Three Days Late "Live" Blog: Lions at Vikings

Let it be known that I really don't want to watch this game again. Which means it's very unlikely that anyone would want to read this. But if you are a person, and you do want to read this, congratulations: you are as broken as I am...or you are Vikings fan. If you are a Vikings fan, go away. I currently don't like you.

First Quarter:

14:56 - Logan is running scared out there. He doesn't look like he has any confidence in himself.

14:50 - Dominic Raiola pushed three feet into the backfield on the first play. Oh boy.

13:30 - Two first downs in a row on solid catches from Calvin and Pettigrew. Proooogress.

13:05 - Aaaaaaand there it is: the "young player mistake." A crackback block by Broyles pretty much ends the drive where it started.

9:33 - Nick. Fairley. Throws the guard to the side and makes a solid tackle of Peterson well into the backfield. Dude is a beast.

9:00 - The Lions are in a simple zone coverage, two-deep. Safeties just got split, with most of the fault on Coleman. Inexcusable to let anyone get by him.

8:32 - As noted on twitter, the next play the Lions have 14 men on the field. When it rains, it rains urine. (that's how the saying goes, right?)

7:52 - More this year than any I remember, I see the Lions defense talking to each other before the snap in clear confusion. On this touchdown pass, Houston is trying to get everyone's attention. First, he yells something at Jonte Green, then tries to get Silva's attention. Silva doesn't really respond, then blitzes at the snap. Houston is not completely ready at the snap and is basically picked by both corners on the play. There's no route to his receiver, who is wide open. Easy touchdown. This is a great example of how the ever-changing secondary isn't able to develop any sort of chemistry, and it's killing the team.

7:44 - Stafford inaccurate early. On target on one of first four targets.

7:38 - ...which leads to his interception. Stafford fails to step into his throw and it comes out wobbly. Pettigrew is open and a good, strong throw gives the Lions a first down. But there's pressure coming from Stafford's left, and instead of stepping into his throw to his right, he throws flat-footed. He doesn't get the strength needed on the pass, and doesn't throw a spiral, which slows down the pass just enough for Greenway to get a shot at it.

7:31 - No idea why Ponder decided to catch his own pass, but I'm glad he did. Great play by Avril, though.

4:19 - Nothing interesting to say on the Lions three-and-out, other than all the plays looked doomed from the start.

3:30 - Great coverage on Nick Fairley's sack. The ball was supposed to come out quickly, but Jonte Green and Justin Durant did a great job covering the inside slant. Great pursuit and effort from Fairley to prevent Ponder from getting outside of the pocket.

2:54 - There is nothing in the world more frustrating than a special teams penalty on a punt that is likely to be fair caught. I'm sure this play didn't really have any bearing on Alphonso Smith being released this week, but it probably didn't help much.

1:00 - Stafford with a couple of great throws to Titus Young for first downs. Stepped into both throws...

Second Quarter:

14:45 - I complain about the announcers quite a bit (and I'm going to again later), but I can't let this comment go. It's one of the most ignorant, misinformed things I've ever heard.

"On that last play, you see Matthew Stafford break contain. I think a very underrated part of his game -- we all look at his arm talent, his arm strength -- he can move around very well, in addition." 

No. Just no. Stafford's (lack of) mobility is his greatest flaw.

13:00 - Stafford with time and a pocket; dangerous.

11:43 - Happy feet Stafford strikes again. His first option is gone, and he panics. But, as you can see, the pocket is still intact.

Jared Allen is double teamed and not a worry at this point. Both defensive tackles are being held up nicely. In fact, the only defender not accounted for is the left defensive end. So what does Stafford do? Roll right into him.

If Stafford has a little more patience, and just stays where he is, Titus could run his route back to the outside, or maybe Broyles breaks free. But when he rolls to the right, he just ends up shortening the play. If Stafford really felt like the pocket was closing down, he should have shot the gap between Jared Allen and the tackles. There was plenty of room there.

5:25 - Good job by the defense to hold them to a field goal, but overall, a pretty horrific drive. Vikings moved 80 yards down field, with rushes of 15, 20 (scramble) and 14 yards. Considering the Vikings were backed up a their own 15 yard line to start the drive, Lions could have really used a three-and-out to get good field position for once.

2:35 - Lions offense stalls after another bad penalty. Rinse. Repeat.

