Post by D6 on Sept 15, 2019 23:05:03 GMT -5
Thoughts in ****
www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2018/12/lions_matthew_stafford_takes_a.html#incart_river_index
Observations: Darius Slay, Matthew Stafford deliver in crunch time for Lions win
Updated Dec 2, 7:18 PM; Posted Dec 2, 7:08 PM
Observations: Darius Slay, Matthew Stafford deliver in crunch time for Lions win Updated Sep 15, 5:34 PM; Posted Sep 15, 4:07 PM
By Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
DETROIT -- It hasn’t been easy, and certainly not pretty, but the Lions somehow remain unbeaten two weeks into the season.
Matthew Stafford found Kenny Golladay for a 31-yard go-ahead touchdown, then Darius Slay intercepted the football in the end zone with 1:03 left to seal a 13-10 win in the Lions’ home opener on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The victory snaps a three-game losing streak at home for the Lions, who hadn’t won at Ford Field since holding off Carolina for a 20-19 victory on Nov. 18. They’re now 4-5 at home overall under Matt Patricia.
They improve to 1-0-1 this season, and remain unbeaten -- somehow -- heading into a Week 3 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Lions certainly weren’t perfect in victory, committing eight penalties for 71 yards, missing one field goal, botching an extra-point attempt and benching their struggling return man. Stafford also threw two second-half interceptions, one of which was in the end zone.
But down the stretch, Stafford was exceptional, including engineering an eight-play, 69-yard drive that he capped with a 31-yard strike to Kenny Golladay. Golladay worked over Pro Bowler Casey Hayward on a skinny post, giving Detroit its first lead, 13-10, with 7:28 remaining.
Stafford set up the game-winner a play earlier, when he threw a 4-yard laser beam to Marvin Jones on a fourth-and-1 to extend the series.
“He fired it in there,” Patricia said. “I don’t know if Marvin caught it or it just stuck in his chest.”
Los Angeles did make it interesting, with Philip Rivers coming back the other way and driving into position for a potentially game-tying field goal. But he went for the jugular first, throwing deep into the end zone on third down. He went back at Slay, whom he had picked on all day. Slay struggled with the assignment too, turning in one of his worst games in a long time.
But in crunch time, he delivered, diving for the game-winning pick with 1:03 left. Big play, indeed.
**** This is a huge win for the Lions. Even with all of the mistakes the Lions made and the Chargers displaying tremendous skill on both sides of tbe ball in various parts of the game, tbe Lions found a way to win against a team that was 12-4 last season ( with a road playoff win at Baltimore ). In most of tbe 3rd QTR and until the Lions took the lead 13-10 in the middle of the 4th QTR, my confidence in the Lions was low. One thought that came to mind is this is a game the Lions usually won when Jim Caldwell was HC and a game the Lions usually lose under Matt Patricia. I'm thrilled that the Lions proved me wrong. This is a game I predicted the Lions to win 23-20. But the wasted opportunities in the 2nd QTR and the Defense struggling to keep the Chargers from moving the ball in most of the 2nd Half led to major doubts. I'm amazed the Chargers didn't score a point in the 2nd half, after watching what transpired. There were many Patriots Defenses that gave up plenty of yardage. But I doubt they had a 2nd half to the extent of what transpired in Downtown Detroit today. Major props to the players,coaches, and other support staff in their contribution to the Lions win over the Chargers. ****
Here are some more observations:
-- Matthew Stafford went 181 straight passes without throwing an interception, the longest active streak in the NFL. But he threw two in the third quarter, one in the end zone that was intended for Kenny Golladay and another that was downfield for Marvin Jones. Stafford also wasn’t on the same page as his targets on multiple occasions. It’s impossible to say who was at fault, but clearly there are kinks to work out in the new offense. But he did enough to remain unbeaten, completing 22 of 30 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns.
**** The first interception was a 50-50 type of situation. It was an aggressive throw that backfired. CB Casey Hayward made an excellent play against Kenny Golladay, including coming down with the ball.
The second interception was a bad decision by Matthew Stafford. He tried to force the ball vertically in the middle of the field. To Stafford's credit, he played at a very high level after that and was a difference maker in the Lions comeback win. ****
-- Darius Slay handles whatever’s in front of him most days. Today was not one of those days. He was flagged three times, including once for a pass interference in the end zone. He allowed a bunch of first-down catches by Keenan Allen, after not allowing any last week. In fact, he allowed just one catch for 6 yards last week -- and that one catch was on purpose, because it was a third-and-16. But this week, Allen caught eight passes for 98 yards, almost all of it with Slay in coverage. That’s a really good player, and not Slay’s best effort. But when it mattered most, Slay delivered.
