Week Seven: Detroit Lions (4-1) @ Minnesota Vikings (5-0)

[MichiganCardinal]

Justin Jefferson against the Lions the last four years:

2021 Game 1: 7/124

2021 Game 2: 11/182

2022 Game 1: 3/14

2022 Game 2: 11/223

2023 Game 1: 6/141

2023 Game 2: 12/192

2024 Game 1: 7/81

With the exception of that early 2022 game (also the last time we lost to the Vikings), he's been a Lion killer. Excellent work by the secondary to limit him.

[Sports_Freak]

1 hour ago, gehringer_2 said:

Beating the Vikes on the road should improve the Lions perceived bargaining leverage if they are pursuing a DE. 

I don't know. It looks like we'll have an even better record with an edge rusher. A worse draft pick.

[MichiganCardinal]

Decker did not have a great game. He stepped up when it mattered, but edge rushers ran right by him several times. His age may be catching up to him.

[MichiganCardinal]

Don't get much closer than this.

 

[Motor City Sonics]

1 hour ago, MichiganCardinal said:

I was going to wait until they beat the Titans to pull that out. 😉 

wouldn't make sense then. 

[Motor City Sonics]

1 hour ago, MichiganCardinal said:

I was going to wait until they beat the Titans to pull that out. 😉 

wouldn't make sense then. 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

7 hours ago, Jason_R said:

Terrible rule. 

Can you imagine if they had scored. It would have been yet another rule or interpretation of a rule that would have jobbed the Lions. I was waiting for that to happen and thankfully it didn't. But it sure felt like it was going to.

[RedRamage]

On 10/19/2024 at 1:06 PM, MichiganCardinal said:

Fun fact that I'm totally sure I won't regret pointing out tomorrow: the Lions are the last remaining team in the NFL to have not lost a fumble this season.

[RedRamage]

18 hours ago, Jason_R said:

Did not like that fake punt call. 

I'm not horribly upset with the decision to go for it... I wouldn't have (but then again I'm not a NFL HC), but the WAY in which they tried to go for it was disappointing. The one guy moving early put the defense on alert to look for something... not sure what they were necessarily looking for, but it surely made the Vikings suddenly pay closer attention.

[RedRamage]

18 hours ago, Sports_Freak said:

The length of all the commercials destroys the flow of the game. Unbearable.

I try to always start the game about 1 hr late, then I fast forward through commercials and half time... I usually finish the game right about the time it finishes in real time.

[RedRamage]

18 hours ago, TP_Fan said:

Every week.  Every QB just has endless space to run up the middle.  They have not adjusted this season.  Darnold running for 30 yards. Can’t ****ing happen. 

This has certainly seemed to be an issue with the defense. They get so aggressive going for the QB that sometimes huge running lanes open up for the QB.

Week 1: Stafford for 0 yards
Week 2: Mayfield for 34 yards
Week 3: Murray for 45 yards
Week 4: Smith 38 yards
Week 6: Prescott for 1 yard
Week 7: Darnold for 39 yards

Other than week 1 against Stafford (quite immobile) and week 6 against Prescott (Blow out) the opposing QBs have gotten some nice chucks with running the ball.

[MichiganCardinal]

22 minutes ago, RedRamage said:

Look, it just added a little flavor to the win. What fun is blowing everybody out?!

[RedRamage]

18 hours ago, chasfh said:

Football 101 question: when a quarterback goes on a run and then slides before he is tackled or touched, at what point is he considered down? Is it when the knee under him hits the ground? When his butt hits the ground? Something else?

I thought it was supposed to be as soon as he starts the slide.

[RedRamage]

17 hours ago, TP_Fan said:

I hate how an offensive penalty, which then creates the def penalty is just offsetting.  If offensw doesn't hold darnold is sacked and it's over.  Instead secondary has to run around and gets a hold. It's BS

I tend to agree but I don't know if there's an reasonable alternative way to do it. You can't say for 100% sure that the QB would have been sacked... probably, yes... but not for 100% certain.

[Sports_Freak]

19 minutes ago, RedRamage said:

I try to always start the game about 1 hr late, then I fast forward through commercials and half time... I usually finish the game right about the time it finishes in real time.

I used to do that with baseball but I always watched football live. It was easier with Comcast. It's seems harder with YouTube TV.

[MichiganCardinal]

Just now, RedRamage said:

This has certainly seemed to be an issue with the defense. They get so aggressive going for the QB that sometimes huge running lanes open up for the QB.