2:23 - Suh just abused his the guard and forced an incompletion. Man, I'd like to see more of that from him.

1:55 - Well, there ya go. Suh again in the backfield quickly on a screen pass. The guard is supposed to let Suh through, but not that quickly. He almost picks up the sack, which would have been ridiculous on a screen play.

1:30 - Announcer complaint #2: After the obvious non-interception-that-was-called-an-interception-because-the-refs-just-looked-at-each-other-until-someone-had-the-balls-to-finally-make-a-call, the announcer had the audacity to say that was a "good job" by the refs. Now, I understand his point that because they called it an interception, they were allowed to review it and get it right. Whereas, if it were called incomplete, they would not be able to review it and call it a touchdown. But there are a few things wrong with that line of thinking. One: the refs job is not to swallow the whistle, knowing that review can fix their mistakes. Their job is to get it right on the field, and it was embarrassing to call that play a touchdown. Secondly, if that was called incomplete, but was actually an interception, they WOULD be able to review it (and would've, considering it was inside of two minutes left in the half). Granted, Minnesota would not have earned a touchdown on the play, but they still would have given possession to Minnesota. If that was a "good job" by the refs, the bar is set incredibly low.

0:57 - Wow. Stephen Tulloch shot the gap with incredible speed to take Peterson down in the backfield and force a punt. With the Vikings on the doorstep of field goal range, this was a huge play.

Third Quarter:

13:40 - Jerome Simpson celebrates every single catch he makes. I dare you to find a counterexample.

12:42 - Lions send a blitz and Fairley almost gets Ponder to the ground again. Durant, waiting to see if Peterson runs a route, eventually heads to Ponder and lays a licking on him, forcing an inaccurate throw.

11:19 - Leshoure misses the hole on a crucial first down, backed up on their own seven yard line:

The hole is pretty clear and right in front of Leshoure. But Mikel decides to break it outside, giving Allen enough time to bring him down from the back side. Leshoure wasn't likely to pick up a huge amount if he hit the hole, as a free linebacker was waiting for him. However, he would've almost certainly picked up three or four yards, and that's huge when you're backed up. Instead, no gain.

10:43 - "I don't always drop passes, but when I do, I prefer it TO BE TOTALLY DEVASTATING" - Brandon Pettigrew, the most frustrating man in the world.

8:45 - Man, what a devastating third down conversion for the Lions defense. The blitz works, sending an unblocked linebacker right into Ponder's lap, but he gets rid of it in time. Levy is in perfect coverage on Kyle Rudolph and even gets a hand on the pass, but Rudolph manages to somehow hold on.

7:20 - Chris Houston gets turned the wrong way, Ricardo Silva slips, first and goal Vikings. Uggghh.

6:15 - Suh in the backfield again. I can see why Jim Schwartz was all over him on Monday's press conference.

4:10 - Stafford with time and a pocket: deadly.

2:55 - Great throw by Stafford on the Pettigrew touchdown, and I cannot help but be a little angry. Stafford, again, needlessly threw off his back foot. Talent overcomes poor mechanics. Next time, Gadget. Next tiiiiiiiiiiime.

2:54 - It's sad how little confidence the Lions have both in kick returns and kick coverage.

0:00 - Kyle Rudolph just killing the Lions. Seems to pick up every single third down the Vikings desperately need.

Fourth Quarter:

14:15 - If that's not holding, I don't know what football is.

DeAndre Levy just missed knocking this pass down. Still, if the holding is correctly called, the Vikings are facing a crucial third and five-ish instead of dancing in the endzone.

12:20 - I said this on twitter, but that was literally the best play I've ever seen Stafford make out of the pocket. He finds the correct hole to step up into, escapes pressure, keeps his eyes down field, and hits Johnson for a big gain.

11:32 - Great job by the offense. Nice, quick drive. Mixed the run and the pass, and got seven. Back in this game.

10:11 - And the Lions force a quick three-and-out! AND GET A GOOD RETURN OUT OF LOGAN! 52 yards away from a tie game.

9:53 - This was probably the biggest play of the game that was mostly overlooked. On the pitch to Leshoure, Backus is blocking Greenway from the inside to the outside. Leshoure tries to wrap around him. Because Backus cannot contain Greenway from the outside, he decides to grab a hold of them. Flag. Lions already going in the wrong direction.

