Pros:
Stafford was very effective moving the ball. It's become a ball control offense, but all the talk about "how do the Lions move forward without Calvin" needs to come to an end. The damned commentators were asking that all game. Calvin is retired, and this team can move the chains without him.
Offensive line played far better than I expected. They opened holes, and they kept the QBs jersey clean.
Boldin has elevated the level of play among the receivers. He demands professionalism, and he's getting it.
Ebron is making me a believer. All the hype about him taking "the next step".... he had a nice catch and made it work. He could be a factor in stretching the field at some point.
Hyder... beast. Nuff said.
Both Abdullah and Riddick ran with power and conviction. They didn't just run well, I like the WAY they ran. Washington got into the action with a short TD, but I didn't see enough of him to get a read. All in all, the running game took leaps and bounds.
Cons:
We moved the ball well against a depleted defense, and at times still struggled there.
As well as they played, the O-Line completely collapsed on a couple of series. That first series to start the second half was down right ugly.
Penalties happen, but we're still taking some really stupid ones that negated good gains.
Caldwell still doesn't seem to understand the clock very well. Scary.
Levy was a non-factor. Hopefully, it's just rust, but he looked slower to me.
Play calling is still lacking any sings of killer instincts. Still going conservative at all the wrong times. Taking knees before the half when they can run a play and try to get some points back drives me nuts.
All in all, I saw some things we haven't seen in Detroit in a long long time, but it was a Colts team that finished the game with 5 healthy DBs. I'm still in wait and see mode.
