Motown Bombers Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 I can't help but think how easy it was for Tampa to pick up a playoff win. They played in a week division and fell into a division championship and hosted a playoff game against an Eagles team that was in a freefall and got the win. How did that not ever happen to the Lions the past 32 years? How did they just not luck into a set of circumstances one season that allowed them to pick up a playoff win? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyMarsh Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 10 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said: I can't help but think how easy it was for Tampa to pick up a playoff win. They played in a week division and fell into a division championship and hosted a playoff game against an Eagles team that was in a freefall and got the win. How did that not ever happen to the Lions the past 32 years? How did they just not luck into a set of circumstances one season that allowed them to pick up a playoff win? I can't remember if it was 2011 or 2014 but one of the two if we were able to win in GB the matchup was going to be extremely favorable, I can't remember the team but I just remember being so upset about the situation cause the loss not only kept them from getting that matchup but in 2011 forced them to arguably the toughest place to win in the NFL at that time and in 2014 another tough place in Dallas when you factor in the refs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason_R Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 8 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said: I can't help but think how easy it was for Tampa to pick up a playoff win. They played in a week division and fell into a division championship and hosted a playoff game against an Eagles team that was in a freefall and got the win. How did that not ever happen to the Lions the past 32 years? How did they just not luck into a set of circumstances one season that allowed them to pick up a playoff win? I thought the same thing. There are teams almost every year that back into the playoffs, and one every few years that backs into a playoff win. Detroit has been unlucky to share a division with two HOF QBs for the past three decades. TB gets to compete twice a year against the Desmond Ridders, Bryce Youngs, and Derek Carrs of the world — a has been (or a never was) and two never will bes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichiganCardinal Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 1 hour ago, RatkoVarda said: how much $$$ is generated from a NFC Championship game at Ford Field? The NFL actually collects the gate from the game. So the Lions are "only" collecting the extra stuff - concessions, merchandise, parking, etc. - and still paying out the same number of expenses from the game. I believe I've heard that NFL teams generally actually make less overall from playoff games than from regular season games. That said, as was mentioned, the economic impact to the surrounding area is immense. Judging by the bars I went to after the game on Sunday, it wouldn't surprise me if tens of millions was generated to the local area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason_R Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 1 hour ago, RandyMarsh said: I know I shouldn't necessarily think like this but one reason I may rather face SF is that if we were to lose to them I would be upset but it wouldn't be like pouring salt in the wounds like it would be with GB. God that would be horrible! My sentiments exactly. OTOH, Ford Field is where LaFleur started Love’s hot streak, and it would be fitting if that’s where their hot streak came to an end. Also, on Thanksgiving, Detroit only gave up nine points after a dismal opening quarter. Detroit has really tightened things up in the red zone since then, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motor City Sonics Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 36 minutes ago, Jason_R said: My sentiments exactly. OTOH, Ford Field is where LaFleur started Love’s hot streak, and it would be fitting if that’s where their hot streak came to an end. Also, on Thanksgiving, Detroit only gave up nine points after a dismal opening quarter. Detroit has really tightened things up in the red zone since then, too. Lions have trouble with deep passes. Ain't no deep passes in the red zone. Might be as simple as that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motown Bombers Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 40 minutes ago, RandyMarsh said: I can't remember if it was 2011 or 2014 but one of the two if we were able to win in GB the matchup was going to be extremely favorable, I can't remember the team but I just remember being so upset about the situation cause the loss not only kept them from getting that matchup but in 2011 forced them to arguably the toughest place to win in the NFL at that time and in 2014 another tough place in Dallas when you factor in the refs. The 2014 team would have won the division and been the 2 seed and earned a first round bye if they beat the Packers. Instead they were the 6th seed. The NFC was stacked that year except for the South. Both wild card teams were 11-5 and the Eagles missed the playoffs with a 10-6 record. In 2011, beating Green Bay was the difference between facing the Saints or Giants. The Giants were initially viewed as the weaker team since they won their division with a 9-7 record, but they ended up winning the Super Bowl that year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motown Bombers Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 I found this interesting. The Rams use motion as much as anyone and used it 91% of the time against the Lions. Minnesota is also in the upper half of teams that use motion. The Lions struggle a bit against motion. Tampa is near the bottom of the league in motion. Look at some of the top teams on that list. The Lions struggled against the Ravens, Seahawks, Packers and Chargers who are all top 10 in motion. They did well against Carolina, Tampa, Broncos and even the Saints to some degree who use less motion. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichiganCardinal Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 12 minutes ago, Motor City Sonics said: Lions have trouble with deep passes. Ain't no deep passes in the red zone. Might be as simple as that. I think this is largely it. The Lions have good safeties, one usually decent corner in Sutton (who had an up-and-down day against LA), and one dreadful corner in Vildor. When you have 60 yards to work with and the pass rush isn't immediate, someone is going to get open against Vildor (or Sutton) without safety help in the immediate area... When you have 20-30 yards to work with though, that's harder to do, because the safety coverage will be there more often than not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinzaki Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 18 minutes ago, Motor City Sonics said: Lions have trouble with deep passes. Ain't no deep passes in the red zone. Might be as simple as that. That's been my view...we struggle with the deep throws (lack of consistent pressure... DBs could be better) but once tnat threat is off the table, we're fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motown Bombers Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Another good thing about Tampa is they don't run the ball well at all and the Lions can run more dime to have safeties on the field to cover for deficiencies in the pass game. I also feel better blitzing Mayfield than Stafford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oblong Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 1 hour ago, MichiganCardinal said: The NFL actually collects the gate from the game. So the Lions are "only" collecting the extra stuff - concessions, merchandise, parking, etc. - and still paying out the same number of expenses from the game. I believe I've heard that NFL teams generally actually make less overall from playoff games than from regular season games. That said, as was mentioned, the economic impact to the surrounding area is immense. Judging by the bars I went to after the game on Sunday, it wouldn't surprise me if tens of millions was generated to the local area. My son went to Checker bar during the game, they left in the 2nd quarter to go down there, and he said it wasn't as busy as he expected. That's not really walking distance from Ford Field. I was curious how busy the bars nearby would be, like Harry's and Brass Rail, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sports_Freak Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 5 hours ago, Cruzer1 said: What I remember most from the first game against the Bucs was the block of the year. It might be the best block I've ever seen. I've seen more bone crushing blocks but not many that sprung a runner for a TD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigeraholic1 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 25 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said: Another good thing about Tampa is they don't run the ball well at all and the Lions can run more dime to have safeties on the field to cover for deficiencies in the pass game. I also feel better blitzing Mayfield than Stafford. Great point. I have not seen any snap counts were we used three safeties as rumored they would. I wonder if/how often they have tried that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sports_Freak Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 3 hours ago, Motown Bombers said: The Eagles are getting old and they seem to have character issues on that roster. It's probably better than most other jobs out there but the expectations would be Super Bowl or bust. They got old...suddenly. They were going along at 10-1 and were the #1 seed until they fell off a cliff. I've never seen a team fold so quickly. 1-5 in their last 6 games to finish 11-6. Amazing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sports_Freak Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 3 hours ago, MichiganCardinal said: It would be a mistake to say "Lions beat Tampa 20-6 in week five, Lions were missing many key pieces, Lions now have those key pieces, therefore the Lions will easily win" Neither of these teams are what they were back then. Baker missed some wide open throws in week five to guys who would have gone for 6. It could have easily been a 20-20 game headed to OT. Based off of last night, Baker might make those throws this Sunday. Rachaad White went for 72 yards last night against the Eagles good defensive line. He went for 26 against the Lions. For the Lions, they basically won the game in week five without running the ball. The leading rusher was Craig Reynolds, who went 10 carries for 15 yards. I doubt they shut down a healthy Gibbs and Montgomery in the same fashion. Another week, another team with good receivers set to exploit the Lions porous secondary. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin might be getting older, but I'm sure they'll have a delicious late Sunday lunch on Vildor. Baker is nursing injuries and Tampa has the worst rushing numbers in the league. At least, I heard the announcers say that last night. I didn't actually look it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sports_Freak Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 3 hours ago, MichiganCardinal said: I agree. All told, I think the two worst playoff teams in the NFC (and maybe the NFL) played last night. It's just how the seeding shook out this year. Add in the Lions being at home, hungry, and having what I think is far better coaching, and I like the Lions a lot. Probably to cover 6 as well. But I don't want to overlook the Bucs. It would be very easy for a poorly coached team to overlook Tampa but I don't see a MCDC coached team to do so. The Lions will be ready. I feel much, much more confident against Tampa than I did against LA. Tampa has a couple of very good receivers but Baker isn't one of the better quarterbacks in the league. Pressure him and it may be a blowout. Lions by 6? Yeah, I would take that bet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanley70 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 24 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said: They got old...suddenly. They were going along at 10-1 and were the #1 seed until they fell off a cliff. I've never seen a team fold so quickly. 1-5 in their last 6 games to finish 11-6. Amazing... And if Matt Patricia couldn't turn things around, things must really be bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sports_Freak Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Breaking News....Kelly Stafford is rooting for the Lions! 😅 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motown Bombers Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 5 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said: Breaking News....Kelly Stafford is rooting for the Lions! 😅 I almost starting booing at my phone screen when I saw this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenacious D Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 https://www.facebook.com/share/wURr197keusG6q4z/?mibextid=WC7FNe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichiganCardinal Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 1 hour ago, oblong said: My son went to Checker bar during the game, they left in the 2nd quarter to go down there, and he said it wasn't as busy as he expected. That's not really walking distance from Ford Field. I was curious how busy the bars nearby would be, like Harry's and Brass Rail, etc. I tried to go to Second Best three hours before the game and wasn't allowed in by security who said they were over capacity. Went to Bakersfield instead and they were packed. Quoted us a 60-90 minutes wait, but got us in quickly on an end cap sharing a table with a party of four. Afterwards went to Bodega and they were packed as well. Standing room only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TP_Fan Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 3 hours ago, MichiganCardinal said: The NFL actually collects the gate from the game. So the Lions are "only" collecting the extra stuff - concessions, merchandise, parking, etc. - and still paying out the same number of expenses from the game. I believe I've heard that NFL teams generally actually make less overall from playoff games than from regular season games. That said, as was mentioned, the economic impact to the surrounding area is immense. Judging by the bars I went to after the game on Sunday, it wouldn't surprise me if tens of millions was generated to the local area. I we to a local coney place afterwards. It was insane. I’ll try and share the video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason_R Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 1 hour ago, Sports_Freak said: They got old...suddenly. They were going along at 10-1 and were the #1 seed until they fell off a cliff. I've never seen a team fold so quickly. 1-5 in their last 6 games to finish 11-6. Amazing... They never recovered from losing CJGJ. It was evident early that they missed him, but they won some close games. SF broke them and Sirianni inexplicably decided Matty P was the guy to help him right the ship. I’m sure we will start to hear how Sirianni lost the defensive side of the locker room after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motown Bombers Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 8 minutes ago, Jason_R said: They never recovered from losing CJGJ. It was evident early that they missed him, but they won some close games. SF broke them and Sirianni inexplicably decided Matty P was the guy to help him right the ship. I’m sure we will start to hear how Sirianni lost the defensive side of the locker room after that. Read the Philadelphia beat reporters and it's already being reported. There also seems to be some locker room issues with AJ Brown. Hurts also reverted back to his 2021 self instead of 2022. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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