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Lions week! Detroit "Bout to get Rocked" City

SCP

By SCP,
in Carolina Panthers

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bigskypanthersguy Rising Star

bigskypanthersguy

Posted
Posted

You ever make it to Montana, look me up:  we may differ in our choice of cat teams, but anyone man enough to support a long-suffering franchise is owed a drink by me.  Your team may have suffered longer, but mine isn't exactly a bastion of greatness either.  Hopefully last year is a sign that the ship is finally righting itself.

 

Lion's fan here.  I'm excited for the game next week.  I expect it to be a good one.  I'm not expecting Detroit to go into Charlotte and pull out a win, but I do think we'll give you a good game.  I just figured I could stop by and give you a bit more of a detailed look at the 2014 Lions than you will get through the conventional media.  While I watch a great deal of football, I've never coached or played at a high level so feel free to take my observations with a grain of salt.

 

Coaching - It appears that Detroit has a better situation than they have had in the past.  The discipline issues under Schwartz were well documented and they continued in the first half of the Giants game.  If it weren't for the 8 1st half penalties that game would've gotten out of hand.  The encouraging signs for us Lions fans is that the team responded and committed 0 second half penalties.  That never happened under Schwartz.  You're probably familiar with Lombardi as he as the Quarterback's coach of the Saints.  You'll definitely see some looks that you'll recognize from NO, but at the same time they've kept certain principles and schemes from the Linehan era.  I think Lombardi's gonna make a good OC, but next Sunday will be the first time he's called plays in a close NFL game (the NYG game was his first time calling plays in the NFL,) so it's quite possible that we see some playcalling yipps.  Marvin Austin came over from the Ravens and brought a great deal more aggressiveness.  In the Schwartz era we rushed 4 and played off man almost all of the time.  Austin seems to prefer press man and incorporating blitz packages utilizing all of the position groups.  This excites me in general, but against Benjamin and Olson it certainly could back fire.  Once those guys get the ball they're not easy to get down.

 

Offense- 

 

QB- This is the big one.  Has Stafford turned the corner?  I feel like this may sound like a homer comment, but I think you could make the argument that Stafford might have the most pure arm talent in the league.  He looked to be in great shape with added mobility.  I don't think either of his two touchdown passes happen in past seasons b/c the old Stafford wouldn't have been able to keep the play alive with his feet.  I expect him to make some mistakes against a defense as formidable as yours'.  The question is how many.  One pick I can live with.  Two ... not so much.

 

RB - Reggie Bush is Reggie Bush.  You're all familiar with his strengths and weakensses so I won't waste your time going there.  Joique Bell is our thumper.  He's not a bulldozer type.  He tends to take glancing blows, is slippery and has great balance.  He's not a home run threat but he's a really solid NFL RB that can catch the ball.  Theo Riddick will get some looks in the passing game.  He played both WR and RB at Notre Dame.  He can run the whole route tree and can be a mismatch out there.  While he's unlikely to get more than 10 plays throughout the game, he's capable when out there.

 

WR -  Megatron ... nuff said.  Golden Tate is going to put up some monster numbers.  If you play Fantasy Football and you can go trade for him on the cheep I suggest you do so.  He's one of the most sure handed receivers in the league (lead the league drop percentage) and is one of the most prolific WRs at breaking tackles after the catch.  After that, I'm not sure what to think of the group.  Ryan Broyles looked great in the preseason.  He's had two ACLs and a torn achilles in the last three years.  He looked healthy in the preseason and when given the chance he just makes plays.  Not the most explosive guy, but he's got sure hands and is quite adept at finding soft spots in the defense.   Broyles however didn't even suit up on Monday night.  Instead the lions trotted out Corey Fuller.  Fuller was a 6th rounder out of VaTech in 2013.  He's a former track guy with great speed but he's quite raw and still learning the position.  I think the Lions have a talented receiving core but I also don't think it's real deep in terms of proven performers.

