Detroit Lions Roundtable Week Two: Encouragement and Disappointment

Welcome to Week Two of the 2009 Detroit Lions Roundtable.

This week, in addition to Keith Shelton and myself, we have Lions featured columnist Michael Schottey adding his insight on the team's collapse against the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday.

So let's get started with our first question of the week.

Q. The Lions looked like a great team in the first half against the Vikings, and sub-par in the second as they let the game slip away. What changed in the game to cause such a drastic momentum shift between the first and second halves?

Dean Holden

Recent article: Jeff Backus Not Winning Anybody Over With Hustle Points

It may not be so much that the Lions stopped performing well, so much as the Vikings made adjustments to their game plan, and the Lions had little to counter with.

In the first half, the blitz was working to perfection. Brett Favre went down three times, and was hit a bunch more. So in the second half, the Vikes came out prepared for it.

In addition, the blitz was getting predictable. It was Foote, Peterson, and Sims coming on almost every play, and they telegraphed it every time. No fake blitzes, no safeties or corners coming, and no doubt when the blitz was and wasn't coming. Even the broadcasters knew before the snap.

It wasn't hard for the grizzled veteran under center to recognize this and audible to a blitz-killer screen to Percy Harvin, Sidney Rice, or Bernard Berrian. Even a great blitz is easy to beat if you're prepared for it.

Offensively, there was little change. They struggled to move to ball in the first half, and that continued in the second half.

Kevin Smith had a nice day, and this team can be competent offensively, but Matthew Stafford desperately needs to learn how to finish drives in the end zone.

Keith Shelton

Recent article: Detroit Lions Have Record Losing Streak In Their Sights

The Lions took away the deep pass, but let Brett Farve dink and dunk them down the field, which wore down the defense and kept them on the field longer. Adrian Peterson also heated up.

Once the Lions fell behind, Stafford came under more pressure as the Lions took to the air to overcome, and that's when the turnovers came. Minnesota coasted from there.

The Lions just aren't going to be able to hold many opponents down with just a 10-point lead, unless they're offensively challenged.

They're going to have to win by creating turnovers and scoring lots of points.

So...basically they're in trouble.

Michael Schottey

Recent article: Detroit Lions Offensive Playbook: Five Plays to Beat the 'Skins

The Lions looked like supermen in the first half of the Vikings game, but I wouldn't blame kryptonite-laced water for their second-half collapse.

The Lions made perfectly fine second-half adjustments, but mistakes early in the third quarter changed the game plan.

Stafford was sacked twice on the Lions' opening drive, killing any momentum.

Then Marquand Manuel was flagged for a questionable illegal contact penalty on the ensuing drive—leading to a Vikings score.

When Kevin Smith fumbled on the next drive and Henry misplayed the run on Peterson's touchdown, the game was already over.

This is a young team with a young QB. Although they looked great when the game was close, mistakes will pile up on them and there just isn't enough talent to come back on a team like the Vikings.

Q. Considering the level of competition, do you think the Lions progressed or regressed against the Vikings? Though it's early, after two games, what player would you say is the most impressive/disappointing compared to his preseason expectations?

Dean Holden

The Lions made lots of progress against the Vikings.

The early success of the blitz package, which was not used at all in New Orleans, is progress. The Lions held their first lead of the season, which is progress. Stafford threw his first NFL touchdown pass, which has to be a bit of a relief (don't think Stafford doesn't know what Mark Sanchez is doing in New York).

The linebacking corps made themselves visible in this game, with Larry Foote disrupting plays in the backfield and Julian Peterson flying around the field after a lackluster game against the Saints.

All things considered, the Lions are progressing as individual units. The only thing holding them down now is the ability to pull them all together.

Once we can say, "the offense/defense had a strong game," instead of, "the linebackers/receivers/offensive line/secondary had a good game," we'll start seeing wins again.

I'll pull from the obscure and say I'm most impressed with Marquand Manuel so far this season.

He seemed to be in on a lot of good defensive plays against the Vikings, but was almost invisible in the preseason, aside from one game-saving tackle on Pierre Garcon in the Indianapolis Colts game.

Manuel wasn't a guy most people talked about winning the Lions' safety battle, but he did, and he has done an admirable job alongside rookie Louis Delmas.

Jeff Backus gets my vote for worst player so far this season.

His body of work as a whole has been acceptable so far, but the play I'm calling the "phantom block" against Jared Allen to open the third quarter put him at the bottom of my list, as my latest article explains.

Irrational? Perhaps. But that's okay.

Keith Shelton

It's hard to gauge. When you lose your 19th in a row, I don't know if you can call it progress, even if they do some things right.

Progress would be a win.

That said, I do think Kevin Smith is a solid running back. Not great, but not terrible. He ran hard against the Vikes, even though they loaded the box against him. He'd get my vote for most impressive.

I'd like to say Calvin Johnson, but as good as he's been, he hasn't been good enough. The Lions need him to be the Barry Sanders of receivers.

Part of that falls on the quarterback, which brings me to the most disappointing player: Matthew Stafford.

Yes, he's a rookie, and yes we didn't expect him to be Matt Ryan, but five interceptions and one passing touchdown? Even Harrington wasn't THAT bad as a rookie.

The Lions at this point have no choice but to carry on with Stafford. Hopefully he'll improve, but there's not much reason to believe he will with the talent that is currently on the roster.

Michael Schottey

The Lions have played some of the toughest competition of any team in the first two games. Things don't get any easier from here with Chicago, Green Bay, and Pittsburgh after the Redskins.

I think the Lions have certainly improved from last season to this season and I think we saw the same team in both games, but a much better game plan against a Vikings team which doesn't have as many weapons as the offensively-stacked Saints.

The Lions were scared to blitz Drew Brees, but did a great job against a better offensive line and Brett Favre.

This Sunday will tell us more about the Lions facing a O-line in shambles and a QB who struggles to go deep. If the Lions can get to Jason Campbell or adequately cover the dump off routes, it should be a great game.

If not, Campbell will dink and dunk down the field and Jim Zorn will have job security for another week.

Jason Hunter seems to be the key to this defense. Although he is not anything more than an average pass rusher, he has surprised me with impressive moves against single blockers.

If the Lions don't blitz, he is easily washed away in a double team. Stephon Heyer is close to losing the starting job in Washington and Hunter could be the final nail in that coffin.

Offensively, the play of Daniel Loper needs to step up. He has been decent at times, but hasn't been the dependable player everyone expected him to be.

Interior linemen are at their best when fans forget they exist. This weekend will be a tough test for Loper as he goes against Cornelius Griffin, who is having an outstanding season.