Schwartz: Only Agenda Is Winning

Jim Schwartz claims he isn't going to let injuries or the team record distract him from gameday, but admits that circumstances have put him and his staff in a position to evaluate a lot of unknown players going forward.

“(Injuries) can force you to have to play certain players,” said Schwartz. “It may be a guy that you didn’t know a lot about. He makes your team, he’s a back-up player – maybe he’s even an inactive player – and you really don’t have a chance to see him in a role.

“What happens is, when somebody gets hurt and he has to play, you find out whether he can or can’t and whether you can count on him as you go forward.”

“We can’t look at anything other than winning that week’s game,” he said. “You talk about long-term improvement and those things; those are things you talk about during training camp and OTAs and the offseason program and the draft and things like that. That can’t be our focus.

“Our focus has to be, ‘What do we have to do to win this game?’ Every game is going to be a different set of circumstances, but that’s got to be our focus. It’s got to be wins and losses; we can’t point to anything other than that.”

---

As a fan you wonder what the coaches really think and what the coaches really see. Dan Gronkowski got called up today. Is he just a body to the staff or is he a guy who can contribute going forward? I doubt you can ever trust the coaches to give a straight answer so instead we just eyeball how a guy is used - or not - and make our best guess about how well he's liked.

Rebuilding Traditions

Killer writes a story about the Thanksgiving game.

Schwartz has stressed the history and legacy of the Thanksgiving Day tradition to his young players and the rookies have taken note.

"He explained the importance of it and that our backs are against the wall to keep the legacy going. It's a national spotlight,'' said running back Aaron Brown, a sixth-round draft pick. "Coach Schwartz broke down the tradition to us the other day and we know it's a big deal to the Lions family. We're trying to take the momentum we built in the last game and push it on to this game.''

It's still uncertain whether rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford (left shoulder) will play in the game, but he wants to become part of the game's history.

"This game has been going on for such a long time and it's a great chance to be on national TV and it shows the nation what we're all about,'' he said. "It's just something you want to keep around -- you want to play on Thanksgiving Day. It's a great opportunity, it's great fun and it's awesome to be able to say that you're a part of two teams that get to do it every year."

"I've watched the Lions on every Thanksgiving since I can remember and watching Barry Sanders hold that turkey leg (as the game's MVP),'' said rookie linebacker Zack Follett, a seventh-round pick. "Not to lie, I've kind of had my fantasies during meetings of what I've got to do to get that turkey leg. I'm excited.

"There's such history. It's been around since 1934 and a lot of history comes with it. The coaches haven't had to coach effort this week.''

Schwartz isn't doing anything that other coaches haven't done - even as it is great that this is a point of emphasis this week. This speaks more to how complete the rebuild of this team is, they are so far down that even the traditions have to be rebuilt.

---

Jim Schwartz's thinking man's approach

Good article by Michael Rosenberg at Freep.com on Coach Jim Schwartz's thinking man's approach to attempting to turn around the Lions.

While in the past the Lions have brought in system coaches -- the West Coast offenses of Marty Mornhinweg and Steve Mariucci; the Tampa Two defense of Rod Marinelli; Schwartz is not wedded to any particular concept that requires forcing players to fit into a particular system. Instead, he makes a study of what it takes to win in the NFL, and seeks out multidimensional players -- physically and mentally -- who can adapt to situations. Schwartz says that's a Bill Belichick trademark. It allows a team to better adapt to injuries and the other team's weaknesses.

There's an interesting passage on Schwartz's interest in football analyst Aaron Schatz's work:

(Schatz) is the founder of FootballOutsiders.com, which is sort of a think tank for football. Schatz crunches numbers to ask the same question Schwartz asks: How do you win?

"If you have multidimensional players, now you don't have to fit what you do to your strengths," Schatz said. "You fit what you do to other teams' weaknesses. The more multidimensional your players, and your team, you can go after what the other team can't stop, instead of what you can do well."

Not surprising, Jim Schwartz -- more than any other NFL coach -- has taken an interest in Schatz's work. When Schwartz was the defensive coordinator in Tennessee, he invited Schatz to spend a week with him in Nashville in the off-season, watching film and talking football. Schatz even stayed at Schwartz's house.

"He's the only coach in the league who knows what DVOA is, and he would rather see his team finish first in DVOA than yards," Schatz said.

DVOA is Schatz's biggest and best creation. The full name is Defense-adjusted Value Over Average. Essentially, Schatz matches every play against what the rest of the league does in that same situation, then adjusts for strength of opponent. It is an attempt to show that a 4-yard run on third-and-14 is not as valuable as a 4-yard run on third-and-3.

Schwartz has been preaching that for years. He can punch a hole in any of the commonly accepted stats. The total-yards stat, that drives him crazy. It gives too much weight to garbage time.

A few years ago, when his defense was struggling in the red zone, Schwartz picked up tape of the No. 1 red-zone defense in the league, to see if he could learn something. "I put in the tape, and I started watching," Schwartz said. "I'm like 'Good gracious!' They had two games where they finished games with the offense taking a knee in the red zone. They were losing the game! But that's a red-zone stop on defense. They also had an overtime game that they lost that they gave up a field goal in the red zone. That's a red-zone stop."

