Looking forward

[zoombabyzoom]

So now with the draft done what are you looking for from this team for the rest of the offseason? Also, what are 5 things that if they go the Lions way will propel them into the playoffs and what are 5 things that could go really wrong this upcoming season?

I would like to see the Lions pick up some Veteran depth on the offensive line and a better backup QB before the season starts. I don't like Danny-O and think our offensive line could use one really good backup veteran lineman.

5 Good things?

- Injuries aren't a big problem for once
- Offense utilizes the weapons and ability to make mismatches for opponents using CJ/Ebron/Bush in a variety of ways.
- Houston returns to form and Slay takes the "step"
- Freese looks to be a long term answer at Kicker
- Defense creates pressure and turnovers at higher rate

5 Bad things?

- Injuries are as prevalent as ever.
- Secondary doesn't improve
- Offense doesn't improve instead just looks like CJ or bust again.
- Fairley doesn't change his performance issues
- Special Teams (coverage and kicking) are worse than previous year.

 

[Mitchrapp]

Surprised you didn't mention Stafford in there somewhere..my list would be short.

Good things?

Stafford needs to play like his job is on the line.

Bad things?

Stafford.

 

[LKP]

5 good
Turnovers allowed reduced by 10
Turnovers forced increased by 7 or 8
Houston to 2011/2012 form and Slay next step
Mismatches on offense lead to great things for Stafford and company
Less penalties with new coahcehes

5 bad things
Houston hurt/Slay doesn't take the step/Ihedigbo problem in coverage
Sack totals stay low
Run defense takes a step back
Turnovers remain high allowed and low forced
Bad gameplans with no adjustments from inexperinced coordinators

 

[wheels002]

I am interested to see what the new coaching staff does especially on defense. Gunther really didnt do anything different. He rarely blitzed and every one always seemed to be in the same spots doing the same thing on every play. I think we were to predictable and therefore made us easy to game plan against and attack.

With this new staff and how the players are. We have the ability to play a 3-4 or a 4-3 depending on what they want to do. They have already said we will blitz more and the van Noy pick is perfect for that. I also think we will play different formations and move players around and attack more from different angles instead of sitting back and playing bend but dont break.

On offense again I think Lombardi will use more imagination as far as formations and routes. Move players around and keep the defense guessing. Yes it will be on Stafford to get better especially in key situations but its also on the coaching staff to get him there as well. We now should have the ability to dictate to the defense what they will do.

Enough of the same ole Lions crap lets attack on both sides of the ball and when we have a chance to win a game with a score or a stop we actually do it then just talk about missed opportunities.

 

[Mitchrapp]

I'd suspect the defensive coaches to be world better than Gunther and staff..looking forward to that myself..

 

[atxlion82]

I want our offense to contunue to attack even when we have the lead. I got so tired of having a lead and then going 3 and out after 3 and out because we went too conservative. Our offense is built to attack the D and need to continue to play that way.

On D i want to change things up. Like everyone said above we were way too predictable. We made no changes throughout the game and by the 3rd quarter they were being picked apart. Even though our D Line got pressure, without a blitz opposing qb's pretty much knew how much time they had to pick apart our secondary.

 

[everyoneneedsasmil]

So here are mine. 5 things that could/should happen that would make the team a lot better. 5 things that could happen to derail gains in other places. Obviously the opposites of each would be bad/good, but these seem the most likely in each category.

5 good:
Tate and Ebron are the sure-handed targets we need to complement Calvin.
Slay and Bentley make big strides in coverage.
Calvin stays healthy all year.
Stafford's mechanics remain sound throughout the year.
Suh and Fairley have career years playing for a contract.

5 bad:
SS becomes a revolving door throughout the season due to poor play.
The O-line gets hit with injuries and falls in production.
Bush continues to get hurt and no running game materializes.
Levy comes back to earth and the defense fails to create turnovers.
Coaching isn't much of an upgrade.

 

[mhughes0021]

5 good-
Stafford cant play any worse.

Offensive weapons all over the field now - Bush, CJ, Tate, Ebron....ridiculous.

Excited about the yr 2 defenders - Slay, Ansah

Coaching changes- Help with Stafford development, Schwartz n co were good for 2 losses a year.

