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Its great to win back to back games. I certainly didnt expect it would take till almost Thanksgiving to see it, but it feels good just the same. We're 2-0 now under Garrett and I'm proud of the team again this week. They could have folded tent when things started going bad, but instead they responded with mental toughness they havent shown in quite some time. I have no doubt that had Wade been the HC yesterday, we would have lost this game.
1) Garrett's 2-0 and nobody can really deny that he is getting more out of this team than Wade did. But I knew yesterday was a no win situation for him. Win, and its only because it was the Lions and you were supposed to. Lose, and its an indictment that he's in over his head. People were killing him over not taking a knee and then the subsequent the fumble before halftime, even though almost every coach in the NFL plays it exactly that way in that same situation. The only thing I kinda questioned was negating the sack for the holding penalty (1st and 20 instead of 2nd and 15 or 16). I guess the only rationale is it moved them further away from FG range, but they get an extra down. I would have took the sack. Other than that I thought he called a good game, and the Kitna naked bootleg call on 4th an 1 was superb. (Edit, I've since learned Garrett told the refs he wanted the play on that holding call, but was told by officials it was "too late to change your mind"...what b/s)
2) Jon Kitna is a really an ideal backup QB. He's played well really in every game except for the GB game, and he was excellent again yesterday. He can make most of the throws you need and he plays with some attitude and alot of competitiveness. Seems like everyone is really responding to him. Not sure what his contract status is, but I kinda hope he's back for 1 more year regardless.
3) Felix Jones had an awful fumble, but otherwise had another very good game. He doesnt fumble much so I tend to cut him some slack, but I'm sure its something Garrett and Peete are probably grilling him over today. He also ran with alot of toughness and coming back from a hip injury was a great sign too. He ended up with 86 total yds (51 on 11 carries, 35 on 3 receptions) and nearly had another long TD on a screen pass.
4) I wonder how much longer they can stick with Colombo and Davis, both of whom were pretty much awful yesterday. They are too much of a liability on passing downs because each requires so much help. It really hurt our ability to attack their weak secondary yesterday, because Kitna couldnt let the longer routes develop. Our WR's were a huge mismatch for them and we couldnt really maximize it. I'd bench both Davis and Colombo if it were me and I suspect the Saints are really going to dial up a variety of blitzes to attack them Thursday. Hopefully Kitna wont get killed. I also think Colombo will get creamed the following week in Indy, there's no way he can match up with Freeney and Mathis.
5) The defense wasnt pretty (especially in the first half) but we stopped the run game for the 2nd straight week, forced a couple of turnovers and nearly had several others, had some decent pass rush at times and just from first glance, I'd say they hit season highs in tackles for loss, passes defensed and QB hits. I thought the coaches made some good 2nd half adjustments, and the Lions really only had one drive the whole 2nd half. After going 8/12 on 3rd downs in the 1st half, we held them to 2/6 in the 2nd half.
6) The offense looked awesome on the opening drive and then struggled, in part because the OL metled down. But after the opening drive of the 2nd half they really turned it on. After McCann's TD the offense scored tds on 3 consecutive possessions and to me, the last one was really nice to see. We had a 28-19 lead and got the ball with just under 8 minutes left, and they went 80 yds in 9 plays, using up almost 5 minutes to put the game away. Thats the way to finish a game.
7) Yeah refs blew the Barber hair call, but it was not a gimmee and at first glance its quite easy to see why they called it a penalty. But they probably could have called Suh for a facemask penalty on that same play anyway so it would have still been a 15 yd penalty. They also gave the Lions a huge break on the Witten offensive PI call a couple plays before.
8) Great catches by Austin (twice) and Bryant on GL tds. These guys will be a holy terror for years to come.
9) Really good to see Scandrick playing well again. I thought yesterday might have been his best game since his rookie year. Should have had two picks and was all over the field making hits.
10) Really liking what I'm seeing from Sean Lee too. he made several nice plays and he is not the liability in space that Brooking is, particularly in terms of getting outside.
11) Lastly, what a spark McCann has been to the return game. That long punt return was a really smart play, one that alot of veterans dont think to make sometimes. He's what I think we all thought AOA was going to be for the return game. He should have had a long TD on the kick return, had he cut inside I think he makes the kicker miss. He's defintiely been a big boost to the team. Even if he never pans out as a legit CB option, he should be a huge asset as a return guy for years to come.
Thursday will be a big challenge, the Saints offense seems to be getting it going now (34 pts in each of last two games, over 900 yds of offense) and I think their blitz packages will be a huge challenge for our OL. The pass coverages we've been playing have been really soft, and Brees can really exploit that. I'm sure we'll see people crucify the team (and Garrett in particular) if we lose, even though this is probably a game that we really shouldnt win. If they avoid turnovers and make a few plays here and there, maybe we can stay in it till the 4th quarter and steal it.
