Post by D6 on Sept 13, 2020 23:30:24 GMT -5
Thoughts in ****
Observations: Lions cough up big fourth-quarter lead in season-opening disappointment. Again.
..........
Observations: Lions cough up big fourth-quarter lead in season-opening disappointment. Again.
Updated 5:38 PM; Today 4:35 PM
By Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
DETROIT -- Another year. Another big fourth-quarter lead.
Another big season-opening letdown under Matt Patricia.
The Detroit Lions rattled off 17 unanswered points to run out to a 23-6 lead late in the third quarter of their season opener on Sunday against the Chicago Bears, then allowed Mitchell Trubisky to throw three straight touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, the last of which was a 27-yard rope to Anthony Miller that sent Detroit to a 27-23 loss.
Detroit still had 1:54 to work with, and Matthew Stafford made things interesting in his first game back from the broken back that cost him the final eight games of last season. He hit Danny Amendola on a pair of key third-down passes, the second of which went for 32 yards. Suddenly, the Lions were sitting at Chicago’s 16-yard line with 12 seconds left.
Stafford dropped a dime to rookie running back D’Andre Swift for the apparent victory, but Swift somehow dropped the football as he spun around at the goal line. Stafford’s final pass sailed over a covered Marvin Jones in the end zone, and that was that. The team that coughed up more late leads last year than anyone else, that talked all offseason about the need to finish, that talked about “Dagger Time” in the fourth quarter, had suffered yet another demoralizing defeat in a wretched fourth quarter.
Stafford was uneven in his return from injury. He threw a touchdown pass to T.J. Hockenson amid a 17-point run, but completed just 24 of 42 passes overall. He threw what should have been the game-winning pass to D’Andre Swift in the final seconds, but also threw an ill-advised pass through a non-existent window that was picked off on the previous series. Two plays later, Miller was dancing in the end zone with the go-ahead points.
Trubisky, on the verge of losing his job in Chicago once again, hooked up with Jimmy Graham and Javon Wims on short-scoring throws before connecting with Miller. That’s three straight touchdown passes from a guy who only threw three touchdown passes in a game twice all last season.
Both times were against Matt Patricia’s defense.
Trubisky has been a bad NFL quarterback, bad enough that Chicago spent $24 million to bring in Nick Foles to replace him. But Foles was so bad in the shortened offseason that Chicago stuck with Trubisky. He was terrible for three quarters. And then he tore Detroit apart once again.
Detroit’s loss stunk of that debacle in Arizona last year, when Kyler Murray rattled off 18 straight fourth-quarter points to force a tie in his NFL debut. The Lions were also housed by 31 points by the awful Jets in the 2018 opener, leaving Patricia winless through three openers.
Now he has to figure out how to stop this season from going sideways, as the last two have, or he will be looking for new employment before next season. And it won’t be easy. The Lions have tough road games coming up, traveling to Green Bay next week before returning to Arizona in a rematch of that ugly opener from last season.
And they have to do it with three of their top four cornerbacks now dealing with injuries. Gulp.
**** Other than all of the non football circumstances surrounding this game, the game was a microcosm of the 2019 season for the Lions and the overall history of the Lions in the last 62 years. The combination of injuries and self destruction have been never ending themes for the Lions. There's plenty of blame for this loss beyond the injuries. But 3 standout above all:
1. Jamie Collins: He made one of the most pronounced bonehead decisions I've seen in a NFL game. Even the vast majority of rookies wouldn't put their hands on a official to demonstrate why they believe the officiating crew made a bad call. Collins put himself over his team. Pure selfishness.
2. Bob Quinn. For firing Jim Caldwell and replacing him with a Head Coach who is the antithesis of Caldwell when it comes to crunch time results. Not to mention a roster that fails repeatedly with games on the line.
3. Matt Patricia. The lack of discipline of Collins and the other self destructive penalties are a reflection of the Head Coach. As for game strategy, the risk of attempting a 55 yard FG was too great when up by 10 in the 4th QTR with several minutes remaining in regulation time. I thought Matt Prater had about a 50 % chance of making the FG, which is a credit to Prater. That's not enough of a % to risk a missed FG or blocked kick. That's a situation in which a punt is by far the best option. Make a QB that struggled most of the game have to go at least 80 yards for a TD or settle for a FG.
