This is why I wish coaches would be more forthright in their post-game press conferences. Jim Schwartz was asked for details about the incident Sunday where Shawn Jefferson was shown yelling at Scott Linehan on the sidelines. He just chalked up to disappointment and frustration and wouldn’t go any deeper. That leaves us to try … Continue Reading →
It almost seems nit-picking now, with all that went wrong on Sunday, but it’s still good to hear coach Jim Schwartz’s explanation for a couple of headscratching moves: The first: Why did he have to burn a timeout early in the fourth quarter on the Vikings’ two-point conversion try? Schwartz: “Well, we were a little … Continue Reading →
ProFootballFocus.com is one of the most respected publications when it comes to breaking down and analyzing NFL football games. I thought it would be good to share PFF’s take on the relative merits of Lions center Dominic Raiola. Here is their assessment: “Controversy erupted this week surrounding comments attributed to an anonymous NFL general manager … Continue Reading →
According to veteran NFL reporter Adam Caplan, the Lions are hosting a visit from former Raiders and Chiefs cornerback Stanford Routt today. Routt, 29, was released by the Chiefs earlier this week. The Chiefs had signed him to a three-year $18 million contract before the season. Reports out of Kansas City indicated that Routt had … Continue Reading →
It’s time to throw some kudos to the Lions’ offensive line. This much-maligned unit is having a banner season. It ranks fifth in the NFL in protecting the quarterback (allowing a sack on just four percent of pass plays). It has allowed the second fewest tackles for loss (28) and is No. 1 with the … Continue Reading →
The Lions have given up the second fewest explosive plays (gains of 20 or more yards) in the NFL — 17. Sounds great, right? Not so fast. Seven of those 17 plays went for touchdowns. Pretty high ratio. Also, those 17 explosives don’t include the four touchdowns of 65 or more yards yielded by the … Continue Reading →
You need to send the Trick-or-Treaters away early tonight, plop yourself in front of the flat screen and watch the NFL Network’s profile of former Lion Chris Spielman. It starts at 8 p.m. I don’t know if you’ve seen any of the previous features in this “A football life,” series, but they are remarkably well-reported, … Continue Reading →
OK, I want to say straight away that the point I made in the last blog entry — that the Lions have struggled mightily in the red zone — stands strong. But, my statistics were off just a bit. I should never trust myself with anything that relates to mathematics. Here are the Lions’ official … Continue Reading →
I didn’t need to look up the numbers to know how badly the Lions offense has struggled in the red zone, but I was curious. It’s as bad as it seems. They rank next to last in the NFL. Only Arizona is worse. They’ve had 24 chances and scored 17 times. They have five rushing … Continue Reading →
Keiland Williams had carved out a role on special teams. He was being used in a couple of jumbo and max-protection packages on offense. So why was he released to make room for cornerback Alphonso Smith? Here’s why. If something were to happen to starting running back Mikel Leshoure, Kevin Smith would be the logical … Continue Reading →