The problem on that play was two fold: One, Leshoure needs to recognize that Backus hasn't sealed the edge, and there's no way he's going to get around Greenway on his own. He should have made a cut to the inside. However, Backus absolutely cannot get called for a holding at this point in the game. Take the two yard loss, if you have to. But, mostly, this one is on Leshoure.

8:06 - Peterson's long touchdown was just a case of nobody getting off their block, and Suh being too aggressive in his pass rush. I don't like Adrian Peterson.

7:54 - CALVIN JOHNSON, YOU....ugh...I can't yell at you. I love you too much. Just please don't do that again.

7:44 - So the last three non-special teams plays were: Peterson 61-yard touchdown, Megatron fumble, Peterson 21-yard run. Fantastic.

1:55 - Lions dink and dunk their way into the endzone, but, more importantly, burn three minutes off the clock. At least Megatron got in the end zone to shut up Madden Curse believers for a week.

1:52 - I hated this onside kick when they tried it in San Francisco, and I hate it now. Please just try a normal onside kick. It worked once already this year.

1:40 - The only way the game could have ended on a worse play would be if Suh was the one with the personal foul penalty. It would've caused a huge fight, an annoying rant from the announcers, and thousands of wasted words from vindictive football writers. Sammie Lee Hill barely touched Ponder, but had no business touching him at all, so...whatever. Lets go home.

Half-Chicken Little, Half-Chip Diller

I sit here in my quaint apartment, on a rare Monday off from work, with a cluttered mind. I'm half-Chicken Little, half-Chip Diller. While part of me wants to write 4000 words on why the Lions would just set themselves back three years by handing out pink slips to everyone in the front office, the other is filled with frustration and ire and looks at players like Titus Young and Brandon Pettigrew and wonders how much longer I, or the team, can put up with their antics.

I want to grab a megahorn and preach to the fans and show them how the Lions' blueprints work when applied correctly. I want to point to the 2011 season and recall when all the parts are working together, the team can play with the best of them. I want to relive the Seattle Seahawks game and claim that Scott Linehan's job should not only be safe, but should be protected from other teams.

But I also want to scream. I want to punch a wall. I want to grab my pitchfork and join the mob, if, for no other reason, then to get my own frustrations out. I want the Lions to grow the f*ck up. I'm sick of the drops. I'm sick of the penalites. I'm sick of the miscommunications. And I'm sick of using the "they're still young" excuse.

But the Lions are young. Matthew Stafford has played just 13 more games than Cam Newton. Young is in his second season, Ryan Bryoles is in his first. The Lions defensive line has three, main contributors between the ages of 24-26. The Lions have their quarterback, left tackle and number one receiver for the future. They have developmental projects at cornerback, defensive end and a couple at linebacker.

But developmental projects have failed in the past. I couldn't tell you what number Jason Fox is nor what he even looks like. Sammie Lee Hill will likely never grow beyond a rotational player. Players like Doug Hogue, Tahir Whitehead and Ricardo Silva don't have much value beyond special teams.

And the young players that are playing have high upsides, but tend to be showing their risky sides as of late. Nick Fairley's a beast, but his offseason antics embarrassed this franchise. Same with Ndamukong Suh. Players like Young, Pettigrew and even Stafford show signs of brilliance, only to regress with consistent mental errors.

But then we go back to the youth argument, and around and around she goes. I don't know what to think, I don't know where I stand, and I don't know where the Lions are headed. I want to believe when the Lions play consistent football, they'll be back in the playoffs. But I don't know if these Lions could ever play consistently.

I want to believe in the coaching staff, knowing how far this team has already come in 3.5 years. But then I see things like THIS and have to wonder.

I don't know if I'm pissed that the season is basically over or relieved that I don't have to continue to fool myself that playoffs are still a possibility. I don't know if Stafford is a franchise quarterback, or if his mechanical issues and poor pocket presence are things I'll just have to get used to. I don't know if the Lions will ever mature, or if the character risks we've been warned about are permanent.

But here's what I do know: the Lions are 4-5 and, for all intents and purposes, OUT of the playoff race. There are seven games on the schedule left. The Lions will be facing the best of the best in the NFL. And what the Lions choose to do with the next two months will go a long way in deciding whether I'm on board or waving the white flag in 2013.

