Detroit Lions 2014 pre-NFL Draft Blog Part II

With less then a week to go before the 2014 NFL draft, and a week since my last blog entry, I've realized that many of the players that the Lions would like to draft in the first round may be gone before the 10th pick is announced. I do not advocate trading up in the draft, that almost never works out, but trading down is always an option if you can find a team that still wants to move up. One such team that is as likely as any other to want to trade up is the Dallas Cowboys. The Lions even have a sort of history trading with the Cowboys, so when I put my first (and final) 2014 mock draft together I predicted the Lions trading down with the cowboys and gaining a 3rd round pick in the process, this year, (and assumed it would include a 3rd or 4th from next year as well). Doing so would provide the Lions with 9 picks in the 2014 draft. With an additional week to think about it, I've decided to add cornerback to my list of possible positions the Lions might address in the draft, not because I think the current roster hasn't at least some talent on it, but because I think the Lions will want to continue to put pressure on those already on the roster to improve with said draft pick. My 1 round mock draft can be found at http://www.theNetRat.com/draft.html and it is one I have entered (for the first time) into the Huddle Reports mock draft "contest" http://www.thehuddlereport.com/scoring/mockdrafts.shtml... wish me luck.

On that same webpage after scrolling down past the final pick in the first round is my Top 100 Big Board for 2014 (and below that is the 2013 one, which tied for 38th place nation-wide, beating Mel Kiper Jr by 2 points) http://www.thehuddlereport.com/scoring/top100.shtml Anyway, the top 100 big board has some names in bold, those are the players that have been noted as having contact with the Lions Front Office (over and above the standard scouting of all players). In the past, many, and in some years most, of the Lions draft picks were players who were on this list (that LionHawk and this year, CaptainBlue, compile, both from my forum).

Last week I explained how the Lions won't necessarily draft a player for their most immediate need in any particular round, but rather are looking to get the best talent they possibly can with each pick, but that the pick must be able to be a fit on the roster in some manner. If there is no [potential] roster spot for the pick then there is no point in wasting the pick on that player. I also explained the Lions tend to take players from a small handful of similarly ranked players with each pick... or in other words, one of the Best Players Available (BPA). Note, not thee best player available, but one of the best ones available. Anyway, my assumption is the Lions will be looking to fill the Starting Strong Side Linebacker spot (who can also play some left Defensive End in rotation), a Kicker, a Safety (possibly a starting one), depending on Houston's health - either a starting or future starting Cornerback, a backup Center (and heir apparent to Raiola), a Wide Receiver, possibly a Tight End, a Defensive Tackle to rotate in and eventually replacing Fairley, and perhaps a future Left Guard or Backup QB.

The Lions have a couple of picks in the 4th round that can not be traded (Comp picks). My first round mock shows I believe they may try to trade down to pick up an additional 3rd rounder this year. My Big Board shows the Players the Lions have had extra contact with and history shows this many times means the player is of particular interest to the team. Finally, my estimated depth chart shows what positions I think the Lions will try to address if the draft falls any way reasonably close to the way they hope it will. This gives me various 2014 Lions draft pictures, some of which follow... in other words, the Lions draft might look like one of these:

Possibility #1:
1. CB Darqueze Dennard
2. DE/OLB Jeremiah Attaochu
3. S Deone Bucannon
3b. DT Caraun Reid
4. C Bryan Stork
4b. QB Aaron Murray
4c. TE C.J. Fiedorowicz
6. WR Cody Hoffman
7. K Chris Boswell

Possibility #2:
1. DE/OLB Anthony Barr
2. WR Jordan Mathews
3. C Weston Richburg
3b. CB Jaylen Watkins
4. S Ahmad Dixon
4b. DT Will Sutton
4c. TE C.J. Fiedorowicz
6. G/T Jeremiah Sirles
7. K Nate Freese

Possibility #3:
1. DT Aaron Donald
2. TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins
3. WR Cody Latimer
3b. CB Marcus Roberson
4. C Russell Bodine
4b. DE/OLB Larry Webster
4c. QB Logan Thomas
6. K Cody Parker
7. S Jerome Couplin III

I think I could come up with another 2 to 4 possible scenarios, and this just from the contact list... never straying from my estimated depth chart... and my ranking sheets... before I have to start duplicating players making for even more combinations of options. One thing for sure, the Lions have the potential to add a LOT of talent to the roster, assuming the front office can vet the draft list as well or better then last year, and with some luck (preferably the good kind).

