Yep, you're right. In my haste to get the post off I forgot to add this: Given what's happen (Lions improving, Jets being slightly less than league dominating) Lions fans feel like instead of a snowball's chance in hell, it's more like a snowball's chance on a very humid summer's day.
If the Jets offense continues to play like 3 day old dog crap then the Lions will have a great chance of beating the Jets.
If there is one player who really scares me on the Lions it's Kyle Vanden Bosch. This will be the 5th straight year we've played against him. In the previous 4 years he's put up a total of 27 tackles and 4.5 sacks. Mostly going up against D'Brick.
Jay Boyzzz comeback strong run all over the lions and dismantle them. Revis shuts down calvin johnson holds him to 3 catches for 36 yards... 31-13 JETS.
Ok stat guys, can someone tell me when the last time a team has lost to Detroit and still went on to make it to the SB. Just curious because this is a team you have to beat in my eyes if you consider yourself a contender.
Hola Jets fans. Another Lions guy here to chime in. First off @ NOVAJET: ESPN only goes back to 2002 playoffs and I didn't feel like looking any further but if I had to guess the answer is somewhere between 96 - 99 (may have been more recent but the last I can remember is splitting with the Packers in 96 and not only did they get there they won it that year). I will try to be as unbiased as possible with my teams assessment to try and give you guys who haven’t watched them play all year an idea of where the team is all. FYI, I predicted 5 – 11 for the year for the Lions so I wasn’t exactly drinking the kool-aid from the get go. Here goes: MY APOLOGIES, THIS WILL BE LONG AND ALSO LENGTHY AND ALSO LONG-WINDED AND ALSO …LONG. QB: Stafford has the goods but like Sanchez he is young, trying to learn and trying to mature. Experience wise Sanchez has the clear advantage as he’s played most (all?) of his games and has playoff experience. Stafford has played in 12 games and missed 11. Despite that he gets it. He can make any throw but he’s a bit of a gunslinger and will definitely need to be wary of the fact he is playing Revis and Cromartie, not – say – the Bills’ secondary. I know Calvin is the big target but if you can catch it he doesn’t care what number is on your jersey. The Lions love to spread it around. In one game in particular this year I believe five different guys had at least four catches. I won’t lie, I love the kid. At any given moment, he has no fear to chuck it 60 yards and let CJ go make a play. He isn’t scared of any secondary in this league nor is he scared to demand control of his huddle; he is a leader and a quarterback through and through. #9 is not to be taken lightly at all. Still, this is only his 13th start and I am well aware you guys are capable of getting pressure on the QB and that concerns me, especially with those two corners of yours. For anyone curious, in those 12 games Stafford has 2200-ish yards, 17 TDs, but also has 21 INTs. RB: Kevin Smith is finally healthy and running North and South without hesitation. He finally appears to be 100% after the ACL surgery last year, he has great hands out of the backfield and he is the best blocking RB on our team. He has great blitz recognition and very rarely lets anyone near his QB. He is a very tough runner but with that said, he lacks explosiveness. His career long is like 31 yards I believe. There is no threat of “breaking the big one”. He’ll get 2, 8, 4, even 14 or 15 here or there, but other than that you guys will get a body on him relatively quickly. I am a fan of his; total class guy, team guy and complete professional but his limits are his limits. Jahvid Best can be incredibly explosive. I wouldn’t worry too much though. There is a reason he led the league in TDs and total yards from scrimmage after week 3 and now isn’t close. Turf Toe – on BOTH feet. He’s been battling it for about a month and despite the bye week and pretty much three weeks of rest, something like that will linger all season and it is obvious when you watch him play. He’s still quick and he’s still dangerous out in the open but I would have no fear of him pulling another Philly game performance on you. WR/TE: There isn’t much to say about Megatron. You all know the stats, and yes, he’s that good. Unfortunately he plays for the Lions so the only people who know it are other teams secondary’s (in fact, a great column I read earlier this year had an excellent quote: “If you think Calvin Johnson isn’t the most dangerous receiver in the game, start asking cornerbacks around the league about him”). I have been looking forward to Calvin vs. Revis since about 12 seconds after the schedule was released, and in the one time I’ll boast a little, that’s in a good way. I know Revis is just cocky enough to ask Ryan to get CJ one-on-one and he will learn quickly that was a bad idea. No offense to Revis, he is a BEAST; but I don’t care about those other guys he’s covered. He’s never played Megatron and has no idea what he is in for. However, I doubt Rex Ryan is even THAT cocky and therefore won’t allow it. You’ll see double coverage and you’ll wonder why but the answer is flat out CJ is that good. Nate Burleson has been okay and you can’t ignore him but more importantly than that the coverage to CJ and Nate has resulted in Pettigrew/Scheffler being the best TE tandem in the league. Be careful of those guys, they like to throw a little block out there and then find the open areas of the field in and around the middle / short distance outside. OL: They have been pretty good but I believe this may be one of the best D-Lines we see this year. Sims and Peterman are playing well, Cherilous is playing better in his third year and Backus/Raiola – despite how despised they are by some in Detroit – have played like they always play: consistent. The line is definitely better at pass-blocking than opening lanes …in fact they don’t really open running lanes. At the end of the day, they can be vulnerable and succeptable (sp) at any given time on any given play. The front five makes me nervous every single game. Even more so when we play a Rex Ryan coached defense. OFFENSIVE HERE-YOU-GOES (with some credit to Dean Holden at BleacherReport.com): 1: Lions' NFC ranking in total points scored. 6: Lions' NFL ranking in total points scored. 3: Of the five teams ahead of the Lions in total points scored, the number that have not yet had a bye week (the other two? Indianapolis and New England). 