believes that the Lions will possibly rotate  both Tatum Bell and T.J. Duckett in lieu of Jones’ absence, rather than rely solely upon either one of them as a lead back.     Kowalski further states that Lions Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz may choose to go with the hot hand and utilize a committee approach, until Jones can return.

The Lions will be able to throw the ball effectively (and throw often, too!) and should provide opposing secondaries with some match-up nightmares with their deep receiving corps.  That being said, the Lions need to be able to penalize opposing defenses for utilizing nickel and dime packages to stave off their passing onslaught, by pounding the ball in the ground game.  

Every time the Lions spread out a defense, with a multiple wide receiver package, and an opposing defense removes a linebacker or two, the Lions need to be able gobble up yards against the smaller defenders, taking advantage of the wide running lanes that will develop as a result of the Lions formation.

In the event that the Lions have a lead late, the running game will allow them to control the ball, and eat up valuable game time to close out their opponents.  

Rotating their backs will keep them fresh, hungry for the ball, and allow the Lions to examine the situations where each player is best suited to give the Lions chances for success.  Duckett and Bell provide unique skill sets, with little overlap, for Mike Martz to harness.  

The remaining enigma in the Lions rushing attack, is Martz himself.   There have been a number of times where the Lions have seemed to abandon the run too early.   As imaginative as Martz can be in the passing game, he makes most of his rushing play calls from a pretty basic collection of running plays, within a widely varied set of formations. 

Since they have decided to keep jumbo FB/DT Jon Bradley, and the bruising T.J.  Duckett, I would like to see the Lions utilize a more conventional, downhill rushing attack to wear out defenders from time to time, that’s assuming that their offensive line can knock opposing defenses off of the ball.   Will safeties and corners, who have been giving chase all day to the likes of Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson, Mike Furrey and Shaun McDonald, really want to come up in run support and meet Duckett head on, as he’s squares up his shoulder pads?

Lions Name Captains, Assign Players to Practice Squad

The Lions have announced who will serve as their team captains.  On offense, Jon Kitna and Dominic Raiola return to their captaincy.   On defense, Ernie Sims and Cory Redding assume the helm, two players who will hopefully serve as organizational cornerstones for many years to come.   The special teams captain will be Jason Hanson, a man of great character and the team’s longest tenured member. 

I am particularly excited about Sims and Redding.   Sims is one of the more exciting players to watch on the team and has quickly established that he has a voraciously unfullfilled appetite for the game of football.   Redding, a close friend and collegiate teammate of Shaun Rogers, spent his off-season attending classes at the University of Texas, and serves as a prominent figure who could change outside perceptions of the Lions defense.

The Lions also announced who they have signed to their practice squad:CB’s A.J. Davis and Ramzee Robinson, S LaMarcus Hicks, WR Ronald Bellamy, OL Ben Noll, RB Anthony Sherrell, DL Salomon Solano, and TE Rudy Sylvan.   Their are rumors that the Lions may have signed LB Buster Davis, a former college teammate of Ernie Sims, to the practice squad.   In that case, someone besides Solano, who is designated an NFL international development player, which allows the Lions to carry an additional practice squad player, will have to be released.

The Lions released promising rookie LB Johnny Baldwin to sign S Eric Frampton, an organizational soft spot that needed to be bolstered after the season-ending injury suffered by Daniel Bullocks, with the intent of placing Baldwin on the practice squad.  

Unfortunately, the Chiefs have claimed Baldwin before the Lions had a chance to allocate him.   This situation, may have provided the addtional incentive for the Lions to give Buster Davis a look.    With the past injury troubles experienced by a majority of the members of the Lions linebacking corps during recent seasons, it will be no great shock to see Davis activated at some point.

Football is finally here, and not a moment too soon.    There is no salve that can assuage my bitterness over the Detroit Tigers abysmal second half collapse.    Not even “Two Loss” Lloyd Carr, and the Wolverines embarassing upset loss to the Appalachian St. Mountaineers can effectively offset my disappointment as the MLB season winds down.  Hopefully, the Lions will find a way to muster up a good performance on the west coast Sunday.

Roster Casualties, Kevin Jones Off of P.U.P List

The Lions have finalized their 53-man roster for week one. Notable casualties were stalwart special teamer and former captain, LB Donte Curry, versatile veteran offensive linemen Barry Stokes, and journeymen RB Aveion Cason. The Lions also released last season’s folk hero Clint Stickdorn, who bolstered a depleted offensive line in a late season victory against the Dallas Cowboys, and two promising defensive linemen in Claude Harriott, who blocked two kicks this pre-season, and Cleveland Pinkney.

The Lions also signed S Eric Frampton, who was originally drafted by the Raiders this season, who provides them with additional depth at the position since they have lost ‘06 second rounder Daniel Bullocks for the season. The Raiders possess a pretty solid secondary, so it may have been the numbers game which eventually lead them to releasing Frampton. It is unclear if Frampton will be placed on the taxi squad or occupy a roster spot.

The Lions also placed G Frank Davis on the injured reserve list. Davis, who has exhibited a lot of promise as an inexperienced player from Panama, may eventually have a future with the team, but will unfortunately miss the ‘07 season.

Kevin Jones, who had been placed on the P.U.P. list, was removed in hope that he may be able to play before the seventh week(game 6), which is when he would have been available if he had remained on the P.U.P. list. The Lions are taking a calculated risk that Jones will become available to them soon, and that his doctor’s assessment about the recovery of the Lisfranc injury to his foot is correct. I expect that players like Aveion Cason and Arlen Harris will remain on the top of Matt Millen’s speed dial, in the event that Jones eventually re-injures his foot.

The Lions running game has suffered without Jones so far. Jones’ presence should make a significant difference, but the Lions have to evaluate the risk/reward involved with utilizing their talented 25-year old running back, who should hopefully have at least another half dozen seasons in the NFL, at this stage of his injury recovery.

A notable player who was released this weekend was Byron Leftwich by the Jacksonville Jaguars. I believe he is in a dubious situation, since most teams have made decisions about who will start for them as they enter week one, which means that he will probably have to accept a backup role. If Leftwich remains available, I believe that the Lions should consider him as a backup to Jon Kitna, and potential heir apparent to the 35-year old Lions QB. Leftwich, durability and conditioning issues aside, has been an accurate passer who possesses a great deal of courage in the pocket and has exhibited a strong leadership presence, in spite of his many difficulties with Jags Head Coach Jack Del Rio, and likely will have a chip on his shoulder that will motivate him to show that he has something to prove to all of his doubters.

Leftwich would provide the Lions with a game tested QB, who may still possess some upside.    Leftwich is more talented than J.T. O’Sullivan and Dan Orlovsky, as a fomer high first round draft pick.    How well-suited he is to working with an eccentric and demanding coach like Mike Martz would be the only variable that would need to be closely evaluated.