Detroit Lions 2014 pre-NFL Draft Blog Part I

With less then two weeks to go before the 2014 NFL draft let's review exactly where the Detroit Lions are at. The (new) coaches, scouts and front office have reviewed all the players play from last year's Lions' roster and graded them... assigning each a dollar value (this was back in January and February). Based on this information a number of roster moves occurred; including cuts, new signings, waiver wire claims, and allowing various Lions free agents to find work elsewhere.

The Lions scouts and front office (with perhaps a little coaching input) also updated their grades (and dollar value) of every NFL player in the league on other teams... especially the players that were expected to make it into free agency. I highly recommend reading this article written last year by a former front office guy about this exact process, it explains, in detail, how many front offices grade and pay free agents http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1583998-how-nfl-teams-determine-a-players-value Once free agency started the Lions quickly added to their roster Unrestricted Free Agents DE Darryl Tapp and WR Golden Tate presumably for around the cap/salary amounts they targeted.

The following is a complete list of all the roster transactions to date:

1/30/2014 The Detroit Lions sign C Darren Keyton.
2/5/2014 The Detroit Lions claim S Isa Abdul-Quddus.
2/13/2014 The Detroit Lions have released WR Nate Burleson and S Louis Delmas.
3/4/2014 The Detroit Lions release G Leroy Harris and sign DT Corvey Irvin.
3/12/2014 The Detroit Lions sign Unrestricted Free Agent WR Kevin Ogletree, Restricted Free Agent RB Joique Bell, and Exclusive Rights Players WR Kris Durham, LB Julian Stanford and TE Matt Veldman.
3/13/2014 The Detroit Lions sign Unrestricted Free Agents DE Darryl Tapp and WR Golden Tate.
3/19/2014 The Detroit Lions sign FB Jed Collins.
3/21/2014 The Detroit Lions sign DT Andre Fluellen.
4/4/2014 The Detroit Lions sign T J.B. Shugarts.
4/4/2014 The Detroit Lions sign Unrestricted Free Agent QB Dan Orlovsky.
4/7/2014 The Detroit Lions sign WR Jeremy Ross and CB Cassius Vaughn.
4/14/2014 The Detroit Lions claim DE Kourtnei Brown from the Buffalo Bills.
4/15/2014 The Detroit Lions re-sign CB Rashean Mathis.
4/21/2014 The Detroit Lions sign CB Aaron Hester and CB Nate Ness.
4/22/2014 The Detroit Lions sign DE George Johnson.
4/25/2014 The Detroit Lions sign C Sherman Carter and WR Naaman Roosevelt.

The Lions currently have just over $1 million in cap space available and 77 players signed (by my calculations). See my Lions salary cap sheet at http://thenetrat.com/salarycap.html (Click on the 2014 cap link). However, they can still make some free agency moves if they so desire as only the top 51 contracts count until the season starts and there are more salary cap saving moves they could make if they really needed to. They are also working on a contract extension for Ndamukong Suh which if successful would lock him up for years and likely reduce his 2014 salary (freeing up salary cap space). Even if this doesn't happen the team may want to add some players after the draft to finish filling out the roster but they won't be big names or big contracts, perhaps players nearing the end of their careers who the Lions can get one more good year out of (for example). Who they will need to sign will depend on the results of the draft, for the Lions do not have any idea how the draft will fall or what needs will fail to be filled during it. The Lions will not rank their needs and target players to fill them in any kind of order during the draft, do not expect the biggest need to be filled in round 1, the 2nd biggest need to be filled in round 2, etc. When the Lions are on the clock they will have anywhere from just a couple to maybe a dozen players ranked similarly and will choose who to draft from that group... and it will be someone who has a good chance of making the final 53 roster (meaning they won't draft a player if there is no roster spot for him to fill). Some members of my forum call this BAPTFAN (Best Available Player That Fills Any Need). My forum can be found at http://badnetrat.proboards.com/board/1/lions.

