The Lions Den | JHB's Detroit Lions

[KBLover]

Quote: Originally Posted by JHeyBraves

They didn't do THAT bad. I know Kruger, Bullock and Blake had monster preseasons. Everyone else...meh.

Hmm........

The "auto-trade block" stuff stopped after Peterson got hurt because Cooper was playing again. (as Nickle corner, but I guess that was good enough - at least he was corner again?)

Then Carillon got hurt, so he stayed even with Peterson back. Now all corners are healthy and Cooper is FS again. Deadline has passed so I wonder what will happen.

If it keeps happening with Pitta, maybe put him at TE #2 (behind Kruger) for a week or two and remove him from the block as normal if it keeps happening, see if it "stays off"?

I think next time it happens to me, I'll play along either with arranging depth or just trading the guy (or outright cutting him, depending)

[JHeyBraves]

Quote: Originally Posted by KBLover

Hmm........ The "auto-trade block" stuff stopped after Peterson got hurt because Cooper was playing again. (as Nickle corner, but I guess that was good enough - at least he was corner again?) Then Carillon got hurt, so he stayed even with Peterson back. Now all corners are healthy and Cooper is FS again. Deadline has passed so I wonder what will happen. If it keeps happening with Pitta, maybe put him at TE #2 (behind Kruger) for a week or two and remove him from the block as normal if it keeps happening, see if it "stays off"? I think next time it happens to me, I'll play along either with arranging depth or just trading the guy (or outright cutting him, depending)

That is interesting about your situation. I'm going to be keeping a close eye on how this all plays out.

If things don't improve in the next game, I'll give Pitta a shot just to see. Wouldn't that be cool? My passing game is eating it with disgruntled Pitta, then suddenly he gets thrown in and things go back to normal.

If he gets a shot and everything stays the same, I may have to reconsider that 3rd rounder while I can.

[JHeyBraves]

Matchup Preview | January 21, 2014
	@
St. Louis Rams (0-1, Away)		Detroit Lions (1-0, Home)
Injury Report DT Terrence Cody Torn Bicep (7 weeks) WR Dexter McCluster Ruptured Disk (1 week) WR Fabian Favors Broken Collarbone (3 weeks) Game Notes The team cut P Adam Bryant during the week and replaced him with T.J. Conley. For some reason, Bryant's big time preseason leg didn't translate to the regular season. The Lions get their first look at Wade Schumacher. Last Meeting: 9-9-12 - Lions 20, Rams 17

[JHeyBraves]

Sept. 21, 2014
Ford Field
8:20 PM

Lucky or Good?
Schumacher's Late Heroics
Come Up Short, Lions Escape 21-19

The Lions escaped with a narrow win, but it was way too close for comfort.

"There is no excuse for what happened out there today," said Coach Schwartz in the post game interview. "If Geiger didn't have stone hands, who knows what would've happened. We are going to get after our guys in practice this week."

The Rams could've tied the game after Schumacher threw a TD pass to WR William Dowd in the final minute, but the two point conversion was dropped by his tight end.

Wade Schumacher and his cannon arm were solid - he completed 65% of his passes but threw 2 INT's and kept it conservative. The interceptions can be overlooked when you consider that he nearly led his team back from down 21-3 in the final quarter.

The Curse of the Pitta continues into Week 2 as the passing game was inconsistent at best. Nate Burleson snatched his first touchdown since 2012. Stafford still hasn't thrown a pick, but that is about the only good thing to say about him thus far.

Xavier Slaughter was an entirely different player this week. He finished with only 14 yards on 11 carries - a measly 1.3 yards per carry. What really stood out were his three fumbles, only one of which was lost. The rookie needs to develop some consistency. As Slaughter struggled, Leshoure got more looks which led to his 99-yard game.

New faces are setting the stage for this defense. RE T.J. Blake was a monster, leading the team with 8 tackles. His fellow youth, OLB Davarius Bullock, forced his second fumble in as many games. Tim Jennings had a coming out party with both interceptions and even returned one for a score.

After two weeks, the Lions have won the games they were expected to win, but this last one wasn’t pretty. It is hard to tell where this team stands. The passing game will need to find itself next week against an aggressive 49ers defense.

A few defensive plays (Note: There is audio. Adjust your volume.)

St. Louis Rams at Detroit Lions
Jan 21, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
St. Louis Rams (0-2)	0	3	0	16	19
Detroit Lions (2-0)	7	7	0	7	21

Team Stats Comparison
	STL	DET
Total Offense	251	214
Rushing Yards	51	113
Passing Yards	200	101
First Downs	15	11
Punt Return Yards	1	31
Kick Return Yards	0	52
Total Yards	252	297
Turnovers	2	2
3rd Down Converstion	6-16 (37%)	6-14 (42%)
4th Down Conversion	1-1 (100%)	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-1 (0%)	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	2/2 (100%)	2/0 (66%)
Penalties	0-0	2-12
Posession Time	32:49	27:11

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		STL	DET
12:41	(DET) M. Leshoure 9 yd run	0	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		STL	DET
14:11	(DET) N. Nurleson 16 yd pass from M. Stafford	0	14
1:25	(STL) N. Novak 31 yd FG	3	14
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		STL	DET
12:50	(DET) T. Jennings returned interceptions 23 yds	3	21
7:41	(STL) N. Novak 28 yd FG	6	21
6:48	(STL) B. Quick 8 yd pass from W. Schumacher	13	21
0:39	(STL) W. Dowd 6 yd pass from W. Schumacher (2-pt failed)	19	21

