Monday Notes: Falcons Game Observations
by Sean Yuille
on Sep 8, 2008 2:00 AM EDT
in Notes
- Off the top of my head, Ernie Sims, Paris Lenon, and Dan Campbell left yesterday's game with injuries. Sims was actually carted off the field with an ankle injury right before halftime and was listed as questionable to return. He was really the only defensive player that wasn't having problems making tackles, so his loss definitely hurt.
Lenon hurt his knee and had it heavily wrapped on the bench and Campbell went out after re-injuring his hamstring. Campbell has been limited due to the hamstring injury and hurt it again after only one catch. I think Michael Gaines may have also been hurt, but I have not heard any details about what happened to him.
We should have an update on all of the injuries from the Atlanta game later today. - Jon Kitna was very, very frustrated in the first half of yesterday's game. He not only was yelling at teammates but actually started to get in the face of a couple offensive coaches. On two separate occasions he called a timeout and quickly went over to the sideline and started yelling at a coach. The first time it was passing coordinator Kippy Brown that felt Kitna's wrath, and the second time it was running backs coach Sam Gash.
Kitna did calm down once the Lions started to score some points, but it was pretty discouraging to see him that angry. I like that he was showing passion, but there's a fine line between being fiery and being out of line. I tend to think the latter was where Kitna was as he really had no right to get in the faces of his coaches like that. - Calvin Johnson is this team's new #1 receiver as far as I'm concerned. He caught 7 passes for 107 yards and was clearly Kitna's go-to guy. Roy Williams hauled in 3 passes for 47 yards and a touchdown and made a couple nice plays, but Johnson is the Lions' premier receiver now.
- Jon Kitna shouldn't be blamed for the interception he threw at the start of the second half as it apparently was Roy Williams' fault. Roy ran the wrong route and left Lawyer Milloy by himself to make the diving interception.
- Despite their improvements during the preseason, the defense was absolutely pathetic. I don't know if I've ever seen a game with more missed tackles. That was a big reason why the Falcons ended up with 318 rushing yards. Michael Turner set a single-game franchise record for rushing yards with 220 of his own. He also scored a pair of touchdowns and would have had three had it not been for a holding penalty. Even their backup, Jerious Norwood, ran for 93 yards and a touchdown.
- The passing defense wasn't any better. Matt Ryan went 9/13 for 161 yards and 1 touchdown. That touchdown came on his first NFL pass as he hit Michael Jenkins for a 62-yard score. Travis Fisher looked terrible on multiple occasions and Leigh Bodden didn't look much better at times.
To make matters worse, the dominant defensive line we saw in the preseason was rarely dominant in yesterday's game. The Lions only had a single sack and never got much pressure on Matt Ryan, resulting in his nearly 70% completion rating. - Detroit did seem to get closer to becoming a balanced team offensively. They ran the ball 21 times and had 33 passing attempts. Keep in mind, if the Lions weren't playing from behind during the entire game the amount of passing attempts would have been lower. Since they were trailing, though, they had to air it out more to give themselves a chance to win.
- Kevin Smith only rushed for 48 yards on 16 carries in his NFL debut, but he didn't look bad by any means. There were more than a few plays where the offensive line was blown up and Smith had literally nowhere to run. Once or twice he was able to actually gain yards despite the terrible blocking, and on plays when there was a hole open he made a play. Plus, he did score a touchdown, which is great for any rookie in their first game.
- Rudi Johnson only had 3 carries for 14 yards in this game. It's not surprising he didn't get more carries as he still is learning the playbook. The announcers said he barely knew any blocking assignments for passing plays, which is probably why he went in motion to the outside on the passing plays he was in the game for.
- As mentioned when discussing Kevin Smith, the offensive line did not play well. Smith was tackled right when he got the handoff a few times, and Kitna's protection wasn't that great, either.
- The Lions' inactives against Atlanta were as follows: QB Drew Stanton, OG Manny Ramirez, DE Ikaika Alama-Francis, DT Andre Fluellen, DT Landon Cohen, LB Gilbert Gardner, and CB Ramzee Robinson. Alama-Francis was bumped to the inactive list by DE Cliff Avril.
- Even though there are still two games tonight that will affect the opening week of fantasy football, I am in good enough shape to start bragging about how sweet of an owner I am. In all three of my leagues I am not only ahead but am destroying my opponents. In the official POD League I am currently up on Maize 'n' Blue Jays 109.70-77.16. In the POD Overflow League I control a lead of 117.88-57.40. And finally, in the league that involves bloggers from both SB Nation and the AOL FanHouse, I am up 97.00-37.90.
