Did The Lions Play The Worst Hail Mary Defense Of All Time?
(CBS) Grand superlatives and extreme criticisms are thrown around often in today's day and age. In an era of a short attention span and social media, we fire hot takes out and make grand proclamations on the spot.
So we ask this question about the ending of the Packers' 27-23 win against the Lions on Thursday night with a grain of salt involved and some perspective, but we ask it nonetheless because it was so egregious: Did Detroit play the worst Hail Mary defense of all time in Thursday's frantic finish?
A quick recap, not that you need it: A facemask penalty by Lions defensive end Devin Taylor on Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers with no time remaining on the clock gave Green Bay one untimed down from its own 39-yard-line while it trailed 23-21. On the ensuing play, Rodgers bought time, scrambled right and unfurled a throw that reached heights rarely seen. On the other end, tight end Richard Rodgers -- tasked with being in the rebound-type position for a tipped ball -- tracked the ball without a defender checking him, positioned himself well, high-pointed the ball and secured it with two hands for the game-winning score.
While the Packers did their jobs well, we have to ask what on earth were the Lions doing?
Here's the case for it being the worst Hail Mary defense of all time.
1) The Lions had two defenders lined up shallow and on the boundary to start the play. They appeared to be expecting a multi-lateral play, even though a Hail Mary, by all accounts, would be more dangerous. You know, because the ball would be descending into the area needed to reach to end the game. That left a situation in which five receivers were battling six defensive backs when it could've been five-on-eight.
2) The Lions rushed three players. That allowed Rodgers to buy time, scramble right without incident and then get forward momentum to get enough power on his thrown. Why don't teams ever rush four -- or even five -- players in a Hail Mary situation? The offensive team is at a huge disadvantage if the receivers don't have time to get to the end zone. How often has a team lost because it sent a light blitz in a Hail Mary situation, dropped six defenders really deep and then couldn't make a tackle after the offensive team threw a 10-yard slant play?
3) Lions receiver Calvin Johnson, a physical speciman and one of the most athletic players in the NFL, was watching from the sidelines. Throughout his career, it hasn't been unusual for him morph into a defensive back in such situations. So why wasn't he on the field as a defender to pursue the jump ball? Detroit coach Jim Caldwell was expecting a lateral play.
"In that situation, we have a couple of different things that we do," Caldwell told reporters. "That was one where we were looking more for that pass back-and-forth kind of thing, because of the range. He (Aaron Rodgers) ran around there so long, moved up, gave himself a chance to get it in the end zone.
"We had plenty of guys back there. We had plenty of guys. We just didn't make the play. They did."
4) That brings us to our last point -- the Lions' defensive backs were as passive as they could be on the Hail Mary. No one made a play because no one pursued the ball hard or tried to high point. In a situation in which you know what's coming and a play in which pass interference is rarely called, that's inexcusable.
[tweet https://twitter.com/NFL/status/672637982122217472]
So, did the Lions play the worst Hail Mary defense of all time? We're open to hearing suggestions to worse defense, but Thursday night will be tough to top.