Post by D6 on Nov 18, 2019 0:03:02 GMT -5
Thoughts in ****
www.mlive.com/lions/2019/11/observations-defense-lets-down-lions-again-as-fans-turn-on-team.html
Observations: Defense lets down Lions again as fans turn on team in another loss
Updated 6:07 PM;Today 4:24 PM
Detroit Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys - November 17, 2019
By Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
DETROIT -- He picked a fourth-quarter pass off his shoelaces, turned upfield and then weaved through traffic for a 17-yard touchdown that put this game on ice. The Ford Field crowd roared in approval.
That player: Ezekiel Elliott.
The Dallas Cowboys were 1,200 miles from home, although you would have never known it from their 35-27 win Sunday against the Detroit Lions. The crowd erupted into chants of “Let’s Go Defense!” when Detroit was running multiple third-down plays. There were rounds of “Let’s Go Cowboys!” including as Dallas put this game out of reach in the fourth quarter.That says a lot about Dallas, which travels well. It says even more about the Lions, whose unbeaten start seems like an eternity ago. They’ve now lost six of their last seven games, fallen to 3-6-1 on the season and have sunk even further into the NFC North cellar.
And with six games still to go, their own fans have already turned against them.
You might expect the Lions to struggle without Matthew Stafford, who is sidelined with fractured bones in his back, and they have gone 0-2 without him. That’s no surprise. What is surprising is Jeff Driskel played well enough to win in Chicago, and played even better against the Cowboys. Just not well enough to compensate for a defense that is trending toward becoming the worst in franchise history.
Driskel threw two touchdown passes to Marvin Jones, ran for a third score, finished with 51 yards on the ground and did not commit a turnover. That’s some good stuff from a backup quarterback playing against a top-10 defense.
He led a short touchdown drive to open the game, then capped another himself with a beautiful keeper from 2 yards out. That gave Detroit a 14-10 lead midway through the second quarter. But -- and anyone paying attention this season knows where this going -- the defense just couldn’t hold it. The Cowboys tacked on two more touchdowns in the final 5 minutes of the half, including covering 83 yards on just four plays to find the end zone before intermission. They racked up 322 yards in the first two quarters, more than tripling up Detroit despite holding the ball for nearly the same amount of time, and finished with 509 for the game.
Yikes.
Driskel still made a game of it, though, including threading a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jones that pulled Detroit within eight points with 5:58 left. He hit Kenny Golladay with a 34-yard jump ball on the ensuing series, and a facemask penalty added 15 yards. Just like that, Detroit had possession at Dallas’ 32-yard line trailing by a score.
But Driskel threw incomplete on first down, to some cheers from the crowd. He was sacked on second down, to even louder cheers. Then he was drilled as he fired another errant pass on third-and-long, and Ford Field erupted in uproarious cheers against the home team.
Detroit punted, and never threatened again.
The same could now be said of this season.
**** My guess is at least 90 % of the fans at the game that cheered for the Cowboys are Cowboys fans. Probably, well over 95 %. Thousands of Lions fans likely sold their tickets. Many that attended probably left after Zeke Elliott's excellent reception that he turned into a TD.
Jeff Driskel gave the Lions a chance to win this game. That's more than many backup QBs and even some starting QBs would have done. Driskel has plenty of physical ability. His decision making and anticipation need to improve. There were two plays that easily could have been designed runs that Driskel play faked on, in which multiple Offensive Lineman were down field. I'm interested to see if someone asks Matt Patricia or Darrell Bevell about this. Yet, considering the problematic pass blocking by the Lions Offensive Tackles, Driskel deserves props for his performance.
The Lions Defense, especially the pass rush ( part of this is scheme related ), failed in this game. This is certainly not the first time this happened this season. Injuries on the Defensive Line have been costly. But the problems likely go well beyond that.