*****
Here are some more quick observations from Detroit’s opener:
-- Jamie Collins was ejected from his Lions debut, and rightfully so. Yes, contact was minimal. Yes, it appeared inadvertent. Yes, it looked like the official kind of leaned into the contact, or certainly flinched into it. No, it doesn’t matter. The rule is clear. You make contact with an official, you’re gone. Collins, an eighth-year veteran, the centerpiece of Detroit’s defensive overhaul, the best player at a bad position group, has to know better. It’s unfortunate the slight contact was made, but that’s why you can’t crowd an official. He just has to know better, because Detroit needs him. This linebacker corps was one of the worst in the league last year. Then Detroit cut Devon Kennard, its best linebacker, because Collins was supposed to replace him. It’s been easy to see the fit throughout training camp, as Collins has moved between every level of the defense. You saw it early in this game too, as he racked up three early tackles and one huge quarterback hit. He even defended a pass. And then early in the second quarter, he was taking a shower. It’s unfortunate. It’s also the rule.
****I'm not even giving Jamie Collins this much benefit of the doubt. His lack of focus demonstrates he's not a good leader. His selfishness might the beginning of the end of Quinn and Patricia in Detroit.****
-- Collins' ejection was just one self-inflicted error in a half full of them. Detroit committed five penalties for 52 yards in those first two quarters. Desmond Trufant, another big free-agent addition and Detroit’s new No. 1 corner, racked up holding and facemask penalties on the same play. Detroit’s first two drives into the red zone stalled. T.J. Hockenson held on D’Andre Swift’s first carry. Tyrell Crosby made the spot start for Halapoulivaati Vaitai at right tackle, and had two early flags, one of which wiped out a nice gain. It was just a sloppy half of football, the same sort of thing we’ve seen seen this team before. Lucky for them, Mitchell Trubisky was doing Mitchell Trubisky things, and Chicago didn’t convert a third down until the fourth quarter. Then Trubisky had three straight touchdown passes to send Detroit packing.
**** The Lions penalties in the 4th QTR were extremely costly ****
-- Adding injury to insult, Detroit also lost slot cornerback Justin Coleman to a hamstring injury in the second quarter. When you’re already down top draft pick Jeff Okudah at the position, that’s a problem. That left only Desmond Trufant from what was expected to be the starting trio -- and then Trufant left the game with a hamstring injury of his own at the end of the third quarter. Finishing your opener without any of your projected opening-day cornerbacks is not ideal, especially when your top linebacker got tossed too. Hamstring injuries have really dogged Detroit since it opened camp, including knocking Okudah and star receiver Kenny Golladay out of this one.
**** It seems like the Lions are dealing with many more hamstring injuries than most teams. If that's the case, it's another strike on this regime. ****
-- Backup cornerback Darryl Roberts filled in capably for a while. He entered the game at the end of the second quarter and immediately forced two incompletions, sparking a little late-half surge. The Bears went three-and-out, Jamal Agnew returned the ensuing punt 16 yards, Matthew Stafford hit T.J. Hockenson with passes of 16 and 24 yards, and then rookie D’Andre Swift punched it into the end zone from the 1. Just like, in 39 seconds, the Lions went from a 6-6 tie to a 13-6 lead. Then they tore through Chicago to open the second half, with Hockenson finishing off the drive with a 4-yard touchdown catch. Just like that, Detroit had a 20-6 lead and was finally rolling after the sloppy start.
**** Darryl Roberts probably played better than any of the Lions CBs in this game. He was a pleasant surprise. ****
-- Swift’s 1-yard touchdown run made him the first Lions rookie back to score in his debut since Dwayne Washington in 2016. He nearly caught the winning pass too, but dropped the ball as he turned around.
