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Best game I've seen in years...
Despite the fact that the Lions played a sorry Cleveland at home, you got to give it to the Lions, especially QB Matt Stafford. He now owns the NFL record for TDs in a game by a rookie with 5TDs. When was the last time you heard of a Lions QB, especially a rookie, throwing 5 TDs PERIOD against any team? This game was very exciting and Cleveland actually played pretty well for being 1-9. If you didn't know any better, you wouldn't have known these teams were 1-8. I am very proud of Matt Stafford for stepping up at the end and showing me that my opinions on him were true. People always tell me that he's a bust and another Joey and I always defend him. Now, people will keep their mouths shut and know that Detroit has a good foundation in place. Give Detroit 2 more offseasons for a better o-line and defense and Detroit will be a good team.
John,
Do you think that Detroit will beat Green Bay Thursday and is Matt Stafford or Calvin Johnson seriously hurt?
2010 Draft
John,
If the Lions just happen to have two consecutive #1 overall picks, wouldn't that be the first time that has ever happened? If they are #1 overall, what do you think they will draft? How does this affect the salary cap or uncap in 2010 with all of that money going to a handful of young players and do you think WCF will start overpaying to get some playmakers in here?
Stafford, 3-13
John,
Did you think Stafford did well for being a rookie on a 1-8 team on the road and against a top-5 team? I think he needs ALOT more help and the offensive line needs overhauled. The defense did OK for the most part, but without the offensive help they will eventually collapse. If the Detroit offense could keep it close vs Cleveland I believe we can win next sunday. I also think either the Thanksgiving game and against the Bears at home last game of the season. 3-13 or maybe 4-12. 5-11 would be a miracle at this point.
I agree. If they can beat the Browns, 3-13 or 4-12 is possible. Chicago could be out of it with a lame-duck coaching staff if they don't get it in gear here.
But if they can't beat the Browns, I don't see how they avoid 1-15.
2010 Draft
John,
What are the odds that Detroit is stuck with the #1 overall pick again next year? With 2010 being an uncapped year, shouldn't this be the year William Clay Ford digs into his pockets and pulls out some major dough to finally get some playmakers around there? He owes us a good football team.
With SO many needs on both sides of the ball, who do the Lions draft 1st round next year and what players do they acquire via free agency if things actually go well for them? P.S: Calvin Johnson will break out against the Vikings with Winfield down and the Lion's inability to run on them.
Justired
By the way,
Josh Freeman played one game and the Green Bay defense looked like the Lions were out there and he was at home. I do not, I repeat DO NOT think Freeman is a better QB than Matt Stafford by that one game. The 2008 Bucs went 9-7, the 2008 Lions went 0-16. Big difference is the quality of players around Freeman are better, despite this year's record. Stafford's stats are identical to Peyton Manning's first year, in which the 1998 Colts went 3-13 and Manning threw 28 INTs. Stafford can make throws that Josh Freeman can't make and one game shouldn't convince you that he's better than Stafford. Once Stafford and Calvin are on the same page and Stafford adjusts after that injury, you will see why Stafford was the #1 overall pick. I'm not impressed with Freeman, and you will see why soon enough.
Kevin Smith
By the way John,
I am convinced that Kevin Smith is better suited for the zone,one-cut scheme he ran in college. Do you think they will try to play more to his strengths or are they drafting a running back come 2010? He just doesn't seem to have to speed or the power to run the power running scheme like he's supposed to.
You might be right about Smith, but I'm not ready to declare him a lost cause, and obviously the coaching staff isn't yet, either. If it doesn't improve, we'll see what they do in the draft. I'm sure they're not thrilled about using a high pick on another RB, though, with all their other needs.
2009 Lions: First painful year of the Schwartz era
I'm gonna go on a rant for a minute about the Lions and the current state of the franchise. John or anybody, feel free to comment.