Run game/oline - last year was the first great run year in a long time....if they can equal that our offense will be unstoppable. If they can improve on it we should be a playoff caliber offense

5 bad

Defensive talent is below average

No real improvement on the dline...need to find other ways to improve on the piss poor pressure we had last year.

Injuries on the oline. Oline was clean last year..how long does that last and do we have capable depth? We got lucky last year, imo.

Defensive personnel - Do we have the right personel to run the type of aggressive defense Austin wants to have. Corners arent the tall physical type he likes. Van Noy is the only lb that is known to bring pressure. Hes familiar with Ihedigbo atleast...

Stafford is an unknown in a new offense with a new ocord and an offensive minded HC. It will be a lot to learn and have sink in before he can play fast and mistake free. Im worried about turnovers early in the year as a result....

 

[LKP]

Oline had RT injury problems (all 3 of them). Waddle missed most of 6 of the 9 once they turned to him. And missed 7 others when they were messing with Fox/Hilliard. Reiff half of the Bengals game. Not completely clean. 2011 was clean. Waddle for 16 games could be an upgrade. Sims was battling an injury too if not mistaken.

 

[tigermud]

What are they planning with all these TE's they've got now, are they changing offensive schemes drastically or something?

 

[mhughes0021]

What are they planning with all these TE's they've got now, are they changing offensive schemes drastically or something?

Lombardi is planning on 3 TE sets. Im not lying either...

The Lions could use three tight ends all across the field. Between Lombardi's talk about the formation and the six tight ends currently on the roster, it's clear there will be more emphasis on the position overall.

"Listen, Joseph is still going to have a strong role in the red zone," Lombardi said. "There is nothing to say that we aren't going to have three tight ends on the field at some point."

In Lombardi's five years with New Orleans, where he was primarily the quarterbacks coach, the Saints played 141 snaps with three tight ends on the field at once, according to ESPN Stats & Information. They ran the ball 69 times out of that set and also completed 44 of 71 passes in those five seasons.

The team used it the most in 2013, for 49 snaps, scoring seven touchdowns when three tight ends were on the field. The Saints completed 16 of 32 passes with a three-tight-end look last season, good for 185 yards and four touchdowns. Interestingly, 100 of those yards were after the catch, likely signifying it wasn't only used in the red zone.

Ten of those 16 catches in the formation went to tight ends.

At the very least, drafting Ebron probably means the definitive end of the favored formation under then-offensive coordinator Scott Linehan last season, which was one running back, three wide receivers and Brandon Pettigrew somewhere on the field.

Now, it could be Calvin Johnson, Ebron, Pettigrew and Golden Tate lining up a bit of everywhere. So don't think Ebron will be primarily in the slot. At North Carolina last season, Ebron caught the majority of his passes lined up as a wide receiver.

"I never want to say primarily anything," Lombardi said. "He is going to line up all over the place and you are going to have to find him. That's kind of one of our goals in not wanting to be predictable for defenses.

"We don't want them to say, 'Calvin is always here, we know how to deal with it.' You just want to keep mixing it up so the defense can never really hone in on what your plan is."

Realistically, Detroit is not going to sit Ebron or Pettigrew very often -- not after drafting Ebron in the first round and guaranteeing Pettigrew $8 million of his new four-year deal. So the multiplicity of the Lions' offense in 2014 could give Detroit a crazy amount of options. It can use anything from two-back sets with Joique Bell and Reggie Bush, to three- and four-receiver sets, to sets with one, two or three tight ends at once.

This is probably why the Lions felt comfortable drafting offense so early at the expense of addressing the defense.

Detroit will likely cater its offensive plan to what Ebron can do once he arrives this week and starts working in rookie minicamp this weekend. Once the Lions see how well he runs, and how far away his blocking or in-line capabilities might be, then they can further assess his value.

If the team really does view him as what he was at North Carolina, which was a bulkier, taller wide receiver with a tight end designation, Detroit could place him anywhere on the field, much like they do with Johnson. It is also highly likely Ebron's role at the start of the season will be different from his role at the end.

He is still learning the position. He only really started playing football his junior year of high school, after he was offered a scholarship by North Carolina following a one-day camp he attended. So his room for growth is large, and as he improves, the opportunities for Detroit's offense are likely to multiply.