**** Darius Slay did have some other good moments, including causing an incompletion on 3rd Down on tbe Chargers first drive of the game. There's no question though that Keenan Allen beat Slay many times in this game. Allen is a masterful route runner, with excellent catching skills. Thankfully, he's in the AFC. Slay came up big when the Lions needed him to the most. Moving on from the previous plays is imperative in the NFL. That much more at CB. Slay showed why he was a Pro Bowler the last two seasons. ****
-- Burn the special teams tape. Just don’t forget to soak it in petrol first. There was one sequence where offsetting penalties forced another Chargers punt -- and then the Lions committed two more penalties. They were flagged four times on the first three punts of the day, and special teams were flagged five time in the half overall. Throw in a missed extra-point and field-goal attempt by Matt Prater -- the first time he’s missed multiple attempts in the same game since last year’s opener -- and special teams were the difference in a 10-6 halftime deficit. And none of it accounts for the benching of Jamal Agnew as the punt returner in the second quarter and the kick returner in the third. What a disaster.
**** Thankfully, for Sam Martin in the first two games of the season and for Danny Amendola as a Punt Returner after Jamal Agnew was benched. Maybe permanently. The rest of tbe Lions Special Teams collectively easily could have cost the Lions the game today. ****
-- That said, Danny Amendola replaced Amendola as the punt returner, and actually did some good things, including squeezing 11 yards out of his first attempt despite a crowded field of vision. Considering his sure-handedness back there, this is a move that should stick.
**** Ideally, someone else will emerge as a viable Punt Return option for the Lions. The value of Danny Amendola on Offense makes it risky to use him as a Punt Returner. The Lions had no choice but to turn to Amendola today, though. ****
-- Special teams have been a comedy of errors in the early going, but it’s worth pointing out just how good Sam Martin has been. He put two punts inside the 10-yard line in Week 1, one of which died at the goal line -- and then he stuck another at the 2-yard line against Los Angeles. And before you get all worked up, no, the blocked punt in the opener was not his fault. Rookie Will Harris blowing a block is not Martin’s fault whatsoever. Martin has been good, despite the block and the crooked numbers because of it.
**** Sam Martin looks like the player before the 2017 off-season injury. *****
-- Not to be outdone, the Chargers missed two field goals and committed a cavalcade of penalties themselves, two of which nullified touchdowns. Just a whole lot of bad football. (Although it should be noted their punter was kicking field goals because of injuries.)
**** i thought this was a well officiated game, at least in terms of the TV angles that were shown. The Chargers miscues helped save the Lions from self destructing. That enabled the Lions to be in position win the game in the 4th QTR. ****
-- The Chargers committed nine penalties for 70 yards, while the Lions were flagged eight times for 71 yards.
-- The Lions were determined to get the ball to Kerryon Johnson, doing so six times on the game’s first 11 plays. And Johnson rewarded them with a big day. That includes housing a 36-yard touchdown in the first quarter, where he took a short pass from Matthew Stafford and then ran untouched into the end zone. Credit to Darrell Bevell too, because that was a great play design. Danny Amendola motioned right to left, then Stafford looked left before wheeling around and throwing to Johnson. He was so wide open that he had time to bobble the catch and still scamper untouched for Detroit’s first touchdown of the day. And that was just the start. Johnson made at least three people miss on at least two different plays. He spun his way to 41 tough yards on 12 carries, plus caught two passes for 47 yards. He was Detroit’s second-leading receiver actually, behind only Kenny Golladay.
**** Great play all around by the Lions Offense. On the other hand, a perfectly thrown ball on a 3rd Down play went off Kerryon Johnson's chest, then was deflected by ageless LB Thomas Davis. ****
-- Kerryon Johnson accounted for 88 yards overall, and blew through the 1,000-yard barrier for his career in just his 12th game. Only five Lions players have done that in history, and none since Barry Sanders.
-- Golladay had himself a day, catching eight passes (on 10 targets) for 117 yards. It was his fourth career 100-yard game, tied for the third most by a Lins player in his first 28 career games.
