Positives
- I know triple coverage can not contain Calvin Johnson. Could quadruple coverage? I doubt it. He’s easily the most talented WR in the NFL currently and before all is said and done, he might be one of the greatest in NFL history.
- The last 10 years, I’ve had no confidence the Lions could make anything longer than a 3rd and 1. Now, with Stafford behind center, I really think nothing is impossible in a 3rd and long situation. Combine his talent and moxie with Scott Linehan’s creative playcalling and we’ve really got something here.
- Thankfully we have LOUIS DELMAS!!!!! This kid is a hard hitting version of Ed Reed, just give him another year or two! He instantly changed the momentum of Hanson’s missed FG with an enormous pick.
- Sweet mother of Christ, what a catch by Bryant Johnson in the back corner of the end zone! That almost makes up for those 3,094 drops he had last week!
- I can not remember the last decade the Lions made a 4th down stand in! Larry Foote is just a tremendous upgrade at MLB compared to what we’ve had the last decade.
- I didn’t notice Jeff Backus today. Thats a good thing and the first time this season that I can say that.
- DeAndre Levy is 10 times the player Ernie Sims is. We need him on the field every play we can.
Negatives
- I don’t think I’ve ever said a negative word about Jason Hanson but his first quarter chip shot miss was absolutely awful.
- For all the positives with Scott Linehan’s playcalling and schemes, I can’t help but think that the game has passed Gunther Cunningham by. I know we don’t have a ton of talent on the defensive side of the ball but I just haven’t seen any blitzing of note this season and because of this, our weak secondary has been picked on relentlessly. We have linebackers like Sims and Peterson who have made a living blitzing QBs and they have rarely been allowed to do it.
- I can’t help but notice this David Hawthorne kid filling in for Totupu in Seattle. The kid is unsigned for next season and although LB is a great strength for us, he might be someone to look at if the price is right.
- Week after week we talk about it, but I haven’t seen any improvement with Stafford’s accuracy. It’s still “two perfect passes, one awful overthrow” and its going to continue to cost him points. My advice to Linewartz: get some tires up at Allen Park and get him to start throwing through them from all different angles and rushes. He’s so polished in so many areas, but he requires a ton of work in this aspect of his game. 5 interceptions tells you just about all you need to know.
- Has there ever been a bigger condemnation of a squad’s special teams unit that getting the ball kicked to them with 2 seconds left in a half and telling your return man to run directly out of bounds to avoid something bad happening? Oh Stan Kwan, start passing out those resumes!
- I don’t know if Kevin Smith is totally right. He looks to me like he’s hesitant out there and indecisive when he hits his holes. He’s not the same runner I saw come out of Central Florida a few years ago. To be effective, he needs to run fearless like he did last year.
- We have Calvin Johnson, Dennis Northcutt and Bryant Johnson. Why on earth is Casey Fitzsimmons the focus of our passing game?
- The 3rd quarter pass interference call against William James was one of the worst calls I’ve seen in the NFL this year. That official needs to be disciplined. Not only was the ball uncatchable, but the contact was going both ways.
- The young defenders on this squad need to learn how to identify a screen pass. The Seahawks were smart and countered our constant over pursuit of plays with a steady dose of screens.
- Where’s Cliff Avril? Who’s DeWayne White? This Seahawks line isn’t supposed to be very good. They looked brilliant today.
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Just wanted to say. I couldnt agree with you more about Matt Stafford. He tries to show that cannon off way too much. He just needs to work on his touch. He threw a screen pass yesterday that I think got clocked at 85 on the juggs. But in his defense he is a rookie, whos only 21-22 yrs old. He will get better as long as the lions dont start bringing in new coordinators with a new scheme. “Keep it simple Matt” you have a long career ahead of ya.