Don't expect Ebron to become Graham, though. He was adamant about that after he was drafted. While he might play a similar role in the Detroit offense as Graham does in New Orleans, it isn't fair to compare Ebron to Graham, a converted basketball player.

If you're looking for a clue of how he'll be utilized, and how the Lions might end up using their tight ends, New Orleans is a good place to start.

 

[tigermud]

Lombardi is planning on 3 TE sets. Im not lying either...

The Lions could use three tight ends all across the field. Between Lombardi's talk about the formation and the six tight ends currently on the roster, it's clear there will be more emphasis on the position overall.

"Listen, Joseph is still going to have a strong role in the red zone," Lombardi said. "There is nothing to say that we aren't going to have three tight ends on the field at some point."

In Lombardi's five years with New Orleans, where he was primarily the quarterbacks coach, the Saints played 141 snaps with three tight ends on the field at once, according to ESPN Stats & Information. They ran the ball 69 times out of that set and also completed 44 of 71 passes in those five seasons.

The team used it the most in 2013, for 49 snaps, scoring seven touchdowns when three tight ends were on the field. The Saints completed 16 of 32 passes with a three-tight-end look last season, good for 185 yards and four touchdowns. Interestingly, 100 of those yards were after the catch, likely signifying it wasn't only used in the red zone.

Ten of those 16 catches in the formation went to tight ends.

At the very least, drafting Ebron probably means the definitive end of the favored formation under then-offensive coordinator Scott Linehan last season, which was one running back, three wide receivers and Brandon Pettigrew somewhere on the field.

Now, it could be Calvin Johnson, Ebron, Pettigrew and Golden Tate lining up a bit of everywhere. So don't think Ebron will be primarily in the slot. At North Carolina last season, Ebron caught the majority of his passes lined up as a wide receiver.

"I never want to say primarily anything," Lombardi said. "He is going to line up all over the place and you are going to have to find him. That's kind of one of our goals in not wanting to be predictable for defenses.

"We don't want them to say, 'Calvin is always here, we know how to deal with it.' You just want to keep mixing it up so the defense can never really hone in on what your plan is."

Realistically, Detroit is not going to sit Ebron or Pettigrew very often -- not after drafting Ebron in the first round and guaranteeing Pettigrew $8 million of his new four-year deal. So the multiplicity of the Lions' offense in 2014 could give Detroit a crazy amount of options. It can use anything from two-back sets with Joique Bell and Reggie Bush, to three- and four-receiver sets, to sets with one, two or three tight ends at once.

This is probably why the Lions felt comfortable drafting offense so early at the expense of addressing the defense.

Detroit will likely cater its offensive plan to what Ebron can do once he arrives this week and starts working in rookie minicamp this weekend. Once the Lions see how well he runs, and how far away his blocking or in-line capabilities might be, then they can further assess his value.

If the team really does view him as what he was at North Carolina, which was a bulkier, taller wide receiver with a tight end designation, Detroit could place him anywhere on the field, much like they do with Johnson. It is also highly likely Ebron's role at the start of the season will be different from his role at the end.

He is still learning the position. He only really started playing football his junior year of high school, after he was offered a scholarship by North Carolina following a one-day camp he attended. So his room for growth is large, and as he improves, the opportunities for Detroit's offense are likely to multiply.

Don't expect Ebron to become Graham, though. He was adamant about that after he was drafted. While he might play a similar role in the Detroit offense as Graham does in New Orleans, it isn't fair to compare Ebron to Graham, a converted basketball player.

If you're looking for a clue of how he'll be utilized, and how the Lions might end up using their tight ends, New Orleans is a good place to start.

Hey! Good post more than answered my question, it would appear the big weak link will be the secondary again, I'll hold out hope the pass rush improves under the new d coordinator, jason jones back from injury should help with that hopefully as well

 

[mhughes0021]

Hey! Good post more than answered my question, it would appear the big weak link will be the secondary again, I'll hold out hope the pass rush improves under the new d coordinator, jason jones back from injury should help with that hopefully as well

jones has never had more than 5 sacks in his career and Houston just had surgery today. Mayhew is the Anti-hope. Didn't address DE or Secondary early in the draft or FA....awesome.

 

[tomdalton22]

jones has never had more than 5 sacks in his career and Houston just had surgery today. Mayhew is the Anti-hope. Didn't address DE or Secondary early in the draft or FA....awesome.

