MichiganCardinal Posted September 10 Posted September 10 vs. Setting: 09/14/2025 1:00pm EST on FOX Site: Ford Field in Detroit, MI Weather: Climate Controlled Opening Spread: Lions -4.5 All-Time Series Record: Bears lead, 105-80-5 Last Meeting: 12/22/2024, Lions won 34-17 Chicago Bears (0-1) Head Coach: Ben Johnson (1st Season: 0-1) Projected Starting QB: Caleb Williams (2nd Season: 5-13) Last Game: 27-24 L vs. Minnesota Vikings (1-0) Looking Ahead to Week #3: Sunday vs. Dallas Cowboys (0-1) Your Detroit Lions (0-1) Head Coach: Dan Campbell (5th Season: 39-29-1) Projected Starting QB: Jared Goff (10th Season: 81-53-1) Last Game: 27-13 L @ Green Bay Packers (1-0) Looking Ahead to Week #3: Monday Night @ Baltimore Ravens (0-1) Elsewhere in the NFL Primetime: Commanders @ Packers (TNF), Falcons @ Vikings (SNF), Buccaneers @ Texans (7pm MNF), Chargers @ Raiders (10pm MNF) 1:00pm: Browns @ Ravens, Jaguars @ Bengals, Giants @ Cowboys, Patriots @ Dolphins, 49ers @ Saints, Bills @ Jets, Seahawks @ Steelers, Rams @ Titans 4:05/4:25pm: Panthers @ Cardinals, Broncos @ Colts, Eagles @ Chiefs 1 Quote
MichiganCardinal Posted September 10 Author Posted September 10 (edited) Edited September 10 by MichiganCardinal Quote
Jason_R Posted September 10 Posted September 10 They cannot roll into Ford Field on Sunday acting like they are too good to game plan against an opponent or failing to execute on whatever plan they do have. Last Sunday’s performance was unprofessional and unacceptable from the top down. Quote
Jason_R Posted September 11 Posted September 11 6 hours ago, Motown Bombers said: Are they going to give him some reps at center? 1 Quote
MichiganCardinal Posted September 12 Author Posted September 12 I'm clearly an outlier, but I generally feel as though the reactions to the week one game were wildly overblown. Obviously they did not look good. But if you take away a single horrendous two-play drive by the Packers, the Lions outgained the Packers. The Packers had no running game to speak of, and Goff - even though forced to abandon the run - was 31/39. The interception was a fantastic read by the DB to cut that route. The biggest problem to be fixed this week is the red zone offense. You can't go 1/4 in a divisional game and expect to be competitive. And they weren't. The play calling wasn't good, and I'll be pissed if we are running scared on 2nd & Long from inside our own 5 again this season. But I'm willing to give Morton a little grace in his first game. Likewise for the offensive line communication. If there are missed assignments like that happening in week four, five, six, I'll be concerned. This was that group's first time playing together. The sky isn't falling, and for crying out loud this game is not a must win. I'd obviously rather be 1-1 than 0-2, but acting as if it would just be impossible for this team to start 0-2 and then go 10-5 (or better!) across 15 games, make the playoffs, and even compete for the division at 10-7 is beyond ridiculous. Quote
Mr.TaterSalad Posted September 12 Posted September 12 I actually, generally, agree with much of what you said above. I've been one of those negative Lions fans in the past, but have not panicked this week after the loss. I was disappointed by the lack of a run game, the lack of a pass rush, and concerned about how the interior of this offensive line looked. The lion of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, in particular on the interior offensive line, has to look better this week. I'd also like to see the playbook open up more often and I think it will this week. I want different play designs on the run, I want TeSlaa more involved, and I want to stretch the field more. But I don't think the sky is falling on this team . . . yet! The one thing I disagree with is the point about going 0-2. Statistically speaking, our season is over if we go 0-2. Since 1990, there is an 11.3% chance of making the playoffs if you go 0-2 to start a season. I know this team has significantly more talent than most teams in NFL history that have started 0-2. But I would genuinely start to feel bad about this season if we lost to a Bears team that managed to blow it at home, against a rookie QB playing on the road. Starting 0-2 from a statistical perspective is very high hill to climb and obstacle to overcome. Quote
MichiganCardinal Posted September 12 Author Posted September 12 39 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said: The one thing I disagree with is the point about going 0-2. Statistically speaking, our season is over if we go 0-2. Since 1990, there is an 11.3% chance of making the playoffs if you go 0-2 to start a season. I know this team has significantly more talent than most teams in NFL history that have started 0-2. But I would genuinely start to feel bad about this season if we lost to a Bears team that managed to blow it at home, against a rookie QB playing on the road. Starting 0-2 from a statistical perspective is very high hill to climb and obstacle to overcome. The thing is, most teams - probably somewhere in the ballpark of 88.7% (🙂) that start 0-2 are not good teams. If you’re the 2025 New Orleans Saints or Cleveland Browns and you start 0-2, you’re probably not making the playoffs. Your season is over, but if we are being realistic it was over when you were 0-0. OTOH, if you’re the 2025 Detroit Lions or Kansas City Chiefs, you can start 0-2 and still right the ship. 1 Quote
Jason_R Posted September 12 Posted September 12 They did not play like champions last Sunday. They deserved to lose. I expect they will play like champions this Sunday. 1 Quote
MichiganCardinal Posted September 12 Author Posted September 12 I expect they’ll play better, but not like prime last year. They’ll get back to that point, but it’ll take a few weeks. Quote
