Lions at Raiders Kickoff: 7 p.m. Saturday, 8/25

kellmellus50 · Post #1 » by **kellmellus50** » Wed Aug 22, 2012 12:49 pm

O.co Coliseum, Oakland, Calif.
TV/radio: Channel 7/97.1
Series (exhibition): Raiders lead 4-1
Line : Lions by 2 1/2

This game the lions need to see improved play by special teams.
And the whole team needs to tackle better.
Also need to see who our back up receivers will be.

The Lions signed three-time Pro Bowler Kassim Osgood to a one-year deal to bolster their struggling special-teams units.

The Detroit Lions have released backup quarterback R.J. Archer, solidifying Kellen Moore as a number three quarterback

team released reserve/injured cornerback Drew Coleman and defensive end Michael Cosgrove

Rumor:Alphonso Smith may not make the 53? Seriously?? Wow - quite a fall from 1st-round pick.
Jonte Green, Patrick Edwards, Stephfon Green could become NFL starters
Carmen Messina has had a good camp too.

Prediction Lions 24 - Oakland 21

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2012 ... z24HKgGnGo

Blkbrd671 · Post #2 » by **Blkbrd671** » Thu Aug 23, 2012 5:31 am

^i think smith was actually a 2nd rounder, but Denver traded a first to move up and get him

TSE · Post #3 » by **TSE** » Thu Aug 23, 2012 4:16 pm

Well Kellen Moore's top competition was never RJ Archer, it is the list of QBs that get released on cut day. There should be access to at least 1 or a couple of interesting pickups that could be more attractive which is part of the reason why I want to trade Shaun Hill. That would add 1 more QB to the rest of the field for potentially an increase of 1 to the pool of possible pickups after cut day. RJ was just a waste of time, I have no idea why they brought him in because I think they should have been able to get one of the better UDFAs to choose Detroit, but their inside-the-box strategy of not being open minded about trading Shaun Hill has slightly restricted that option. We still should have been able to get a more intriguing prospect and had a quick look-see. What if Stafford and Hill suffered freak injuries, well then it would have been nice in case we got super lucky on a long-shot and I just didn't see RJ Archer as having any basis from his college performance/profile for being that 4th guy for that long-shot hail mary play.

I don't like the signing of Kassim Osgood, we have a logjam at WR and don't have the spot to give him. To just play ST is not a good value, we can find other guys to play ST that are useful in other departments, the fact that we choose poorly with guys like Stovall and Rashied Davis and we foolishly think they are good when they are clearly absolutely terrible is not a proper excuse to go for this kind of solution. The solution is to find the right guy that can do both jobs and pick him up, OR teach our current guys to do it the right way and so you vet and qualify and find the right coach that knows how to do that. It's just a matter of will, no magic tricks, we have the ingredients and raw materials to install a good ST unit and have them play in concert together, it's just a matter of coaching that needs to be done.

I agree our tackling is horrendous and it always has been every single year. That's not going to become perfect, I know this is another byproduct of the Gunther system and style for how he programs his defense. I think it makes it much harder for our players to master the fundamentals of tackling within this kind of design and approach. He doesn't do a good job of setting his players in the right positions and how to react and adjust to position 2 etc. You can tackle a guy in many ways from many angles, but statistical logic says that if you are in less than perfect position (and the degree to which you come up short) then your odds go down and we leave lots of these gaps for a totality of failing a little too consistently than we should. All we can do is hope he does the best he can and continues to improve and fortunately for us we at least have a lot more roster talent and depth than we have had in the past so we have chances to make up for it and do a lot better even if we don't become great. Maybe a guy like Travis Lewis has the smarts and leadership to help Gunther out with teaching/coaching.

Post #4 » by **Icness** » Fri Aug 24, 2012 6:16 pm

Good test for the OL; OAK has a very physical, very active defensive front. They also have a lot of speed at WR to test the DBs.

The Osgood trade tells me the Lions are serious about upgrading special teams even if it costs the offense a bit. Osgood only has 44 catches in 9 years and can't get separation from me, but he's one of the three best special team players in the league. It's not like whomever gets displaced (Stovall likely) had any role in the offense anyways.

Sounds like Chris Greenwood is hitting PUP with potential for going on IR.

TSE · Post #5 » by **TSE** » Fri Aug 24, 2012 6:24 pm

Stovall in my mind had virtually zero chance to make this team. I know Mayhew pretty much loves him in contrast but I think even Mayhew never would have kept him regardless of Osgood coming here or not.

