Another Amazing Great Lakes Challenge - Preseason Game #3 Thoughts

Jahvid finally hit on the big play that I was looking for tonight and I can honestly say that I don't think I've ever been more excited about an offensive player than Best. The new hottness in the NFL is the blazing fast 5 footer who slips through holes and can't be seen until it's too late and he's already past you and for once we're on the cutting edge of what works in the NFL and not just trying to hit on fads that have already come and gone, ahem...the cover 2. Best did leave after the first series with some tightness in his legs but Schwartz reassured us that it was a precautionary measure, but I think what really happened was that Schwartz saw how effective Best could be and after the first three plays resulting in a touchdown, he took that golden goose and found a nice safe spot for him on the sideline. So much of this year will be determined based on who can stay healthy and there is zero reason to risk Jahvid's health in the preseason. We already know he is special. It was also great to see Stafford find another Johnson, this time Bryant, in the endzone. It was just another pitch and catch that looked real easy for the Lions. He also hit Calvin for a long 3rd down conversion and he hooked up with Burleson for a big gain but the play was negated due to a Gosder holding penalty. All in all the offense looked pretty good again and the only real concern I had was the Kevin Smith fumble.


The Defense not so much. The Browns marched up and down the field with relative ease in the first half and the roughing the passer penalties kept multiple scoring drives alive for Cleveland. I did love it though when Suh facemasked the shit outta Delhomme and then almost ripped his head off when he threw him to the ground. That is NFC North football and pretty much sums up the defensive mindset I think this team needs to have. People should fear that front four.



"JBS Likie" - The strong play of rookie DE Willie Young continues to impress me. The guy is getting to the quarterback and has a nose for making plays. I just wanna see him get some time against a starting O-line and see if the production stays up. This guy could end up being a late round gem. Plus he loves to run his mouth which is how you get my attention.


"Hmm...hm. Seems like a nice guy" - A story that is finally starting to get some attention is the Lions' decision to move early third round draft pick Amari Spievey from corner to safety. Most people aren't making a big deal about this but I actually am. I think it's a huge deal when you go after a player at a position of major need and then before the first regular season game you switch him to an entirely new position. I understand that the Lions could definitely use more help at the safety position but the corner situation is a gaping wound right now and admitting that your third pick in the draft can't play the position you drafted him to play is concerning. When they chose to take Spievey, a hard hitting, instinctive guy over a lot of the better cover corners that were left in the draft, I just assumed the Lions new something I didn't and that this guy had the tools to adjust to the corner in the NFL. Well, as of now it looks like I was wrong and so were the Lions. Spievey doesn't seem to have the quickness or as douchebags in the business say "hip turning" ability to stay with NFL caliber guys and it looks like he has made the move to safety permanently.


I do think that once Amari figures out the nuances of the safety position he'll be a good one in the NFL, but now you have to look at the predicament that this puts our corners in. This is debatebly the worse group of corners in the league and other teams know it. You can expect our defense to be decent against the run but there will really be no reason for other teams to stop throwing the ball when they can get whatever they want whenever they need it. Maybe i'm making too much outta this, but I'm just concerned because moving Spievey to safety reminds me a lot of when they demoted Big Mike Williams from wide receiver to tight end.


"And...we're fucked" - No word yet on whether DeAndre Levy's pulled groin is serious and will cause him to miss any real time during the regular season. Levy came out after one play last night and I seriously hope this isn't a nagging injury that causes him to miss snaps, because our linebacker situation is boarder line embarrassing right now. After Jordan Dizon went down for the year earlier in the preseason, the linebacking corp was in rough shape and now if Levy, our second best defensive player from last year, can't play then we're looking at Vinny Ciurciu as our starting middle linebacker and just typing that sentence made me throw up in my mouth. I seriously think opposing fullbacks might laugh in our face when they get in their three point stance and see Julian Peterson, Zack Follett, and Vinny Ciurciu staring back at them. I mean I love these guys and they're all we got so go get 'em boys, but shit. No DeAndre means no chance of being decent at stopping the run like I mentioned above. The big guys up front will take care of the O-line but Levy is the hole filler that makes it all work. Without him we'll be watching a lot of 100 yard rushers on Sunday. Unfortunately they'll be playing for the other team.