Week 6 preview and prediction: Lions vs Browns

The outcome of this game isn't as simple as figuring out if one person is playing or not, but it could be.  If Calvin Johnson does not suit up again this week as the Lions travel to Cleveland to face the surging Browns, Detroit will be hard pressed to score enough points against a stingy Browns defense to win the game.  If Calvin is in the line up, that doesn't make playing the Browns easier, but it makes winning the game a possibility.  Cleveland's offense had been improved with Brian Hoyer taking over at quarterback and Willis Mcgahee taking over in the backfield after the Browns traded away Trent Richardson.  However, Hoyer suffered a knee injury that ended his season on Thursday night in week 5, so the Browns once again hand the ball the Brandon Weeden, and there lies the Lions path to victory.  The Lions faced the Browns in a preseason game and were thrashed by the Browns offense and Weeden, but the Lions seemed to be holding something back, knowing these teams would meet in the regular season.  Weeden has been sacked 16 times in the three games he's played, has thrown three picks and fumbled twice.  If the Lions pressure Weeden with their front four, the defense might score enough points to win this game for Detroit.  In the preseason meeting, and thus far early in the regular season, Browns tight end Jordan Cameron has played about as well as any tight end not named Jimmy Graham, or not playing in Denver.  Cameron has more catches and touchdowns then Calvin Johnson, and is averaging more yards per game, that's pretty impressive.  With Weeden and Johnson both in the line up for their respective teams, Detroit has the clear advantage, but if CJ cant go, this game will be close.  Here are 5 keys to watch:

Pressure Weeden: 
We mentioned Weeden's propensity for being sacked and that will have to be the game plan for Detroit defense.  The Detroit defensive front is one of the most terrorizing in the NFL without question but last week they were burned with draw plays and a scrambling quarterback.  Weeden is not nearly as mobile as Aaron Rodgers in escaping the pocket so Detroit should get home more often this week.  Weeden only completes about 54% of his passes and the Lions have had success making big plays on defense this year against inaccurate or pressured quarterbacks. 

Consistency from secondary play makers: 
Regardless if Calvin is playing or not, Detroit's backs, receivers, and tight ends need to catch the balls that hit them in the hands in order to sustain drives to score points, something they did not do last week in Green bay, recording five dropped passes.  With Tony Scheffler missing the game with concussion issues, Joseph Fauria and Ryan Broyles should see increased roles and they are two of the Lions most sure handed players.  Reggie Bush and Joique Bell need to grind out yards on the ground, avoiding negative plays, and Scott Linehan needs to create miss matches in the passing game to exploit Bush more.   

Win first and second down:  The Lions 3rd down defense was not as strong as it had been all year against the Packers last week because the Packers ran the ball effectively on 1st and 2nd down to set up manageable 3rd down opportunities. Willis Mcgahee has been the primary ball the past two weeks for the Browns but has not been very successful running the ball, averaging just 2.6 yards per carry.  If the Lions can create third and long situations, the Browns only convert 34% on third down as it is, and the browns don't have a lot of playmakers that will consistently sustain drives, much like the Lions without CJ and Burleson.     

Detroits Offensive line:  This seems to be a broken record, but Detroit's offensive line did not play as well as they had all year last week against the Packers and will need to be better if the lions hope to win in Cleveland.  The Browns defense is strong across the board ranking 4th in the NFL having given up just over 300 yards of offense and just 18.8 points per game.  However, Cleveland has faced only one top 10 offense all year, Minnesota in week 3, and gave up 27 points.  Cleveland has 18 sacks this season, tying them for third in the NFL and that's been a big reason they have only allowed 206 passing yards against per game.  Detroit's offensive line is going to have to be better opening holes in the running game to take the pressure off Stafford, as well as giving him the protection and time he needs to throw the ball.  I think the rushing total will again be indicative of how the Lions offense, and line, is playing.  If the Lions can run for 100 yards, they will have a good shot to score enough points to win, if they are in the 70 yard range, this game will look just like last week.  

Punting and field position:  This could be an ugly offensive game, especially if CJ is out.  The Lions special teams has been much better the last three games and Sam Martin has emerged as one of the best punters in the league just five games into his career.  Martin is averaging 49.5 yards per kick, 2nd best in the NFL and the coverage units have a done a great job as the Lions lead the NFL with a punting net gain of 47.1 yards.  The Browns are second in the NFL with a 15.1 yard punt return average, so which ever team can control the field position while Detroit is punting could play a huge role in determining the outcome as in a low scoring game, field position can make all the difference.  The browns are averaging just 40.8 yards net gain per punt while Detroit has averaged 9.5 yards per punt return.

Game Notes:

• Speaking of Jimmy Graham, he is leading the NFL in receiving yards with through 5 weeks with 593 yards, which puts him on pace for a 1897 yard season.  We will keep an eye on Calvin's record if Graham keeps having big weeks.
• Injury news for Detroit, Scheffler is out, Jason Fox is doubtful, and Riddick is out.  Cory Hilliard would get the start for Fox at right tackle.
• The browns Jabaal Sheard is questionable, if the Browns were to lose him up front that would be a huge blow to their defensive front 7.
• The winner of this game moves to 4-2 and would be in good shape to play meaningful games in December.
• This is the first of back to back games vs the AFC North for Detroit as they host Cincinnati next week.
• This will be the Lions 4th road game of the season, against only 2 home games thus far.  If the Lions come out of that stretch 4-2, they will like their chances the rest of the way with 6 games still to be played at Ford Field.    

Prediction:  Assuming CJ plays, the Lions win ugly, 20-13.

Lions miss Johnson, lose in Green Bay 22-9.

The game started, some men ran around on a field while others tried to tackle them, then they stopped.  Is this blog boring you yet, because I'm really trying to get the feel of the first half of the Lions and Packers  game from Sunday into words.  That was a brutally boring first half, neither team was able to accomplish anything of significance and the Lions were especially inept on offense.  If you would have told me Detroit was going to hold Green Bay to 22 points at Lambeau, I would have told you Detroit wins two-thirds of those games.  However, when the news broke that Calvin Johnson was going to be out, there was just a sense that the Lions had no chance to win this game, and all the history behind it.  But throughout this week when people asked me if I was upset about the game, I responded by simply saying no.  For what Detroit had on the field, I didn't expect much more.  The offensive line played below average for the first time all year.  The receivers dropped passes but when you target Tony Scheffler and Kris Durham 15 times total, what do you expect?  All these guys played to their ability, average.  Sure Calvin was out but when you combine that with Nate Burleson missing, it's hard to really blame the Lions for losing this game.  It was ugly on offense and if CJ is out again this week, I don't see it getting much better against a Browns team that has won 3 games in a row, has a strong defense, and destroyed the Lions in the preseason when Calvin was out.  Detroit managed just 286 yards of total offense, over a hundred yards below their season average and scored just 9 points, over 20 below their season average.  The defense did enough to keep Detroit in the game for a long stretch, but when you play Green Bay it usually comes down to big plays and the Packers hit on a couple that changed the game in the second half.  The Packers had been running a delayed handoff to Eddy Lacy all game and he was having success but he's not a back you fear running away from you, though he did a nice job chipping away and controlling the clock throughout the game.  At the start of the third quarter the packers ran this same play with Randall Cobb in the backfield and he broke free for a 67 yard gain up the side line to jump start what had been a stagnant Packers offense.  The Lions secondary busted a coverage as Chris Houston was playing on a bad hamstring and Delmas was supposed to play over the top but was sucked up by the inside receiver and James Jones just out ran Houston to the end zone.  The game was 9-3 at that point and the Lions were hanging tough, but with how bad the offense struggled it was a back breaker for the Packers to score such an easy touchdown and go up by two TDs.  Stafford has been getting called out on local radio for not elevating the play of the offense and those around him, but seriously, he got no help.  No protection, no running game, and drops galore.  With a full compliment of weapons, Stafford then becomes the difference between a good or bad Lions team.  but he's not Payton Manning or Tom Brady, he cant go out there and win with a bunch of nobody's.  He is a top 10 NFL quarterback right now with Calvin Johnson but he's not a top ten ever guy.  He's one of the best quarterbacks the Lions have ever had, and may go down as the best when his time is done, but very few, probably not even Aaron Rodgers could have won with the help Matt got on Sunday.  With that being said, lets break down the position groups:

Quarterback:  The numbers on the surface don't look that bad from Stafford.  He completed 62.5% of his passes, despite 5 drops, no interceptions and a touchdown.  The problem is that his 25 completed passes went for just 262 yards.  It wasn't the lack of chunk plays, the Lions had 7 different players catch a pass for longer then 10 yards, it was the lack of consistency to sustain drives to score points that was the biggest issue.  Stafford took 5 sacks, he had only taken 3 in the fist 4 games combined.  He missed a couple of throws, but overall he did his job with what he was given.  Stafford has still thrown for over 300 yards a game and has thrown just 3 interceptions in 5 games.  But his touchdown numbers are still down, only 8 in 5 games, as the offense needs to get into the end zone more consistently.

