The WS W9E Follow-Up

Well guys...not only has this post been delayed because of the fact that I have been very busy this week, but also I have struggled to find the heart to post it.  I come to you this week with a broken heart, as the Lions gave it all they had against the Jets, had a 10 point lead with 4:18 to go in the game, and STILL came up short by a FG in overtime.  Regardless of the fact that they lost, I saw one of the most entertaining games I have ever witnessed in person last Sunday.  With a crew of PODers, including SLH, CLF, TopherClaussen, Enforcer, Profiler, GRLion, and Coolbreeze, I screamed my fool head off for our team.  It was the loudest game I have ever been to at Ford Field, and I have been to my fair share.  The Lions are now 2-6 on the season, and once again Matthew Stafford is seriously injured (perhaps out for the rest of the season).  However, there is still a lot of football left to play, and I still BELIEVE that the Lions can beat any team they have left on their schedule, regardless of who we play at QB.  I am here to recap my weekly post and talk about the things that I predicted before the game, so without further adieu, I present you with the follow-up to my WS W8E edition, which begins after the jump...

The Jets are a decent team, but I would not say that their defense is the best in the league by any stretch of the imagination, certainly not as good as the Giant's D, and I would say that their offense is about as good as St. Louis or Washington's.  I would not likely rank them as high as Green Bay, Philadelphia, the Giants, Chicago or even Minnesota overall

Well...first thing's first.  The Jets DID NOT stop the Lions from moving the ball on offense, and they DID NOT blow us off the field with their offense either.  If not for a conservative set of defensive calls at the end of the 4th quarter, I think the Lions could have stopped the Jets and STILL won that game.

I believe that the Jets are the third worse team that we will have faced so far (ahead of the Rams and Redskins, but not by much).

I stand behind that statement, and I think they proved it last Sunday.

Offensively, I think the Lions are going to struggle to run the ball, as has been the norm for them so far.  The Jets are very solid against the run, but that does not mean that we will, or should, abandon that aspect of the game.  The Lions need to make an effort to establish some sort of running game, even if it is just enough to keep the Jet's linebackers honest.  As previously stated, I think Stafford will get the job done in the passing game, and I do not feel that the Lions will have any trouble passing the ball.  This week is going to be about whether or not the Jets think that Revis can shut Calvin Johnson down one on one, and whether or not Calvin Johnson can make big plays for us against him.  As such, I am naming Calvin Johnson as my key player on offense this week, to a Lion victory.

Yep...the Lions did in fact struggle to run the ball against the Jets, yet they did not abandon the run.  The Lions managed to accumulate 61 yards rushing from their running backs (Best, Smith, and Felton), and added 17 yards and a TD between Stafford and Stanton.  Yep...Stafford DID pass the ball well, as he went 20 of 36 for 240 yards and 2 TDs, before leaving the game in the 4th quarter due to injury...he was getting the job done nicely at that point.  That is where things got shaky in my statements...I thought this game would be about Revis and CJ, and in a way it was, but I did not foresee Revis shutting him down (I am not sure the Lions even tried very hard to get him the ball other than a few times).  CJ did not make the big plays against the Jets...Nate Burleson did.  Calvin Johnson was a key to that success, but Burleson was THE key to our offensive success overall.

Clearly, the Lions would do themselves justice to follow the example of the Packers last week by going all out against the run.  By doing so, they would force Mark Sanchez to beat them with his wet noodle.  Sanchez is definitely not the QB that even Donovan McNabb has been this season, and to even try to compare him to Brett Favre, Eli Manning, or Aaron Rodgers would be silly and pointless.  Honestly, I think Sam Bradford is a far superior QB and I am not even certain that he could give Jay Cutler or Vick/Kolb a run for their money in the passing department.  I would categorize Sanchez in with the likes of Alex Smith, Chad Henne, and Jason Campbell...servicable, but not a guy who can control a game with his arm.  That said, I think the key to the Lions beating the Jets this week will be stopping LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene from controlling the game on the ground and running wild.

Well, the Lions allowed 110 yards total rushing all told...and 101 of it was LT and Shonn Greene.  The Jets running backs did not score however, which is about all that can be said about that.  I believe the Lions DID in fact force Mark Sanchez to beat them by passing the ball...unfortunately he did it.  Sanchez played arguably his best game of the season against Detroit, going 22 of 39 for 336 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT.  What really killed the Lions though was the deep ball...something that we just can not seem to stop.  The 74 yard TD to Braylon Edwards was a perfect example of this, even though Alphonso Smith was right there trying to make the play.  The end result is what mattered, and it was not in our favor.  In fact, the Lions allowed 184 passing yards that were all completions of 14 yards or more...not good.  It is almost as if Sanchez was trying to spite me personally with his performance on Sunday, as he looked very solid when he had time to throw the ball.  He did not control the game with his arm though, but rather just the last 4 minutes of the game and the first drive of OT, so at least I was right about that...what a consolation prize.  The Lions did manage to keep LT and SG from controlling the game on the ground and running wild on us however, but they just could not stop the deep ball...which ultimately led to our eventual downfall.

I am naming Corey Williams as my key defensive player for a Lion victory this week.

He had 3 tackles and was virtually a non factor...same as Suh.  In fact, nobody on our defense really stepped up and stood out as a KEY player this week.  The defense seemed to play well as a UNIT however.  I would have to say that DeAndre Levy would have been a much better choice (10 tackles), but hind sight is always 20-20.  I was wrong about Williams this week, and I am moving on.

In conclusion, I think this is going to be a great game to watch.

Indeed, it was a great game to watch...I had a great time until the very end.

If we can establish some sort of run game, keep Stafford on his feet, sustain drives by passing the ball effectively, allow our play-makers to make big plays on offense while also stopping the run and taking away the big play threats on defense, then the Lions WILL win this week!

Let's see...establish some sort of run game (check)...keep Stafford on his feet (check...his injury was not the fault of the O-line this time)...sustain drives by passing effectively (check), allow our play makers to make big plays on offense (check...it wasn't CJ, but Burleson got the job done and Pettigrew had a nice 10 yd TD too)...stop the run (check...they did not score), and take away the Jet's big play threats (OUCH...fail).  It was so close, but the Lions failed to produce on one key aspect of the game, and they lost...even though they may have STILL won had Suh made the XP in place of Hanson OR if Gunny had dialed up some pressure in the end.

And that is all I have to say guys...the Lions damn near did exactly everything I asked for again this week, but they just came up a bit short.  Overall, I think it was still a good week for Detroit Lions football, as they continue to show improvement and the fact that they CAN play with some of the league better (even if it IS only perceived) teams.  This was by far my worst week for my key picks.  I will try to do better this week!  Until then Lion's fans, this has been KDawg with the SNS W9E followup.  GOOOOOO LIOOOOOOOOONS!