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Originally posted by Marko69
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That's the long and short of it, at the end of the day. Never eat spinach with a stranger.
Last edited by dpatnod; September 9, 2023, 07:11 PM.Lions Fans.
Demanding Excellence since Pathetic Patricia Piddled the Pooch! -
Argument thread, Dpat…….. NOW!"...when Hibernian won the Scottish Cup final and that celebration, Sunshine on Leith? I don’t think there’s a better football celebration ever in the game.”
Sir Alex FergusonComment
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False start compilation, tiktok or reddit whichever you preferLast edited by guitarjack87; September 9, 2023, 09:33 PM.1. Todd Gurley RB 2. Eddie Goldman DT 3. Tre McBride WR 5-7 OL Depth
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Is Bob your uncle?Originally posted by dpatnod View Post
That's the long and short of it, at the end of the day. Never eat spinach with a stranger.
"Your division isn't going through Green Bay it's going through Detroit for the next five years" - Rex RyanComment
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Who?Originally posted by edindetroit View PostLions Fans.
Demanding Excellence since Pathetic Patricia Piddled the Pooch!Comment
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Bob you idiot.
"Your division isn't going through Green Bay it's going through Detroit for the next five years" - Rex RyanComment
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That's what you call a quadriplegic in the ocean.Lions Fans.
Demanding Excellence since Pathetic Patricia Piddled the Pooch!Comment
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Lions film review: Evaluating sustainability of the defensive showing against Chiefs
Justin Rogers
The Detroit News
Before we put the Detroit Lions' season-opening victory over the defending Super Bowl champions to bed, let's take a look at the film from the game, evaluating the defensive performances in the first and second halves to explore what's sustainable, what needs to be corrected and what can be considered sheer luck.
In the first half, the Chiefs only had four possessions. They punted twice, including on their first series, but managed to find the end zone on two other drives.
Let's begin with the successful possessions for Detroit's defense. On that opening possession, the Chiefs faced third down twice, both manageable distances for a conversion.
They were successful on the first utilizing subtle deception. When quarterback Patrick Mahomes dropped back to pass on the third-and-2 snap, running back Jerick McKinnon gave the initial impression he was staying in to protect, drawing in Lions linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez on the pass rush. When McKinnon came out on a delayed release route, Rodriguez was out of position and Mahomes was able to float a pass to his back for the conversion.
It was a pretty great wrinkle by the Chiefs, utilizing one of the game's better receiving backs. It's also something I could see Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson lifting.
With a fresh set of downs, we saw Mahomes try to use his feet for the first time but with little success. On second down, linebacker Alex Anzalone, operating as a spy, fired into the backfield when Mahomes rolled to his right, hitting the QB and forcing a throwaway.
And when Mahomes tried to scramble up the middle on third down, defensive lineman John Cominsky, who had been rushing from the interior, made an impressive individual play by shedding his block and tripping up the quarterback as he crossed the line of scrimmage.
Detroit also forced a punt on Kansas City's third possession, this time with a three-and-out. Again, limiting Mahomes' ability to do damage with his feet was key as the Lions held him to 3 yards when he took off on second down. Linebacker Derrick Barnes and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson quickly diagnosed the scramble, converging on the lane and forcing the QB to go laterally and slide.
That set up a third-and-5 where edge pressure from Aidan Hutchinson — which emerged as a third-down theme in the contest — forced an overthrow that probably should have been intercepted by Gardner-Johnson.
The quality defense from those two possessions was offset by a series of miscues during a pair of long scoring drives for the Chiefs in the first half.
The first, a 13-play, 75-yard possession that spanned from the end of the first quarter into the early part of the second, saw some of the first examples of coverage confusion in Detroit's revamped front seven.
Early in the series, facing a third-and-8, the Chiefs motioned into a condensed trips formation in the right slot where rookie nickel Brian Branch and safety Kerby Joseph had some pre- and post-snap confusion on man coverage responsibilities, resulting in a conversion. The two could be seen immediately hashing out how they should have handled the situation after the catch.
