The Monday Morning Microscope: Week 5

I’m honored – I’m the first to comment today (shows you how lame the investment banking world is nowadays.) Anyway, I wanted to say what I completely agree with your sentiments concerning:

1.) Derrick Williams
2.) BS roughing the passer call (which took away the Int.)
3.) The Lions were very very competitive. I know Coach Schwartz doesn’t believe in moral victories but I do and this was a moral victory by the Lions.

My biggest concern remains the secondary. Big Ben posted a season-high best passer rating (124) against us yesterday. Our defensive secondary plays way too soft and I don’t understand how opposing QB’s can consistently complete 70% of passes and week after week post career best passer ratings against us. It’s really disheartening (I know I beat this issue like a dead horse since last year but its a fact)

Anyway, good write-up as always Drew. I’m really hoping for a good game in Lambeau but I feel a big let down after this game. Rodgers may have a field day and we never, ever play well at Lambeau.

If only he could ‘finish’.

As soon as the lions got close to the redzone… his head went in in butt.

I’m also in dis-belief of the “Phantom Roughing the Passer” call, I can’t believe the NFL is going this extreme with QB protection. This is two weeks in a row that questionable Roughing QB calls have had an impact on games. That call not only negated a INT, it gave them a 1st down that resulted in a touchdown.

Can’t put blame on the Refs though, when we have plays like that fumble that Mendenhall recovered. We had like four guys in there, they gotta get those!

Just a couple other side-notes. Did anyone see the DEN v. NE game?
1. WTF was Denver wearing? Those uniforms looked like the love child of an Old Steeler Uni, And an Oregon Ducks Pac 10 thing…. What the HELL?

2. I am in AWE that Denver is 5-0 with a 33 yr old Rookie Head Coach, and Kyle Orton as a Starting QB WTF,

3. If you watch McDaniels on the sideline, He is Freaking Out all over the place. It’s actually funny to watch. The guy must bang back 6-7 Fivehour Energys a Game, and he wears a hoodie,

But I can’t say we played terrific this game because we contended and had chances against the Steelers.
Fact: Steelers are 2-3… 1-3 coming in. Not close to where they were last year.
Fact: No Polamalu and no Parker goes a long way for an opponent. Lucky us or it could have been much worse.

I also wouldn’t consider Cherilus to be a great player. He’s capable of starting is stretching it.
Two, I don’t think Stafford gives us any better chance in this game. Too much Pitt pressure. Daunte escaped many situations that I found myself saying Stafford would have never gotten out of there. I mean there wasn’t even the NFL-norm 3 seconds in the pocket. Plus Daunte made only one mental error IMO, throwing the rookie INT.
I think our specialty players are better than average – QBs, RBs, WRs, TEs, LBs, K, P, and even our secondary (except Buchanon and SS) are solid. But our bigs suck donkey dick. Grady is slow and old but at least a number 2 DT still, White is about number 2 DE talent, Raiola and Cherilus are decent and still not sure about Loper but the rest suck. Backus is the worst player in the history of the Lions. This asshole is single-handedly responsible IMO for our failures… if it was possible to put it on one player. Peterman, Ramirez suck. Avril’s slumping. Cohen isn’t progressing. Hill is too raw still but at least talented. Hunter hasn’t caught my eye since week 1, quarter 1. The newbie-DLinemen are too new to say good or bad.
Hopefully, next year is all about the O and D line. Get ready fans, no possibility of an 8-8 season, lucky to see 5. We could also use a number 1 or 2 corner to opposite Henry and a top-tier SS but could suffice without if had a decent o and d line.
Bottom-line: We’re better than last year, but not by a long stretch like everyone thought (still think for some of you).

I was banking on Seneca Wallace starting and panicked when I found out he wasn’t. Big mistake, although Anderson only got me like -.88 points.

I agree about C-Pep, he was OK although that intentional grounding was just as bone-headed as the pick he threw. And the fumbles, WTF? Will HGH injected into just his hands help?
BTW, not to nit-pick, but Gronkowski is on the PS with Murtha. I agree about this draft class though. So far, SOLID. And I was cursing my TV on draft weekend…
The Lions have a long way to go, but they are finally headed into the right direction.
Quick trivia- who were Millens first 2 firings? Hughes and Colbert, the 2 guys in charge of the Steelers and built them to win multiple SBs. Thanks for nothing Matt Millen, I’d slap him but shit splatters.

