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Lion VS Jets - Post Game Observations


Just Want A Title

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This will count as a "W" for the Lions but this one was pretty ugly.  It looked liked they were over-confident and more interested in "punching the Jets in the face" than playing good football, especially in first-quarter.  To their credit, the Jets punched back and didn't back down.   You could argue that they really should not have won this game.  They had too many holding penalties, sloppy pass coverage in the secondary.  The Lions just came out flat at the beginning of the game.  They have a lot to clean up.  That said:

Coaching:

- Ben Johnson seemed Stymied most of the day.  The Jets have a good defense and but the Lions seemed out-of-sync

- The Defense came out really flat, especially the secondary.  Aaron Glenn did a good job of making adjustments after the 1st quarter

- The late TD by Brock Wright may have left a lot of time on the clock but I don't think it was bad clock management.  Points were hard to come by in this game

- I do not understand why the Lions TEs and WRs other than Amon Ra St Brown seem to not know where the first down stick is at and make sure they get there.  The Lions really need to get better at that

- The high-level play is masking problems in the secondary with Jeff Okudah and Will Harris

Special Teams:

- I thought the Lions were due to break a return for a TD and it finally happened.  It was well blocked and Khalif Raymond executed a really nice return

- Another week, another missed FG.  Yes, it was from 53 but it for a lot of NFL kickers that within their makeable range.  We can't win by scheming around a so-so kicker.  The Lions really need to address this in the off-season

Offense:

- Jared Goff didn't have great number but played a solid game.  He some really good passes at key times and didn't turn the ball over

- James Mitchell had a couple of solid catches today.  He made a rookie mistake by not getting to the sticks but he is a rookie.

- D'Andre Swift had some decent plays today but the screen pass he caught late that came up a half yard short of the first-down marker in the 4th quarter was really mind boggling.  This is a recurring theme with him.  I don't know if it is his physical health or his head that is holding him back.  I think folks were expecting a more consistent version of Jerick McKinnon.  Clearly he isn't that right now

- I know Jameson Williams is good at vertical routes but it seems like he could cause a lot of problems for defenses on jet sweeps and WR screens.  I am surprised we haven't seen him in those situations already

- Our running got some key first downs but continues to be far less effective than it was earlier in the season.  Jamal Williams gets the tough yards for the Lions but we need them but someone else to be more impactful

Defense:

- The D-Line played a pretty good game.  Their consistent pressure is masking some deficiencies in the secondary

- Isaiah Buggs continues to play at a high level.  His good against the run and has improved at pressuring the pocket as the season has progressed.

- Another week, another James Houston sack.  He may only be a role player right know but it is a pretty valuable role

- Romeo Okwara had a good game.  He notched a couple of sacks and was pretty disruptive.  We need more of that.  

- John Cominsky continues do a lot of the dirty work and causes problems of opposing o-lines.  It was good to see him get a sack today.

- Malcom Rodriguez may not have had huge stats but his ability to diagnose plays and shoot gaps was very disruptive today.  He actually drew a holding penalty.  Another good week for him

- Jeff Okudah didn't play well today.  He allowed some big plays by giving up inside position and seemed to forget that he can use his arms as well as his hands to defend against the pass.  He got away with grabbing today that would have been PI calls most days.  That late completion could have cost the Lions the game against a better team/QB.  His play has dropped off in the last two games

- I might be wrong but Kerby Joseph might have hit the rookie wall.  He still looks fluid but is reacting a little more slowly than in previous games.  He made some good plays in the box today though.  It might be a situation where he is trying to do too much causing him think more and play less instinctively

 

This will be a "W" for the Lions but they can't be over-confident and undisciplined like they were today.  Part of me thinks it would have been better for them to take the late loss and learn from that but hopefully they will grow from this.  Thoughts?

 

Edited by Just Want A Title
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This was an ugly win, no doubt, but sometimes you have to win ugly. Lions needed a game like this. They needed these challenges to overcome and learn. 

Things I liked:

Defensive line played really well in both phases. Hutch and Houston now only got pressure but were getting key stops in the run game. Cominsky and Romeo with key sacks. McNeill and Buggs solid in the middle. Still need a game changer in the middle to get some doubles off of Hutch. Jalen Carter would transform this defensive front.

OL was stout once again. Three bad holding penalties but overall, Goff was protected and had time to make plays.

Our TEs continue to play well. Wright and Mitchell are solid players who play well within the offense.

Justin Jackson had a key block on Wrights TD on 4th down, allowing Goff time in the pocket to get that pass off. Those are the unselfish plays that win ball games.

Lions played a clean game and did not turn the ball over. Special teams also continue to play well.

Things I didn't like:

Running on 2nd down up the middle no matter what. It's so predictable and puts us behind on 3rd down. Not sure why Ben Johnson loves it so much. He needs to switch it up.

Our receivers had trouble getting separation. Jets have good corners but they didn't fight through contact. 

Giving up on plays before getting the first down. Swift gave himself up on at least two occasions just short of the sticks. Mitchell also. We need to have better awareness on the field.

Our secondary seemed lost at times. Guys looked out of position, slow, and/or confused on coverage. This was not their best game. I'm hoping they look better next week and are not returning to form from earlier in the season.

Penalties continue to be an issue. We were told that Lions don't get calls because poor teams don't earn them and you have to win. Lions are winning and continue to get hosed by refs. At least now our team can play through bad calls, but this is an issue I feel the team needs to address with the league.

Kicking game continues to waffle. Do we spend a draft pick on a K? I looked at the projected offseason FA list and it doesn't look appealing.