 

TE - A real strong, deep group.  Pettigrew is a middle of the pack starting TE.  He's not nimble but he's a decent pass catcher and a pretty good inline blocker.  He does at times struggle with ball security, so if he does make a catch I look for CAR defenders to aggressively try and strip the ball.  Joseph Fauria seems to have improved his blocking.  He's still league average at best in that regard, but he's getting better.  He's got eilte hands though and he's 6'7" so he's a real threat in the red zone.  He's not a great athlete, but he can get some YAC if given the chance.  Ebron still doesn't look quite ready.  His athleticism for a TE is elite and his future looks bright, but I don't really expect the light bulb to come on quite yet (especially considering how elite your defense is.)

 

OL - The Lions offensive line was a pleasant surprise last year.  Reiff is a competent left tackle.  He's probably middle of the pack in the NFL.  I expect him to have his hands full with your DEs but he's not likely to completely crap the bed.  Larry Warford as a rookie was the 4th best OG in the league last year according to PFF.  He's a really good guard.  Raiola has played the best ball of his career this last year or so.  He's a smart technician, but he's also a hothead prone to boneheaded plays.   Rob Sims is the other guard and is a veteran starter.  He's okay, but if a Detroit OLineman has a putrid day I expect it to be him or Waddle.  Waddle our RT was a revelation last year as an undrafted free agent.   He consistently graded out highly and expectations were high heading into the season.  Throughout camp and preseason he didn't seem to play as well though.  I think a sophomore slump is a distinct possibility.

 

Defense - 

 

DL -  Suh and Fairley are pretty well known.  Suh has turned into a dominant run defender, although he's not the upfield pass rusher he was early in his career.  Fairley despite his gut is actually a better upfield pass rusher IMO, but he's inconsistent b/c he's not intrinsically motivated.  When he wants to be good though he's pretty damn good.  C.J. Mosley is a competent third DT.  Nothing special, but he can hold his own.  Ansah is an interesting DE.  He's one of the best athletes in the league (ran 4.59 at 276lbs.) but he's still figuring the game out.  His technique is still not that refined but he converts speed into power like few in the league and he hustles to the whistle.  I think against a guy like Newton his speed/hustle combo could result in a big play.  James Jones is a versitile veteran.  He'll play the outside on run downs and rush the passer from the inside on obvious passing downs.  Devin Taylor is a huge, young DE with decent athleticism and elite length.  George Johnson has been a real surprise.   A cast off from the Vikings, he dropped weight and has looked explosive off the edge.  He had 1.5 sacks in Monday night's game.  Overall this is a real strong position group.  3 top end talents and tons of quality depth.

 

LB -  Another good group, although Kyle Van Noy's injury has depleted the depth a bit.  Stephen Tulloch mans the middle.  He's a bit short, but plenty stout against the run.  He's a real solid tackler and is okay in coverage.  He's not elite in any regard, but he's a solid NFL starting middle linebacker.  DeAndre Levy should have made the pro bowl last year IMO.  He's one of the top coverage linebackers in the game and is a pretty fluid athlete.  You can have some success running right at him though.  We played nickle almost exclusively on Monday, but our third linebacker is Tahir Whitehead.  He was a 5th rounder out of Temple a few years back.  He's a great athlete, has been a big time special teams player, and played lights out in the preseason, but I have no idea if he's ready for the primetime.

 

DBs -  This is our achilles heal.  ReSean Mathis used to be a probowler down in JAC.  He's still competent but by no means elite.  Darius Slay is an unreal athlete.  He played pretty well for the most part on Monday night, but he's still got some growing pains ahead.  Our slot corner Bill Bentley blew out his ACL.  Nevin Lawson, our 4th rounder this year, came in and performed quite well.  Still, that's a spot you guys should go after.  I'd imagine Cotchery with his savvy and power could fare quite well in that matchup.  Glover Quinn is a pretty good free safety.  Not elite by any means, but a solid pro.  He's kind of like the safety version Tulloch IMO.  I'm not sure if Ihedigbo is going to play on Sunday.  He was out last week.  He's kind of an old school SS.  Great in the box but a trainwreck in coverage.  If he can't go Isa Abdul-Quddus will start in his place.  Personally I think IAQ and Quinn is our best look at safety as they're both coverage types and given our weakness at corner and relative strength at defending the run, I think two coverage safeties is actually the best setup in the back end.

 

Special Teams-

 

K - Freese is a rookie.  Was accurate in college but absolutely shanked his first pro field goal attempt.  He hit his next two though.  Still if this is a close game, this is a spot where the Lions would have reason for concern IMO.