Running Backs: With out Calvin in the line up to take the top off the defense, Reggie Bush instantly became the target of the Packers defensive game plan.  The Packers safeties were more frequently in the box but weren't that involved in stopping the running game though.  The Green Bay front seven dominated the Lions front and Bush and Bell had little space to operate, often times getting stopped in the backfield.  The Lions ran for just 64 yards, with 20 of them coming on the Bush reverse, which had huge potential had he not slipped.  There weren't many open running lanes but sometimes you have to cut your losses and take stalemate and stop cutting back and losing yards.  Neither Bell nor Bush was much of a factor in the passing game either and the Packers were keyed in on a couple of the lions screen plays to the backs.

Wide Receivers:  Durham, Broyles, Ogletree, and Edwards, I'm not sure that Jacksonville would switch starting wide receiving units with us.  Sure he made a couple of catches and scored a touchdown late but Durham is a 5th string wide receiver, maybe a 4 at best.  When he leads your team in targets, you know you have an issue.  Durham was targeted 8 times and caught 3 balls, for 30 total yards, that's not a great ratio.  The depth at wide receiver was looked at as a potential issue coming out of the preseason but Nate Burleson's production early in the season quieted that talk, then he went down with an injury and Pettigrew and Broyles and Fauria, and Durham stepped in and did a serviceable job.  But when you take out one of the top 5 players in the NFL, its going to really effect your depth and Kevin Ogletree could add decent depth but he's not CJ, or Burleson for that matter. 

Tight Ends:  Pettigrew made a couple nice plays and Tony Scheffler was targeted a season high 7 times.  They combined for 8 catches and 113 yards on 12 targets.  That's actually pretty good production.  Still, there were no targets for Fauria, the most sure handed of the group.  If the Lions got this production out of this group with their receivers at full strength, they would be happy.  The run and pass blocking did suffer this week, as the tackles both needed more help, but that comes down to the play calling and isn't always on the tight ends.  Outside of Stafford, the tight ends were the next best position group.  That's not saying much.  Tony Scheffler received a concussion late in the 4th quarter and will be questionable against Cleveland, potentially opening the door for Fauria to get more snaps and targets. 

Offensive Line:  I don't know if it was karma, but the Lions offensive line was completely over matched against Green Bays defensive front with Raji, Matthews, Hawk, Perry, Neal, Jones, and Jolly living in the backfield, shut down all running lanes and collapsing  the pocket from the edge all game.  Stafford was sacked 5 times, and if you take out the Bush reverse, the Lions yard per carry would be a measly 2.44.  Not many teams are going to win running the ball that poorly and not protecting the quarterback.  Raiola has been rumored to have verbally abused the University of Wisconsin's marching band before the game so, if that's true, this group got what was coming to them.  Sure not having Calvin out there hurts, but this unit has to be better.  Jason Fox was not impressive in his return from injury and Riley Reiff struggled with the outside pass rush all game. 

Defensive Line:  The defensive line was not as dominant as they had been in their previous 4 games, but some of that is due to Rodgers, and his escapability.  He got out of the collapsing pocket several times and either ran for first downs or got rid of the ball avoiding negative plays.  The Packers running game chewed up the Lions to the tune of 180 yards but the Lions played mostly bend don't break all day, holding green bay to 5 field goals and their only touchdown was an 83 yard pass.  The defensive line rushed the passer with too much reckless abandon and didn't really make adjustments to the Packers draw delayed handoff, or to keep Rodgers in the pocket when they did apply pressure to the Green Bay quarterback, he seemed to consistently slip out of their grasp.  Green bays running attack set up a ton of third and short, and the Packers were able to convert at a 44% rate, which was more then double the success rate the Lions had been giving up coming into the game.   

linebackers:  DeAndre Levy is having a career year, he has easily been one of the top linebackers in the NFC this season and had a career high 14 tackles against the Packers, as they rushed the ball 33 times and the defensive line let the ball carrier get to the second level far too often.  Stephen Tulloch has had two consecutive strong outings and had double digit tackles again this week.  The numbers on the ground look bad but these two guys cleaned up a lot of the mess the front four let slip through the cracks.  It could have been a lot worse.  Detroit and Cincinnati are the only two teams with two linebackers in the top 20 in the league in tackles.  Levy is tied for 12th with 42 total tackles, Tulloch is tied for 16th with 39.

Defensive Backs:  Its hard to say, if you take away X amount of plays they did a good job, but if you take away four or five plays the secondary was pretty good considering they were playing the Packers potent passing attack.  A couple of those plays were Louis Delmas, and a couple of them were Chris Houston.  We know Houston was struggling with his hamstring but if you are on the field, you cant make excuses.  Rodgers picked on the hobbled Houston a couple times deep with James Jones and Jones made a couple nice plays to catch the ball over the top.  Delmas took a poor tacking angle on Randall Cobb on his 67 yard scamper down the sideline, it seemed Detroit was unaware that Cobb was in the backfield and still thought it was the plodding Lacy.  On James Jones' touchdown Delmas was too aware of Cobb, as both he and James Jones went vertical, but when Cobb pulled up on the inside, Delmas checked up with him.  Chris Houston thought he had safety help deep outside, which he should have had, but Delmas was caught and Jones was in the end zone. 

Special Teams:  No real complaints from the special teams department.  The return game isn't giving the Lions much of a boost but its not hurting them either.  Sam Martin was fantastic, averaging 51.8 yards per punt.  The coverage units were strong too, only allowing 3.5 yards per punt return.  Akers made his only field goal.  Overall the Lions would take this performance every week from the special teams.

Game notes:

• With the Chicago Bears losing to New Orleans, the Lions still hold the division lead, and would now host the Bears in the first round if the playoffs started today.
• The Lions have set themselves up to be a playoff contender, and look to be one of five teams that will fight for three playoff spots.  With Arizona, San Francisco, Chicago, and Green Bay battling for the NFC North and two wild card spots.
• Calvin missed just his 5th game in his career.
• The Packers averaged 22.5 yards per completion.  The Lions just 11.4.  Ouch.
• Green Bay had just seven sacks in its first 3 games, then five against the Lions.
• Detroit's offense fell to number 10 in the NFL in points, and 9th in yards after their brutal showing.

Up next:
The 3-2 Lions take to the road again, facing the 3-2 Browns in Cleveland. 

Lions at Packers: Week 5 preview and prediction

The Lions have a chance to legitimize themselves as contenders in the NFC with a win in Green Bay.  A win would snap a much publicized 22 game losing streak at Lambeau Field.  A win would also make the Lions 4-1, with victories over all three division rivals.  That's a lot on the line this week for a franchise that only has one playoff appearance in the last 14 years.  Despite being just 1-2, with history on their side and one of the best QB's in all of football, the Packers are about a 7 point favorite at home.  The Packers are coming off their bye week, but their offense has been running like a well oiled machine in early part of the season, with a balance in the running game the Packers have missed since their Super Bowl run.  The Packers are 2nd in points per game, 3rd in total offense, 3rd in passing and 9th in rushing averaging 128 yards per game.  The defense however has been gashed, allowing over 400 yards and nearly 30 points a game.  The run defense has been better this year as most of the damage has been done through the air, as teams try and keep up with the Green Bay offense.  The Packers have had consecutive 100 yards rushing games from James Starks and Jonathan Franklin.  Meanwhile, the Lions are actually running for a less yards per game this year compared to last year, 95.5 to 100.8, but the explosive splash plays make the running game feel like much more of a threat this season with Reggie Bush and Joique Bell carrying the load.  The Lions had only four runs of 20+ yards last season, they have two such runs already this year and are averaging 7 first downs on the ground this year compared to just 5.25 per game last year.  Here are the 5 keys to watch on Sunday:

Detroit's secondary vs. Green Bay's passing attack: 
The Packers are, and have been for several years now, one of the premiere passing attacks in the NFL.  Aaron Rodgers spreads the ball around to Jordy Nelson, James Jones, Randall Cobb and Jermichael Finley and they pose huge matchup problems trying to cover all four guys when they are all on the field together.  The Detroit secondary is improved on the back end, with a healthy Louis Delmas and the addition of Glover Quin, the safeties have made big plays so far this season.  The corners are still a work in progress, and Detroit's top cover man, Chris Houston is very questionable, nursing a hamstring injury he suffered in the 4th quarter of the game last week against Chicago.  If Houston is unable to go, the Lions will have to rely on Darius Slay and Jonte Green to step in and fill his shoes.  Rashean Mathis should be back this week after being held out of the remainder of the game last week with an apparent head injury.  If Rodgers has time in the pocket to deliver to his talented receiving corps, that's a big advantage to the Packers.

Turnovers: 
The Packers are in the bottom ten in the NFL with a -2 turnover margin this season, while the Lions are in the top 10 at +4.  Rodgers has thrown all three of his picks in Green Bay's two losses this season and the Packers have given away 4 fumbles this year, including one that cost them their last game against the Bengals.  Stafford has also thrown 3 interceptions, but two of them have been passes that were tipped at the line.  The Lions have the talent to play with anybody if they aren't beating themselves and the Packers offense is too good to give them extra possessions or worse, allowing their defense to score to put points on the board as well.

