Official Lions-Falcons Game Day thread

[Harlan Huckleby]

8 AM, the start of the Sabbath

I'm starting this important thread early so you can plan your weekend accordingly. If you don't like it, tell somebody who cares.

[Tyrion Lannister]

I'm surprised the Falcons are underachieving. From watching Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Atlanta Falcons, I thought the Falcons were a good team with an elite QB. Matty Ice is a natural born leader.

The Packers still have both Atlanta and Detriot left on the schedule so this game might be worth getting up for. Or not. I probably will not.

I haven't done the math or checked the fact, but it seems like Detriot is not scoring as much as it did in the past. Stafford, a gunslinger, seems to be playing like a game manager nowadays. You don't put a latch around a gunslinger and tell him not to gunsling, imho.

Atlanta 24, Detriot 20

[Harlan Huckleby]

The Packers still have both Atlanta and Detriot left on the schedule so this game might be worth getting up for. Or not. I probably will not.

Oh, but you will. The seed is planted.

A 16-hour NFL marathon on the boob tube on the lord's day is pretty ridiculous. Jerry Lewis should host.

[smuggler]

Tyrion, I can never tell when you are being sarcastic. Matt Ryan is a good but not great QB.

[Fritz]

Oh, but you will. The seed is planted.

A 16-hour NFL marathon on the boob tube on the lord's day is pretty ridiculous. Jerry Lewis should host.

It is, agreed. However, if I'd busted my ass working on Saturday and gotten the jobs done for my work and around the house, and if I had the house/TV to myself, I'd probably tune in to much of it.

Matt Stafford isn't so much playing like a game manager as he is not playing all that great. The Lions don't have much of a running game,expecially with Reggie Bush probably out, so teams seem to play a lot of four-man rushes with lots of d-backs. Stafford does struggle with some of that, though he can still make some great throws as well as some clunkers.

But that defense is killing it right now. I think the Lions will win this one.

[pbmax]

I haven't done the math or checked the fact, but it seems like Detriot is not scoring as much as it did in the past. Stafford, a gunslinger, seems to be playing like a game manager nowadays. You don't put a latch around a gunslinger and tell him not to gunsling, imho.

I can do the research for you. Calvin Johnson, the security blanket supreme, has been injured.

[Fritz]

One of the sports talking heads suggested that it was Golden Tate who did all the work on the game-changing touchdown. Some people in Detroit are bound and determined not to give Stafford any credit.

I don't think he's elite, by any stretch, but he's better than anything they've had in Detroit since before the Bill Munson/Greg Landry combo back in the 70's.

[pbmax]

Tim Twentyman ‏@ttwentyman 2m2 minutes ago
The #Lions have suspended DT C.J. Mosley for 2 weeks for conduct detrimental and violation of team rules.

Probably insulted the Queen.

#moronintwonations

EDIT: Got Mosley confused with Fairley. Might be an idiot in only one nation.

[Tyrion Lannister]

Tyrion, I can never tell when you are being sarcastic. Matt Ryan is a good but not great QB.

Ryan hasn't had much success in the playoffs but he has an elite arm. He can make all the throws. He's a top 6 QB in the NFL today, imho.

[Tyrion Lannister]

I can do the research for you. Calvin Johnson, the security blanket supreme, has been injured.

Detriot didn't seem to score much even when Johnson was healthy, from what I've seen. Seems like the coaches are telling Stafford not to take chances early in games. They're trying to turn him into Brad Johnson or something. A gunslinger gotta be gunslinging. We saw it firsthand with Favre, and it worked out pretty well.

[denverYooper]

Nice drive by the Falcons.

[denverYooper]

Nice play on the force out by the Falcons' safety. Stafford threw too high, though, and put Tate in position to take that blast.

[denverYooper]

Fairley down with a knee.

[Teamcheez1]

As a novelty, I like waking up and watching NFL football in the morning (for us East coasters). Even better with the Lions losing.

[denverYooper]

As a novelty, I like waking up and watching NFL football in the morning (for us East coasters). Even better with the Lions losing.

It started at 7:30 am here. It's easier for me to watch a game this early because most of the fam doesn't get out of bed until closer to 9 on Sundays.

[Fritz]

Well, the Lions - in the first half - look like those same ol' Lions. Stafford's throws are all over the place, guys on the bench look dazed, and it was just a poor first half.

The injuries, too, are piling up. But that's something the Lions of the past few years haven't had to deal with. They've been remarkably injury-free up till this season.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Church couldn't get out soon enough. The lions are playing without all three TEs and Calvin Johnson!? The poor dears.

[Harlan Huckleby]

I'm hearing a buzzing sound from the crowd. It's low level, but if you listen closely, it is almost like snoring. Actually very much like snoring.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Stafford has a great throwing arm.

[smuggler]

Ryan hasn't had much success in the playoffs but he has an elite arm. He can make all the throws. He's a top 6 QB in the NFL today, imho.

Ryan's biggest weakness as a QB is his middling arm. His throws to the sideline are thusly susceptible. For a guy in pretty good shape, he also doesn't move very well.

[Teamcheez1]

Falcons are starting to look like the Falcons again/

[Harlan Huckleby]

Lions should be hurrying up. Even if they get TD, they could easily miss the 2-pt

[smuggler]

So 3rd and 10, with less than 2 mins left.... Falcons throw a pass - incomplete. Who is making these decisions??

[smuggler]

Game would be over right now if the idiot Falcons had rushed on 3rd down.

[denverYooper]

Stupid Falcons.

[denverYooper]

I hate this game. Lions get a delay of game penalty to save their own asses.

