I've been off the blog since the Debacle in Seattle (I like calling it that, btw. Not exactly rhymey, but it has a homonymnity to it). I watched a good chunk of the Lions' loss to Arizona, but I eventually switched it to something else as it became quite clear that the Lions were laying yet another turd, and I didn't want to cast a pall over the upcoming vacation. We - my wife, I, and another couple we're good friends with - went to France for a week & a half. It was great, and I was virtually sports free for the trip. This was a good thing, since the Michigan-Michigan State game would've probably increased my blood pressure to dangerous levels. The Lions managed to get their first win while we were gone, but I didn't believe an OT win over the Bears to be anything to crow about.
Anyway, the trip was great. I experienced an overload of art, architecture, and culture that was somehow simultaneously overwhelming and yet not enough. Then, back to the USA, where "culture" consists of cracking open a microbrew while watching your football. Not that there's anything wrong with that. If you can't enjoy the simple things as well, you can't be a complete person.
I was guardedly optimistic in my approach to the Vikings game. I felt like they were probably the better team, but coming off a win and playing at home could have boost the Lions needed (spoiler: it wasn't). After getting into the end zone on their first two drives, the Detroit offense went dry. REALLY dry. As in they had 1 drive that went over 8 yards (29 yds total, resulting in a punt) until there was less than 4 minutes to play. As in the offense produced 3 more points in the game, largely thanks to a fumble gifted to the defense by a botched handoff.
The play-calling became staid and failed to compensate for the increased pressure being put on Stafford. The offensive line was absolutely atrocious. To be honest, while the players have certainly failed to hold up their end, the coaching has been horrendous. Much has been made of the scheme/personnel mismatch on the offensive line. The zone blocking scheme brought in by Lombardi (presumably because that's what he was familiar with in New Orleans) is better suited to smaller, quicker linemen. The Lions have been acquiring larger, less mobile linemen better suited to a man-blocking scheme. Additionally, the communication on the line - picking up blitzes, protection assignments, etc - has been as bad as it possibly could be. Stafford was hit several times on Sunday by an unblocked rusher, while offensive linemen on the side away from pressure watched the defense opposite them back into coverage. On one play, Riley Reiff doubled down on the DT and let the DE get an unimpeded rush! That's not even a blitz, it's just failing to block.
I've been waiting for the axe to fall on Lombardi since last year. This should've been done a while ago, and I feared Caldwell was too married to his guy, but I guess failing to punch it in on 3 tries 6 inches from the goal line convinced him. The OC Lombardi was fired, along with both the offensive line coach AND the assistant OL coach. That is what I call "scorching the earth".
There is some debate as to whether Jim Caldwell fired his 3 underlings under his own volition or after being pressured by Martin Mayhew or Tom Lewand. I think this move was 100% Caldwell. I'd like to think, anyway. Caldwell HAD to have been looking sideways at Lombardi all season after the poor job he did last year. I think the ultimatum came after the Cardinals game. Lombardi moved to calling plays from the box last week, a move that smacked of desperation, and the win over Chicago probably extended his life an extra game. Calling from the box this week clearly made no difference, as the offense looked as bad as ever.
The only frustration is Caldwell's obliviousness. The quote that caught my eye was when he said the Lions were "running out of time". The correct way to phrase that was "they ran out of time several weeks ago". This move comes too late to save the season. I thought legitimately Caldwell could've axed Lombardi after the Denver game (0-3) and no one would've batted an eye. The season was still salvageable at that point. The Seattle game was probably Lombardi's worst game. Looking purely at the results, the Lions only scored 3 points on offense, despite getting some pretty good field position after a muffed punt and a fumble-sack. Stafford managed to stay pretty upright, only getting hit 3 times and suffering no sacks. Yet the offense only managed 256 yards. The blown "batting" non-call at the end of the game overshadowed what a bad job the offense did. At 0-4, the Lions weren't QUITE mathematically eliminated, but close enough that they should have started making some "panic moves" if they really had any expectations of making the playoffs.
I fear that the 2 line coaches were largely collateral damage from Lombardi's insistence at running a bad scheme for his personnel. Sure, I've been pretty displeased with the communication on the line and probably these guys were to blame in part, but I don't know how promoting the TE coach to be the OL coach helps at all.
The guy replacing Lombardi has the unlikely name of Jim Bob Cooter. It sounds more like the name of a backyard mechanic than a dude who got a 35 on his ACT and was a 4.0 student at Tennessee. By all accounts he is very intelligent and a quick study, and he'll need to be as he's only 31 and taking the OC job for the first time in his career. There's certainly not enough time to implement a new system, but my hope is the play-calling and the protection schemes will improve. Cooter was one of Peyton Manning's favorites, and Manning was sad to see him go. The way bloggers and columnists around Detroit repeat that phrase reeks a bit of desperation, but the fact is that Manning thought very highly of Cooter. Take that for what it's worth.
This season is over. At this point, the team is playing for pride, developing youth (5 of their 6 or 7 regular O-linemen are under 25 years old), and finding something to build on for next season. After the development of the O-line, draft position is of particular interest to me. The Lions are currently in the pole position to land the #1 pick, although their schedule gets much easier in the 2nd half of the season.
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Mayhew SHOULD have half an eye on the QB prospects coming down the pike. I don't know if he WILL, since he drafted Stafford #1 overall and this team/town/front office seems ready to label Matt Stafford the best QB ever to don Honolulu Blue. Unfortunately, picking the "best Lions QB" is like picking the best apple out of a bushel of rotten apples. Stafford's stats are nice and his arm can impress at times, but it is mainly fool's gold. Stafford has a first round arm and a 4th round brain. He takes unnecessary sacks, misreads defenses, and his accuracy is spotty. He's mediocre. If the Lions want to move forward, they'll need to improve that position. Stafford's on the books for 2 more years, and his salary jumps next year by about $5M/yr.
Ideally the Lions would find a trade partner, swap Stafford for a solid backup and a CB, and then use their high draft pick to pick the next QB of the future. More likely the Lions are saddled with that bloated salary for the next 2 seasons, look around frantically at their options, and then ultimately hold their nose and swallow down whatever it costs to keep Stafford around. Hopefully they see the light and choose to act now (or now-ish), when they have the highest potential to do something about it.
Unfortunately for Detroit (or perhaps fortunately, as I think the Lions may end up picking outside the top 2), this is not a draft that has an out & out favorite for the top QB, unlike last year. I'm not sure who the top guy is. Trevone Boykin from TCU is the most accomplished, stats-wise, but TCU's system really inflates passing numbers. I trust the numbers of Paxton Lynch from Memphis a bit more, and he's got ideal size for the NFL at 6'7", 245 lbs. I'll have to watch some tape. I'm more familiar with the top Big Ten guys - Connor Cook, Cardale Jones, and Christian Hackenberg - and maybe familiarity breeds contempt, because I don't think I'd take any of them with a top 10 pick.
The season's not over (technically) and Mayhew could definitely go a different direction in the draft, but he SHOULD be looking at one of those guys. We'll see.
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