Suprising Defensive Effort Leads Lions over Favored Patriots

In what was expected to be a shootout between two offenses with plenty of weapons, we instead got a pretty suprising defensive struggle between two 0-1 teams looking for thier first victory of the year.  New England got on the board 1st with a field goal after putting together a productive 10 play drive that took up about the first 4 minutes of the game.  Detroit was unable to answer on thier first drive of the game, though they did manage to move the ball to midfield before being forced to punt.  Despite both teams ability to gain yards and keep the chains moving, both seem to sputter out without getting any points.  It wasn’t until 2:00 remained in the first half that the Lions were finally able to get on the board with a field goal of thier own when rookie kicker Justyn Price hit a 26 yard chip shot to even up the score 3-3.  With 1:59 still on the clock however, the Patriots were left with plenty of time to answer, and it seemed thats exactly what they were going to do.  Tom Brady completed one pass after another while moving his team into scoring range, hitting multiple targets and taking charge with a relentless no huddle attack.  While it seemed the Lions were back on thier toes and about to give up an inevitable score, 2nd year player Louis Delmas came out of nowhere to pick off a pass in the middle of the field intended for Brian Westbrook coming out of the backfield.  Delmas raced towards the sideline where it seemed only Tom Brady was left to make a tackle, but after getting past Brady and motoring down the field for 64 yards, he was finally brought down from behind.  With all 3 timeouts and starting off in thier own redzone, Detroit chose to try to run the ball in, but the Pat’s stingy Defense was having none of it, stopping Kevin Smith immediately.  Not willing to keep banging into that wall with no results, the Lions spread out thier recievers and newly aquired Kevin Ogletree caught his first catch of the day, which was also his first as a Lion, wide open over the middle and then scampered in for a 14 yard touchdown.  The pass was also Matthew Stafford’s first TD of the season.  With only 16 ticks left until halftime, the Patriots managed to complete a pass before launching a deep shot to the endzone….the pass came up short though and was knocked down before reaching intended target Wes Welker.

Recieving the ball 1st in the second half, Detroit didn’t waste much time getting into the endzone this time.  After 2 failed run attempts that gained maybe 2 yards total, the Lions faced 3rd down.  Lining up in shotgun, Stafford snapped the ball and pump faked a pass to Calvin Johnson who was running a screen route, but the screen was a fake and would be blocker Derrick Williams ended up wide open for the 1st down completion.  After making one man miss it was all open field on his way to a 66 yard TD just 1 minute into the 2nd half.  Detroit now leads 17-3.  On thier next possession Detroit had an oppurtunity to make it a 3 score game with a long field goal attempt, but Price hit it off the left post and watched it bounce into the endzone.  Not so for Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski though, who hit a 41 yarder with 9 seconds left in the 3rd to make it an 11 point game, 17-6.  After a short return by Nate Burleson on the kickoff, 3 seconds remained in the 3rd quarter.  Coach Schwartz decided to just call a run up the gut to end the quarter, but big Ty Warren was determined to get his offense back the ball to start the 4th quarter and stripped Kevin Smith of the ball.  Jerod Mayo came out of the pile with the ball.

Starting with great field position and needing 2 scores, the Patriots made a push at the endzone, but they came up short on 3rd and goal.  Although a field goal would have pulled them within 8 points and made it a one possession game, they decided to go for it from 2 yards out instead.  It proved unwise as 3 Lion defenders met Westbrook in the backfield on a toss play.  Taking over the ball backed up to thier endzone, Detroit just tried to push for breathing room.  After a 1st down run went nowhere, Matthew Stafford hit Ogletree for his 2nd reception of the game.  This one however, put points up for the opposing team, as Ogletree caught the ball at the 2 yard line he was forced into his own endzone and ruled down for a safety.  New England was now down by 9, but still very much alive.  They kept that hope alive with a field goal with just under 3 minutes remaining in the game, now only down by six, 17-11.  Up to this point the Lions have had no success running the football, but they did manage to gain a couple first downs on the ground.  Now facing a 3rd and 3 with under two minutes on the clock, Stafford faked the handoff and found Calvin Johnson deep in the endzone, making a diving catch to give Detroit a 2 score lead.  Following the advice of John Madden, Coach Schwartz decided to go for 2 and make it a 14 point game.  Smith took a toss right and cut upfield into the endzone to put the game pretty much out of reach, 25-11.  That would prove to be enough, and after an Ernie Sims interception a couple knees brought an end to this one. 

Coach Schwartz was in a hurry after the game but said he was very happy that his team kept the high powered Patriots out of the endzone, surrending just 3 field goals and a safety.

Key Players for Detroit:

Matthew Stafford: 17-20, 247 yards, 3TD-0INT

Calvin Johnson: 6 receptions, 111 yards and 1TD

Defensive unit.