Other stuff:

• My biggest pet peeve of the game: Stafford, again, being too quick to leave the pocket. He ran himself into sacks on more than one occasion.
• The offensive line had their worst game of the year. Couldn't get the run game early, making play-action completely ineffective later in the game.
• Here's a fun series of events on twitter: 

At opening kickoff:

The Vikings probably won't go downfield much today, but a key for Detroit is to not let the 2-3 shots they try turn into big plays.
— Jeremy Reisman (@DetroitOnLion) November 11, 2012

Exactly 14-minutes later:

#Vikings with a 54-yard pass on third-and-long. Down to the one-yard line. Awful. #Lions
— Pride Of Detroit (@PrideOfDetroit) November 11, 2012

• That Calvin Johnson sure is cursed, huh? 

• If Chris Houston's injury is serious, this team is in big, big trouble down the stretch. The Lions have struggled against poor passing teams so far. Ahead they have the Packers twice, the Texans, Falcons and Colts. Weeeeeeeeeeeee!
• Defense: good job at holding Minnesota to two field goals after two turnovers by the offense.
• Defense: anti-good job at allowing two plays of 50+ yards, three drives of 60+ yards, and 18 points in the fourth quarter to a team that was averaging just 19.3 points in the past three games.

FOUR Days Late "Live" Blog: Lions at Jaguars

We're rolling extra late this week. Apologies if this ruined your Wednesday. In the future, Wednesday will be my target date for these.

First Quarter:

15:00 - There is a large group of Lions fans that think Detroit should not continue to elect to receive at the beginning of the game. I am not one of these people. I do not think the Lions should just accept that they are doomed to slow starts. You keep working at it, and you fix it. Plus, I am not convinced the Lions defense is better than their offense.

13:01 - Lions fail to pick up a third down, after Stafford throws a dart to Titus down the sideline. Young didn't run much of a route, but the refs missed an obvious hands-to-the-face penalty on a Jaguars o-lineman.

11:40 - Jaguars go three-and-out. First two plays were good defensive plays by linebackers and third down was a poor throw on a well-covered receiver.

11:27 - I understand the inclination to jump all over Stefan Logan after letting this punt bounce inside the 10-yard line, but he just lost it in the sun. Could've happened to anyone.

10:39 - Prime example of my biggest pet peeve of Stafford. Plenty of time in the pocket, but his internal clock goes off too early, starts running to his right, and instead of throwing the ball away, runs out of bounds for a one yard loss. Poor pocket awareness, and poor play outside of the tackles.

9:59 - This personal foul penalty on the Jags is stupid. The defender has all of his momentum going towards the quarterback and cannot hear the whistle. By the time he gets to Stafford, he sees that Matthew has given up on the play and tries to take as much off the tackle as he physically can. If he wrapped Stafford up and took him to the ground, I would understand the flag, but he clearly tries to hold up.

6:31 - What an amazing play all around. Starts with excellent pass protection. Then Stafford throws an amazing ball to a bracketed Tony Scheffler. He is absolutely covered for the majority of NFL quarterbacks. But Stafford puts the ball where only Scheffler could get it and Tony makes an incredible grab and toe taps in bounds.

4:58 - The end to this drive pretty much summarizes the first half of the season for the Lions offense. Driving well for 40-50 yards, stall after a bad mistake (in this case, a badly overthrown ball to Bell), then screw something up and fail to get any points (missed FG).

4:11 - Play-action roll out plays continue to fool the defense. It only cost the Lions 6 yards on this play, but it was WIDE open.

3:40 - Excellent coverage on third down forces another quick punt. I repeat...excellent coverage.

2:20 - More annoying Stafford pocket presence. He correctly evades the initial rush, and steps up in the pocket. There was room there to set his feet and find a receiver, but Stafford is in full panic mode and is looking for the nearest hole. He doesn't find it and throws it at Titus Young's feet.

1:05 - NASTY cut by Leshoure.

0:10 - Calvin Johnson against zone coverage. Money.

Second Quarter:

14:30 - There is no color commentator in the world that sounds like he's just making things up more than Mike Martz. I'm not saying that he doesn't know what he's talking about, just that the way he talks makes it sound like it. It's like he's never used any football terminology in his life.

12:16 - Big ole' hole on Mikel Leshoure's first touchdown run of the game. Give Stephen Peterman all the credit in the world. He holds up his defender long enough for Gosder Cherilus to get around and seal him from the inside. And when Cherilus helps out, Peterman heads to the second level and obliterates a linebacker. Made it look easy.