Kansas City again converted on third down three plays later when Mahomes took advantage of Hutchinson abandoning his rush lane on a nice looking but ultimately ineffective inside spin move.
And Mahomes scrambled for another first down, this time for 16 yards, when Charles Harris was knocked to the ground by Chiefs offensive tackle Donovan Smith.
continued..
"I hope to see the Lions in the Super Bowl before I die"
My friend Ken LComment
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On third-and-goal from the 1-yard line, more coverage confusion resulted in rookie receiver Rashee Rice coming wide open in the back of the end zone. Gardner-Johnson and cornerback Jerry Jacobs stayed with the same man after Gardner-Johnson was picked on a rub route. The two should have switched assignments, with Jacobs sticking with Rice. That's an easily correctable mistake that should get better with more shared snaps between the two.
What makes the Chiefs' offense so great is its ability to generate explosive plays. They got three on a six-play, 82-yard drive late in the first half.
It started with an effective concept used regularly during the game by the Chiefs, a double move on a crosser. Rice, working out of the left slot, paused as if he was running a sit-down route against Detroit's underneath zone. That froze rookie linebacker Jack Campbell, allowing Rice to reaccelerate horizontally into space where Mahomes hit him in stride for a 25-yard catch-and-run.
Three snaps later, facing third-and-17 after a holding call, Mahomes got to show off his arm strength, driving a skinny post to Marquez Valdes-Scantling into the narrow window between the deep layers of Detroit's Cover-2 shell for 34 yards.
Taking advantage of the shell-shocked defenders, Mahomes found deep threat Justin Watson for 26 yards down the left sideline. It appeared as if the Lions were in Cover-2 again, but the coverage was sloppy on that side of the field with Jacobs not carrying the receiver deep enough and Gardner-Johnson slow to pick up Watson as he crossed into the deep zone.
Kansas City found the end zone on the next play with more zone coverage assignment confusion. Tight end Noah Gray took the attention of two linebackers underneath, allowing Blake Bell to come free in space near the goal line for the easy touchdown. Both Anzalone and Branch were both out of position on the score.
Of course, allowing 14 points in a half against the Chiefs is hardly devastating. You just have to make sure to allow that many or fewer in the second half if you want a chance. Detroit did that and then some, impressively holding them to six points on seven possessions. Let's go one by one.
▶ First series
Kansas City got an early first down with a well-blocked screen to running back Isiah Pacheco that netted 10 yards.
From there, Hutchinson stepped up with pressures on first and third down, sandwiching a rare clean-pocket miss by Mahomes. On first down, Hutchinson's pressure had the QB looking to scramble up the gut, but nose tackle Benito Jones filled the lane, forcing a throwaway.
Hutchinson got pressure again on third down, rushing a throw to a checkdown option well short of the sticks, leading to a punt.
▶ Second series
This drive was all Detroit's rookies, with Campbell adjusting in zone coverage to make an impressive, diving breakup on first down and combining with Branch on a short run stop on second down. That led to one of the game's pivotal plays, a pick-six for the nickel corner.
On the third-and-6 snap, Mahomes was looking for Kadarius Toney on a shallow cross. The receiver had a clean release, getting a step on Jacobs going left to right. But Branch, who was in an intermediate zone underneath, recognized the route and was in perfect position to stop Toney short of the marker after the catch.
But the young defensive back had to switch mindsets in an instant when the ball bounced off Toney's hands. Prepared to make an open-field tackle, Branch quickly adjusted to corral the deflection and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown.
This is a good example of good positioning being rewarded when the opportunity to make a play presented itself.
▶ Third series
The Chiefs remained off schedule, securing a single first down before punting again.
Good downfield coverage and a late pressure by Harris forced a throwaway on first down, and a quick-hitter against soft coverage set up a manageable third-and-4.
There was some pre-snap panic as Anzalone frantically tried to adjust the alignment of some defensive backs. He was clearly onto something as Chiefs receiver Skyy Moore came wide open, but Mahomes didn't see him. That allowed Hutchinson to get pressure on a stunt. The QB stepped up in the pocket, locating the still-open Moore, but the off-platform throw sailed and bounced off the fingertips of the leaping target.
