JC2832's Pre-Season Team by Team Analysis: Detroit Lions

JaguarCrazy2832 · Joined: 28 Jun 2008 Posts: 73481

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Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions (10-6)

Some people expected the Lions to have a good year last year but it all hinged in the arm/health of Matthew Stafford. After missing 13 games in 2010 and 6 in 2009, Stafford exploded for big numbers putting up 5000 passing yards with the help of ultra-talented Calvin Johnson. The Lions ran into a very tough opponent in the wild card though playing the Saints and were beaten in a shootout 45-28. The Lions’ players have had many run-ins with the law but hopefully when the season starts these guys will get it together. This team is still very young and should continue to keep getting better. They got a taste of the playoffs last year, now it’s about getting back and moving farther

Offense:

This offense’s most popular player is by far Calvin Johnson aka Megatron. If there was one player that was Optimus Prime slowing down Megatron it would be no CB nor defense but the QB Matthew Stafford. Although Calvin is a phenomenal receiver it’s obvious that when Stafford is out he can be neutralized to an extent. Stafford and Calvin made the best QB-WR combo in the NFL last year connecting for 1600 yards and 16 TDs. One thing I noticed last year was Stafford was very slow in many games to get going. If he consistently played as well in the 1st half as he does in the 2nd half, he very well could improve on his numbers drastically.

The other targets are clearly not of Calvin’s level, but are still good 2nd options. Nate Burleson is a savy veteran who was the 2nd WR last year and put up good numbers (73-750) last year despite being limited in his possession role. Titus Young had himself a solid rookie season going for 600 and 6 last year and should see an increased role if he can manage to stay out of fights with his teammates. Finally, Ryan Broyles was surprisingly added in Round 2 to the offense despite his major ACL injury while at Oklahoma. Without this injury he easily would have gone in Round 1 so the Lions were willing to risk a 2nd round pick on him and his knee. Brandon Pettigrew is an underrated dual-threat TE, but needs to stop with the easy drops if he wants to get even more looks this year in the red-zone.

The Lions offensive line improved last year and should only get better with rookie addition Riley Reiff from Iowa manning one of the tackle positions. Jeff Backus and Dominic Raiola are the veterans on the line, but their play has definitely slipped a bit which is expected given they have played 12 years in the league each. Stephen Peterman and Rob Sims man the guard positions, are 15 years combined into their careers. The Lions lack a lot of solid depth along the OL and have no youth on the line except for Reiff. Finally the running game for the Lions has been non-existent for most years. They still have been looking for a very good RB since the GOAT Barry Sanders retired. They traded up for Jahvid Best who has been great when healthy but is suffering from concussion problems while 2nd round pick Mikel Leshoure is looking at a suspension and coming off a torn achilles. The Lions still lack a reliable option at RB so the offense will continue to go as Stafford does.

Defense:

Over the last few years the Lions have added a ton of talent to a defense that was the NFL’s whipping boy for a decade. Ndamukong Suh is by far the most talented but he definitely has some problems with the unnecessary roughness penalties. Suh and Fairley could make up one of, if not, the best young DT duo in the NFL, but Fairley has had some injury problems and lately has had his own problems but off the field instead of on it. The DEs are still getting good pressure with Cliff Avril having his best year with 11 sacks and Kyle Vanden Bosch. The Lions also have some good depth along the line with Lawrence Jackson, Ronnell Lewis, Willie Young, Corey Williams, and Sammie Lee Hill.

The Lions use to have one of the worst LB groups in the NFL and now they have a much improved core. Stephen Tulluch and Justin Durant were solid additions last year in free agency while Deandre Levy mans the OLB position in their Cover 2 scheme. They drafted 7th round pick Travis Lewis from Oklahoma to add some solid depth. Most 7th round picks won’t get mentioned in my analyses, but Lewis was once considered a 1st round pick but had a poor senior season and offseason and fell a ton.

