After a nightmarish first quarter of the NFL season for the Detroit Lions, the team answered back in the second quarter of the season with a 3-1 record. The lone loss was a 13-7 decision to the Bears on Monday Night Football in Chicago. Two of the three victories were on the road at Philadelphia (26-23 OT) and Jacksonville (31-14) along with a home victory over Seattle (28-24) in between. The good performance in the second quarter of the season has put the Lions back into the playoff chase with a 4-4 record.
The offense has still been having trouble in the first half of games, other than the game in Jacksonville. The Jaguars game was in fact the first time all season the Lions had a lead going into halftime with a 21-0 lead. The offense also did take a hit with the loss of wide receiver Nate Burleson for the remainder of the season with a broken leg. That has left it open for Titus Young and Ryan Broyles to make an impact. Both have made a combined 23 catches for 260 yards and four touchdowns since Burleson went down with the injury. The Lions are starting to find some consistency in the run game, especially after Sunday. Mikel Leshoure found the endzone three times on Sunday in the first half to go along with his 70 rushing yards against Jacksonville. Joique Bell also added 73 rushing yards and another touchdown. More consistency will be the key, as the Lions will need to stay balanced to keep moving forward.
The defense has shined in the second quarter of the season. Louis Delmas returned to action for the first time this season and helped out the defense greatly for the three games before getting injured yet again. Other young players, such as safety Ricardo Silva and cornerback Jonte Green have stepped up with the injury bug going around the squad. Both Silva and Green recorded their first career interceptions in the last two games, and the team has recorded all five of the team's interceptions in these last four games (Delmas, Chris Houston and Erik Coleman also have one). The defensive line has been imposing their will on opposing offensive lines. Micheal Vick and Jay Cutler essentially had no time to throw against the Lions. Nick Fairley and Cliff Avril are also starting to heat up, and they will need to get even better to keep the dominance alongside Ndamukong Suh.
Finally, the special teams has improved greatly. What I mean by that is the unit has not given up a touchdown. The return game has, however, regressed. Returner Stefon Logan has fumbled a couple times, and they came at very inopportune times. When Logan hasn't fumbled, he has made mental mistakes by letting punts go by him and losing many yards of field position or calling fair catch too early. The return game needs to be better and give the offense better field position. Jason Hanson has been on target like always, and so has punter Nick Harris. Lawrence Jackson also blocked a field goal in the Monday Night contest against the Bears.
Obviously, when the team goes 3-1, there is been some great improvements. Now the key for the Lions is to find some consistency. The third quarter of the season begins on the road at Minnesota before a three game homestand against Green Bay, Indianapolis and the annual Thanksgiving day game hosting Houston.
No comments:
Post a Comment