The 2009 Lions are exactly what most thought they would be in the first half of the season: terribly inexperienced, talent depleted, no confidence, and worst of all, the 10th Lions team in 10 years to miss the playoffs. Nobody thinks the Lions are good enough to win, not even me. Every game is a letdown and if I wasn't from Michigan or never saw Barry Sanders at the Pontiac Silverdome, I wouldn't care about the Lions, but I do so I have to talk about them. The Lions have done a great job, despite the record, with drafting the right players and hiring the right coaching staff. Schwartz is already a good coach, when he has the talent to win more games, people will eventually recognize him for the highly intelligent person he actually is. Matt Stafford is as inconsistent as are all rookie QBs and he's already shown me the accuracy issues on him as even Todd Mcshay pointed out before the 2009 draft, but unfortunately, he looks alot worse on a bad team than a Mark Sanchez does on a good team that can run the ball. Stafford will show us why he was the #1 overall pick either in the next 8 games or sometime next year. He has recessed because of that injury, no running game behind a below average line, and Calvin Johnson has been hurt so he hasn't developed chemistry with him in a real game enough. I've seen enough in him to also believe once he gets better players other than Calvin Johnson and Brandon Pettigrew(who is going to be an elite T.E in this league)around him,like a good running back and a better line, he will emerge the QB that Schwartz and Mayhew envisioned he would be. The defense, surprisingly is actually better than the numbers would indicate. If the offense could score more points and keep it close all game, the defense wouldn't look so bad. I really like the rookies Louis Delmas, DeAndre Levy, and Sammie Hill. All of them seem like keepers and that is something Matt Millen failed to do was to have multiple draft picks start the same year and go on to become good players. This team looks like every Lions team from 2001-2008 but it feels different to me watching them. I actually get the feeling that this just the the beginning of what will turn out to be best era of Lions football since the Fontes glory days of the 90's, once they get the right personnel. It may take 2-3 years, it may take them 1 year. I don't know, but if Mayhew keeps it up with his draft choices and continues to build on this solid foundation, the Detroit Lions WILL be a contender again. Millen really screwed this franchise, never did the 2001-2008 Lions ever have this good of a draft like the 09 draft, never did they have a coach as smart as Jim Schwartz,they didn't keep players or coaches long enough to build continuity or chemistry due to poor free agent signings and bad draft picks to go along with coaches who tried fit square pegs through round holes. We Lions fans have to relax on players like Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson, this team is not only coming off the NFL's first 0-16 season, it's carrying the stigma of never getting to the Superbowl and all of those losing records. We need to be patient and allow Martin Mayhew some time to fix this mess, allow Jim Schwartz time to build chemistry and devlop trust with his players, and allow players like Louis Delmas or Derrick Williams to develop into the players that they were envisioned to become. I think come 2010 or 2011, we will see a better Lions team than the last 8 or 9 years, and we can finally be proud of our Lions again.
Remember Lion's fans, we have to remain calm and be patient because it's harder to fix a team who was managed by the worst GM in the history of the NFL and who just came off an 0-16 season. The time of rebirth started this year, but we won't reap the rewards for another year or two. Once they do turn that corner, I'll be there with my Lion's hat and my Calvin Johnson jersey, cheering like I do right now...except this time, I'll have a reason to cheer.
Backus-n-Raiola
Have to agree with the sediments about these two buffoons. I don't think Mayhew has any emotional ties to them, however. I think Mayhew KNOWS that they at least Backus isn't good enough, why else say that Backus wouldn't have a problem playing guard if needed? If he was elite, that wouldn't even be a problem. Raiola isn't a bad center and probably would start on other teams, but the fans have lost him and he might as well be used for trade bait so we can get some winners in here. Backus and Raiola are perennial losers with Millen's stench of losing all over them, so it wouldn't hurt to get players not associated with Millen in any way. This team is horrible every year and even though Mayhew did a good job with the coaching staff and the 2009 draft, he has at LEAST 2 more offseasons+drafts to go before he can make them contenders.
That LG stuff with Backus was offered up in all the pre-draft smoke, so keep that in mind. Raiola's not getting traded.
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.
Losing to the Rams
John,
Seems to me that whenever the Lions are supposed to win games, they always find a way to blow it. There's always an excuse why they lose and never a solution to fixing the mess on the field the last 9 years. The franchise is absolutely hapless, and without rebuilding the offensive and defensive lines this year's team looks no different than the Millen teams of the 2000's.
Do you think the Lions will win in Seattle when Calvin Johnson comes back? Why do you think that the Lions looked like they do the last 9 years despite 4 different coaches, a new GM, 60% roster overturn, and new flashy uniforms and logo this year?
