Game 1: Lions @ Colts Thread

[tonyballs]

I thought Ansah played well tho. He didn't fill the stat sheet but he was in the backfield all day forcing Luck to adjust on the fly. Levy is rusty as hell and acted like a child....he needs to clean up. Slay got beat a few times but wasn't all bad.....he fell on the Dorsett bomb but was stride for stride with him and the ball placement was absolutely beautiful by Luck.....he does need to be better tho.

 

[mhughes0021]

Wilson looks like a worse version of ihedigbo. Bush was awful.

 

[boogerlovejoy]

Run game? Riddick and Abdullah were not running through holes. They had to make multiple guys miss behind the line of scrimmage and/or use their speed to bounce it outside. No one was grinding out the clock between the tackles.

Did you miss Riddicks TD run? Ran through a giant hole and was UNTOUCHED until he crossed the goal line. There were multiple 4-5 yard carries that the line got a good push up field.

Your RB's are supposed to make a few guys miss....it's their job. The Lions Oline wasn't spectacular yesterday.......and I completely agree that the Colts D is terrible.....but they did a good job.....got a good push....opened a few holes.

I'll give them a B.

 

[boogerlovejoy]

I thought Ansah played well tho. He didn't fill the stat sheet but he was in the backfield all day forcing Luck to adjust on the fly. Levy is rusty as hell and acted like a child....he needs to clean up. Slay got beat a few times but wasn't all bad.....he fell on the Dorsett bomb but was stride for stride with him and the ball placement was absolutely beautiful by Luck.....he does need to be better tho.

I thought Slay was pretty damn good yesterday. You're right about that bomb to Dorsett....Slay was stride for stride and in position to make a play......but he tripped. Otherwise, he made a few good plays against TY and they generally stayed away from him.

Whitehead is a liability in coverage. Allen is a solid TE.....but Whitehead got beat badly multiple times yesterday. We may see more of Van Noy in nickel situations.

Levy was rusty......but the guy has had 35 TOTAL snaps between last year and this preseason. I think he'll be OK as he gets more reps.

Hyder and Ngata we really good. Ansah was solid. Taylor was a no show, unfortunately.

 

[tomdalton22]

Had a golf outing so I didn't watch the game. By the sounds of it, the Colts defense is terrible. Nice win on the road though

 

[tonyballs]

Had a golf outing so I didn't watch the game. By the sounds of it, the Colts defense is terrible. Nice win on the road though

And the Lions did what they were supposed to do. They dropped 30+ on a weak defense.

 

[tonyballs]

I thought Slay was pretty damn good yesterday. You're right about that bomb to Dorsett....Slay was stride for stride and in position to make a play......but he tripped. Otherwise, he made a few good plays against TY and they generally stayed away from him.

Whitehead is a liability in coverage. Allen is a solid TE.....but Whitehead got beat badly multiple times yesterday. We may see more of Van Noy in nickel situations.

Levy was rusty......but the guy has had 35 TOTAL snaps between last year and this preseason. I think he'll be OK as he gets more reps.

Hyder and Ngata we really good. Ansah was solid. Taylor was a no show, unfortunately.

I agree on Van Noy. There was even a play in the game where KVN got stuck guarding Hilton lol. He did a good job too.....the kid is super athletic.

 

[brewer229]

Week 1 Winners article:

Matthew Stafford: The Detroit Lions started last season so poorly, they became an afterthought by midseason. That’s why so few people realized how good Stafford was in the second half.

Stafford had 19 touchdowns, two interceptions and a 110.1 passer rating in the second half last season. Since it’s Stafford, and he has a history of being a roller coaster at quarterback, we wanted to see an encore before buying into his turnaround being legit.

Now do you believe?

Stafford was really good on Sunday, albeit against a banged-up Indianapolis Colts defense. Stafford hit 31 of 39 passes for 340 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. And when the Lions needed him most, after the Colts scored with 37 seconds left to take a late lead, Stafford completed three passes for 50 yards and got Matt Prater in position for the game-winning field goal.

Stafford has rarely been great during his career. But he was really good in the second half last season, under new offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, and looked even better on Sunday.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/n...-his-game-to-a-different-level-024333387.html

 

[tomdalton22]

And the Lions did what they were supposed to do. They dropped 30+ on a weak defense.

yup...and won

 

[mhughes0021]

Week 1 Winners article:

Matthew Stafford: The Detroit Lions started last season so poorly, they became an afterthought by midseason. That?s why so few people realized how good Stafford was in the second half.

Stafford had 19 touchdowns, two interceptions and a 110.1 passer rating in the second half last season. Since it?s Stafford, and he has a history of being a roller coaster at quarterback, we wanted to see an encore before buying into his turnaround being legit.

Now do you believe?

