Week Six: Detroit Lions (4-1) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1)

[MichiganCardinal]

Lions and Chiefs are the only two teams with a three-game lead in their division.

[NYLion]

35 minutes ago, buddha said:

good win.  bucs defense is impressive.

bucs also missed two touchdowns when mayfield missed an open receiver behind the defense on a big throw.  

they need branch back AND i wouldnt mind seeing them trade for a decent cb if one can be found.  jacobs and harris are good bench players but not starters on championship teams.

Jacobs has been great after the Seattle game and I don't even know how much the Seattle game was his fault since Geno had enough time to make a sandwich back there.

[number20]

37 minutes ago, buddha said:

 they need branch back AND i wouldnt mind seeing them trade for a decent cb if one can be found.  jacobs and harris are good bench players but not starters on championship teams.

I noticed when Branch got injured in the GB game, the Packers immediately drove right down the field and scored their first TD. Definitely need him back

[lordstanley]

So of their 11 remaining games, 6 road 5 home, at this point I only see the Lions being underdogs  at Baltimore and at Dallas. Am not predicting they will go 9-2 the rest of the day, as upsets happen. But home games against Raiders, Bears, Packers, Broncos, Vikings and road games against Ravens, Chargers, Saints, Bears, Vikings and Cowboys. 

[holygoat]

At +55 the Lions have the 2nd best point differential in the NFC, behind only SF who is damn near lapping the field. 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

I was out of the house today and didn't get to watch the game until now. Even banged up like we were today, we controlled the majority of today's game and it wasn't close. A couple of nice catches by Jamo, so I hope this is an upward trend for him from here on out.

Edited October 16, 2023 by Mr.TaterSalad

[Mr.TaterSalad]

1 hour ago, holygoat said:

At +55 the Lions have the 2nd best point differential in the NFC, behind only SF who is damn near lapping the field. 

As much as some complain about his second down play calling, and sometimes I believe it leaves something to be desired, stats like this prove his genius. Lots of motion and multiple looks coming in one play design really throw defenses for a loop, make Goff productive, and continue to put points on the board. When is the last time we've scored less than 20 points in a game? 

[Cruzer1]

9 hours ago, TP_Fan said:

Seriously. How can you call Ben Johnson an amazing OC when he runs it on every single 2nd and long. He will never do anything different. The defenses don’t even pretend we might pass. It gets stuffed every single time. This madness has to stop. 

Seriously, how many posts do you have complaining about Ben Johnson? If you don't like Ben, then you don't like ice cream. I trust Ben. He has proven himself to me.

[Cruzer1]

In fact, I like to figure out what Ben is doing.  I try to learn as much as I can from him  

[Cruzer1]

8 hours ago, RedRamage said:

Lions tied for best record in the NFL!

Both SF and Philly own tie breaker, so we are still third. The job isn't done yet.

[Cruzer1]

 

[romad1]

This reminds me of the celebration at Comerica Park in 2006 after the Tigers beat the Yankees in the ALDS

 

[RandyMarsh]

I know some of those 2nd and 3rd down run plays can be frustrating but I look at them as body blows, you're just wearing down your opponent with each one and setting them up for later on. 

There's a reason we started picking up plays in chunks late in the third and early 4th and the was a combination of their defense getting worn down and them being cognitive of the run. 

To sum it up we all like to score on every possession but against a defense like the Bucs that just isnt realistic, sometimes you have to be methodical and play the long game and that's what the Lions did yesterday. 

[RandyMarsh]

Of course there's got to be some bad news. Oh well if Gibbs comes back along with Jonah Jackson I think we'll be passable there.

 

 

Edited October 16, 2023 by RandyMarsh

[RedRamage]

10 hours ago, buddha said:

bucs also missed two touchdowns when mayfield missed an open receiver behind the defense on a big throw.  

This stuck me this morning when I was coming in to work listening to a Lions podcast: The Lions by no means played a clean game. Some bad penalties... some drops from our receivers... running game wasn't there... only one sack... a missed FG... And yet we won, handily. We kept the Bucs out of the end zone, we had some big plays and we went into their stadium and beat them solidly.