 

P - Sam Martin - Great Punter and Kickoff Specialist.  Cannon of a leg.  

 

KR/PR - Jeremy Ross - Ross is okay back there.  He had great stats last year but they were greatly inflated by the snowstorm game in Philly in which potential defenders were sliding around like they were on skates.  I think of him as a middle of the pack PR/KR.

 

Hopefully, that was informative.  If you have any further question, I'd be more then happy to offer my opinions.  Any breakdown of the Panthers roster would be appreciated as well if anyone feels inclined to take the time to do so.

 

Looking forward to a great injury free game this weekend.

 

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heelinfine Newbie

heelinfine

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Posted

Perhaps you can give me a little guidance on what is and is not allowed when your team loses it's season opener. This is something you guys have had a lot of experience with in recent years, yea? Would you mind giving a guy some pointers?

I can give you a lesson in football mathematics:

1- 0 is better than 0-1.

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MXT Newbie

MXT

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Posted

Nice- Spot on. Panthers Defense pretty tuff and if Cam playing- Hope for a very exciting game!

 

Lion's fan here.  I'm excited for the game next week.  I expect it to be a good one.  I'm not expecting Detroit to go into Charlotte and pull out a win, but I do think we'll give you a good game.  I just figured I could stop by and give you a bit more of a detailed look at the 2014 Lions than you will get through the conventional media.  While I watch a great deal of football, I've never coached or played at a high level so feel free to take my observations with a grain of salt.

 

Coaching - It appears that Detroit has a better situation than they have had in the past.  The discipline issues under Schwartz were well documented and they continued in the first half of the Giants game.  If it weren't for the 8 1st half penalties that game would've gotten out of hand.  The encouraging signs for us Lions fans is that the team responded and committed 0 second half penalties.  That never happened under Schwartz.  You're probably familiar with Lombardi as he as the Quarterback's coach of the Saints.  You'll definitely see some looks that you'll recognize from NO, but at the same time they've kept certain principles and schemes from the Linehan era.  I think Lombardi's gonna make a good OC, but next Sunday will be the first time he's called plays in a close NFL game (the NYG game was his first time calling plays in the NFL,) so it's quite possible that we see some playcalling yipps.  Marvin Austin came over from the Ravens and brought a great deal more aggressiveness.  In the Schwartz era we rushed 4 and played off man almost all of the time.  Austin seems to prefer press man and incorporating blitz packages utilizing all of the position groups.  This excites me in general, but against Benjamin and Olson it certainly could back fire.  Once those guys get the ball they're not easy to get down.

 

Offense- 

 

QB- This is the big one.  Has Stafford turned the corner?  I feel like this may sound like a homer comment, but I think you could make the argument that Stafford might have the most pure arm talent in the league.  He looked to be in great shape with added mobility.  I don't think either of his two touchdown passes happen in past seasons b/c the old Stafford wouldn't have been able to keep the play alive with his feet.  I expect him to make some mistakes against a defense as formidable as yours'.  The question is how many.  One pick I can live with.  Two ... not so much.

 

RB - Reggie Bush is Reggie Bush.  You're all familiar with his strengths and weakensses so I won't waste your time going there.  Joique Bell is our thumper.  He's not a bulldozer type.  He tends to take glancing blows, is slippery and has great balance.  He's not a home run threat but he's a really solid NFL RB that can catch the ball.  Theo Riddick will get some looks in the passing game.  He played both WR and RB at Notre Dame.  He can run the whole route tree and can be a mismatch out there.  While he's unlikely to get more than 10 plays throughout the game, he's capable when out there.

 

WR -  Megatron ... nuff said.  Golden Tate is going to put up some monster numbers.  If you play Fantasy Football and you can go trade for him on the cheep I suggest you do so.  He's one of the most sure handed receivers in the league (lead the league drop percentage) and is one of the most prolific WRs at breaking tackles after the catch.  After that, I'm not sure what to think of the group.  Ryan Broyles looked great in the preseason.  He's had two ACLs and a torn achilles in the last three years.  He looked healthy in the preseason and when given the chance he just makes plays.  Not the most explosive guy, but he's got sure hands and is quite adept at finding soft spots in the defense.   Broyles however didn't even suit up on Monday night.  Instead the lions trotted out Corey Fuller.  Fuller was a 6th rounder out of VaTech in 2013.  He's a former track guy with great speed but he's quite raw and still learning the position.  I think the Lions have a talented receiving core but I also don't think it's real deep in terms of proven performers.