▶ Fourth series
The Chiefs finally got something cooking behind Mahomes' playmaking, first scrambling for a first down then finding Pacheco on a late release with a touch pass over Detroit's defensive line.
The big damage came on a deep ball for Watson, who had a step on cornerback Cam Sutton. Mahomes' pass ended up slightly underthrown, allowing Sutton to recover. But instead of turning and making a play on the ball, he ran through Watson, drawing a pass interference flag that set Kansas City up with a first-and-10 at Detroit's 25.
The Chiefs picked up 8 yards on first down when Mahomes rolled out, escaped pocket pressure and forced Harris to abandon his coverage assignment in the flat to contain the QB.
But that was it for the drive as Moore couldn't hold on to a slant pass that was slightly behind him and a strange third-down snap where Mahomes threw a ball to the intersection of two crossing patterns, causing Toney to hesitate and put it on the ground.
continued..
"I hope to see the Lions in the Super Bowl before I die"
My friend Ken LComment
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▶ Fifth series
After settling for a field goal the previous possession, the Chiefs quickly worked back into the outer limits of kicker Harrison Butker's range on the next drive when Joseph whiffed on a tackle, allowing Gray to rumble 24 yards to Lions' 40-yard line.
Kansas City worked deeper into Detroit territory with another first down, and after Mahomes scrambled for 9 yards into the red zone on the ensuing first-down snap, the Lions were on their heels. But instead of wilting like they did at the end of the first half, Harris, Jacobs and Barnes combined to drop Toney for a 1-yard loss on an end-around. And pressure from James Houston on third down, wrapping around the QB's legs after losing his footing early in the rush, forced another errant throw that limited Kansas City to three points instead of seven.
▶ Sixth series
A quick strike for 6 yards and a 3-yard run for Pacheco had the Chiefs looking at third-and-1 to begin their response drive after the Lions had retaken the lead. Nose tackle Alim McNeill, after nearly jumping offside, was able to reset and fire off the ball on the snap, taking out the pulling left guard. That freed Josh Paschal to get into the backfield unencumbered where he dropped Rice's end-around run for a 3-yard loss.
▶ Seventh series
Taking over at the 45-yard line after a turnover on downs, Kansas City's effort to retake the lead in the closing minutes got off to a rough start when Toney dropped a wide-open pass that would have put them in field-goal range.
Toney was open because Campbell got sucked in way too far on a play-action, vacating the middle of the field as the receiver ran a deep cross. Toney's drop was a far bigger break than Travis Kelce's injured knee sidelining him for the contest.
The Lions picked up another break on second down when a holding call negated a 17-yard completion to Moore, who had beaten Sutton on a deep cross.
The defense bounced back on the replay of the down with a textbook pass breakup by Gardner-Johnson, who ripped through the hands of the receiver to separate the ball. And Gardner-Johnson nearly got the pick on third-and-20 when he dropped into the throwing lane as Mahomes tried to hit Rice on one of those double-move crossing patterns.
After a false start, the Chiefs opted to go for it on fourth-and-25, despite holding all three of their timeouts.
Detroit played a deep Tampa-2, trying to prevent an over-the-top ball on the critical down. Still, Mahomes' ability to buy time with his feet gave Kansas City a chance and he nearly connected with Moore after Rodriguez lost track of the receiver through his middle-field zone responsibility.
The pass was a little high, forcing Moore to leave his feet, but it hit him in the hands. There are probably a lot of guys in the NFL who come down with that one, but not Moore, not this day, effectively sealing the win for Detroit.
▶ Quick conclusion
Detroit's pass rush, despite not getting home for any sacks, showed a lot of promise. Hutchinson was particularly effective at affecting the pocket as both an outside and inside rusher. Detroit's coverage played well overall, but there were far too many communication breakdowns, both in man and zone coverage. Those are correctable and should get better with experience playing together.
