But he's got high hopes, he's got high hopes; He's got high apple pie, in the sky hopes! No my Lionettes I am not preparing to rejoin the MSU Glee Club, well not yet at least. That song by Frank Sinatra is appropriate for the hope our beloved Lions continue to instill in us. Well my Lionettes we got our first win of the pre-season with a 25-20 win over the Denver Broncos.Yes I know it's only pre-season and we must not fall into the same trap we seem to every season by reading too much into meaningless pre-season games. However, this time I see a real change happening! I believe Matt Stafford will lead us to the promised land someday!
By the way this photo is of Denver Broncos Quarterback Kyle Orton who loves to drink as you can tell. I got this photo from http://drunkathlete.com/ Pretty funny although it wasn't quite the one I was looking for.
I hope you all get a good laugh from it like I have.
Well let's recap the game and I am feeling particularly cocky because we got a win so we can talk a little smack.
Well let's look at the highs from this past Saturday. The First Team offense led by Matt Stafford was solid including a touchdown pass to Calvin Megatron Johnson. The lowlight of the Lions offensive drives were points left off the board and the 25-20 score made it look closer than what it really was. The Lions opted for field goals when two touchdown passes by Stafford were dropped from TEs Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler. Our Red Zone offense has got to be better than that. 3 out of 4 possessions ended in field goals when we should of gotten TDs.
By the way here is a pretty good interesting recap from the Bleacher Report that you all should enjoy.
RB Jahvid Best had a solid game averaging 6.1 yards a carry and amassing 59 yards of total offense. He would of have had 100 yards rushing had he played the entire game. I think we have a solid one-two punch in our run-game with Jahvid Best and Kevin Smith. By the way I met Jahvid Best at a Lions practice for season ticket holders and yes my Lionettes I am REALLY chugging the kool-aid this time when I bought season tickets. Anyways I got his autograph and I told him to run the ball down Green Bay's throats this year and I believe he will!
Filling in place of injured Kicker Jason Hanson, Steven Hauschka was perfect making all four of his field goals and putting all six kick-offs in the end zone. If Hanson is ever injured again I believe we have a competent kicker in him to fill in providing no other team picks him up.
The Defense did not disappoint except when it came to the play of the Secondary. The starting defensive line only allowed 20 yards although Denver was without their top two running backs. The first-team defense did get to Orton sacking him once. It's refreshing to see our DLine get pressure they have in the games against Pittsburgh and Denver.
Now the bad news. With our DLine having a suspect secondary to complement it; it has created a blueprint for opposing team offenses to look at this game and avoid the pass-rush by using a three-step back drop and using a quick release to get rid of the ball. Without Safety Louis Delmas and CB Jonathan Wade out there, Kyle Orton picked our defense apart and unfortunately without a solid secondary teams will further exploit this weakness. Again we can blame Matt Millen for leaving almost next to nothing in the tank when GM Martin Mayhew and Coach Jim Schwartz took over.
I know we were not going to fix this team with just two drafts. We'll need at least two more before we can begin to serious contend for the NFC North. Like I mentioned in my last posting, my wish list for next year's draft is at least one Linebacker, two Cornerbacks and one Safety.
Once Safety Louis Delmas gets back healthy that will be a huge help to the Secondary. We need depth and someone to pair next to him which could be rookie safety Randy Phillips who is making quite a name for himself in training camp and in these two pre-season games. In this game he had a key tackle for a loss and had a team-high four tackles. I only see us carrying eight defensive backs on the roster. Louis Delmas, Randy Phillips, Ko Simpson most likely three out of the four Safeties. Dre Bly, Jonathan Wade and Amari Spievey will most likely be three out of the four Cornerbacks. The other Corner Back and Safety positions are up for grabs which could come later via trade or roster cuts from other teams. Speaking of Dre Bly he had an awesome interception taking away an impressive drive from the Broncos. So kudos to him.
It was nice seeing LB DeAndre Levy back in the lineup and was showing why he is the Quaterback of the Defense.
I watched the replay of the game the next day on the NFL Network and on the NFL Network replays they have the home team's local coverage so it was the Broncos broadcasters. Well during that first half, they were beside themselves when it came to the Lions defensive line having its way with the Denver offense. One thing annoyed me with their coverage of the game was that they were using the old Lions logo for their animation which of course was wrong.
Some of the rookies need to play a bit better like OT Jason Fox who had a holding and facemask penalty. WR Time Toone was okay on kick-returning games but the numbers were not that impressive. We can only hope that the rookies will develop in time.
Overall I was happy with their performance with the exception of getting field goals instead of touch downs. Well my Lionettes don't forget this coming Saturday's game against the Cleveland Browns has been moved from 5:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. It is possibly going to be blacked out so those of you in the blackout zones will not be able to see the game until it is repeated I believe at 8:30 p.m. laster that day. I will be attending in person rotting our Lions onto victory.
Well my ever faithful Lionettes it has been a really long day. I'll have another post next week after the Cleveland game. Until next time stay strong, believe that good things will come and we will be rewarded for our loyalty! I KNOW IT! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO LIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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