11:50 - Good to see Lawrence Jackson pick up his first sack of the year. The guy seems like a really awesome dude, and is a must-follow on twitter. He's very interactive with his followers and really lets his personality bleed through.

10:30 - Stafford throws off his back foot and misses Scheffler. I am really starting to worry about Stafford's mechanics, especially in the face of pressure. He has to step into these throws and can't be afraid of contact.

10:23 - Ahhh...much better. He sets his feet, throws a dart, and it hits Pettigrew right in the hands at the first down sticks.

8:26 - GAHHHHHHHHH. Classic play as the defense jumps offside, so Stafford just throws it up to Calvin. Megatron breaks the first tackle, but is brought down on the one-foot-line. At this point, I want Megatron to score a touchdown more to shut people up than for the seven points.

7:58 - WEEKLY FOX RANT SECTION: The Lions have now scored two rushing touchdowns, and we have been treated to exactly zero replays of those plays (outside of the zoomed-in celebration replay they show as we head to a commercial). I know most people don't get all excited for blocking breakdowns, but some of us watch football for more than PASS PORN FANTASY FOOTBALL. Unacceptable.

...but since I have NFL Game Rewind and I get access to the coaches tape, let me tell you what you missed. On Leshoure's second TD of the game, Riley Reiff lays a dude OUT with a wham, cut block. Pretty much every other linemen goes for the cut block as well. Just look at the carnage after the play.

Five defenders on the ground as Leshoure dances in the endzone.

5:15 - Another great open-field tackle forcing another punt. This time, it's Jonte Green, who continues to not be the worst thing ever.

3:43 - Rick James' ghost lives on.

0:29 - OH MY GOD, A REPLAY!

Leshouregasm?

LESHOUREGASM!

0:20 - Good to see the secondary play well after being tested downfield for the first time this game.

Third Quarter:

13:35 - Avril: don't celebrate a tackle on a third down run that gained a first down. 

11:50 - Terrible throw by Gabbert, but a great athletic play from Coleman. He went up and got a 50/50 ball. 

10:40 - Perfect throw to Bell on the swing pass, even better hurdle by Joique.

7:24 - Lions already appear to be in prevent mode. Consistently only sending four rushers with the linebackers dropping fairly deep into coverage. 

4:20 - Jags moving down the field with mostly the running game. A little concerning, but, again, I think the Lions are expecting pass most of the time here, and are probably okay with giving up 3-5 yards per play as long as the clock is moving.

2:00 - On the INT: pretty much a case of being at the right place at the right time for Jonte Green. That ball had no business not being caught by Jennings, but that's exactly why the Lions were content with allowing the Jags to methodically move down the field. The drive burned six minutes off the clock and the Jags eventually imploded to the tune of zero points. It sounds weird, but the defense really just helped burn clock. 

0:26 - Great cutback by Green, BUT PICK UP 20 YARDS. He slips and the Lions continue to be the only team without a rush of 20+ yards. I miss Jahvid.

Fourth Quarter:

14:54 - After about the 20th promo for "Animation Domination" my urge to kill Seth MacFaralane is unsustainable. As someone who owns seasons 1-3 of Family Guy, I never thought I would grow to hate the man I once idolized, but, man, that's some terrible television. Every promo I see is another dagger in my 18-year old heart.

14:00 - Oh, Titus. *sigh*

*FAST FORWARD*

The rest of the game is not that interesting. The Jags score on a couple of long drives, as the Lions are willingly ceding 4-5 yards a play. In fact, the Jags only had two plays of 15+ yards the rest of the way, so the Lions were just letting the Jaguars bleed the clock out. It was good to see the Lions immediately respond after the Jaguars' first touchdown. But, at this point, I was bored and paying more attention to other, more interesting games. And as I said on Monday, I have no problem with that. In fact, it was refreshing to be bored by a Lions win...especially considering this will likely be the last "easy" win of the season.

Rote Winning

It was about 3:00 PM EST, and I no longer wanted to watch the Lions play. It wasn't because I was disgusted or because they were making the same continual mistakes that I couldn't bear to watch anymore. It was because I was bored. The game had basically come to an end by halftime. When the Lions extended their lead to 24-0 early in the fourth quarter, I laid back on my sofa, able to literally take myself from the edge of my seat for the first time all season. I didn't want to watch the game anymore. And I have never been more happy to be bored out of my mind as the clock winded down, and the Lions lifted themselves to .500.