To illustrate this, the Lions have at Quarterback their starter Matthew Stafford. So a starting QB will not be drafted (which is what you would attempt to get in the early rounds of the draft). The 3rd string QB is Kellen Moore and it's entirely possible the Lions will draft a developmental QB later in the draft to compete with Kellen Moore for that roster spot. It would have to be someone who is ranked higher then Moore and the draft would have to fall in such a way that that player ended up as one of the best players still available... and it would be in a very late round. If it happens it happens, if it doesn't then Moore remains the 3rd sting QB but might still be pushed for his roster spot by an undrafted free agent or some vet player the team picks up after the draft. The point is the Lions won't draft a QB early to compete against Moore as he's a 3rd stringer, won't draft a QB if he isn't at some point a member of the highest ranked group when they are on the clock, and won't draft a QB if he has no chance of beating out Moore for the roster spot.

After studying the salary cap chart, the current roster and the draft rankings (more on that in part II of this blog) I can foresee the Lions taking the following positions in the draft:

Rounds 1 through 3; OLB, S, WR, TE, and/or a DT (in no particular order)
Rounds 4 through 7; C, K, QB and two of whichever of the first 5 mentioned in the previous group that didn't get selected in the first two days of the draft (also in no particular order). I'm having a hard time seeing the Lions draft a cornerback, they already have 10 on the roster and I can easily see 6 of those making the final 53 without adding anyone from the draft. Of course, I said much the same last year only to watch them draft a CB in round 2 (Slay) so perhaps it will be a CB after all and one of the other positions may not be taken instead (such as K or QB).

They will be active in the undrafted group after the draft as well, for they should have around 5 roster spots left to fill to get to 90 and the draft may not fall the way it needs to for the above to happen.

To see my current estimated depth chart go to http://www.theNetRat.com/depthchart.html and select the 2014 chart, be sure to go to the tab marked pre-draft (the third tab).

To see my draft big board with the Lions visits highlighted be sure to re-visit here in a few days for part II.

The [new] Detroit Lions Coaching Staff 2014

On December 30th my blog summarized my thoughts on the Detroit Lions front office and coaching staff. Now that 3 weeks have gone by some results are in. First, the front office is intact (more or less) for another off season. Second, the top of the coaching staff is being replaced (except for the Special Teams coach). Third, the new coaching staff sees the exact same thing I saw in Stafford's footwork and has stated it will be corrected. And finally, the front office has stated the goal is to win, now, not rebuild for some unspecified year in the future. On paper, that sounds REAL good.

The Lions fired the 2013 head coach Jim Schwartz and replaced him with Jim Caldwell. Jim turned 59 years old 5 days ago (January 16th) and has been a head coach twice, once from 1993-2000 for Wake Forest and then from 2009-2011 for the Indianapolis Colts. He was a quarterback coach and a wide receivers coach for many years, as well as an offensive coordinator. While his quarterbacks (and passing offense) has been rather good many times, his run game and record aren't exactly anything to write home about. You can learn a lot of facts by reading everything at this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Caldwell_(American_football) about him. There is a lot of good put in print about Jim Caldwell thus far, he's saying all the right things, but let's not kid ourselves, all new coaches look good on paper.

The Lions did not retain Scott Linehan, the 2013 offensive coordinator. Today they replaced him with Joe Lombardi, grandson of the man the Superbowl trophy is named after (how awesome is that?). Joe was an offensive coordinator only once, for Mercyhurst College 2002-2005. He has been a position coach on both sides of the ball, details of which can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Lombardi_(American_football). He was the OC for the Saints when Caldwell's Colts lost to the Saints in the Superbowl in 2010. He's never been an offensive coordinator in the NFL, but every NFL coach has had a first time job at some point in their past. On paper, this coach looks like a great hire by Caldwell for the Lions.

