Game 1 thoughts.........

[TrustMeIamRight]

1. I said after I went to the Lions practice that Stafford looked thinner. He performed like it last night, showing off nimble feet we haven't seen much of the last couple years. If he can extend plays like that, with the weapons he has on offense -- Detroit is going to be very dangerous.

2. Megatron is an absolute beast. Not that we didn't know this already, but we are truly blessed getting to watch this guy play each week. He may go down as the best WR to ever play the game if he continues to play.

3. Props to the Lions for cleaning it up in the 2nd half. After halftime -- I believe they weren't flagged the rest of the game. 1st half was really ugly in that department though, as the Giants were given 7 points and we took points off the board on one our own drives. If they continue to clean this up -- once again the Lions will be a tough out for anyone.

4. The play of the Lions front 7 was tremendous. I know it is just the Giants, but they looked really good and were very disruptive. Hopefully this trend continues with the new defensive scheme.

5. Our OL is going to need to be much better going forward. They did well on the last TD drive, but at one point, we had 15 carries for 14 yards. It could be the new offensive scheme they are going to have to get used to and it may take time for them to gel. Hopefully this is something that will improve in the upcoming games. They will get a stiff test next week against Carolina, who has one of the best front 7's in all of football.

6. Golden Tate is going to help the Lions tremendously. The guy just catches everything thrown his way. A couple of the balls he caught yesterday to extend drives -- I'm not sure they would have been catches last year. The best example is the slant on 3rd down where Stafford threw a bullet about knee high to Tate and he secured it and picked up the first down. I was very impressed with his play.

7. Having Bentley go down may be a blessing for the Lions. Nevin Lawson looked very good covering one of the better WRs in the NFL (Victor Cruz). Even the catches he did make -- Lawson was all over him.

8. It is only game 1 and we have seen this before, as the Lions have won their opener for 4 straight years. I really hope going forward the culture in the lockerroom has changed and they keep this going for the entire season.

9. George Johnson -- He was cut by multiple teams, but all he has done since signing with the Lions is make plays. I have no idea where he went to college or how long he has been in the NFL, but he is a nice addition as he gets after it when he is in the game.

10. I still absolutely hate the Eric Ebron draft pick. I said after we drafted him that a team with Megatron, Tate, Bush, Bell, Pettigrew, Fauria, etc. didn't need a one dimensional TE to run vertical routes with a top 10 pick.

Sorry to bring up the last comment -- the rest of it was all positive though. I think Detroit looks really good and if they continue to progress under the new schemes -- they have a shot to get to the playoffs.

 

[obxyankeefan]

I didn't get to watch much of the game last night. Family vacations can be a bitch on sports viewing. But I wanted to touch on number five.

The Giants under Coughlin have always had a good DL (saw Beason playing for them), could this be part of the poor rushing stats?

 

[Naughtymax]

the poor O-Line play was what jumped out at me. Stafford was under pressure a lot from what is an above-average, but not elite, front 7, and the run blocking was brutal.

I'm happy with the win and the fact that the team actually seemed to make adjustments at half-time, a big change from last year.

I don't want to get too excited, though, since the Giants will be one of the bottom-5 teams in football this year.

 

[Thruthefog]

Stafford's footwork last night was a night and day comparison from the past. I'll have to find someone else's ass to ride.

At the time when one would figure it would be toughest to run, the Lions started pounding the football up the Giants' ass. Don't quite know what to make of the running game.

Eric Ebron is looking better and better. He was almost able to reach out and touch that one pass.

The offense better get it in gear. 35 measly points. If they don't pick it up, the Lions will have a hard time winning when teams start putting the 40-spot on them every game.

 

[lionstop1]

Not sure if the Giants are a bottom 5 team. Anyways, everything said here is pretty accurate. The Ebron thing will alw a be highlighted in cases where he didnt do much. He definitely helps make the offense a very intriguing one though as he still threatens a defense. He had a few opportunities that got away.

 

[Old Lion]

The offense better get it in gear. 35 measly points. If they don't pick it up, the Lions will have a hard time winning when teams start putting the 40-spot on them every game.

