Detroit Lions report card for week 5 loss to the Carolina Panthers
By Rick Galda
Positional group report card for the Detroit Lions week 5 loss home against the Carolina Panthers.
Offense
Quarterback
Matthew Stafford was hit hard and often the entire game. With little to no protection for most of the game his stats suffered. His final line, 23-35 for 229 and two TDs was not reflective of his performance. The yards and TDs came in a comeback effort that fell short. He was constantly pressured and sustained injuries to his ankle and upper leg. His low grade here is less a reflection of his play as it is the circumstances surrounding it.
Grade: C
Wide Receiver
Marvin Jones was better this week. He made a couple nice catches throughout the game and hopefully his chemistry with Stafford will grow. Golden Tate was quiet most of the day less a crucial drop that would have given the Lions a first down and kept a drive alive early in the game. Promising rookie Kenny Golladay missed the game with injury.
Grade: C+
Tight End
Eric Ebron seems to be regressing weekly and dropped an early TD pass that left the Lions with a made field goal. As the game progressed he lost snaps to Darren Fells who hauled in two red zone catches for TDs. This is a tough grade because the two players are so far apart in their performance.
Grade: C
Running Back
Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick and Zach Zenner failed to impress in the running game. Abdullah received the bulk of the work and struggled the entire game less one 16 yard carry. Riddick was involved in the passing game and resembled the back who caught 50+ balls the past two years.
Grade: C-
Offensive Line
The offensive line continues to drag the offense down. The run blocking is bad, the pass protection is non-existent. Stafford was hit continually throughout the game and sacked 6 times. If this unit does not right the ship, they may not have a starting QB once Taylor Decker returns from injury to shore things up.
Grade: F
Defense
Defensive Line
NFL games are won in the trenches and the defensive line looks lost at times. They are better in the running game than the passing game, however this is a passing league. The line was not able to consistently put pressure on Cam Newton who easily had his best game of the year. Ezekiel Ansah is still battling injury and unless someone steps up to rush the passer the opposing QBs are going to have good days.
Grade: C-
Linebacker
Jarrad Davis was back this week and made some nice impact plays. Tahir Whitehead was quiet but solid against the run. It would be nice to see this unit more active pursuing the play and finishing with tackles. Neither Davis or Whitehead appear to be able to cover a tight end at this point in the year. Look for opposition to take advantage of this going forward.
Grade: C+
Secondary
Darius Slay continues to be the best player on the Lions defense. He breaks up passes, hustles when the ball is in the air to aid other secondary positions, and has been very good in the run game. Glover Quin remains solid in both coverage and the running game. This is the best unit on either side of the ball for the Lions right now. Despite Cam Newton’s solid day, pass coverage cannot be solely blamed with no pass rush from the front four.
Grade: B
Special Teams
The return game was absent this week with a single punt return and one kickoff return. Jeff Locke was steady, and Matt Prater connected on his single field goal attempt of the day. The bottom line is Prater is solid, Locke is doing a nice job for the injured Sam Martin, but the return game needs to be better.
Grade: B-
Next: Lions game balls for week 5
Coaching
Jim Bob Cooter may have reached the point in his career with the Lions where he needs to move on. Cooter is supposed to be a QB guy, and early on he seemed to really help Stafford, but as of now his play calling seems predictable. Of course, with a bad offensive line maybe his creativeness is stifled. Hopefully there is improvement when the offensive line gets healthy. Teryl Austin will remain a head coaching candidate if the defense trends positive this year. Jim Caldwell seems to be liked by his players, but you have to wonder what GM Bob Quinn thinks at this point, remember Caldwell is not his guy.
Grade: C