Studs and Duds vs The Lions

milani

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What you see, as a fan, on TV, isn't necessarily the reality of how the game was played, based on the assignments players have been given on a play by play basis. Fans tend to concentrate directly on the play, where the ball is, and see nothing else because of this tunnel vision. Although they aren't always accurate, the PFF rankings do take into consideration a lot of things that you don't see during a play, much of which takes place "off camera." So, when you say someone is ******** up out there, or playing great, they might look good on specific plays but bomb out on a lot of plays where you don't see the mistakes they make in their assignments.

A perfect example of the false reads on seeing plays is how Nixon played. He actually stepped up and handled the assignments in an increased role. Also, even though I did see some mistakes, I thought Zayne Anderson and Eric Stokes did reasonably well. They weren't in the top five, nor in the bottom 5, but held up well enough that the Lions couldn't make it a runaway.

PFF Ratings:

Top 5 offense

1. QB Jordan Love: 83.8

2. WR Dontayvion Wicks: 78.6

3. LG Elgton Jenkins: 72.9

4. RT Zach Tom: 72.0

5. RB Chris Brooks: 69.3

Bottom 5 offense

1. C Josh Myers: 37.1
2. TE Ben Sims: 43.5
3. WR Jayden Reed: 44.5
4. WR Christian Watson: 56.3
5. TE Tucker Kraft: 61.2

Top 5 defense

1. DL Kenny Clark: 80.1
2. CB Keisean Nixon: 76.4
3. DE Arron Mosby: 76.4
4. DL Devonte Wyatt: 73.9
5. DE Lukas Van Ness: 68.4


Bottom 5 defense


1. CB Javon Bullard: 30.0
2. DL Colby Wooden: 41.2
3. DL TJ Slaton: 46.9
4. DE Brenton Cox Jr: 47.9
5. DL Karl Brooks: 51.6
I think Myers contribution to the team is simply that his exchange to Love is consistent. Other than that I think we look at another center in the offseason either by draft or free agency. He just gets manhandled in the run game. The Packers have had a history of pretty darn good centers going back to Holmgren. I think we need one now.
 

rmontro

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Nope. It's not "petty" when the play in question is clear, obvious, textbook OPI that results in the ball being immediately put in easy FG range in the final seconds instead of the other side of the 50 where it should be. When two good teams play it's usually close. If you think officials don't affect games, you're extremely naive.
Well, they can always make a complaint to the NFL, and see how far that gets them. :laugh:

I agree the officiating was sketchy, and that's unfortunate, but it happens, especially if you're the visiting team. On the other hand, if you look at the stats, they did outplay us - 27 first downs to 17, and TOP 36:06 to 23:54. They had more yards rushing and passing, and the turnovers were offsetting.
 

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Going thru the threads here just one observation, even with all the negatives people mentioned, the officials, the bad calls, the missed calls, the defense, no pass rush, goff had to much time, the center of the field was to open, not enough depth etc etc etc even with all that we lost by 3 pts to a team that had been whompung the heck out of almost every other team they faced. We basically kept pace with one of the most potent offenses in the nfl this year so even with all the bad things mentioned, to me.. not to shabby of a result. They happened to get the last possession and made good use of it. Maybe the next time we meet them things might be a little different
the lions D is decimated with injuries. Imagine if Hutchinson is there. The offensive prowess in Detroit is pretty amazing. We are still the youngest team in the league. Our D players were beaten up by games end. Its regular season. Not peaking now and peaking later is the ticket if possible.
 

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the lions D is decimated with injuries. Imagine if Hutchinson is there. The offensive prowess in Detroit is pretty amazing. We are still the youngest team in the league. Our D players were beaten up by games end. Its regular season. Not peaking now and peaking later is the ticket if possible.
I agree with what you say about the lions. Not sure I agree about our D. The line was still playing tough at the end of the game. Our problem imho was that their receivers were just too open. We were not able to cover them tight which we will have to do. We were giving them 7 and 8 yards and then they could do what they wanted to get a first down. Nobody was really taking backs out of the backfield. We were just watching them and then going to get them after the catch. But that was after a decent gain. At some point we are going to have to realize that against good teams; the bend don't break idea (and waiting for them to make a mistake) is just not good enough. But I can't say enough about how well the D line is playing the run. We have a lot of intensity there. And the linebackers are doing good in coming up for support. Now we should realize that the LBs also have to look at backs and slots going out for short passes. Not easy but I think necessary. I would think the time to do that is when they can determine it's play action. Backing up to cover an area seems to be leaving a hole earlier and they still don't really seem to be able to back up enough to be effective anyway. So play tight and have some confidence in the DBs. Starters or not.
As far as peaking. I agree that this last game was not our super bowl. But we probably need to start playing like super bowl winners starting with beating the seahawks. Being young or being hurt in the secondary isn't a good enough excuse for letting the other team march down the field. We have improved immensely for not letting them churn up yards on the ground. Now we have to play the underneath pass tighter too. By the LBs looking for open receivers short when they see it's play action. Not just backing up. GoPackGo!
 

