Down The Field: Week 6

By: The Polish Prince

I did get to watch the entire game this week because I was at the game. That being said, don’t ever, and I mean ever use the ticket site FanXchange. I found them through Seat Geek and I’ve used SG before and there were no problems. But FanXchange is the absolute worst ticket site I have ever used. I ordered the tickets on a Monday, didn’t have them on Wednesday so I called them. I was on hold for 15 minutes before I hung up. Called them on Thursday and I was on hold for 15 minutes again before I hung up. Now its Friday and I still didn’t have the tickets so I said “screw it, I’m going to sit on hold for as long as it takes”. I sat on hold for 38 MINUTES before someone picked up. I asked him where my tickets were and they just “forgot” to send them to me. I am thoroughly convinced that if I didn’t call they wouldn’t have sent me the tickets. Also, I sent an email everyday trying to check the status of my tickets. Once again, DO NOT use FanXchange. They are a trash company. Now, onto some football.
 
The Good:

• Matt Stafford: He was outstanding, to put it lightly. I am 100% ready to fire up the Top 10 QB argument. This week he was 23-31, 270 yards, 4 TDs, and was turnover free once again. He has a 7-2 TD to INT ration and a 106.0 QBR. Those numbers are good enough to be an elite quarterback. You can’t argue that. Stafford did what he had to do and made a spectacular throw on that 4th and 1 from the Rams’ 1-yard line. I don’t know how long this high level of play will last but we should just enjoy this for now. Another big week for Stafford means a big loss for the H8terz.
• Golden Tate: Finally becoming the receiver we all thought he would be this year. 165 yards and 1 TD on 8 receptions. Hell of a day and with out that performance the Lions don’t beat the Rams. Is he going to keep up this performance week in and week out? No, but it is nice to know that the Golden of last year is there when the Lions need him.
• The O-Line: For being as battered up and injured as they are, they did a great job of keeping Stafford clean. They only gave up one sack to a very good defensive front. They didn’t do a great job with the run game, but all things considered this was the best 60 minutes of football played by the O-Line this year.
• Jim Caldwell: The man is starting to coach like he wants to win some football games. Getting aggressive on a couple early 4th downs because he knows the defense isn’t that great is something we haven’t seen Caldwell of the past do.  He also challenged a catch that was worth getting a second look at. The call didn’t go in his favor but it was still worth it. He is trying to save his job and luckily for him it is showing, and working.
• Matt Prater: Made his extra points and the game winning field goal.

 
The Bad:

• The Defense: This is a tough “Bad” for me. They did an excellent job stopping Todd Gurley, 14 carries for 58 yards, but they made Case Keenum look like a stud. Forget the fact that he was 27 for 32 with 321 yards, the most telling stat is that at one point he completed 19 straight passes. A lot of those passes weren’t very tough either.  The D-Line couldn’t get any pressure and, for the most part, the secondary was Swiss cheese like. The secondary did get two big stops though. The Slay pass break up to get the Lions the ball back for the game winning drive and the Rafael Bush interception to close out the game. I said it at the beginning of the season and I’m sure I’ll say it again, this defense doesn’t have to be good but it has to be clutch. That’s what they were last Sunday and they were exactly that this Sunday.  

The Ugly:

• The Linebackers: This unit is straight garbage. They aren’t fast and they can’t tackle. Not a good combo for a position that consistently gets non-favorable matchups. DeAndre Levy needs to come back this year for this position group to be worth a damn. Literally can’t cover anyone.
• The D-Line: Absolutely no pressure. Even with Ziggy back, albeit right after his injury, the pass rush was nonexistent. That was the biggest reason as to why Keenum looked like a hall of fame QB. They did come up big on the 4th and goal at the end of the first half though.

 
This is the best game I have seen Caldwell coach. He was aggressive when he needed to be. This also happened to be the most complete game the Lions have played this year. The offense was there through out the game and when they needed stops they got them. I’m not sure how this team stacks up next week against the Redskins but if they can rip off 3 in a row then they are back in playoff talk.
 
Quote of the Week: “I don’t know what defense they are playing, but what ever it is, its shit.”- Guy sitting next to me at the game.