2016 Lions thread........discuss or discust?

I don't know what's a bigger waste of time, watching the Lions tonight or trying to help Mike see the forest for the trees.

I give up on the latter.
 
Lol. Staffor is an MVP qb. The pundits say so. 250 yards, 0 Td, 1 int


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Lions don't look ready for prime time in loss to Cowboys
11:41 PM ET
Michael Rothstein
ESPN Staff Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Detroit Lions came into Monday night with a chance to clinch a playoff berth and show they were true NFC contenders. They displayed one thing in their loss to Dallas: They aren’t ready for prime time.

The second half of the Lions’ 42-21 loss to the NFC’s top-seeded Cowboys in front of a national television audience proved that. This was a game that mattered a whole deal to Detroit. It would have given the team its second playoff berth in three seasons. It would have almost certainly ensured Lions coach Jim Caldwell would return for another season.

And moreover, it would have taken some of the pressure off Sunday night, where the Lions might essentially be in a playoff game against the Green Bay Packers depending on whether or not Washington beats the New York Giants or not earlier Sunday.

That Packers-Lions game is going to be for the NFC North title regardless, but there’s a chance it could be win-or-go-home. And after seeing how Detroit has played against one of the best offenses in the NFL on Monday night against Dallas and one of the best defenses in the NFL last week against New York, it can’t be a good feeling in Detroit right now.

It can’t help, either, that Detroit led Dallas, 21-14, at the two-minute warning in the first half. Then everything unraveled for the Lions offensively, defensively and in coaching. Even Matt Prater, who hadn’t missed a field goal since Week 8 against Houston, missed a 47-yard attempt in the third quarter.

But let’s focus for now on Monday night.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford, who had played smart football for much of the season, appeared to force some passes and make bad reads. It didn’t help, either, that he was pummeled like he had the Lions’ 2014 and 2015 offensive lines blocking for him instead of the one this year that had mostly held together well. The Lions also left him in down 21 points late in the fourth quarter with him being hit nine times Monday night by Dallas’ suddenly-vicious defense.

The run defense, which knew they had a litmus test facing Ezekiel Elliott, couldn’t handle the likely Rookie of the Year. He only gained 80 yards, but averaged 6.7 yards per carry, had two touchdowns and, as expected, the Lions needed multiple defenders to tackle him. The pass defense, without top cornerback Darius Slay, couldn’t make a play on any Cowboys receiver and let Dak Prescott complete 15 of 20 passes for 212 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

It wasn’t all on the players, though. The coaching was questionable, too. The Stafford question was already covered. But Detroit went away from their most productive offensive game plan, too, with no real reason. Zach Zenner had 10 carries for 64 yards in the first half, averaging 6.4 yards a carry for a run game that had been invisible for weeks.

He touched the ball only twice in the second half when it mattered despite looking like the best back Detroit has had since Ameer Abdullah got hurt in Week 2. Detroit seemed uninterested in trying to beat Dallas the way it had hung with so many other teams, sustained drives by incrementally moving the chains. Zenner had been a big part of that in the first half.

It was a meltdown by the Lions, who looked overmatched against Dallas. Detroit has now lost two straight games and might be in a win-or-season over situation in less than a week against their biggest rivals, at home, against Green Bay.
 
All still avoiding the original question

Who is your realistic option to replace Stafford? Who's available that would make this immediately a better team?

I'll wait. I've been waiting for 3+ years for you guys to answer this one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I'll give you some credit, Justin. At least you didn't jump on the post about Stafford helping the family of a fallen police officer and call it "meaningless" and suggest that it was only done for tax purposes.

You've got that going for you.
 
YLWFVR said:
Lions don't look ready for prime time in loss to Cowboys
11:41 PM ET
Michael Rothstein
ESPN Staff Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Detroit Lions came into Monday night with a chance to clinch a playoff berth and show they were true NFC contenders. They displayed one thing in their loss to Dallas: They aren’t ready for prime time.

The second half of the Lions’ 42-21 loss to the NFC’s top-seeded Cowboys in front of a national television audience proved that. This was a game that mattered a whole deal to Detroit. It would have given the team its second playoff berth in three seasons. It would have almost certainly ensured Lions coach Jim Caldwell would return for another season.

And moreover, it would have taken some of the pressure off Sunday night, where the Lions might essentially be in a playoff game against the Green Bay Packers depending on whether or not Washington beats the New York Giants or not earlier Sunday.