The run Defense was at least above average in this game. The Pass Defense was at best D grade level. With a F probably the grade that fits. ****
Some more quick observations from the loss:
-- Matt Patricia has bemoaned the penalties after several games this year, including just last week in Chicago. Then Detroit took the field on Sunday against Dallas and committed 69 yards worth of penalties in the first half, which was more than they managed passing (44) or rushing (56). And 30 of those penalty yards came on a single sequence just before intermission. Will Harris allowed Randall Cobb to score a 19-yard touchdown while also getting flagged for lowering his head on the play. That’s 15 yards -- and then A’Shawn Robinson made it an even 30 with an unsportsmanlike conduct. That’s just bad, sloppy football, and led to the Cowboys kicking off from Detroit’s 35-yard line. It was a laughable sight at what turned out to be another clown show for the defense.
**** Will Harris hit Randall Cobb near the goal line. Cobb got inside of Justin Coleman in Man Coverage underneath. Dak Prescott had a clean pocket against a 4 man rush. That was the number one reason Cobb scored a TD. A'Shawn Robinson has had an assortment of injuries. Including, a leg related injury in the 1st half ( he came back into the game. ). Yet, his temper has been an issue long before this season. The two combined penalties gave the Cowboys an opportunity to attempt an Onside Kickoff. Kenny Golladay recovered it, saving the Lions from further disaster at the time. ****
-- The Lions were a below-.500 team with their quarterback playing at an MVP type of level. Without Matthew Stafford, the margins for error are even thinner, and the Lions continue to blow it with bad penalties and dumb defense. The Cowboys had 322 yards of offense in the first half, and 509 for the game, making this the worst game yet for a really bad defense. Wasn’t Matt Patricia supposed to be some kind of defensive savant? What has happened?
****The combination of injuries on the Defensive Line, the Lions not having a pure / natural edge rusher on the roster ( this was a major concern for me going into the season ), opposing Offenses adjusting to the Lions Defensive Scheme, and some very good QB play all have been factors in the Lions pass Defense being at or near the bottom of the NFL. ****
The Lions are actually getting pretty good quarterback play out of Jeff Driskel, who completed 15 of 26 passes for 209 yards, two touchdowns and no picks. His passer rating was 109.3. Oh, and he added 51 yards rushing on eight carries. Was he perfect? Of course not. He’s still not explosive downfield -- although he’s hit Golladay for big ones late in each of his starts -- and pocketed too many opportunities where he could have run. But he also did a good job sustaining drives and avoiding mistakes. He hung 27 points on a top-10 defense, and once again had Detroit in position at the end. You can’t ask for much more out of a backup quarterback in this league. Problem is, saddled with that defense, it’s still not enough.
****Jeff Driskel is saddled with this Defense and pass blocking that loses football games. LG Joe Dahl being beaten for a sack by DT Malik Collins on 2nd and 15 on the Lions final set of downs put the Lions on a 3rd and 26 situation. Though Dahl got beat on tbe play, the Offensive Tackle play was much worse in the overall game. Especially, the play of Taylor Decker in the first half against Robert Quinn. Not to mention a False Start by Decker on a 2nd Down play when the Lions led 7-0. That penalty might have been the turning point of the game, as the Lions had to Punt on that series of downs. ****
-- Darius Slay actually did a good job marking Amari Cooper -- and that’s no easy feat -- including racking up pass breakups on each of his first two series. He now has 28 games with multiple passes defended, which leads the league since he turned pro in 2013. Problem is, Dak Prescott just exploited the other side of the field. Michael Gallup needed only two quarters to acquire 105 receiving yards, already making it the third-best game of his career. He finished with 148 yards on nine catches.-
**** Darius Slay had a good overall game. Yet, he gave up a sizable completion against Michael Gallup, missed a tackle on a 3rd Down play ( though it likely still would have been a 1st Down), and didn't come down with an interception that a pass on the high side sailed through his hands. Amari Cooper maintained terrific concentration, catching the ball. Soon after, Elliott scored an the 3rd Down screen pass. ****
- Kerryon Johnson started the season at running back, but is on injured reserve with a knee injury. Tra Carson replaced him in the starting lineup, but wound up on IR after just one game. Rookie Ty Johnson got the call last week, but didn’t even make it to halftime before suffering a brain injury. This week, the Lions went with a surprise at the position and promoted Bo Scarbrough from the practice squad. The former Alabama star is on his fourth team in a calendar year without ever appearing in a game, then got the start against Dallas’ top-10 defense. And he needed just three carries before he barreled into the end zone for a touchdown. Not a bad debut at all. He runs hard, that much is evident, and added some badly needed competency to a Lions rushing attack that has lacked it most of the season. He finished with 55 yards on 14 carries, a bright spot on a rough day for Detroit, and certainly earned more playing time going forward.