With the front 7 finally getting with the program, its time the secondary steps up. Youngsters Amari Spievey and Louis Delmas start at 1 CB and S spot and play well but the other spots leave much to be desired. Chris Houston was brought in from Atlanta to fill a void while Drew Coleman was brought in to play the nickel/dime role. Jacob Lacey also has good starting experience but leaves a little bit to be desired. Alphonso Smith and rookies Dwight Bentley and Chris Greenwood albeit raw, provide the Lions with young talent to mold in their secondary. We saw how far the offense can really lead this team, but if they want to make it to the next level they will need the defense to step up to the challenge.

Questions:

1. Will the Lions be able to establish a dependable running game or will they have to continue to throw it 42 times a game again?

2. Who will step up and be the Robin to Calvin’s Batman? Titus Young? Ryan Broyles? Brandon Pettigrew? Nobody?

3. What is going to happen with this defense? Will Fairley play a whole year? Will Suh get back to his dominance from his rookie year? Will secondary fight back or give in to other team’s aerial assaults?
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Steelerspower · Joined: 13 Jun 2011 Posts: 6540

pf9 · Joined: 02 Dec 2008 Posts: 315

I have the Lions as the 6 seed in the NFC again. The furthest they could go is the Divisional round where they would lose to Green Bay, who I predict will be the top seed in the NFC.

BlackandBlue · Joined: 01 Jan 2011 Posts: 1070

Couple thoughts:

Titus is CLEARLY the second option on offense now. The last few games he showed ability that frankly Burleson has never had, even in his prime. He's going to show himself capable of being a reliable number one target, imo, and a great compliment to Megatron

Backus has been better the past few seasons than he has been for the large majority of his career. He's an above average left tackle. People pointing to him as a weakness are misguided. Could his age cause his play to fall off a cliff next season? Sure. But he was not a liability.

Lastly: The Lions ran well enough to win games. Their bigger weakness on offense, imo, is their over reliance on big plays and frequent maladroitness on third down.

TheROARisBACK · Joined: 22 Jan 2011 Posts: 3137 Location: Joe on the sig

JaguarCrazy2832 · Joined: 28 Jun 2008 Posts: 73481

I'm not saying Corey Williams is bad, after the many years I watched him play in Green Bay, I know what he can do.

Now that you mention it, I cant believe I forgot Amari was a S
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TheROARisBACK · Joined: 22 Jan 2011 Posts: 3137 Location: Joe on the sig

JaguarCrazy2832 · Joined: 28 Jun 2008 Posts: 73481

RyanFuller003 · Joined: 07 Jan 2007 Posts: 19880

Just one thing I have to point out is that Amari Spievey was converted to safety as a rookie and hasn't ever played CB for us. He's been pretty unreliable, though, and will have to compete for a starting job with Sean Jones and Erik Coleman. Otherwise you pretty much nailed it.

Rearviewmirror · Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 6:44 pm Post subject:

could you put the links to all of these in the OP?
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onejayhawk · Joined: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 5055 Location: Waco, Tx

Their defense scored a lot last season. I have to wonder if that was luck, or if they can do it again.

J
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JaguarCrazy2832 · Joined: 28 Jun 2008 Posts: 73481

JaguarCrazy2832 · Joined: 28 Jun 2008 Posts: 73481

Rearviewmirror · Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 11:43 pm Post subject:

Jakuvious · Joined: 06 Sep 2010 Posts: 4607

It is so unusual to me that when people question the Lions, they typically turn to the OL, the receiver across from Calvin, or the run game, and not the defense. It's like how great Calvin is makes people underestimate the other receiving targets. The Lions receivers are not a problem at all, at any spot. And the backs are fine if healthy. Smith was pretty impressive at times last year. The defense is much more of a concern. If the DL doesn't get there, the coverage is useless. Houston is a good #2, but doesn't belong at #1. Getting rid of Wright was a smart move, but they don't have anyone else who is really any better. And Delmas is massively overrated IMO, and most people just think he's above average.
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