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I agree with what you say about the lions. Not sure I agree about our D. The line was still playing tough at the end of the game. Our problem imho was that their receivers were just too open. We were not able to cover them tight which we will have to do. We were giving them 7 and 8 yards and then they could do what they wanted to get a first down. Nobody was really taking backs out of the backfield. We were just watching them and then going to get them after the catch. But that was after a decent gain. At some point we are going to have to realize that against good teams; the bend don't break idea (and waiting for them to make a mistake) is just not good enough. But I can't say enough about how well the D line is playing the run. We have a lot of intensity there. And the linebackers are doing good in coming up for support. Now we should realize that the LBs also have to look at backs and slots going out for short passes. Not easy but I think necessary. I would think the time to do that is when they can determine it's play action. Backing up to cover an area seems to be leaving a hole earlier and they still don't really seem to be able to back up enough to be effective anyway. So play tight and have some confidence in the DBs. Starters or not.
As far as peaking. I agree that this last game was not our super bowl. But we probably need to start playing like super bowl winners starting with beating the seahawks. Being young or being hurt in the secondary isn't a good enough excuse for letting the other team march down the field. We have improved immensely for not letting them churn up yards on the ground. Now we have to play the underneath pass tighter too. By the LBs looking for open receivers short when they see it's play action. Not just backing up. GoPackGo!
Agreed. The biggest weakness on D, imo, is the CB group. JA rarely plays, or so it seems, Stokes is JAG, and the rest are about the same as Stokes. They seem to be afraid of wrapping up and so miss a lot of tackles. Gluten will have to try and rework this group as he did with the safeties last offseason.

But allowing short passes of 7 or 8 yards on first down is a great way for opponents to "stay in front of the sticks". That's the problem with zone defense and I'm a little surprised Hafley seems to run it so much (although it may just be a lack of talent at CB).

And the D line has been criticized for lack of a pass rush, although that has certainly gotten better in the last month. They have been terrific at stopping the run, just look at the numbers against McCaffrey and then the Fins. They do need a stud DE, and maybe Gary is still that guy. But other than the CBs, the D has played better than it did under Barry.

As for the playoffs, and even with a win on Thursday, it's unlikely they'll get more than a 5th or 6th. They are on a solid track for a wild card, and should win 3 of their last 4 games. And we know from last year they play well on the road in the playoffs.
 

Heyjoe4

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i know we have our injuries, but it's still frustrating to see our problems in the secondary, considering Hafley is a secondary specialist.
The CB group specifically has been disappointing. That's a shame because Gluten did such a great job of reworking the S group with McKinney, Williams, and Bullard.

He'll have to do the same for the CB group after this season. But right now it's an achilles heel. JA plays great but he's injured a lot and seems afraid to tackle when he does play. Stokes has turned out to be JAG and this is likely his last year in GB. Nixon plays well on occasion and Ballentine/Valentine, I don't remember which, are ok. But no one stands out. They need a shutdown corner and that's probably gonna be done through FA, and then the draft (I know - again.....).

Hafley just hasn't been given much to work with. He has to run zone because the current CBs aren't athletic enough to play man. It's a problem but it's not gonna get fixed this year unless guys step up.
 

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Thanks for the level-headed response V. I'm not feeling as gracious, so you calmed me down,

But the winner last night was the Lions because they wanted it just a little more right from the start.

I hope there is a 3rd game, ideally the NFCCG. One thing seems clear, the path to the SB goes right through De
I'm sorry Heyjoe, but saying one team wants a win more than the other one is just plain silly IMO. The didn't walk around missing tackles and half ***ing it. They made mistakes. Some of them were very frustrating but that's not the same as Not Wanting it Enough.
 

Heyjoe4

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I'm sorry Heyjoe, but saying one team wants a win more than the other one is just plain silly IMO. The didn't walk around missing tackles and half ***ing it. They made mistakes. Some of them were very frustrating but that's not the same as Not Wanting it Enough.
Yeah that's probably correct and just a poor choice of words on my part. Mistakes were made by both coaching and the players of the Packers. I think the Lions had a better game plan on both offense and defense. On offense Goff consistently threw short passes for 7 or 8 yard gains, always staying ahead of the sticks. On defense, the DC knew he was short a lot of starters, and so just had them blitzing a lot more often than usual. And it worked early in the game.