That Packers-Lions game is going to be for the NFC North title regardless, but there’s a chance it could be win-or-go-home. And after seeing how Detroit has played against one of the best offenses in the NFL on Monday night against Dallas and one of the best defenses in the NFL last week against New York, it can’t be a good feeling in Detroit right now.

It can’t help, either, that Detroit led Dallas, 21-14, at the two-minute warning in the first half. Then everything unraveled for the Lions offensively, defensively and in coaching. Even Matt Prater, who hadn’t missed a field goal since Week 8 against Houston, missed a 47-yard attempt in the third quarter.

But let’s focus for now on Monday night.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford, who had played smart football for much of the season, appeared to force some passes and make bad reads. It didn’t help, either, that he was pummeled like he had the Lions’ 2014 and 2015 offensive lines blocking for him instead of the one this year that had mostly held together well. The Lions also left him in down 21 points late in the fourth quarter with him being hit nine times Monday night by Dallas’ suddenly-vicious defense.

The run defense, which knew they had a litmus test facing Ezekiel Elliott, couldn’t handle the likely Rookie of the Year. He only gained 80 yards, but averaged 6.7 yards per carry, had two touchdowns and, as expected, the Lions needed multiple defenders to tackle him. The pass defense, without top cornerback Darius Slay, couldn’t make a play on any Cowboys receiver and let Dak Prescott complete 15 of 20 passes for 212 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

It wasn’t all on the players, though. The coaching was questionable, too. The Stafford question was already covered. But Detroit went away from their most productive offensive game plan, too, with no real reason. Zach Zenner had 10 carries for 64 yards in the first half, averaging 6.4 yards a carry for a run game that had been invisible for weeks.

He touched the ball only twice in the second half when it mattered despite looking like the best back Detroit has had since Ameer Abdullah got hurt in Week 2. Detroit seemed uninterested in trying to beat Dallas the way it had hung with so many other teams, sustained drives by incrementally moving the chains. Zenner had been a big part of that in the first half.

It was a meltdown by the Lions, who looked overmatched against Dallas. Detroit has now lost two straight games and might be in a win-or-season over situation in less than a week against their biggest rivals, at home, against Green Bay.
Click to expand...

I have no problem with this assessment. Stafford didn't play his best game, coaching was questionable, Prater blew a chip shot (should probably trade him) and the defense was atrocious. All while matched up against what is clearly the best team in the NFL. Pretty accurate in my opinion.
 
DetroitStyle said:
All still avoiding the original question

Who is your realistic option to replace Stafford? Who's available that would make this immediately a better team?

I'll wait. I've been waiting for 3+ years for you guys to answer this one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

That's a different question than what you've been touting all year. It's your go to answer when you've been soundly proven wrong about Stafford over and over again. It's not an answerable question which is why you keep asking it, BUT it's a far cry different than telling us about MVP Stafford and how he's the best at xxx stat, or the commentators are talking him up as one of the best in the league. There's a far cry difference between what's on the stat sheet and what is happening on the field. No one in here harping about Stafford is saying he's the only problem, they are simply reacting to all the smoke you're blowing. So this question is a stupid one because it's simply a defensive mechanism. There's a ton of QB's I'd take over Stafford, but obviously, they aren't available. He's the best they have, but the best they have as a team is far from being NFL quality.
 
The Packers are hot, having won 5 straight coming into their game against Detroit. Hopefully GB will punt the over-rated Lions back to A ball.....;)
 
I feel like the Lions, as a team, have about a quarter and a half of good football in them each game. This time they used it up in the first and second.
 
Clearly if the Lions had an elite QB like Aaron Rodgers, the result would have been drastically different.

Oh, wait

a060d1939e516e2572379b04526d945e.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Rodgers doesn't have to prove himself. Stafford has fallen down anytime he faces stiff competition. Well, the Lions as a whole have fallen down, but the signal caller has to take a lot of that blame like Rodgers gets the benefit of the doubt when he sucks.
 
dline said:
nah both Rodgers and Stafford lost to this qb guy oh yeah hes a rookie
Click to expand...


So did 11 other teams this year.

I'll argue all day about football with Justin and Ryan. They at least understand the game. You do not.

Yes, he's a rookie. Yes, he's played well.

He also has the best offensive line the NFL has seen since the 90s, a running back who will finish the season with more yards rushing than Barry Sanders did in 7 of his 8 seasons, and an assortment of Pro Bowl guys to throw to.

You are really out of your element in this thread...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top