Conventional Wisdom says a win is a win, and it sure is a lot better to be 1-0 than 0-1, but should all us Detroit Lions fans feel real good about the 27-23 victory over the St. Louis Rams?
Sep 9, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) celebrates a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the St. Louis Rams at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-US Presswire
Before we go any farther our hearts and prayers go out to Rodger Saffold. We certainly hope it is not as bad as it looked. Rest, heal, and get back on the field brother.
On the surface Matthew Stafford’s 32 for 48 for 355 yards and a TD stat line looks ok. However, he threw three picks (and really should of had four), and for much of this game did not look like an elite NFL QB. He did compose himself and lead the Lions on a very impressive drive late in the fourth quarter to secure the win. There is a lot of bad, but also some good in what he was able to do against the Rams.
At some point we here at DJC are going to have to come to terms with the fact that Stafford is a gunslinger. This is a pass first offense, which is always going to throw more than they run. 48 pass attempts seems like a lot when we remember that the Lions scored two TD’s on the ground. Of course it was the passing attack that set up both of those scores.
The Lions secondary was questionable all day. They allowed Sam Bradford to throw for 198 yards, and Bill Bentley left the game with an injury. New comer Drayton Florence made an outstanding play, breaking up a big play down the field in the first half and he may be the guy who this team needs to step up and get this secondary to be better than we expect them to be.
Again being 1-0 is a great thing, but at one point last year this team was 5-0 and ended up finishing 10-6 do the math on how that worked out. The brighter news here is five of the final seven games are at Ford Field this season. If the Lions can keep themselves in the playoff picture till week 11 (when the Green Bay Packers come to town) they may be able to make a push towards the playoffs.
However, after struggling against a rebuilding team like the Rams, one has to wonder what will happen when the play a good team next week at San Francisco. What happens in the two games against the great Green Bay Packers? What happens against the very good Houston Texans? We here at DJC do not like when our teams play down to the competition. Great teams roll over their inferior (perceived or not) counterparts. I guess that means the Lions are not a great team……yet.
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