MLF adjusted the game plan - after starting out with a heavy dose of passing, which didn't work given the Lions blitzing, they got back to running the ball. That alone may have been the difference in the game.

But yeah, both teams certainly wanted to win. Detroit had a slightly better game plan, and the Packers had just a few untimely mistakes and penalties.
 

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MLF adjusted the game plan - after starting out with a heavy dose of passing, which didn't work given the Lions blitzing, they got back to running the ball. That alone may have been the difference in the game.
This was my biggest issue of the game. Jacobs had only 3 carries in the 1st 3 series. First play on offense was a sack, result in a 3 and out. 2nd series, 1 first down on a pass interference call. 3rd series the fumble by Watson. After those 3 opening series, we were trailing 10-0, by the time we got the ball again. Then the Packers scored on 5 of their last 6 possessions ( minus the one play kneel down to end the 1st half).
 

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This was my biggest issue of the game. Jacobs had only 3 carries in the 1st 3 series. First play on offense was a sack, result in a 3 and out. 2nd series, 1 first down on a pass interference call. 3rd series the fumble by Watson. After those 3 opening series, we were trailing 10-0, by the time we got the ball again. Then the Packers scored on 5 of their last 6 possessions ( minus the one play kneel down to end the 1st half).
The Lions overplayed the run early in the game. I understand why. LeFleur has used Jacobs more in the first quarter than most people would think he'd do. This has been done repeatedly, regardless of what team is across from them. Campbell decided that since that was more than likely coming, he played for the run, and LeFleur had to leave a lot of his scripted plays out because of it.

But for some reason, after it happened, LeFleur seemed somewhat reluctant about going back to the running game, opting to lean more on the passing game. I'd imagine that the fact that Josh wasn't getting much yardage on most of those runs, he figured the match up was bad.

Still, I quite honestly like putting the ball in his hands, because he's a downhill runner, who rarely gets pushed back.
 

Sanguine camper

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the lions D is decimated with injuries. Imagine if Hutchinson is there. The offensive prowess in Detroit is pretty amazing. We are still the youngest team in the league. Our D players were beaten up by games end. Its regular season. Not peaking now and peaking later is the ticket if possible.
I'm afraid what you saw against the Lions is the Packers "peak". It's just that the peak is more of a foothill than a mountain. After 13 games, this is the Packers version of 2024. A few players have played well but most of the roster has been a big disappointment. Does anyone really think LVN, Brooks, Enagbar and Wyatt are going to turn things around at this stage of the season and begin to be a force? Are Stokes and Valentine going to be making any noticeable improvement and is Alexander all of a sudden going to be durable? The answer to those questions is not likely.
 
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Don't we have to blame your man C. Watson for that?
First of all they are ALL my guys. The Packers are like a Christmas ghost that I like. Packers of Past, present n future are all “My guys”.

Secondly, the answer is No. Christian Watson did plenty to help us Win. Not sure if you are aware? The Watson flag is contrary to the NFL rule book. Christian Watson hit a player at exactly the 5 yard line and we started at the 6. Pass interference clearly states you have a full yard PAST LOS (until the 5 yard line) to blow a player off his feet if desired. While he attempting to avoid the player (because it clearly is not a pick play) the other player smashed into him. Watson actually can block that player at the 5 yard line it’s 100% legal. It was a mistake by the Referee who did not know the rule book. I can only assume he partly knew the rule but didn’t understand its past LOS, it’s basically at the 4 yard or into the Paint and a line judge should know that and picked up the flag or he shouldn’t be wearing stripes. Poor officiating that changed the outcome of an important game. It would be like saying you only had 1 foot in bounds when you had both while in the Paint and called back a TD, it’s not even debatable it’s on film.

Christian Watson owned 55.3% of the total pie of our Passing game.
4/7 57.4% 115 yards. Pacing that production across a 17 game season that would be a WR putting up 45 yards shy of a 2,000 season. I’m not going to fault a WR for playing aggressive and trying to add to his 115 yard total. Watson is tough as nails and he rarely fumbles I’m not going to pile on to players like you do.

So my question back to you @Schultz
Is 115 yards per game (16.5/target) bad for a WR
OR
are you just stuck on vilification of Watson?
PS. You should jump in the Live game thread you’d not only fit right in, with your sarcastic feel you could lead the charge! :laugh:
 
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Heyjoe4

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The Lions overplayed the run early in the game. I understand why. LeFleur has used Jacobs more in the first quarter than most people would think he'd do. This has been done repeatedly, regardless of what team is across from them. Campbell decided that since that was more than likely coming, he played for the run, and LeFleur had to leave a lot of his scripted plays out because of it.