**** Kenny Golladay's big play ability is very likely going to lead to a large payday for him in 2020 or 2021. ****
-- Ty Johnson ran so hard on his first carry that from my perch, seven stories above the field, I thought he was C.J. Anderson. Johnson is a rookie speedster, but showed he’s not afraid of a little contact either, going for 17 yards up the middle, dragging defenders along the way.
**** Ty Johnson looks like a 6th Round steal. His playmaking skills jump out. The Lions need to get him more snaps. His ability to make defenders miss is apparent, as well as his speed. ****
-- Trey Flowers has been relatively quiet since landing a $90 million contract in the offseason, but came up with a big third-down pressure of Philip Rivers in the third quarter. Rivers was hit as he threw, forcing the ball off target. And the ensuing field-goal attempt ricocheted off the left upright, keeping Detroit within a 10-6 score.
**** Trey Flowers made his presence felt often from that point of the game onward. The Chargers were providing help against Flowers out of necessity.
On the other hand, other than the 2 deflections in Arizona and a small number of other plays, Damon Harrison has been a huge disappointment in the first 2 games. He performed better in all 10 of his games with the Lions last season than he did vs. the Chargers. I'm not sure what to make of this at present. But it bears watching. ****
-- Rookie Jahlani Tavai registered a sack in his first career game, the first Lions linebacker to do that since 1987. And he was even better in his encore performance, racking up nine tackles and forcing a huge fumble at the goal line. Darius Slay had just committed pass interference in the end zone, and L.A. was inches away from a lead. Austin Ekeler skied for the TD, but Tavai anticipated it and was able to punch out the ball. Devon Kennard recovered, and Detroit averted disaster. Tavai is now just hte 10th rookie linebacker since 1993 to have at least 10 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble in his first two career games.
**** Jahlani Tavai is a long way from a model of consistency. But he's already impacting ganes favorably. Romeo Okwara did a good job playing off a block on the play. Along with Tavon Wilson, who wasn't blocked, they enabled Tavai to strip the ball from Austin Ekeler. ****
-- Long snapper Don Muhlbach played in his 230th career game, which moves him into a tie with James Farrior and Derek Mason for 103rd all time.
**** Tremendous career accomplishment!****
.....
This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:
Lions vs. Chargers preview: Game # 2 ( 2019 )
detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/379/lions-chargers-preview-game-2019
www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2018/12/lions_matthew_stafford_takes_a.html#incart_river_index
Observations: Darius Slay, Matthew Stafford deliver in crunch time for Lions win
Updated Dec 2, 7:18 PM; Posted Dec 2, 7:08 PM
Observations: Darius Slay, Matthew Stafford deliver in crunch time for Lions win Updated Sep 15, 5:34 PM; Posted Sep 15, 4:07 PM
By Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
DETROIT -- It hasn’t been easy, and certainly not pretty, but the Lions somehow remain unbeaten two weeks into the season.
Matthew Stafford found Kenny Golladay for a 31-yard go-ahead touchdown, then Darius Slay intercepted the football in the end zone with 1:03 left to seal a 13-10 win in the Lions’ home opener on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The victory snaps a three-game losing streak at home for the Lions, who hadn’t won at Ford Field since holding off Carolina for a 20-19 victory on Nov. 18. They’re now 4-5 at home overall under Matt Patricia.
They improve to 1-0-1 this season, and remain unbeaten -- somehow -- heading into a Week 3 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Lions certainly weren’t perfect in victory, committing eight penalties for 71 yards, missing one field goal, botching an extra-point attempt and benching their struggling return man. Stafford also threw two second-half interceptions, one of which was in the end zone.
But down the stretch, Stafford was exceptional, including engineering an eight-play, 69-yard drive that he capped with a 31-yard strike to Kenny Golladay. Golladay worked over Pro Bowler Casey Hayward on a skinny post, giving Detroit its first lead, 13-10, with 7:28 remaining.
Stafford set up the game-winner a play earlier, when he threw a 4-yard laser beam to Marvin Jones on a fourth-and-1 to extend the series.
“He fired it in there,” Patricia said. “I don’t know if Marvin caught it or it just stuck in his chest.”
Los Angeles did make it interesting, with Philip Rivers coming back the other way and driving into position for a potentially game-tying field goal. But he went for the jugular first, throwing deep into the end zone on third down. He went back at Slay, whom he had picked on all day. Slay struggled with the assignment too, turning in one of his worst games in a long time.
But in crunch time, he delivered, diving for the game-winning pick with 1:03 left. Big play, indeed.
