Detroit Lions Stock Watch: 5 Bulls & 5 Bears for the Second Half

There are five Lions whose performance will decline and five that should improve in the second half of the season.

If you viewed the Detroit Lions as an investment portfolio and purchased the fund before the beginning of the season, you are currently sitting on a tidy little profit.

Not enough scratch to boast about to your poker buddies, but enough to satisfy your inner Jim Kramer. Unfortunately, fans cannot sell off the first half success as caffeine crazed day traders; rather we are in it for the long haul and must ride out the remainder of the year.

What’s in store for the Lions as the second half is mere days away? Well, in a word, brutal.

The Lions second half is chock full of landmines that start with their annual pilgrimage to Chicago and a Bears team full of confidence after their road kill on Monday Night Football upending the Philadelphia Eagles.

Eagle fans are vile. The only group of illiterates who would “Boo” Santa Claus and lob snowballs at the jolly elf; I cannot imagine sports talk radio in Philly this week.

After their trip to the Windy City, the Lions come home to face rookie phenom Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. A seemingly easy victory in your preseason prognostication now becomes very interesting with a player who could win the game on his own.

Then the game everyone is waiting for, Thanksgiving against the undefeated and reigning Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.

After what is sure to be a both physically and mentally draining contest, the Jungle Kings head to Bourbon Street to take on the Saints which will probably be the NFL flex Sunday night game.

Fantastic, this game becomes considerably more difficult with a supremely lubed up fan base on national television. Remember how crazy that place was for the first game after Katrina? If the Lions pull this one out, there will be no reason to believe they cannot make a Super Bowl run.

After a breather back home against the Vikings, it’s back on the road to Oakland and the Black Hole should continue to be less than hospitable as the Raiders will be battling for the division title.

That battle could be with the slumping Chargers who celebrate Christmas Detroit style and may be more focused for the holiday clash being holed up in their hotel suites while the Lions are at home sharing Seasons Greetings with friends and family.

The Pack will ring in the New Year while hosting Detroit for the regular season finale and if you’re reading this you know the Lions history in Wisconsin.  Matt Flynn, Brandon Saine and Randall Cobb could somehow snatch victory from the Leos on the Frozen Tundra.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and worry about Lambeau Leaps and the unending loop of Bang on the Drum All Day. Rather, we’ll look at some of the individual stocks; five Lions whose play will continue to rise and unfortunately, five who’s second half performance will trend downward.

Brandon Pettigrew

Brandon Pettigrew - Up

He’s right on schedule with his performance from last year: 41 grabs for 360 yards. But, looking at the first half stats, there is something that leads me to believe his second half will be even better.

His worst games came in blowouts. Three catches in the game against Denver, and one grab hosting the Chiefs. This tells me Pettigrew is truly the safety valve for Stafford and when the going gets tough, No. 87 is getting looks.

With the tough second half of the schedule, his numbers should continue to go up and his career best stats will be attained this year.

Titus Young

Titus Young – Up

The first half rookie of the mid-year will continue his ascent in the second half. His 43-yard TD grab was a gift from the school-girl like concern over Calvin Johnson by veteran Brian Dawkins. A touchdown, regardless of degree of difficulty,  is still a touchdown.

He has 19 grabs that are averaging nearly 15 yards a pop. With the focus continuing to rotate towards Calvin and Stafford’s confidence in the rookie growing, the second half should be nice for the Boise State Bronco.

Maurice Morris

Maurice Morris – Up

Remember the girl that looks so-so at the bar, but as the night winds down and the drink count goes up, she morphs into Marisa Miller? That pseudo-centerfold is Maurice Morris.

The back-up has performed admirably in Jahvid Best’s stead. Averaging over four yards per carry, he’s providing consistent carries and moving the chains.

He’s not the reception threat Best is, but he has averaged nearly ten yards per grab. With Pettigrew and Young picking up the slack in the middle of the field, a couple flares to Morris will do just fine.

Obviously, with the concussion still nagging Best, Morris’ playing time will continue to increase and his numbers will, in turn, escalate as well. 

Jeff Backus

Jeff Backus – Up

The Lions left tackle has been anything but spectacular through eight games, and judging his second half performance all comes down to matchups. He’s already taken on five of the top 10 sack artists in the league this year.

The argument could be made he is the reason they sit at the top, but I will choose to be less cynical.

Going forward, Charles Johnson of the Panthers is the only DE or OLB Backus will face in the top 15. This should bode well for Jeff’s swan song as his position at LT is as secure as Joe Paterno’s Head Coaching position at PSU.

Ryan Donahue

Ryan Donahue – Up

The rookie has been as consistent as the rock solid relationship of Ronnie & Sammi Sweetheart.

Boomers and blanks have been fired off the rookie’s right foot this season, but there is a reason Nick Harris was given his walking papers.

I expect more consistency from the young Hawkeye, the talent is there.

Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford – Down

The franchise quarterback has been durable, effective and to quote Charlie Sheen, “winning.”

The fourth rated QB this season, behind only the perennial law firm of Rodgers, Brees & Brady, is unequivocally having his best year as a pro.

Magic Matt’s touchdown to interception ratio of 19-4 is second only to Rodgers, and he’s slinging it four times more per game than the State Farm spokesman.

His ceiling will not get any higher than that this year. Charles Woodson will be waiting for him twice in the second half, along with roadies in New Orleans & Oakland. I just don’t see his second half being as good as the first. 

Calvin Johnson

Calvin Johnson – Down

What more can Calvin do? Most touchdowns through eight games, top five in receptions, yards and first down grabs. Now you expect me to say he’s going to be better in the second half?

If he replicates the first half, he’ll be only one TD short of tying Randy Moss’ 2007 NFL record when he dropped 23 TD on the league; I just don’t see it happening again.

Calvin will be great, and he probably will get to 20 TD, but we saw what the Falcons & 49ers did to try and minimize Megatron and guess what, it worked. Expect more of the same going forward.

Chris Houston

Chris Houston – Down

Did you realize Chris Houston, all by his lonesome, has as many touchdowns as Chris Johnson and Felix Jones combined?

The opportunistic corner has returned half of his four interceptions to the house this year, he ranks third in passes defended at 14 and fifth in tackles amongst corners with 43.

This cannot continue, although I hope it will. He’s having a career year already and has eight more games to add to his total. It just won’t be as great as the first half. You only get one 100-yard pick-six per year.

Bobby Carpenter

Bobby Carpenter – Down

He filled in nicely as Justin Durant recovered from his concussion in Minnesota, and his interception of buddy Tony Romo in Dallas and rumbling home to begin the comeback was memorable.

Fact is, Durant is the starter and Carpenter’s playing time will diminish proportionally with Durant’s health.

He’s a great back-up to have on this team, and it was a plus that Mayhew got him to comeback, but his numbers will go down in the second half.

Jason Hanson

Jason Hanson – Down

He’s the best in the league, I know, but his second half is bound to have a couple miss fires. His only blemish so far was a 52-yarder against San Francisco. The best kickers in the league last year missed two or three each. 

This doesn’t mean Hanson is not the first kicker I would want on my team, it means that even the best are not perfect.

That’s my CNBC report on ten Lions, let’s hope the risers outperform their “Strong Buy” label and the prognosticated fallers are “Stay and Hold.”