**** Good job by Bo Scarbrough. He runs hard and is difficult to tackle. My concern with him from this game is he exposed the ball on at least 3 running plays. The last one was either a fumble ( I believe was the call ) or he was down by contact. ****
-- It was surprising to see Tracy Walker listed as “questionable” for this game, considering he had practiced just once in three weeks because of a knee injury. And it was more surprising to see him actually suit up against Dallas. Then he missed a tackle on Tony Pollard over the middle of the field, leading to a touchdown as more cries of “Let’s Go Cowboys!” rang through Ford Field. Then to add injury to insult, Walker suffered another knee injury on the play. You really have to wonder whether one practice in three weeks was enough to get him right.-
**** Before that play, Tracy Walker was a bright spot. The injury he suffered has been costly for the Lions, much like the many Defensive Line injuries have. ****
- The injury issues didn’t stop there. Defensive end Trey Flowers forced another fumble in the first half -- his third of the season, a career-high -- but was trying to play through an injury in the second half. Eventually the pain became too much, and he headed for the locker room late in the third quarter. He attempted a return, only to leave the game shaken up once again and was pulled for good.
**** I'm not sure if Trey Flowers suffered another Shoulder Injury or a Concussion. Definitely reason for concern. Flowers has been the Lions pass rush for the most part. Even with Flowers, the Lions Defense has struggled mightily against the pass far too often. ****
-- Offensively, the Lions lost both center Frank Ragnow and fullback Nick Bawden. Ragnow has been the club’s best offensive lineman this year, so that one hurt. Luckily, Detroit had viable replacements. Graham Glasgow slid back to center -- where he started all last year -- and Kenny Wiggins replaced him at right guard. Wiggins has played multiple series at right guard every game this season.
**** Frank Ragnow is the Lions only Offensive Lineman that clearly has the look as a foundation piece or anything close to that. ****
-- Not to be left out, the special teams lost return man Jamal Agnew to an ankle injury. That spoiled what had been a really nice day for Agnew, including returning a punt 32 yards. Marvin Hall replaced him in the fourth quarter.-
**** Injuries and loses are piling up for the Lions. ****
- Detroit’s not exactly known for its blitzing, but Devon Kennard got home for a big one deep in his own territory in the third quarter. That forced a field goal and preserved an early lead. Kennard now has 5.0 sacks on the season, becoming just the second linebacker in team history to record multiple seasons of at least five sacks. The other is Mike Cofer.
**** The Cowboys extended their lead to 27-21 following a FG after Devon Kennard's sack. Kennard, much like the late Michael Cofer, plays with passion. However, Kennard doesn't have the physical ability that Cofer had. ****
-- The Lions wore their white road jerseys (with blue pants) at home for the first time since beating the Oakland Raiders 28-14 on Nov. 26, 1970. That’s almost a half-century ago. The late, great Charlie Sanders caught two touchdown passes in the win, and Mel Farr iced the victory with a late 11-yard scoring run.
**** The Lions came back from 14-0 down to beat the Raiders on Thanksgiving Day in 1970.
The Lions White Jerseys numbers are easier to identify than the Blue Jerseys and Blue Throwback Jerseys the Lions have used since the 2017 season. ****
.......