Outside of letting Mahomes break contain several times, the run defense was also solid, from start to finish. With more dual-threat QBs on the schedule, improvement in this area will be critical.
There's no doubt there was some luck involved in the victory. If either Toney or Moore hang on during that final possession, there's a good chance we're talking about a heartbreaking defeat. On the flip side, the Chiefs also got lucky with the Lions failing to hold on to three pickable balls.
The overall results should be viewed as encouraging, with plenty to build upon. This isn't the worst defense in the NFL that we saw much of last season. In fact, this group has the potential to finish in the top half of the league.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers
"I hope to see the Lions in the Super Bowl before I die"
My friend Ken LComment
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Lions-Chiefs draws massive TV audience; Ford Field opener ticket prices skyrocket
After the Lions' 21-20 win over the Chiefs, tickets for the Sept. 17 home opener against the Seahawks are on the rise on secondary markets.
Tony Paul
The Detroit News
This will do nothing to slow down the Lions' hype train.
Thursday night's NFL season opener between the Lions and defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs drew the largest TV audience since this year's Super Bowl.
NBC said the game, won by the Lions, 21-20, averaged almost 27 million viewers, the most-watched program across any platform since the Chiefs' 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII in February. Thursday's game averaged 26.8 million viewers via NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital and NFL Digital platforms. That was up 24% from last season's season opener, when an average audience of 21.7 million viewers watched the game between the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams.
Thursday's game peaked with an audience of 29.1 million viewers in the 9 p.m. hour, and 27.1 million still were watching late in the 10 p.m. hour when the Lions went ahead on David Montgomery's touchdown run.
NBC said the largest market, no surprise, was in Kansas City, which garnered a 45.5 rating despite being one of the smallest TV markets in the country. Detroit was second with a 30.0, with Cincinnati third at 18.9. The calculations suggest more than 40 million people were watching the game in the Detroit market.
While the game was a boon for Lions fans, they were none too thrilled with the finish, when Mike Tirico, while raving about the team's prospects, suggested the win carry an "asterisk" because the Chiefs were missing one of their best players on offense and defense. Tirico told The News on Thursday he might've used a poor choice of wording, but wished fans would've listened to the whole comment, when he called the Lions "for real."
Detroit's win, to kick off a Lions season perhaps more anticipated than any in more than three decades, has fans excited, as shown by ticket prices for the home opener against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 17.
The Lions have a waiting list for season tickets for the first time since Ford Field opened in 2002, and prices on the secondary market are skyrocketing. As of Saturday morning, the cheapest get-in price on Stubhub for a single ticket was just under $200, while a pair in medium seats were running around $300, while prime seats were over $400. Those numbers are expected to rise as the game gets closer.
Stubhub has a note on the Sept. 17 game, saying, "This event is selling fast."
tpaul@detroitnews.com
Twitter/X: @tonypaul1984
"I hope to see the Lions in the Super Bowl before I die"
My friend Ken LComment
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Another data point that the Lions are an underrated ratings juggernaut.Comment
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froot, how did you like my article that I posted yesterday from The Atlantic about the long suffering Lions fan?Originally posted by froot loops View Post"I hope to see the Lions in the Super Bowl before I die"
My friend Ken LComment
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That was a really good showOriginally posted by Sanders Fan View Post2012 Detroit Lions Draft: 1) Cordy Glenn G , 2) Brandon Taylor S, 3) Sean Spence olb, 4) Joe Adams WR/KR, 5) Matt McCants OT, 7a) B.J. Coleman QB 7b) Kewshan Martin WRComment
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Level-headed stuff like how Jameis Winston's victim needed to donate her civil damages to charity before he believed her claims?Originally posted by Sanders Fan View Post
Or mailing in an article about how some Spartans were celebrating at the Final Four that they never attended, not that he would have known that because he wasn't there either?
That sort of level-headed stuff?
Fuck that greasy hobbit with a sandpaper dildo. Albom has no business writing about the five people you meet in heaven while he goes to hell.Comment
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