**** I'm not sure how much missed practice time and DeAndre Swift's current health contributed to the dropped pass. I'm reluctant to be critical of the coaches for Swift to hsve been in the game with everything on the line. The bottom line though is the drop can't happen with the game on the line. Yet, it did. ****
-- There won’t be a lot to feel good about after this one, although the debut of Adrian Peterson was certainly promising. He came off the bench but wound up leading Detroit in both carries (14) and rushing yards (93). He touched the ball on four straight plays during on key third-quarter drive, producing 41 yards and one grown-man stiff arm. He just signed with Detroit about 5 minutes ago and already looks like this team’s best runner, though he wasn’t able to move the sticks on two late carries, giving Chicago another opportunity.
**** Adrian Peterson did better than I anticipated, His run vision is the best I've seen from a Lions rusher in ages. I don't blame Peterson for the runs that only went 2 yards each right before the Interception . it would help if the Lions could have effectively blocked Khalil Mack on those plays. It's unfortunate for Peterson that he likely won't experience much team success at the end of his NFL playing career. ****
-- Quintez Cephus looked like Detroit’s best rookie in camp, and Detroit rewarded him with a large role on opening day. With Kenny Golladay out, Cephus earned the start and actually drew four of Stafford’s first six targets. He finished with three catches for 43 yards in his NFL debut. Give this kid time, and I think Detroit has a good one built in the Anquan Boldin mold. Just a big-bodied guy who isn’t going to run away from you, but he’s going to beat you.
**** Quintez Cephus had a drop. But all things considering, a good job in his first NFL game. ****
-- Sure enough, Tracy Walker -- Detroit’s top safety last season -- started this season on the bench. Duron Harmon and Will Harris got the start at safety. Walker entered the game on the second series, and immediately forced an incompletion with blanket coverage. That whole thing at safety really befuddles me, and I’m curious to hear what Matt Patricia has to say about it. Walker did play a lot off the bench and finished with seven tackles and two tackles for loss, both team highs. He also batted down one pass in the red zone, and nearly picked it off. He was close twice on interceptions. Again, I have no idea what Detroit is doing with him on the bench ever.
**** Will Harris missed at least 3 tackles in the game and was beat in coverage on a pass that was ruled a TD on the field but placed at the Lions 1 1/ 2 yard line after replay review. I have no problem with a Safety rotation if it's warranted. In this game, Tracy Walker looked like a much better player than Harris. Walker gave up a TD to Jimmy Graham. But it was difficult play to defend. ****
-- The Lions invested a lot of time and money into overhauling their special teams this offseason, and hired Brayden Coombs to oversee a scheme change. The early results were promising, especially at punter. Jack Fox averaged 49.3 yards per attempt, a terrific NFL debut. His worst punt, a 35-yarder, was an accomplishment just for getting it off against hot pressure. Fox even made a touchdown-saving tackle in the third quarter for good measure. Jamal Agnew had a 16-yard punt return to help set up Detroit’s go-ahead touchdown at the end of the first half, a critical swing in the game, and averaged 33 yards on two kick returns. Matt Prater made his first two field-goal attempts, although missed a 55-yarder that gave Chicago good field position during its fourth-quarter run. The Bears turned it into a touchdown.
**** Jack Fox ( as a Punter and Holder ) and Jamal Agnew ( on Returns ) were bright spots. If Fox performs even close to this level moving forward in these roles, that would be make the Punter position a team strength.****
-- Don Muhlbach is back for his 17th season in Detroit, and just played in his 245th game at long snapper. That moves him into a tie for 54th on the NFL’s all-time games played list. He’s just one back of moving into a tie with Fran Tarkenton, among others.
**** Amazing longevity. ****
-- There were no fans, and it was as weird as expected. Ford Field tried to generate some kind of atmosphere with music tracks during downtime, and the NFL-approved backing tracks during the action. But it wasn’t what I was expecting. It was mostly negligible if you weren’t listening for it, akin to something like the murmur you hear in the background at a mall. They did cut the fake noise during injury timeouts, and that’s when I realized the benefit of it. Because it was pretty strange. I could hear casual conversations from my perch seven stories above the field.
**** The issue I had with the TV crowd noise is it felt like the type of crowd noise wasn't natural following some plays. I kept waiting for a Defensive Penalty to be called after many incompletions. A way to describe this is similar to lip movement being out of sync when a foreign language voice is substituted on the TV audio. ****
........