St. PeteLionsFan
Look, it's just a fun way of looking at a perennial loser in the Lions. I know they are sorry and it's at least 2 good offseasons until they can have a playoff team, but my point was that my team actually struggled offensively until I switched LGs. All of a sudden, the offensive line got better and the offense started to click. I'm hoping with all of the Lion's struggles that getting a solid veteran in Jansen to finally help Jeff Backus with pass protection and maybe open up some holes for K.Smith we may win a few games. I switched out LGs back in week 5 and my team has beaten good teams, and before I really couldn't. Hey, again, it's a video game and it's not real, only for fun. I just like to have fun once in awhile and it's just a funny coincidence.
Prediction according to Madden simulation: Lions 27,Rams 19
Lions defense: 4sacks,2Ints
Stafford 23-31 279yds 2TD 1INT, K.Smith 127yds 1TD, CJ 111yards 2TDs
Steven Jackson gets first TD of the year...the only TD the Rams score.
Madden
John,
My starting secondary is Phillip Buchannon and Will James. The way I win on defense is I zone blitz alot and move my linebackers and secondary around while I blitz from every angle possible, sometimes bringing 9 guys at a time. This makes it hard for any QB except Peyton Manning or Tom Brady to to throw accurately. My D-line sucks, but my linebackers are pretty good, with blitzing like 75% of the time, I can win against good teams.
Do you play Madden? And if so, what team do you use and how do you win games?
Odds and Ends
John,
I play Madden quite a bit and I've got an interesting tidbit, although it's irrelevant information,pretty interesting to say the least. I switched from Daniel Loper to Jon Jansen after the Pittsburgh game when they gave up 7 sacks. After I put Jon Jansen in at LG,suddenly Backus has turned into a stellar LT only giving up 1 sack in 3 games after that one and Kevin Smith is averaging 121 yards per game with Calvin Johnson averaging 113 yards AND 2TDs per game. Stafford threw 10 INTs to 8TDs in the first few games I played,but once I switched LGs he had thrown 6 TDs and 2INTs and has only got sacked 2 times in three games as opposed to 10 in the first three games. Yeah, I know, it's only a game, however, if one guy drives a whole offensive line which opens holes for the running back which gives single coverage to Calvin Johnson...maybe in real life Jon Jansen will be the difference maker for that team.
Damien Woody was a guard and moved to RT and now is a starting RT on a pretty good Jets team.
What do you think John, is it possible we see improvement from the offense with this switch?
Yeah, it's possible. But who do you have as your starting secondary on that Madden game?
Tristan Davis
John,
On the topic still from my last post, what are the odds that Tristan Davis, if he's still on the p-squad, get's a shot of neither of the 3 RBs get it together? I swear, in the preseason, he showed he had the best combonation of speed and power of the 4 RBs. Aaron Brown is the fastes, K. Smith is the most agile, and Mo Morris is the savy vet with the experience. I was the most impressed with Davis in the preseason, is he really that raw or do they think that th 3 they got is just better? Thanks again John
i think they'd definitely take a look at it, but that's not happening yet. We'll see if they can find a few more ways to get Aaron Brown involved in the offense, since he's not returning kicks now. Davis is really pretty raw as a RB, too, though, because he didn't do much of it in college either, just like Brown. But he's better suited for running inside than Brown right now, I agree.
Calvin Johnson,K. Smith
John,
Don't you think the Lions are worried about Calvin Johnson's injury? Seems like this guy is hurt alot, but that may be because defenders key in on him more than others. Do you think this will change when the Lions actually get other good recievers? Finally, I think K. Smith may not fit this power running scheme like he does the one-cut,zone-running scheme. Do you think that it's his lack of another gear,the offensive line, or do you think he will get used to this scheme and perform like he did in the 2nd half of last year? Thanks John
Sunday will be a big test for K. Smith, in my opinion. And Smith agrees. Talked yesterday about it being time to "put up or shut up," so we'll see what he puts up against the Rams. I have a feeling he'll get it going here, but he'd better do it pretty soon if he wants to convince this coaching staff he's their No. 1 back beyond this season.
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