Detroit Lions Week 3 Stock Report

This was supposed to be the week the Detroit Lions returned to .500 and revived their playoff hopes. Instead, Lions fans are being deluged with the dreaded 0-2 stats (only 12 percent that start out so poorly make the playoffs, according to ESPN) and are losing their faith faster than an emo '90s song.

It's the nature of the business. When things aren't going well, the pessimism starts to win out, especially when there haven't been many signs of improvement.

That's why we must measure which players are actually trending upward.

Did it work? I didn't think so, but at least I tried to find something positive for you. It's proven to be too tough a task, like finding a two-point conversion play with a greater than 12-percent chance of converting.

Stock Down: G Larry Warford

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

The offensive line has taken a beating online and in the media. It's been almost as bad as the one it received at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings.

Tackles Riley Reiff and Cornelius Lucas were horrendous, combining to allow two quarterback hits and 10 hurries, per Pro Football Focus. Yet no lineman was as disappointing as Larry Warford.

The third-year guard made his season debut after an ankle injury sidelined him for almost a month. It's fair to wonder if that ailment didn't linger into Sunday's matchup since Warford didn't meet the standard he set in his first two seasons.

While we could blame Lucas for Detroit's horrendous rushing results to the right side (seven carries for six yards), Warford didn't help much. And the tape shows the four quarterback pressures allowed by Warford can't be pinned on the second-year right tackle either.

Detroit needs Warford to set the tone up front as its best lineman. At least in his season debut, he didn't measure up to the challenge.

Stock Up: S James Ihedigbo

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

The first game wasn't very memorable for James Ihedigbo. He missed as many tackles as he made (three, per Pro Football Focus) and took a bad 15-yard penalty.

But Detroit's starting strong safety didn't stay down for long. In fact, his play against Minnesota was one of the few bright spots in a rather dark day for the defense.

Ihedigbo had a team-leading nine tackles, including five stops (plays that constitute an offensive failure) and two very impressive tackles in space. Minnesota would have run away with the game much sooner if it hadn't been for Ihedigbo.

It's not reasonable to expect Ihedigbo to play to this level every game. Yet if he can continue to tackle well, it'll cut down on the short throws the San Diego Chargers used to key their Week 1 win. That's encouraging news with Peyton Manning's precision coming to town this week.

Stock Down: DT Jermelle Cudjo

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

Jermelle Cudjo looked destined to be a feel-good story. He scrapped hard in the preseason and recovered a couple fumbles, resulting in a roster spot with Caraun Reid sidelined by his ankle.

Unfortunately, Minnesota's offensive line didn't get the same script.

Cudjo only played 21 snaps, but here's betting the memory will last a lifetime. And not in a good way.

While the box score bears no mention of Cudjo since he didn't record any statistics other than playing time, the tape shows an overmatched defensive tackle being handled with ease. That's probably all she wrote when it comes to Cudjo's time in Detroit once Reid returns healthy.

Stock Up: DE Ezekiel Ansah

Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Ezekiel Ansah shouldn't carry any of the blame for Detroit's Week 2 loss.

When the interior of the line crumbled against Adrian Peterson, Ansah held strong, finishing with five defensive stops of his own. He also added one sack to boot.

The tape backs up his dominance. On one particular first down when the Vikings tried to run Peterson out of the pistol formation, Ansah used his hands expertly to penetrate and notch the tackle for a loss.

Fans probably want to see more from him against the pass, but it's not easy to rack up numbers when Teddy Bridgewater only throws 18 passes. Plus, with the way Minnesota was running the ball, Ansah had to pay close attention to play-action fakes.

Additionally, he also created his own Ndamukong Suh effect at one point, taking on three defenders to allow Isa Abdul-Quddus to provide pressure on Bridgewater.

Ansah has been stout against the run and has done an admirable job creating pressure. If he can pick up a little more help inside, the sacks will come in bunches.

Stock Down: RB Joique Bell

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

It's not Joique Bell's fault that offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi decided to run a shotgun draw for him on Detroit's had-to-have two-point conversion try. It's also not his fault that Calvin Johnson couldn't get to the linebacker in time, forcing Bell to be stuffed in the backfield on the game-deciding play.

It is, however, Bell's fault that he's hesitating behind the line of scrimmage.

You can see Bell stutter step and sway before picking which hole to hit. He's not athletically gifted enough to get away with that. Bell needs to hit the hole quick and hard before a defense can close the creases.

Although again, there wasn't much help up front, with the aforementioned Larry Warford and new center Travis Swanson not sustaining blocks well.

Detroit has given the majority of the touches to Ameer Abdullah and rightfully so. When things break down, he has the quickness to escape and at least neutralize negative plays. Bell doesn't, so he needs to make his decision and run hard, or he'll see his usage rate drop lower than Sunday's four carries.

All advanced stats, grades and positional rankings are courtesy of Pro Football Focus.

Brandon Alisoglu is a Detroit Lions Featured Columnist who has written about the Lions on multiple sites. He also co-hosts a Lions-centric podcast, Lions Central Radio. Yell at him on Twitter about how wrong he is @BrandonAlisoglu.