This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:
Lions vs. Bears preview: Game # 1 ( 2020 )
detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/746/lions-bears-preview-game-2020
Observations: Lions cough up big fourth-quarter lead in season-opening disappointment. Again.
..........
Observations: Lions cough up big fourth-quarter lead in season-opening disappointment. Again.
Updated 5:38 PM; Today 4:35 PM
By Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
DETROIT -- Another year. Another big fourth-quarter lead.
Another big season-opening letdown under Matt Patricia.
The Detroit Lions rattled off 17 unanswered points to run out to a 23-6 lead late in the third quarter of their season opener on Sunday against the Chicago Bears, then allowed Mitchell Trubisky to throw three straight touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, the last of which was a 27-yard rope to Anthony Miller that sent Detroit to a 27-23 loss.
Detroit still had 1:54 to work with, and Matthew Stafford made things interesting in his first game back from the broken back that cost him the final eight games of last season. He hit Danny Amendola on a pair of key third-down passes, the second of which went for 32 yards. Suddenly, the Lions were sitting at Chicago’s 16-yard line with 12 seconds left.
Stafford dropped a dime to rookie running back D’Andre Swift for the apparent victory, but Swift somehow dropped the football as he spun around at the goal line. Stafford’s final pass sailed over a covered Marvin Jones in the end zone, and that was that. The team that coughed up more late leads last year than anyone else, that talked all offseason about the need to finish, that talked about “Dagger Time” in the fourth quarter, had suffered yet another demoralizing defeat in a wretched fourth quarter.
Stafford was uneven in his return from injury. He threw a touchdown pass to T.J. Hockenson amid a 17-point run, but completed just 24 of 42 passes overall. He threw what should have been the game-winning pass to D’Andre Swift in the final seconds, but also threw an ill-advised pass through a non-existent window that was picked off on the previous series. Two plays later, Miller was dancing in the end zone with the go-ahead points.
Trubisky, on the verge of losing his job in Chicago once again, hooked up with Jimmy Graham and Javon Wims on short-scoring throws before connecting with Miller. That’s three straight touchdown passes from a guy who only threw three touchdown passes in a game twice all last season.
Both times were against Matt Patricia’s defense.
Trubisky has been a bad NFL quarterback, bad enough that Chicago spent $24 million to bring in Nick Foles to replace him. But Foles was so bad in the shortened offseason that Chicago stuck with Trubisky. He was terrible for three quarters. And then he tore Detroit apart once again.
Detroit’s loss stunk of that debacle in Arizona last year, when Kyler Murray rattled off 18 straight fourth-quarter points to force a tie in his NFL debut. The Lions were also housed by 31 points by the awful Jets in the 2018 opener, leaving Patricia winless through three openers.
Now he has to figure out how to stop this season from going sideways, as the last two have, or he will be looking for new employment before next season. And it won’t be easy. The Lions have tough road games coming up, traveling to Green Bay next week before returning to Arizona in a rematch of that ugly opener from last season.
And they have to do it with three of their top four cornerbacks now dealing with injuries. Gulp.
**** Other than all of the non football circumstances surrounding this game, the game was a microcosm of the 2019 season for the Lions and the overall history of the Lions in the last 62 years. The combination of injuries and self destruction have been never ending themes for the Lions. There's plenty of blame for this loss beyond the injuries. But 3 standout above all:
1. Jamie Collins: He made one of the most pronounced bonehead decisions I've seen in a NFL game. Even the vast majority of rookies wouldn't put their hands on a official to demonstrate why they believe the officiating crew made a bad call. Collins put himself over his team. Pure selfishness.
2. Bob Quinn. For firing Jim Caldwell and replacing him with a Head Coach who is the antithesis of Caldwell when it comes to crunch time results. Not to mention a roster that fails repeatedly with games on the line.
3. Matt Patricia. The lack of discipline of Collins and the other self destructive penalties are a reflection of the Head Coach. As for game strategy, the risk of attempting a 55 yard FG was too great when up by 10 in the 4th QTR with several minutes remaining in regulation time. I thought Matt Prater had about a 50 % chance of making the FG, which is a credit to Prater. That's not enough of a % to risk a missed FG or blocked kick. That's a situation in which a punt is by far the best option. Make a QB that struggled most of the game have to go at least 80 yards for a TD or settle for a FG.