I hope you are being sarcastic here. Most teams capable of holding the Lions to 35 do not have offenses good enough to put up 40 on us

 

[lionstop1]

I think most are discrediting the Giants run defense. They were a top ten defense last year and I wouldn't expect to be able to run and pass at will against those guys. They did well closing off running lanes and calling plays that kept the run in check.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

I think most are discrediting the Giants run defense. They were a top ten defense last year and I wouldn't expect to be able to run and pass at will against those guys. They did well closing off running lanes and calling plays that kept the run in check.

Lionstop -- I didn't mean to come off as discrediting the Giants defense. They do have a solid front 4 and they are a better than average team against the run.

My issues with the OL was -- there were no running lanes for Bush and Bell. They were getting hit in the back field and the OL was getting no push at all. ESPN even pointed out the same thing and they were loving all over the Lions offense the rest of the time.

As was stated by someone in this thread already -- the one time I thought the Lions were going to have issues running the ball, when the Giants KNEW they were going to run it -- Detroit finally had a couple good runs on that last drive.

One thing I forgot to give props to the Lions for in my OP. They had ZERO DROPPED PASSES last night. That is HUGE, after averaging almost 3 a game last year.

If the Lions can stay out of their own way with mistakes -- they are going to be very dangerous.

 

[Kreton]

3. Props to the Lions for cleaning it up in the 2nd half. After halftime -- I believe they weren't flagged the rest of the game. 1st half was really ugly in that department though, as the Giants were given 7 points and we took points off the board on one our own drives. If they continue to clean this up -- once again the Lions will be a tough out for anyone.

The penalties didnt bother me on that drive where the refs gave the Giants 7 points. The 3 that I remember from that drive were not really bone head penalties.

The Fairly hands to the face, his hands never actually touched the guys face.
The roughing the kicker the Lions guy (forgot name) was blocked and fell backward into the kicker.
Slay PI was I guess PI but I like him contesting the ball. This one was the only one of the 3 that was legit but its a thin line between PI and good D. That play was barely over that line.

5. Our OL is going to need to be much better going forward. They did well on the last TD drive, but at one point, we had 15 carries for 14 yards. It could be the new offensive scheme they are going to have to get used to and it may take time for them to gel. Hopefully this is something that will improve in the upcoming games. They will get a stiff test next week against Carolina, who has one of the best front 7's in all of football.

The O line run blocking was bad. The yards at the end were padding them so the numbers were worse than they looked. We had no holes. On the flip side pass protection was decent.

10. I still absolutely hate the Eric Ebron draft pick. I said after we drafted him that a team with Megatron, Tate, Bush, Bell, Pettigrew, Fauria, etc. didn't need a one dimensional TE to run vertical routes with a top 10 pick.

I was really hoping drafting Ebron was going to push Pettigrew off the team, in which case I liked the pick. But Pettigrew is still a Lion so I am disliking the pick more each day. The only positive I took from Ebron last night was that he was drawing attention when he was out there. Giants kept one or two guys watching him pretty closely all night which had to have helped get CJ and Tate open some.

 

[RobBase]

The run blocking looked bad because Railoa is at the end of his rope.

Fauria has that intense desire some people are just born with. He plays angry. He's gonna be awesome this year.

Ebron did draw attention away from CJ and Tate, but I really expected a lot more out of him than we saw.

Stafford looks the best he's ever looked. He looks like a kid starring down a McDonald's menu out there. He had a lot of time back there, and his new lateral moves are going to really improve his game. His rushing TD was one of the baddest runs I've ever seen an NFL QB make.

CBs played better than I expected, but how much of that was Eli, idk.

Suh continues to be the engine that runs the defense. He creates to many opportunities for the guys around him it's hard to imagine life without him.

If the Draft was next week I would want two new pieces in the secondary, preferably a new CB and a new SS. Then a LG and a MLB to groom.