Even just a few years ago we often said that the Lions need to play a near perfect game if they wanted to beat [insert good team here]. We often said the Lions didn't have the luxury of making mistakes because the margin for error was so slim. We often said that something to the effect that if only the refs hadn't blown that one call we might have won.

Now we're the team that others are saying that about. The Bucs needed to play mistake free football to beat us and they made mistakes. The Bucs margin for error was so slim that a few missed plays meant they lost by two TDs.

I'm certainly not saying this is a Super Bowl bound team. But this also isn't the SOL. This is a team that can make mistakes, that can be missing key players and can still go into a visiting stadium against a decent opponent and come out with a win.

[RandyMarsh]

Virtually every game a team will have a guy spring free multiple times and either the QB just doesn't see him or they miss the throw.

Afterall even when open deep routes to the sideline aren't exactly layups, for reference next gen stats had the one in the 4th to that rookie receiver as a 40% expected completion percentage so missing a throw like that isnt some fluke thing. 

With that said I still think we need another reliable corner even once Branch comes back. 

Edited October 16, 2023 by RandyMarsh

[KnoxP]

2 hours ago, RandyMarsh said:

To sum it up we all like to score on every possession but against any NFL defense a defense like the Bucs that just isnt realistic, sometimes you have to be methodical and play the long game and that's what the Lions did yesterday. 

This...

Thanks Randy!  Expectations of chunk yardage every play or every drive resulting in a TD is foolishness.  5-1 and no complaints here.

Edited October 16, 2023 by KnoxP

[TP_Fan]

6 hours ago, Cruzer1 said:

Seriously, how many posts do you have complaining about Ben Johnson? If you don't like Ben, then you don't like ice cream. I trust Ben. He has proven himself to me.

Jarod Goff has proven himself.  And he did that under Campbell.  I’m of the opinion this is all More Campbell than anything. 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

3 minutes ago, TP_Fan said:

Jarod Goff has proven himself.  And he did that under Campbell.  I’m of the opinion this is all More Campbell than anything. 

Goff was terrible when Anthony Lynn was here as our OC for the first 8 or so games of 2021. Goff looked leaps and bounds better when he had an OC come in that played to his strengths and designed plays that fit what Goff feels comfortable doing. The Head Coach stayed the same during that time period. The OC changed and Goff got markedly better with Johnson calling the plays.

[1984Echoes]

3 hours ago, RandyMarsh said:

I know some of those 2nd and 3rd down run plays can be frustrating but I look at them as body blows, you're just wearing down your opponent with each one and setting them up for later on. 

There's a reason we started picking up plays in chunks late in the third and early 4th and the was a combination of their defense getting worn down and them being cognitive of the run. 

To sum it up we all like to score on every possession but against a defense like the Bucs that just isn't realistic, sometimes you have to be methodical and play the long game and that's what the Lions did yesterday. 

A team also runs those run plays to:

1) Keep the defense off of the passer (so they're not pinning their ears back and teeing off on the QB).

2) Wear on the defense, as you've mentioned above

3) Set up future plays. Which don't even have to be play action. Simply getting a defense moving in the direction you want them to, because they've seen this line movement before. Oh WAIT! Ben just dialed up another trick play by moving the defense where he WANTS them to go and then going the Other Direction!!!

4) Run time off the clock.

Etc. There's a hundred reason to run a run play and they are not all/ always to gain 6 yards a pop.

 

The stream of invective towards Ben and these running plays is the most asinine thing I've ever seen. As if the complainant actually knew anything anyways.

[Woodrowjr]

8 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

Goff was terrible when Anthony Lynn was here as our OC for the first 8 or so games of 2021. Goff looked leaps and bounds better when he had an OC come in that played to his strengths and designed plays that fit what Goff feels comfortable doing. The Head Coach stayed the same during that time period. The OC changed and Goff got markedly better with Johnson calling the plays.

