Detroit Lions stock watch: Don’t tread on Matt, all hail the mighty Quin
By Matt Bosko
The Detroit Lions took the defending NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons down to the wire last Sunday behind strong performances by Prater, Stafford and Quin.
The final play of last Sunday’s game epitomized the range of emotions directly associated with being a fan of the Detroit Lions: the jubilation of assumed victory followed by the agony of soul-crushing defeat. In this week’s stock report, we look at the range of performances, from great to poor.
Stock Up
Lions Named Matthew
In this writer’s purely unbiased opinion, the name Matthew is a solid foundation for greatness. Both quarterback Matthew Stafford and kicker Matt Prater proved as much on Sunday with heroic efforts.
Apparently Prater did not appreciate my jovial placement of him in the Stock Down portion of last week’s report. He responded by letting his feet do the talking to achieve a feat of another kind – breaking the NFL single-season record for made field goals of 55 yards or more.
Yeah. He broke a full season record in just three games. No big deal.
In the losing effort, Prater was a perfect 4-for-4 on attempts, including conversions from 55 and 57 yards away.
My response to Prater: I’m sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.
Stafford, on the other hand, may not have done enough to win you a week in your fantasy football league, but did just about enough to deliver another fourth quarter comeback for the Lions. It’s a game of inches, and though the Lions literally fell just a few short on Sunday, Stafford once again proved that he is to be feared by opposing teams in the game’s most crucial moments.
Roar Restored
Make no mistake about it: the Roar has officially been Restored in Detroit. The capacity crowd of 63,240 was simply electric. The atmosphere on Sunday was frenzied, the kind of frenzy that ensues when a starving pack of lions finally catch their prey.
The crowd was deafening, causing numerous false starts by the Falcons offensive line and dictating the gigantic swings of momentum throughout the game. Dan Miller, the Lions play-by-play announcer who has witnessed it all, echoed this sentiment on Sunday.
That game was what it was. Nothing new to add. I will say tho that you guys have turned Ford Field into a weapon. It was special today.
— Dan Miller (@DanMillerFox2) September 25, 2017
S Glover Quin
Quin has been the Lions’ best defensive player since he joined the team in 2013, and it isn’t close. Just prior to the season, the team rewarded his efforts by extending his contract through the 2019 season.
The free safety has proven to be Mr. Reliable (no disrespect to you, Mr. Prater, I swear) both in ability and availability. This Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings will be Quin’s 120th consecutive start, one of the longest streaks in the NFL. As far as ability, Quin continues to make plays.
Against the Falcons, Quin’s interception of Matt Ryan just before the end of the first half turned the game around. His awareness is simply off the charts; Quin telegraphed the play from the opposite side of the field from where he actually caught the ball:
He also made several open-field tackles when he was the only thing standing between Devonta Freeman and the end zone. Every time the defense bends, it is Quin who sees to it that it doesn’t break.
Stock Down
TE Eric Ebron
The rising stock of Eric Ebron was short-lived. Every player has a bad week, and last Sunday, Ebron certainly did not endear himself to Lions faithful. After not dropping a single pass in practice all week, he dropped two crucial fourth-quarter passes that Stafford could not placed better if he handed him the ball. One of the drops made more contact with his leg than his hands, which is rarely a recipe for catching the football.
He finished with two catches for a total of nine yards. He will need to bring a much better effort against the Vikings this week. He knows it, sending out this tweet after the game:
Poor Performance by me. I have to learn how to deal with adversity throughout the game. I’ll be on my grind all week see y’all next week
— Ebron85.eth (@Ebron85) September 24, 2017
Run Defense
The Lions’ defense has been one of the best in the league through the first couple weeks of the season, particularly in stopping the run game. That was not the case last Sunday, as the Falcons torched the Lions for 151 yards on the ground.
Next: Lions offense not who we thought they were
The performance was lackluster but expected given the absence of middle linebacker Jarrad Davis, who missed the game due to a concussion. Without Davis’ leadership and athleticism, the combination of linebackers Tahir Whitehead, Paul Worrilow, Nick Bellore, and Jalen Reeves-Maybin struggled to get the job done. Freeman and Tevin Coleman ran unabated into the Lions’ secondary countless times.