 

TE - A real strong, deep group.  Pettigrew is a middle of the pack starting TE.  He's not nimble but he's a decent pass catcher and a pretty good inline blocker.  He does at times struggle with ball security, so if he does make a catch I look for CAR defenders to aggressively try and strip the ball.  Joseph Fauria seems to have improved his blocking.  He's still league average at best in that regard, but he's getting better.  He's got eilte hands though and he's 6'7" so he's a real threat in the red zone.  He's not a great athlete, but he can get some YAC if given the chance.  Ebron still doesn't look quite ready.  His athleticism for a TE is elite and his future looks bright, but I don't really expect the light bulb to come on quite yet (especially considering how elite your defense is.)

 

OL - The Lions offensive line was a pleasant surprise last year.  Reiff is a competent left tackle.  He's probably middle of the pack in the NFL.  I expect him to have his hands full with your DEs but he's not likely to completely crap the bed.  Larry Warford as a rookie was the 4th best OG in the league last year according to PFF.  He's a really good guard.  Raiola has played the best ball of his career this last year or so.  He's a smart technician, but he's also a hothead prone to boneheaded plays.   Rob Sims is the other guard and is a veteran starter.  He's okay, but if a Detroit OLineman has a putrid day I expect it to be him or Waddle.  Waddle our RT was a revelation last year as an undrafted free agent.   He consistently graded out highly and expectations were high heading into the season.  Throughout camp and preseason he didn't seem to play as well though.  I think a sophomore slump is a distinct possibility.

 

Defense - 

 

DL -  Suh and Fairley are pretty well known.  Suh has turned into a dominant run defender, although he's not the upfield pass rusher he was early in his career.  Fairley despite his gut is actually a better upfield pass rusher IMO, but he's inconsistent b/c he's not intrinsically motivated.  When he wants to be good though he's pretty damn good.  C.J. Mosley is a competent third DT.  Nothing special, but he can hold his own.  Ansah is an interesting DE.  He's one of the best athletes in the league (ran 4.59 at 276lbs.) but he's still figuring the game out.  His technique is still not that refined but he converts speed into power like few in the league and he hustles to the whistle.  I think against a guy like Newton his speed/hustle combo could result in a big play.  James Jones is a versitile veteran.  He'll play the outside on run downs and rush the passer from the inside on obvious passing downs.  Devin Taylor is a huge, young DE with decent athleticism and elite length.  George Johnson has been a real surprise.   A cast off from the Vikings, he dropped weight and has looked explosive off the edge.  He had 1.5 sacks in Monday night's game.  Overall this is a real strong position group.  3 top end talents and tons of quality depth.

 

LB -  Another good group, although Kyle Van Noy's injury has depleted the depth a bit.  Stephen Tulloch mans the middle.  He's a bit short, but plenty stout against the run.  He's a real solid tackler and is okay in coverage.  He's not elite in any regard, but he's a solid NFL starting middle linebacker.  DeAndre Levy should have made the pro bowl last year IMO.  He's one of the top coverage linebackers in the game and is a pretty fluid athlete.  You can have some success running right at him though.  We played nickle almost exclusively on Monday, but our third linebacker is Tahir Whitehead.  He was a 5th rounder out of Temple a few years back.  He's a great athlete, has been a big time special teams player, and played lights out in the preseason, but I have no idea if he's ready for the primetime.

