Upset Alert: New York Jets Must Not Take Detroit Lions Lightly
by Matt Birch on Nov 5, 2010 12:25 AM EDT
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Analysts and coaches alike say "we are what our record says we are." Well, in the case of the Detroit Lions, I'm telling you that's not true.
Their current record: two wins and five losses.
However, that doesn't factor in the fact that QB Matt Stafford played in last week's game, but only one half of football in the six games previous. Or the fact that they endured a tough first half schedule, and played four of their first six games on the road. Furthermore, let's not forget they were competitive in every game this season: all of their losses sans one were by eight points or less.
Detroit is one of my two teams to look out for in the second half of the season that I think will make some noise. They have a favorable schedule and many home games remaining and they're getting healthy again.
The Lions have arguably the best wide receiver in football. At 6'5", Calvin Johnson, aka "Megatron," presents matchup problems for any secondary. He will be matched up against CB Darrelle Revis for the majority of the game. They have a quarterback in Stafford who's not afraid to take chances down the field, and has many similarities to QB Aaron Rodgers. They spread it around well, as TE Brandon Pettigrew and TE Tony Scheffler have combined for 61 catches this season.
Furthermore, they have the perfect counter to the Jets' blitz: RB Jahvid Best. Best is actually second in the team in receptions, and as John alluded to earlier in the week, they'll look to counter the Jets' blitz via screen passes and misdirections.
On defense, they do a great job of getting pressure on the quarterback from everywhere on their defensive line. They've recorded 23 sacks thus far this year, and Vanden Bosch, Avril and Suh are all forces to be reckoned with.
QB Mark Sanchez must get the ball out of his hands quickly and he must make smart decisions with the football. Sanchez must also look downfield for a big play to make the Lions pay when they do blitz.
Bottom Line:
The Jets may be the more talented team, but they're coming off one of their worst offensive outputs of the decade. They need to get back in sync on offense and return to their pre-bye week form.
I'd like to see the Jets go simple and return to what works: "ground and pound." Cotchery received 13 targets last week, which was more than Edwards and Holmes were targeted combined. Something's gotta give there.
I have heard a lot of Jets fans saying this will be an easy win for the Jets, and I'm saying it won't be. These are not the Lions of 2009-10. This is a young, talented team that will contend in years to come, which is capable of an upset every week and the Jets must not take them lightly. I envision a close game on Sunday.
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As a Lions fan
I am glad to hear we are earning respect around the NFL. I expect this game sunday to be a good bench mark for were we stand going into the final stretch of the season. Are division is still up for grabs so we have far from givin up at a possible wild card spot while it is asking alot. I have my ticket for sunday I want to witness what I feel will be the next Brady/Manning, Montana/Ainkman matchup in the making. Stafford/Sanchez while friends could be a great NFL rivalry for years to come.
You can't keep the Pain Train off the tracks!
Me fail english thats umpossible
This is getting exciting should be a great game sunday...
This is gonna sound retarded but I expect to be loud and crazy there… You should have lots of fun at FORD field this weekend. Hopefully we can keep LT/Greene in check Sun, though, i will probably start Greene on my fantasy team. Cause I like to feel extra shitty if I start someone playing against the Lions that tear them up, i can eat more pizza than Rex Ryan then.
Great post
and very smart to not count out the Lions. This could be a very tough game.
GGN Moderator, House pessimist, veteran arm chair coach.
www.GangGreenNation.com
Just to add to the “they aren’t what their record says” thing, they also won in week one, except that they didn’t. Who knows what happens if the ref makes the right call rules don’t suck and they win that game.
I just want to say.
A lot of people in the sports world are under the misconception that the bad rule was what made us lose. The refs did make the incorrect call (the rule is still annoying though). The rules as provided by the NFL state that a player must retain possession while he goes to the ground, and after he has gone to the ground must retain it. It says nothing about what must happen when the ball touches the ground, only that if a player does not have possession when the ball touches the ground, that it is incomplete (he clearly had possession when it touched the ground).
That was a catch, and the media has been hyping up how it was the rules and not the bad officiating, which is fallacious.
Just wanted to throw that in there.
