Week 15: Lions-Ravens preview

Post #1 » by **HerSports85** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 6:37 am

3 keys to winning:

Limit turnovers: Turnovers have been Detroit’s theme this year. Game after game, the Lions turn the ball over at inopportune times — 15 times through the last four games — to put the defense in bad situations. Baltimore feeds off the turnovers its defense creates, so quarterback Matthew Stafford has to play mistake-free football. Stafford has thrown 10 interceptions in the past five games and the team has lost 14 of its 26 fumbles.

“Turnovers have killed us, we’ve seen glimpses of how special this team can be and how special this offense can be when we get out of our own way,” Lions running back Reggie Bush to Yahoo Sports!

Rookie mistake: The last time somebody challenged receiver Calvin Johnson, he hauled in 329 passing yards. Ravens first-year safety Jeff Elam became the latest player to speak out of turn toward Johnson, saying the 28-year-old was “too old” to play a “physical” game.

“(Elam) can talk all he wants,” Johnson said. “He plays back. I don’t see him every play unless I run past him”.

Johnson also said that Elam and fellow Ravens safety James Ihedigbo were “nothing extraordinary” and the Lions will make plays against downfield against their defense. All signs point to Johnson and the Detroit offense having a big day. The Ravens have given up 16 passing plays over 40 yards this season — most in the NFL.

Flatten Flacco: Joe Flacco is the second most sacked quarterback — 41 times — in the league. In order to keep Flacco from picking apart the secondary, pressure must be put on the Baltimore signal caller for an entire 60 minutes. Whether it’s knocking passes down, pressuring him out of the pocket or getting a sack, the Lions front four must keep Flacco off his game. Even though Baltimore’s pass offense isn’t height ranked, the Detroit secondary can’t give up the big play.

http://soodetroit.com/index.php/week-15-lions-ravens-preview/

Piston Pete · Post #2 » by **Piston Pete** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 7:01 pm

Have a feeling we lose this one...

Post #3 » by **dVs33** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 11:40 pm

Piston Pete wrote:Have a feeling we lose this one...

Have a little faith Pete.

Post #4 » by **Icness** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 7:21 am

From jubilation to anger to resigned sadness. Such is the life of a fan of this team.

Playoffs are a longshot now. Most realistic way to make it is to have Philly beat Chicago and then for Chicago to beat Green Bay in Week 17, with the Lions winning out. Detroit wins the tie at 9-7 with Chicago and the Packers would finish no better than 8-7-1.

I put the odds of that at around 15%. Not sure I even want to suffer the humiliation at the hands of the 49ers in the Wild Card round anyways.

Piston Pete · Post #5 » by **Piston Pete** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 1:18 pm

dVs33 wrote:
Piston Pete wrote:Have a feeling we lose this one...

Have a little faith Pete.

I really thought we were gonna lose, but was hoping to jinx us into a W

Looks like Schwatz is gonna be fired....I can't see him being brought back after this season. Time to start discussing other coaching possibilities?

Post #6 » by **dVs33** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 6:56 pm

Piston Pete wrote:
dVs33 wrote:
Piston Pete wrote:Have a feeling we lose this one...

Have a little faith Pete.

I really thought we were gonna lose, but was hoping to jinx us into a W

Looks like Schwatz is gonna be fired....I can't see him being brought back after this season. Time to start discussing other coaching possibilities?

Quite possibly.
With all the talent on the team, to have the kind of collapses they've had of late has been pretty disappointed.
I'm very new to NFL, so i'm still learning. What are the thoughts on Stafford?? He looks like a very talented guy, but takes a lot of risks and seems very inconsistent.
whats the general consensus on him with lions fans??