 

DBs -  This is our achilles heal.  ReSean Mathis used to be a probowler down in JAC.  He's still competent but by no means elite.  Darius Slay is an unreal athlete.  He played pretty well for the most part on Monday night, but he's still got some growing pains ahead.  Our slot corner Bill Bentley blew out his ACL.  Nevin Lawson, our 4th rounder this year, came in and performed quite well.  Still, that's a spot you guys should go after.  I'd imagine Cotchery with his savvy and power could fare quite well in that matchup.  Glover Quinn is a pretty good free safety.  Not elite by any means, but a solid pro.  He's kind of like the safety version Tulloch IMO.  I'm not sure if Ihedigbo is going to play on Sunday.  He was out last week.  He's kind of an old school SS.  Great in the box but a trainwreck in coverage.  If he can't go Isa Abdul-Quddus will start in his place.  Personally I think IAQ and Quinn is our best look at safety as they're both coverage types and given our weakness at corner and relative strength at defending the run, I think two coverage safeties is actually the best setup in the back end.

 

Special Teams-

 

K - Freese is a rookie.  Was accurate in college but absolutely shanked his first pro field goal attempt.  He hit his next two though.  Still if this is a close game, this is a spot where the Lions would have reason for concern IMO.

 

P - Sam Martin - Great Punter and Kickoff Specialist.  Cannon of a leg.  

 

KR/PR - Jeremy Ross - Ross is okay back there.  He had great stats last year but they were greatly inflated by the snowstorm game in Philly in which potential defenders were sliding around like they were on skates.  I think of him as a middle of the pack PR/KR.

 

Hopefully, that was informative.  If you have any further question, I'd be more then happy to offer my opinions.  Any breakdown of the Panthers roster would be appreciated as well if anyone feels inclined to take the time to do so.

 

Looking forward to a great injury free game this weekend.

 

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JawnyBlaze Grand Master

JawnyBlaze

Posted
Posted

Spot on observation. Also agree that Newton's arm is right up there with Stafford's. Newton's a bad man.

only quoting this post so you get the notification. Didn't wanna quote the long ass post. Here's my take on our roster, as you requested.

QB: When Cam is on, he's a top 5 game changer at the QB position (notice the wording). Will he be a bit more timid because of the ankle/ribs? Dunno. He definitely seemed more timid in the preseason , but I dunno how much of that was the ankle and how much was them already know what "broken play Cam" can do and wanted to specifically see how the passing game would click. We'll find out this week.

OL: Performed better than almost anyone would have predicted against what was supposed to be a good DL. Still a potential train wreck to happen at OT though.

RB: Deangelo looked good but he's been inconsistent the past few years and might not play. Stewart looked below average but he's better than that. Tolbert had a quiet game, but he's mostly pretty dependable. Fozzy was the preseason co-MVP with KB and could see some touches if Deangelo is out.

WR: Not nearly as bad as the media will have you believe. Middle of the pack overall if you ask me. A couple savvy vets who will be good for moving the chains in Avant and Cotchery and KB looks to be a Fitzgerald in the making.

TE: Olsen is a hair below elite, Dickson is ok but wasn't even targeted last week. Brandon Williams is everybody's feel-good story and has unlimited potential but doesn't often get uniforms on game days.

DL: Not much needed to be said here. Best front 4 in the league. Only thing to watch is if this Hardy witch hunt distracts him or just pisses him off.

LB: Best group of 4-3 LBs in the league. Usually only Kuechly and Davis are on the field because of nickel packages but if Klein is out there he's solid in coverage usually (but can blow coverages occasionally) but can be run at. Blackburn is the opposite.

DB: Also not as bad as the media would have you believe but overall the weakest unit on the team. Vet S's that are serviceable but God help us if either get injured. CBs are decent with a little bit of depth. Cason is decent at coverage, very good against the run and at making open field tackles. Benwikere looks to be a solid nickel so far and Norman is Norman. If he can keep his misplaced attitude and arrogance in check, hopefully he will be able to hold Megatron to just 150 yards.

P: Real real solid guy in Nortman. Shoulda been considered for the Pro Bowl last year in my opinion.

K: Gano was actually very reliable last year but he missed a relatively easy 48 yarder last week. He's usually money on those kicks in the 40s and 50s.

Returns: Philly Brown is an UDFA who looked shaky in the preseason but had one nice return last week and the rest were acceptable with no drops. He scares me for now.

Coaching: The rise of the Riverboat is well documented. Last week we saw shades of both of Rivera's warring personalities with conservatism to end the first half and also a converted 4th down leading to our first TD. Who knows which will be dominant this week. McDermott is fine but we'll never know how much of our success is McD and how much is Rivera. Shula sucks.

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