 

[lionscanWIN]

TMIR i completely agree with you man great rundown. 2 points though

this is george johnson's 4th year he was cut by like two or 3 other teams. espn did a nice write up about him before the game. he was kind of a sqeaker who was ready to retire before we called him up and now he is playing like there is no tomorrow. so yeah nice guy.

as for the run game yeah we were not getting anything resembling good push early for it but the giants front is still a top 10 front. it is definitely something the staff will work on but i dont see our run blocking as a huge negative; especially with the way we were able to clinch the game with solid holes and runs.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

this is george johnson's 4th year he was cut by like two or 3 other teams. espn did a nice write up about him before the game. he was kind of a sqeaker who was ready to retire before we called him up and now he is playing like there is no tomorrow. so yeah nice guy.

as for the run game yeah we were not getting anything resembling good push early for it but the giants front is still a top 10 front. it is definitely something the staff will work on but i dont see our run blocking as a huge negative; especially with the way we were able to clinch the game with solid holes and runs.

Yeah -- I had never even heard of the guy until I watched a little bit of a preseason game and he was all over the place. I didn't put too much thought into it, as it is preseason, but he looked good in his time on the field last night. Reminds me of a Willie Young type of player. High motor/high energy guy, who makes the most of his snaps when he is in the lineup.

And I give the Lions OL props for the last drive. I also liked the play calling too, as they mixed the run and pass, instead of just running it up the middle over and over to run the clock. That being said -- I do still see it as a red flag (though not a big one), as it was the only drive they had anywhere to run the ball. The rest of the game -- the Giants were hitting our RB's in the backfield and they didn't even have a shot to gain yards. I think that is why you saw them go to Bell, who is more of a north south runner and can push the pile for extra yards.

As I said though -- it was game 1 of a long season. Waddle went down and Hilliard took over. It is a new offense with slightly different blocking schemes. So it we can't expect perfection. Hopefully over time and a few more games to get acclimated to the new offense, the OL will pick up their game play.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

The penalties didnt bother me on that drive where the refs gave the Giants 7 points. The 3 that I remember from that drive were not really bone head penalties.

The Fairly hands to the face, his hands never actually touched the guys face.
The roughing the kicker the Lions guy (forgot name) was blocked and fell backward into the kicker.
Slay PI was I guess PI but I like him contesting the ball. This one was the only one of the 3 that was legit but its a thin line between PI and good D. That play was barely over that line.

I agree. Those penalties are avoidable, but they were definitely penalties. The one I agree with you on is the "roughing the kicker". ESPN confirmed with the in house referee that it was the correct call by the refs, even though I disagree, as he was blocked into the kicker.

Fairley's was an easy call -- he almost took the guys helmet off. Not sure if you watched ESPN or Channel 7, but ESPN showed a replay after the flag and it was an easy call for the ref to make. I was yelling BS at the TV until they showed the replay.

Slay's was also blatant. He wasn't flagged for contesting the pass. He was called for grabbing the WR's jersey. As with the Fairley penalty -- I was screaming at the TV again calling BS, but the replay showed it was definitely the right call.

In the end -- Detroit righted the ship. No penalties in the 2nd half and no drops for the entire game.

 

[lionstop1]

The Lions have something that they havent had in a long time with their offensive depth. The Lions have options which allow them to find favorable matchups every week. The 3-TE set with CJ was terrific and I was also intrigued about them playing Fuller over the other guys.

 

[Cleaves2000]

They looked great...BUT i gotta remember this was the giants....AT HOME....i think everyone expected us to win this one and next week.....just gotta play good against the better teams and play the whole 16 games..

 

[Cleaves2000]

Tate looks like the go to man on crucial 3rd downs....

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

Tate looks like the go to man on crucial 3rd downs....

Agreed. It gives Detroit a 2nd option and also gives them a guy with great hands. I was really impressed by his overall game last night.

Not to beat a dead horse, but after watching Tate, I hate the Ebron pick even more, which I didn't think was possible. I'd be surprised to see Ebron reach the 35-40 catch plateau this year.

 

[lionstop1]

But....Ebron helps Tate get open.

On the first td to CJ, Tate got behind the defense and was wide open just before Stafford started moving around. Tate was having his way all game.

 

[lionstop1]

That five-wide that the Lions went to several times is scary. I couldn't see exactly who was lined up where but I know Ebron and CJ were on the inside a few times and Tate at others.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

But....Ebron helps Tate get OPEN.

Ebron was only in the game for 20 snaps all game. Fauria and Pettigrew both were on the field for more snaps (Fauria 30, Pettigrew 39).

So while I agree -- he may open it up for the offense in the future. He was used in less than 1/3 of the offensive plays last night.