Stafford was really good on Sunday, albeit against a banged-up Indianapolis Colts defense. Stafford hit 31 of 39 passes for 340 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. And when the Lions needed him most, after the Colts scored with 37 seconds left to take a late lead, Stafford completed three passes for 50 yards and got Matt Prater in position for the game-winning field goal.

Stafford has rarely been great during his career. But he was really good in the second half last season, under new offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, and looked even better on Sunday.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/n...-his-game-to-a-different-level-024333387.html

He played very well. The 100% comp to everyone not named jones is crazy good. Although id like to see tate run a route further than 2 yards every once in awhile.

 

[tbone413]

Twice. But honestly, when the Colts scored, and thought they had it won, with Detroit having 3 TOs, I thought "let me introduce you to my dawg(Mr Stafford)". And he bitched them. Fuck the Colts, and yes I drank today

Haha ya I was thinking the same thing, then I saw this posted on Reddit after the game and started cracking up

 

[mrdubbsie]

Where did his neck go?? Hahaha

 

[boogerlovejoy]

He played very well. The 100% comp to everyone not named jones is crazy good. Although id like to see tate run a route further than 2 yards every once in awhile.

If we only send Jones deep the good teams will start to adjust to that. No need to keep a S over the top of Tate or Bolden. It worked yesterday....and that's great.....but GT does need to run an intermediate route tree, too.

This team needs a burner. Id rather have Fuller as the #4 WR. He isn't very good.....but he opens things up underneath and could keep defenses from crowding the LOS....leaving more room for Riddick and Tate......which is our strength.

 

[cmlfactor]

I love Stafford giving it to Jones and Ebron back to back plays for not getting out of bounds or fighting for extra yards. I think he sent a message to the veterans and new guys alike what is expected of them this year.

I'm not worried about the defense just yet. It was Andrew Luck after all who still lead in 4th quarter QBR during his disaster of a 2015 season. They looked decent most of the first half got some sacks and good coverage.

Now if they make Marcus Mariota look like Steve Young next week then I'll start to worry.

 

[boogerlovejoy]

I love Stafford giving it to Jones and Ebron back to back plays for not getting out of bounds or fighting for extra yards. I think he sent a message to the veterans and new guys alike what is expected of them this year.

I'm not worried about the defense just yet. It was Andrew Luck after all who still lead in 4th quarter QBR during his disaster of a 2015 season. They looked decent most of the first half got some sacks and good coverage.

Now if they make Marcus Mariota look like Steve Young next week then I'll start to worry.

That was great. He kinda yelled at Ebron.....but he let Jones have it. That was great.

By the way, WTF was Jones doing. I understand what Ebron was trying to do (I don't agree with it, but I understand it). He was trying to cut back inside and make a play.

Jones' mistake was inexcusable. It's the kind of play that loses games. He had no shot at more yardage and didn't even try to cut it back inside......he just got tackled right on the sideline. STUPID ASS PLAY. Stafford was 100% right in letting him have it.

 

[inkfreq]

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.

 

[cmlfactor]

Offensive line played far better than I expected. They opened holes, and they kept the QBs jersey clean.

I was very encouraged. Had some good runs behind Decker.

Hyder... beast. Nuff said.

Dude that guy game outta fricking NOWHERE. I was like WHO?? Then he got another sack and I was like allllllrighty then.

Caldwell still doesn't seem to understand the clock very well. Scary.

Stafford saved his ass this game for sure. I thought it was CALDWELL who was supposed to help STAFFORD. Isn't that one of the reasons he was hired? LOL.

Levy was a non-factor. Hopefully, it's just rust, but he looked slower to me.

Not worried yet. The guy has basically been out an entire calendar year. I'm thinking Week 5 or 6 before he starts making a real impact again, as long as he doesn't re-injure anything.

And I hope Andre Roberts doesn't continue to return kicks. Dude looked awful. I though Washington would've won that job with what he did in preseason.

 

[mhughes0021]

If the Colts didn't blow all their timeouts on some personnel problems we would have lost that game. Caldwell is a moron.

 

[LKP]

Lions d caused them to call time outs. And the review helped too. Hilton was out of bounds. Should have been a penalty on colts

 

[mrdubbsie]

I do think they won this game in spite of Jim Caldwell's clock management at the end. If the Colts didn't use a timeout and ran the clock even further down, I really don't think Caldwell would use one. If he wasn't using them early when there was 1:30 left or even 1:00 left, I don't see any evidence he'd start using them at the 30 second mark.

If the Colts were any sort of smart, they would have ran it down even further and done their last couple plays with 20 seconds or so left. They were committed to needing a TD, and 25-30 seconds with even one timeout is plenty of time to score. Them using one was very, very stupid and bailed Caldwell out.