Balance on offense:
In their three wins this season, the Lions have had success running the football with either Reggie Bush, Joique bell or both.  Detroit's rushing total against Washington was only 68 yards but they ran effectively enough to keep the chains moving, keep the Redskins honest, and Bell was also able to find the end zone on the ground.  Green Bay's rushing defense is giving up just 93 yards per game and the Lions are running for 95 yards per game so it seems likely the total rushing yards for Detroit will be between 90-100 yards, that would be a win for Detroit.  If the packers can limit the lions to closer to 75 yards or less, there will be a lot of pressure on Stafford to have to throw 50 plus times. 

Contain the pass rush against Rodgers: 
When the Lions have put pressure on Rodgers in the past, he has done a good job of breaking contain and scrambling for positive yards, often picking up critical first downs with his legs.  The Lions have been one of the best teams in the NFL at pressuring the QB this year and that trend needs to continue for Detroit to have a chance in this game but they cant allow Rodgers to break free of the pocket and use his athletic ability to pick up cheap first downs.  Rodgers has run for an average of 22 first downs per year in his first 5 years as the starting quarterback in Green Bay.  However, Green Bay has had issues protecting Rodgers as he has been sacked 10 times this season in 3 games, so the Lions front four should present a huge challenge for the Green Bay's patchwork offensive line.

Finishing drives in the end zone: 
Both these teams have plenty of offensive weapons to move the ball up and down the field, but Rodgers has been one of the best red zone quarterbacks of all time, while the Lions have struggled punching the ball into the end zone and instead have often times had to settle for field goals.  The Packers have attempted just 4 field goals in 10 games because they finish drives in the end zone.  While 5 of David Akers 10 field goal attempts this season have been the result of a stalled drive in the red zone.  If the Detroit offense wants to keep pace, or put Green Bay away, they will need to finish drives with 7 points instead of 3. 

Game notes:

• Injury updates:  Detroit's Calvin Johnson, Glover Quin were both listed as questionable but should play Sunday.  Houston will likely be a game time decision.
• For the Packers, James Starks and cornerback Casey Hayward are out.  No Packers were listed as questionable.
• Not one of the 13 person panel at ESPN.com  picked the Lions to win.
• A Lions win and a Bears loss would essentially give the Lions a 2 game lead over every team in the division 5 weeks into the season. 
• Reggie Bush is getting MVP love, coming in at #4 this week, behind only Manning, Brees and Brady according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com
• The Lions signed WR Kevin Ogletree this week, we will see if he sees any action this week as Patrick Edwards should be returning from injury as well.  

Prediction:
The Lions will make it close, but the streak continues.  Green Bay 33, Detroit 30

Lions crush Bears, take over NFC North lead.

Two seasons ago, the Lions squared off against the Bears in week 5 on Monday night football in what was one of the biggest games for the franchise in the 2000's as the Lions used big plays from Calvin Johnson and Javid Best as well as forcing the bears into nine false start penalties to improve to 5-0.  The Lions would go on to make the playoffs for the first time since 1999 and there was hope again for Lions faithful.  After a dissapointing 4-12 season last year, the Lions looked to return to the playoff form of 2011 this year, with by far their most talented roster since that payoff team in 1999.  This Sunday's game against the Bears didn't have quite the same meaning as the return of Monday night football game in 2011, but it was close.  That game in 2011 was the last full game the Lions had Javid Best, an explosive runner the Lions drafted to be a home run threat out of the backfield, who retired due to concussion problems.  Detroit signed Reggie Bush to give them that dimension they've missed since losing Best, and through the first four weeks the difference has been very tangible.  After dominating the Bears, the Lions now hold the division lead at 3-1, cementing themselves as a legitimate playoff threat this season.  The final score, 40-32, was not indicative of the spread at which most of the game was played.  The Lions reeled off 24 straight points, including scoring 3 touchdowns in a 3 minute and 26 second span in the second quarter to take complete control of the game at 30-10.  David Akers connected on his third field goal of the game to start the run, it was followed up be a defensive three and out then Michael Spurlock returned the ensuing punt 57 yards to set the Lions up with great field position at the Chicago 22.  Just four plays later Matthew Stafford jumped, fumbled and recovered the ball mid-flight across the goal line for a Lions TD.  On the Bears first play after the kickoff, Cutler was intercepted down the sideline by Glover Quin and he returned it to the Chicago 2 yard line.  Calvin Johnson caught a fade for a touchdown on the first Lions play, 17 straight points.  Another Chicago three and out was followed by two Reggie Bush runs totaling 45 yards and a TD to give Detroit a working margin they would ride to victory.  The biggest play of the game came during that stretch, and it involved Calvin Johnson.  After the Lions scored two touchdowns in 22 seconds and had the ball back at midfield leading 23-10, Reggie Bush burst through the line up the middle and broke toward the right sideline.  Charles Tillman came in from behind and knocked the ball loose, but Calvin Johnson jumped on the ball, preventing a turnover.  The very next play Bush scampered 37 yards for a back-breaking touchdown.  Had the Bears recovered and scored to make it a one possession game, this is a completely different game.  The Lions stretched the lead to 24 points in the 4th quarter before the Bears mounted a late charge as the Lions played prevent and ran the ball to work the clock for most of the 4th quarter.  The two key stats were 3rd down and turnovers.  The Bears were a measly 1 of 13 converting 3rd downs in the game as the Lions defense has continually gotten off the field on third down all year, allowing just 21% of third down conversions this year, tops in the NFL.  Detroit also forced four Chicago turnovers leading to 17 points and though the Lions coughed it up 3 times themselves, it felt like Chicago's turnovers were much more costly.  This was one of the biggest wins for the Lions since that 2011 playoff season and they have set themselves up to have a similar run here in 2013.  A win next week in Green bay and we can start whispering about winning the NFC north division title for the first time ever.  Lets break down each position group from this past Sunday:

Quarterbacks: 
Stafford was not sharp early, often overthrowing his receivers, and seemed to be holding the ball an extra split second when he was throwing more then ten yards down the field.  In spite of that, he managed the game well enough to get the victory.  He got Detroit into good plays all game, taking advantage of Chicago playing two deep safeties nearly all game long, letting Reggie Bush and the offensive line to do its thing.  Despite feeling as though Stafford's performance was below average, he still completed 65.7% of his passes, finishing with a modest stat line, 23/35 for 242, one throwing and one rushing TD and one interception, one fumble lost and one sack.  The Lions had a large lead in the 4th quarter, leading to a 35-30 split between throwing and rushing attempts, the most balanced attack of the year and the fewest throwing attempts of the season for Stafford.  He will need to play better, however, if the Lions hope to win in Green Bay next week.  So far though, he has done an excellent job taking what the defense has been giving him, trusting his offense to make plays around him.

Running backs:
Reggie Bush's 139 yard effort was the Lions first 100+ yard rushing performance since week three last season when Mikel Leshoure rushed for 100 yards at Tennessee.  Bush can thank his offensive line for giving him space to get to the second level consistently throughout the game but when he gets to that second level he uses his combination of elite speed and elusiveness, often making multiple defenders miss, turning 5 yard gains into 15 yard gains with one spin, juke, cut, or hurdle.  He had 8 runs of 8 yards or more, those 8 carries totaled 125 of his 139 yards.  Reggie was lucky that Calvin recovered his fumble though, as that could have been a huge turning point.  He hasn't had fumbling issues, the bears, and Charles Tillman especially, do that to everyone.  The key will be keeping Bush on the field all season as he obviously adds a dimension to the Lions offense that makes them one of the elite units in the league.  Joique Bell saw his role diminished with Bush's return, and had his least productive game of the year.  His fumble in the fourth quarter allowed the Bears to bring the game within one score, and he needs to clean that part of his game up, but the Lions could have done a better job utilizing him and Bush in combination throughout the game. 

Wide Receivers: 
This group was one of the biggest question marks going into the game without Nate Burleson.  The production from the wide outs was limited to just two players, Calvin Johnson and Kris Durham.  Durham stepped up and made some nice catches for a career high 58 yards.  The Bears did their usual job in limiting Johnsons effectiveness, holding him to just 4 catches and 44 yards, but he did have one touchdown.  Ryan Broyles was only targeted once, and did not make a catch.  The Lions will need more production from these three going forward until Nate is able to get back on the field.  In all fairness to Calvin and the bunch, Stafford did air mail the ball a few times when they were open that would have made the numbers look better. 

Tight Ends: 
Brandon Pettigrew deserves some love.  I, and the entire Lions fan base has been rightfully hard on him the last 13 months, but he stepped up Sunday and caught all seven passes thrown his way, and did not fumble against a team looking to strip everything in their sight.  There was nothing flashy about his game, he just made the plays in front of him and it helped the Lions move the chains.  He also was an integral part of blocking and opening up holes for Reggie bush to romp through all game.  There was even a Tony Scheffler sighting, well, two in fact.  One good, and one bad.  He caught a nice pass up the seam for 22 yards and then dropped a pass that hit him square in the hands just moments later.  Joseph Fauria played 13 snaps on offense but was not targeted.  I thought Stafford might throw the fade his way as he was lined up one on one on the opposite side of Calvin, but Matt went to CJ for the TD.