I was pretty happy with our effort against the Steelers. I fully expected a 35-7 sorta scoreline but being in the game during the 4th quarter gave me a lot of hope. Depending on injuries, I think our game against GB could be winnable….maybe.

I know it’s been discussed a lot, but Daunte’s performance didn’t disappoint me. He had his share of mistakes, which you don’t wanna see from a vet but he did a good job of keeping us in the contest so I can’t fault his performance too much. In saying that, we need Stafford back, preferably next week.

I think the problem with our Defence is that for every good play we manage (3rd down stop, sack, INT) there is at least 3 bad ones (no pressure, missed tackles, blown coverage). It’s hard to win when every good thing you do is negated by some bad.

This draft class looks to be a great one…at the moment. Before the season, I was thinking maybe 4 players would be contributors…now, I’m thinking around 7 could be solid in this league…that’s huge for a draft.

Last point….2/17!!!!!!! That is just terrible, I mean, I get a touch upset if you can’t manage better than 40%, but only two passes complete? I don’t even wanna think about it anymore. Before I do that though, you gotta think how utterly shocking the Bills were to still lose that game….makes me feel much better about the Lions.

As a Broncos fan, I enjoy the love McDaniels is getting here. Let me say this, I’ve kind of liked the Lions all my life. I really think Jim Schwartz is turning things around and next year, you might be like my Broncos. Just draft well and don’t worry about what the haters say. If you could find the equivalent of Brian Dawkins in free agency, that would help too. Good luck to the Lions!

At least you are not throwing Culpepper to the wolves in light of the three consecutive sacks at the end of the game……

You are absolutely right…..Daunte did make a bad decision on the INT. He was under a ton of pressure though, with Backus and Ramirez doing the old “Look out Daunte” blocking techniques on the left side of the O-line. Harrison blew by them like they were standing still (uhhh, maybe because they were?), and it did not help matters that it was a blown play from the very beginning. For whatever reason (in my opinion it was Daunte’s fault, but it could have been Kevin Smith’s fault too….I’m not sure, but it did look like it was intended to be a play action pass), there was a miscommunication between Culpepper and Smith, resulting in Culpepper dropping the ball like he was trying to hand it off to Smith. By the time he scooped it up (and this is where he should have likely just fallen on the ball or ran toward the LOS in an attempt to make the loss as small as possible), Harrison was already in his face. He turned and threw the ball off of his back foot, across the field…..in the vicinity of Bryant Johnson, who was actually open. Unfortunately, the ball sailed high and was picked off. It was a dumb move, because no QB should throw across their body, across the field, off their back foot…..my only explanation is that he must have thought he could throw it away (but that is weak, because it wasn’t even close). However, that mistake is not what cost the Lions the game.

Daunte completed over 62% of his passes, for 282 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. He helped the team to convert 11 of 18 3rd downs (61%). He also had 44 yards rushing. He looked very good in my opinion, being that it was his first start and it was against the Steelers. The Steelers are one of the best teams in the league at effectively blitzing and disguising their blitzes. In my opinion, Daunte Culpepper was not the reason the Lions lost the game. In my opinion it was the offensive line, the play calling (too conservative), and the play of our secondary. Culpepper made mistakes, but like you said, Stafford would have likely struggled too. I think any QB would have struggled behind our line in that game. I’m glad you said you thought Culpepper played okay….

I have read what Montesa is saying…..and I have to agree to a point. Culpepper is not a traditional “dink and dunker”. My opinion, as I think you well know, is that it is not the player who is overly conservative…..it is the person calling the plays. In defense of Linehan, if he had been calling deep passes all game long, we would have gotten blown out instead of being in the game like we were. It was out of necessity that Culpepper threw the number of short passes that he did, not because he is overly conservative in his passing. In fact, I think he would much rather be able to air it out and throw the deep ball all day long…..that is the easiest pass for any QB to throw. Just reach back and throw it as hard and as far as you can, and let CJ (or Randy Moss) run under it. It is the short throws that require finesse and ability to successfully make those types of throws. I also agree with Montesa that Culpepper took just as many shots down field as Stafford has in any game in the regular season, and he even completed 8 of them (5 on 3rd and long). To say he is prone to conservative passing is one sided, sorry to say…..but that is how I see it.

beat them up at Lambeau.. heal quick.. shock em