This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:
Lions vs. Cowboys preview: Game # 10 ( 2019 )
detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/481/lions-cowboys-preview-game-2019
.
www.mlive.com/lions/2019/11/observations-defense-lets-down-lions-again-as-fans-turn-on-team.html
Observations: Defense lets down Lions again as fans turn on team in another loss
Updated 6:07 PM;Today 4:24 PM
Detroit Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys - November 17, 2019
By Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
DETROIT -- He picked a fourth-quarter pass off his shoelaces, turned upfield and then weaved through traffic for a 17-yard touchdown that put this game on ice. The Ford Field crowd roared in approval.
That player: Ezekiel Elliott.
The Dallas Cowboys were 1,200 miles from home, although you would have never known it from their 35-27 win Sunday against the Detroit Lions. The crowd erupted into chants of “Let’s Go Defense!” when Detroit was running multiple third-down plays. There were rounds of “Let’s Go Cowboys!” including as Dallas put this game out of reach in the fourth quarter.That says a lot about Dallas, which travels well. It says even more about the Lions, whose unbeaten start seems like an eternity ago. They’ve now lost six of their last seven games, fallen to 3-6-1 on the season and have sunk even further into the NFC North cellar.
And with six games still to go, their own fans have already turned against them.
You might expect the Lions to struggle without Matthew Stafford, who is sidelined with fractured bones in his back, and they have gone 0-2 without him. That’s no surprise. What is surprising is Jeff Driskel played well enough to win in Chicago, and played even better against the Cowboys. Just not well enough to compensate for a defense that is trending toward becoming the worst in franchise history.
Driskel threw two touchdown passes to Marvin Jones, ran for a third score, finished with 51 yards on the ground and did not commit a turnover. That’s some good stuff from a backup quarterback playing against a top-10 defense.
He led a short touchdown drive to open the game, then capped another himself with a beautiful keeper from 2 yards out. That gave Detroit a 14-10 lead midway through the second quarter. But -- and anyone paying attention this season knows where this going -- the defense just couldn’t hold it. The Cowboys tacked on two more touchdowns in the final 5 minutes of the half, including covering 83 yards on just four plays to find the end zone before intermission. They racked up 322 yards in the first two quarters, more than tripling up Detroit despite holding the ball for nearly the same amount of time, and finished with 509 for the game.
Yikes.
Driskel still made a game of it, though, including threading a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jones that pulled Detroit within eight points with 5:58 left. He hit Kenny Golladay with a 34-yard jump ball on the ensuing series, and a facemask penalty added 15 yards. Just like that, Detroit had possession at Dallas’ 32-yard line trailing by a score.
But Driskel threw incomplete on first down, to some cheers from the crowd. He was sacked on second down, to even louder cheers. Then he was drilled as he fired another errant pass on third-and-long, and Ford Field erupted in uproarious cheers against the home team.
Detroit punted, and never threatened again.
The same could now be said of this season.
**** My guess is at least 90 % of the fans at the game that cheered for the Cowboys are Cowboys fans. Probably, well over 95 %. Thousands of Lions fans likely sold their tickets. Many that attended probably left after Zeke Elliott's excellent reception that he turned into a TD.
Jeff Driskel gave the Lions a chance to win this game. That's more than many backup QBs and even some starting QBs would have done. Driskel has plenty of physical ability. His decision making and anticipation need to improve. There were two plays that easily could have been designed runs that Driskel play faked on, in which multiple Offensive Lineman were down field. I'm interested to see if someone asks Matt Patricia or Darrell Bevell about this. Yet, considering the problematic pass blocking by the Lions Offensive Tackles, Driskel deserves props for his performance.
The Lions Defense, especially the pass rush ( part of this is scheme related ), failed in this game. This is certainly not the first time this happened this season. Injuries on the Defensive Line have been costly. But the problems likely go well beyond that.