The Lions also replaced the 2013 defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham with Teryl Austin, another first time NFL coordinator. He was the DC for the Florida Gators in 2010. He has 3 years as an NFL coach, all with the Baltimore Ravens and all as the secondary coach. His resume can found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teryl_Austin. On paper, his resume seems a little shorter then most, but Caldwell knows him from his time as the Ravens OC, so there is that.

The Special Teams coordinator for the Detroit Lions was retained, along with 7 others. For all the coaching changes please visit http://www.prideofdetroit.com/2014/1/16/5316120/detroit-lions-coaching-staff-tracker-2014

New to the 2014 staff (so far):
Jim Caldwell (head coach)
Joe Lombardi (offensive coordinator)
Ron Prince (tight ends/assistant head coach)
Teryl Austin (defensive coordinator)
Bill Sheridan (linebackers coach)

Back from the 2013 staff:
Curtis Modkins (running backs coach)
Jeremiah Washburn (offensive line coach)
Bobby Johnson (assistant offensive line coach)
Terry Heffernan (offensive assistant)
Kris Kocurek (defensive line coach)
Jim Washburn (assistant defensive line coach)
John Bonamego (special teams coordinator)
Evan Rothstein (quality control/special teams)

Gone from the 2013 staff:
Jim Schwartz (head coach)
Scott Linehan (offensive coordinator)
Todd Downing (quarterbacks coach)
Tim Lappano (wide receivers coach)
Kyle Valero (offensive assistant)
Gunther Cunningham (defensive coordinator)
Matt Burke (linebackers coach)
Bradford Banta (assistant linebackers coach)

What does all this mean? Well, we don't know. No one does. Jim Caldwell has stated the Lions will no longer shoot themselves in the foot, that he would be working on the basics along with situational awareness, and that Matthew Stafford's footwork was going to be a priority. He also said he wanted coordinators that were talented and able to coach, well. On paper, this is fantastic. What we can't discern is if the run game will continue to improve or go backwards, whether the run defense will remain top 5 in the league or get worse, whether the passing game of the O and the D will improve, and what old bad habits will resurface with the new coaching staff. The front office has stated they do not intend to rebuild, that they expect results sooner rather then later, and that all jobs had a set of criteria about them that had to be fulfilled with whichever candidates they picked. Once again, on paper, that sounds great, but will it work?

Just a side note if you will, I had hoped the new Lions head coach would be O'Brien, the Texans new head coach. Most believe the Lions first choice for their HC job was Whisenhunt, the Titans new head coach. It will be interesting to watch these 3 teams (Texans, Titans, and the Lions) as they all move forward from here. I know I will be.

2013 Game 16 - Detroit Lions @ Minnesota Vikings

Changes

The Lions finish the season with a 7-9 record after losing to the Minnesota Vikings 13-14. If I read a tweet correctly the Lions held the lead in 13 of 16 games this year in the 4th quarter only to finish below .500 for the 4th time in 5 years with the current coaching staff. I believe it's safe to say some changes will be forthcoming in that regard.

The Owners of the Lions are not changing, and it's a matter of some debate as to how much input the owners have in the hiring and firing at the top of the organization. Yes they have all the big decisions run by them, but the hires and fires should be pretty much decided upon prior to that meeting. I will base my following comments on that assumption.

The President of the Lions should be in charge of making sure the front office does it's job, that Ford Field is run properly, that Allen Park is stocked and utilized correctly, and that all matters promotional, legal and otherwise are done to the owners satisfaction. I am not certain if Lewand has failed in any of these matters, but if the team is organized properly then he should have made the decision on whether to keep Mayhew and others in the front office some time ago. If that decision meets or met with the owners' approval then we should know relatively soon what the outcome was if we don't already know.

