Week Eleven: Detroit Lions (6-3) @ Philadelphia Eagles (7-2)

[Mr.TaterSalad]

Goff is such a Jekyll and Hyde QB sometimes. He looks elite at times and then gets consistent pressure and mentally falls apart.

[sagnam]

2 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

Goff is such a Jekyll and Hyde QB sometimes. He looks elite at times and then gets consistent pressure and mentally falls apart.

Honestly, most QBs facing that kind of pressure will struggle. That’s why pass rushers make so much money. They can change the outcome of a game.

[Motown Bombers]

 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

Not getting Brock Wright down low on that 3rd and goal was killer in the end. Wright was wide open and Goff never saw him. It wasn't like Wright was on the other side of the field either. He was in the line of sight for Goff because his route crossed underneath the St. Brown route in the back of the endzone.

[papalawrence]

The Lions schedule is crazy difficult, which is expected after a 15-2 season. I pictured an 11-6 season. Still very possible. I just hope they get and remain healthy, so they have a shot. Eagles and Rams are clearly better overall right now in the nfc.

[sagnam]

11 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

 

What if the Lions have to play the Eagles on the road in the playoffs? The worry isn’t that they lost. It’s how overmatched they looked on offense when it wasn’t Gibbs or Jamo with the ball (and then not leaning into that).

This game and the Vikings games were concerning. They exposed a huge issue with the Lions offense. The kind of issues that good teams are going to exploit. The goal isn’t to have a winning record with this team, it’s to try to make the Super Bowl.  The OLine is a problem. Between injuries and zero depth they are in bad shape. There is no one coming to save them. They have to roll with what they have. The Lions have to figure this out, ASAP.

Edited 15 hours ago by sagnam

[Motown Bombers]

4 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

Not getting Brock Wright down low on that 3rd and goal was killer in the end. Wright was wide open and Goff never saw him. It wasn't like Wright was on the other side of the field either. He was in the line of sight for Goff because his route crossed underneath the St. Brown route in the back of the endzone.

I think Goff’s instinct under pressure was to just throw to St Brown. 

[sagnam]

4 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

Not getting Brock Wright down low on that 3rd and goal was killer in the end. Wright was wide open and Goff never saw him. It wasn't like Wright was on the other side of the field either. He was in the line of sight for Goff because his route crossed underneath the St. Brown route in the back of the endzone.

Goff was in the process of getting sliced in half. I don’t think he had a chance to survey the field. If we could have given him an extra second he probably would have seen it.

[RatkoVarda]

to echo what others wrote, Dan did not modify the play calling or the game strategy enough to fit the game that was actually being played on the field, rather the one he wanted to be played

[sagnam]

The thing I worry about Campbell calling plays is that there is no one to jump in and change the tone. This is possibly true for all head coaches that call plays. Campbell is at his best when he’s pulling levers to in the background. I think he’s got to spend too much time thinking about the next play to look at the bigger picture.  Doesn’t mean he can’t be successful. Just means that when things are going poorly it’s harder for him to make a big change.

Edited 15 hours ago by sagnam

[Hongbit]

The way that defense played tonight at least made some nice chicken salad.    That was one of the better defensive performances in a long time against an elite opponent.  What’s this unit going to look like when Kirby and Reed come back?   Shaping up to be something.  The goal is to play your best ball at the end of the season.  The offense has time to solve its problems.  This is still very much a contender. 

Edited 15 hours ago by Hongbit

[NYLion]

I had a feeling this might happen tonight. The Lions have been getting physically dominated by good defenses all season. It's just not the same team that it used to be, the interior offensive line is getting steamrolled on the regular, Sewell is more mistaken prone than he's been in years past, Decker is getting older, more injured and worse and Monty has regressed. Until this offensive line gets fixed, the Lions are a one and done playoff team.