Offensive Line: 
Another great outing for the offensive line.  With all the hype surrounding the defensive line and Reggie bush, this unit is flying under the radar a bit.  They are a huge reason for the lions success thus far.  Sure there are times when Bush or Bell have no where to run, but the defense gets paid too.  There have been huge holes for Bush and Bell to run through in there three wins, not as many in their lone loss.  Coincidental, I think not.  The protection of Stafford was solid as well, allowing just one sack.  In fact, Stafford has only been sacked three times in four games, and he's been sacked on just 1.9 percent of his drop backs, the best rate in the NFL.  Though, he also is helping his line by releasing the ball faster then any quarterback in the NFL.  The Reiff-Sims-Raiola-Warford-Hilliard unit deserves a lot of praise, as the o-line was a huge question mark entering the season.

Defensive Line: 
One of the biggest match ups going into the game was the revamped Chicago offensive line and how they would handle Detroit's destructive defensive line.  Chicago held its own early, but the Lions constant pressure wore down the Bears line, as they allowed 3 sacks and Cutler was forced into poor throws through much of the second and third quarters.  Matt Forte had 95 yards on 14 carries, but much like Adrian Peterson in week 1, if you take out Forte's 53 yard score, he wasn't much of a factor.  There were too many times however, mostly in the first and fourth quarters that Cutler had too much time to throw down field and the secondary was taken advantage of by Chicago's big receiving threats.  Suh was absolutely dominant again blowing up plays in the backfield and finishing with two sacks, one caused Cutler to fumble and allowed Nick Fairley to scoop and score an easy Lions TD. 

Linebackers:
This was the best game for the linebackers in my opinion.  They didn't make the big interception today but they were tackling machines.  DeAndre Levy has been consistently solid in every game
this year but Steven Tulloch has disappeared at times this year.  He showed up big time against Chicago, recording 14 tackles including a sack.  Tulloch and Levy may not be house hold names like Clay Matthews but they can be as good of a one two punch at linebacker that the lions have seen in a long time.  Ashlee Palmer only played about a third of the defensive snaps, as the Lions matched up in nickel most of the game.  The Lions are still getting fooled by miss-direction running plays, giving up a big reverse to Alshon Jeffery for 27 yards and the 53 yard TD to Forte was a miss-direction toss.

Defensive Backs: 
It wasn't perfect, but it was effective.  The overall coverage still needs work but giving up yards doesn't mean a whole lot when you intercept passes.  The Lions lead the league with 8 interceptions this year, a huge improvement over last years group which totaled just 11 picks all year, 5th worst in the NFL.  The play from the safeties has drawn rave reviews around the NFL, with Delmas ranked as the 5th best safety by Pro Football Talk and Quin the 23rd best this year, making them the top tandem in the division, they have combined for half the interception total thus far.  Lions fans have seen the difference a healthy Louis Delmas makes for the Detroit defense, but Delmas has given lot of credit to Quin, for stabilizing the position next to him, allowing him the ability to take risks without getting burned because he trusts Quin to be in the right place to back him up.  They still need to take better angles in the run game at times, as Peterson, Morris and Forte have all had long TD runs this year because the safeties took poor angles and were run out of the play.  The corners still need work.  Houston was solid but left the game hurt in the 4th quarter and will be questionable to return next week.  Mathis left in the first quarter with an apparent head injury and was not allowed to return, though he seems to be on track to return in Green Bay.  Darius Slay returned to take over for Mathis and was picked on by Cutler, though he did show improvements in his technique, he is still raw and a looks a little overwhelmed at times.  It seems at though the game hasn't slowed down yet for him, and he is thinking too much about not making a mistake.  When he feels more free to line up and just play football, he should be fine but he's going to need more reps.  Jonte Green came back to life and finished the game for Chris Houston.  Jante Green is ALIVE!   

Special teams: 
The coverage units did an outstanding job in frustrating Devin Hester and not allowing him to become a factor in the game. David Akers made all fours of his attempts and Sam Martins kickoffs and punts were solid.  Michael Spurlock redeemed himself, with a big punt return in the second quarter to help set up an easy touchdown for the offense.  Easily the best special teams performance of the year collectively, and it was against a team know for great special teams play.  This kind of effort going forward puts Detroit in position to win games with the talent they have on offense and defense.

Game notes:

• The Lions didn't blitz often, just 9.8% of their defensive snaps, but one of their blitzes in the first half led to the Quin interception.  The Lions sent seven after Cutler, played man to man on the three receivers and Quin as a single high safety, as Delmas was one of the blitzing players.  Cutler knew he had a chance to take a shot deep with just one safety but he stared down Brandon Marshall the entire time and Quin got a great break on the ball.  Cutler threw off his back foot as the blitz closed in on him and it was an easy pick for Quin. 
• Marc Trestman had no chance to get the ball back but insisted on using his time outs at the end of the game, forcing Stafford to snap the ball all three times.  That's cheap and unnecessary.
• Looking at points per game leaders in the NFL and you'll see Denver, obviously, topping the list at an astonishing 44.8 points per game.  The next four teams in order are Green Bay, Chicago, Detroit, and Minnesota.  Whoa!
• If the playoffs started today, Detroit would host San Francisco.  Chicago would travel to Dallas.  Can we trade?

Next week: 
The Lions travel to Lambeau Field to face the 1-2 Packers, looking to end a 22 game road losing streak in Green Bay.

Lions, Bears clash for division lead

The Lions rebounded from disappointment in Arizona with a strong effort last week beating  the Redskins in a place they had never won before.  Chicago is coming off a disappointing end to their season with a change at the helm.  Lovie Smith was replaced by Marc Trestman and the Bears are off to a great start, currently 3-0 and sitting in first place in the division.  The Bears have seen dramatic improvement over previous seasons in keeping their talented quarterback jay cutler protected and giving him time to throw the ball.  Chicago's turnover margin is also impressive as they continue to find ways to take the ball away from the opponents offense.  However, the Bears have struggled to stop teams from moving the ball, as they rank in the bottom half of the league in both yards and points allowed.  The Bears offense has scored the same number of points as their defense has given up in the first three weeks.  The Lions are +6, meaning there offense has scored six more points then the defense has allowed.  Both sides lost important starters to injury this week as Chicago starting defensive tackle Henry Melton suffered a torn acl and is out for the season while Detroit Lions wide receiver Nate Burleson was injured in a car accident and is out for about two months recovering from two broken bones in his arm.  The Lions have been the best team in the NFL defensively at getting off the field, allowing just a 26.5% 3rd down conversions against,  while Chicago's offense is top 10 in the league at 42.9% 3rd down conversions.  Meanwhile Detroit's offense is in the bottom 10 in the league at converting 3rd downs at just 32.4%, however the Bears defense has allowed 44.7% conversion rate against which is bottom ten in the league.  Which ever team can convert and which team gets off the field on third down will go a long way to deciding this game.  Detroit is at home, they have better offensive and defensive numbers, thus far but Chicago has the advantage in intangibles such as special teams and takeaways, and have owned the lions lately winning 9 of the last 10 meetings.  Here are my 5 things to watch:

Chicago's offensive line vs. Detroit's defensive front four.
Cutler has been focusing on getting the ball out quicker, the line has protected him better and that has led to a major decrease in the amount of hits cutler has taken early this season.  While Detroit leads the league with only two sacks given up, Chicago is second with only 3 allowed.  Cutler doesn't get credit for it often but he moves in the pocket well.  The Lions front four is considered by many to be the most disruptive in the NFL but the Bears revamped offensive line has done a good job against the likes of the Bengals, Vikings and Steelers thus far.  Rookies Kyle long and Jordan Mills have played well in combination on the right side.  If Cutler has time to take advantage of Detroit's secondary the Lions wont be happy with the result.  Suh and company will need to get in Cutler's face and disrupt his timing and place the Bears offense under some adversity if they hope to win. 

Turnover battle.
The Bears have consistently been one of the best teams at creating turnovers and putting points on the board as a defensive unit and this year is no exception.  The Lions will have to make a conscience effort to protect the ball in their arms at all cost this week.  The Lions won the turnover battle in both games they've won this season and are +3 overall this year.  The bears were only +1 through their first two games and barely escaped with two home wins, but were +5 last week in a routing the Steelers.  If Detroit can play the Bears close to even, they will have a good opportunity to pull out a victory.

