Lions game studs and duds

[mraynrand]

what? They are pretty much terrible at every phase of special teams. The return game is the only phase of special teams that you can point to as being "ok."

As a sum of it's parts, the special teams units are horrendous. There is no amount of sugar coating anyone can do to intelligently argue against it.

“As it is spoken, so shall it be!”

[hoosier]

Punt returns and punt return coverage have been good. They need to counter the block kick trend by finding the reincarnation of Chester Marcol, a kicker who knows what to do when the ball ends up in his stomach.

[Patler]

Well, it was only a few years ago that Crosby tried a free kick at the end of the half following a fair catch on a punt. His 69 yard attempt at Lambeau in December was dead center, and just barely short.

that was the 0-16 game against Detroit. That kick, if made, would have been a bright spot in a dismal end to that season.

I have wondered ever since, if he had made the kick, would it have been considered the new record for longest field goal? Kind of seems like it should be it's own category, even though it would have had the result of a field goal.

[mraynrand]

I have wondered ever since, if he had made the kick, would it have been considered the new record for longest field goal? Kind of seems like it should be it's own category, even though it would have had the result of a field goal.

Asterisk. I imagine it would go like this:

Rich Gannon: "Sebastian Janikowski is lining up for a a 65 yard field goal attempt, which would be the longest ever."
Kevin Harlan: "The longest from a hold - there was that 69 yard Crosby kick back in 2008, but that was a free kick."
Rich Gannon: "OK, thanks for that clarification Kevin. So there goes all my excitement."

[Cheesehead Craig]

special teams will likely be the downfall of this team's super bowl hopes.

Or the defense reverting to their early season form...
Or the offense having a bad day...

[pbmax]

Asterisk. I imagine it would go like this:

Rich Gannon: "Sebastian Janikowski is lining up for a a 65 yard field goal attempt, which would be the longest ever."
Kevin Harlan: "The longest from a hold - there was that 69 yard Crosby kick back in 2008, but that was a free kick."
Rich Gannon: "OK, thanks for that clarification Kevin. So there goes all my excitement."

FIRST TAKE SET

Skip Bayless: "Today's FG kickers can't hold the jock strap of kickers in the past. Artificial Turf, Domes, K balls, improvement in shoe technology all make today's accomplishments pale in comparison to the hero kickers of yesterday. Give me Roy Gerela any day of the week plus Sunday."

'Screamin' Stephen A. Smith: "Roy Gerela? How old are you? My father once told me that Chuck Noll once punted from the 28 yard line rather than trust Gerela to kick a 40+ yard FG! You cannot be serious that the best of all time include kickers who run away scared over 40 yards! Its ridiculous!"

Skip Bayless: "Coach Noll and his teammates all loved Roy like a brother. Out of that sense of brotherhood, they would have willed Roy 6 more yards in field position. They WOULD! I believe that with all my tiny, frozen heart."

[Maxie the Taxi]

I watched the free kick (punt) after the safety again and the culprit was clearly Jarrett Boykin. He and Brad Jones were lined up directly opposite the punter. (Why Brad Jones is lined up with the hands team I don't know.) Boykin was tracking the ball from the time the ball left the punter's foot. He should have easily had time to camp under the punt and wave for a fair catch. Problem is, he never gave the fair catch signal and wound up misjudging the ball, lunging for it at the last minute and probably touching it. It looked like he had a clear, unimpeded path to the ball. It also looked like he didn't have a clue what to do in that situation. So a co-culprit might be Slocum as well.

[Bretsky]

Jones lead the team in Special Teams tackles as of a few weeks ago.

Kick yourself in the nads for saying something positive about that clown

[Pugger]

Studs:

Won't look like much on stat sheet, but Richard Rodgers had some nice tough catches.

Offensive Line did a great job of protecting an immobile Rodgers.

And they opened up holes for Lacy against the #1 rush D in the league.

[Pugger]

Studs

The MVP...even Favre would be proud of this effort.
Packer OL...after Rodgers came back, he was barely touched back there.
Lacy...the fumble hurt, but they guy would not go down to any of the first 3 defenders who grabbed him.
Nelson...most yardage for a Packers receiver ever in a season.
Cobb...was the impact in space that Green Bay needed against Detroit. Thompson is going to have to pay the man.
Team defense...no single player stood out, but a lot of guys made a big play here or there. They often came up big when they needed to in the 2nd half.

