Nonstopdrivel
14 years ago

Defense's struggles mean no Detroit Lions lead is safe and offense needs to get on track 
Published: Sunday, September 19, 2010, 8:45 PM Updated: Sunday, September 19, 2010, 9:52 PM
Tom Kowalski

[img_r]http://media.mlive.com/lions_impact/photo/ndamukong-suh-19jpg-b2c29b3ed4dfd136_large.jpg[/img_r]DETROIT -- Now that it's pretty clear Detroit Lions rookie Jahvid Best is as good as advertised -- three more touchdowns this week -- there are some other issues that must be addressed in the wake of Detroit's 35-32 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at Ford Field.

Schwartz made right call

Lions coach Jim Schwartz made the right call in going for it on fourth-and-one early in the fourth quarter. Some people will try to add two and two -- or 32 and three -- and figure a field goal there would have resulted in a tie game and overtime.

Not really. First, Schwartz wasn't really worried about the long field goal attempt or Jason Hanson's ability to make it. Hanson had already hit a 49-yarder earlier in the game (and it would've been good from 60 yards out).

No, Schwartz knew that three points probably wasn't going to be enough. The Eagles had already tacked on 28 points against this defense in three quarters and he had to believe that, if pressed, they were capable of scoring again. (They were.) The Lions needed touchdowns, not field goals.

The reason the Lions were able to score those last two touchdowns so quickly is because the Eagles went to a prevent defense, believing they could bleed the clock before the Lions could catch up. While the game got a little tighter than they had hoped, the Eagles' strategy worked.

Where's Calvin?

Before the Eagles went to that prevent defense, Lions receiver Calvin Johnson had two catches for 13 yards and the Lions have to start taking ownership of this problem.

Yeah, he's getting double-covered a lot, but that excuse can't linger. The Lions need to get more creative in getting Johnson open across the middle, weaving him through some traffic to get open. People know how to defend all of these deep fades and post patterns. Those routes certainly need to be part of the overall package, but the Lions need to dial up something a little different to spring Johnson free.

Missed opportunity

One of the most crucial plays in the game came midway through the second quarter. The Lions were winning 17-7 and the Eagles were driving. Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick threw a deep post to receiver DeSean Jackson and Detroit cornerback Jonathan Wade played it perfectly. He beat Jackson to the pass and had an easy interception. But he dropped it.

Instead of the Lions taking possession and keeping momentum firmly on their side, the Eagles took advantage of the mistake and eventually scored a touchdown to cut the lead and steal momentum. And then they scored another touchdown to steal the lead as well.

"When (Vick) throws balls up, our secondary has to be able to convert,'' Schwartz said.

"We've got to make the plays that we have,'' Wade said. "I've got to make my interception, C.C. Brown's got to make his, we have to capitalize. I just took my eyes off it. That's my fault, I've got to catch the ball first. That's the most important thing. It gets us off the field.''

Defense's struggles

When you're not good enough, the best game plan in the world isn't going to help much. That's the situation Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham found himself in during Sunday's game.

The Lions didn't blitz Vick much early in the game and he was buying time with his legs and finding receivers open downfield. The Lions couldn't let that keep happening, so they had to bring the blitz and hope they could sack Vick or pressure him into some bad throws. It's a game of chicken: Can we hit you before you hit our secondary?

It worked perfectly for Detroit. The Lions had several players running into the backfield unblocked with nothing between them and Vick but air and opportunity.

The Lions missed almost every time. Some were brilliant plays by Vick while others were just whiffs. That's the difference between fourth-and-18 and first-and-10 and Vick simply ran away from the best defensive strategy the Lions had.

Remember, this is what we talked about at the beginning of the season and it unfolded during this game. The Lions need their offense to win shootouts because their defense is vulnerable and no lead is safe. The Lions came close to pulling it off but, in a maddening trend you're likely to see for most of this season, they fell short.

That's why the original prediction of 4-12 remains intact.