**** This is a huge win for the Lions. Even with all of the mistakes the Lions made and the Chargers displaying tremendous skill on both sides of tbe ball in various parts of the game, tbe Lions found a way to win against a team that was 12-4 last season ( with a road playoff win at Baltimore ). In most of tbe 3rd QTR and until the Lions took the lead 13-10 in the middle of the 4th QTR, my confidence in the Lions was low. One thought that came to mind is this is a game the Lions usually won when Jim Caldwell was HC and a game the Lions usually lose under Matt Patricia. I'm thrilled that the Lions proved me wrong. This is a game I predicted the Lions to win 23-20. But the wasted opportunities in the 2nd QTR and the Defense struggling to keep the Chargers from moving the ball in most of the 2nd Half led to major doubts. I'm amazed the Chargers didn't score a point in the 2nd half, after watching what transpired. There were many Patriots Defenses that gave up plenty of yardage. But I doubt they had a 2nd half to the extent of what transpired in Downtown Detroit today. Major props to the players,coaches, and other support staff in their contribution to the Lions win over the Chargers. ****
Here are some more observations:
-- Matthew Stafford went 181 straight passes without throwing an interception, the longest active streak in the NFL. But he threw two in the third quarter, one in the end zone that was intended for Kenny Golladay and another that was downfield for Marvin Jones. Stafford also wasn’t on the same page as his targets on multiple occasions. It’s impossible to say who was at fault, but clearly there are kinks to work out in the new offense. But he did enough to remain unbeaten, completing 22 of 30 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns.
**** The first interception was a 50-50 type of situation. It was an aggressive throw that backfired. CB Casey Hayward made an excellent play against Kenny Golladay, including coming down with the ball.
The second interception was a bad decision by Matthew Stafford. He tried to force the ball vertically in the middle of the field. To Stafford's credit, he played at a very high level after that and was a difference maker in the Lions comeback win. ****
-- Darius Slay handles whatever’s in front of him most days. Today was not one of those days. He was flagged three times, including once for a pass interference in the end zone. He allowed a bunch of first-down catches by Keenan Allen, after not allowing any last week. In fact, he allowed just one catch for 6 yards last week -- and that one catch was on purpose, because it was a third-and-16. But this week, Allen caught eight passes for 98 yards, almost all of it with Slay in coverage. That’s a really good player, and not Slay’s best effort. But when it mattered most, Slay delivered.
**** Darius Slay did have some other good moments, including causing an incompletion on 3rd Down on tbe Chargers first drive of the game. There's no question though that Keenan Allen beat Slay many times in this game. Allen is a masterful route runner, with excellent catching skills. Thankfully, he's in the AFC. Slay came up big when the Lions needed him to the most. Moving on from the previous plays is imperative in the NFL. That much more at CB. Slay showed why he was a Pro Bowler the last two seasons. ****
-- Burn the special teams tape. Just don’t forget to soak it in petrol first. There was one sequence where offsetting penalties forced another Chargers punt -- and then the Lions committed two more penalties. They were flagged four times on the first three punts of the day, and special teams were flagged five time in the half overall. Throw in a missed extra-point and field-goal attempt by Matt Prater -- the first time he’s missed multiple attempts in the same game since last year’s opener -- and special teams were the difference in a 10-6 halftime deficit. And none of it accounts for the benching of Jamal Agnew as the punt returner in the second quarter and the kick returner in the third. What a disaster.
**** Thankfully, for Sam Martin in the first two games of the season and for Danny Amendola as a Punt Returner after Jamal Agnew was benched. Maybe permanently. The rest of tbe Lions Special Teams collectively easily could have cost the Lions the game today. ****
-- That said, Danny Amendola replaced Amendola as the punt returner, and actually did some good things, including squeezing 11 yards out of his first attempt despite a crowded field of vision. Considering his sure-handedness back there, this is a move that should stick.
**** Ideally, someone else will emerge as a viable Punt Return option for the Lions. The value of Danny Amendola on Offense makes it risky to use him as a Punt Returner. The Lions had no choice but to turn to Amendola today, though. ****
-- Special teams have been a comedy of errors in the early going, but it’s worth pointing out just how good Sam Martin has been. He put two punts inside the 10-yard line in Week 1, one of which died at the goal line -- and then he stuck another at the 2-yard line against Los Angeles. And before you get all worked up, no, the blocked punt in the opener was not his fault. Rookie Will Harris blowing a block is not Martin’s fault whatsoever. Martin has been good, despite the block and the crooked numbers because of it.