Lions secondary play makers.
The lions lost Nate Burleson but are getting back Reggie Bush this week.  Ryan Broyles appears healthy and was solid last week as was rookie tight end Joseph Fauria, who scored his second TD of the year.  The Lions will need production from all those guys along with Joique Bell who has been great so far this year, averaging nearly 100 total yards of offense and a touchdown per game thus far.  The Lions should use more sets with both Bush and Bell on the field as they try to get these two players as many touches as possible.  When Stafford drops back to throw, expect Broyles and Fauria to collect some of the vacated targets in Burleson's absence.  Chicago will most likely try and make everyone but Calvin beat them so how these players perform will be the key to Detroit's offense. 

Special teams.
The Bears have won numerous games over the past decade because of outstanding special teams play.  The Lions have lost numerous games over the past decade because of poor special teams play.  Advantage Chicago.  The Lions cant afford to have special teams penalties or miscues or allow the Bears to get easy special teams points.  Devin Hester is one of the best return men of all time and has the ability to change the game every time he touches the ball.  the Lions coverage units have been solid and Martin has been good on kickoffs and punts this season but that can change in the blink of an eye with Hester back there. 

Johnson vs. Tillman.
Tillman has done a nice job in his career vs. Calvin Johnson, limiting his impact as a big play threat.  Tillman is one of the bigger and stronger corners in the league and matches up well with Johnson given the amount of time they've spent playing against each other.  Johnson and Stafford have done a nice job early this season of taking what the defense has given them and not forcing the ball down the field.  Johnson is a deep threat even if he's not running deep so most teams are keeping their safeties high, so Johnson has not had many opportunities for the home run yet.  The Bears have been one of the best at rolling coverage toward Calvin, but if he can shake loose for some big plays it will take pressure off the rest of the team. 

Notes:

• The Calvin Johnson and Adrian Peterson watch is being suspended until further notice.  We will check on in the league leaders around the halfway point around week 9 and see what kind of pace they are on, unless one of these guys has a couple monster games in the next few week.
• Injury update.  Bears Charles Tillman is listed as questionable, but expect him to play.  Lions Ziggy Ansah is listed as questionable, expect him to play.  Both right tackles are listed as questionable, that's a situation to keep and eye on.  Watch for L'Adrian Waddle to maybe sneak in and get some playing time if neither one of these guys are 100%
• The Bears have come out of the gates strong the last couple of seasons.  7-1 in 2012, 7-3 in 2011, 5-2 in 2010.
• Detroit's defense has given up fewer yards and points then the Bears this year.
• Chicago's offense has scored 24.7 points per game.  Detroit's has scored 25 ppg.
• Sam Martin was named NFC special teams player of the week for week 3.  Go Sam!    

Prediction:  Lions take the division lead at the quarter poll.  Detroit 27, Chicago 23.

Lions defeat history, Redskins, move to 2-1.

The lions are no longer the laughing stock of Washington DC.  There performance wasn't flawless, but it was gutsy and resilient and that's a lot of what this team has been lacking the past few years, decades, millennia.  The Lions took the first punch, when Stafford's timing was thrown off by a good jam at the line on Calvin by DeAneglo Hall, the quick slant  ended up in Halls lap and he retuned it 17 yards for the first score of the game.  All the signs pointed to 0-22 at that moment, however, the Lions offense responded with an 85 yard drive, aided by two Washington penalties and capped off by a surging, powerful 12 yard plunge by Joique Bell to level the score at 7.  After the Lions defense forced a three and out, Lions marched right back into the Redskins territory, picking up chunks of yards through the air along the way.  On third and goal, following two incompletions and under heavy pressure, Stafford lofted the ball up to his big 6'7" rookie tight end Joseph Fauria who snatched the ball over two defenders for a 14-7 lead.  Willie young forced an ill -advised throw that was intercepted but they could not take advantage as they punted and allowed the redskins to tie the game, as the Washington running game got going and Alfred Morris cut back against the grain and beat the Detroit containment to the pylon, showing impressive speed along the way.  The Lions ensuing possession again found them picking up big yardage through the air.  Nate Burleson seemed to easliy slip in and out the Redskins zone to the tune of 116 receiving yards throughout the game.  His 41 yard reception had the Lions in the red zone towards the end of the half but three incompletions, all targeting CJ, and the Lions had to settle for a field goal and a halftime lead of 17-14.  The Lions gave up a field goal to begin the second half as Sam Martins kickoff went out of bounds and gave the Redskins great starting field position.  After alternating 5 consecutive punts, the Redskins were driving in the 4th quarter when RG3 eluded the Lions pass rush and took off for big yardage.  He dove forward to avoid a hit and the ball popped loose as he hit the turf.  Since he was untouched and went head first, the ball was free and the Lions recovered.  They drove down to the Washington 10 yard line but again settled for a field goal.  The next series was the turning point of the game as the Redskins looked to take the lead after the Washington offensive line gave Griffin an eternity to throw and he connected with Aldrick Robinson for an apparent 57 yard touchdown.  Robinson, however, did not complete the process of the catch as he hit the ground, the ball moved around in his arms and came in contact with the painted turf.  The next snap was deflected off a tight end going in motion and Griffin chased it down setting up a 3rd and 20, leading to an eventual punt.  The Lions responded by marching into the red zone once again, this time finding pay dirt as Stafford hooked up with Johnson who spun into the end zone, with just 4 minutes left giving the Lions a ten point lead 27-17.  The lions ran a prevent defense and gave up a field goal, then Washington got the ball back with 38 seconds left after a Detroit three and out forced a punt.  The Redskins were able to throw the hail marry into the end zone but the ball was knocked down as the Lions ended three quarters of a century worth of futility.  Lets break down the performance of each position group:

Quarterbacks: Matthew Stafford struggled early, being sacked on the first play, throwing incomplete on four of his first five attempts, including one that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown.  The Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett blitzed all game long and Matt took a little time to adjust.  He had not been blitzed much in the first two games, but when he settled in, he returned to the level of play we had been accustomed to seeing the first two weeks.  The Lions passing attack was more down field oriented and they didn't run screen passes the was they had the previous two weeks.  Stafford's completion percentage was just under 60% and he missed a few throws this week that could have opened up the game a little more but all in all his play was steady and effective and it helped having Broyles and Fauria in the mix this week, and even Durham and Scheffler caught passes.  I didn't see one blatant drop this week by his supporting cast.  Matt was under pressure and hit often but that was by design of the Washington defense.  Stafford has proven his toughness over the last few seasons as he hung in the pocket and delivered the ball and led the lions to a huge win.

Running backs:  Reggie Bush was missed, but I think Joique Bell has proven he can be a feature back in this league.  Ideally though, Bush and Bell need to compliment one another because they both have unique skill sets and both poses the ability to make big plays.  Against Minnesota Bush had 25 touches and Bell only 11.  If you split those more evenly Bush will have a better chance to stay healthy throughout the year.  Joique possesses a great power/speed combination and has uncanny balance.  He is just a good football player, period.  Theo Riddick saw his first extended action, but was mostly a non factor.    

Wide Receivers:  Ryan Broyles, welcome back.  He didn't put up crazy numbers but he caught all three passes thrown his way, converted two first downs on drives that ended in points and was a nice option outside of Burleson and Calvin.  Speaking of Nate, he was fantastic and deserves player of the game honors.  He had two catches over 40 yards, providing the big play spark the Lions needed without Bush in the line up, and drawing some attention away from Calvin.  Calvin was in typical beast mode, when Detroit needed a big play they went to CJ including the touchdown at the end, surrounded by four defenders.  His numbers weren't gaudy but he makes things easier for everyone else.  Durham was targeted three times and actually came up with a huge 33 yards catch on the 4th quarter drive that help set up the Johnson touchdown.

Tight Ends:  I understand Tony Scheffler technically is a tight end but he is soft and cant block so why would we run the ball with him right at the point of attack.  Pettigrew is a great run blocker so keep him in for that, and put Fauria in when we throw.  The tight ends were mostly forgettable, outside of Fauria's touchdown reception, which now puts him at two touchdowns for the season, the only tight end on the roster to have caught a touchdown and he has the only play longer then 20 yards out of the tight end group.  Fauria should continue to see his work rate climb and Pettigrew should see his blocking work rate climb.

Offensive Line:  This group started the game on a low, allowing an untouched middle linebacker blitz up the middle to sack Stafford.  They were much better the rest of the way, as that was the only sack allowed.  Stafford was hit 10 times throughout the game but that will happen when a team blitzes on almost every play.  There were adequate running lanes and adequate protection to allow the lions play makers time to do what they do best.  This unit has come together nicely but will continue to be challenged week in and week out going forward against the Bears, Packers, Browns, Bengals, and Dallas before the bye week.  If they can continue to give Stafford enough time and open creases for Bush and Bell to run through, the Lions will have a shot to win every week. 

Defensive Line:  I think most of the critics have been silenced when it comes to the Lions first round draft choice Ziggy Ansah.  Ansah's play has shown that he is not a project and that he's not just pass rushing specialist but that he has the size, strength, speed, motor, and football instincts to be as complete a defensive end as there is in football.  Obviously it helps having a monster on the inside named Suh who has consistently blown up the middle of opposing offensive lines this year but to Ziggy's credit, he's making plays.  The lions were dealt a blow when Jason Jones went down with a season ending injury but they will now get a look at their other rookie defensive end Devin Taylor.  Willie young has produced consistent pressure this season and just needs to continue to make smart plays.  He almost horse-collared Robert Griffin on Chris Houston's interception which would have negated a turnover for a second consecutive week. 