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Fan Shout
packerfanoutwest (12h) : Jaire Alexander says he has a torn PCL
Zero2Cool (20-Nov) : Even with the context it's ... what?
Mucky Tundra (20-Nov) : Matt LaFleur without context: “I don’t wanna pat you on the butt and you poop in my hand.”
beast (20-Nov) : We brought in a former Packers OL coach to help evaluate OL as a scout
beast (20-Nov) : Jets have been pretty good at picking DL
Zero2Cool (20-Nov) : He landed good players thanks to high draft slot. He isn't good.
Zero2Cool (20-Nov) : He can shove his knowledge up his ass. He knows nothing.
beast (20-Nov) : More knowledge, just like bring in the Jets head coach
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : What? Why? Huh?
beast (19-Nov) : I wonder if the Packers might to try to bring Douglas in through Milt Hendrickson/Ravens connections
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : The Jets fired Joe Douglas, per sources
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : Jets are a mess......
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Pretty sure Jets fired their scouting staff and just pluck former Packers.
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Jets sign Anders Carlson to their 53.
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : When you cycle the weeks, the total over remains for season. But you get your W/L for that selected week. Confusing.
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : the total and percentage are the same as the previous weeks
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : the total and percentage are the same as the previous weeks
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : the totals are accurate..nrvrtmind
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : I don't follow what you are saying. The totals are not the same as last week.
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : ok so then wht are the totals the same as last week?
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : NFL Pick'em is auto updated when NFL Scores tab is clicked
Martha Careful (19-Nov) : The offense was OK. Let's not forget the Bear defense is very very good.
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : Who updates the leaderboard on NFLPickem?
beast (19-Nov) : Has the Packers offense been worse since the former Jets coach joined the Packers?
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Offense gets his ass in gear, this could be good.
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Backup QB helped with three wins. Special Teams contributed to three wins.
bboystyle (18-Nov) : Lions played outside thats why. They scored 16 and 17 in the only 2 outside games this year
Zero2Cool (18-Nov) : The rest of the NFL is catching up to Packers ... kicking is an issue throughout league
packerfanoutwest (18-Nov) : Packers DL Kenny Clark: We knew 'we were going to block' Bears' game-winning field goal attempt
Zero2Cool (18-Nov) : Lions seem to be throttling everyone, but only (only) got 24 lol maybe the rain is why
Zero2Cool (18-Nov) : Packers vs Lions game doesn't seem so bad.
beast (18-Nov) : Dennis Green "They are what we thought they were, and we let them off the hook!"
Martha Careful (17-Nov) : comment of the day Z2Cool "Bears better than we want to admit. Packers worse than we think. It's facts."
Mucky Tundra (17-Nov) : my worst case scenario: Bears fix their oline and get a coach like Johnson from the Lions and his scheme
Zero2Cool (17-Nov) : Bears get OL fixed amd we might have a problem
buckeyepackfan (17-Nov) : Pretty sure they already have scouting reports on guys who aren't even starting for their college team. The future is now for me.
buckeyepackfan (17-Nov) : I tend to let Gute and Co. Worry about the future.
beast (17-Nov) : That's great news and Packers need to keep upgrading their OL, DL and DBs this off-season, so missing one guy doesn't kill them
beast (17-Nov) : That's great news and Packers need to keep upgrading their OL, DL and DBs this off-season, so missing one guy doesn't kill them
buckeyepackfan (17-Nov) : Jaire and Evans Williams are both ACTIVE! Good news.
Martha Careful (17-Nov) : The badgers really need to change the whole offensive scheme. No draws no screens plus the quarterback is marginal
Cheesey (17-Nov) : If the Badgers had a decent QB, they would have won. The guy can't hit a wide open receiver
Martha Careful (17-Nov) : chop block
Martha Careful (17-Nov) : there was a very questionable job Block call that upon viewing replay was very borderline
beast (17-Nov) : How so? (I didn't watch)
Zero2Cool (17-Nov) : Badgers got hosed vs Oregon
packerfanoutwest (16-Nov) : damn,he hasn't played since week 2
Mucky Tundra (15-Nov) : poor guy can't catch a break
wpr (15-Nov) : wow. That three different things for the kid.
Zero2Cool (15-Nov) : MarShawn Lloyd has appendicitis according to Matt LaFleur.
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