**** Sam Martin looks like the player before the 2017 off-season injury. *****
-- Not to be outdone, the Chargers missed two field goals and committed a cavalcade of penalties themselves, two of which nullified touchdowns. Just a whole lot of bad football. (Although it should be noted their punter was kicking field goals because of injuries.)
**** i thought this was a well officiated game, at least in terms of the TV angles that were shown. The Chargers miscues helped save the Lions from self destructing. That enabled the Lions to be in position win the game in the 4th QTR. ****
-- The Chargers committed nine penalties for 70 yards, while the Lions were flagged eight times for 71 yards.
-- The Lions were determined to get the ball to Kerryon Johnson, doing so six times on the game’s first 11 plays. And Johnson rewarded them with a big day. That includes housing a 36-yard touchdown in the first quarter, where he took a short pass from Matthew Stafford and then ran untouched into the end zone. Credit to Darrell Bevell too, because that was a great play design. Danny Amendola motioned right to left, then Stafford looked left before wheeling around and throwing to Johnson. He was so wide open that he had time to bobble the catch and still scamper untouched for Detroit’s first touchdown of the day. And that was just the start. Johnson made at least three people miss on at least two different plays. He spun his way to 41 tough yards on 12 carries, plus caught two passes for 47 yards. He was Detroit’s second-leading receiver actually, behind only Kenny Golladay.
**** Great play all around by the Lions Offense. On the other hand, a perfectly thrown ball on a 3rd Down play went off Kerryon Johnson's chest, then was deflected by ageless LB Thomas Davis. ****
-- Kerryon Johnson accounted for 88 yards overall, and blew through the 1,000-yard barrier for his career in just his 12th game. Only five Lions players have done that in history, and none since Barry Sanders.
-- Golladay had himself a day, catching eight passes (on 10 targets) for 117 yards. It was his fourth career 100-yard game, tied for the third most by a Lins player in his first 28 career games.
**** Kenny Golladay's big play ability is very likely going to lead to a large payday for him in 2020 or 2021. ****
-- Ty Johnson ran so hard on his first carry that from my perch, seven stories above the field, I thought he was C.J. Anderson. Johnson is a rookie speedster, but showed he’s not afraid of a little contact either, going for 17 yards up the middle, dragging defenders along the way.
**** Ty Johnson looks like a 6th Round steal. His playmaking skills jump out. The Lions need to get him more snaps. His ability to make defenders miss is apparent, as well as his speed. ****
-- Trey Flowers has been relatively quiet since landing a $90 million contract in the offseason, but came up with a big third-down pressure of Philip Rivers in the third quarter. Rivers was hit as he threw, forcing the ball off target. And the ensuing field-goal attempt ricocheted off the left upright, keeping Detroit within a 10-6 score.
**** Trey Flowers made his presence felt often from that point of the game onward. The Chargers were providing help against Flowers out of necessity.
On the other hand, other than the 2 deflections in Arizona and a small number of other plays, Damon Harrison has been a huge disappointment in the first 2 games. He performed better in all 10 of his games with the Lions last season than he did vs. the Chargers. I'm not sure what to make of this at present. But it bears watching. ****
-- Rookie Jahlani Tavai registered a sack in his first career game, the first Lions linebacker to do that since 1987. And he was even better in his encore performance, racking up nine tackles and forcing a huge fumble at the goal line. Darius Slay had just committed pass interference in the end zone, and L.A. was inches away from a lead. Austin Ekeler skied for the TD, but Tavai anticipated it and was able to punch out the ball. Devon Kennard recovered, and Detroit averted disaster. Tavai is now just hte 10th rookie linebacker since 1993 to have at least 10 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble in his first two career games.
**** Jahlani Tavai is a long way from a model of consistency. But he's already impacting ganes favorably. Romeo Okwara did a good job playing off a block on the play. Along with Tavon Wilson, who wasn't blocked, they enabled Tavai to strip the ball from Austin Ekeler. ****
-- Long snapper Don Muhlbach played in his 230th career game, which moves him into a tie with James Farrior and Derek Mason for 103rd all time.
**** Tremendous career accomplishment!****
.....
This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:
Lions vs. Chargers preview: Game # 2 ( 2019 )
detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/379/lions-chargers-preview-game-2019
