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Lions
Honestly, we as Lions fans shouldn't be surprised that the 2009 Lions are starting out 1-6 and look like last year's Lions. After all, it's been 10 years since I've even seen a competitive Lions team, let alone a playoff contender, why start now, right? Wrong. We actually have potential stars with players like Matt Stafford, Calvin Johnson, Brandon Pettigrew, Louis Delmas, DeAndre Levy, and maybe Sammie Hill. If you look at the list, you'll see that Calvin Johnson is the only veteran out of that group, and the only one player Millen ever drafted worth mentioning. That has to tell you, that because of Matt Millen's 8 year reign of ineptness, it will take the Lion's at least 2 full offseasons AFTER this one to even get competitive. This roster was left with scraps and spare parts when Millen was ousted and it shows. I believe in Schwartz and Mayhew and they seem intelligent enough to turn this around, just not this year or next year. Stafford needs better recievers to go with Calvin Johnson and a running back that can actually intimidates the other team...something Kevin Smith just doesn't do. We need to get rid of that entire line outside of Gosder Cherilus and draft a defense. 2 shut down corners, a hard hitting safety, another DT like Sammie Hill,2 game changing DEs,and another special teams coach. Stan Kwan will fiinally leave and never come back, he can't possibly stay after this game. This is painful to watch,I know,but we knew the Lion's would be bad this year. Let's just try to believe in our future stars and hope they learn from this year.
John, how long do you think it will take to rid this team of the stench of losing and do you acually think this regime can finally get over the hump?
I do think they can, yes. But as for the stench, that's up to the fans to decide -- it'd help if they could win a game on the road before this season's over, though.
Lions
John, two other areas where the Lions need help are at wide receiver and running back. The Lions don't have a legit number 2 receiver behind Calvin Johnson. Enough with these experiments with Bryant Johnson and Dennis Northcutt. The Lions need to address that number 2 receiver spot. They already blew numerous draft picks on wide receivers that never panned out, i.e Charles Rogers and Mike Williams,and Roy Williams is no longer on the team. This team is handicapped whenever Calvin is not in the lineup. The Saints are so good cause they got 3 legit receivers in Colston, Meachum, and Devery Henderson. Why can't the Lions ever get anything right. They never seem to draft or pick up the right guy. 2nd, do you think that Kevin Smith is a number 1 back in this league. This guy is too slow and cannot break any tackles. I believe he ran in the 4.7 range when the Lions drafted him.
thanks.
It's hard to give up on Smith, because we've all seen him run well. He ran really well, in fact, vs. Washington and Minnesota (in the first half), and in stretches in his rookie year as well. He's not gonna break it for 70, but he can -- and does -- make people miss. And not every legit starter in this league has breakaway speed. Is he going to be an elite back? Nope. Would I be shocked if the Lions were sitting there and a stud RB was available with top-10 pick in April and they took him over a defensive player? Surprised, maybe, but not stunned. Is he good enough for this team right now? I think he is. And there's more pressing needs. As for the complimentary WRs, B. Johnson's a serviceable No. 2 for now, but who would you have rather had them sign as a free agent this spring? Obviously, the D. Williams draft pick is suspect now, especially with the way a guy like Johnny Knox is playing for Chicago. But I'm not convinced Williams is a bust yet. Northcutt's OK as a slot guy, just not as a No. 2.
Lions
I didn't really think the Lions would beat the Bears as most like you John who probably hoped they would more than predicted. I did say I think they would but than again,hope starts to make you think they could.
A few things that stick out to me after this game:
1)The offensive line can't hang with upper echelon d-lines like the Bears or Vikings as you saw Sunday. Peterman and others,I'm sure,will get shown the door after this year if they keep it up because 34K didn't have any holes to run through despite playing against cover-2 and a banged up LB corps.
2)The special teams unit is putrid.Fire Stan Kwan
3)Stafford looked like a franchise QB the first half when they actually kept him upright. Those lasers he was throwing were right on the money and the INT was only half of his fault because the o-line let the entire Bears defense in the backfield. Once the second half started,the Lion's o-line couldn't stop ANYBODY from slamming him into the ground.
4)Schwartz gave them an ear chewing that lasted until the next day when he was twice as mad about the day before as he said to the press Monday. I don't blame him,I bet Tennesse wishes he would have stayed about now,huh?
5)Finally,the Steelers are coming to town and if Stafford thought the Bears were tough with that o-line in Detroit,how do you think playing Pittsburgh will make him feel? He's def our future at QB if we could only keep him upright all game.
