Sunday, September 24, 2017

2017, Week 3, Detroit Lions versus Atlanta Falcons @ Home


Wait! What?

The 3-0 2-1 Detroit Lions beat the lose to the 2-1 3-0 Atlanta Falcons at home with a score of 33-30 26-30. In what was ruled as the go ahead Lions touchdown by the officials with 8 seconds on the clock the play went under review and was reversed. THEN the officials ran 10 seconds off the clock because the rule book says they had to. Game over. Instead of the Lions winning the game they were declared the losers.

Now, had Golden Tate III not been touched as he fell to the goal line he could have rolled, crawled, walked, ran or did cartwheels in and still scored the TD. But Golden was touched so when his knee hit the ground the ball was to be spotted where the nose of it was located, which was about 5 inches shy of the goal line. Okay fine, it's 4th down, there is still 8 seconds on the clock, the Lions are 5 inches away from winning... BUT because they have no timeouts left there is a 10 second clock run off (or at least that is how I understand it). 10 from 8 makes negative 2... or game over. Now understand, the Lions did nothing wrong. There was no flag. There was no penalty or other thing to point at the Lions and say "no sir, you are in the wrong". The officials called it a TD. Had they not the Lions had time to re-line up and probably get off one last play to attempt to score, from the 5 inch line. But no, they are forced to have 10 seconds run off the clock. I asked a Hockey "super" fan if Hockey had any such clock depleting rules... he said nope. I asked a basketball fan, nope. I already know there is no clock in baseball, so that's a nope. Thus, the Lions lost their first game of the year against the NFC 2016 Champion team because the officials got the call wrong and due to the rules wouldn't let them try their 4th down attempt. No other major sport in the USA has any such kind of rule of any kind. If ever there was a football version of the definition of the semi-modern phrase of Wait! What? this would be it.

Okay, so now that I clarified my position on that... let's see actual facts. Mathew Stafford was 25 of 45 (55.56%) for 264 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. A respectable but not really great or efficient game set of stats. He did throw off his back foot a couple of times showing poor mechanics (on those couple throws) and he was off on his placement a few times as well. Other then those 4 or 5 (or if pushing it, 6) times, Matthew Stafford did a pretty decent job of running the Lions offense. Not everyone else on the offense even got that close to good (looking at you Ebron, and the OL).

Eric Ebron had a number of drops, at least one of (if not two of) which might have had the Lions scoring the go ahead score before the 8 seconds on the clock thing, and we would still not know about that rule that's in the books. Other players also had issues during the game, even the coaches who took at least a quarter and a half before figuring out they could not run to the left (I had that figured out a week ago and re-iterated it pregame and during the first quarter). Meanwhile, the defense and special teams played a pretty decent game. Not perfect, oh no, they will have plenty of things to talk about in the film review tomorrow. But all in all, the offense lost this game, with help by the coaching staff and the officials and the NFL Rule book. Odd how that always seems to happen to the Lions.

Now I don't want to make this all about the Lions, or the officials, or the rule book, or the coaching staff, as the Falcons played a very VERY good game. Matt Ryan (the QBs were Mathew and Matt, the kickers were Matt and Matt, how's that for odd?) was 24 of 35 (68.57%) for 294 yards with 2 touchdowns but 3 interceptions (further proof of the Lions defense doing well, in the take away department anyway). The Lions had only 71 yards rushing (19 by Stafford) while the Falcons managed 151 yards (not their usual efficient run defense there). Both teams were without some key players, though I'd say the key players on the Lions side were maybe just a bit more key then their opponent. I suppose that can be debated as much as the rule book, so I won't.

What it comes down to is this: The Lions backups on defense are not starting caliber (at this point in time, as in not ready) and the Lions OL was only 40% intact and very subpar. Stafford was not his self and the officials and rule book were their ever over-present selves, as we Lions fans have learned from repeated exposure. I'm sure I'm not the only fan who went Wait! What?! at the end of this game. I'm also sure some are still confused about it. Hopefully someone in the NFL is as well, so yet another rule can be fixed due to the Lions losing because of it.

Okay, so let's say the Lions should have won before the final play that killed the fun... well then, the Lions just went toe to toe with the current NFC Conference Champions and held their own for the most part. Not due to an overpowering offense, nor to a un-duplicate-able (sp?) defense, as the defense has done similar feats already this year. Not even to some fluke plays by special teams. No, the Lions, as a team, competed, very well, for about 59 minutes and some odd seconds. Some would even say 59 minutes and 52 seconds, and I'd have no qualms with that. So despite the loss, despite the way it was lost, I'm at least encouraged by the game being as close as it was. Since the division has suddenly become highly competitive this, if it can continue, just might make a difference before the year is over. Not this game, but the lessons learned from it and continued great play by the team its self.

Next week the Lions go to Minnesota to play the Vikings. I expect the results of that game to be a whole lot better. I don't think the Vikings will be prepared for the "payback" the Lions are going to be willing to give out by then. There is no way this loss will be taken lightly and I expect the team as a whole to respond accordingly. My prediction for next week, Lions 27-Vikings 17.

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

2017, Week 2, Detroit Lions @ New York Giants


Team win.

The 2-0 Detroit Lions defeated the 0-2 New York Giants with a score of 24-10. After recording the go-ahead score in the first quarter the Lions never once gave up the lead. But, it wasn't all offense. It wasn't all defense. It wasn't all special teams. It was, in just a few words, a Team Win!