But for some reason, after it happened, LeFleur seemed somewhat reluctant about going back to the running game, opting to lean more on the passing game. I'd imagine that the fact that Josh wasn't getting much yardage on most of those runs, he figured the match up was bad.

Still, I quite honestly like putting the ball in his hands, because he's a downhill runner, who rarely gets pushed back.
For a big guy, Jacobs only needs a crease to get past the DL. H also has a great spin move that would make most anyone else dizzy, but it works for him.

Yeah he's gonna get stuffed now and then, but never for long.
 

Heyjoe4

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First of all they are ALL my guys. The Packers are like a Christmas ghost that I like. Packers of Past, present n future are all “My guys”.

Secondly, the answer is No. Christian Watson did plenty to help us Win. Not sure if you are aware? The Watson flag is contrary to the NFL rule book. Christian Watson hit a player at exactly the 5 yard line and we started at the 6. Pass interference clearly states you have a full yard PAST LOS (until the 5 yard line) to blow a player off his feet if desired. While he attempting to avoid the player (because it clearly is not a pick play) the other player smashed into him. Watson actually can block that player at the 5 yard line it’s 100% legal. It was a mistake by the Referee who did not know the rule book. I can only assume he partly knew the rule but didn’t understand its past LOS, it’s basically at the 4 yard or into the Paint and a line judge should know that and picked up the flag or he shouldn’t be wearing stripes. Poor officiating that changed the outcome of an important game.

Christian Watson owned 55.3% of the total pie of our Passing game.
4/7 57.4% 115 yards. Pacing that production across a 17 game season that would be a WR putting up 45 yards shy of a 2,000 season. I’m not going to fault a WR for playing aggressive and trying to add to his 115 yard total. Watson is tough as nails and he rarely fumbles I’m not going to pile on to players like you do.

So my question back to you @Schultz
Is 115 yards per game (16.5/target) bad for a WR
OR
are you just stuck on vilification of Watson?
PS. You should jump in the Live game thread you’d not only fit right in, with your sarcastic feel you could lead the charge! :laugh:
What happened to Reed? He was only targeted once. I get that the Lions were double teaming him, but he can get out of those. His lack of action is a puzzle. Unless he wasn't 100% and they were using him as a decoy.

As for Watson, he had a good night, minus the fumble. IMO his biggest problem is lack of consistency. He seems to have solved his hamstring problem. But when there is a play that has to be made, Reed and Doubs are much more reliable.

Next year is his last on a rookie deal. I'd like to see a lot more consistency before the Packers make a commitment. He seems to be getting better. He has the rest of this season and next season to improve.
 
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Schultz

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First of all they are ALL my guys. The Packers are like a Christmas ghost that I like. Packers of Past, present n future are all “My guys”.

Secondly, the answer is No. Christian Watson did plenty to help us Win. Not sure if you are aware? The Watson flag is contrary to the NFL rule book. Christian Watson hit a player at exactly the 5 yard line and we started at the 6. Pass interference clearly states you have a full yard PAST LOS (until the 5 yard line) to blow a player off his feet if desired. While he attempting to avoid the player (because it clearly is not a pick play) the other player smashed into him. Watson actually can block that player at the 5 yard line it’s 100% legal. It was a mistake by the Referee who did not know the rule book. I can only assume he partly knew the rule but didn’t understand its past LOS, it’s basically at the 4 yard or into the Paint and a line judge should know that and picked up the flag or he shouldn’t be wearing stripes. Poor officiating that changed the outcome of an important game. It would be like saying you only had 1 foot in bounds when you had both while in the Paint and called back a TD, it’s not even debatable it’s on film.

Christian Watson owned 55.3% of the total pie of our Passing game.
4/7 57.4% 115 yards. Pacing that production across a 17 game season that would be a WR putting up 45 yards shy of a 2,000 season. I’m not going to fault a WR for playing aggressive and trying to add to his 115 yard total. Watson is tough as nails and he rarely fumbles I’m not going to pile on to players like you do.