The GM (Martin Mayhew) as I previously stated is being criticized by some for the talent on the Lions team. Others applaud him for the same talent. It's difficult to judge him since the 2013 draft may just prove to be his best draft ever. Was it a fluke? Is he learning to do it right finally? Can he do it again and again? If your plan is to build the team through the draft you need to draft very very well. With the Lions cap situation being what it is, the need to build through the draft is pretty much the only avenue open to the team now, so once again I assume things are going as planned (finally). Will Mayhew be replaced? I am uncertain if that change will occur. I am also uncertain if I have a problem with that or not... for I did like the 2013 draft quite a bit and think another like it would certainly help the team greatly. Does Lewand still have confidence in Mayhew? Is he even the one making the decisions at this point in time (he should be, so that he is accountable for the results).

The Head Coach (Jim Schwartz) is on the hot seat, and rightly so. There are some matters that perhaps those below him are not handling correctly but he has the job of correcting those before they become an issue, and that oversight has not occurred. The GM above him should be acquiring the talent, he and his staff should be developing the talent and finding ways to win on game day... putting his roster of players into the best situations to win. There are several trains of thought here too, the lesser is that he IS developing the talent and IS putting the team in the best situation to win but due to lack of talent the players are not getting the job done. The next is that the first time head coach is not developing talent correctly or is actually allowing matters to be such that he is in the way of the talent winning games. Yet another is that the talent is there, is being properly developed, is put in the best situation to win, but is not executing for whatever reason. I find the last to be highly unlikely, nearly as much as the first. To keep his job it would seem to me that the 3rd reason is the only one that works... but there is one more possibility, it's actually in excess of 12 million reasons... that is the amount of his salary that the Lions will reportedly have to pay him to fire him... and that doesn't even count all the other coaches under contract who the new coach may not retain... so the actual cost to the Lions (as in to the Ford's) is many millions of dollars more then $12 million. If Jim Schwartz remains the head coach of the Lions I think you can pretty much count the reasons in dollar bills, if you have a lot of time to do the counting.

The Special Teams coordinator I feel did a pretty good job this year. I hope that no matter what happens he is retained.

Gunther Cunningham, the defensive coordinator, hasn't produced a stellar defense and many question the strict use of the wide 9 defensive scheme... I myself like to see the blitzes and when he does blitz it does seem to work better for the team... but I don't know who is preventing the use of blitzes, or who is forcing them to use blitzes, or why the talent level of the defense hasn't been adequately addressed, or if it has, why it is not producing. Oh, I have many suspicions but nothing definite... and truth to tell, neither does anyone else. Just because we don't know for sure who is forcing what issues and why does not mean we can't have our own likes and dislikes, and I like to attack, I hate cover 2, I hate prevent, and I hate not playing man coverage (allowing for more blitzing). If Gunny is retained I surely hope to see some more permanent changes to the defensive scheme.

The Offensive coordinator (Scott Linehan) appears to be the biggest problem with the team. Many question his play calling, others his scheme, some the lack of his usage of rookies unless forced to, then there are the lack of results. I have issues with all of that and more. Since Linehan is also the QB coach, and since the QB is failing to use correct footwork (more on this in a moment) I have no problem at all saying he has failed as a QB coach. I also hate a scheme (or playbook, or whatever you want to call it) that prevents the WRs from stopping in their routes and heading back towards the QB when he is in trouble. The Lions WRs never ever do this, other teams do it all the time. I can only assume the OC does not allow for this fire drill type of route(s). I also do not approve of running 80% in the shotgun (or more). I have issue with clock management when the team has the lead, and I have issue with the scheme being totally ineffective unless both CJ and Bush (or similar weapons) are healthy and playing. Lastly, I have issue with the Lions never attacking a found weakness during a game, adjusting during the game to players injured or to opposing defenses adjustments. In fact, I have so many issues with Linehan as the OC I truly hope he is unemployed within the next 24 to 48 hours.

