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 →
At 3-4, the Lions’ playoff hopes are still alive, but they’re in last place in the NFC North. A win would bring them back to .500 and give them back-to-back victories for the first time this season.
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 →
The easy answer to this question headline is yes. Coach Jim Schwartz has repeatedly said the Lions, like most NFL teams, will leave no stone unturned as they try to keep improving the team. Lions general manager Martin Mayhew made good on Schwartz’s stance Tuesday by trading for Jaguars wide receiver Mike Thomas, even though … Continue Reading →
The Lions are home today and hoping that they can turn things around following their defeat by the Bears Monday night. Matthew Stafford faces a loaded Seahawks secondary with three big defensive backs. CB Richard Sherman and S Kam Chancellor are both 6-foot-3, and CB Brandon Browner is 6-4
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 →
The Lions are back on Monday Night Football. It’s been a little over a year since the team has been featured on the NFL’s biggest regular season television broadcast, a 24-13 win over the Bears at Ford Field on Oct. 10, 2011. Tonight, the opponent is the same, but the location has changed. Soldier Field in Chicago … 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 →