The Detroit Lions remain undefeated! What does it really mean?
By Bruce Walker
How can we interpret the Detroit Lions’ preseason victories over the Colts and Jets? Do those wins hold any meaning for the upcoming season?
The Detroit Lions‘ second preseason game is in the books. They have a net positive margin of 24 points in these two games, having beaten the Indianapolis Colts 24-10 and the New York Jets 16-6. 13 of the 16 points that the Lions have given up were in the fourth quarter, when the majority of players on the field for both teams will probably not even make the final 53-man roster.
That’s good, right?
Are you ready to get those Detroit Lions championship shirts printed up?
Well, maybe not quite yet, but with that in mind, what can we project for the upcoming season based on what we’ve seen thus far? Anything?
The short answer is, probably not very much. There are, however, some key elements to watching a preseason game that, from a fan perspective, has great value. First of all, look for these things:
Ball protection. Can we protect the rock? Can we generate turnovers on defense?
Flags. Are there pre- and post-snap penalties?
Can the defense stop the run? Is the offense able to run the ball efficiently? The offenses and defenses are very basic in these games. The players are not being exposed to complex game-planning. They should be able to win individual matchups now if you expect success when the games count for real.
Discipline. Does a player get out of bounds when he needs to in order to stop the clock or stay in bounds when you need to burn some time? Do the team prevent the opposition from doing the same?
Effort. Are the players diligent to work through the whistle? Do they give up on a play because they think it’s over? How do they react after something bad happens?
These fundamentals are all as important in a preseason game as they will be later. The players that can take care of these basics now will have a much better chance of controlling those same things when the games matter.
Based on that, we can draw some inferences from Saturday night’s game against the Jets. I saw both good and bad factors in Saturday night’s game. Here are some of my observations:
The Good:
Detroit’s first-team defense has looked very solid. They have been stingy against the run and exerted an impressive amount of pressure on the opposing quarterbacks. Players appear to be in the correct position to make plays, sealing the edge, collapsing the pocket and effectively taking away the other team’s short pass, which was Detroit’s nemesis last year.
The Bad:
They’ve only done it against the Colt’s starting quarterback Scott Tolzien and the New York Jets starter Christian Hackenberg. In a way, these teams are similar. Indianapolis is deeply disadvantaged while their number one quarterback, Andrew Luck, remains injured. It would not surprise some if New York goes winless this year. Why is this important? This only means that the quality of the opposition is suspect so you cannot draw sweeping conclusions from success against them.
As a result, it is difficult to know how good the Lions defense has been.
Put it this way: The Lions have not played Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots and Tom Brady quite yet. Speaking of last year’s Super Bowl Champions, the Pats come to town next week and therefore should provide Detroit a significantly greater element of competition because: 1) New England is a much better team than either the Colts or the Jets and, 2) the Lions will be playing the Patriots in preseason game three.
Typically speaking, the third preseason game represents the most realistic practice run for the regular season as the starters will play longer and you will get a better sense of the capabilities of the team. This is still preseason. This is like an old episode of “Whose Line” where “…the points don’t matter…”.
The Good:
Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has looked incredibly smooth and efficient in directing the first string offense. His command of the team is evident. His passes are spot-on.
The Bad:
Detroit Lions receivers are still dropping those passes at an alarming rate. Receiver Marvin Jones had a pass sail right through his hands in the first game that resulted in an interception. Wideout Golden Tate III had the same thing happen against the Jets but the ball managed to drop to the turf in that case.
Dropped passes still kill drives and remain a focus of the team to eliminate.
The Good:
Jared Abbrederis. He had a reception on third down where he was completely wrapped up 2 yards shy of the first down sticks and the defender was in good position to stop him. Abbrederis planted and drove forward, stretching out to gain the first down. Because of the personal effort that Abbrederis displayed, the drive continued.
At the time, New York seemed to get points every time they had the ball and the Lions could not seem to stop them. The Jets were within one score and the game was in the balance. As a result, the effort that Abbrederis showed on that play to get that first down allowed the Lions to continue working the clock and definitely contributed to the Lions winning the game.
The Bad:
Matt Asiata. One play where he was met in the backfield by two defenders, Asiata just hunkered down and waited for contact. Then, on a third down pass, Asiata gained several yards but looked like he just crumpled when he was met a couple of yards shy of the sticks. That play resulted in the Lions punting the ball away. I thought that his running was tentative and he seemed to give up too easily.
The Verdict:
This was a Detroit Lions preseason game. Because there is a specific rationale that the coaches employ when they script certain plays in specific scenarios, it does not accurately reflect what the upcoming season will bring. Practice and learning are more important than winning.
In 2008, the Lions won all four then proceeded to lose the next 16 when it counted.
In 2011, the Lions went undefeated again in the four practice games but won ten in the regular season which actually lead to a wild-card playoff game against the New Orleans Saints.
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What does it all mean? This is simply the time of the season in which we practice and learn. The most important thing that we have learned thus far is that the Detroit Lions certainly have areas to work on but appear to be solid and improving.