| 28 August 2010
As I'm up to absolutely nothing on a Saturday night, here's my quick thoughts on tonight's 35-27 Lions victory over the Browns.
Jahvid Best: Is really, really good. Please direct me to his bandwagon, as I'm ready to jump on.
Those guys in white? They didn't have a chance against Best...
Kevin Smith: If you were on Twitter during the game, or listening to sports talk radio afterward, the fanbase wants Smith gone...tonight.
I will admit to be greatly annoyed by his fumble, which was returned for a touchdown. The one thing a back can't do is put the ball on the turf. His lack of speed was glaring, especially after watching Best leave burn marks on the field behind him, and even Aaron Brown, who played very well himself...be it against the Browns' 2nd team.
Average yards per carry also says something about Smith, and it isn't good.
- Jahvid Best: 1-51, 51.0 YPC
- Aaron Brown: 5-34, 6.8
- Jerome Felton: 6-37, 6.1
- DeDe DorseyDorsey: 2-9, 4.5
- Kevin Smith: 8-20, 2.5
- Maurice Morris: 2-4, 2.0
Smith had the most carries, yet the worst YPC average. Even bruising fullback Jerome Felton looked better than Smith when carrying the ball. (Felton will definitely get carries this season, he's looked that good)
But before we start writing Smith off, let's remember something. He's coming off of a severe knee injury. I was surprised Smith was ready at the start of camp...as were the Lions. The concern I have is, did Smith come back too early? By his seemingly losing a step, the answer maybe yes.
Let's give Smith the benefit of the doubt, and let him get healthier over the next few weeks. Smith does the little things a back has to do, namely pick up a blitz and catch the ball out of the backfield, better than any of the backs on the roster. That ability has got to be worth keeping, right?
Penalties: The 2nd quarter was God awful when it came to penalties. Gosder Cherilus' holding call nullified a wonderful 50 yard pass play from Matt Stafford to Nate Burleson. Ndamukong Suh and Kyle Vanden Bosch extended Browns' drives with personal foul calls (Suh with a facemask on Jake Delhomme and Vanden Bosch hit Delhomme on the helmet). An offensive pass interference call on Burleson caused a Lions' drive to stall. It was not one of the Lions' finer exhibitions of football.
Jim Schwartz nailed it when interviewed at the end of the quarter, saying, "We played crappy football."
If there's one thing about the Detroit Lions that drives me to total distraction, it's their penchant to commit stupid penalties. It doesn't matter who is coaching, or who is wearing the uniform...over the decades, the Honolulu blue and silver brings out the utter boneheadedness in players.
Louis Delmas: Was on the field for 21 snaps. It's a start.
Amari Spievey: The 3rd round pick looked good on a safety blitz, sacking Seneca Wallace. But it was the only time he made a play. There were also missed tackles and getting beat on coverage. The Lions don't think Spievey can cover as a corner. So they moved him to safety...where he's being badly outplayed by...
Randy Phillips: The Lions may have whiffed on Spievey, but Phillips continues to impress. The undrafted free agent out of the U had 6 tackles and a forced fumble. This kid better make the team. Phillips is always around the ball, and makes plays. Speaking of making plays...
Willie Young: The 7th round pick did it again. For the 2nd week in a row, Young sacked the quarterback and seperated him from the ball. The young defensive end stopped a Browns 4th quarter drive when he sacked Browns' quarterback Colt McCoy, stripping him in the process, allowing Landon Johnson to recover the fumble. The turnover led to a Aaron Brown touchdown run.
Willie Young doesn't like quarterbacks...
When it comes to Young, I'm going to let Armchair Linebacker speak for me, as quoted on Twitter:
I WANT MY WILLIE YOUNG AND I WANT HIM NOW.
Attendance: The announced attendance was 36K. Trust me, that was complete BS. Ford Field was not just empty, it was EMPTY. Wide swaths of empty seats could be seen on the NFL Network broadcast. Yes, it was only an exhibition game. But the Lions' fanbase, what's left of it after essentially being pissed all over during the Matt Million error, is taking a "Show me" attitude with this franchise.
Burned once, shame on you. 3rd degree burned for a decade, you're a Lions fan.
Drew Stanton: There's one thing a quarterback shouldn't do when trying to run out the clock in the 4th quarter with a eight point lead. Fumble the ball...which Stanton did. The Lions recovered, but Jebus...DON'T DO THAT!
Dan Gronkowski: The 2nd year tight end does nothing but catch the ball. Every single time. If the Lions are going to run a two tight end offense as much as they claim, Gronk needs to make the roster. Even if they don't, Gronk needs to make the roster.
Derrick Williams: His night? One catch for eight yards, and is apparently no longer a part of the return game. Williams did, for lack of a better term, dick. What's with Mayhew and 3rd round selections?
Overall: The offense wasn't quite as good as they were in the first two exhibition games, but they still showed plenty. They were better in the red zone as well, which was a nice change of pace. But much of why the offense didn't put up numbers on the scoreboard was due the defense's inability to get off the field.
Jake Delhomme carved up the Lions defense to the tune of 20-25-152-1 TD. That's a completion percentage of 80%, and a 105.3 QB rating. Both unaccepable. This is the same Delhomme who was so damn awful in Carolina last season, they couldn't get rid of him fast enough. And the Lions' defense couldn't get him off the field.
The back seven is really, truly that damn bad. The defensive line is trying to do too much to cover for the back seven, committing penalties of aggressiveness.
The Lions will win some games this season. But they may have...no...they WILL have to outscore teams in shootouts, as the defense is one in name only. The back seven will be the Lions' Achilles heel all season long.
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