Different GM,different coach and staff,60% roster overhaul,and still the same results. I don't see other teams losing 48-24 in dramatic humilating fashion as the Lions still seem to be doing. Like John Niyo and Mike O'Hara have said,this team has a future and it starts next year...
Lions
I'd just like to say,contrary to what most believe,the Lions this year are different than the Lions of last year. Last year,Marinelli wasn't starting 5 different rookies and didn't have a QB that was only 21 and that inexperienced.
I still believe he's the right QB out of the two available in the draft,even if Sanchez looks like the better prospect right now. It's early and the hardest part of the schedule for us is the first half of the season and Stafford will go through some growing pains,it's inevitable. The Jets have a favorable schedule so it helps with having a rookie QB.
Even if they do only go 5-11,this a very young team with rookie everything,including the GM. This team is just starting to put everything together,you could very well see the potential of how good they could be. Once Stafford gets settled in with CJ and the defense improves,they might actually be good. I'm going out on a limb again and I agree with John Niyo,the Detroit Lions will defeat the Washington Redskins 24-17 with Stafford throwing 2TDs.
Lions
The reason why Marinelli always said "I have to look at the film" was because he's so blind and lost when he was out there coaching. It took him the following day to figure out what most knew in the opener. The days of bumbling coaches and friendships with players and staff are over. I will guarantee this to anybody: NO MATTER WHAT RECORD THEY GET IN 2009,IT WILL BE BETTER THEN ANY YEAR UNDER FORMER GM MATT MILLEN. You have to recognize how vastly different this year is as opposed to the last 7. People will see just how good the Lions can be soon enough,I saw the difference in preseason when I read between the lines and connected the dots. Even if last year they went 4-0 then 0-16,the offense this year def has some muscle,way more then last year. Stafford,K.Smith,Pettigrew,and Johnson all could be household names because they are all really good players. You could easily tell that this offense could be unlike any offense they've had since 1995,if the defense could just keep it close,you could have a really good team. I'm not just being biased,I can tell they will be better. Now,the question is...just how much better?
Unfair Marinelli criticism there: Every football coach parrots that same line about wanting to wait until they watch the film. They want to yell at the players themselves about missed assignments, etc., BEFORE criticizing them in the media, if at all. That's how you keep a team together and keep your players' respect, something Marinelli did better than people will ever give him credit for in Detroit. (OK, so he probably did it to a fault. But that wasn't why they were bad. There were a lot of other reasons for that.)
Lions
John,
Is it me or is Avril getting really good at pressuring the QB? I saw him quite a bit in the backfield but not one sack all preseason. Do you think having White full-time at LE would help? Also,I read on Espn or something like that Schwartz seems to make more excuses for Stafford's mistakes then praising Culpepper's consistent performances. Do you think it's a coincidence that Schwartz seems to be excusing Stafford's mistakes or do you think the coaching staff really wants him out there? Adam Schefter seems to think after talking to Schwartz that he would rather see the rookie start in New Orleans if he can duplicate his Atlanta and Indy performances on the road in Buffalo,do you still disagree? Thanks John
No, I'm a convert after the Indy game. Stafford's just more accurate and aggressive downfield, and I posted that on the blog Sunday that I think he was probably the frontrunner (before we'd heard about Culpepper's foot injury.) I do think there's an issue to consider: The staff might feel like it owes Culpepper an opportunity after the effort he put in this offseason, and if things are essentially equal in terms of preseason performance, then it's a nod to the locker room chemistry -- and the veterans on the team -- to give him the shot as the starter. But I don't know how much weight that theory really carries.
Lions
John,
Had a few questions for ya buddy. First,of all the DTs on this team,what are the chances the starting DTs are Sammie Hill and Landen Cohen? They tore it up in the preseason against Atlanta's 1st string line and they did pretty good. Secondly,what is your impression of Stafford so far in terms of starting week 1? Do you think that he will start if the o-line gives him time and he outperfoms Culpepper like he has been doing all along? Oh,yeah when do you think they will get their 1st win with Stafford under the helm? Thank you John
No chance, really. Grady Jackson and Shaun Smith is your likely starting pair, I think. Hill didn't tear it up against ATL. He got too high technique-wise and got manhandled on a few plays. Cohen did OK but shouldn't be full-time starting, in my opinion. I'm sticking to my Culpepper prediction for Week 1, but it's wavering quite a bit. We'll see what happens Sat. night in Cleveland. I'm saying they beat either Minnesota or Washington at home in Wks 2-3.
