When you post things like "Stafford true 400 yard day with 4 tds/0 ints," or "peyton manning would have gone 4-12 with our team when Stafford went 7-9," that is posting to get a reaction. It's beyond silly to extrapolate stats from 1 quarter to 4, and I can tell there is genuine thought behind what you post so I have to conclude you just enjoy getting a rise out of people.
Every team has talent. Even when the Lions went 0-16 they had talent on the roster. Are they significantly more talented now than they were then? Yes they are. Doesn't mean anything unless they can prove they can stop beating themselves.
I ask you again please tell me things about the Lions that you feel are weaknesses, and below average compared to the rest of the league? Where do they stand to improve? What about Stafford? Where does he need to improve? All I hear from you is how wonderful everything is. If you want me to take you seriously, show me the other side of the coin here.
The 0-16 was not talented. The defense had zero talent. Offense didn't have a QB worth anything, they traded an ineffective Roy and lacked explosivness other than Calvin. It's an insult to say the 0-16 team had talent.
They were the ones taking away TDs from Stafford. I didn't extrapolate anything. I told them why they were good tds based on the game tape. They are narrow minded, focus on the negative, can't even comprehend the facts I tell them and often miscontrue what I say into something completely different, don't think about the team at the time decisions are made. They don't understand enough about the game to get. I am here to explain it to them.
Improvements have been made. We needed two new weapons and got them with Tate and Ebron. Separation was poor last year, drops were a problem. Calvin fixed fingers and Tate should reduce them by a good amount. Plus less Durham. Bush is the only drop problem right now.
Fumbles. We lost 15. 31st in the league. I don't think that will be repeated. Even if they put the same amount on the turf, our recovery rate should be better than the very high % lost we had last year.
Pass pro is good. Run game is good enough but can improved. There were 6 bad rushing games last (3.4 YPC or worse) but most of that was due to missing key players. Waddle full time and Calvin/Bush playing helps the run game.
Secondary was average last year with poor CB play. Slay had rookie struggles. Doesn't mean he will suck this year. Houston was playing hurt with a hamstring and toe injury and it cost 3 80 yard plays given up for TDs. Mathis played well and combined with Slay should do well. I love Quin and Ihedibgbo combo do. Savy vets who can make plays and fit their roles well.
22 turnovers forced wasn't enough. Adding Van Noy and an aggressive defensive scheme should get us more. And again, we forced a good number of fumbles but our recovery rate for only 7 recovered was poor.
Penalties can be reduced with Caldwell discipline. However, the league refs seems to ramping up the penalties called. This is actually a good thing for us because Calvin can't be covered without holding them and I see hands to the face to Suh all the time. The Lions will benefit from this.
Offense should be less predictable. That was a Linehan problem last year. Problem solved.
This team addressed all of their issues. They are playoff caliber talent and can go far. They need to improve their TD celebrations and get a better parade route. That's the only improvement.
