1st team grades

[lgolfer]

1st Team Offense was good. Stafford did a good job of throwing to the back shoulder of CJ and Burleson and Best played very well. Offensive line blocked pretty well and Stafford got rid of the ball quickly.

Overall: B+/A-

1st team defense struggled to stop the run and tackle in the secondary. I thought we would be better against the run with Tulloch and Durant, but it didn't seem to make a difference. Coverage-wise I thought the secondary was pretty good, but other than Spievey they had trouble tackling in the open field (AJ Green running sideline to sideline). Spievey played very well. I hope the problems stopping the run are from a lack of playing time as a group and hopefully they will improve by the time the season starts. Also, there were too many unnecessary penalties just like last year. Can't give good teams free yards.

Overall: C-
Agree? Disagree? Comments welcome

 

[lions2011]

they'll be fine against the run....takes time as a unit to click with Linebackers.

Spievey is going to be a good one back there , kids made leaps and bounds since last he was seen.

Offense was real good , Stafford picking on Leon Hall was awesome...NO FEAR.

A and A

only give up 3 in a half and score that many...both A's

 

[SoCalLions]

they'll be fine against the run....takes time as a unit to click with Linebackers.

Spievey is going to be a good one back there , kids made leaps and bounds since last he was seen.

Offense was real good , Stafford picking on Leon Hall was awesome...NO FEAR.

A and A

only give up 3 in a half and score that many...both A's

End of preseason you think you'll jump on the wildcard bandwagon? Lot of room on here. I also have plenty of Kool Aid.

 

[lions2011]

they'll be fine against the run....takes time as a unit to click with Linebackers.

Spievey is going to be a good one back there , kids made leaps and bounds since last he was seen.

Offense was real good , Stafford picking on Leon Hall was awesome...NO FEAR.

A and A

only give up 3 in a half and score that many...both A's

End of preseason you think you'll jump on the wildcard bandwagon? Lot of room on here.

nope , don't see 10 wins.

 

[lgolfer]

Hopefully the linebackers will click before the season starts, but there's no way the defense deserves an A. They couldn't stop the run and the only reason they only gave up 3 is because Andy Dalton is QB. The real telling point will be when we play the Patriots in Game 3 of the preseason. If we hold Brady and the offense to no touchdowns while he's playing I will heap the praise on them, but they don't deserve it yet.

 

[mhughes0021]

1st Team Offense was good. Stafford did a good job of throwing to the back shoulder of CJ and Burleson and Best played very well. Offensive line blocked pretty well and Stafford got rid of the ball quickly.

Overall: B+/A-

1st team defense struggled to stop the run and tackle in the secondary. I thought we would be better against the run with Tulloch and Durant, but it didn't seem to make a difference. Coverage-wise I thought the secondary was pretty good, but other than Spievey they had trouble tackling in the open field (AJ Green running sideline to sideline). Spievey played very well. I hope the problems stopping the run are from a lack of playing time as a group and hopefully they will improve by the time the season starts. Also, there were too many unnecessary penalties just like last year. Can't give good teams free yards.

Overall: C-
Agree? Disagree? Comments welcome

you mentioned all the negatives and forgot to mention it was the D and special teams that put us up that much that fast. Houstons pick has to be factored in to the first team D grade, doesnt it???!!! A for the O. B for the D. I agree...didnt like how easily they ran the ball on us.

 

[Mitchrapp]

The most important start for a defense is points against, PA. And the three points says good job.

 

[motown1958]

I think its an A for both the O and the D however it needs to be put in perspective. The bengals are not very good but with that being said I liked what I saw.

 

[biggunsbob]

Good start....Lets get everyone healthy and keep moving forward...

 

[zyxt9]

Sorry, but I can't give either an A due to the run game on both. The offense did not run the ball well at all and the D was terrible against it. I'd give them both a B for now. Sure they scored a bunch and held them to 3, but it was Cincy after all so the inability to run and stop the run is a huge issue once again. For the O, obviously the new backs and OL injuries played a big role while on D it takes time to gel. Hopefully these things get worked out by W1, but in no way do they deserve an A when taking this aspect into consideration, especially considering the opponent.

 

[Mitchrapp]

Two of those RB were picked up like 4 minutes ago. So they get a pass. And no Backus or Pettigrew, which might have helped the running game.

 

[wheels002]

I did like the intensity and the pursuit of the defense. I will admit I didnt like them running it down our throats for the first few plays but after that it was under control. I was not a fan of the penalties. But I think we will get more than some teams just because they play with a mean streak and an edge. I loved seeing Spievey flying around we could have 2 of the better young S in the league. There are things to work on but we played a team that we should beat and we went out and beat them and no injuries other than a few minor bumps and bruises.

 

[jared]

Didn't love either our run blocking on O or how much they ran on us on D. Overall about a B. The offense looked dynamic through the air, but it was the Bengals. This is an 8 win team, IMO.

 

[evolutionkb]

I'll have to give the offense a B+. They looked unstoppable through the air, but the ground game wasn't the greatest. Defense I'll give a B. Run defense was as bad as last year, but I expect a huge difference between now and Game 1 in TB. Two starting LBs are new, so I expect a few growing pains. Pass defense was solid, not great, probably due to Dalton.

 

[coel73]

Didn't love either our run blocking on O or how much they ran on us on D. Overall about a B. The offense looked dynamic through the air, but it was the Bengals. This is an 8 win team, IMO.

I'm with you on that one. If we didn't have the 3rd hardest schedule, I would think that we could possibly top 9 wins. I'm just glad to be able to watch games and think that for once in a long time a win wasn't out of the question.

 

[tbone413]

Spivey looked pretty solid out there...alot better than his beer belly days

 

[excessiveforce]

I agree with everyone the O deserves an A. To me the defense earned a A-, the only reason not an A do to the relapse in Run D. The turnovers were a large plus. It's one thing being in the position to cause a turnover but to execute it is a whole different thing. An unfair negative I've seen people comment on has been the lion running game. Best did a good job and the and it's not really fair to say they didn't run well when we had J. Harrison running with the second O while The Bengals had the 1 st still out there for a series or two. The major plus I saw was the final score that shows that our teams depth is finally getting somewhere although it's not finished yet.

 

[biggunsbob]

I watched a lot of the game today and i thought the Lions looked pretty good.. Keep up all the good posts guys I like to read more on the Lions board then post... Man this team could be a ton of fun this year...I cannot wait until preseason ends... This board will be hoping.

 

[lionskillpack]

Well it's preseason and its the Bengals so obviously cant get too excited.
1)It was nice seeing perfect pockets though even though the Bengals have no pass rushers. The pocket should have been perfect for Stafford/Hill and it was even without Backus.
2) Run game with Harrison bad, first drive with Best he had 2 good runs out of 3 so it wasn't a lost cause. I think we are going to miss LeShoure though.
3) Nice we beat Leon Hall twice on the tds. He's their only decent secondary guy. Never put man coverage on Calvin but Stafford did a nice job freezing the safety on the fake.
4) Corey Williams sack was nice. With Fairley hurt, good to see CW get a sack.
5) Running at Avril will be a problem still. Good to see Durant clean up with 3 tackles and the Bengals bread and butter is run Benson but we need to shore that up.
6) Houston pick was nice step for step with Green and Ekejenuba,Palmer,Carpenter,Wendling,Logan,Davis fresh in coverage is going to be nice.

Bring on the Browns.

 

[lions2011]

Durant is going to be a busy boy playing behind Avril all year.

My god Avril is still HORRIFIC against the run.