To me the way our roster looks I think that the extra active roster spot would and should go to a defensive player if we didn't have Osgood. That's going to cost us. If we had one extra player in that DEF position on game day then it's extra insurance for injuries to that position on that day for depth, and it saves energy for all 5+ other guys that play that position. We guarantee ourselves an automatic inefficiency by having a ST only player active. It's not a good strategy if you can avoid it and we easily could and should. His value will project to be a fraction of what we could get by not having him take up a spot from a more efficient and valuable team member. If he can promise creating one fumble every game that would be a different story, but there aren't enough ST plays and enough likelihood of him being able to add enough value on those plays to justify his suiting up.

Post #6 » by **ajaX82** » Sat Aug 25, 2012 9:02 pm

Osgood trade sounds very smart, given that the top-4 at WR is pretty set in stone anyways. We need ST help badly.

I'm hoping to get my first glimpse of the team tonight, haven't been able to watch a second of preseason yet.

Marley2Hendrix · Post #7 » by **Marley2Hendrix** » Sat Aug 25, 2012 11:48 pm

Bentley with a shoulder injury and questionable to return. Any ideas why Kevin Smith doesn't seem to be playing?

kellmellus50 · Post #8 » by **kellmellus50** » Sun Aug 26, 2012 2:34 am

The good
Good special teams this week.

The bad
I have seen enough of Kellen Moore (try-out) he is way too short and his passes are being batted down or intercepted by D- linemen . Also he can't throw the long ball.I want to see a differant 3rd string QB for the lions.

Aphonso's tackling is abysmal.and then he gives up the TD.....Cya Alphonso should be cut.

Leshoure looked terrible. He didn't block well - that's how Stafford got hurt and all the other backs performed better. I thought last year as well as this year that his injuries were due to a lack of conditioning, and now I am certain of it.

Never forget that in 2008, the Lions were 4-0 in the preseason and 0-16 when it counted.

Feel better?

TSE · Post #9 » by **TSE** » Sun Aug 26, 2012 10:35 pm

I really don't know what to say after that last game. Lots of good and bad but just frustrated that we seem to be a long ways away from where we need to be at on a number of fronts. I'm also dreading the laundry list of cuts of possible good football players that I never got to see enough of. This is going to be the deepest cut of useful football talent we will have ever done, and that bothers me for a number of reasons. Some of these guys won't get the shot they deserve, and we will also fail to capitalize off their departure. So not felling all that better yet.

Blkbrd671 · Post #10 » by **Blkbrd671** » Sun Aug 26, 2012 11:12 pm

i hope smith doesn't get cut, i know he let up a couple big plays but he also had a nice interception that was taken away.

is it just me or is our front four not as good as we think it is

kellmellus50 · Post #11 » by **kellmellus50** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 12:04 am

Our front four will be the stength of the defense

A final note on special teams is the disappointing showing of undrafted rookie Patrick Edwards. The wide receiver out of Houston has been a training camp darling, making a number of highlight reel catches in practice, but two blunders on punt return against the Raiders could have his roster hopes dimming. In the third quarter, he made a fair catch inside the five-yard line and then muffed another later in the game.

The special teams coverage units were phenomenal, with Ronnell Lewis, Maurice Stovall, Nate Hughes, Ricardo Silva and Reshard Langford all making plays to shut down the Raiders' return game.

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/20 ... oit_1.html

Blkbrd671 · Post #12 » by **Blkbrd671** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 3:39 am

Would much appreciate a brief summary of the game. didn't get to watch much of it.

kellmellus50 · Post #13 » by **kellmellus50** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 12:28 pm

The game was boring till richard pryior came in an tore the lions defense apart.
he ran 1 run of 56 yards and another 17 for a touchdown ,passed for another beating afonzo smith .kellen moore tried to make a come back but he was an ant in the back field amoung giants when he tried to pass many were batted down or intercepted, i wish we drafted pryior instead of signing moore.

here's a recap for you to read:http://sports.yahoo.com/news/stafford-injures-hand-lions-lose-023626928--nfl.html

TSE · Post #14 » by **TSE** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 6:44 pm

Nothing can be boring when Richard Pryor is around lol. Yeah I like Pryor too a little but Oakland used up a 3rd Rounder and we had too many needs to make a bid like that especially considering we already over-invested to get our primary QB.

I'd rather have Vince Young than Kellen Moore. There will also be more QBs cut at the end of the week and we could have multiple options that are more interesting that Kellen Moore.