There were rumors before the draft that Houston would need surgery. I wonder if he waited until after the draft so the Lions wouldn't draft his replacement.

 

[LKP]

Ihedigbo. Mathis back who played well and can start. Slay last year. It's been addressed.

Jones can play the run and get pressure. He's had several good years of pressure. 2010 he was the top DT in terms of pass rush. 2012 he did very well in Seattle before his injury. 2011 was his down year. 2013 is a small sample size.

 

[tonyballs]

What are they planning with all these TE's they've got now, are they changing offensive schemes drastically or something?

Ebron will be their go to big play TE who will lineup in the slot majority of the time. Think New Orlean Saints

Pettigrew stays home to block more and is our short-yardage TE over the middle and flats. Moving the chains

Fauria will play mainly redzone sets.

Not sure what they have planned for Williams. STs? Jumbo package on running downs? My serious guess is PS.

 

[tonyballs]

jones has never had more than 5 sacks in his career and Houston just had surgery today. Mayhew is the Anti-hope. Didn't address DE or Secondary early in the draft or FA....awesome.

Well, they drafted Van Noy. A kid who does everything well. Like, rushing the QB and playing the run very well. Ya see, if you knew ANYTHING about football, you would know this helps out the DLine tremendously without having to reach for a DE.

One day, buddy, one day

 

[mhughes0021]

Well, they drafted Van Noy. A kid who does everything well. Like, rushing the QB and playing the run very well. Ya see, if you knew ANYTHING about football, you would know this helps out the DLine tremendously without having to reach for a DE.

One day, buddy, one day

Kareem martin sliding to the 3rd was great value at a great need. We got a back up center. If you knew anything about football you'd know that even a rotational de gets more snaps and production than a back up center. and you have nooooo clue how they will use van noy...zip...zero.

Dennard wouldnt have been a reach in rd 1. Keep making excuses for him not addressing defensive needs. You did it in fa...now ur doing it after the draft. And ill laugh soooo hard when we have carey and tapp on the field.

 

[LKP]

Kareem martin sliding to the 3rd was great value at a great need. We got a back up center. If you knew anything about football you'd know that even a rotational de gets more snaps and production than a back up center. and you have nooooo clue how they will use van noy...zip...zero.

Dennard wouldnt have been a reach in rd 1. Keep making excuses for him not addressing defensive needs. You did it in fa...now ur doing it after the draft. And ill laugh soooo hard when we have carey and tapp on the field.

You assume Martin is better than Taylor and Webster. I disagree strongly with rookie Martin better than Taylor in year 2. Webster we will see. And if you Jones and Taylor, you have the backup on the closed side. They wanted an open side end to play behing Ansah. That's Webster. Martin may not fit that.

Dennard would have been a reach. Reaches won't matter if Dennard is a good player. But experience is valued and I like Houston and Slay better. Houston healthy and Slay in year 2 I'll take over rookie Dennard. And so will Mayhew. And now you guys have too.

 

[tonyballs]

Kareem martin sliding to the 3rd was great value at a great need. We got a back up center. If you knew anything about football you'd know that even a rotational de gets more snaps and production than a back up center. and you have nooooo clue how they will use van noy...zip...zero.

Dennard wouldnt have been a reach in rd 1. Keep making excuses for him not addressing defensive needs. You did it in fa...now ur doing it after the draft. And ill laugh soooo hard when we have carey and tapp on the field.

Backup C who can possibly beat out Raiola THIS year. And he's a Godsend if Sims goes down becsuse he can play Guard. Sims is getting up there in age...it was a brilliant move.
They picked up Tapp and drafted Webster. Tapp is a seasoned vet and and a lot of people in the media are saying keep an eye on Webster to turn some heads. He's an athletic freak...
Wtf are you talking about i don't know how they're going to use Van Noy? Are you fn stupid? His college games speak for themself. His strength is getting to the QB. He does it all well actually. He helps out the DLine big time. I know, you don't get it....it's comical lol
Dennard slipped to #26? At #10, he was a reach.
And they did address defense. Just not the players YOU wanted...lol. So you bitch and moan and complain about an established player, not great, but serviceable player like Tapp and completely ignore they went defense in rd 4 with Webster. So go ahead and laugh, you retard. It's all you care about. You live for the "i tokd you so's". Why are you even a fan?