The only thing more nauseating than a horrible call changing a game’s outcome is the ridiculous attempts by the league to justify it. How many teams have been screwed already and the season’s only half over? The Lions’ endzone catch, the Steelers fumbling to Miami (oh wait, DO OVER!), then Minnesota’s TD that wasn’t. The league apologizes to Chilly (in a private convo of course), then fines him for publicly stating the refs screwed up! And will the media please stop insulting everyone with an IQ above 80 by referring to the tuck “rule”? If you look it up in the rulebook, does it say “a fumble is a fumble unless we arbitrarily decide we don’t want it to be?” Must be right under the other rule that states looking angrily in Tom Brady’s general direction is an automatic personal foul.
by nationalist88 on Nov 5, 2010 11:19 PM EDT up reply actions
This game has me worried than most of the remaining. The Jets HAVE to run with authority and have clock control. The defense needs to eliminate Best underneath and Revis/CRO have to suck the energon cubes from Megatron.
Should be a fun game, but only if the Green win of course.
The Lions caught us at absolutely the worst possible time.
Instead of wondering in thinking that all we had to do was show up and let our talent take over, we’re coming in with a purpose. Our defense is just hitting it’s stride and our offense is out to prove that games like last game are just an aberration.
Im gearing up for a good ol’ fashioned thumping, Jets style. We will run the ball with authority and our defense will take another step towards re-establishing its NFL dominance.
possibly or we just got our starting QB back...
one of the most dominant D lines in the NFL our MLB just got back our two unknown CBs are playing fairly well right now, are one real problem is running the ball. This isnt the lions of old your not thumping us… If anything you guys cant afford to fall behind because Sanchez hasnt proven that he can carry the team yet.
Cmon guy. We're not the Redskins.
Your D-line is not dominant. Its one of the worst against the run in the league. And your starting QB will probably make ANOTHER quick exit after we blitz the hell out of your garbage LT. Your team might not be as bad as it used to be, but thats not saying a whole lot considering how bad you used to be. You’re better but youre still not any good.
THUMPED. By at least 2 scores.
Wow, already coming out swinging, eh? Your team was just shutout by a team we put up 26 against and at Lambeau
with our back-up QB. Jets defense is one of the best in the league, no doubt about it. Seems like the Jets are better at stopping the run than the pass, and we are a passing team with a wide variety of players who can catch the ball. You can and probably will stop the run, for the most part, but the question is: Will Darelle Revis or Cromartie be able to stop Megatron all game in single coverage? Nobody has yet this year. We are also ranked 6th in the NFL for sacks, 8th for forced fumbles, and 12th in the NFL for interceptions, which are all better than the Jets rankings on defense. Total defense to me is overrated when you have a offensive powered team like the Lions. Teams will score on us, that’s a given. But can they stop us from scoring? It’s going to be interesting, for sure.
From 0-16 to the Superbowl baby!
Revis, who should be 100% now, just might decide to remind everybody who he is and what he does and lock up Calvin on the island.
And please stop pretending you have some juggernaught offense. We’ve held much scarier offenses than yours in check.
Tell Lil Darelle to bring his step ladder with him.
Please, leave Revis in one on one coverage for the game.
Is there a stat for just the Dline vs the run, thought it was just the D as a whole unit...
You say your not the Redskins but these are the things they said about Orakpoo hurting Stafford and them destroying us. You guys are better than the Redskins its no doubt and our run D does scare me, but do I see an offense that scored 0 points last week beat us by 2 TDs this week…. NO Especially after the Jets had to install a pouting rule on Sanchez to wear he takes fines when he doesnt have the right body language. All im saying is crow doesnt taste well and you shouldnt be as arrogant as your head coach.
What good is a d-line thats a revolving door in the run game? The Skins are a joke and to try to equate that team to the Jets is hillarious. I could care less what their fans said.
And if think that because we laid an egg last week means that your D will snuff us this week, well I’ll just pray that the players on your team are thinking the same. The Jets averaged 30 per during the 5 game win streak we had prior to last week. Last game was the aberration, not hte norm. And you can bet your ass that they will make a point to put their foots on your necks this week.
we avg over thirty at home too weird huh thats why everyone is excited for this game...
I like your passion man just relax, gonna give yourself a hemi. You D line doesnt make everyplay runs, it your LBs and extra safety that make your run D so stout. Our D line does fairly decent job were lacking consistent LB play. We have been in everygame we have played this year (with our backup QB I will have you know) Just dont see anything that the JETS running away with this game.
The only thing i was comparing between the Skins and JETS were the Moron fans that didnt give a fair evaluation of the game, then they were pissy and crabby because the “SAME OLD LIONS” showed them that theyre not the same old shit. Except your really the only JETS fan that is saying it so Im not to worried about it, most of the guys here that ive talked to have been cool and give a fair evaluation and know what can happen if you overlook the Lions.
