Detroit Lions Strategy And Personnel 9-28-11
PLAYER NOTES
--QB Matthew Stafford's arm strength has never been questioned, but he has shown some surprisingly quick feet the last two games. He has been able to make several superb throws on the run. His touchdown pass to TE Tony Scheffler in Week 2 came after a great escape and he created two big plays last Sunday on the run -- the 5-yard touchdown to Calvin Johnson was a broken play and the 40-yarder to Johnson that set up the winning field goal was thrown off his back foot while he was in quick retreat from blitzing LB Chad Greenway.
--RB Jahvid Best will answer questions all week about his 14-yard rushing day Sunday, but he made two huge plays that helped the Lions win. One was a harmless looking screen pass that he broke for 60 yards. The other was his "block" on Greenway on the 40-yard pass to Johnson in overtime. Best was thoroughly trucked on the play, but he got just enough of him to enable Stafford to release the ball.
--WR Calvin Johnson became the only player in NFL history to catch two touchdown passes in the first three weeks of the season. He had seven catches for 108 yards and two scores -- but that doesn't completely capture his impact on the game. "He changes the game," Schwartz said. "He changes the way people play us. When people piut their attention on him, there's room for others to make plays. You get a 60-yard screen pass if you don't have a guy who's that much of a threat on the outside. You don't have a tight end catch 11 passes over the middle if you don't have a player like Calvin on the outside."
--WR Titus Young continues to grow up quickly. After missing most of training camp with a lingering hamstring issue, Young still runs the occasional wrong route or lines up on the wrong side of the formation. But he makes big catches. Of his four catches Sunday, one was a 17-yarder on a third-and-9 play that helped set up a field goal. Another was a 15-yarder on second-and-13 during the game-tying drive. A third was a 17-yarder on the game-winning drive in overtime.
--TE Brandon Pettigrew's 11 catches for 112 yards turned out to be the antidote to the pressure the Vikings front seven was putting on Stafford. The stuffed box disallowed a traditional ground game and dissuaded any deep drops for the passing game. Thus, Stafford went to quick, control passes to Pettigrew and the Lions were able to score 26 second-half points.
--DT Sammie Hill had an interesting day. He was called for a questionable roughing the passer penalty on Donovan McNabb, even though he never knocked McNabb off his feet. Then he chased RB Adrian Peterson some 40 yards downfield and, because he couldn't slow his momentum, wound up nailing him after he stepped out of bounds. Another 15-yard penalty. "That's just a 330-pound guy hustling down field," Schwartz said. "He was trying to get something for running 40 yards down field."
--CB Aaron Berry (groin) took treatment on Tuesday. His status will be revealed on Wednesday. If he can't play, CB Brandon McDonald would likely step into the nickel back role.
--LB Isaiah Ekejiuba, a key special teams player, will likely miss at least a couple of weeks with a shoulder injury. He was undergoing tests on Tuesday, but Schwartz indicated the injury looked serious.
--WR Rashied Davis (hamstring), one of the gunners on the coverage units, is expected to return to practice this week.
--DT Ndamukong Suh had a busy day Sunday. He was on the field for 91 percent of the defensive snaps. He produced a sack, a quarterback hit, six hurries and he deflected a pass.
--RT Gosder Cherilus was benched in favor of Corey Hilliard after just two series Sunday, though neither had much success containing Vikings DE Brian Robison. Coach Jim Schwartz would not say what the plan was at that position going forward, but it could end up being a weekly battle. "We need to be more effective at that position," he said. "I will just leave it at that."
--P Ryan Donahue, a rookie, enjoyed kicking in the climate-controlled Mall of America Field Sunday. His average hang time on seven punts was 4.65. His average yardage was 46.4.
REPORT CARD VS. VIKINGS
PASSING OFFENSE
B -- Points will be deducted for the five sacks, but Matthew Stafford brought his team back from a 20-point deficit for the second time in 16 pro starts. After a slow start, he defused the Vikings' blitz with a short, controlled passing attack and wound up throwing for 378 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover. He used TE Brandon Pettigrew (11 catches, 112 yards) as his release point against the blitz and when the Vikings tried to cheat, he burned them deep to Calvin Johnson (7 for 108, both touchdowns) and to rookie Titus Young (4 for 51).
RUSHING OFFENSE
D -- Pettigrew was the rushing offense. Jahvid Best was the leading ball carrier with 14 yards in 12 carries. The point of attack blocking was really poor in this game.
PASS DEFENSE
B -- They harassed Donovan McNabb throughout the game (four sacks, six hits) and gave him very little to work with down field.
RUSH DEFENSE
B -- It's a little hard to grade. When the Vikings used RB Adrian Peterson, he had success (73 yards in the first half). But he only carried it five times (for five yards) in the second. The play of the game, though, was a stop on fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter with the Vikings in field goal range and up by three points. DTs Corey Williams and Ndamukong Suh collapsed the interior wall and fullback Toby Gerhard had to bounce outside. DE Kyle Vanden Bosch drilled him for a loss.
SPECIAL TEAMS
C -- The four field goals by Jason Hanson (28, 50, 40, 32) and the booming punts of rookie Ryan Donahue (4.65 hang time and 46.4-yard average) offset some horrendous coverage. Missing two key special teams players (Rashied Davis, hamstring, and Isaiah Ekejiuba, shoulder), the Lions allowed a 68-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter and a 53-yard punt return at the end of the first half that led to a touchdown.
COACHING
B -- Again, superb in-game adjustments, particularly by offensive coordinator Scott Linehan. The offense had to deal with deafening crowd noise that hindered play-calling at the line and snap counts, and they had to alter the plan to neutralize the aggression of the Vikings' defensive ends and blitzing linebackers. Linehan smartly used spread formations so QB Matthew Stafford could better read where the blitzes were coming from and where his outlets would be.
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