7th: The Lions' ranking in sacks allowed in 2010 with 12 through seven games. 0: Amount of credit Jeff Backus is likely to get for this. 7: Number of sacks allowed by league-leading Indianapolis Colts. 0: Number of teams with a better sacks-allowed ranking that have actually played the Lions this year. 4: Number of NFC teams with a better point differential than the Lions. 5: Number of victories each of these four teams has on the year. 7: Number of NFC teams with a positive point differential. 4: Number of those teams the Lions have played: Packers, Giants, Eagles and Bears (the Rams are minus-one for the year). 116.3: Matthew Stafford's second-half rating against the Redskins, good for the highest-rated half of his career. 2: Career fourth quarter comebacks for Stafford. 3: Career victories for Stafford. 7: Touchdowns in October for Calvin Johnson, a Lions record for one month (previous was six by Herman Moore). DL: First and foremost, I am well aware that the Jets have one of if not the best O-line in the league. So I do not necessarily expect the domination to continue; up to this point though that is exactly what it has been, domination. KVB is KVB, Suh is a MONSTER, Corey Williams has found his “franchise tag” self again now that he is back in the 4 – 3, and Avril is finally coming around in his 3rd year. Sammy Lee Hill and Turk McBride are nice breathers for the starting four. All of these guys flat out get after the QB and I’m not sure what stat says that opposing teams get 8 yards up the middle but I certainly haven’t seen it. LB: Weakest area of our defense, nothing much to say there. Peterson is around the ball more than he gets credit for and we hope Levy will be a great find at MLB and at the other OLB spot we’re probably going to plug in Bobby Carpenter. Yes, THAT Bobby Carpenter. SECONDARY: First of all, definitely young. Oldest guy in the starting rotation is 25 (4th year). This is a group that is overrated (thanks to the play of the DL), but also at the same time underrated (thanks to the play of the secondary). Chris Houston has speed and can stay with almost anyone, just needs to get his head around a little more. Alphonso Smith has been an absolute steal for us, four picks in five games and it should have been five picks in five games; guy is a ballhawk. Delmas is Delmas, I’m sure everyone is aware of him by now. This week due to injury we’re going to have to throw rookie Amari Speivey out there at the other safety spot. Young. Young. Young. DEFENSIVE HERE-WE-GOES (again with some credit to Dean Holden at BleacherReport.com): 27: Lions’ rank on defense. 3: Lions’ rank in takeaways. 7: Lions’ rank in sacks. 6.5: Sacks for Ndamukong Suh through seven games. 8.5: Albert Haynesworth's career best for sacks in a single season. 7: Number of NFL players with more sacks than Suh. 0: Of those seven players, the number with both an interception and a fumble recovery (Suh has both). 0: Of those seven players, the number with a defensive touchdown (Suh now has one). 0: Of those seven players, the number who are either rookies or defensive tackles (Suh is both). 4.5: Number of sacks by next-best sacking defensive tackle in football, Richard Seymour (who also plays DE, but NFL.com has him listed as a DT). 3: Number of Detroit Lions tied for the most sacks earned in Week 8 (Suh, Cliff Avril and Kyle Vanden Bosch all notched two). No real need to break down the special teams. Stephan Logan has been a beast for us and our coverage has been much better. I don’t have a clue about the Jets special teams so I won’t even speculate. Go Jason Hanson. MY PREDICTION: I have no idea. I am super excited about it and love the Lions and at the same time am scared as shit about playing the Jets… We play well at home but the best win we’ve managed in two years is Washington, so I’m just completely torn. Lions [X] – Jets [X]…… Hope that didn’t bore you to death Jets fans…
It was the 2000 Giants. Lions went 9-7 that year, and the Giants went 12-4 and went on to lose to the Ravens in the SB.
Interesting read but you could have done more with less. Get rid of the Bleacher Report crap. No one outside the Detroit fan base is interested in random facts about Detroit. This bit: "and I’m not sure what stat says that opposing teams get 8 yards up the middle but I certainly haven’t seen it." is just plain strange. First you make up a claim, then claim that you haven't seen it claimed anywhere? What I found after following up on this bullshit was that teams run outside right against Detroit for roughly 6ypc. Given that the right side of our line is where the Jets like to run the ball behind a couple of road graders, it could be a relatively quick game. Football outsiders ranks Detroits DLine 21st in the league against the rush. They appear to be good in short yardage situations but give up the second highest amount of long yardage, behind Oakland's rushing defense. In a way Detroit's current DLine is alot like an anti-Barry Sanders, they either stuff you at the line or let you run for alot.
Jim Schwartz pokes hole in Rex Ryan's "best defense" comment Jim Schwartz pokes hole in Rex Ryan's "best defense" comment????? By saying his team, the lions have more sacks? wut? wut does that even mean? he really stuck it to Rex....
they played the redskins and bears who give up the most sacks in the league. i'm guessing like at least 10 of them came from those 2 games. so that's what...1.5-2 per game in the other 5 games? and more sacks doesn't mean they're pressuring quarterbacks more.just means they're taking them down more. lets talk hurries/hits
Someone earlier in the thread said the Lions were allowing 8 YPG up the middle, so I wasn't "making up" the claim, I was countering it. As for the sacks, they are averaging I believe some weird stat like 3.8 a game. They are second in the league (maybe NFC?) with 23. So even if they got 10 on the Bears and Skins (which they didn't), they'd still be averaging over 2 per game in the other five games. And if you want to talk hurries and hits, they have plenty of them. For example, McNabb went down the first seven plays of the game before the Lions got an actual sack on him.
And @ slimjasi: I completely agree about the media. They did the same thing here trying to say that Rex Ryan took a shot at the Lions by saying the best defense in town was coming to Detroit. How that is a shot at Detroit I have no idea. Sounded like standard Rex Ryan to me.