You squad is 2-5. Your "back-up is actually better than your starter, but if you’re going to go on losing anyway you might as well give the youngin some reps and speed up his learning curve. If you think that your D-Line play isn’t the most intrical aspect of stopping the run, then i guess it really has been a looonng time since you’ve seen good football in Michigan.
And all the people playing nice with you and slapping you hi-fives because the Lions don’t suck as bad as they used to are the sames ones that would be red-faced OUTRAGED if the Jets not only don’t win this game, but if they don’t do so in convincing fashion.
Maybe i’m the only one thats willing to say so right now. But trust me. MOST of the people around here would be PISSED if the Jets lost this game. You used to be the ugliest and smelliest girl at the dance. Just because it dawned on you to bathe doesn’t mean I want to dance with you. The Lions don’t deserve to even share the floor with the Jets.
ha ha ha geez you really are silly arent you....
I suppose your starter is better than our QBs… You’ve got quite the high horse for not scoring any points last week. Your QB is game manager and holding you back from being what it should be but your right blame it all on us that your Offense cant perform the way it should.
People being honest with the game at hand wont be nearly as dissapointed when the game doesnt go the way you anticapate. Should be a good game and im very excited for it, could go either way. Hope you blow us out so you can sleep better after that dismal performance your had against arena league players.
Im not real sure about the dance analogy but ill try to interpret it the best i can. We suck so you dont think that you should have to play us and were so shitty that we dont deserve to be in the NFL let alone waste the JETS time with a game. Your right we have had a real shitty decade no arguing that but how bout you quit beating a dead horse, we get it, but the JETS have had dull seasons and have had losing seasons so lets not pretend that the JETS have always been a team stacked with Pro bowl talent. Every team has had losing seasons and losing streaks, some worse than others but shitty none the less.
Lets quit living in the past and talk about the now… There will be a good game sunday, loud as hell, may the best team win. Hopefully you guys run away with it so then i dont have to listen to how you pissed this game away and we had no reason to even be in the game with you. Good luck on the rest of the season and hopefully you guys make it all the way
LMFAO damn Crack is bringin it!
We can only hope the team is as fired up as you are brother!
by nationalist88 on Nov 5, 2010 11:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Lol. Hey man, somebody had to put an end to all the Lions back-slappin. Everybody knows we should win this one easy. If its the Steelers, Ravens, Pats, Giants… losing to one of those teams you can say, “hey, we got beat by a good team.” But the Lions…? Hell no.
Well we lost to the Giants by 8 points with our 3rd string QB....
with a chance to win it barring a shitty fumble. But that says nothing about our team were still shit dont give us any credit for becoming a better team. Normally playing the Lions, is just what you need when your Offense needs a kick start. But not this year my friend the Lions wont go down without a fight.
But if you lose to the Giants, Hey you lost to a good team… The double standard is starting to make sense. Do you realize we average more points than you per game. Your weaknesses are our strengths and your strengths are our weaknesses. But your too big of a homer to give anyone credit. Just trying to have an honest open minded discussion and you feel like going out of your way to take back handed slaps at me.
That's the thing Gyrorick, we still haven't earned all of their the respect just yet.
All it would take to earn everybody’s respect would be to beat the supposed “best defense in the NFL” and put up 30 points on them. The Jets are a good defense, I will not dispute that. However, they should actually be in the consideration for “one of the best defenses in the NFL” and that’s the bottom line. I don’t believe that they are better than the Steelers or Ravens, though Ryan is a by-product of Baltimore. This game will be a statement game for both teams, can the Lions beat the upper-echelon of the NFL with the supposed “best defense”? or can the Jets rebound from a shutout and actually put up enough points to hang with a Detroit Lions team that’s averaging 30+ at home? We will soon find out.
The most anticipated Detroit Lions game in probably a decade or so. It’s time to prove that the “same ol’ Lions” aren’t the same bullshit that everybody’s used to seeing the last 9 years.
From 0-16 to the Superbowl baby!
You’re 100% right, if we lost this game it won’t make a bit of difference to anyone how much better the Lions are. This board (at least the ones who are real fans and care about the team) would be coming unglued if we lost this game. The Lions are improving, and need a statement win over a good team to start changing their image.
But it better not happen this f’ing week.
by nationalist88 on Nov 6, 2010 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Any time your team loses you should be upset...
I would be surprised if you guys werent furious if you lose to the Lions… BUT i can hear it now how you played down to our level and we shouldnt of even been in it and all the other horse shit. It would never be us playing up to their level or just being better that day. Any given sunday right? Weirder things have happened, right.