Linebackers:  Another good game for DeAndre Levy, he led the team with 9 tackles but Tulloch and Palmer were quiet yet again.  This group hasn't been great but they have been part of a defensive unit that is allowing a league low 26% third down conversions against, getting off the field and getting the ball back to the offense.  Three of the five interceptions this year have been from the linebackers and the Lions currently sit plus three in turnover margin which is top 5 in the league.  Still there are breakdowns with over pursuit when running backs cut back or teams run reverses, the linebackers are often times out of position.   

Defensive Backs:  The secondary was average today, and we could be talking about a completely different outcome if Robinson holds onto the ball cleanly in the end zone as he beat Mathis deep.  The Lions have built their team dependent on pressure up front, so many times a play is made in the secondary only  when the quarter back has little or no time to throw.  Houston was solid and Mathis was average in taking over for Slay, who did not see a defensive snap.  Delmas played his best game of the season and was able to play every defensive snap.  The Redskins recorded 21 passing first downs, too often there were men wide open for Griffin to throw to.  The passing game in Chicago next week will be much more similar to the attack the Lions faced in Arizona with a pocket passer and big physical receivers.         

Special Teams:  Specials teams was still not nearly clean enough to beat a better team like the Bears or Packers.  There were still penalties on returns and Martin's kickoff that went out of bounds set up points for the Redskins on a drive that would have other wise ended in a punt.  Akers made two easy kicks and the punting game has been solid all year. 

Game notes:

• After three games, the Lions are right in the middle of the pack with their defensive numbers, 18th in total yards allowed and 16th in total points given up.  They are the bottom in sacks however, totaling just 6.  That number is not indicative of the amount of pressure the defensive line has applied thus far.
• The Lions offense ranks 4th in total yards and 6th in points.  The lions are 2nd in passing yards, 26th in rushing.  No surprises there.
• The lions are one of only 5 NFC teams with a winning record.  Seattle, New Orleans and Chicago are 3-0, while Dallas and Detroit are 2-1.
• When CJ Mosley took off Alfred Morris' head with a tackle around the neck I was positive when I first saw it, it was Nick Fairley.  Definitely was not a face mask though.
• Outside of the onside kick, the Lions best starting field position was their own 29.
• Stafford threw short of the first down line to Broyles on a play very similar to the 4th down in Arizona the Lions did not convert, and the Lions did not convert this play either.

Next Week:  Lions return home to face undefeated division rival Chicago Bears with the top spot in the division up for grabs at Ford Field.

Lions find ways to lose to Cardinals, 25-21.

Last season, the Detroit Lions defeated the St. Louis Rams in a sloppy game at Ford Field, then went on the road at Tennessee and lost to a team they should have beat after repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot.  Fast forward to 2013, the Lions opened the season last week with a sloppy home win, and followed it up with a road defeat at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals, 25-21, after repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot.  Special teams was again an achilles heel for the Lions as David Akers missed not one, but two attempts to give the Lions a 3-0 lead, after a running into the kicker call moved the ball 5 yards closer.  In the fourth quarter, his FG attempt was blocked, and if all the Lions do is execute those two kicks, they most likely win the game.  It seems simple but for Detroit, nothing is ever that simple.  Last week the Lions were able to overcome their errors but not today.  In what has become the Lions trademark, they had a turnover erased by a penalty, and I believe it was absolutely the biggest play of the game .  Rookie defensive end Ziggy Ansah sacked and stripped Carson Palmer and Willie Young recovered the ball on Arizona's 26 yard line, with the lions up 21-16 with 2 minutes to go in the third quarter.  The problem was that Willie Young was called for an illegal use of hands to the face, negating what would have been the Lions second forced turnover of the quarter, and giving the offense a chance to have a short field for once, instead of starting inside their own 10 yard line like they did most of the game.  The Lions average starting position for their 12 drives was the 14 yard line.  That's a lot to ask of your offense to go the length of the field every time.  The Lions defense didn't play poorly, but the loss of Nick Fairley was evident as the pass rush lacked consistent push and the running lanes up the middle were not closed tight enough.  Suh did his part but in order for the secondary to hold up, the defensive line needs to create more pressure and Palmer ,too many times, was able to sit cleanly in the pocket.  In the end, this was just the Lions doing what the Lions do, find a way to lose.  Let's breakdown each position group:

Quarterback:
Stafford came out hot in the first half, completing 17 of 21 passes with two touchdowns, both to Calvin.  He had the offense humming along against a very good Arizona defense, using screens, play action, bootlegs and lots of quick slants to keep the cardinals off balance.  The bullet he threw into an impossibly tight window for Calvin's first touchdown was incredible, and I thought it was intercepted when I saw it live.  The tempo and body language of the entire offense seemed to change in the second half after the Reggie Bush fumble on the exchange inside their own ten yard line.  Stafford did not complete a pass in the 3rd quarter and was just 7 of 15 after the break.  The Lions were unable to throw the ball down the field, whether it was pressure on Stafford or lack of an open receiver, Stafford did not get a lot of help from his supporting cast today.  In a vacuum, Stafford played a nice game, unfortunately quarterbacks are judged on wins and losses and the lions had the ball needing a touchdown to win with 2 minutes left and Stafford didn't come through. 

Running backs:
One thing that is quite clear after two weeks, Arizona's defense is much better then Minnesota's.  The Lions weren't able to open many running lanes for Reggie Bush or Joique Bell and the Lions only managed 49 yards on the ground as a team.  Detroit ran the ball enough to stay balanced but the Cardinals almost looked geared to stop the run, relying on their talented secondary to get the job done with a single high safety.  Reggie Bush ran too east and west again this week, after he himself commented on wanting to run more north and south this week.  Joique Bell had a couple nice runs but again there wasn't much room for him to get started.  both backs were solid again this week catching the ball out of the backfield, though Bell had a couple of drops that need to get cleaned up.

Wide receivers:
With Broyles inactive again, Patrick Edwards exiting the game with an ankle injury, and Reggie Bush out with his injured knee, the pass catching options were running thin in the second half.  Still, I am pleading with Stafford to not throw the ball to Kris Durham or Brandon Pettigrew again, unless he is looking for an automatic incompletion.  I would rather force the ball to Calvin 30 times a game then throw it to either one of those guys.  I'm partly kidding but the Lions wide receivers were set up to have a collective big day if they could beat man to man coverage but they couldn't get free.  Johnson and Burleson were targeted eight times apiece, and the only other receiver that was thrown to was Durham, twice, for two incompletions.  Yes, Calvin is a beast and Nate has stepped up and made some big plays but two games into the season and this group looks really thin right now, that was a major concern coming out of the preseason.  Might be time to hit the waiver wire.  Calvin's catch and run on the slant was a thing of beauty.  My one positive for the day.

Tight Ends:
Pettigrew had a pair of nice plays today to go along with two drops on "catches in traffic" as Jim Schwartz would call them and a missed block on a reverse that cost the Lions eight yards to start the game, so all in all it was a typical Pettigrew performance.  No fumbles though!  Apparently an increased work load for Joseph Fauria means going from playing to not playing?  I was very disappointed in the production and the usage of this group of players, considering the Lions had a desperate need for playmakers through the air today and the only person targeted was Pettigrew.  That's on the coaching staff. 

Offensive Line:
The Arizona front seven was a different beast compared to the Vikings last week.  The Vikings were without their veteran nose tackle Kevin Williams, and Allen and Robison are more crafty rushers then pure physically imposing forces.  The Arizona defense re-established the line of scrimmage into the Detroit backfield and the Lions didn't have nearly the effect running the football this week.  The pass protection was good enough, Stafford was sacked just once, but that was due to great coverage, and hit only twice.  This group did enough to give the Lions a chance to win, and didn't hurt the team with any stupid penalties. 

Defensive line: 
The loss of Nick Fairley up the middle really was a big time blow for the Lions as Mendenhall was able to find running room up the middle and Palmer was not nearly pressured enough.  Suh had a great game, Ziggy Ansah looks to be the real deal, and even Willie Young made some nice plays, but again the penalty nullifying the turnover was detrimental.  The reason this group is so tough is that it's nearly impossible for both Suh and Fairly to be doubled at the same time, but with Fairey out, you can count on Suh getting a double team on every snap and lets face it, CJ Mosley and Justin Bannan are no Nick Fairely.  The edge rushers applied pressure at times but didn't get home to Palmer as often as they needed to.  The defense up front again did enough to give the team a chance to win, holding the Cardinals to only a 58% completion percentage and just 3.5 yards per carry.

