Team Grades: Matthew Stafford Benched As Detroit Lions Stomped By Arizona Cardinals
By Danny Cox
Matthew Stafford was benched midway through the third quarter as the Detroit Lions trailed the Arizona Cardinals 35-7. Dan Orlovsky came in for about a quarter and a half, and honestly didn't play that badly while the Lions outscored the Cardinals 10-7 during his time on the field.
Still, it was far too little, too late as Detroit dropped to 0-5 in what can only be seen as an embarrassing loss that had fans shaking their heads and players wondering what else could possibly go wrong.
Offense: F
This was just a bad display all around. Detroit turned the ball over six times, which consisted of two lost fumbles and four interceptions, three of which were by Stafford. The two quarterbacks were a combined 41-of-70 passing for 379 yards with two touchdowns and four picks. Ameer Abdullah had 17 yards on six carries while Zach Zenner had 30 yards on 10 carries in the running game. Zenner came in after Abdullah fumbled twice and was also benched.
Detroit did have over 400 yards of total offense, but it essentially meant nothing.
Defense: F
Not a single turnover could be forced and the Lions chalked up just one sack. They were able to hold the Cardinals under 400 yards of total offense and Detroit even had a 13-minute edge in time of possession, but that was due to the constant short-fields that Arizona had due to the turnovers.
It's not entirely the defense's fault that they got a failing grade, since the offense kept giving the Cardinals the ball all day. Still, the defense could do nothing to stop them.
Special Teams: B
This was really the only aspect of the team that played well. Matt Prater hit his long field goal attempt and nailed both extra points. Sam Martin had a good punting average and downed three inside of Arizona's 20-yard-line. The kickoff return game wasn't even bad, but it wasn't enough.
Coaching: F
Jim Caldwell is officially the next coach on the hot seat, and it's not hard to understand why. The Lions got a big boost this week from the returns of Brandon Pettigrew on offense and DeAndre Levy on defense, but still nothing went right. Now, the starting quarterback was benched halfway through the game and star wide receiver Calvin Johnson was underused yet again.
If the Detroit Lions want to match last year's record and even come close to sniffing the playoffs, they would have to win out from this point and that seems virtually impossible. Not every team on their schedule is a contender, but they can't hang with anyone and even just one victory would be nice right now.
Danny Cox knows a little something about the NFL, whether it means letting you know what penalty will come from the flag just thrown on the field or quickly spouting off who the Chicago Bears drafted in the first round of the 1987 draft (Jim Harbaugh). He plans on bringing you the best news, previews, recaps, and anything else that may come along with the exciting world of the National Football League. Danny is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