You being pissed cause you lost should happen, let me guess cause were this dog shit team we dont get pissed if we lose. Were NFL fans just like anyone else and losing sucks and someone has to lose sunday thats just part of the game.
I’m not saying your team is shit at all. You have a better QB than we do for crying out loud. Detroit has clearly drafted some playmakers with all those high picks and it’s paying off. But the difference is, you don’t have the same expectations that our team does. The Jets are built to win now, and can’t afford to lose to a team that’s still rebuilding.
The Lions aren’t there yet, we both know that. You’re still missing a lot of pieces, and an 8-8 season would be a tremendous improvement. But 8-8 for us would be an unmitigated disaster, and could only occur if we started losing games like this one.
by nationalist88 on Nov 6, 2010 1:52 PM EDT up reply actions
thats a great assessment man, Its honest, and i can appreciate that...
I hope its a good game sunday, should be a fun one to watch for sure.
Thanks. I know what it’s like to suffer with a team that’s struggling; been a Jets fan through the 90’s.
by nationalist88 on Nov 6, 2010 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Funny.
The Redskins said the same thing, replacing “Redskins” with “Rams”.
They also said we didn’t have a dominant d-line. And then they said they’d get Staff back on that bench within the half. They also said we weren’t good.
Oh, and I don’t know what LT you’re talking about. Backus is not a liability, I don’t get why the media keeps feeding that garbage and people keep listening to it.
Annndddd they also said we’re awful against the run, and yet we kept their RBs to under 50 yards.
Yeah, sounds exactly like last game. I’m calling my bookie.
Yeah, ask Orakapo or Matthews how lousy Backus is.
Backus owned Osi U in the Giants game. Our third stringer decided to do his best statue imitation on the sacks the Giants got. Staff or Hill have a lot more sense about moving around and getting rid ot the ball.
Our O line gives up sacks at a rate of 3.8% [Sacks/ (Pass attempts + Sacks)]. Your guys, 4.8%. I don’t think our O Line needs any lessons from yours in how to pass block.
Our team has been playing from behind all season and with no run game. Yours? Sort of the opposite. Still feel good about your pass blocking?
Jets style?
So… 6-10 points, three picks and how many fake punts?
We’ll buy all you’re selling on the Jets having an elite defense (they’re still no Pittsbugh or NYG), but the offense is pretty much all LT’s resurgence, an elite o-line and some smoke and mirrors.
I really like the Jets and since I’m in Brooklyn, I watch a ton of their games. So this is just what I’m seeing.
by Jamesir Bensonmum on Nov 5, 2010 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Anybody else noticing a trend here? The trend being that nobody has any respect/fear/or even mild consideration for our QB? We’re talking about a 2-5 football team’s fans saying our QB has no game.
Coffee’s brewing boys. Time to wake the hell up and take a whiff.
by nationalist88 on Nov 6, 2010 1:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Take a whiff of what...
Staffords played essentially one game.. has half as many TDs as sanchez, better passer rating oh and he isnt a game manager.
so to be fair, Hill in 6 games has 1309 yds Sanchez has 50 more yds and played 1 more game than hill… they both have 9 TDs Hill has better completion percentage and better qb rating.
So ya go Sanchez
Take a whiff of the reality that our QB sucks. Even YOU guys are calling him a game manager. That’s another way of saying, “we know you can’t win for us, so please just don’t screw up and cause us to lose”.
Your backup Shaun Hill has better numbers as you stated. Most fans around here blame the OC for our offensive problems. I am in the minority here who believes that we drafted a bust. But nobody’s freaking out yet because we’re 5-2. Let’s see how this year progresses, but I don’t believe we make the playoffs. And if we don’t, guaranteed it’s because of Sanchez.
by nationalist88 on Nov 6, 2010 4:06 PM EDT up reply actions
ha ha i apologize i read your comment above wrong i thought you were telling lions fans to wake up...
But you were clearly talking to JETS fans. Its very odd that they had to install a rule that fines him for bad body language. He needs to get it together and start performing or he wont last. I still think you can make the playoffs, but if you think Jets would be pissed if you lost tomorrow they would be ten times as pissed if you guys dont make the playoffs. That could quite possibly be the end of Sanchez for sure.
Keys
The key for the Jets is their running. I believe if they run well they will win this game. The key for the Lions is their passing. I they can pass successfully the Jets will have their hands full. While I believe the Jets will win my heart always says..Go Lions!
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