He has not looked at red-zone numbers the same way since. He has seen other coaches pile up stats at the end of games, sometimes putting their stars in harm's way to do it, and he is incredulous.

Everything the NFL takes for granted, Schwartz questions. That doesn't mean he disagrees. It means he does not automatically agree.

In Tennessee, he told the offensive coaches they should run more on third-and-short. He knew. He had crunched the numbers.

When the Lions were deciding what to do with their second first-round pick last spring, Schwartz pushed for tight end Brandon Pettigrew. The conventional wisdom was that they had bigger needs than a tight end. Schwartz says "our number one need was talent," and it would have been foolish to ignore the highest-rated player on their draft board.

So far the Lions haven't had a lot of success under Schwartz. But I like the guy's approach. I feel infinitely more confident with him at the helm than I ever did under Marinelli. You get the sense that now it's a matter of bringing talent in -- a massive undertaking post-Millen. And that given talent, Schwartz will know how to win with it.

Talk about it in The Den!

Secondary worse than last year? Is that even possible?

Free Press writer Nick Cotsonika has an article pointing it out.

Except for interceptions -- the Lions have three by defensive backs, after one last year -- the stats are dreadful.

Last year, the Lions allowed opponents to complete 68.4% of their passes and post a 110.9 combined passer rating. Those were horrible numbers, worst in the NFL in both categories.

This year, they're worse. The Lions are allowing opponents to complete 73.3% of their passes and post a 119.7 combined passer rating. Again, they're worst in both categories.

Consider the NFL records for individual quarterbacks. The highest completion percentage ever in a season was 70.55 (Cincinnati's Ken Anderson in 1982). The highest passer rating ever in a season was 121.1 (Indianapolis' Peyton Manning in 2004).

In other words, it's like the Lions are facing the best quarterback of all time -- all the time.

The pass rush certainly plays a role. But the Lions have been beaten physically and blown assignments too often on the back end. Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said he hesitated on a touchdown throw Sunday because he was expecting to see a safety and couldn't believe his receiver was so open.

Schwartz also notes in the article that the long runs the Lions are giving up far too often are also on the secondary.

There's only so much that can be done in one off-season. The Lions certainly turned over the secondary and brought in a lot of new names. But it never seems to matter, even when the coaches and coordinators change. It's the same awful results.

CB and S opposite Delmas seem to need help desperately, and the Lions really need to get a 10-to-15-sack DE in the draft as well.

They're talking about it in The Den.

---

Schwartz showing a lack of tolerance for poor play -- how refreshing!

Good article by MLive.com's Tom Kowalski today outlining that for all of Coach Jim Schwartz's other qualities -- he seems to be an intelligent, confident, forward-looking coach who isn't overwhelmed by his new position -- he also possesses something new General Manager Martin Mayhew has shown as well: ruthlessness.

When a Lions player isn't getting the job done, Schwartz doesn't tell us he'll need to check the film to make sure his eyes worked on Sunday; he makes changes to the lineup. The latest is taking underperforming Aaron Brown off kick return duties and installing fellow rookie Derrick Williams -- and essentially putting Williams on-notice to perform or else.

But that's only the latest such move by Schwartz, Killer notes. Others have included:

* After signing Phillip Buchanon to a 2-year, $8.5 million contract with the expectation he would be a starting CB, Schwartz has replaced Buchanon in the starting lineup with journeyman Will James. James has played solid, consistent football and made it difficult to take him out of the lineup, Schwartz said. But this also has to do with how Buchanon's been performing, and it's interesting that his contract isn't saving him. Writes Killer: "Buchanon didn't just slide to the nickel back position or even the dime -- he's at the bottom of the depth chart. For two games now, he has seen only time on special teams."

*LB Ernie Sims, a first-round pick, could be losing more and more playing time to third-rounder DeAndre Levy; as could veteran Julian Peterson, who was signed in the offseason with fanfare and high expectations. Why? Levy's simply getting the job done better.

*Left guard Daniel Loper practiced with the first-team offense almost all of training camp. He's been replaced as a starter by Manny Ramirez.

*S Kalvin Pearson gave way to Marquand Manuel, who gave way to in-season signee Ko Simpson, as Schwartz continues to look for solutions on the other side of NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month Louis Delmas.

Noticing a pattern here?

There's a fine line between accountability for your play and too much of a revolving door leading to no continuity or improvement. But as Killer points out, a lot of coaches talk tough, then don't back it up. Schwartz seems willing to back up his talk with action.

"I've never been known as a patient person," Schwartz said. "There's a fine line between staying the course and being on the right track and then going the other way and continuing to do the same things and not having results and expecting things to change. It's my job to recognize that.

"We keep putting the same people in the same positions and the job doesn't get done, so we need to make a change. Either put players in a different position, or put different players in the same position."

Talk about it in The Den!

---

The Thrill of Victory, and the Agony of Defeat

Kevin Smith, the running back who’d just rolled over Albert Haynesworth and the Redskins for 101 yards, was undergoing tests; per the Twitter feed of Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus, he’d suffered a shoulder subluxation.  Ernie Sims had a shoulder problem of his own, and missed the first of what might be several games.  Starting cornerback Patrick Buchanon was again a late scratch, and his replacements Eric King and Will James were scorched for 340 yards.