Also, it doesn't help when Dan coached a pretty poor game overall. Went for it on 4th down too many times, way too many shotgun snaps for Goff and not enough playaction, abandoned the run largely. Lots of issues

[NYLion]

Just now, Hongbit said:

The way that defense played tonight at least made some nice chicken salad.    That was one of the better defensive performances in a long time against an elite opponent.  What is this unit going to look like when Kirby and Reed come back?   Shaping up to be something.  The goal is to play your best ball at the end of the season.  The offense has time to solve its problems.  This is still very much a contender. 

The Philly offense has been subpar this season. Not to take away from the Lions defense that played their butts off but the Philly offense has been off this season against most defenses.

[sagnam]

5 minutes ago, NYLion said:

I had a feeling this might happen tonight. The Lions have been getting physically dominated by good defenses all season. It's just not the same team that it used to be, the interior offensive line is getting steamrolled on the regular, Sewell is more mistaken prone than he's been in years past, Decker is getting older, more injured and worse and Monty has regressed. Until this offensive line gets fixed, the Lions are a one and done playoff team.

Also, it doesn't help when Dan coached a pretty poor game overall. Went for it on 4th down too many times, way too many shotgun snaps for Goff and not enough playaction, abandoned the run largely. Lots of issues

I was at the Vikings game. You could see Sewell was playing hurt. I think it’s the kind of thing the camera don’t always pick up, but he was on the ground in pain several times. He’d just get up quickly, but you could tell he’s fighting through injuries. Ratledge too. He actually went to the locker room for a series. We all know about Decker’s injuries. I think the OLine is just beat up and thin. There is no real depth (even Manu is hurt, though he played terribly)

Edited 15 hours ago by sagnam

[NYLion]

1 minute ago, sagnam said:

I was at the Vikings game. You could see Sewell was playing hurt. I think it’s the kind of thing the camera don’t always pick up, but he was on the ground in pain several times. He’d just up quickly, but you could tell he’s fighting through injuries. Ratledge too. He actually went to the locker room for a series. We all know about Decker’s injuries. I think the OLine is just beat up and thin. There is no real depth (even Manu is hurt, though he played terribly)

The offensive line is the entire engine of the offense. The Lions have a lot of playmakers but without protection and good run blocking up front, the weapons don't have a chance to flourish. They also missed LaPorta a ton tonight. The Lions are beat up and there were struggles even when healthy. Obviously plenty of season left but I think the previous two seasons were their real opportunity to win a Superbowl. I just have a feeling that their time as an elite team has come and gone.

[RatkoVarda]

4 minutes ago, NYLion said:

The offensive line is the entire engine of the offense. The Lions have a lot of playmakers but without protection and good run blocking up front, the weapons don't have a chance to flourish. They also missed LaPorta a ton tonight. The Lions are beat up and there were struggles even when healthy. Obviously plenty of season left but I think the previous two seasons were their real opportunity to win a Superbowl. I just have a feeling that their time as an elite team has come and gone.

all this; they will not be bad anytime soon; but elite? not this year. it does not matter that you go 4 deep at RB and WR if the OL cannot protect your immobile QB

[sagnam]

4 minutes ago, NYLion said:

The offensive line is the entire engine of the offense. The Lions have a lot of playmakers but without protection and good run blocking up front, the weapons don't have a chance to flourish. They also missed LaPorta a ton tonight. The Lions are beat up and there were struggles even when healthy. Obviously plenty of season left but I think the previous two seasons were their real opportunity to win a Superbowl. I just have a feeling that their time as an elite team has come and gone.

I’m not sure of that. I think they will ebb and flow a little. As long as they can find valuable players in later rounds (and don’t miss in the 1st) they will be competitive. I think Ben Johnson was more important than some believe. I think he knew how to maximize Goff. They need to find the next Johnson this offseason. And they need to figure out how to adjust to injuries.

[Mr.TaterSalad]

In the pie chart of blame, how much are you giving Campbell, how much are you giving Goff, and how much are you giving the offensive line? 