Duds

Slocum...easily the worst special teams coach in the NFL. I could find a better option in a mental ward.
Brad Jones...easily the worst LB in the NFL. Again, I could find a better option from a group of guys on crutches.
Jim Caldwell...down 10 points with time almost running out in the shadow of his own end zone, he has his team run another play at the 5 second mark for some dumb reason. Could you imagine if someone got hurt on that play when both teams are playoff bound? Thank God whoever caught the 2 yard pass had far more sense than anyone else on the Lions and just ran out of bounds. Really, really, really dumb.

And we bitch about McCarthy? Caldwell's first head scratcher was going for it on 4th and TEN in the first half of the game around the 40 yard line. Then he challenges the down by contact play after the ball came out of Lacy's hands while Eddie was on the ground? Pure genius I tell ya.

[Pugger]

Man, what a screwed up play yesterday. It almost seemed that Cobb was impeded getting to the ball. I can't remember yard marker, but if he could have fair caught it, Crosby would have had a free kick which would have iced the game.

I wonder if any of our players were aware of the rules. Or even the refs, for that matter.

I think both our players and the refs were surprised. I'm surprised this tactic isn't used more in this situation.

[Pugger]

FIRST TAKE SET

Skip Bayless: "Today's FG kickers can't hold the jock strap of kickers in the past. Artificial Turf, Domes, K balls, improvement in shoe technology all make today's accomplishments pale in comparison to the hero kickers of yesterday. Give me Roy Gerela any day of the week plus Sunday."

'Screamin' Stephen A. Smith: "Roy Gerela? How old are you? My father once told me that Chuck Noll once punted from the 28 yard line rather than trust Gerela to kick a 40+ yard FG! You cannot be serious that the best of all time include kickers who run away scared over 40 yards! Its ridiculous!"

Skip Bayless: "Coach Noll and his teammates all loved Roy like a brother. Out of that sense of brotherhood, they would have willed Roy 6 more yards in field position. They WOULD! I believe that with all my tiny, frozen heart."

I wouldn't waste precious time watching Skip Clueless and that stupid show.

[mraynrand]

I watched the free kick (punt) after the safety again and the culprit was clearly Jarrett Boykin. He and Brad Jones were lined up directly opposite the punter. (Why Brad Jones is lined up with the hands team I don't know.) Boykin was tracking the ball from the time the ball left the punter's foot. He should have easily had time to camp under the punt and wave for a fair catch. Problem is, he never gave the fair catch signal and wound up misjudging the ball, lunging for it at the last minute and probably touching it. It looked like he had a clear, unimpeded path to the ball. It also looked like he didn't have a clue what to do in that situation. So a co-culprit might be Slocum as well.

I don't expect anything from Jones, but both Boykin and T.Will were right there and let it drop. Twill had the best look, because he was moving forward. Why he let it hit the ground, I have no idea. Probably neither did he. That's a Slocum fail. That might have been a good spot for a TO to make sure everyone knew what was going on. That's on Stubby and all the coaches as well as the players.

[Maxie the Taxi]

I don't expect anything from Jones, but both Boykin and T.Will were right there and let it drop. Twill had the best look, because he was moving forward. Why he let it hit the ground, I have no idea. Probably neither did he. That's a Slocum fail. That might have been a good spot for a TO to make sure everyone knew what was going on. That's on Stubby and all the coaches as well as the players.

Exactly. Stubby's mind was probably occupied by which play he was going to call after GB got the ball. IMO, it's why he should delegate playcalling and concentrate on time and game management.

This failure seems like a small thing, but small failures like this result in losses in the playoffs.

[ThunderDan]

Exactly. Stubby's mind was probably occupied by which play he was going to call after GB got the ball. IMO, it's why he should delegate playcalling and concentrate on time and game management.

This failure seems like a small thing, but small failures like this result in losses in the playoffs.

MM should not delegate play calling. What he should do is can Slocum's ass!!!!

Slocum has one job and one job only. That they can't figure out a free kick after a safety is stupid and shows the ST Coordinator needs to go.