Quick thoughts on Lions game
 

1. I feel like most agree AR is not a concern. Sure he could be more consistent, he did miss a few throws. But it seemed yesterday that all of his best plays were nullified by penalty or drop.

2. This team is just not very good talent wise. The oline got whipped by a superior dline. The TE group is worthless. JT was ineffective. The entire defense struggled to tackle their skill players, who attacked with speed and quickness and consistently picked up big gains. Like the IU-OSU game, the talent differential was very noticeable.

3. I didn't expect it, but this game really did resemble the IU-OSU game on Saturday. The offense consistently struggled to get first downs and couldn't protect the QB and/or committed drive killing penalties. The defense fought admirably but couldn't do it all. The biggest difference is that our punter did his best to save our ass with every kick, instead of gifting them 14 points.

AR was certainly not the problem. Between his passing yards and his rushing yards, he accounted for 87% of the total offense. Penalties, extremely shitty OL performance and brick hands stopped this from bing a very close game. I also believe Dulin should have been able to get both feet down in bounds if he was any kind of pro.

While the numbers look bad ARs performance was actually encouraging. I can see the incremental improvement. The accuracy wasn’t perfect but it was better than it was early in the season. That dime to AP was an absolutely perfect throw and he had a dart to MP that just as impressive. He had a few others that were very well placed. The throw aways show me growth. And he ran the ball hard without injury. He even got down a time or two when the contact would be unnecessary. He saved the OL multiple sure sacks on nearly any other QB. Ball security is still a concern though.

D also had its issues and the scheme is fucking awful, but they played well early. They wilted but that’s not surprising considering the offensive struggles.

OL sucks - the rookies are getting destroyed (especially Tucker). Nelson and Smith have been mediocre as well - constant stupid penalties and getting beat more often than they should. I get the unit aspect of OL play but individually they should be better than they’ve been.

We are in the Ballard “we have to draft it” mode at TE and the team is paying for it. Just as we have several other positions over the last 7 years. I’m fucking tired of it.

JT is overrated. Yes, he maximizes the creases the OL gives him better than most RBs, but if the OL isn’t providing decent creases he’s below average. He’s not a bruising “turn no gain into 3 yds” consistently back. He’s not a “scat” or Barry Sanders “ready to turn a missed tackle into a huge gain at any moment” type back. He’s mediocre as a pass catcher and a negative in pass pro. Basically he’s a luxury back.

Steichen seemed better situationally - no time out before half and accepted the punt when pinned deep in on 3rd and long. Both are encouraging. I’m still not a fan of the overall play calling though. With the OL struggles they should be moving the pocket more with designed roll outs that also let AR threaten the edge with his legs.

I didn't get the impression of your second point at all. In fact, my takeaway was that this team is good enough talent wise to hang with the best team in the league. Even the announcers on the broadcast were talking about how the game felt closer than what the scoreboard indicated, and that was with 60% of the starting OL being backup rookies. Drops and penalties took away most of the offense, Richardson actually had a really good game, he just had over 150 yards and 1-2 scores taken away by penalties and drops. This game probably goes much differently if Ogletree catches the TD and the refs don't completely stymie the Colts offensive momentum in the first half. The last time I remember calls that bad by the refs was the home game against the Packers a few years ago where the refs were determined to get the Packers the ball back in regulation and called something ridiculous like 5 holds in a row on the Colts.

Another year down the Ballard tube. This dude is just awful at building a roster, just awful.

All over the radio today talking about how the Lions were 3-13 in 2021, and here they are in 2024 as the most talented team in the league. Contrast with the insane mediocrity that Bullshit Ballard has sold us.

Fuck that dude, fucking GO THE FUCK AWAY!

I agree with this. No team is going to have a proficient offense down 3 starting OL. Just look at 49'rs.

The talent is there, but poor defensive coaching and the talent being in the wrong places is holding this team back.

Granted, I fucking HATE talking about the refs, but shit... half of those calls were bothersome and it seemed like they were always at the worst time time.

And I agree. The talent point is silly.

AR has come back looking more intent to me. Bad box score again, but I didn't think it was like the HOU game. But now the OL is decimated which hurts everyone.

I'm not the biggest fan of the scheme, but I don't hate it like most here. I'm going to have to look up the numbers, because it seems like, outside the first couple of weeks, the defense is back to holding up until later in the game when the offense is leaving them hanging.

We've yet to play well or even be healthy on both sides of the ball in the same game. So it seems.

Keep in mind: we're coming off a stretch against the Vikings, Bills, and Lions... combined record of 28-5.

So the breakdown from the game is apparently per PFF and Zach Hicks on twitter.

AR pressured on 46% of his passes, no sacks.
A 15% drop rate resulted in 51 yards and one TD.
79 yards on four completions that were nullified by penalties.

And that doesn't count the 40+ yarder (that also could've been housed had he just stayed in bounds) Dulin lost by not getting both feet down.