Lions
Regardless of the Quarterbacks the Lions biggest need is to develop the run. They have not had the run since Sanders and will not have a balanced offense to protect Culpepper or the New Kid. Either one is doomed as we saw how bad Kitna was beat up because the offensive line was not dominant. Please develop the run or it will be a long season regardless of whom is the QB so let it be Culpepper because at least he has seen the defenses.
That's the plan. We'll see if they can do what they're setting out to do with the personnel they've got up front.
Lions
Deagle,
Did you just agree with me and say something nice about a fellow Lion? Wow,you do have some optimism in there! I think this year everybody will be surprised from Stafford and the draft classes of 2008 & 2009 to the defensive overhaul and the new blitzkrieg type scheme they run.I always said the Tampa-2 isn't effective with slow linebackers and way too undersized d-lineman as you saw last year. Anyway,even you Deagle will be surprised at how much will change with this team as opposed to the last 8 teams.
John,
I was wondering about Cunningham's scheme if they will run alot of 2-4-5 or 3-3-5? Or to say it another way:duplicate Jim Johnson's scheme in Philly which seems similar to Cunninghams? Also,will we see alot of CB blitzes and zone blitzes from this unit? My guess is Avril,Sims,and Peterson will be moved around alot. Thanks John and Deagle
Lions
I agree we need to have faith that the lions can turn this around, or catch lightning in a bottle for a couple of years and make a playoff run to the super bowl. In addition to the patriots having Tom Brady, they have one of the best scouting departments in the league. They continue to uncover great players in the 2,3,4, & 5 rounds of the draft. You build a team from the inside out from line to line then add playmakers on both sides of the ball. And the patriots have given Brady one of the best o-lines to work with, and the lions have never addressed the o-line with the same effort of your teams like the patriots, titans, and indy.
When the giants won the super bowl last year it was because their dline shut down brady to put their playmakers into a position to win the game for you. This year pittsburgh's dline (Harrison pic) was the difference in the win over the cardinals. What have the lions done with either of their oline or dline NOTHING worth writing home about. Sackus is a joke, and the jury is still out on gosder. Jansen is in the twilight of his career, and unless he finds the fountain of youth what do we have there? Petermen blah, blah, blah, who knows what we have at RG which Jansen said is willing to play there for us. Raiola dude has no patience I can't tell you how many times he is off the line 7 yards ahead of the RB while the dline is taking there shots on our ball carriers. Raiola is energetic ill give him that, but does not have a lot of patience to let the blocking schemes develop so that the ball carrier can find the holes our oline is suppose to be opening up.
OUR DLINE is make me nervous as hell. I know Schwarts and Gunther have a scheme that is funneling everything to the middle, so that we can have our LB's do the work but I want to see a ferocious dline wreaking havoc in the backfield because that's what shuts down great qb's and running game. (Giants, Eagles, and Steelers)
When the lines are efficient doing there job then your playmakers on O can make plays and put points on the board, and your playmakers on D can force fumbles and get picks to change the momentum of the game. Dallas in the 90s won three superbowls because they had arguebaly one of the greatest olines in nfl history, and they had one heck of a dline to go with it. To win in the NFL you have to build from the lines out. OUR kiddy kats refuse to do that, but I will remain optimistic to see if the incoming coaching staff believes they can couch up what we have on the lines.
Lions
JLBarber1979,
I also agree with your sediments on celebrating when they win but not rooting until that happens. After 52 years of futility,I think that might be the only way to approach it. Im 24 years old and watched the Lions since I was 6 when Barry used to rock the Silverdome with constant 100 yard games and a defense that at least intimidated the opposition. Now,you're lucky if they win a game at all. However,despite the 8 really bad years of football I actually am VERY optimistic that the Lions could go .500 or better if they get a few breaks and Stafford becomes the next Bobby Layne. Look at some teams in comparision to the Lions,the New England Patriots(exclude the fluke 85 Superbowl blowout to the Bears)were absolutely inept for most of the time with bad drafts and bad free agent signings. Yeah,they also made it to the Superbowl in 1996 but was blownout by the Packers. It really wasn't until they got Tom Brady did they become what they are now. Also,New Orleans never made it to the NFC championship until Drew Brees arrived,the Cardinals never made a Superbowl until Kurt Warner arrived,the Colts won Superbowls in Baltimore but not Indy until...you guessed it,Peyton Manning arrived in 1998. Lastly,the Bears have won with mostly defense from 1985 to present and when their last pro-bowl QB(Jim McMahon)moved on,they haven't won a Superbowl since even with that D as good as it was. Now,they have Cutler people are predicting Superbowl again. My point is,you have to have a franchise QB in todays NFL due to the complexity of the passing game as of late. The 2000 Ravens wouldn't beat the 2008 Cardinals even with that ferocious defense because Arizona's passing game is almost unstoppable. Now that Detroit has Stafford,they too might finally get over that hump. You just have to believe even after 52 years that Detroit just one day might surprise the world...
