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Let’s Talk About the Detroit Lions and the Playoffs
Published: July 28, 2009
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There are certain things that playoff teams (generally) have in common.
It is obviously not a revelation that the Detroit Lions lacked most of these things last season, but they have certainly added a large influx of talent this year, potentially making them a threat to compete for a playoff spot in a wide open division that thankfully won’t be bothered by the presence of a purple—headed gun slinger.
Let’s take a look at what last year’s playoff teams did well and how the Lions could potentially measure up:
Obviously there were some very different styles in the playoffs last season, including powerful offenses (Arizona), smash mouth defenses (Baltimore, Tennessee, et. al.) and ball control run-oriented teams (Miami, Atlanta).
I’m not sure how to classify the Jim Schwartz—led Lions yet, but these are some of the characteristics shared by most of last season’s playoff teams: All quarterbacks had a rating higher than 80.0; no offense gave up more sacks than their defense registered; all defenses had at least 10 interceptions.
I also included a couple extra categories that are basics for good teams:
– Seven of 12 playoff teams had three offensive players (non—quarterbacks) account for at least 3,000 yards of total offense. All 12 would have shared this characteristic, but five teams had one of their top three offensive contributors miss time. Indy was without Joseph Addai, who averaged 63 yards per game, for four games.
Philly lost Brian Westbrook, who averaged more than 90 total yards per game, for two games. Miami was without receiver Greg Camarillo, who averaged 67 yards per game, for five games. Baltimore was without Willis McGahee and his 65 yards per game for three games and Pittsburgh was without Willie Parker and his 73 yards per game for five games.
Basically, three guys on playoff teams should average 1,000 yards or more each of total offense.
– Eleven of 12 playoff teams had a defensive player register 100 or more tackles. All 12 would have, but Antonio Pierce, who was averaging more than six per game for the Giants, missed a game and finished the season at 94.
So let’s see how the Lions compare:
Quarterback Rating:
No Lions quarterback who saw significant time last season had a rating over 73.
Outlook:With Daunte Culpepper and his 63.9 rating as the only holdover from last season’s top three, joined by rookie Matt Stafford and untested Drew Stanton, this appears to be the biggest question mark. Culpepper hasn’t had a rating above 80 since 2004-2005.
Yards of Offense:
The Lions were surprisingly close to having three guys account for 3,000 yards of offense last season. Unfortunately, most of that was from two guys. Calvin Johnson and 1,331 receiving yards and Kevin Smith had 1,262 all-purpose yards. Unfortunately, the third most productive player, Shaun McDonald, had only 332 yards.
Outlook:Johnson and Smith are both back and should improve. With an improved supporting cast, which now includes Bryant Johnson, Maurice Morris, Brandon Pettigrew and Dennis Northcutt, it shouldn’t be hard to find a third player more productive than McDonald was last season.
Sacks Allowed vs. Sacks Registered:
The Lions gave up 52 sacks last season and the defense only had 28, that’s a pretty huge discrepancy.
Outlook: The good news? Jim Schwartz oversaw a Titans defense that had 42 sacks last season?
The bad news, part one? No one on the Lions will be mistaken for Albert Haynesworth. The bad news, part two? The offensive line is virtually the same cast of guys who gave up 52 sacks last year.
Tackles:
Hey, the Lions get a break here. Ernie Sims had more than 100 tackles last year and has had more than 100 each of his three years in the league.
Outlook: With Sims, Julian Peterson and Larry Foote, linebacker is arguably the strongest spot on the team. The Lions should be able to tackle better next season.
Interceptions:
As we know, the Lions did not cause many turnovers last year. They had only four interceptions.
Outlook: The secondary is nearly entirely new with rookie Louis Delmas, Anthony Henry (though his position is still undecided) and Phillip Buchanon. Training camp invitee Otis Wiley is also in the mix and they just signed veteran Will James. The Titans had 20 picks under Schwartz last season. Most of this relies on whether the pass rush can improve…opposing quarterbacks had a lot of time last season.
Basically, this crude analysis proves nothing. But it is interesting to see that the Lions aren’t too far off from being a competitive team.
The question marks are still at quarterback and and on both lines, but as long as those units can improve to just mediocre, the playoffs shouldn’t be out of the question in the NFC North, especially with this guy still around. For the first time in quite a while, there is some hope for decent football in Detroit.
Read more Patrick Hayes every day at It’s Just Sports.