The quarterback (Matthew Stafford) is wildly inaccurate. I do not care about his sidearm throws. I do not care about his gunslinger attitude. What irks me to no end is his complete and total irregard for proper footwork. When he steps into his throws, and his feet are more or less pointing towards the WR, he is as accurate as any QB in the NFL. When he overthrows by many feet if you replay in slo-mo and concentrate on his feet you will usually find he is backing up, moving sideways, or has his front foot pointing ANYWHERE but at the intended target. He will never be accurate enough to be an elite QB while doing this. It is his QB coach's responsibility to work with him on this issue, and I'm not talking about one time, but ALL the time, every day, every week, every month, every season. No elite QB ever stops working on his footwork and thus his throwing accuracy. Ball placement is responsible for the loss of many a Lions game in 2012 and 2013, even if not the reason for the loss its'self then surely for the inability of the team to overcome whatever the reason for the loss turned out to be.

The WR corp has issues with drops, and fumbles. I attribute this to frustrated players trying to do too much. I don't know who they are frustrated with though, the QB, the coaching, both, themselves? Whatever the real reason(s) the coaching staff has proven not to be able to fix it (other then benching said problem makers, well, benching most of them but not all of them, another coaching issue I have).

I can go on and on, and I probably will, but until I see what decisions are made as far as retaining coaches and front office personnel in the next few days I won't know if I am wasting my time. I could easily write a very long blog about each brief paragraph from above, so I think I shall save all that for future weeks of blog material.

I'll wrap up this entry with this quick summary, the one change I am most keenly awaiting is the removal of Linehan from the Lions organization. If for any reason Schwartz doesn't do that then he should go forthwith, but after seeing his behavior after regulation time in game 15 I think his time as head coach is likely over with anyway. I assume a new coaching staff will interview all the other existing coaches before dismissing anyone to see who they wish to retain saving the Lions a lot of money and keeping some continuity perhaps speeding up the hoped for turnaround of the team. I can live with the front office for another year but if their 2014 draft isn't as good as or better then 2013 then I feel changes will need to be made there too... if those changes are about to happen now, I pray the new front office is at least as capable as the old one, going backwards now is just too much to take.

2013 Game 15 - New York Giants @ Home (no longer in playoff contention)

It's over.

The Detroit Lions lost in overtime to the New York Giants 20-23 ending any chance the Lions had at making the playoffs this year. Just a month and a half ago they were sitting at 6-3 with a 75% chance of going into the post season in what appeared to be an easy walk into the playoffs... the words Super Bowl were even mentioned here and there from various people. Those murmurs were quieted, then drowned out, then forgotten completely over the past few weeks. The 7-8 Lions have lost 5 games out of the past 6, 3 of them home games. They do have a few players playing hurt and a couple who missed a game here or there, but for the most part, the Lions are the healthy team in the north, and still they couldn't win their way into the playoffs. There is still one more away game in Minnesota to go, but this season is over.

The offense was playing so bad that coach Jim Schwartz let the clock run out at the end of regulations despite there being 23 seconds on the clock and having 2 timeouts. Plenty of time for up to 4 plays (or more) and to get into field goal range to win the game, instead the Lions ran out the clock to get into overtime. While the crowd reacted (properly I might add) with a chorus of boos, Schwartz appeared to yell back angrily at the fans. An perfect image of a head coach at the end of his ability.

Matt Stafford was a putrid 25 of 42 for 222 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. He continually throws off his back foot with his front foot pointing in any which direction and maintains there is nothing wrong with his mechanics. I'm sorry, but when you continually miss receivers who are in excess of 6' 4" tall, sometimes missing them by many feet, when you are sailing your throws, and you are doing it with fair regularity, it's because your mechanics suck.

When your coach fails to take corrective action, or perhaps even fails to note such issues, then it's time for change. The Lions can not trade Matthew Stafford nor can they cut him until sometime after 2015 (probably 2017 at the earliest) due to his extended contract (and corresponding cap hit)... therefor it is mandatory that help be brought in. Coaching help. In addition to the QB play, the offense fails to execute many of the basics on a regular basis... once again pointing to the need for a coaching change. It's possible the Lions won't want to lose out on the millions of dollars (reportedly to exceed $12 million) to fire Schwartz, but if he is kept on then a new offensive coordinator is the very minimum that must occur... but to be honest, after watching this game, I am pretty sure it's over for Schwartz as well.