Mr.TaterSalad Posted Saturday at 12:53 PM Posted Saturday at 12:53 PM I hope the interior of the offensive line isn't permanently broken and a longterm problem for this team. If they don't get their offensive line issues fixed then we're in fire a long season. Quote
Jason_R Posted Saturday at 03:57 PM Posted Saturday at 03:57 PM I don't believe the OL is permanently broken. I believe Morton made too many changes from last year. I believe this led to communication problems and missed assignments. I believe Ratledge had some bad plays as a rookie in his first game. I believe Glasgow had some bad plays taking over at center. I believe Green Bay has a better defense this year than they did last year when they were in the top 5-7. I believe all that came together in an offensive performance where they did not play with anywhere near the confidence, swagger, or championship attitude they did last year. They were timid, tentative, and reactive. At no point did they demonstrate anything like the killer instinct that they did last season. I suspect they will come out tomorrow like wild animals. They will still make some mistakes, but I do not see them being meek and passive like they were last week. Quote
Sports_Freak Posted Sunday at 01:39 AM Posted Sunday at 01:39 AM Didn't the Bears have several false start penalties last week? And that was at home....talk about communication problems! Quote
Mr.TaterSalad Posted Sunday at 03:52 PM Posted Sunday at 03:52 PM 23 hours ago, Jason_R said: I don't believe the OL is permanently broken. I believe Morton made too many changes from last year. I believe this led to communication problems and missed assignments. I believe Ratledge had some bad plays as a rookie in his first game. I believe Glasgow had some bad plays taking over at center. I believe Green Bay has a better defense this year than they did last year when they were in the top 5-7. I believe all that came together in an offensive performance where they did not play with anywhere near the confidence, swagger, or championship attitude they did last year. They were timid, tentative, and reactive. At no point did they demonstrate anything like the killer instinct that they did last season. I suspect they will come out tomorrow like wild animals. They will still make some mistakes, but I do not see them being meek and passive like they were last week. Communication and talent are two different things obviously, with two very different solutions. If it is simply communication issues they were having last week, those are problems that can be cleaned up in practice. Communications issues get correct as they learn Morton's playbook more, understand the blocking schemes needed for his play designs, etc. If it is a talent problem, those cannot be quickly corrected in practice and may need to be corrected outside the organization. When I say a talent problem I'm specifically talking about Graham Glasgow's play from last week and parts of last season. I'm talking about him being washed and just not that good anymore; a guy who is 33 year years old and is on the downside of his NFL career. Does he now lack the speed, power, foot quickness, and more that he had at the beginning of his career? If so, I don't see how an offensive line is successful if the guy tasked with getting your QB both a clean snap and a clean block up the middle is washed and can't hold protection for Goff. I have some worry about Christian Mahogany not being as good overall as we thought he might be coming out of last season and going into the offseason. I'm certainly willing to give Mahogany more time to display his talent, gel with his linemates, learn the playbook, and so forth. I'm not really that worried about him just yet. I'm also not as worried about a rookie in Tate Ratledge, because I think the talent was on display as a college player in the very best conference in SEC. But if Glasglow is truly a problem all season long and can't correct the issues he had last week, I think that will have a downward effect on the rest of this line. It will effect our running game most of all, which effects our ability, Goff's ability, to be successful elsewhere, since we are such a run focused offense, that includes tons of play action and motion-based disguises. Quote
Jason_R Posted Sunday at 03:59 PM Posted Sunday at 03:59 PM I think Ratledge is exactly the kind of dirtbag you want on your OL. I'm not worried about him. I think the same about Mahogany, and he already demonstrated this last season. I agree Glasgow is going to be a significant downgrade from Ragnow but I expect him to be an adequate replacement this year. We saw last week, Decker said that in one instance he and another OL were running one play, the other three OL were running a different one. I suspect there were other occasions where this occurred. I don't know how that happened but I don't expect it to happen again. Quote
Mr.TaterSalad Posted Sunday at 05:05 PM Posted Sunday at 05:05 PM First play and it's a big time play by Goff and St. Brown. Quote
Sports_Freak Posted Sunday at 05:12 PM Posted Sunday at 05:12 PM Another team who defers and gives up a TD. I love playing from ahead. Thanks Chicago... Quote
Mr.TaterSalad Posted Sunday at 05:12 PM Posted Sunday at 05:12 PM Loved that opening drive by the Lions offense. They controlled the line of scrimmage and ran the ball really well there. Quote
Motor City Sonics Posted Sunday at 05:14 PM Posted Sunday at 05:14 PM Okay. I was unable to watch last Sunday I forgot that Gibbs is #0 and Jameson is #1. It's throwing me off, man. Quote
Mr.TaterSalad Posted Sunday at 05:16 PM Posted Sunday at 05:16 PM Whatever nice things I just said about the offense, I won't be saying about the defense lol. Quote
Nate7474 Posted Sunday at 05:18 PM Posted Sunday at 05:18 PM This defensive line is terrible so far this year. Don’t stop the run or get to the passer well. Quote
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