After the first quarter, fears arose that the Lions were falling back into their same habits: strong defense, mediocre offense and terrible special teams. After dominating in yardage, the Lions had, once again, failed to score in the first quarter. They were tied, despite outplaying the Jaguars at nearly every level. What has followed in the past is one awful play by the defense or special teams, an offense stalling on third down and a Lions team playing from behind despite outgaining their opponent. But that play never came. The special teams blunder failed to emerge. The offense clicked, converting both on third down and in the red zone.

The defense forced three, three-and-outs to start the game, and didn't allow a drive of more than five plays in the first half. The offense steadied themselves to the tune of three second quarter touchdowns. Special teams wasn't too terrible. Game over.

It wasn't the Lions' best, most dominant performance in recent years. But it was exactly the kind of boring, decisive win that both the Lions and Lions fans desperately needed in such terrifyingly unpredictable times. Knowing that the Lions can still go on the road, face a team they should dominate, and take care of business in a boringly rote fashion was infinitely refreshing.

Other stuff:

• I'm not convinced by the Lions running game yet. Obviously, it would be huge if the Lions can continue to use their backs in the red zone with efficiency like they did against the Jaguars. For a team that has struggled to find Calvin Johnson, or really any other receiver in the red zone, rushing TDs would be the perfect cure. But be realistic. The Jags have allowed the second most rushing touchdowns in the NFL and the Lions running backs only had three rushing touchdowns before this game.
• While Stafford overall had another solid game, some of the mistakes he continues to make baffles me. His overthrow on third and one that led to a missed field goal is the perfect example. Throws don't get much easier than that and Stafford just missed it. 
• Speaking of Stafford, what has happened to his ability to ad-lib on plays? Granted he was never amazing at this, but it seems like every time his first and second read break down he goes into happy-feet mode, takes his eyes away from his receivers, and runs himself into a sack. What happened to his check downs? What happened to throwing the ball away? When did he lose his trust in the offensive line?
• While Leshoure had an effective game, and his cut on his third touchdown of the game gave me a #Leshouregasm, he, and Bell, left a lot of yards on the field. As a ton of people on twitter noted, they are hesitating in the backfield and missing their opportunity to hit the hole.
• Calvin Johnson at 70% is better than 90% of receivers. Talk of his "regression" are embarrassingly misinformed. Through eight games, he has only 37 yards less than he did in 2011. He's on pace for just 1534 yards this year. Terrible. Madden Curse.
• Screw you, NHL
• Next week in Minnesota is probably the biggest game left on the Lions' schedule. The Vikings are the only team ahead of Detroit right now for the second wild card spot, and a loss to the Vikings would put them 2.5 games behind them (including the tiebreaker). A win puts them a half a game ahead with a the tiebreaker likely favoring the Lions. 

Three Days Late "Live" Blog: Lions vs. Seahawks

Sorry for missing the last two weeks, been swamped by work, writing and personal stuff. I'll be better, I pwwwomise.

First Quarter:

15:00 - OoooOOooo. Kevin Smith in on special teams. Looks like he was activated this week to make sure Stefan Logan doesn't do anytihng stupid. Not a terrible move.

14:54 - Doh! Megatron in single coverage and Stafford with plenty of protection. Throw is nowhere near him. Gulp.

14:08 - Third down conversion! No three-and-out! Ungulp!

13:49 - Overthrow. Gulp: 2, Ungulp: 1.

13:00 - Stafford griping about something to the refs after failing to convert third down. Upon review, he has nothing to complain about.

11:26 - Corey Williams giveth (tackle for loss) and taketh away (offsides). I guess this is why Schwartz is okay with the occasional jump over the line of scrimmage.

10:00 - RULEBOOK TIME!!!

Rule 9 - Section 1 - Article 3:

"During a punt, a field-goal attempt, or a Try Kick, a Team B player [receiving team], who is within one yard of the line of scrimmage at the snap, must have his entire body outside of the snapper's shoulder pads." [emphasis added] 

In other words, if you are within a yard of the line of scrimmage you cannot be lined up over the center. To the tape! (click to make picture go boom!)

Willie Young is lined up a tad over a yard away from the line of scrimmage just before the snap. He leans in a little bit after this snapshot, but not more than a couple inches. The purpose of this rule is to give the center time to protect himself after snapping the ball to the punter. Young gave him space and time to set himself. This should not have been a penalty.