[NYLion]

3 minutes ago, sagnam said:

I’m not sure of that. I think they will ebb and flow a little. As long as they can find valuable players in later rounds (and don’t miss in the 1st) they will be competitive. I think Ben Johnson was more important than some believe. I think he knew how to maximize Goff. They need to find the next Johnson this offseason. And they need to figure out how to adjust to injuries.

Ben Johnson is a part of it but Ragnow and Zeitler were an even bigger part. Without those two studs creating lanes for the running game, the Lions become one dimensional and Goff just isn't good enough to carry an offense that isn't functioning at a high level around him. I also think they've lost some of that fire/swagger. Amon-Ra seems a little off and the Lions are getting physically dominated by good teams, this years' team looks foreign to me.

[lordstanley]

Obviously the Lions offense is not as  good, let alone as fun to watch, as the past two seasons when it was like they could score at will and only team that could beat them was themselves. The o-line is now close to being the Achilles heal. On the other hand, I think the defense is the best it has been in these three seasons and probably getting better. We can still win games, but will look different than recent seasons. The season has not been much different than I expected going in, apart from the horror loss to Minnesota. 

With NYG, Green Bay and Dallas coming up at home, I fully expect the Lions to be 9-4 and 1st in the North with 4 games to go. Then take it from there. Clearly a notch below the Rams and Eagles at the moment but the playoffs start in2 months. 
 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

20 minutes ago, RatkoVarda said:

all this; they will not be bad anytime soon; but elite? not this year. it does not matter that you go 4 deep at RB and WR if the OL cannot protect your immobile QB

Agreed. This front office and head coach are very good, but very arrogant at times, no two ways around it. The identity of this team has been their offensive line. Everything they've done well has flowed hrough their dominate Oline. Goff's consistently strong play, was thanks to their line. Their ability to dominate in the run game, using it to wear teams down, break big plays on the ground, and control the clock were because of their line. Their ability to create play action for Goff and open the field up with the passing game was because of their strong running game and the offensive line offering pass protection that allowed plays to develop. 

That has all changed this year. And the smartest guys in the room didn't do enough to fix it and made the wrong decisions when they did. I feel their own egos and hubris got in the way. Holmes, Agnew, Dorsey, and Campbell, they all knew Ragnow was contemplating retirement for multiple seasons, and did no real planning to replace him. Their plan, if you can call it that, was to slide a declining, aging Guard, who struggled at times last year, over to Center. Then they tried to rely on rookies like Ratledge to get them by. They needed to bring in a veteran Guard or Center in the offseason and did not. They should have done their damndest to at least try to resign Zietler, and maybe they did and we just don't know about it. They needed to get more depth at Tackle, instead of a project player like Manu and Dan Skipper.

Before anyone takes this post as me hating the GM, front office, and HC, it's not that. Not at all. I like most of what Holmes, Campbell, and Co have done with this franchise. But their plan for the offensive line Goff's offseason, the identity of their team, caught up with them I feel like. 

Edited 14 hours ago by Mr.TaterSalad

[Motown Bombers]

 

[Hongbit]

This team doesn’t leave the state for almost a full month.  They have a mini bye before the big game at Rams.   Lots of time to get things fixed but 3 wins in a row at home are a must.  

[Sports_Freak]

34 minutes ago, Hongbit said:

This team doesn’t leave the state for almost a full month.  They have a mini bye before the big game at Rams.   Lots of time to get things fixed but 3 wins in a row at home are a must.  

If I were a gambler, I would bet on the Lions to destroy the Giants next week. The Lions usually rebound strongly after a loss.

[Jason_R]

1 hour ago, Hongbit said:

This team doesn’t leave the state for almost a full month.  They have a mini bye before the big game at Rams.   Lots of time to get things fixed but 3 wins in a row at home are a must.  

Yes, the sky is not falling. The defense played great. Weather conditions were bad for throwing the ball, as, obviously, were the conditions of the IOL. The team will get healthier and should have its full complement of players going into the playoffs.