I wasn't expecting to have all three of my teams turn out to be this good already, but I'm pleasantly surprised. Even my poorly drafted team in the official league put up 100+ points, although the big reason for that was that I had Michael Turner starting. We all got an up close look at how great of a game he had. - As far as fantasy football goes, I plan on posting an update on the official league every Tuesday. The update will include scores from each game and a quick recap of how each team did. I will also keep you guys updated on how I do in the overflow league as well as the SBN-AOL one.
- Regarding my general posting schedule for the week that I will follow throughout the season, on top of the fantasy football update, I will also do a week whatever recap every Tuesday. I haven't decided on the exact format just yet, but I will try to briefly provide a recap of each game and/or will direct you to other SBN blogs for more information.
In general, what I expect my posting schedule or routine to look like is this: On Sunday nights/Mondays, I will recap the Lions game and discuss general things from it. On Tuesday, I will update fantasy football and the NFL. Moving on to Wednesday, I will wrap up coverage on the Lions' last game and begin to look ahead to their next one. Then Thursday will be spent really looking at the Lions' next opponent, and Friday and Saturday will get you ready for Sunday. I'll still have notes every day and keep you updated on any Lions news, but that will be in addition to what I listed above. - Ex-Lions tight end Sean McHugh was signed by the Steelers.
- Chad Johnson, err, Chad Ocho Cinco, wasn't allowed to wear his new last name on his jersey this week due to a dispute with Reebok over unsold merchandise. I'm sure Ocho Cinco will have no problem buying his old unsold jerseys considering his new one will have little trouble selling.
- The Jets were left in a predicament against Miami after kicker Mike Nugent got hurt in the first quarter of yesterday's game. Backup QB Kellen Clemens and safety Kerry Rhodes were actually attempting kickoffs before the second half in warm-ups. Thankfully for the Jets' sake neither was needed as Nugent returned in the third quarter.
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Wednesday Notes: Lions Hold Final Public Practices
by Sean Yuille
on Aug 13, 2008 2:53 AM EDT
in Notes
- The Lions followed their normal routine on Tuesday by having both practices outside. The morning session was in full pads and the special teams practice was in helmets and shorts.
- Tuesday was the final day of Lions practices being open to the public. According to the Lions, over 8,000 fans made their way to the team's facility during the 25 open practices this year. (That number includes the fan day event)
- If Aveion Cason can handle both kick and punt return duties then there is a good chance the Lions will only keep four wide receivers on their active roster this season. I'd say it's more likely that there will be five WRs, but if Cason does a good enough job as the returner or if the Lions need to keep a player at another position for depth reasons, then four it is.
- Gosder Cherilus probably will be the Lions' starting right tackle this season, but he recently practiced at left tackle just in case he ever needs to switch positions.
- Offensive lineman Manny Ramirez was told to leave the field by an OL coach for not doing a drill "fast enough" and because the coach was "cranky."
- Linebacker Gilbert Gardner and tight end Michael Gaines missed practice due to injuries.
- Safety Daniel Bullocks finally returned to practice on Monday. That was his first practice in nearly a year as he has been out since August 25, 2007.
- Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio has the Lions in the 24th spot in his preseason power rankings.
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Monday Notes: Calvin Johnson Misses Practice
by Sean Yuille
on Aug 11, 2008 1:45 AM EDT
in Notes
- After having Friday off, the Lions returned to their indoor field on Saturday and had an early evening practice in helmets and shorts. The Lions then went back to their usual two-a-days format on Sunday and practiced in both the morning and afternoon. Both sessions were held in helmets and shorts.
- If you didn't check out Pride of Detroit over the weekend, then you may want to catch up on some transactions that happened and had an effect on the Lions. For starters, Jason Hanson is out for at least a week (probably more) due to an injury, so the Lions waived Eddie Johnson and signed former Michigan State kicker Dave Rayner. Similarly, Stanley Wilson is done for the season, so the Lions replaced him with cornerback Kiwaukee Thomas. Also, Detroit released and signed a pair of offensive linemen.