The run Defense was at least above average in this game. The Pass Defense was at best D grade level. With a F probably the grade that fits. ****
Some more quick observations from the loss:
-- Matt Patricia has bemoaned the penalties after several games this year, including just last week in Chicago. Then Detroit took the field on Sunday against Dallas and committed 69 yards worth of penalties in the first half, which was more than they managed passing (44) or rushing (56). And 30 of those penalty yards came on a single sequence just before intermission. Will Harris allowed Randall Cobb to score a 19-yard touchdown while also getting flagged for lowering his head on the play. That’s 15 yards -- and then A’Shawn Robinson made it an even 30 with an unsportsmanlike conduct. That’s just bad, sloppy football, and led to the Cowboys kicking off from Detroit’s 35-yard line. It was a laughable sight at what turned out to be another clown show for the defense.
**** Will Harris hit Randall Cobb near the goal line. Cobb got inside of Justin Coleman in Man Coverage underneath. Dak Prescott had a clean pocket against a 4 man rush. That was the number one reason Cobb scored a TD. A'Shawn Robinson has had an assortment of injuries. Including, a leg related injury in the 1st half ( he came back into the game. ). Yet, his temper has been an issue long before this season. The two combined penalties gave the Cowboys an opportunity to attempt an Onside Kickoff. Kenny Golladay recovered it, saving the Lions from further disaster at the time. ****
-- The Lions were a below-.500 team with their quarterback playing at an MVP type of level. Without Matthew Stafford, the margins for error are even thinner, and the Lions continue to blow it with bad penalties and dumb defense. The Cowboys had 322 yards of offense in the first half, and 509 for the game, making this the worst game yet for a really bad defense. Wasn’t Matt Patricia supposed to be some kind of defensive savant? What has happened?
****The combination of injuries on the Defensive Line, the Lions not having a pure / natural edge rusher on the roster ( this was a major concern for me going into the season ), opposing Offenses adjusting to the Lions Defensive Scheme, and some very good QB play all have been factors in the Lions pass Defense being at or near the bottom of the NFL. ****
The Lions are actually getting pretty good quarterback play out of Jeff Driskel, who completed 15 of 26 passes for 209 yards, two touchdowns and no picks. His passer rating was 109.3. Oh, and he added 51 yards rushing on eight carries. Was he perfect? Of course not. He’s still not explosive downfield -- although he’s hit Golladay for big ones late in each of his starts -- and pocketed too many opportunities where he could have run. But he also did a good job sustaining drives and avoiding mistakes. He hung 27 points on a top-10 defense, and once again had Detroit in position at the end. You can’t ask for much more out of a backup quarterback in this league. Problem is, saddled with that defense, it’s still not enough.
****Jeff Driskel is saddled with this Defense and pass blocking that loses football games. LG Joe Dahl being beaten for a sack by DT Malik Collins on 2nd and 15 on the Lions final set of downs put the Lions on a 3rd and 26 situation. Though Dahl got beat on tbe play, the Offensive Tackle play was much worse in the overall game. Especially, the play of Taylor Decker in the first half against Robert Quinn. Not to mention a False Start by Decker on a 2nd Down play when the Lions led 7-0. That penalty might have been the turning point of the game, as the Lions had to Punt on that series of downs. ****
-- Darius Slay actually did a good job marking Amari Cooper -- and that’s no easy feat -- including racking up pass breakups on each of his first two series. He now has 28 games with multiple passes defended, which leads the league since he turned pro in 2013. Problem is, Dak Prescott just exploited the other side of the field. Michael Gallup needed only two quarters to acquire 105 receiving yards, already making it the third-best game of his career. He finished with 148 yards on nine catches.-
**** Darius Slay had a good overall game. Yet, he gave up a sizable completion against Michael Gallup, missed a tackle on a 3rd Down play ( though it likely still would have been a 1st Down), and didn't come down with an interception that a pass on the high side sailed through his hands. Amari Cooper maintained terrific concentration, catching the ball. Soon after, Elliott scored an the 3rd Down screen pass. ****
- Kerryon Johnson started the season at running back, but is on injured reserve with a knee injury. Tra Carson replaced him in the starting lineup, but wound up on IR after just one game. Rookie Ty Johnson got the call last week, but didn’t even make it to halftime before suffering a brain injury. This week, the Lions went with a surprise at the position and promoted Bo Scarbrough from the practice squad. The former Alabama star is on his fourth team in a calendar year without ever appearing in a game, then got the start against Dallas’ top-10 defense. And he needed just three carries before he barreled into the end zone for a touchdown. Not a bad debut at all. He runs hard, that much is evident, and added some badly needed competency to a Lions rushing attack that has lacked it most of the season. He finished with 55 yards on 14 carries, a bright spot on a rough day for Detroit, and certainly earned more playing time going forward.