*****
Here are some more quick observations from Detroit’s opener:
-- Jamie Collins was ejected from his Lions debut, and rightfully so. Yes, contact was minimal. Yes, it appeared inadvertent. Yes, it looked like the official kind of leaned into the contact, or certainly flinched into it. No, it doesn’t matter. The rule is clear. You make contact with an official, you’re gone. Collins, an eighth-year veteran, the centerpiece of Detroit’s defensive overhaul, the best player at a bad position group, has to know better. It’s unfortunate the slight contact was made, but that’s why you can’t crowd an official. He just has to know better, because Detroit needs him. This linebacker corps was one of the worst in the league last year. Then Detroit cut Devon Kennard, its best linebacker, because Collins was supposed to replace him. It’s been easy to see the fit throughout training camp, as Collins has moved between every level of the defense. You saw it early in this game too, as he racked up three early tackles and one huge quarterback hit. He even defended a pass. And then early in the second quarter, he was taking a shower. It’s unfortunate. It’s also the rule.
****I'm not even giving Jamie Collins this much benefit of the doubt. His lack of focus demonstrates he's not a good leader. His selfishness might the beginning of the end of Quinn and Patricia in Detroit.****
-- Collins' ejection was just one self-inflicted error in a half full of them. Detroit committed five penalties for 52 yards in those first two quarters. Desmond Trufant, another big free-agent addition and Detroit’s new No. 1 corner, racked up holding and facemask penalties on the same play. Detroit’s first two drives into the red zone stalled. T.J. Hockenson held on D’Andre Swift’s first carry. Tyrell Crosby made the spot start for Halapoulivaati Vaitai at right tackle, and had two early flags, one of which wiped out a nice gain. It was just a sloppy half of football, the same sort of thing we’ve seen seen this team before. Lucky for them, Mitchell Trubisky was doing Mitchell Trubisky things, and Chicago didn’t convert a third down until the fourth quarter. Then Trubisky had three straight touchdown passes to send Detroit packing.
**** The Lions penalties in the 4th QTR were extremely costly ****
-- Adding injury to insult, Detroit also lost slot cornerback Justin Coleman to a hamstring injury in the second quarter. When you’re already down top draft pick Jeff Okudah at the position, that’s a problem. That left only Desmond Trufant from what was expected to be the starting trio -- and then Trufant left the game with a hamstring injury of his own at the end of the third quarter. Finishing your opener without any of your projected opening-day cornerbacks is not ideal, especially when your top linebacker got tossed too. Hamstring injuries have really dogged Detroit since it opened camp, including knocking Okudah and star receiver Kenny Golladay out of this one.
**** It seems like the Lions are dealing with many more hamstring injuries than most teams. If that's the case, it's another strike on this regime. ****
-- Backup cornerback Darryl Roberts filled in capably for a while. He entered the game at the end of the second quarter and immediately forced two incompletions, sparking a little late-half surge. The Bears went three-and-out, Jamal Agnew returned the ensuing punt 16 yards, Matthew Stafford hit T.J. Hockenson with passes of 16 and 24 yards, and then rookie D’Andre Swift punched it into the end zone from the 1. Just like, in 39 seconds, the Lions went from a 6-6 tie to a 13-6 lead. Then they tore through Chicago to open the second half, with Hockenson finishing off the drive with a 4-yard touchdown catch. Just like that, Detroit had a 20-6 lead and was finally rolling after the sloppy start.
**** Darryl Roberts probably played better than any of the Lions CBs in this game. He was a pleasant surprise. ****
-- Swift’s 1-yard touchdown run made him the first Lions rookie back to score in his debut since Dwayne Washington in 2016. He nearly caught the winning pass too, but dropped the ball as he turned around.
**** I'm not sure how much missed practice time and DeAndre Swift's current health contributed to the dropped pass. I'm reluctant to be critical of the coaches for Swift to hsve been in the game with everything on the line. The bottom line though is the drop can't happen with the game on the line. Yet, it did. ****
-- There won’t be a lot to feel good about after this one, although the debut of Adrian Peterson was certainly promising. He came off the bench but wound up leading Detroit in both carries (14) and rushing yards (93). He touched the ball on four straight plays during on key third-quarter drive, producing 41 yards and one grown-man stiff arm. He just signed with Detroit about 5 minutes ago and already looks like this team’s best runner, though he wasn’t able to move the sticks on two late carries, giving Chicago another opportunity.