Week 1: Stafford for 0 yards
Week 2: Mayfield for 34 yards
Week 3: Murray for 45 yards
Week 4: Smith 38 yards
Week 6: Prescott for 1 yard
Week 7: Darnold for 39 yards

Other than week 1 against Stafford (quite immobile) and week 6 against Prescott (Blow out) the opposing QBs have gotten some nice chucks with running the ball.

I think this is more a byproduct of being so aggressive in man coverage than it is the defensive line. If the opponent runs four or five receivers twenty yards downfield, we are going to have six or seven defenders twenty yards downfield. And with the possible exception of Branch and/or Joseph, they are largely locked onto their man. They're staying on that receiver's hip, ideally checking back to see if the QB takes off, but not at the expense of leaving a gap in coverage.

So if the QB escapes the pocket, it's either on a lineman to shed their block and take the QB down or for a near defensive back to recognize the breakdown, shed his receiver, and pursue. Unless you've got a very mobile QB like Lamar Jackson or Justin Fields, it's not a sustainable game plan, because more often than not you don't have every defensive back 20 yards from the QB when it breaks down, so you're depending on your less athletic and much more fragile QB to break a tackle to gain anything more than five yards. Might be an unfortunate component to man coverage once or twice in a game, but obviously Aaron Glenn is okay with that side effect.

[MichiganCardinal]

15 minutes ago, RedRamage said:

I thought it was supposed to be as soon as he starts the slide.

This. As soon as his body begins the motions of a slide (upper body moving back, leg curling up) he is down. It is usually two or three yards behind where he actually first makes contact with the ground.

[RedRamage]

15 hours ago, Sports_Freak said:

I bet it gets changed at the next rules committee meeting. At least, it needs to be.

 

15 hours ago, sagnam said:

Odds are the penalty will be offset by defensive linemen offsides so you could even fumble the snap.

The ref has to set the ball though, right? Would the ref set the ball before the teams were both reasonably at the line?

Regardless I think it should be changed in the off-season because you know teams will try to exploit this.

[RedRamage]

15 hours ago, Motown Bombers said:

Goff did take a few seconds on the first kneel down so that did function like a run play. 

I personally did NOT like that. I thought it was dangerous and the very next play showed why. This is slightly like the last season when the Saints did a "victory formation" but then ran a real play so Williams could get a TD. Obviously less egregious, but still in the same ballpark.

"Victory formation" is supposed to signal to the defense that you giving up the play to run out clock so no one needs to play hard and risk injury. The offense is conceding the play, and defense agrees to not try to hurt anyone. But then Goff sits there for a couple of seconds running more time off.

What happens the next play? The defense lunges hard at the Lions even though they're back in "victory formation." If someone got hurt there it would have been the Lions fault imho.

[romad1]

45 minutes ago, RedRamage said:

I try to always start the game about 1 hr late, then I fast forward through commercials and half time... I usually finish the game right about the time it finishes in real time.

this is the way.

Problem is when you are watching with a bunch of moaning family members who want to know what's happening.  

[Jimbo]

4 minutes ago, romad1 said:

this is the way.

Problem is when you are watching with a bunch of moaning family members who want to know what's happening.  

If it wasn't for the constant texting I do with friends, I might do the same thing because these political adds are ridiculous.  I think there were 7 in a row at one point. 

[RedRamage]

2 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

If it wasn't for the constant texting I do with friends, I might do the same thing because these political adds are ridiculous.  I think there were 7 in a row at one point. 

That is the danger! Most of my family/friends know not to text during a game, but there are times when one forgets.

[NYLion]

10 hours ago, MichiganCardinal said:

Justin Jefferson against the Lions the last four years:

2021 Game 1: 7/124

2021 Game 2: 11/182

2022 Game 1: 3/14

2022 Game 2: 11/223

2023 Game 1: 6/141

2023 Game 2: 12/192

2024 Game 1: 7/81

With the exception of that early 2022 game (also the last time we lost to the Vikings), he's been a Lion killer. Excellent work by the secondary to limit him.

The coverage was phenomenal yesterday. Even on that one big play, the TD, Amik was right on JJ and it was a push off by JJ tbh. Especially considering that the pass rush wasn't getting home for a good chunk of the game, 4 sacks notwithstanding, I thought the coverage was especially good.

[Motown Bombers]

 

[MichiganCardinal]

3 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

 

This is an insane stat.