Patriots:

Tom Brady: 22-42, 302 yards, 0TD-2INT

Brian Westbrook: 6 receptions for 93 yards

Lions dismantle Patriots, Barkley out 11 weeks

Did you hear that?

No it wasnt the cheering from Detroit fans watching their lions pulverize the (9-1) patriots to the score of 42-10.

It was the sound of first round draft pick FS Will Barkley’s collar bone breaking.

The game was  all but over with a sizable detroit lead in the 4th quarter and coach Deadeater began to bench the starters and send the second string team in.

before the defensive 2nd string could get into the game….it happened.

a short run to the left by the pats and barkley flew to the play as always, making a seemingly simple sure handed tackle at the lower torso of patriots RB giovani girley.

the crowd roared and applauded Barkley’s productive day to the tune of 5 tackles, 1 FF, and4 broken up passes…

Barkley did not get up.

the medical staff was forced to place barkley on medical cart and wheel him off the field.   a field that will not see barkley’s return for the next 11 weeks.  with only 6 weeks left of regular season, Barkley’s rookie season is almost surely over.

“It’s a HUGE blow to our defense.”  coach Deadeater said.  “Will was really coming on since being moved to FS and i feel like he was living up to every bit of the hype of being a first round draft pick.   You always hate to see a guy with so much potential get injured especially at the start of his career in the NFL.  Yes, it’s going to hurt to lose Will,  but im confident we have some guys on our defense that can step up and contribute…as a team i know we can overcome this….”

For the season Will Barkley’s stats included 34 tackles, 4 INT, 3 FF and numerous pass break ups.

Can the Lions overcome this loss to their defense?   i guess we’ll find out next week….

we will miss you will….

Lions Are Heating Up!

8 weeks ago the emotional state of the city of Detroit could only be described as hopeful.

after drafting SS will barkley who the lions believed to be one of the top playmakers in 2010 NFL draft the lions did not stop there but went out and made trades to build a team around rookie of the year matthew stafford.

then the lions proceeded to lose the first three games of 2011.

5 weeks ago the emotional state of detroit went from hopeful to dreadful. Last season the lions went 8-8 under rookie Matthew Stafford and were optimistic about the future. now, 3 games into the season and owners of an 0-3 record, fans and players alike began to wonder… “was last year a fluke?”

how could a lions defense that somehow kept their team in every game last season now be even worse when the front office had made it their mission to bring in more talent to the defensive side of the ball?

Then, 5 weeks ago, lions head coach deadeater001 decided to roll the dice. “our defense was not producing and as a result our offense had too much pressure on it to score every drive. i think matt really felt that pressure and being the competitive guy he is, probably threw some balls into places he shouldnt have just trying to make something happen. this is when i knew we needed to shake things up.”

and shake things up the lions did. SS will barkley was asked to go back to a FS position he played in high school. “i really didnt have any problems with it, in fact i was kind of excited to go back to my natural position” barkley said “the only reason i got moved over to SS in college is because i wanted to play right away instead of wait behind a guy for a year.”

the changes did not stop there, #1 CB phillip buchanon was asked to step into the #2 CB role so newly acquired CB antoine winfield could play #1. MLB larry foote who started all 16 games last season was asked to step into a more reserve LB role so rookie devon jones could be promoted to starting MLB. “we just needed a change. we needed more speed at certain positions and guys just needed to switch up their defensive mentality. im really proud of guys like delmas and barkley who have made the transition so smoothly. in fact, it almost seems like switch has helped them both” coach deadeater said.

the lions have now won their last 5 games and have gone from an 0-3 record to a 5-3 record and now sit on top of the division.

if last game was any indication of the defense finally gelling, (barkley had a pick 6, antoine winfield had a INT, louise delmas had 5 tackles all for loss!)

lions fans in the city of detroit have been put on an emotional roller coaster ride this season, but in the last 5 weeks  it looks like this roller coaster is heading no where but up….

the lions are in the hunt.

watch out!

Don’t Call It a Comeback!

The Detroit Lions are SURGING. With a big win over the Bengals last week the Lions have now won 4 straight games improving their record to 6-6 and reviving their hopes at the playoffs. Rookie QB Matt Stafford has been everything as advertised for a 1st overall pick, now leading the league in passing yards. Lions Phenom WR Calvin Johnson sure appreciates it. CJ is on his way to a pro bowl season leading the league in receiving yards and in the top 3 for receiving TD’s.

can the Lions continue the win streak against an 11-1 Ravens team?

“we have something special going on right now…i’m not going to say too much about it, but i will say these guy’s are playing loose, smart, and aggressive football…and it’s finally starting to translate into wins” coach Deadeater001 said.

Is this team for real?  Is this incarnation of the lions the best thing to happen to Detroit since KISS?  A Detroit fan can only hope….and get their popcorn ready!