Lions
JLBarber1979,
I also agree with your sediments on celebrating when they win but not rooting until that happens. After 52 years of futility,I think that might be the only way to approach it. Im 24 years old and watched the Lions since I was 6 when Barry used to rock the Silverdome with constant 100 yard games and a defense that at least intimidated the opposition. Now,you're lucky if they win a game at all. However,despite the 8 really bad years of football I actually am VERY optimistic that the Lions could go .500 or better if they get a few breaks and Stafford becomes the next Bobby Layne. Look at some teams in comparision to the Lions,the New England Patriots(exclude the fluke 85 Superbowl blowout to the Bears)were absolutely inept for most of the time with bad drafts and bad free agent signings. Yeah,they also made it to the Superbowl in 1996 but was blownout by the Packers. It really wasn't until they got Tom Brady did they become what they are now. Also,New Orleans never made it to the NFC championship until Drew Brees arrived,the Cardinals never made a Superbowl until Kurt Warner arrived,the Colts won Superbowls in Baltimore but not Indy until...you guessed it,Peyton Manning arrived in 1998. Lastly,the Bears have won with mostly defense from 1985 to present and when their last pro-bowl QB(Jim McMahon)moved on,they haven't won a Superbowl since even with that D as good as it was. Now,they have Cutler people are predicting Superbowl again. My point is,you have to have a franchise QB in todays NFL due to the complexity of the passing game as of late. The 2000 Ravens wouldn't beat the 2008 Cardinals even without a QB because their passing game is almost unstoppable. Now that Detroit has Stafford,they too might finally get over that hump. You just have to believe even after 52 years that Detroit just one day might surprise the world...
Lions
John,
I found out that John Thornton recently turned down a proposal from Detroit because he didn't want to go from one losing team to another. I see his point,however,I see him as a starter in Detroit,I see him a backup elsewhere. If this guy goes thru free agency and gets equal or less money to be a backup he will come back and take the offer Detroit has. Do you think that Detroit will still pursue a free agent DT? I have to believe that Kevin Carter will either join the Lions or retire,what's the chances of both? Thanks John
I think Thornton was probably looking for more guaranteed money than teams were willing to shell out. And listening to him Sunday, he sounded like a guy who's not 100 percent committed to putting his body through another season, especially for a rebuilding team. He's got other things in his life, too, so I wouldn't be surprised if he called it quits. I do think they'd still like to land K. Carter, but Tampa and a couple other teams are interested as well. He'll play somewhere this year.
Lions
When Brady takes a dump?? Ok you tell that to Bill Belichick and get back with me lmoa! They were 11-5 last year without Brady and you know why??? Same reason why UofM was great for so long - a system. Get outta here with all that preschool player nonsense - football is a team sport. You're better suited for the NBA and Kobe Bryant not me. And Calvin Johnson is NOT a top 5 wr I'd say more like a top 20 but not close to 5. And as far as rooting for the Lions when they go to the playoffs you better believe I'll be there and cheering. I deserve it for sticking around and watching them make all these stupid mistakes every year and for putting up with posters that think it's ok to be rude to people you don't know. Oh and btw I predict that I'll be doing this for a long time. And NO I don't think they'll be much better this year then last. And I don't believe they can win more then 4 games. Sheesh no more then 3! They are still terrible! And I don't give them a chance because I know good and well they haven't given themselves one. So keep on dreaming kiddo!! I'm going for a jog.
I leave for a little while and all heck breaks loose in here. Deagle, have you been stirring the pot? Calvin's better than top 20 -- you will come around on that one eventually.
Lions
Deagle,
What would you do if the Lions ever got to be a playoff team and they just happened to be really good? I'd think you wouldn't have material and start bagging on the Pistons instead. You must understand that I mean no offense by this but you try too hard to be funny at criticizing the Lions and Calvin Johnson. The Lions really seem to be headed in the right direction,despite the 8-year torture by Millen and Calvin Johnson really is a top-5 reciever. The Patriots are a great team no doubt,but they won't be that good for ever. When Brady takes a dump,there goes the Patriots. I'd keep the Lions on the backburner when that day happens...
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