[smuggler]

And the Lions kicker misses from 43... Detroit fans are going to lynch him....

[smuggler]

What the fuuuuuuuck??

[pbmax]

Lions might want to consider replacing the long snapper and not the kicker from what I just saw.

Falcons just threw up on their shoes in the second half including D lineman holding. And a hold on the O line when trying to run clock. Miserable.

[Harlan Huckleby]

The good news is that the Falcons are on the Packers' schedule

[denverYooper]

What the fuuuuuuuck??

Agreed. That was horrible.

[pbmax]

Game would be over right now if the idiot Falcons had rushed on 3rd down.

The holding call made them think it over. And that is always dangerous.

[smuggler]

Nuke Atlanta.

[denverYooper]

I need to take a shower after that shitshow.

[smuggler]

That's one way to turn the Brits off American football.

[pbmax]

Who knew if you substitute trusting the talent for inciting aggression, your team would improve? (Caldwell over the Schvartz)

[Harlan Huckleby]

Agreed. That was horrible.

The result was horrible, but the game was exciting. If Atlanta came back from 21-0, Packer fans would say "this was a game for the ages."

[Guiness]

Quite the finish there, I turned away for a couple of seconds, what happened? Did the Lions kick on 3rd down? They missed the kick, were penalized, kicked again from further back, no loss of down?

[HarveyWallbangers]

I don't think I've seen a team choke that bad down the stretch. Atlanta can basically run out the clock. Instead they get a holding call. Stops the clock. Then, they drop an easy catch. Then, they get a defensive holding on a run play. Then, their coaches call a timeout immediately after a play by the Lions with 25 seconds, giving the Lions a free time out (instead of letting the clock run down). Just terrible. They deserved to lose. Not to mention, Matt Ryan threw about the ugliest interception you'll ever see also. No wonder Atlanta is 2-6.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Quite the finish there, I turned away for a couple of seconds, what happened? Did the Lions kick on 3rd down? They missed the kick, were penalized, kicked again from further back, no loss of down?

Delay of game. Play didn't count.

[pbmax]

Quite the finish there, I turned away for a couple of seconds, what happened? Did the Lions kick on 3rd down? They missed the kick, were penalized, kicked again from further back, no loss of down?

Not sure of down, but before FG attempt, refs called delay of game on Lions. Clock never starts (still 4 seconds left) and they get to retry on same down. 5 yard penalty with a deep FG seems like it hurts the O, but Prater got a second chance for life because he missed the first one (which they struck even with the flag and whistles) wide right.

[smuggler]

So... was the clock running on the delay of game?

[pbmax]

I don't think I've seen a team choke that bad down the stretch. Atlanta can basically run out the clock. Instead they get a holding call. Stops the clock. Then, they drop an easy catch. Then, they get a defensive holding on a run play. Then, their coaches call a timeout immediately after a play by the Lions with 25 seconds, giving the Lions a free time out (instead of letting the clock run down). Just terrible. They deserved to lose. Not to mention, Matt Ryan threw about the ugliest interception you'll ever see also. No wonder Atlanta is 2-6.

I think the penalty really confused them. That doesn't happen often when running to drain clock. Suddenly instead of getting the game clock down to about one minute, its stuck at 1:46. They recalibrate and decide, like they did with 3 minutes left earlier, that they HAVE to get a first down.

The other dumb thing was that zone they played on D. Stafford isn't going to run them to a FG. Play man. If it ruptures for a TD, then at least you get the ball back.

I still also hate Golden Tate, but man does he look good running down the seams of a defense.

[smuggler]

Your feelings toward Golden basically mirror those of everyone else on the planet.

[pbmax]

So... was the clock running on the delay of game?

Nope. Dead ball after Stafford clocked it at 4 seconds. It almost seems like you should get a runoff and not another shot at a FG when you get a penalty while trying to kick a figgie.

[smuggler]

Falcons definitely should have run it 3rd and 11

[Guiness]

I think I just realized one of the things that's up with the London games. Of course I know it's about money, I just wasn't quite able to follow it.

I've never been so sure that the NFL actually wants to expand to Europe, it just doesn't make sense to me. And if they did, they'd be paying more attention to Germany, where pro football was quite successful in the past.

I think one of the attractions is time zones! What the NFL has done by putting games in London is extended their broadcast day by 3 hours! I turned on the TV around noon (EST) and lo and behold, live game on, that brings the number of games to 4, and the total time to north of 12 hours. Maybe the rest of you have already figured that out, but it was a revelation to me.

The other piece of the puzzle I don't understand is why the Londoners are showing up for random teams. That's human behavior though, there's no making sense of that.

[denverYooper]

Who knew if you substitute trusting the talent for inciting aggression, your team would improve? (Caldwell over the Schvartz)

Dunno. But one of the talking heads made a comment about the Lions winning the close games they were losing last year. I haven't looked at the numbers, but it seems like their seasons often turn on 50/50 games. Last time they made the playoffs under Schwartz, they made a living winning close games. So it could be a matter of luck so far.

[pbmax]

Dunno. But one of the talking heads made a comment about the Lions winning the close games they were losing last year. I haven't looked at the numbers, but it seems like their seasons often turn on 50/50 games. Last time they made the playoffs under Schwartz, they made a living winning close games. So it could be a matter of luck so far.

It could be that yes. But they just seem to be inflicting a lot less damage to themselves in the process. That has to help tilt close games to them a bit.

[George Cumby]

The thing that concerns me is that by winning these close games, they are doing positive things for their teams Psyche. If they don't already, they are beginning to believe in themselves and play with confidence that they can win these games. This makes the dangerous.

[smuggler]

Fucking Falcons.