The game was played before the smallest Lions home crowd since 1989--and many thousands more were prevented from watching the game at home by NFL blackout policies.  Afterwards, the Lions’ record sat at 1-2; once again looking up at the rest of the NFC North.  So why were all of the Lions’ players out on the field, celebrating with the fans?  Why did owner William Clay Ford say  “we got King Kong off our back”?  Oh yes, that’s right—the Lions hadn’t won a game since Brett Favre played for the Packers.

Center Dominic Raiola perfectly captured the emotions of both the players and fans: "All those people out there have been through a lot more than we've been through. They're fighting for their life out there, buying tickets to come to the game, losing their jobs," he said.  About celebrating with the fans, he said “It's something very little that we did just to show our appreciation."

It’s an important point: Lions fans have continued to support this team, throughout the second-longest losing streak in the history of football—one that capped one of the longest periods of futility in NFL history.  It speaks volumes about the dedication and passion of Lions fans that they came out 40,000 strong to see the streak get snapped.

“It had the feel of a post-season win--the jubilation,” said head coach Jim Schwartz.  “Players went back on the field and wanted to go celebrate with the fans that stayed. I thought that sends a strong statement about the kinship we feel with the city of Detroit."

However, this win is just that: one win.  The first words of Schwartz’s statement to the press were, “We'd like to get to a point where a regular season win isn't celebrated that much,” and he’s exactly right.  If the Lions are to turn the positive momentum of ending this nightmare into anything that will last, that’s the approach they have to take today.  The Lions are 1-2, alone at the bottom of their division, and are sandwiching a game against the reigning world champions with contests at Fields Soldier and Lambeau.

With key starters like Smith, Sims, and Buchanon out, and five rookies starting, the Lions have a mountain to climb just to get to the bye.  But with the confidence of this win under their feet, and the weight of King Kong off their backs, who knows how high this young, talented team can climb?

Discussion here, in The Den!

Thoughts From The Win

It's still a lot early to process the game and there were a lot of things happening. This won't be the first post on the game and certainly won't be the best analysis but here were a few of my takeaways.

I wasn't at all confident that Washington was a very good opponent for the Lions right now. Not that I think there are very good, in fact the opposite. I think they are terrible and are due for a collapse this year for a number of reasons. Even so, some of those things have already been exposed and that team was circling the wagons. I expected the Lions to break the streak by catching a team napping. This was far better, they caught a team fully prepared and whipped them.

Stafford was fine. Unlike last week, when he hit a lull he didn't go crazy and melt down with a series of bad decisions. While it isn't a cumulative stat, it is notable that his passer rating today was greater than his ratings of the first two weeks combined. I expected that the coaches would beat him up for ignoring Bryant Johnson the first two weeks. Maybe the interception in preseason on the pass to Johnson robbed Stafford of any faith he had in the guy. Regardless of the reason though, Stafford was convinced to go to Bryant repeatedly and it paid off well, even allowing for a drop by Bryant in the first half. The touchdown to Johnson as well as the 2nd down pass to Will Heller in the 4th quarter were the two most important signs of growth in Stafford that I have seen yet. Instead of trying to force the ball in Stafford put it up and trusted his receivers to make plays. I believe that the touchdown in particular would have been an easy interception only two weeks ago. There were a few misses, but overall this was the Big Step I've been expecting from Stafford, and this game restores much of my faith in the decision by Schwartz to start him.

Kevin Smith was brilliant and if he misses significant time it will be a real blow. While the offensive line blocked well the entire game, it is hard to overlook the difference in production between Smith (16/101) and the rest of the running backs (17/21). While the reality of things won't be that dramatic, the numbers do reflect the quality that Smith brings to the position.

The Lion defense was the key to the win. Unlike the first two games, Detroit held the opposing quarterback to a fairly average game. Combined with a run defense that continues to be effective they were able to slow Washington enough for the win. Schemes tend to win on defense, and Detroit demonstrated this today with their relatively anonymous group of contributers. Something called Kevin Hobbs was the Lions' third leading tackler, need I say more?

On the other hand though the game that Detroit played today would not be good enough to win in most weeks. The Redskins did as much to lose as the Lions to win, even going down to the decision in the last few seconds by Zorn to take no shots at the endzone. Washington committed the only turnover and it was unforced, the blocking by their offensive line was very sketchy, their play-calling seemed to lack much cohesion, they committed almost 100 yards of penalties. None of this is to detract from the Lions' accomplishment, they took what the Redskins gave them and did what they had to do. It is, however to point out that this was more the type of win that poor teams are able to nab a few times per year, not nearly the type of win that good teams carve out weekly. There is still plenty of work to do.

WSJ: Lions "the NFL's worst defense, ever"

Football writer Reed Albergotti of the Wall Street Journal (the Wall Street Journal has a sports page?!) explores how the Lions defense got so terrible.

The headline says "The NFL's Worst Defense, Ever: Bad Drafts and Strategic Bungling Have the Lions Bleeding Yards at Record Pace." To be fair, nowhere in the article does Albergotti call the Lions' D the worst ever, and editors, not reporters, write the headlines. Albergotti does note, however:

The team's defense has allowed 1,033 points in 34 games—the most since Lyndon Johnson was in the White House.

Despite a new defensive-minded head coach and a completely re-engineered roster, the Lions lost their first two games this season by a combined score of 72 to 40, putting its defense back in its familiar place at the bottom of the league.

All this presents an enduring mystery: In a league like the NFL that's expressly designed to help bad teams help themselves, how can a defense whose players will earn $45 million this season be so stubbornly horrible?

Albergotti imparts to the nation reasons for which we here are all too familiar (my paraphrases):

1. Committing to, then bungling, the Tampa 2, which can work with smaller, less strong players BUT requires discipline and knowing the playbook and your responsibilities so well as to be instinctive. The Lions got smaller, weaker, less talented and the players never grasped the defense.

2. Ridiculous hires (Rod Marinelli as head coach and The Son-in-Law as defensive coordinator, neither of whom had experience in the job they were doing.)

3. Millen's impossibly bad drafting.

Though he's famous for picking bad wide receivers, Mr. Millen's greatest shortcoming may actually have come on defense. He used a second-round pick in 2007 for defensive end Ikaika Alama-Francis, who is no longer in the NFL, and two third-round picks in 2004 and 2005 for cornerbacks Keith Smith and Stanley Wilson, who are not on an NFL roster. In addition, from 2004 to 2008—when Mr. Millen left the team—nearly all of the players the Lions drafted in the late rounds haven't panned out.

Albergotti talks about how Jim Schwartz and Gunther Cunningham are transforming the defense again. Going bigger and stronger, running a more traditional 4-3. Clearly the transition isn't complete. (Albergotti defends the Lions in this respect, though -- that New Orleans offense also shredded a typically stout Eagles D the following week.)

Albergotti concludes thusly:

Mr. Schwartz hasn't been around long enough to get very much depth on defense, and a season-ending injury to defensive end Jared DeVries was a significant loss.

"What Jim Schwartz took over, in my opinion, was worse than an expansion franchise," says former Baltimore Ravens head coach Brian Billick, who will call the Lions game against the Redskins for Fox on Sunday. "There's only so much you can do in a year."

A fair and accurate assessment? Share your thoughts in The Den.

---

Lions liking their jumbo RB package

The clunker in Cleveland had a few bright spots -- at least for Lions coaches.

Coach Jim Schwartz and others were pleased with a power-run package featuring FBs Terrelle Smith and Jerome Felton that gave the Browns trouble, Carlos Monarrez reports at Freep.com.

The success of the big boys against the Browns' 3-4 defense bodes well for the regular season, as the Lions play seven teams that primarily run a 3-4, Monarrez writes:

"I think it's going to be productive package for us," coach Jim Schwartz said Tuesday.

Schwartz explained that the gaps in a 3-4 defense push defenders to the side, forcing them to tackle at an angle.

"And when guys are making side tackles, you need north-south running backs that can run through arm tackles, real strong guys like that," he said. "And I think that package fits us real well in that circumstance.

"We really haven't broken it out in any short-yardage situations, but it's available to use there. We could use it in a lot of different plays: goal-line, short-yardage and also some attitude-type plays."

But Brian VanOchten at MLive.com apparently sees it differently. He calls a short-yardage back "a glaring need" for the Lions, and suggests they re-sign former Lion and Michigan Stater T.J. Duckett, who was just cut by the Seahawks.

My take? It's difficult to assess the Lions' running game in its totality because Maurice Morris, who will play a major role behind emerging Kevin Smith, has been injured. Anything the running game can do to take pressure off "asked to do everything" WR Calvin Johnson -- and maybe a rookie starting QB, Matthew Stafford -- is a big, big plus.

Discuss in The Den!

---

Tackling, secondary big concerns -- sound familiar?

Two snippets I found interesting from Detroit News football writer John Niyo's column today:

Special teams is an area of emphasis with the new coaching staff. But that was hardly apparent Saturday.

Josh Cribbs is arguably the NFL's best return man, but he made it look way too easy in the first quarter against the Lions, who are missing a couple of key coverage men in Cody Spencer (injured reserve) and Casey FitzSimmons (ankle). Cribbs' 95-yard touchdown return of the opening kickoff was called back because of a late holding penalty. But there were no flags on his 84-yard punt return for a score, just lots of missed tackles.

"There's no reason to start the game the way we did on special teams," Schwartz said. "It's a work in progress, but were going to find out who can tackle and who can't. That's going to be a major criteria for making this team."

Stan Kwan's return unit wasn't much better, averaging 18.6 yards on kickoffs. And that's a growing concern, with Aveion Cason perhaps getting too many reps and neither rookie Derrick Williams nor Aaron Brown distinguishing himself. When you have too many returners, Schwartz noted the other day, that means you don't have any.

A lot of us have been scratching our heads about why Cason is getting so much time as a returner. Maybe that's a reflection of the coaching staff's lack of confidence in Derrick Williams or Aaron Brown in that department. And that ain't good. Hey, let a rookie take kicks out to the 18 yard line rather than a veteran, I say. At least there's a potential for upside with the rooks.

While the defensive front seven's inability to get consistent pressure on the QBs or stop big running plays is already looking problematic, Niyo notes that the secondary may be the team's weakest link.

Five Browns wide receivers had catches of 20 yards or more Saturday night. Two came on the opening drive against starting cornerbacks Phillip Buchanon and Anthony Henry, but the depth behind them is a real worry, especially with Keith Smith (groin) still on the sideline.

"Our corners need to get up and challenge guys," Schwartz said. "We need to find out who will have the confidence to get up and challenge rather than playing cautious."

They also need to find another safety who can stop the run alongside rookie Louis Delmas. Kalvin Pearson had trouble again in run support Saturday, and LaMarcus Hicks didn't fare any better replacing him. It was the same against Atlanta in the exhibition opener. Marquand Manuel, who has a calf injury, should get a shot to start when he's healthy.

Noticing a theme to Schwartz's comments? Get up there and tackle. Challenge. Don't play tentative. Be decisive and make plays.

I refuse to get visions in my head of Bobby Ross saying "I don't coach that!" or Rod Marinelli saying "Put it on me."

Discuss in The Den!

---

Atlanta football writer: Matt Ryan ruined it for everybody

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has taken an interest in the Lions this year, with former Georgia Bulldog Matthew Stafford the Lions' franchise savior in waiting.

AJC.com sports columnist Jeff Schultz has joined a growing chorus saying the Lions should not start the season with Stafford under center.

The problem with Matt Ryan is he has ruined it for everybody else. Ryan had an off-the-charts first season with the Falcons and so now every team and fan base with a No. 1 draft pick at quarterback thinks, “Our rookie quarterback can be off the charts, too!”

If the Detroit Lions make that mistake, they’re going to screw up Matthew Stafford. And it’s not as if this franchise hasn’t wrecked quarterbacks before.

Ah, yes; the old "did the Lions ruin Joey Harrington, or did Joey simply not make the most of ample opportunities to play?" debate. It's been going on in The Den for years. A definitive answer is elusive on that one.

But back to the QB debate at hand. Schultz notes that Ryan's and the Falcons' situation was significantly different than Stafford's and the Lions'. Atlanta didn't have as good of a veteran option at QB (Chris Redman) as the Lions do (Daunte Culpepper).

I would add to that the Falcons' defense was among the worst in the NFL the year before Ryan's arrival (29th), but the Lions are coming off one of the worst defensive performances in NFL history last year. And the way the inept Cleveland Browns offense shredded them Saturday was an ugly flashback.

Writes Schultz:

(Stafford) has shown he’s not ready to step into NFL starting job yet. He has struggled with his feel in the pocket and anticipating defense adjustments, and it’s certainly way too early to assess leadership abilities. All three were knocks on him before the draft. Two exhibitions (one start) hardly define a career. I still believe Stafford will be a successful NFL quarterback. But the Lions would be making a mistake to rush him.

It's easy to careen from Stafford's good performances and say, "He's ready to start now," to saying after the struggles "Keep him on the bench for now." I'm of the opinion that Head Coach Jim Schwartz and Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan haven't made the call yet, and will wait to see what they see at least through this weekend's game with the Colts.

Consistency is a difficult thing to ask for from a rookie for whom it's all so new -- unless you're Matt Ryan. But who is most consistent will decide who starts under center for the Lions in Week 1.

Discuss in The Den!

---

Schwartz, Mayhew try to tamp down the Aaron Brown hype

This is kind of funny.

From A.P. football writer Larry Lage:

Brown showed he has enough talent to make plays in the NFL with a 32-yard run for a touchdown and a 45-yard reception for a TD, helping Detroit beat the Atlanta Falcons in an exhibition game.

But two days later, coach Jim Schwartz was quick to put the breaks on the Brown-related hype.

"Let's not put him in the Hall of Fame yet for what he did in the preseason," Schwartz said. "But he did show some speed, he showed some exciting ability, but long way to go."

Brown's breakout game was flawed by three mental mistakes, each of which led to penalties.

He was off the line instead of on it in a punt formation, ruining Detroit's chance to pin the Falcons to their 3. He went the wrong way on a screen, leading to intentional grounding. He put his hand on the ground to set up a backflip in the end zone, and the celebration cost the team 15 yards.

Brown said he and running backs coach Sam Gash have been focusing on trying to get him ready for the nonphysical parts of the game.

"Plays only last 4 seconds on average, but they move so fast," Brown said. "You have to think faster. That's what I'm trying to do."

[snip]

What did general manager Martin Mayhew think of his debut?

"Who?" Mayhew joked.

Seriously, though, Mayhew was pleased.

"He did well," Mayhew said. "He made some mistakes that have to be cleaned up, but we thought he performed pretty well."

I get the sense that they realize they have to keep this kid grounded and focused but that they realize they may have happened on a special talent.

Discuss in The Den!

---

Run, Forrest!

On September 7 of '08 Michael Turner rushed for 220 yards in Matt Ryan's NFL debut, and Jerrious Norwood tacked on another 93. As a team, the Falcons rushed for 318 yards to the Lions' 70. Flash forward to August 15 '09, and we see something that Lion fans haven't seen in a very long time. A team that runs. And runs. And runs.

A lot (deservedly) has been made of Stafford's impressive debut. Culpepper's surprising nimbleness and playmaking qualities have also earned praise. So far though, there hasn't been a lot of discussion of the running game.

Detroit rushed 35 times for 191 yards. Stanton's bootleg was the key play that set up the game-winning field goal. Aaron Brown went to warp speed for his 32 yard touchdown run. Matt Stafford dragged a defender five yards for a first down. It was exciting to see and it is a dimension of the game that Detroit hasn't had since the days of Bobby Ross, excepting a few weeks with Kevin Jones.

I'm not exactly sure how excited to be about this, other than to know the commitment is there. Detroit's main backs, Aveion Cason and Allen Ervin combined for 47 yards on 17 carries, and while we know that they won't be getting the carries during the regular season - if either are even on the team - the holes that they attacked are the same holes that Smith and Morris will have to find. Barring a specialty package, Stanton's runs will be limited to running the microphone to call in plays to whichever quarterback the Lions ultimately choose. Brown's run, while exciting, was not one that will be available much during the regular season. He hit the edge quickly, but did it against rookie defenders who don't know their assignments as well as they should, and who also aren't as experienced at reading the flow of the play as well as veterans are. More often than not, Lance Briggs or Atari Bigby will be there to string the play out and limit the gain.

On the other hand, we did see a real commitment to the run. Not a hopeless effort like we've seen so many times in the last few years, but rather from a team clawing back from a deficit and getting positive yards to put the quarterback in a position to be able to make plays. Counting Culpepper's two scrambles, they ran 7 times in their first 10 plays to set up Hanson's field goal. The runs had a real purpose too, setting up the pass. They ran twice for a first down and then a screen to Kevin Smith for 11. They ran again and then took a shot at the end zone, forcing a defensive penalty and another first down. They ran twice more for short gains and then sucked in the defenders on a screen play that went for 16 more.

28 of Detroit's 35 yards came with the team behind. After Atlanta's last touchdown, Detroit came back in Stanton's first series and got the score back with six consecutive running plays, three by Ervin, one by Stanton, and the last two by Brown, including his 32 yard score. It was only in Detroit's last two possessions, running the two minute drill that the Lions abandoned the run.

After the game Jim Schwartz told Tony Ortiz that the Stanton bootleg at the end was not a called play, but rather a recognition by Stanton as the linebackers swarmed to the sidelines and the whole middle of the field parted. Culpepper's short runs and Stafford's bootleg did not appear to be designed either, but it is clear from their games that both like to run and get hit. Culpepper gained an extra yard on his drive by initiating contact and carrying the play forward. Stafford told Ortiz that getting hit is a part of the game that he enjoys, that it helps to bring things into focus.

I'm nowhere close to calling this a new paradigm. Detroit also rushed 35 times in last year's exhibition opener against the Giants. It is probably the nature of exhibition, particularly the first game, to just get out there and bang a little and then get the game over with. Even so, we saw some purpose to the running game yesterday that has been missing from the Lion arsenal for years.

Agree? Disagree? Have something to say? Discuss it Here, in The Den.

---

Football Outsiders takes a long look at the Lions

Phil Zaroo over at Mlive.com scored an impressive audio interview with Bill Barnwell of Football Outsiders.  For those not familiar with their work, the guys over at FO have made waves over the past few years with the way they view and analyze football statistics.  Anyone who’s ever lost a fantasy football game because their QB kneeled out the clock a few times, and therefore gained a few negative rushing yards, knows that the typical metrics of football success—total yardage, sliced in a variety of ways—don’t accurately represent the true effectiveness of plays or players.

Barnwell, and his associates, have developed a system of measuring “value”—essentially, giving context to every yard gained and point scored—what down and distance was it, what team was it against, what was the score, what was the time in the game—and, by comparing the results to the league average in similar situations, they mathematically deriving the team’s effectiveness in terms of value (‘value over average”)  It’s an approach often compared to Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane’s “Moneyball” scouting method.

Lions fans won’t be surprised to know that according to FO’s analysis, the 2008 Lions defense wasn’t as bad as the scoreboard suggested—it was much, much worse.  The 2008 Lions defensive value over average was the worst they’ve ever measured—and it isn’t close, either.  Lions fans WILL be suprised, however, to know that the Lions were actually ranked ninth in short-yardage situations, and Barnwell suggests in the interview that Dominic Raiola is fighting an unfair perception that he can’t push the pile, and that the total lack of ability or consistency on either side of him throughout his career is more to blame.

Barnwell also delves into the differences between Rod Marinelli and Jim Schwartz (who has been a contributor/consultant to FO in the past), the Lions’ revamped linebacking unit, their projection of the Lions' win total and—of course—the quarterback debate.  It’s a great listen.

Discuss it here, in The Den!

Lions to "shut down" Bullocks

Lions S Daniel Bullocks just can't seem to shake his injury troubles.

Tom Kowalski at MLive.com reports that what Lions Coach Jim Schwartz had to say about Bullocks wasn't really specific, but wasn't really good, either:

"We're going to shut him down for a little while and then sort of take it slow again with an eye toward with getting him back on the field," Schwartz said. "He's not day-to-day, he's a little bit longer than that, but I'd like to get him back on the field sooner rather than later."

Since a major right knee injury in a preseason game in 2007, Bullocks has had trouble with the knee, Killer reports.

Schwartz is not planning to move on without Bullocks at this point, but acknowledged that "every day he misses, he's missing things and he's getting a little bit farther behind," according to Killer's article.

Obviously you hope for the best for Bullocks, but unfortunately, there's nothing to indicate more rest in the preseason is going to help his knee. This has been going on for years now. Marquand Manuel, Stuart Schweigert or Kalvin Pearson will likely need to step up on the other side of Louis Delmas.

Discuss in The Den.

---

Gunther Making Noise

It is sheer pleasure to see Gunther Cunningham and Jim Schwartz so involved with the media, and in Schwartz's case in particular so articulate and such a strong promoter of the team. Cunningham is a little different, while also a quote machine he doesn't hold much back and isn't afraid to either praise or call a player out, as we witnessed a few days ago with DeAndre Levy.

When Detroit hired Cunningham there were whispers, reported by Pro Football Weekly that he was done. That "The last time he got anything done, Derrick Thomas was coming off the edges ... he's lost his edge as a coordinator." While that report was alarming the story was yet to be written, and so far the story is all good. The players seem to be enthusiastic about his system, and they seem to love d-line coach Bob Karmelowicz's teaching, which is somewhat odd because that was Marinelli's wheelhouse.

Anyhow, this has been a rich week for Gunther articles and quotes. In the Oakland Press blog Matthew Mowery shared this

We're heading down the road on the packages. Jimmy (head coach Jim Schwartz) says the other day, 'Gun, you've got every coverage in football.' And, in some respects ... yeah, we are experimenting with what fits us the best, but we have a multitude of defenses in, both up front, and in the secondary, and we must have 40 blitzes in already.

"We're still not good enough in blitzes," Cunningham said. "I'm not used to guys coming slow. When we send them, they have to get there, and we're going to have to have a little attitude adjustment meeting after this practice. They're going to hear it, loud and clear.

"When you put pads on, you find out the real men. There's lots of frauds around. You know, the coaches are, too. They talk a good game, then you watch them coach, and they don't do it. Players do the same thing. And sometimes, the guys you don't expect to be the real tough guys they show up, and you go, 'My god, was I wrong on this guy.'

There's an intensity and level of demand that wasn't present under Marinelli. With Rod it was 'we'll keep the shovels sharp, we'll keep trying, we'll work more', and while those are nice sentiments they don't compel urgency like Gunther does.

The Oakland Press blog was written on 8/6. On 8/7 Tara Ryan shared another Cunningham quote at DetroitLions.com

“I think we are starting to get that attitude adjustment; we had a couple of good one-on-ones with the secondary yesterday; Ramzee Robinson hit one guy under the chin, drove him to the sideline and dumped him on his back. I haven’t seen that since I was coaching in the 90’s and I made a big deal about it last night. We are going to be that kind of team; we are going to be aggressive, so we have to practice aggressive.”

Also on Friday John Niyo reported another quote

general manager Martin Mayhew asked him to watch 75 plays of a player the Lions are considering."He asked me, 'How'd you like him?' " Cunningham said. "I said, 'I've seen a lot better, and you wasted a lot of my time.' But that's my job, and you've got to look."

I guess Cunningham doesn't care who it is, he'll say it like it is.

Agree? Disagree? Have something to say about it? Discuss it Here, in The Den

---

Rave reviews for Stafford continue to pour in

A no-look pass?

Rookie QB Matthew Stafford apparently threw one in practice recently, faking out both LB Julian Peterson and the pass's intended recipient, Calvin Johnson, Yahoo! Sports' Michael Silver reports.

Lions officials and players are having increasing difficulty remaining cautious and measured when talking about Stafford and his immediate prospects:
* Peterson - "As rookies go, he’s way ahead of the curve."
* Calvin - "He doesn’t even look like a rookie. He picked up the playbook very quick; he’s a smart kid. He looks very, very comfortable out there."
* Head Coach Jim Schwartz - "There is no debating that everything about him has been very, very impressive."

There is nothing to be gained by anointing Stafford the starter -- Schwartz wants everybody competing -- HARD -- for their spot in the lineup, and there are four preseason games to come on which to additionally measure the players.

But the thing is, Stafford is competing hard. He's playing and acting like he wants to start Game 1. He's showing things that indicate he's not just the Lions' best option at QB, but may be something special even looking from a league-wide view.

Better hone those clipboard-holding skills, C-Pep.

UPDATE: Finding these similar old quotes about Joey Harrington from around the time he was drafted gave me a much-needed dose of perspective.

The bottom line is, Stafford's looking good; he needs to keep it up in preseason game situations and the starting spot could be his through simply earning it.

They're talking about it in The Den!

---

The jumble at CB -- and who's that with the Fords?

Detroit News football writer John Niyo reports its become a sad rite of spring for the Lions in recent years -- the annual roster purge of the team's secondary.

After an historically bad performance last year, the Lions are at it again. The top four cornerbacks on last year's roster are gone, and only two of the eight in camp -- Keith Smith and Ramzee Robinson -- have been with the team longer than 10 months, Niyo writes.

Coach Jim Schwartz admits he has "a stew" at CB -- a mix of young and veteran with backgrounds in a lot of different schemes. (Feeling confident about the secondary's improvement this year yet?)

Still, things are beginning to take shape. The starting CBs look like they will be Phillip Buchanon and Anthony Henry, and Eric King, who was with Schwartz in Tennessee the past three years, has been making plays in practice and may be tightening his hold on a nickel back spot.

-----
As an odds-and-ends aside at the end of his article, Niyo notes that Wednesday's practice was attended by owner William Clay Ford, vice chairman Bill Ford Jr., and former Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi.

What's that all about? No explanation. Is Accorsi a buddy of the Fords? If that's the case, where was he during the Matt Millen era, when we needed him?

Talk about it in The Den!

---

Oh, No, They Say Drew’s Got To Go . . .

On Saturday, new Den forum poster cajunrajan shared his firsthand observations from Lions training camp.  Especially interesting was his take on the quarterbacks:

“Culpepper was on fire all day long.  He was hitting everything.  Definitely his job to lose.  Stafford was fine, and hit most of his passes, but also had a few shaky ones that simply were not good throws. However, the ball comes off his arm like a missile, his arm strength is incredible.  Stanton was terrible.  He can't hit the broad side of the barn, and he had one insanely bad interception which Anthony Henry took the other way for a TD.”

Perhaps in response to that last line, poster reneboater started a new discussion entitled “Stanton Must Go!”:

“This is his 3rd year and he just doesn't seem to impress. He would be a wasted roster space with no future! Pick someone who can step in should he be needed!”

It’s certainly tempting to watch Drew Stanton practice, and decide that he doesn’t have what it takes to play quarterback in the NFL.  It’s fairly obvious that that’s what Jim Colletto and Rod Marinelli did in 2008—remember Colletto’s line that he wouldn’t want Drew to “embarrass himself”?  It’s true, Stanton’s arm is extremely inconsistent.  Sometimes, he can place a deep out with zip.  Often, he either doesn’t place the ball, or it doesn’t get there with zip.  Occasionally, he can’t make that throw at all.  With DS, you have to expect that extraordinarily gifted throwers like Stafford and Culpepper will show him up in shorts-and-T-shirt work (observers report Saturday’s practices were not in pads).  However, Drew Stanton’s worth is not in what he does in 7-on-7.  The reason Drew Stanton deserves a spot on the Detroit Lions roster is for what he does in games.

In case anyone forgot, let me remind you of his 2008 preaseason stats.  Drew went 7-of-8, for 85 yards and a TD, including a 50-yard bomb that landed right in Brandon Middleton’s breadbasket.  As most should remember, what very, very little regular season work Drew got in 2008 involved hitting paydirt with his first NFL pass.  Drew’s a gamer, and you can’t really evaluate him without taking that into account.  Schwartz himself has said so:

"He flashes. He hasn't been quite as consistent as I'd like at times,'' Schwartz said of Stanton. "The one thing that's going to happen with Drew is that Drew isn't the classic drop-back passer. He's going to make plays off-schedule a little bit and sometimes you don't see that at practice. You don't see the quarterback scrambling around in practice and extend the play and tuck the ball and run and those things. Those are the plays he made in college, that sort of defined him as a quarterback, that he could make those plays. We'll see that a little bit more when we get to preseason games. It's a little bit hard to read that style of quarterbacks in the stuff we're doing out here because you're throwing everything from the pocket in practice."

It’s obvious that the Lions are considering adding a more experienced arm to the mix, having worked out Cleo Lemon, Craig Nall, and Brooks Bollinger on the eve of camp.  Stanton’s chances diminish further if Duante is leading the Lions to a successful season; they’d have no experienced backup as they hit the homestretch.  However, so far the Lions have made no moves, and Stanton remains on the roster.  Once the armor is donned, the lights go on, and the Lions face the enemy in preseason battle, Drew Stanton will get the opportunity to prove he can make plays and win games for this team—and might face the Turk if he can’t.

Discuss it here, in The Den!

Teachable moment shows difference between Schwartz, Marinelli

Jim Schwartz had a long talk with the Lions' offense following two-minute drills Sunday in which the team scored no TDs, Tom Kowalski at MLive.com reports.

"There were some coaching points that came up in that, and I don't like to wait until we get off the field or wait until a meeting at night because it's a lot better to make (those points) right away," Schwartz said.

That's already a refreshing change from the approach of the last coach, Rod Marinelli. Having come in as a defensive line coach from Tampa Bay with no head coaching or even coordinator experience, Marinelli hired Mike Martz to run the offense -- and then Marinelli seemed to abdicate himself from any authority over or involvement in it.

It was a bad move on many levels, not the least of which being Martz tended to run an offense that when it failed -- which it often did due to a lack of talent -- put an even less talented defense back out onto the field far too often, for far too long. The results were predictable.

Schwartz comes from a defensive background, but realizes that he's the head coach of the entire team; and that in the big picture, the offenses and defenses should complement one another.

Discuss in The Den!

---