Finally, in a move that indirectly affects Detroit, the 49ers signed linebacker Takeo Spikes, who at one time appeared to be close to joining the Lions. - Due to a bruised leg, wide receiver Calvin Johnson didn't participate in practice on Sunday and is day to day according to Rod Marinelli. Also absent from practice were Jon Bradley, Cory Redding, Langston Moore, John Owens, Gilbert Gardner, and the three players on the PUP list.
- Although Kevin Smith practiced with the starting offense on Sunday, Rod Marinelli says that we shouldn't read into it as "there's no rotation right now."
- Dave Rayner is excited to play for the Lions.
- Decisions about what to do if the Lions win the coin toss will be made on a game-by-game basis.
- Marinelli was "pleased" with the way Lions rookies played in Thursday's preseason opener against the Giants.
- If you caught any of the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills over the weekend, you may have noticed Ben Curtis, who finished tied for second, was sporting Lions gear throughout the tournament. Quite a few people were wondering if he was a Lions fan or was just doing it because he was in Michigan, but actually Curtis has a sponsorship deal with Reebok to sport NFL clothing, so he was wearing Lions apparel for contractual reasons.
- Also an interesting note from the PGA Championship is that the winner of the tournament, Padraig Harrington, is the second cousin of former Lions quarterback Joey Harrington.
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Friday Notes: Giants Game Observations
by Sean Yuille
on Aug 8, 2008 3:44 AM EDT
in Notes
- Gosder Cherilus did not have an ideal start to his NFL career as he was called for a couple false starts and a holding penalty during last night's game. Cherilus wasn't alone when it came to getting penalties as there were 6 total called on the Lions, but it's never a good thing when one player accounts for half of them.
- I know Lions coaches want to run the ball more this year, but if the running game this season is going to look like it did last night then I hope Jon Kitna never hands the ball off. No matter who was in the game at running back, it seemed like even gaining a single yard was like pulling teeth. For evidence of that, take a look at who the Lions' leading rusher was. Drum roll please... Drew Stanton. That's right, in only three plays Drew Stanton was able to rush for more yards than any running back did. Now that is alarming.
- There were three players that sustained injuries in last night's game: Stanley Wilson, Gilbert Gardner; and Jason Hanson. If you read the post below that contains quotes from Rod Marinelli then you already know what happened to each, but in case you haven't, I'll bring you up to speed.
Wilson hurt his Achilles; Gardner sustained a concussion, and Hanson strained his left thigh. Out of those three, Wilson is the one we should watch the closest as it seems like his injury is the most serious. Then again, anytime there is an issue with Jason Hanson it is a cause for concern. I guess stay tuned for further updates on each of these three players. - All of Detroit's quarterbacks played well for the most part. Their combined passing totals produced a great stat line, and I saw something I liked from each of them. Jon Kitna kept his mistakes to a minimum. Out of all the passes he made, only one was poorly thrown in my opinion (the one that went behind Roy Williams). Dan Orlovsky looked comfortable in the pocket and was hitting his targets with stellar accuracy. And Drew Stanton made plays by running when he couldn't find anyone open.
- Going back to Stanton really quickly, I will say that he needs to stay in the pocket longer than he did in yesterday's game. I'm not going to criticize him too much since this was the first time he even got in an NFL game, but he needs to be more patient before taking off and running downfield.
- The player of the game without a doubt was Calvin Johnson. He was all over the field making plays and he made it look easy. I hope this is a sign of things to come, because if it is, he and Roy Williams are going to make for a hell of a wide receiver duo.
- Defensively, the rookies showed a lot of promise. Jordon Dizon made a couple of nice plays. Cliff Avril seemed to do a nice job of pass rushing. And Andre Fluellen came up with a huge sack toward the end of the game that helped put the nail in New York's coffin.
- I have a feeling that this game put cornerback Dovonte Edwards and running back Brian Calhoun one step closer to being cut. Edwards was being targeted by Giants QBs every time he was on the field and they were abusing him quite a bit. And Calhoun simply just didn't look very impressive when he was in the game at running back. Not only is Aveion Cason more versatile with his ability to return kicks, but Artose Pinner looked much better in his limited time on the field at running back. I'd say that Calhoun is gone for sure at this point.
- Leon Joe surprised me and had an outstanding game. His name was called quite a bit and in the end he finished with a team-high 6 tackles. Joe is a linebacker that was recently signed after being released by the Buccaneers, and although his chances of making the team are slim, playing like this certainly won't hurt.
- To view highlights of last night's win or to look through stats from the game, head on over to NFL.com.
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