1) Garrett's 2-0 and nobody can really deny that he is getting more out of this team than Wade did. But I knew yesterday was a no win situation for him. Win, and its only because it was the Lions and you were supposed to. Lose, and its an indictment that he's in over his head. People were killing him over not taking a knee and then the subsequent the fumble before halftime, even though almost every coach in the NFL plays it exactly that way in that same situation. The only thing I kinda questioned was negating the sack for the holding penalty (1st and 20 instead of 2nd and 15 or 16). I guess the only rationale is it moved them further away from FG range, but they get an extra down. I would have took the sack. Other than that I thought he called a good game, and the Kitna naked bootleg call on 4th an 1 was superb. (Edit, I've since learned Garrett told the refs he wanted the play on that holding call, but was told by officials it was "too late to change your mind"...what b/s)
2) Jon Kitna is a really an ideal backup QB. He's played well really in every game except for the GB game, and he was excellent again yesterday. He can make most of the throws you need and he plays with some attitude and alot of competitiveness. Seems like everyone is really responding to him. Not sure what his contract status is, but I kinda hope he's back for 1 more year regardless.
3) Felix Jones had an awful fumble, but otherwise had another very good game. He doesnt fumble much so I tend to cut him some slack, but I'm sure its something Garrett and Peete are probably grilling him over today. He also ran with alot of toughness and coming back from a hip injury was a great sign too. He ended up with 86 total yds (51 on 11 carries, 35 on 3 receptions) and nearly had another long TD on a screen pass.
4) I wonder how much longer they can stick with Colombo and Davis, both of whom were pretty much awful yesterday. They are too much of a liability on passing downs because each requires so much help. It really hurt our ability to attack their weak secondary yesterday, because Kitna couldnt let the longer routes develop. Our WR's were a huge mismatch for them and we couldnt really maximize it. I'd bench both Davis and Colombo if it were me and I suspect the Saints are really going to dial up a variety of blitzes to attack them Thursday. Hopefully Kitna wont get killed. I also think Colombo will get creamed the following week in Indy, there's no way he can match up with Freeney and Mathis.
5) The defense wasnt pretty (especially in the first half) but we stopped the run game for the 2nd straight week, forced a couple of turnovers and nearly had several others, had some decent pass rush at times and just from first glance, I'd say they hit season highs in tackles for loss, passes defensed and QB hits. I thought the coaches made some good 2nd half adjustments, and the Lions really only had one drive the whole 2nd half. After going 8/12 on 3rd downs in the 1st half, we held them to 2/6 in the 2nd half.
6) The offense looked awesome on the opening drive and then struggled, in part because the OL metled down. But after the opening drive of the 2nd half they really turned it on. After McCann's TD the offense scored tds on 3 consecutive possessions and to me, the last one was really nice to see. We had a 28-19 lead and got the ball with just under 8 minutes left, and they went 80 yds in 9 plays, using up almost 5 minutes to put the game away. Thats the way to finish a game.
7) Yeah refs blew the Barber hair call, but it was not a gimmee and at first glance its quite easy to see why they called it a penalty. But they probably could have called Suh for a facemask penalty on that same play anyway so it would have still been a 15 yd penalty. They also gave the Lions a huge break on the Witten offensive PI call a couple plays before.
8) Great catches by Austin (twice) and Bryant on GL tds. These guys will be a holy terror for years to come.
9) Really good to see Scandrick playing well again. I thought yesterday might have been his best game since his rookie year. Should have had two picks and was all over the field making hits.
10) Really liking what I'm seeing from Sean Lee too. he made several nice plays and he is not the liability in space that Brooking is, particularly in terms of getting outside.
11) Lastly, what a spark McCann has been to the return game. That long punt return was a really smart play, one that alot of veterans dont think to make sometimes. He's what I think we all thought AOA was going to be for the return game. He should have had a long TD on the kick return, had he cut inside I think he makes the kicker miss. He's defintiely been a big boost to the team. Even if he never pans out as a legit CB option, he should be a huge asset as a return guy for years to come.
Thursday will be a big challenge, the Saints offense seems to be getting it going now (34 pts in each of last two games, over 900 yds of offense) and I think their blitz packages will be a huge challenge for our OL. The pass coverages we've been playing have been really soft, and Brees can really exploit that. I'm sure we'll see people crucify the team (and Garrett in particular) if we lose, even though this is probably a game that we really shouldnt win. If they avoid turnovers and make a few plays here and there, maybe we can stay in it till the 4th quarter and steal it.