**** Adrian Peterson did better than I anticipated, His run vision is the best I've seen from a Lions rusher in ages. I don't blame Peterson for the runs that only went 2 yards each right before the Interception . it would help if the Lions could have effectively blocked Khalil Mack on those plays. It's unfortunate for Peterson that he likely won't experience much team success at the end of his NFL playing career. ****
-- Quintez Cephus looked like Detroit’s best rookie in camp, and Detroit rewarded him with a large role on opening day. With Kenny Golladay out, Cephus earned the start and actually drew four of Stafford’s first six targets. He finished with three catches for 43 yards in his NFL debut. Give this kid time, and I think Detroit has a good one built in the Anquan Boldin mold. Just a big-bodied guy who isn’t going to run away from you, but he’s going to beat you.
**** Quintez Cephus had a drop. But all things considering, a good job in his first NFL game. ****
-- Sure enough, Tracy Walker -- Detroit’s top safety last season -- started this season on the bench. Duron Harmon and Will Harris got the start at safety. Walker entered the game on the second series, and immediately forced an incompletion with blanket coverage. That whole thing at safety really befuddles me, and I’m curious to hear what Matt Patricia has to say about it. Walker did play a lot off the bench and finished with seven tackles and two tackles for loss, both team highs. He also batted down one pass in the red zone, and nearly picked it off. He was close twice on interceptions. Again, I have no idea what Detroit is doing with him on the bench ever.
**** Will Harris missed at least 3 tackles in the game and was beat in coverage on a pass that was ruled a TD on the field but placed at the Lions 1 1/ 2 yard line after replay review. I have no problem with a Safety rotation if it's warranted. In this game, Tracy Walker looked like a much better player than Harris. Walker gave up a TD to Jimmy Graham. But it was difficult play to defend. ****
-- The Lions invested a lot of time and money into overhauling their special teams this offseason, and hired Brayden Coombs to oversee a scheme change. The early results were promising, especially at punter. Jack Fox averaged 49.3 yards per attempt, a terrific NFL debut. His worst punt, a 35-yarder, was an accomplishment just for getting it off against hot pressure. Fox even made a touchdown-saving tackle in the third quarter for good measure. Jamal Agnew had a 16-yard punt return to help set up Detroit’s go-ahead touchdown at the end of the first half, a critical swing in the game, and averaged 33 yards on two kick returns. Matt Prater made his first two field-goal attempts, although missed a 55-yarder that gave Chicago good field position during its fourth-quarter run. The Bears turned it into a touchdown.
**** Jack Fox ( as a Punter and Holder ) and Jamal Agnew ( on Returns ) were bright spots. If Fox performs even close to this level moving forward in these roles, that would be make the Punter position a team strength.****
-- Don Muhlbach is back for his 17th season in Detroit, and just played in his 245th game at long snapper. That moves him into a tie for 54th on the NFL’s all-time games played list. He’s just one back of moving into a tie with Fran Tarkenton, among others.
**** Amazing longevity. ****
-- There were no fans, and it was as weird as expected. Ford Field tried to generate some kind of atmosphere with music tracks during downtime, and the NFL-approved backing tracks during the action. But it wasn’t what I was expecting. It was mostly negligible if you weren’t listening for it, akin to something like the murmur you hear in the background at a mall. They did cut the fake noise during injury timeouts, and that’s when I realized the benefit of it. Because it was pretty strange. I could hear casual conversations from my perch seven stories above the field.
**** The issue I had with the TV crowd noise is it felt like the type of crowd noise wasn't natural following some plays. I kept waiting for a Defensive Penalty to be called after many incompletions. A way to describe this is similar to lip movement being out of sync when a foreign language voice is substituted on the TV audio. ****
........
This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:
Lions vs. Bears preview: Game # 1 ( 2020 )
detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/746/lions-bears-preview-game-2020