Assuming the Lions do replace the head coach, every person associated with the team will be evaluated by the new coaching staff as it is built and a great deal of change should be forthcoming. Nothing in the past 50+ years of the franchise suggests the results from this change will be positive, correct, or in any way helpful... but to not make the attempt is just not really an option. I will have to go more into that later, for now, there is still a lame duck game remaining against the Vikings in Minnesota next week. The results of which don't matter, for this season is over, but since the game will be played regardless, I shall predict the Lions lose by 3 scores. I believe a fairly large number of starters will not be playing in the game (due to injury). There is no reason for the guys nursing bad knees to play, the season is over, so be prepared to watch the backups play, and for many, it will be their last game as a Detroit Lion (this goes for players and coaches alike).

2013 Game 14 - Baltimore Ravens @ Home (losing the division lead)

All the above.

The Lions lose the Ravens game at home 16-18 and lose control of winning the division by going to 7-7, behind the Bears and Packers. Before this game all they needed to do was win 3 games in a row to finish and no one could take the playoffs away from them, even giving them a home game the first week. Now they need both the Bears and the Packers to lose one game out of the next two and also the Lions need to win their last 2 games to win the division. If they do not win the division they do not make the playoffs. Lions have now lost 4 of their last 5 games.

Stafford was a putrid 18 of 34 for 235 yards 1 TD and 3 INTs. He was highly inaccurate throughout the game, and indeed, throughout the season. When he does throw correctly no one is more accurate, but just about as often he is off, by a few feet in most cases, often with disastrous results. Yes, it's true, his WRs drop passes, more then they should, but even the passes they catch are often bailing Stafford out instead of being on target... so that evens out. (Whether you like to hear that or not). But Stafford was not at fault for losing this game.

The Officiating earns second spot in tonight's blog. Phantom calls before the half allowed the Ravens to get one of their field goals, and another probably cost the Lions 4 points in the 2nd half. There were a couple of none calls that might have helped the Lions late in the game, but the right side line judge was for most of the game very one sided, and he apparently is a Raven's fan (or at least should be, still, if not, the Ravens are now a fan of his). But the officiating was not at fault for losing this game.

The Lions defense allowed 222 yards through the air and another 90 yards on the ground. They gave up 6 field goals (the last one being nearly 61 yards for the lead and eventual win). They did not give up a touchdown though. They in fact held Flacco to fewer yards then Stafford had. However, they created zero turnovers. But the Lions defense was not at fault for losing this game.

The Lions coaching staff had timeouts remaining when the Ravens were held to a 4th down and facing a 61 yard field goal attempt or possibly going for it on 4th down. The Lions did not call a timeout to give them more time in case the field goal was made and allowed time to drain off the clock. I have no issue with that as who's to say the Ravens weren't going to go for it and calling a time out would've allowed them time to think over the play. What I do have a small issue with is some of the plays called prior to the Lions retaking the lead. Scoring from roughly the 24 yard line when they could've gone for a 1st down and drained more clock... I get that it's harder to score the needed TD as you get closer to the goal line but time was as much the enemy as not scoring. Anyway, it wasn't the coaching staff's fault this game was lost.

Various other players messed up here and there throughout the game solidly putting them in the "not helpful" category. Penalties that were legit could've been avoided... tackles missed could've been made... blocks missed shouldn't have been. And so the story goes, but these small additions to the awkward playing style of the Lions was not the reason the game was lost.

No, no the reason the game was lost, the blame can be solidly placed, on ALL THE ABOVE. From coaching to QB play, from offense to defense to special teams to officiating, you can blame all of the above and call it a night.