The Head Coach also fired that OC and hired the new OC.  He will hire thr next OC as well.  If that doesn't work he will make the necessary changes.

[NYLion]

59 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

Goff was terrible when Anthony Lynn was here as our OC for the first 8 or so games of 2021. Goff looked leaps and bounds better when he had an OC come in that played to his strengths and designed plays that fit what Goff feels comfortable doing. The Head Coach stayed the same during that time period. The OC changed and Goff got markedly better with Johnson calling the plays.

Campbell is the lynchpin in all of this, don't get it twisted. Goff's play actually started improving when Campbell himself took over playcalling. Not to diminish what Ben Johnson is doing and he's certainly a talented playcaller with a future as head coach but Coach MCDC is the one steering this ship.

[MichiganCardinal]

My power rankings haven't changed substantially since the last time I did them, but comparing the Lions to other teams in the NFL, the only team I see that we really don't matchup well with are the Dolphins and a fully healthy Bengals team... maybe the Bills too.

The top tier of the NFC (49ers, Eagles, and Lions) all played tough defensive matchups this week and were forced to play off-brand football. All three of those teams like to play bully ball, using their elite offensive line to impose their will on the ground, only going to the air to catch the opponent napping and change the pace. When the 49ers were forced to go to the air this week because of injury combined with the Browns defensive line, they struggled and ultimately lost. When the Eagles were forced to go to the air this week because of the Jets defensive line, Hurts threw three interceptions and they ultimately lost. When the Lions were forced to go to the air this week because of injury and a stout Tampa defense, they didn't miss a beat and still won by two scores.

That's not to say we are Super Bowl bound or anything (though... maybe!), but both the 49ers and Eagles would almost certainly have to play a different brand of football against us. Ground and pound likely isn't going to go well against our defensive line, and they will need to rely on Purdy and Hurts to play a brand of football they usually don't need to. I like Goff's ability to go with the flow better and win the game with his arm, based off of what we saw yesterday.

The Dolphins are the only team in that upper echelon of the NFL that really relies on the pass first and can stretch the field vertically at will. I think Tua (if he makes it through the full season) would have the potential to make the throws Baker missed yesterday, exploiting Will Harris and Jerry Jacobs with Tyreek Hill in ways that hasn't been done to this point. The Bengals, with a healthy Burrow, could probably do the same. At least one of Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase would give us fits if their offensive line gave Burrow enough time to find them. The Bills probably have the capacity to do this too, but they sure seem to be on the same track they have been the last few years, where it just feels like there is more untapped...

I'm glad none of those three would be on the schedule until February.

[TP_Fan]

2 hours ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

Goff was terrible when Anthony Lynn was here as our OC for the first 8 or so games of 2021. Goff looked leaps and bounds better when he had an OC come in that played to his strengths and designed plays that fit what Goff feels comfortable doing. The Head Coach stayed the same during that time period. The OC changed and Goff got markedly better with Johnson calling the plays.

Campbell called the plays after Lynn was canned.  Ben was promoted to OC but wasn’t calling plays. I don’t have a huge fear of Ben Johnson leaving because Campbell will still be here. 

[TP_Fan]

1 hour ago, 1984Echoes said:

A team also runs those run plays to:

1) Keep the defense off of the passer (so they're not pinning their ears back and teeing off on the QB).

2) Wear on the defense, as you've mentioned above

3) Set up future plays. Which don't even have to be play action. Simply getting a defense moving in the direction you want them to, because they've seen this line movement before. Oh WAIT! Ben just dialed up another trick play by moving the defense where he WANTS them to go and then going the Other Direction!!!

4) Run time off the clock.

Etc. There's a hundred reason to run a run play and they are not all/ always to gain 6 yards a pop.

 

The stream of invective towards Ben and these running plays is the most asinine thing I've ever seen. As if the complainant actually knew anything anyways.

The complaint is to 2nd and long runs.  Not runs in general.