Thursday, August 29, 2013

Lions close out preseason with a dismantling of shorthanded Bills.

The 2013 preseason is officially in the books for the Lions, they finish with a 3-1 record after a 35-13 win over the Buffalo Bills.  While we know preseason records are meaningless, there's still a lot at stake in each individual battle on every snap.  We don't want to get too carried away, but there's plenty of observations that can be made based on what we've seen so far.  Starting with the negative, though as a caveat, all these observations end in "...but its the preseason."  Things like:

Stafford hasn't been sharp so far...
The wide receivers haven't separated much and have dropped some passes...
All those stupid penalties...
The secondary has been burned too often...


...But its the preseason.  A lot will change when the Vikings come to town next Sunday, and we will see if these are trends or just preseason hiccups.  I believe the most notable difference we will see with Stafford and the wide receivers is the return of Calvin Johnson to the line-up.  We've all heard it a hundred times before, Megatron is a huge target, he has to be double teamed at all times, and he opens up the field for everyone else.  The fact is, it's all absolutely true.  With Johnson on the field, Broyles and Burleson are now playing against second and third corners instead of Joe Haden and Aquib Talib.  Reggie Bush now has more room underneath to run wild and Pettigrew has more space in the middle to try and hang onto the ball.  Also, Stafford is completing passes to the 6'5 Johnson he isn't completing to the 5'8 Edwards.

As far as the secondary is concerned, I think the New England game was a good example of what we will see a lot of this year.  There's going to be some completed passes against our group of corners, safeties and linebackers, but they will also be in far more situations this year to make plays on the ball and create turnovers.
 
All in all, while there are obviously areas of opportunity, we've seen some good things from this Lions team during the preseason.  I'll get into my season prediction and the break down of the Vikings game next week but for now, with the final round of roster cuts due Saturday, here are my projections as to what the Lions final 53 will look like:

Offense (25)
QB - Stafford, Hill, Moore
RB - Bush, Bell, Leshoure, Riddick
WR - Johnson, Burleson, Broyles, Edwards, Willis
TE - Pettigrew, Scheffler, Fauria, Williams
OT - Reiff, Fox, Hilliard, Waddle
OG - Sims, Warford, Gandy, Austin
C - Raiola


Defense (24)
DE - Ansah, Jones, Young, Idonije, Taylor
DT - Suh, Fairley, Mosley, Bannan
OLB - Levy, Palmer, Mcintosh, Whitehead
ILB - Tulloch, Lewis
CB - Houston, Slay, Bentley, Mathis, Bartell
S - Delmas, Quinn, Carey, Wendling, Spievey


Special Teams (4)
K - Akers
P - Martin
KR - Miller
LS -Muhlbach


Last 5 in:
Speivey, Fauria, Mcintosh, Miller, Williams


Last 5 out:
Durham, Greenwood, Scott, Green, Spurlock


edit: MLive's 53 man roster projection

A few notes about the Buffalo game and the Roster:

  • Edwards showed some flashes tonight of how explosive he can be.  He still needs to be more consistent, but if he is your 4th or 5th guy that's fine.  You can't teach that kind of speed and agility he demonstrated, stiff arming his way around the defender into the end zone.
  • Burleson still looks rusty, I think both Broyles and Reggie bush end up with more receptions and yards then Burleson this year. 
  • Darius Slay made a great play running down the sideline and locating the ball before batting it away.  He has earned his starting spot against the Vikings.
  • Bill Bentley finally got his act together tonight.  I really think the success of the secondary will be determined on the play of Slay and Bentley.
  • Fauria can do everything Tony Scheffler can.
  • Willis has outplayed Durham for the 5th WR spot but Durham has the size advantage and with Burleson, Broyles and Edwards all being smaller receivers, I was tempted to keep Durham.  Unfortunately, I think Durham's potential concussion costs him a roster spot. 
  • I think Joique Bell could start for some teams out there.  If you give him any semblance of a hole it's almost an automatic 5+ yard gain the way he gets north and south and finishes runs. He could be a 1,000 yard back for a team that doesn't throw the ball 50 times a game.
  • Rashean Mathis looks to have won a spot as the dime.  His versatility to play inside, outside and maybe even some safety is a welcome addition.
  • I like Theo Riddick's potential to be a hybrid slot receiver.  I actually prefer him to Leshoure based on his explosiveness, route running, and hands and I don't think he's that far behind as a runner.
  • Kellen Moore has been impressive the past two weeks.  It's hard to keep that third QB with so many other players on the bubble but he has earned it.
  • Have not been impressed with Ron Bartell who was battling Jonte Green for the 5th corner spot but I think Green has gone into the witness protection program because I haven't seen him since what feels like last season.  So Bartell gets the spot by default?
  • Miller looks to have won the kick return duties.
  • I think the Lions hold on to an extra safety, giving Spievey one of the last roster spots.  He can thank Loius Delmas.
  • One of the most impressive things I've seen this preseason is the depth the Lions have this year.  Second teamers like Hill, Waddle, Hilliard, Fauria, Bell, Young, Taylor, Idonije, Mcintosh, Mathis, Speivey, Carey...these are guys that probably would have been starting for the lions a few years ago.  If and when injuries happen, we shouldn't see a major drop off in production this season.  
  • That obviously that doesn't include Calvin....hes probably the only guy that's irreplaceable.

That's all for tonight. Time to get ready for the Vikings!

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Welcome One and All

Ladies and gents, welcome.  You've come to a place where opinions and emotions run strong and deep.  Where utter triumph and complete heartbreak are separated by fractions of inches, seconds or an incompetent official.  Yes, over time you will inevitably come to accept my absolute disdain for all things referee, but I digress.  This is a place where I will be commenting on, predicting and analyzing all things Detroit sports.  We're entering into an era here in the "D" where expectations and talent collectively for the Lions, Tigers, Pistons, and Wings has never been higher.  So from now until next June we should be in store for plenty of fun and entertainment, and I'm sure some gut wrenching too.  Check back often as I plan on keeping everyone informed and engaged regularly and if you've got opinions of your own, bring it!!  My first post will be this Friday, as I will be predicting what I think the Lions 53 man roster should look like.