St. Louis Rams PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Wade Schumacher 26/40 (65%) 215 2 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Steven Jackson 22 49 2.2 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Steven Jackson 8 19 2.4 0 Antonio Bryant 6 69 11.5 0 Blake Geiger 4 33 8.3 0 Early Doucet 3 48 16.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD James Laurinaitis (1 FR) 10 0 0 0 Akeem Jordan 5 0 0 0 Armani Smith 5 0 0 0 Darian Stewart (1 FF) 5 0 0 0 Robert Quinn (1 FF) 3 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Nick Novak 2/2 31

Detroit Lions PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Matthew Stafford 14/25 (56%) 107 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Mikel Leshoure 18 99 5.5 1 Xavier Slaughter 11 14 1.3 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Xavier Slaughter 4 18 4.5 0 Nate Burleson 3 33 11.0 1 Calvin Johnson 3 32 10.7 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD T.J. Blake 8 0 0 0 Stephen Tulloch 7 0 0 0 Davarius Bullock (1 FF) 6 0 0 0 Louis Delmas 5 0 0 0 Tim Jennings 1 0 2 1 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Justin Tucker 0/0 --

[KBLover]

WADE!

He almost got it done!

[Icy4me]

Close win! That might be the lowest yards Stafford has ever thrown, lol. Leshoure did pretty good this week in the running game.

Btw, I beat the Giants (The commish), 30-27, with a field goal as time expired to advance to conference championship to play either the Packers or Eagles! My guess is the Packers because he's one of the best players in our league.

Also, I had to finish the game with Hill, because Stafford got injured and carted off the field...The good news is he will be back next week! I'm almost had a heart attack, when he was carted off, lol.

[JHeyBraves]

Quote: Originally Posted by Icy4me

Close win! That might be the lowest yards Stafford has ever thrown, lol. Leshoure did pretty good this week in the running game. Btw, I beat the Giants (The commish), 30-27, with a field goal as time expired to advance to conference championship to play either the Packers or Eagles! My guess is the Packers because he's one of the best players in our league. Also, I had to finish the game with Hill, because Stafford got injured and carted off the field...The good news is he will be back next week! I'm almost had a heart attack, when he was carted off, lol.

Definitely one of Stafford's worst. He's picking a bad time to get cold… with the contract negotiations looming..

Ha! Stafford being carted off in the Playoffs and finishing with Hill. That sounds familiar

Looks like you fared a little better without Stafford. Sounds like an awesome game, too.

[JHeyBraves]

News from Around the League
(Week 2)

Players of the Week
NFC Offensive: M. Forte, CHI - 16 car, 181 yds, 2 TD
AFC Offensive: A. Luck, IND - 402 yds, 3 TD, INT
NFC Defensive: T. Jennings, DET - 1 tackle, 2 INT, TD
AFC Defensive: J. Mayo, NE - 5 tackles, 3 INT


Steelers try to keep S Troy Polamalu for life with 5-year, $52 M deal
Dolphins give LB Karlos Dansby a new 5-year, $40 M deal
Falcons extend DE John Abraham for 3 years and $19.9 M
Cowboys can't get deal done with WR Dez Bryant
SS Charles Woodson turns down Packers' offer
Bills and DL Marcel Dareus at a contract stalemate
Drew Brees passes Warren Moon for 5th all-time in passing yards
Texans HB Arian Foster out next 3 weeks with broken thumb
Chiefs QB Matt Cassell hits 20,000 career passing yards



Team News:

The Lions will try to kick The Curse of the Pitta by giving in and starting him. He is expected to be a big part of the gameplan with 6-8 targets. Kruger will move to #2. Coach Schwartz had this to say - "Kruger hasn't been playing the same as preseason. Yes, we know he was a first round pick, but that doesn't exclude him from blame. We will do whatever it takes to get this passing attack going." If Pitta doesn't show up and the passing game is once again a non-factor, expect the team to exercise their trade offer.

Mikel Leshoure looked significantly better than Slaughter in the running game. The carries are expected to be more in the 60/40 range with Slaughter receiving slightly more. Coaches feel Slaughter's speed gives them a better chance against the Niners.

Dexter McCluster returns for his first action of 2014. Hawkins hasn't gotten going in the slot, so McCluster will be thrown in the fire right away in his place.


Team Scouting:

HB Bull Griggs (2nd Rd.) - He is a load to bring down. Coaches were crowding around the TV watching film of Griggs continuing his forward progress with 3 and 4 defenders dragging behind. He looks to be good with ball security as well.

WR Akia Green (5th Rd.) - Good speed on the outside with consistent hands. He is somewhat timid going over the middle and has a tendency to shy away from passes in traffic. He is also a very capable kick returner.


Notable Progression:

LG Derrick Walters
STA: up from 68 to 73

DE Cliff Avril
Consistency: 2 to 3

K Justin Tucker
KAC: up from 88 to 89

MLB Travis Lewis
AWR: up from 66 to 70

WR Julian Edelman
RLS: up from 58 to 62

DE Ronnell Lewis
AWR: up from 47 to 53