One could even say (and SHOULD say) that if the Lions don't make the playoffs (and the odds are very bad as of now) that this game wasn't the reason, but any of the close losses during the season that should've been wins putting the Lions out of reach in these last few weeks was the problem. The lack of focus. The penalties. The lack of making the QB better throughout the season (read as no QB coach). Losing the momentum that was there prior to the bye week. On and on and on I could go. The Lions lost this game but more importantly, they lost the probability of making the playoffs not tonight, but over the past 5 weeks, multiple times. You can say it's a team that doesn't know how to be successful, or afraid of success, or lacking discipline, and someone somewhere will say "all the above" and probably not be wrong.

The Lions have 2 games left, they must win both and the Bears and the Packers must each lose one game. The odds are long. I have to believe that the odds of the Lions coaching staff retaining their jobs should they not make the playoffs are equally poor, at least for some of them. After watching this game, after watching this season, and despite how much I despise the hiring process of a new coaching staff along with new schemes, new playbooks, and the general rebuilding that goes on when staff turnover happens... well, I have to join those calling for the coaching staff to be fired. I'm not sure it will happen as Schwartz received an extension not that long ago and firing him might be very expensive, too much for Ford to agree to... but that won't stop me from siding with those that believe this team can not win in (or get to) the playoffs because the coaching staff is having a negative impact on the talent that is on the team. To put it simply, they are not getting the job done!

Someone somewhere is going to tell me that maybe the coaching staff is doing a great job (or they will insist the Lions coaches are definitely doing a great job) and that the record would be much worse if these coaches weren't in place. If that's truly the case (and I do not believe it for a minute) then the talent isn't what we all think it is and therefor the GM should be fired along with others in the front office. Of course, if that happens, the new front office will replace the coaching staff anyway (because that's what new front offices do) and the blame means nothing then anyway.

So whether you think it's bad drafting and/or free agency, or coaching, or the players (which reflects back on the front office), or in most cases, all of the above, you are probably already asking for heads to roll, even though the Lions still have a long shot of making the playoffs (despite the coaching, or the talent, or the front office). I'm there with you, quietly for now, but will get louder in the coming weeks if what happens happens as I suspect it will.

My prediction for next week, a Lions win. A loss takes them out of the playoff picture pretty much completely (if not mathematically) so to drag this out to the last minute of the last quarter of the last game of the season, it is necessary for the Lions to win next week... and that is obviously what will happen, right? Of course it is.

2013 Game 13 - Detroit Lions @ Philadelphia Eagles (in the snow)

Poor.

The Detroit Lions go to 7-6 after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 20-34 today. The weather conditions were very poor, by half time there was around 8 inches of snow on the ground and most of the first half was played in white-out conditions. The Lions were up by a score of 8 to 0 at half time and appeared to have control of the game only to see it all go the opposite way in the second half. In fact, the Eagles scored 28 point in the 4th quarter alone. The only bright spot in the whole game was Ross's punt and kick returns for touchdowns, something a Lion hasn't done since the 70's.

Mathew Stafford was 10 of 25 for a 148 yards with no TD's and no INT's. He had 5 fumbles however to go along with 2 from Joique Bell. While Stafford's were bad, Bells probably cost the Lions 2 scores. It was a very poor showing just the same regardless of the weather.

The Lions defense held the Eagles to only 11 completions of their own... which was good. Unfortunately they also allowed 299 yards rushing... which was horrible. How they played so bad as the weather improved is something I don't think I will ever understand. It was simply a very poor showing.

I could spend a great deal of time complaining about the poor coaching, poor officiating, poor ball handling, poor run defense, poor luck, and anything else that was poor, but it just gets so tiring. Tiring to write, tiring to read. So instead, I think I'll just put this game behind and look towards the next one.

The next one being on Monday night football against the Baltimore Ravens. If the good Lions team shows up it could be a very good game and a win for Detroit, but the poor Lions team shows up it's going to be a massacre. So far this year it's been a 50/50 deal as to which team will show up, I'm hopeful the fact it's a national game will keep their collective heads in the game and limit the number of totally stupid issues that keep happening. Going with that line of thinking I shall predict the Lions win this next game by the same score they just lost by, 34-20.

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