Time to Lay Off Backus for the Jared Allen Sack

by NorthLeft12 on Sep 23, 2009 8:33 PM EDT Comment 28 comments

As per Tom Kowalski and Philip Zaroo on MLive the first sack of Stafford was a blown block by the Fullback, Felton.

Felton had a particularly tough game against the Vikings. On that play where Vikings’ defensive end Jared Allen sacked Stafford without being touched? That was Felton’s responsibility. And two plays later, when Stafford was sacked from the right side? Yep, Felton.

Link:

http://blog.mlive.com/highlightreel/2009/09/mt-preview-0b5dce11224805f0de271c319c0faa53855c9d57.html

Zaroo also makes a great comment later on in the article that hits the nail on the head and shows what Schwartz and Mayhew have to overcome.

Like it or not, Lions fans, the biggest mistake the last coaching regime made was to keep unknown commodities on the bench in favor of commodities that proved over and over to have little to no value.
So these are mistakes that we're going to see. They have to be expected. That said, they also have to be improved upon. That's the challenge of the Lions players, coaching staffand front office.

Read the whole article it is a great read.

Also read the original article by Tom Kowalski. He lays the blame for this policy squarely on Marinelli's shoulders.

Link:

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/09/matthew_stafford_isnt_the_only.html

Another good read.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pride of Detroit's main writer, Sean, or the site in general. FanPosts are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable fans.

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Felton ran a route

So there must have been a miscommunication. Either Felton was supposed to run a delayed route or stay home.

Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog

by Sean Yuille on Sep 23, 2009 8:46 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You beat me to it

That backfield was empty when Allen struck and did his little faggy sackdance

by JazzyBBP on Sep 23, 2009 8:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I did not post this to dump on Felton.

I like Felton and think he could be a Fullback who is an offensive weapon along with being a good blocker. It is obvious though that he was more a tailback than a blocker in college.

by NorthLeft12 on Sep 23, 2009 9:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I just read that a second ago

Felton is still young, making mistakes, I’ve got no issues with him.

2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).

by Hyperion Ecta on Sep 23, 2009 9:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I still don't understand what Backus was supposed to be doing?

I know londonlion commented on another post that Backus may have been assigned to pick up a Williams, but I watched that play quite a bit and Backus stuck his left hand out like he seriously wanted a “fiver” from Allen and then backed up like “whoops, who was I blocking?”

Then he just stared blankly at a bouncing ball on the turf until Pettigrew jumped on it. I said it once before, but Backus was so mixed up on that play that he had me convinced he knew something that no one else did. It was like the play didn’t count, and he was waiting for the do-over.

by Mushy on Sep 23, 2009 10:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Felton MAY have been assigned to chip block on the 2nd sack...

…but Gosder gave that one up. He simply got beat, plain and simple.

by Mushy on Sep 23, 2009 10:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Help me im Confused

I read that Felton was supposed to pick up this block, but why? Why do we let Fullbacks take on Defensive Ends? are serious that Jeff Backus was supposed to completely let Jared Allen get through untouched? Felton is supposed to take on a huge DE coming in at full speed? im sorry but this sounds like terrible coaching, i feel i must be missing something. Help me out here guys, i am not understanding why you take you best Offensive lineman (Supposedly) off the other teams best Defensive player, it doesn’t make sense to me

by JMW62689 on Sep 23, 2009 10:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thank you!

It makes no sense! l can’t fathom a play where any one of the 11 players on the team is out there simply to take up space. Backus made contact with ONE player on that play and it was a “tag” of Allen. No offensive coordinator would ever draw up a play where they’re blind side blocker is simply supposed to “do nothing” on a pass play.

by Mushy on Sep 23, 2009 10:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Felton is not a midget guys.

Allen is 6’ 6" and 270 pounds. Felton is 6’ 0" and 246 pounds. As others have said, Felton just needs to slow Allen down with a chip while they open a lane down the middle for a quick slant. Maybe someone else who knows more about line play can explain how this play is supposed to work and what Backus was expected to do here.

by NorthLeft12 on Sep 23, 2009 10:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I can

I played LT. There were plays, especially on short passing plays, where my responsibility was to double down with the guard, on the DT, until the ball was thrown. Then I would release and try to make a block down field on a LB to create a seam for the reciever. If the linebacker reads the play correctly, and is not blocked, then there is nowhere for the receiver to go unless he makes a great move on his own. When you are supposed to be throwing a pass on a 3 step drop, such as a 5 yard slant, the DE should not be able to make it to the QB…..provided the FB simply slows him down, as NL said. Size should not be a big factor really in this scenario either…..isn’t the FB allowed to cut block as long as he is directly in front of the defender (IE you can’t chop block from the side or from behind, or in a high low situation).

However, I also was told to at least give the DE a shot to slow him down as he passed by…..which may be what Sackus was trying to do with his left hand. The sack by Allen was definitely the FB’s responsibility, but Sackus didn’t help matters either. A good LT would have at least gotten a hand on him to slow him down, after which the FB could handle it.

by KDawg on Sep 24, 2009 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks KDawg

by NorthLeft12 on Sep 24, 2009 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks, good explanation

I liked that. There’s a lot of plays we see that we don’t know what the blocking scheme was, or what the routes were, etc. Especially when things break down early, it’s hard to tell what was SUPPOSED to happen.

What? He can’t block a dead gopher? Humph, details.

by GRLion on Sep 24, 2009 7:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I watched the play again

About 15 times…..and now I am thinking that either Felton was supposed to chip and release, stay home and make the block, or Backus was at fault. Sorry to change my opinion NL, but it looked really bad. At this point I can not say if it was all Backus’s fault, or if Felton was to blame.

by KDawg on Sep 24, 2009 7:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Felton should be benched.

To keep him starting is just rewarding failure.

by CLF on Sep 23, 2009 10:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i don't want to see him as a Fullback

but i want to see him used with Kevin Smith and Aaron Brown in the Run game. Why is Kevin Smith getting every touch? you have 4 capable RBs, why not use them?

by JMW62689 on Sep 23, 2009 10:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That is F***in funny...

I am on the benching of Felton bandwagaon. Accountibility people!

by JCruize on Sep 23, 2009 11:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m half tempted to mention I put up a meager pathetic 1/2 ass attempt of a scrap against him at the end of that thread. Yeah, me, the quiet shy one. I even typed a 4 letter word or 15. It still doesn’t make me cool like you guys though :(

by JazzyBBP on Sep 23, 2009 11:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I respect "Killer" as a beat writer....

…but as a columnist he sucks, in my opinion. Even in this article he doesn’t quote anyone or even say he has it on good authority that it was a blown assignment by Felton. This story looks like an opinion driven column all the way. Opinions are not something I respect out of Mr. Kowalski. Two years ago he BOLDLY agreed with Kitna that this team would win 10 games. He cited that the teams respect of Maranelli was what they would rally around. The radio hosts gave him every opportunity to temper his ridiculous comments, but he stood firm. A game before, what appeared at the time to be a meaningless win against KC he berated Marinelli for losing the team down the stretch.
I’m using this example, not because he was wrong…we are all wrong sometimes, but because when the hosts then played back his BOLD statement from earlier in the season he all but denied saying it. Stick to the story, report the facts, leave the assanine opinons to us here at POD.

by Mushy on Sep 23, 2009 10:22 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Compared to B'vo

He’s Ernest Hemingway…lol.

I like his consistant updates, but as an example, he’ll have 3 updates in a row… then add a 4th posting that repeats pretty much everything he said in the previous posts.

by CLF on Sep 23, 2009 10:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs