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!

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Battle for guard spots crowded, competitive

While the competition for starting quarterback is getting most of the hype, an even bigger battle is going on with the Lions' offensive guard positions, according to this Associated Press report (which I presume is by Larry Lage).

The Lions have turned over half their roster from last season, and OG was clearly an area they targeted for change. The most recent newcomers are Milford Brown, who started four of the six games in which he played at Jacksonville last season; and Terrance Metcalf, an eight-year veteran who spent his first seven seasons in Chicago before being released in March.

They join another newcomer, Daniel Loper, who came over from Tennessee, where he was a back-up. Incumbent Stephen Peterman is trying to hold onto his spot, and third-year OG Manny Ramirez, who had three starts in four games played last season, seems to be coming on.

Also in the mix is 10-year veteran Jon Jansen, who came over from the Redskins. Jansen has started his entire career as a right offensive tackle, and will likely be a back-up there this season. But he's also been getting practice time at guard and even center. Jansen in the article is quoted as saying he prefers to play tackle, but will go wherever it takes to get playing time on Sundays.

From the A.P. article: Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said the line probably will look the same when Saturday's second preseason game begins in Cleveland, but hinted that five men are competing for just four spots.

"We've got ideas of our rotation, I think it will be pretty similar to the way we did it last week," he said. "We're really about two-deep, anyway, so we're trying to maintain that for the game."
Similarly to the defensive secondary, Lions fans are hoping that when it comes to offensive guard, new equals better.

Talk about it in The Den!

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Killer: Linehan already making his presence felt

New Lions Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan had a very solid performance in Saturday's preseason win over the Falcons, according to MLive.com's Tom Kowalski.

Linehan's sharp coaching particularly manifested itself on screen plays in which the Lions gouged the Falcons for big yardage.

There were several occasions where Linehan smartly called screens into the teeth of an Atlanta blitz - the perfect defense to operate the screen. The Lions got a couple of big gainers out of that, including a 34-yarder to Allen Ervin.

Just as importantly, though, the Lions looked very good in the execution of the play. In recent years, the Lions were a terrible screen team because they always gave it away too early. By the quarterback's third drop step, everybody in the stadium knew what was coming. The Lions now sell the play much better and everybody's in on the act, including the quarterback, running back and offensive linemen.

A good screen game is fundamental to running or passing the ball. And it was something last year's team seemed to never get right (along with many other things).

I think Tom K. is right: The crispness and deceptiveness the Lions showed on the screen plays is a sign of good coaching, and players and coaches having a clue and a plan, doing things with a purpose. It was one of several small but good signs from preseason Game 1.

Share your thoughts in The Den!

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Rookie RB Aaron Brown showing flashes -- but why he may be practice squad-bound

Practice attendees liked what they saw during 11-on-11 drills at Lions practice Thursday, when rookie RB Aaron Brown "sprinted up the middle, juked a defender and sprinted free for a long touchdown," Amelia Rayno reports at detnews.com.

Brown, a sixth-round draft pick out of TCU, has speed to impress, but says he's trying to fight a perception that all he can do is bounce it outside. "The one thing that he has is the raw skill that God only gives a select few -- he has good speed, good hips and he's a good receiver out of the backfield," running backs coach Sam Gash said.

That tends to indicate Brown could make it as a change-of-pace pass-catcher out of the backfield, a role Lions fans kept waiting and waiting for Brian Calhoun to take.

But a quote from the article by offensive coordinator Scott Linehan gives me a hint that Brown may be beaten out by perennial hanger-on Aveion Cason for the third RB spot behind Kevin Smith and Maurice Morris. (bolding mine)

"You see the speed -- that's the first thing you see that flashes," offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said.

"But he's gotta work on his game, both inside and outside the tackles in the run game. Just like all rookies, (he needs to) become a guy that is reliable in pass protection.

"And once you get there, then you can be that guy you utilize for the passing game and the running game trying to create plays. But he's a guy that shows up out here as far as pure speed. Its legitimate, and he's a guy that can take it to the house."

Ah yes, pass protection. Something the Lions have struggled with for years. And with virtually the same underperforming offensive line coming back this year, they'll most definitely need backs experienced at pass protecting to guard billion-dollar-baby Matthew Stafford (or as one blogger described Stafford and his contract to my amusement, "the gross domestic product of Guam.")

Even if you believe Daunte Culpepper will start most of the year, he's a veteran with a history of some serious injuries, who doesn't move as well as he used to. Yet more evidence that pass protection will be critical.

The Lions will have a choice for their third RB -- go with flash, receiving ability and big-play potential in Brown, or a more reliable pass blocker who can do enough of everything to always stick around in Cason. My guess is that they'll go with the latter and that Brown is practice squad bound.

If Brown wants to save himself a roster spot, he needs to wow coaches with holding off big defenders, too.

Talk about it in The Den!

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Linehan On Fanhouse

Dan Graziano caught up to Scott Linehan for a fairly extensive interview that he published at the Fanhouse.

"Daunte's as healthy as he's been in some time, he looks great and he's really driven to try and re-establish himself in this league," Linehan said. "If he can be anything close to what he was in '04, the sky's the limit for Daunte."

In fairness Graziano interpreted this paragraph a little differently than me. The praise from the coaching staff about Daunte has been effusive and to me there is little doubt that Culpepper is the number one quarterback on Schwartz's No Depth Chart depth chart. The enthusiasm that Schwartz, Linehan and his teammates have shown for Daunte have a much differenct flavor than Mike Martz consecutively calling Jon Kitna and J.T. O'Sullivan the best quarterbacks he had ever coached.

Linehan cements Culpepper's status with the following:

"Matt's a young guy with all the talent in the world, and he could certainly show enough that he could be our quarterback," Linehan said. "But we're not going to do that until we believe he's ready for it, whenever that is.

This really isn't anything new. The coaching staff has been very consistent with this kind of statement. It isn't an indictment of Stafford at all, but rather a great deal of comfort with Culpepper. Surely things can change with training camp to come, but it seems that the job is Culpepper's to lose - and even then he might not lose it. Linhan has this to say about Shwartz's Tennessee defenses:

"The way that Tennessee defense always performed -- I don't want to say they overachieved or to downgrade any of the players he worked with there, but you would look and sometimes you'd be amazed," Linehan said. "You'd look at a matchup where you wouldn't think they'd be in it, and they'd be beating teams 14-13, and you'd scratch your head -- 'How are they doing that?' And I think that says a lot about the people there and the continuity of the coaching there, and he was a huge part of that, and I he's going to bring that here with him."

This Lion defense doesn't have the talent of any of Schwartz's Titan ones. They surely will need this unit to produce at capacity to have much of a shot at anything more than a handful of wins. Even so, there is good reason to believe that the team is finally in capable hands.

Ongoing discussion Here in The Den

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A View Of The Top

Lions Den regular AtticusSpeaks breaks down the Lion administration from the ownership to the assistants in an excellent essay.

Ford Sr. -- nice man by all accounts. Would like to win. At times has taken steps -- even bold ones -- to try to win. But -- while some guys obtain teams to satisfy a competitive zeal (like Snyder) and NEED to win -- in their guts -- that's not Ford. So ... he'll give it a try -- but he won't give it 100%. AND more importantly, he's just not a talented executive and doesn't truly know football all that well. So even a 100% effort isn't likely to change things -- other than getting lucky on a decision regarding underlings

I don't have much to add as we share very similar views of the Lion hierarchy, although I think I have a brighter opinion of Sam Gash than Atticus. Much more and ongoing discussion Here in The Den

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