Overall:

7-7 feels real good after starting 1-6. This team has turned a corner and it shows in this game more than the others. They are not the SOL. 

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29 minutes ago, Louis Friend said:

This was an ugly win, no doubt, but sometimes you have to win ugly. Lions needed a game like this. They needed these challenges to overcome and learn. 

Things I liked:

Defensive line played really well in both phases. Hutch and Houston now only got pressure but were getting key stops in the run game. Cominsky and Romeo with key sacks. McNeill and Buggs solid in the middle. Still need a game changer in the middle to get some doubles off of Hutch. Jalen Carter would transform this defensive front.

OL was stout once again. Three bad holding penalties but overall, Goff was protected and had time to make plays.

Our TEs continue to play well. Wright and Mitchell are solid players who play well within the offense.

Justin Jackson had a key block on Wrights TD on 4th down, allowing Goff time in the pocket to get that pass off. Those are the unselfish plays that win ball games.

Lions played a clean game and did not turn the ball over. Special teams also continue to play well.

Things I didn't like:

Running on 2nd down up the middle no matter what. It's so predictable and puts us behind on 3rd down. Not sure why Ben Johnson loves it so much. He needs to switch it up.

Our receivers had trouble getting separation. Jets have good corners but they didn't fight through contact. 

Giving up on plays before getting the first down. Swift gave himself up on at least two occasions just short of the sticks. Mitchell also. We need to have better awareness on the field.

Our secondary seemed lost at times. Guys looked out of position, slow, and/or confused on coverage. This was not their best game. I'm hoping they look better next week and are not returning to form from earlier in the season.

Penalties continue to be an issue. We were told that Lions don't get calls because poor teams don't earn them and you have to win. Lions are winning and continue to get hosed by refs. At least now our team can play through bad calls, but this is an issue I feel the team needs to address with the league.

Kicking game continues to waffle. Do we spend a draft pick on a K? I looked at the projected offseason FA list and it doesn't look appealing.

Overall:

7-7 feels real good after starting 1-6. This team has turned a corner and it shows in this game more than the others. They are not the SOL. 

Folks were giving me a hard time for pointing out how D'Andre Swift has been coming up short.  He takes the easy yards but isn't finishing will at all.

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1 hour ago, Just Want A Title said:

Folks were giving me a hard time for pointing out how D'Andre Swift has been coming up short.  He takes the easy yards but isn't finishing will at all.

It’s weird because you see that type of play more often than not and then all of sudden he’ll rip a tough run by fighting through some ish. 
 

between his on field play and his clips in hard knocks, I just don’t feel like his head is really in the game. 

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3 hours ago, Just Want A Title said:

Folks were giving me a hard time for pointing out how D'Andre Swift has been coming up short.  He takes the easy yards but isn't finishing will at all.

I saw it on two plays.  One when facing three defenders and at the 10, not close to the first and one other play.  I did also see Swift get multiple first downs and fight for yards.  I don’t think he is great, but I also don’t think this is a real issue.  It’s just two plays people remember but they forget the rest of his plays.  

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I was annoyed with the play calls today on offense.  We had them burnt over the top but Goff under threw it and we missed out.  After that we didn’t take one shot down field.  Williams is a weapon, utilize him.  And if not deep, throw a screen to him or a sweep.  But his speed changes the game and we don’t seem to take advantage of it.
 

Goff struggles outside in cold weather.  His accuracy was off today and although he didn’t have an INT, he missed a few easy throws and was off target most of the day.  He really needs to improve in that area if we plan to make the playoffs.
 

The DB’s were not good today overall.  It was ok because Wilson isn’t good but we had some WRs running free and allowed some big plays when we shouldn’t have.  4th and 19 and allowing a 20 yard catch is ridiculous and shouldn’t happen.  The missed tackle by Kerby on the TD to Uzomah was bad and if you give up a catch, you have to limit the damage at least. 
 

Even with the shakey DB play, the D overall played pretty well. We stuffed the run and the D line got pressure.  
 

The time management is still an issue to me. The end of the game we burned a TO just before the 2 min warning leaving us 1 and the 2 min warning.  Then we let the clock run down to the 2 min warning while once again having only 1 TO remaining.  The meant of we didn’t get the first, they would have been able to end the game without a first down.  I know we turned a 4th and 1 into a long TD but it was bad to put all of our eggs in the one basket.  Better management and planning to that point would have left us in a better situation in the times we don’t make it, which will happen and is why we lost two games this year.  Hindsight is easy to say it worked out but the general strategy seems like the staff just don’t get it. 

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20 minutes ago, General Tso said:

What did people think of trying the 54 yd FG? I get trusting your kicker based on warm ups, but I also see the benefit of punting with hindsight, too.

I think if he hit it, we would have been thrilled. Since he missed it, obvious bad call. Seriously though, you have to trust your players to make plays. Badgley was not our kicker week 3 against the Vikings. He was 2-2 from 50+ before this kick. No reason for Campbell not to trust his leg there. Just missed. 

Edit: I'm more upset with his dinging the upright on the kick we re-did. He has a habit of dinging some kicks. I wouldn't mind getting a kicker this offseason. But looking at the projected FA kickers is uninspiring. 

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9 hours ago, General Tso said:

What did people think of trying the 54 yd FG? I get trusting your kicker based on warm ups, but I also see the benefit of punting with hindsight, too.

I didn't mind it because it would have made it so we were only down 1 if they got a TD.  A punt may have been better in hindsight but thats always the case on long FGs.  

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