So my question back to you @Schultz
Is 115 yards per game (16.5/target) bad for a WR
OR
are you just stuck on vilification of Watson?
PS. You should jump in the Live game thread you’d not only fit right in, with your sarcastic feel you could lead the charge! :laugh:
You mentioned Jacobs did not have a catch. I mentioned he would have if Watson had not been flagged. Now some people hopefully found a touch of humor in my comment. Obviously, you weren't one of them. That's okay though, maybe next time. I will keep trying my guy.
 

milani

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Well, they can always make a complaint to the NFL, and see how far that gets them. :laugh:

I agree the officiating was sketchy, and that's unfortunate, but it happens, especially if you're the visiting team. On the other hand, if you look at the stats, they did outplay us - 27 first downs to 17, and TOP 36:06 to 23:54. They had more yards rushing and passing, and the turnovers were offsetting.
And any time a team gives you a chance to take over on downs 5 times you cannot say the game was not winnable. We make 2 or 3 stops instead of 1 then we win this game.
 

milani

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Goff had to throw 40 plus passes. That is not in the Lions game plan. They did not take much in the way of long shots. They dominated TOP and number of plays and still had to hit the last one. Their two big mistakes in the game were the INT and the one 4th down they did not make. Cost them 14. Our 2 blips were the Watson fumble and the Watson penalty. Cost us 3 and 4. We held the Lions to 111 rushing but they held us under 100. We have to be able to match them in the run game and drive down the field to keep their offense on the sideline.
I do think the Vikings have a shot at beating them. Their front 7 is very physical and disguises itself as good as anyone in the league. If they give Darnold time he can cut them up with his receivers especially since Hockenson is back.
Sorry I said instead of Goff. Must be thinking of old Frank....or Kathy Lee.
 

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Well, they can always make a complaint to the NFL, and see how far that gets them. :laugh:

I agree the officiating was sketchy, and that's unfortunate, but it happens, especially if you're the visiting team. On the other hand, if you look at the stats, they did outplay us - 27 first downs to 17, and TOP 36:06 to 23:54. They had more yards rushing and passing, and the turnovers were offsetting.
Yet the same number of points until the end. And in your comparison you forgot yards per play, which we outperformed them by 6.6 to 5.1. The higher your average per play, the fewer first downs and lower TOP you are going to have. Say Team 1 moves the ball 60 yards and score in 4 plays with only 1 first down and about 2:00 time of possession. Team 2 moves the ball 60 yards in 14 plays and along the way they pick up 5 first downs and has 8:00 time of possession. Does that mean Team 2 is the better offense because they possessed the ball longer and had more than twice as many first downs, even though the score is the same?
 

rmontro

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Yet the same number of points until the end. And in your comparison you forgot yards per play, which we outperformed them by 6.6 to 5.1. The higher your average per play, the fewer first downs and lower TOP you are going to have. Say Team 1 moves the ball 60 yards and score in 4 plays with only 1 first down and about 2:00 time of possession. Team 2 moves the ball 60 yards in 14 plays and along the way they pick up 5 first downs and has 8:00 time of possession. Does that mean Team 2 is the better offense because they possessed the ball longer and had more than twice as many first downs, even though the score is the same?
Sometimes scoring too quickly can work against you. Anyway, the score wasn't the same at the end of the game.
 

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Sometimes scoring too quickly can work against you.

And sometimes taking too long to score can work against you. Either way, you completely missed the point. You only cited the stats that favored the Lions and ignored yards per play, which directly affect TOP and first downs.

Anyway, the score wasn't the same at the end of the game.
No S___ Sherlock. You know exactly what I meant. Don't be obtuse.

Notice is said UNTIL the end. Nowhere did I say it was the same AT the end. That's called a straw man fallacy.
 

rmontro

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And sometimes taking too long to score can work against you. Either way, you completely missed the point. You only cited the stats that favored the Lions and ignored yards per play, which directly affect TOP and first downs.
The point is we lost. You can cry about the officiating, but it doesn't change anything.
 
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You mentioned Jacobs did not have a catch. I mentioned he would have if Watson had not been flagged. Now some people hopefully found a touch of humor in my comment. Obviously, you weren't one of them. That's okay though, maybe next time. I will keep trying my guy.
Well then it’s my fault I certainly apologize. I’m always up for a good joke. sorry I missed than one @Schultz!
Please keep trying at humor, I shall be properly motivated and ready to laugh next time! Keep up the Christmas Cheer :)
 
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lambeaulambo

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Well then it’s my fault I certainly apologize. I’m always up for a good joke. sorry I missed than one @Schultz!
Please keep trying at humor, I shall be properly motivated and ready to laugh next time! Keep up the Christmas Cheer :)
Everyone needs to scrooge up and get negative. Tis the season. One thing this team knew was that Z Smith is horrendous at stopping the run and MLF shouldve ran Jacobs right at him. Thats the recipe for beating them. The screen pass seems to have left the playbook at 1265. Festivus YES Bagel NO!! lol
 

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