**** Good job by Bo Scarbrough. He runs hard and is difficult to tackle. My concern with him from this game is he exposed the ball on at least 3 running plays. The last one was either a fumble ( I believe was the call ) or he was down by contact. ****
-- It was surprising to see Tracy Walker listed as “questionable” for this game, considering he had practiced just once in three weeks because of a knee injury. And it was more surprising to see him actually suit up against Dallas. Then he missed a tackle on Tony Pollard over the middle of the field, leading to a touchdown as more cries of “Let’s Go Cowboys!” rang through Ford Field. Then to add injury to insult, Walker suffered another knee injury on the play. You really have to wonder whether one practice in three weeks was enough to get him right.-
**** Before that play, Tracy Walker was a bright spot. The injury he suffered has been costly for the Lions, much like the many Defensive Line injuries have. ****
- The injury issues didn’t stop there. Defensive end Trey Flowers forced another fumble in the first half -- his third of the season, a career-high -- but was trying to play through an injury in the second half. Eventually the pain became too much, and he headed for the locker room late in the third quarter. He attempted a return, only to leave the game shaken up once again and was pulled for good.
**** I'm not sure if Trey Flowers suffered another Shoulder Injury or a Concussion. Definitely reason for concern. Flowers has been the Lions pass rush for the most part. Even with Flowers, the Lions Defense has struggled mightily against the pass far too often. ****
-- Offensively, the Lions lost both center Frank Ragnow and fullback Nick Bawden. Ragnow has been the club’s best offensive lineman this year, so that one hurt. Luckily, Detroit had viable replacements. Graham Glasgow slid back to center -- where he started all last year -- and Kenny Wiggins replaced him at right guard. Wiggins has played multiple series at right guard every game this season.
**** Frank Ragnow is the Lions only Offensive Lineman that clearly has the look as a foundation piece or anything close to that. ****
-- Not to be left out, the special teams lost return man Jamal Agnew to an ankle injury. That spoiled what had been a really nice day for Agnew, including returning a punt 32 yards. Marvin Hall replaced him in the fourth quarter.-
**** Injuries and loses are piling up for the Lions. ****
- Detroit’s not exactly known for its blitzing, but Devon Kennard got home for a big one deep in his own territory in the third quarter. That forced a field goal and preserved an early lead. Kennard now has 5.0 sacks on the season, becoming just the second linebacker in team history to record multiple seasons of at least five sacks. The other is Mike Cofer.
**** The Cowboys extended their lead to 27-21 following a FG after Devon Kennard's sack. Kennard, much like the late Michael Cofer, plays with passion. However, Kennard doesn't have the physical ability that Cofer had. ****
-- The Lions wore their white road jerseys (with blue pants) at home for the first time since beating the Oakland Raiders 28-14 on Nov. 26, 1970. That’s almost a half-century ago. The late, great Charlie Sanders caught two touchdown passes in the win, and Mel Farr iced the victory with a late 11-yard scoring run.
**** The Lions came back from 14-0 down to beat the Raiders on Thanksgiving Day in 1970.
The Lions White Jerseys numbers are easier to identify than the Blue Jerseys and Blue Throwback Jerseys the Lions have used since the 2017 season. ****
.......
This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:
Lions vs. Cowboys preview: Game # 10 ( 2019 )
detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/481/lions-cowboys-preview-game-2019
.