Now I realize the defense doesn't have the highest paid player in the NFL on their side, that title belongs to Matthew Stafford. However, in 2017, at present, the Lions have more cap space devoted to defense then offense. That may not be true at any point in the future, or it may be so every year for years to come, but without a verifiable accurate crystal ball, all we can see is THIS year and THIS year the defense tops the offense (in 2017 cap space).

Matthew Stafford was 15 of 21 (ugh) for a 71.429% completion percentage (wow) and a whopping 122 yards (omg) but for 2 TDs and 0 INTs (yippee). All in all, it was a highly productive performance. Despite the poke in the eye and the lack of balanced officiating (yes I went there). I have long believed that a QB who can exceed 65% completions and a 2-to-1 TD-to-INT percentage can be a winning QB in the NFL, and the Lions helped towards proving that tonight.

Now the Lions defense held Eli Manning to 22 of 32 (68.75%) for 239 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT (yeah, about that, see above). The Lions rushed for 138 yards (23 by Stafford for 2nd on the team) and the Giants for a whomping 62 yards total (none by Eli). The leading receiver on both teams were tight ends (Ebron and Engram). That speaks of some pretty good defense by both teams. No one will or can deny that.

The Lions had a punt return (Agnew) for a TD and a FG that just barely bounced off of and over the goal posts. That still gives the Lions offense a 4 point upper hand, then again, the short fields provided by defense and special teams also likely helped the offense... so yes, it was a Team Win!!! And I'm here to tell you, there is nothing wrong with that, especially on the road!

Next week the Lions play the Atlanta Falcons at home, the superbowl losing team from last year. I predicted pre-season they would lose this game, but right now, I'm not quite as confident of that prediction. If I could do it over again I might be inclined to predict the Lions as winning this game, simply because they have some depth, they have a complete team, and they appear to have some players all throughout the roster that can at any given time contribute to the win. That is a recipe for success in the NFL, and I don't want to see it get lopsided. I like the "team win" aspect of the team. I for one don't think the Qb HAS to win it all, all of the time.

To complete my comparisons of the Lions and the Giants, both teams had 50 yards of penalties (though I would agree with Lions fans that this was somewhat lopsided towards the other team). Both teams had a fumble, but only the Lions lost theirs. Both teams made 100% of their field goals and extra points. The Lions did generate an interception whereas the Giants did not. The Giants had 14 first downs compared to the Lions 12. In many ways, the two teams were equal (stat-wise) but at no point were the Lions losing this game, despite being only one score ahead at various times in the game. It was, as I stated before, a team win.

The Bears, Vikings, and Packers have lost their first away games this year, putting the Lions solidly in first place in the division. Various, ah, fans, will say "but" and yet, despite whatever stats can be "qualified" the end result is, the Lions have played a home game and a road game and won them both. They are first in the division, and they do not appear to be any sort of a "push over" type of team at any point in the near future. I'll take a 4th quarter come-from-behind victory such as last week at home, and I'll take a "take charge lead and don't give it up" game on the road, and I won't apologize for either. If you are a fan who still feels the need to peek at the game instead of giving in to the mostly loaded bandwagon, so be it. Myself, I'm enjoying this. It's been almost 20 years (maybe more) since I felt this good about the team, I may not outlive another drought, so I'm going to just enjoy this AS it happens, instead of dreading the next game.

Here's to the Detroit Lions and the home game against the Atlanta Falcons next week (6 days from now). May it prove to be as good as I suspect it will be.

Sunday, September 10, 2017

2017, Week 1, Arizona Cardinals @ Detroit Lions


Defending Their Home.

The 1-0 Detroit Lions beat the 0-1 Arizona Cardinals 35-23 in an error filled but eventful season opening game. While various players on the Lions offense were making errors and trying to get their collective acts together the defense helped keep the game close, despite special teams also contributing to the error factor. The Lions were behind for 3 quarters before their 4th quarter comeback (echoes of 2016 there) and in the end the Lions corrected more and improved enough to defeat the Cardinals.

Mathew Stafford was 29 of 41 (70.73%) for 292 yards with 4 TDs and 1 INT. The Arizona defense is very fast, and quite effective, and the Lions offense was a bit disjointed at first but pulled themselves together little by little to finish strong for the win and some pretty impressive stats, along with the feeling (for most) that they will be competitive this year. The Lions produced 82 yards on the ground while limiting the Cardinals to 45. The Lions defense also held Carson Palmer to 269 yards with 1 TD and 3 INTs allowing him to complete just 56.25% of his passes. Having home field advantage means winning your home games and that is what the Lions did, they defended their home.

Golden Tate injured his fingers and back during the game but continued to play right up until the final drive. Meanwhile, the Cardinals top player David Johnson went to the locker room after around 3 quarters of play for an injured wrist. There were a few other bumps and bruises but I didn't notice any major injuries to either side (unless those injuries turn out to be major). Both teams will have plenty of film to review and see where they need to improve, but it was great to watch them actual improve some things during the game. I even noted their 1st round draft pick Davis (team leading 9 tackles) ask a ref what he did wrong after being flagged late in the game, that's the kind of player you can coach, and his talent is easy for all to see. I'm really looking forward to the next game, which is against the New York Giants on Monday night football.

My prediction? If the Lions can keep the game close and not endure any major injuries they will make the Giants game exciting to watch, since I can't predict that stuff I'll just assume all goes well, and the Lions end up winning 27-24. Of course, the Giants intend to defend their home too so it won't be easy.