Linebackers:
DeAndre Levy got caught up in coverage with Darius Slay in the first half allowing Arizona's rookie running back Andre Ellington to slip out of the backfield on a wheel route and complete an easy pitch and catch from Palmer for one of the two Cardinal touchdowns.  However, this weeks version of pick six by Deandre stayed on the board as Palmer was pressured into throwing the ball right to Levy and the Detroit outside linebacker took it to the house for the only points the Lions were able to muster up in the second half.  Tulloch was a no show in the first half but made a few nice plays clogging up the running game in the 3rd and 4th quarters.  Ashlee Palmer was exposed this week by Carson palmer and Larry Fitzgerald in pass coverage on the Cardinals first play from scrimmage as the Detroit linebacker bit hard on the play fake and was unable to stay with Fitzgerald as he crossed the field.  Other then that, the line backers played well enough to help the lions win the game.

Defensive Backs:
Its not accurate to say the secondary was bad.  Let's single out the player who Arizona was singling out because they knew they could get him to commit pass interference penalties.  Bill Bentely was terrible.  Even if I give him a pass on the interference on Fitzgerald because I thought it was a bad call, guys get hands tangled up all the time, and it was no worse then the amount of contact Peterson had on CJ on the Lions final drive.  However, the penalty in the 4th quarter at the goal line where he just flat out doesn't attempt to turn and play the ball is inexcusable.  Bentley also missed a tackle on a dump off to Mendenhall that ended up going for a 20 yard gain and was flagged for a special teams holding penalty (more fun on this topic later, I promise!).  Chris Houston was solid and Mathis made a couple nice tackles and a pass breakup.  Slay got caught up with DeAndre Levy on the Ellington touchdown, hard to say who was at fault on that one.  Glover Quin played an excellent game from the safety position, he was around the football all game long, making tackles and breaking up passes.

Special Teams:
Where oh where do we begin?  We've already discussed the two missed field goals and how we lost by five points, so lets move on to the next special teams blunder and that would be the penalties.  Two holding penalties on returns that backed the Lions up inside their ten yard line, creating terrible field position all game long.  And last but not least is the return game.  I would personally like to ask Michael Spurlock if there is something in the water that makes Detroit Lions return men lose focus?  He almost ran out of then back into the end zone, nearly causing a safety, then later on a punt return he caught the ball then started running backwards inside his ten yard line.  I don't get it, why do we even have a return man, why don't we just let the ball bounce every time?  It seems safer.  On the flip side, Sam Martin was awesome on kickoffs and directional punting with excellent hang time today. 

Game Notes:

• A weird sequence on the Lions first drive of the game where an illegal substitution negated a play, but it was never explained and I thought the lions were accidently given an extra down.
• The Lions ran a nice play action bootleg and Stafford dropped the ball off quickly to Pettigrew and as he was rumbling down the field I almost just expected him to fumble when the Arizona defenders hit him, its not a good feeling with the ball in his hands.
• I'm not going to sit here and pretend that anyone can just walk off the street and make a 47 yard field goal, but it just always seems to be the Lions that cant figure these things out.
• In the first quarter, Arizona was backed up 1st and 20 following a holding penalty, they came up a yard short of the first down by a full yard and the officials decided to measure when I could see they weren't close from my couch 3,000 miles away.
• The Lions ran the ball with Bush from the shotgun with power action, the same play they ran against Minnesota inside the ten yard line on Reggie's first of two reviewed non touchdowns last week and both times I thought his split in relationship to the quarterback was odd, he lines up a half step wider and deeper then usual in the gun.  It's pretty easy to see.
• Martin's hang time on his punts allowed the coverage units to bottle up Patrick Peterson as he was a non factor in the return game.
• Peterson did however complete and catch a pass on offense.  His reverse pass seemed like an absolute broken play but it was a very unique and risky design for just a 17 yard gain.
• Chris Houston's pass break up running down the sideline step for step with Floyd was textbook.
• The play where Reggie Bush injured his knee was actually a great play designed to get Bush isolated on a linebacker, creating a mismatch the Lions didn't have in the second half as the offense was shut out.
• There were a few more really nice play designs on the same drive.  The quick inside slant to Burleson where he lines up behind another receiver and uses him as a de facto screen was really nice and then the touchdown to Calvin on a crossing route to pick the defender was the type of creative play designs I didn't see out of Linehan last year. 
• Suh had a couple of bone crushing hits breaking through the line and stuffing the running backs in the backfield.  I was surprised Ellington held onto the ball and got up after Suh flattened him in the 3rd quarter. 
• Lions defense did a nice job limiting the cardinals to a FG after the Bush fumble inside the 10 to start to third quarter.  That's all you can really ask of them in that situation.
• The lions secondary showed great awareness to force Michael Floyd out off the back of the end zone before he could come down even if he did catch the ball.
• I like Joique Bell as a pass catching back, but when he's lining up as your 4th wide receiver there's a depth problem at the receiver position. 
• In my season long prediction I had the Lions beating Arizona and losing at Washington in these opening two road games and though they lost to the Cardinals, they can still be 2-1 if the win in Washington next week.  The Redskins will be desperate for a win though after falling to the Eagles and Packers in the first two weeks.

Next week:  1-1 Lions at 0-2 Washington

Lions preview and Prediction for week 2 at Arizona

When you look at the schedule as a whole, and you are trying to make a case for the Lions to go to the playoffs, this game in Arizona becomes a must win.  The Lions cant qualify for the playoffs by winning on Sunday but a loss could eventually keep them out.  Its very early in the season but just like last week against the Vikings, I believe the Lions are overall the better team, but playing on the road will make it tough, especially in a place you haven't won in 20 years.  That includes last year, when the lions travelled to the desert lost 38-10, and walked away with their worst played game since a 2009 beat down by the Ravens, that was a 2-14 Lions team who started Donte Culpepper.  So needless to say there are some demons that need to be exercised this week.  As for Ndamukong Suh, did he go low, yes.  Should he have put his shoulder into Sullivan's shoulder instead, yes.  But all this talk about how it was from behind is just absurd, and I think Jeff Saturday sounded like a cry baby on ESPN talking about the Lions being bullies, and then having the nerve to go on and pick the Lions to win the game.  We fortunately have Suh available for this week, so let's move on and take a look at five major keys to the game:

Peterson vs. Johnson:  There's been a lot made of Arizona cornerback Patrick Peterson taking some snaps on offense this week, and while that doesn't really concern Calvin Johnson, it goes to show how dynamic of a player Peterson truly is.  Arizona gave up the 5th fewest passing yards per game last year and held quarterbacks' to an NFL low passer rating of just 71.2.  Last year, Matthew Stafford had a passer rating of 37.6, while throwing three interceptions and completing less then half of his throws.  One of the main reasons Arizona's pass defense is so stout is because of Patrick Peterson.  If he is able to single cover Calvin Johnson, the rest of the Lions receivers, tight ends and running backs will feel the squeeze.  If Calvin can shake loose from Peterson for a big play, or consistently get open on intermediate routes, the Cardinals will have to alter their game plan to shift coverage his way.

Reggie Bush effect:  On the other hand, Arizona's run defense was 5th worst in the league a season ago and now the Lions seem to have players on the offensive line and at the running back position who can take advantage of that.  While bush's 77 yard touchdown catch was the type of big play the Lions were missing a season ago, I'd argue the 91 yards he racked up on the ground were equally important in the lions maintaining a semblance of balance in their offense.  With his break out performance last week it will be interesting to see how teams game plan to stop the Lions going forward, starting with the Cardinals this Sunday.  You cant double team everyone.

Arizona's O-line vs. Detroit's D-line:  The Cardinals last week gave up four sacks, five additional QB hits, and Carson Palmer fumbled the ball twice and threw an interception.  While most of the pressure last week came from the edges, Detroit relies on its push up the middle to collapse the pocket allowing the outside rush to cave in on the quarterback.  Last week against Minnesota, the Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder was able to roll out and escape pressure at times because he is a solid athlete.  This week the results should be different as Carson Palmer is basically a statue.  However, if you don't get to Palmer he will absolutely pick you apart so it will be imperative that the Lions make it uncomfortable for the Arizona QB on a regular basis.

Fitzgerlad vs. Detroit's secondary:  Darius Slay had a mixed bag of results last week during his first NFL start, before being benched late in favor of veteran Rashean Mathis.  Slay deflected a pass to DeAndre Levy for an interception, but was beat deep once and called for one pass interference penalty.  The same criticism could be placed on Chris Houston, but this was against Jerome Simpson and Greg Jennings, two smaller, quicker wide receivers.  The test this week will come from big physical receivers, Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd.  The Lions should be able to slow down Arizona's running game so the secondary will be tested early and often in the desert.   

Kicking game:  Neither kicking unit had a perfect week last week.  Detroit rookie punter Sam Martin dropped a hold of the Lions first field goal attempt of the season, while Jay Feeley missed a 53 yard attempt and the Cardinals lost by three.  Which unit rebounds and executes this week will most likely go a long way to determining the winner. 


