Pats @ Lions 2013, then and now.

[MI Nightmare]

Bell running hard.

Yeah, he sure does, and catches the ball well. The #2 RB, IMO. I hope he gets meaningful PT this season.

 

[tpaulus_2]

I hope Montel Owen's knee turns out ok. He looked way more explosive than I was expecting on that first run. He also had a nice tackle inside the 20 on a kickoff.

As a hybrid RB/FB who is good on special teams coverage he fills several roles for us...

 

[Old Lion]

I hope Montel Owen's knee turns out ok. He looked way more explosive than I was expecting on that first run. He also had a nice tackle inside the 20 on a kickoff.

As a hybrid RB/FB who is good on special teams coverage he fills several roles for us...

And would eliminate the need for Leshoure.

 

[Mebert]

And would eliminate the need for Leshoure.

I would hate to get rid of Leshoure. He was very effective at the goal line and has been looking better this year by far.

Bill Barnwell wrote an article about goal line backs that was interesting, and it showed that Leshoure excelled at it.

 

[broncosmitty]

And would eliminate the need for Leshoure.

 

[Microwahevo]

I actually wouldn't give two left testicles if Leshoure was traded. What he can do, Bell can do just as well....and he can catch the ball better too. Bell can run short yardage just as well as Leshoure. There's nothing I see in Leshoure that I can't see in Joique.

 

[tpaulus_2]

Why does it have to be either/or? We have plenty of room for both Bell and Leshoure.

Imo, people need to start letting go of the dated notion that RB should be manned by the "best" back in the group. Look at New England that we just played as an example. They have a 1,200 yard, 10+ TD rusher in Ridley, a versatile #2 in Vareen, a good #3 in Brandon Bolden and they still traded for Blount to add even more depth.

I agree that Bell looks like the better back, but why the feeling that we need to get rid of Leshoure because of that? I thought the idea was to have good depth at every position?

 

[Microwahevo]

I said I wouldn't MIND if we traded him, not that we SHOULD. If we do trade him, we have a very capable, if not more capable backup in Bell. And the way Riddick is playing so far, he seems to be more versatile in the passing game, something our offense is predicated on. Leshoure seems to only be good on short yardage. We have Bell that could do that. Why not see what we could get for Leshoure? Bell costs less also.

 

[tpaulus_2]

I wasn't just responding to your post- there was another back a few calling for us to get rid of him.

I don't think we'd get fair value back, and it's too early to pull the plug on him after just one season. We're going to keep 4 or 5 RBs anyhow, so at this stage I think our best bet is just to be happy with all the depth we have at the position...

 

[Rollingthndr]

No you won't. Backus made one bad play and he was branded a loser(in your eyes) for the rest of his career. He was a mainstay on a terrible coached and staffed O-line for years. He wasn't a mauler in the run game, but he did well to help protect our QBs blindside. He can't block everyone on the D-line. Anywho....I digress.....

Actually I was hating on Backus before that season. Remember the one he gave up 15 sacks the year before and 2 or three of our QB's got injured that year too. I get it was partly scheme with Martz and all. I will give him credit for having a couple nice pass blocking seasons the last two years. He is still not the "all mighty" that half of you guys claimed him to be though.

 

[Rollingthndr]

We'll talk in September....

I hope we do. I actually hope you are right. I want to watch the Lions actually win. But I just don't see it with that guy, sorry.

 

[Microwahevo]

He is still not the "all mighty" that half of you guys claimed him to be
though.

I'd be curious to know what "half" you're describing. I'm not in any group that claimed him to be some All-Pro LT. What I'm saying is he didn't deserve your constant bashing and sad moniker. He was a solid LT for us. He wasn't great, but he was far from shitty.

I just hope your moment of clarity will help you in future references with Lions players. One mistake doesn't make a player a bad player.

 

[gvsulaker82]

Alright positives. Defensive line, they are going to dominate this year. I cant even fathom how ood the defense would be if they could land one stud LB. Sam martin, and special teams as a whole. The kick coverage looked so much better in years past. Akers looks like he may have returned to form of previous seasons although I'm not holding my breath. Negatives, their wide receivers are just awful, awful. They need new receivers 2-6. Failure to score tds on turnovers, this needs to be happening more but the ability of the first team offense to do this has not happened yet, in fact besides reggie there isnt much going on. That should be a huge concern entering the season. I'll stick with the 8-8 prediction. There are way too many holes on this team and the lions are still getting stupid personal fouls. This team will never win with schwartz. Anyhow cbs has them ranked 28th power rankings, thats exactly how useless that site is. The lions are a decent squad.

 

[gvsulaker82]

Am I the only one who thinks the coaching is holding down the talent, and when we have won it's because the talent has overcome the coaching flaws? In other words, I really wonder what a proven/veteran HC could do with guys like Stafford, Suh, Fairley, Ansah, Pettigrew and others. I hate to admit it, but I am constantly feeling like this team has peaked with this staff. They just are what they are. I hope I'm wrong, and RB really has been the missing link, Bush comes in here and we start out something like 5-0 again.

You arent the only one, i think most people agee, hell even tpaul doesnt like schwartz and if tpaul is negative about anything he must be onto sumthin.

 

[gvsulaker82]

Lets see how mikel does this year, coming off such a serious injury and as a rookie on a lne that couldnt block he did poorly. If reiff continues to block like he has and leshoure can get a little space things miht change. He was awful last year but im willing to give him one more year.

 

[gvsulaker82]

Backus was a solid offensive lineman, i dont get the hate either, not sure what else you could ask out of a guy.

 

[Rollingthndr]

What is the deal with Broyles and Willis running with the "twos" ?

Edwards and Burleson looked horrible!

 

[Rollingthndr]

Alright positives. Defensive line, they are going to dominate this year. I cant even fathom how ood the defense would be if they could land one stud LB. Sam martin, and special teams as a whole. The kick coverage looked so much better in years past. Akers looks like he may have returned to form of previous seasons although I'm not holding my breath. Negatives, their wide receivers are just awful, awful. They need new receivers 2-6. Failure to score tds on turnovers, this needs to be happening more but the ability of the first team offense to do this has not happened yet, in fact besides reggie there isnt much going on. That should be a huge concern entering the season. I'll stick with the 8-8 prediction. There are way too many holes on this team and the lions are still getting stupid personal fouls. This team will never win with schwartz. Anyhow cbs has them ranked 28th power rankings, thats exactly how useless that site is. The lions are a decent squad.

Nice post.

Defensive line did look great. Looks like they are going to give Ziggy as many snaps as he can handle this year, with good reason.

Is Ryan Broyles now the single most important role player on the Lions roster now?
The offense certainly needs him.

 

[Rollingthndr]

I just hope your moment of clarity will help you in future references with Lions players. One mistake doesn't make a player a bad player.

Why don't you read the post instead of scanning it, then picking out what you would like to argue.

I said the dude gave up 15 sacks the season before. At least two of our starting QB's got hurt that season too. So before that play ever happened, I knew he was average at best. Dude never went to a pro bowl and never deserved to. Period.

Seriously, this is my last post on the guy. He isn't even on the team anymore.

 

[Old Lion]

What is the deal with Broyles and Willis running with the "twos" ?

Edwards and Burleson looked horrible!

It was hard to tell with Stafford throwing 10 feet over everyone's head, but I agree Nate gets no separation and Edwards has not impressed in the games. Willis still looked decent and so did Broyles. Not sure what happened to Austin and Durham in this game. Didn't see them out there at all. Even Pettigrew looked better. Sheffler woke up for 1 play but did not look good otherwise. Schillens got cut already.

I think we have the same problem with receivers that we did with DEs. The coaches cant except that most of our veterans at the position don't have it anymore. Except for that number 81 guy. He is still pretty good.