8:00 - Jonte Green had no idea what to do on this play. He was desperately trying to get a linebacker's attention, but to no avail. The receiver proceeded to find the zone between Green and Tulloch easily.

3:23 - Stafford with two straight check-downs for a good chunk of yards. Gooooood Stafford.

2:40 - Raiola and a pulling Peterman with excellent blocks to seal the inside hole for Leshoure.

0:00 - This was an absoutely beautiful drive. 9 plays, 82 yards. 4 rushes, 5 passes. Zero incompletions. Every play went for 3 yards or more. Balance. Efficiency. Big plays on the ground (16 yards). Big plays through the air (19, 20). Best drive of the season.

Second Quarter

14:43 - It seems like every time the Lions offense seems to turn the corner, the team gives up a big play to suck the air out of the optimism balloon. It happened in the fourth quarter in Tennessee, after the Lions came back to take the lead, the Titans returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. And on Seattle's first play after that beautiful drive, Marshawn Lynch goes 77 yards in one play.

14:10 - Of course the Lions' first offensive play after that touchdown is a sack. Of course. Pretty much everyone not named Gosder Cherilus on the offensive line is to blame for this one. Main offenders: Peterman and Backus.

12:16 - If you want to call pass interference on this play, ref, that's fine. There's contact there for sure. But don't specify with the "armbar" disclaimer. There was no armbar.

11:30 - If you need evidence that the Lions are in trouble with their cornerback situation, just watch this drive. It won't take you long. Green can't stick with receivers without a ton of contact, and Alphonso Smith will bite on any fake you give him. Get well, Drayton Florence, Bill Bentley, Jacob Lacey, Dre Bly, Fernando Bryant, and Stanley Wilson.

8:49 - I'd break down this bomb to Titus Young, but you've all seen the replays; Titus just burned him. Instead, I'll let you in on a secret of mine. I LOVE analyzing crowd shots. There's something so pleasurable about seeing all the weird people that attend sporting events. My secret hobby has led me to a couple gems: including this one and this one. Anyway, lets break down the post-Titus TD crowd shot. Luckily, SB Nation was all over this one with a GIF:

There are two AWESOME things about this. #1 is checkered-sweater guy. I guess it's cool that he got the colors right on the sweater, but, come on. The Lions and Tigers are playing today, you've got to have some sort of sports apparel with seats that good. Anyway, he's going in for the high-five, which is risky considering how much Young is into himself. It predictably backfires, but the guy cleverly turns it into a "we're #1!" sign. Very sneaky.

The other awesome, but actually terrible, component of this GIF can be seen in the bottom right corner as the camera zooms out. As everyone is going crazy, there is a guy in a Tigers hat that can't be bothered to lift his head from his phone to celebrate the moment. He may be recording the players on the field, but it seems more likely that this jerk is tweeting something like "OMG, THE LIONS JUST SCORED A GOAL IN FRONT OF ME! MEGATRON IS STANDING NEXT TO ME!" And if he is recording on his phone, HOLD THAT SHIT LANDSCAPE-STYLE, SON!

Okay, enough nonsense, back to the game.

7:22 - Mmmmm. Excellent blitz on third down to force a bad throw and a three-and-out.

6:55 - I don't know what route Titus was running on this play, but it looked a lot like the lets-run-into-the-defender-and-see-where-to-go-from-there route.

4:25 - Another good third down blitz from Cunningham, forcing a quick throw and a completion short of the sticks. Defense holding strong when they aren't getting penalties.

1:10 - Pretty poor clock management on this final drive for the Lions. I get running a draw or two to try and catch the defense sleeping, but they had no play ready to go after and spent 15 seconds waiting for the call to come in.

0:56 - "Not only did they take too much time, they're gonna leave time on the clock now for Seattle." - Something that was ACTUALLY said by A GUY WHO GETS PAID TO SAY THINGS ABOUT FOOTBALL. Ver-batim.

Third Quarter

13:07 - Delmas with a magnificent play on the screen. If he doesn't make that tackle, Lynch picks up at least 20 yards.

12:25 - Oy. On the very next play, Delmas gets turned around and beaten terribly by Sidney Rice. Meanwhile, Ricardo Silva takes a bad angle, and both are bailed out by a dropped touchdown pass. Yikes.