Other notes:

• As far as injuries are concerned, Larry Fitzgerald is listed as questionable by Arizona but expect him to start.  The Lions ruled  Jason Fox out so Hilliard will start in place of Fox at right tackle.  Louis Delmas and Nick Fairely as questionable.  I expect Delmas to start and Fairley returned to practice Friday and appears to be on course to start as well.

• Calvin Johnson and Adrian Peterson got off to slow starts last week, Johnson caught just four balls for 37 yards while Peterson had 93 yards on 18 carries.

• Teams that start the season 0-2 make it to the playoffs only about 12% of the time, whereas teams that have started 2-0 have made it 66% of the time.  That's what's facing the Cardinals and Lions this week.

Prediction: 
The Lions Defense should be able to control the running game and apply pressure on Carson Palmer but it will be on the offense to take care of the ball, open up running lanes and make enough big plays to squeak by the Cardinals.  A late FG by David Akers wins it for Detroit 23-20.

After crazy first half, Lions pull away from Vikings, open 1-0.

These were my notes from the first five minutes:  Running game looks good.  Stafford looks sharp.  Have to settle for a field goal.  Botched hold.  Adrian Peterson, untouched.  Season over.  Every single Lions fan is lying if the say that thought didn't at least cross their mind when Peterson took the opening play for the Vikings offense 78 yards for a TD.  However, Peterson's carry turned out to be the anomaly in my opening notes.  The Lions continued to run the ball effectively, Stafford was accurate and decisive and the Detroit Lions dominated the Vikings, though the score was not as lopsided as it  could and should have been.  The Lions left 18 points on the board in the first half, a botched hold on a field goal attempt, the Calvin Johnson rule forcing the Lions to settle for a field goal instead of a touchdown, Scheffler's drop at the 5 yard line going into the end zone leading to another field goal, and the Suh penalty erasing Levy's interception return for a touchdown.  This could have easily been a 52-24 game and that score line is honestly closer to how it felt.  The Vikings offense ran less then 10 effective plays all game and the Lions seemed to move up and down the field with ease.  Now they just need to stop being their own worst enemy.  Lets look at how each position group fared:
 
Quarterbacks:
I've previously stated that Matthew Stafford's accuracy would be the biggest turning point for the Lions this year and after game 1, so far so good.  Stafford was 28/43 for a 65% completion percentage, which is right in line with his completion percentage from 2011 when the Lions won 10 games and made the playoffs.  If you take away the four drops, the four passes batted down at the line and the two balls that were intentionally thrown away, Stafford's line is 32/37, that's 86%.  Stafford did a great job spreading the ball around as eight different players caught at least one pass, he took what the Minnesota defense gave him and didn't force anything.  I doubt, however, we will see much more read option this year from Matthew.

Running Backs:
Reggie bush was good in New Orleans, but it never felt like he was comfortable there.  He was good in Miami but the Dolphins weren't a very good team and he was a somewhat forgotten man as he was being misused as a feature back.  After one game in Detroit it feels like a perfect match for both player and team.  The Lions implement a scheme which best takes advantage of Reggie's ability to run between the tackles, bounce it outside, or catch the ball in space and make things happen.  He did a little bit of all those things to the tune of 191 yards and a touchdown, which could have easily been three had his knee not hit the turf while extending the ball inside the 1 yard line two separate times during the contest.  It will be interesting to see how teams adjust to the dual threat weapon the lions now possess.  Joique Bell played well in Bush's stead.  He was most effective as a check down receiver and short yardage back.

Wide Receivers:
This group had a lot of question marks coming out of the preseason but overall they were solid.  Calvin Johnson changes everything, evidenced by how deep the Minnesota safeties lineup on nearly every snap.  That obviously opens up space for Burleson, Edwards, and Durham to run free underneath and make plays.  Burleson was impressive and looked fresh, coming off a preseason where he looked old and slow.  Still Johnson is the straw that stirs the drink and though his official stat line wasn't overly impressive, 4 catches for 37 yards, he really controlled the game as Minnesota rolled 2-3 people his way nearly every play.  Had CJ actually hauled in the two passes in the end zone that were inches away from being scores, his line looks much more Calvin like.  It was surprising that Broyles was on the inactive list, he should help this group upon his return.

Tight Ends:
I said it would happen sooner rather than later this season, it took 28 minutes.  Pettigrew's fumble in the 2nd quarter could have been absolutely costly had the Vikings gone down and scored before the half (more on this later).  After all the talk about how hard he has worked to fix his short comings this offseason, the preseason did nothing to alleviate the fears that Pettigrew is just not a reliable option in the passing game anymore.  Neither is Scheffler, unfortunately.  Tony dropped the only pass thrown his way, after beating his defender and getting open inside the 10 yards line, the perfectly thrown ball bounced right off Scheffler's hands on what was most likely a touchdown.  These two were big weapons for the Lions during their playoff run two years ago but their collective play has fallen off.  Pettigrew is still a plus run blocker at the tight end position but Scheffler's reps look like they could be headed to Joseph Fauria.  Fauria actually caught the ball, three times, one for a touchdown.  He is a size mismatch, has soft hands and should see his role expand as the season goes on.

Offensive Line:
Another group full of question marks going into the season, with three new starters finding their way against a very strong front 4 for Minnesota and the Lions should walk away ecstatic of the collective play out of the offensive line as the opened up big running lanes, kept Stafford upright for most of the game and all but neutralized Allen and Robison on the outside.  Reiff out muscled Allen all game and Warford provided good push for Bush and Bell.  Unfortunately, Jason Fox suffered a pulled groin in the first quarter and Corey Hillard had to come in and finish the game but there was no drop off in production from this group.  The Lions have the making of a very good group up front going forward.
 
Defensive Line:
The Lions have built their defense from the line out and for this defense to be successful, they need the line to be very disruptive.  For most of the game, they were just that.  Outside of the 78 yard scamper to open the game, the Lions held Peterson to just 15 yards on 17 carries!  That is an amazing number against the clear cut best running back in the NFL.  It mostly due to the lack of any running lanes as the front four penetrated and clogged up the hole all game.  The pass rush was solid, though the Lions will tell you they didn't get home as often as the would have liked, but three sacks and six pressures are nothing to sneeze at.  We know Ponder is no Manning, but the Lions held him to a 63.1 passer rating, third lowest in the league for week 1.  Nick Fairley recorded 1.5 sacks and was a beast up front all game.
 
Linebackers:
This group was a question mark for me going into the season but, again outside of the long run, this unit played really well.  Tulloch's interception was the biggest play of the game in my opinion.  After a deflating Pettigrew fumble, the Vikings were driving, leading 14-6 and if they score at touchdown to go up 21-6 at half we are looking at a different ball game completely.  Credit to Suh, obviously, for hitting Ponder's arm while he was throwing but Tulloch has a knack for being in the right place at the right time.  DeAndre Levy played one of his best games in a Lions uniform.  He was everywhere making tackles, keeping Peterson in check and should have had a pick six.  Ashlee palmer made a couple nice stops in the backfield and played the run well, the Vikings aren't the type of team that can effectively take advantage of him in the passing game so that still remains to be seen but overall a good game for the collective front seven.

Defensive backs:
Still some issues in the secondary that are going to have to be fixed.  Jerome Simpson had a field day and Ponder was able to complete a few deep balls that could have been more problematic then they turned out to be.  The defensive backfield will have to be much better with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald and Brandon Marshall on the schedule the next few weeks.  Darius Slay had an up and down first start.   He gave up a few completions to Simpson but also helped force the interception by Levy.  He was ultimately replaced by Rashean Mathis in the 4th quarter as Schwartz decided to go with more experience to finish the game but Slay will more then likely be the starter come next week and just needs more experience, but I liked his competitiveness and physical play.  Houston was solid but not spectacular, Delmas was good against the run but had a stupid penalty that a leader simply can not take.  Quinn's interception sealed the game but he was quiet otherwise.  Bill Bentley dropped an interception that would have most likely gone back for six in the second quarter.

Special Teams:  
The coverage units did their job but Martin's hands and leg were mostly the story.  First, the good. Martins kickoff's consistently sailed out of the end zone, preventing any threat of a return and his fourth quarter punt was expertly downed at the one yard line by Michael Spurlock.  Now the bad, the botched hold on Akers first field goal attempt was most likely nerve related and probably wouldn't have seemed so bad had Peterson not romped for 78 yards 25 seconds later, but for now we will forgive him, since it didn't cost us the game, but that has to be cleaned up.  Akers looked good on his two kicks, and Spurlock was average in his five punt returns.

Other Notes:

• Ndomukong Suh's low hit on John Sullivan, which drew a 15 yard penalty, has his status for next weeks game in question as the league looks into the play.
• Lions +2 turnover margin after week 1.
• Ziggy Ansah didn't start but played about half the snaps and helped bottle up Peterson and recorded a half sack in his first game.
• Reggie Bush dislocated his thumb but returned to the game and should start next week.
• Minnesota was tagged for two huge penalties in the 4th quarter, one roughing the passer and one pass interference, leading to Detroit's final touchdown.

On to Arizona for Week 2, check back later this week for a prediction...will the Lions be 2-0?