12:06 - Stafford is the WORST at dealing with a play when it breaks down. Why he sometimes refuses to throw the ball away baffles me.

10:55 - What an awesome, awesome play on 3rd and 11. This play is solely for Ryan Broyles. The other receivers (specifically Kevin Smith and Brandon Pettigrew) pretend to run routes, but they are actually getting in position to block for when Broyles makes the catch. As you can see, when he catches the ball, he already has two downfield blockers to help get some yards after the catch and pick up the first down.

9:32 - OH. MY. GOD. A pump-fake AND a Stafford scramble on the same play.

8:23 - "I don't care what the coverage is, he deserves 10 targets." That is why you aren't an offensive coordinator. Just the fragment "I don't care what the coverage is" is the most nonsensical thing you can say when discussing offensive strategy.

7:35 - Kudos to Pettigrew for putting his head down, and taking a big hit to pick up the first down on a third and 10. Usually he tries to dance around that contact.

6:27 - Great...execution?!?! Stafford feels the pressure, extends the play with his feet, and Young makes a phenomenal grab....then Pete Carroll makes the worst challenge of all time.

5:18 -

Why, Stafford, why? It's second and three. You have plenty of time and room. What on Earth did you see here? Scheffler is not open and the Seahawks are clearly playing one-high safety, who was there waiting for your pass. Granted there was no one else open and you tried to pull the safety to the right with your eyes, but if you waited one more second, Joique Bell was releasing and could have easily picked up five yards. Terrible decision by Stafford.

1:57 - I still don't think Silva is worthy of being a starter on an NFL roster, but that was a helluva(n?) interception.

Fourth Quarter

13:10 - Stafford. Is. Dealing.

13:02 - Pretty sure the refs just threw a flag because the back judge cannot count properly. Good thing they picked it up.

11:41 - The Lions are the worst quarterback sneaking team in the league. And although I typically have no problem running that play, that was not the time nor the place. The Seahawks are too good in the redzone and too good at stopping the run.

10:52 - Lordy, Corey Williams. He was in the backfield before Wilson had turned to hand the ball off. What a jump. Thanks for no replay, FOX.

9:40 - GAHHHHH. Suh, playing defensive end, drives his man five yards into the backfield, but can't get a hand on Wilson. Meanwhile, Rice finds the hole in the zone and sits there. Backbreaking third-and-long conversion.

6:15 - Not much to say about the fourth down conversion. Tough play to make by Alphonso Smith, just a nano-second too late.

5:27 - I don't know exactly what Ashlee Palmer was doing. He wasn't running his hardest and must have thought the tight end had given up on the play. Credit to Zach Miller for the outstanding catch, but it's always frustrating when a backup gets exploited like that.

3:45 - Another BIG catch in traffic on third down, this time by Calvin Johnson. Amazing what happens when your players make plays when you need them to.

3:24 - ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGG [/Charlie Brown] This WR screen could have been HUGE. Backus doesn't get much of his man, but Titus escapes anyway and had Raiola and Sims as lead blockers with almost no one in the way.

Raiola picks up the linebacker and Sims takes care of the safety. Touchdown, right?

Not quite. Raiola runs right by the linebacker and the defender makes the play. Raiola can only look back in horror as the guy he failed to pick up tackles Young resulting in a not-touchdown.

Awwww, look at him. It's almost like he knows he did something wrong.

1:51 - Stafford is dealing again. Putting the ball exactly where it needs to be: away from defenders where only the receiver can grab it. Even his overthrow to Scheffler was a nice, safe pass.

0:43 - Okay, the "drop" by Megatron. Beautiful play, beautiful throw. Just absolutely unfortunate that Calvin can't bring it in. He barely had time to turn his head and locate the ball and the reason for that is likely his knee injury. Johnson brought it up specifically when talking about the play, but insisted it was "no excuse." That's just Calvin being Calvin. I think this injury is more serious than he is implying.

0:35 - Why the Lions called a timeout here, I have no idea. Get to the line, run a quick play, and save a timeout. That way, you still have the option to run the ball from the one yard line.

0:22 - Before this play happened, I saw Titus obviously in one-on-one coverage, and I prayed they wouldn't be tempted by it. I was wrong. I apologize. Young came up with a solid catch in tight coverage and won the game. Thank you, Titus. Thank you.