Jump to content
BLUE

Lions @ Falcons

Recommended Posts

By NOEY KUPCHAN

STATS Writer
(AP) -- Points haven't been easy to come by for the Detroit Lions, but they continue to wreak havoc on the defensive end.

 

The slumping Atlanta Falcons are having issues on both sides of the ball.

 

Looking to continue its defensive prowess overseas, Detroit tries to hand the Falcons a fifth consecutive defeat as these NFC foes square off in London on Sunday.

 

"We're not afraid to go anywhere, anyplace and go out there and play and execute what we need to get done," Lions Pro Bowl defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said. "It comes from our coach. The attitude that he brings with us, understanding that it doesn't make a difference whether we're in London, or at home, or have to go to Atlanta."

 

The Lions' defense clearly isn't lacking for confidence, and it has the numbers to back it up. Detroit (5-2) is surrendering an NFL-low 290.3 yards per game and ranks second in points allowed with 15.0.

 

The defense came up big again last Sunday in a 24-23 win over New Orleans. Safety Glover Quin had a late interception, and Matthew Stafford went on to throw a 5-yard touchdown moments later as Detroit erased a 13-point deficit in the final 3:38.

 

"I think you learn a little bit about your team as you go, I really do," coach Jim Caldwell told the Lions' official website. "This is the first one that we've had like this one, you know, to have really come from behind and get it done with some big plays.

 

"You had a sense of it and you can see, when you're dealing with men that have character and have talent you'll get performances like that."

 

Stafford finished 27 of 40 for 299 yards with two TDs and two interceptions, finding Golden Tate 10 times for 154 yards and a score. While Tate stepped up with Calvin Johnson injured, the offense hasn't been the same. The Lions beat the New York Giants 35-14 in their season opener but have since averaged 17.5 points over their last six games.

 

Johnson has missed the last two after aggravating his ankle in Week 5. The All-Pro wideout, who's been limited for nearly a month, traveled with the team but was limited in Wednesday's practice and isn't certain to suit up.

 

"I'm getting better and better on a daily basis, so we're just going to keep on that track," Johnson said. "We're going in the right direction."

 

Reggie Bush was also limited with an ankle injury Wednesday, but he expects to play. The Lions are hoping to get their ground game going after averaging 82.4 rushing yards, the NFL's second-worst mark.

 

"It's really close," fellow back Joique Bell said. "If you look at it on film, it's just one glitch that keeps us from having that explosive run, which is going to lead to more. We're right there, we just need to get over that hump."

 

Bell and Bush could break out against the Falcons (2-5), who have allowed an average of 137.7 yards and a league-worst 13 TDs on the ground. Atlanta, which has lost six straight and 11 of 12 away from the Georgia Dome, also has plenty to clean up offensively after averaging 17.0 points during a four-game losing streak

 

The Falcons were held to a season-low 254 yards of offense in last Sunday's 29-7 rout at Baltimore.

 

"We have to play more consistent on offense," said receiver Roddy White, who scored with 7:12 to go. "We're not playing efficient football and it's costing us right now."

 

Matt Ryan threw for 228 yards with a TD, just his third in the last three games. He's been sacked nine times in the last two behind Atlanta's injury-riddled offensive line.

 

The Falcons lost another key piece in center Peter Konz, who suffered a season-ending knee injury. He was placed on injured reserve Monday, joining fellow linemen Joe Hawley, Lamar Holmes and Sam Baker.

 

"There are no excuses," coach Mike Smith said. "You can talk about losing players, but everybody loses players. It's got to be the `next man up' mentality. The next guy up has to step in and do the job. We have to step up."

 

Despite its recent woes, Atlanta has just one fewer win than South Division-leading Carolina.

 

"We have nine games left and I know every man in that room and every coach in that room will work ... this week to get prepared to play the Detroit Lions," Smith said.

 

The Falcons won 31-18 at Detroit on Dec. 22, 2012, their third consecutive victory in the series. Ryan threw four TD passes while Johnson had 11 catches for 225 yards.

 

Source: Hosted.Stats.com

Edited by BLUE

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Matt Ryan is gonna die.

 

:Falcons: 16

:Suhs: 13 (sacks) 30 (points)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This game is at 9:30 AM EST? :ohmy:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah I forgot about the time. I fixed the tags.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

DMAC, who is going to play TE for the Lions with all these injuries???? Got an alert sayingEbron and Fauria are out, Pettigrew doubtful.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The Lions have always found ways to choke up in games they should win, so I'm not gonna get my hopes up. I hate how early this is though. Gonna miss a big chunk of this cause of church. D:

  • Upvote 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

 

Falcons declared DT Jonathan Babineaux, OT Cameron Bradfield, OT Jonathan Scott, LB Tyler Starr, CB Javier Arenas, WR Freddie Martino and QB Sean Renfree inactive for Week 8 against the Lions.

Babineaux (knee) was expected to play, so he may have suffered a setback. Everyone else is a healthy scratch.

 

 

 

Lions declared RB Reggie Bush, WR Calvin Johnson, TE Eric Ebron, TE Brandon Pettigrew, TE Joseph Fauria, RT LaAdrian Waddle and QB Kellen Moore inactive for Week 8 against the Falcons.

Bush (ankle) was extremely limited against the Saints last week, and did not practice on Thursday and Friday. Theo Riddick will assume most of Bush's role in the offense. With all three tight ends inactive, newly-signed TE Kellen Davis should start for the Lions. Waddle is recovering from a concussion.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The Lions have always found ways to choke up in games they should win, so I'm not gonna get my hopes up. I hate how early this is though. Gonna miss a big chunk of this cause of church. D:

 

Dude, 5 AM mass is a thing. Never forget why today is the sabbath though...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The Falcons looked fantastic on both sides of the ball in the 1st half. Set the run up with those short dink and dunk passes, they did everything right. Got the ball out of Matts hands quickly too which was great.

 

The defense looked stout, we were sending blitzes from all sorts of positions on the field, it looked refreshing to say the least.

 

Then the second half hit, and man, I'll be damned if they didn't look like a completely different football team - par for the Mike Smith era I suppose. Everyone in Atlanta loves Mike Smith, and everything he has done for us to this point, same goes for Koetter I suppose, but at some point it gets real stale. There are no excuses as to why we lost the game this morning, none at all. For the past 4 years now, every time the team has come out of the half with a lead of any margin, we get extremely conservative and completely go away from what has been working on offense and we fail to adjust on defense. It's just ugly. At some point, no matter the history and the great things Smith has done, you have got to realize when the gig is up. Mike Smith has lost that glimmer he earned himself now.

 

The Falcons have all sorts of talent basically everywhere on the field, and we can't get our guys to play. We need a motivator of a coach, not a guy like Mike Smith. The quiet reserved just doesn't work with young players, and that's what we have in a lot of spots. When you come out and perform the way we have in the first half of a lot of games, then you're just terrible out of half, there's nothing else to say other than it's got to be the coaching staff.

 

Our offensive plays looked terrible after half-time. Come out in that same singleback-I formation and just try to run the ball constantly, that isn't our game. Mike Tice has done a fantastic job with our offensive line as beaten up and run down as it is, but we aren't going to win the shoving matches like that right now. I understand wanting to run the clock in the second half with a three possession lead, but you have to realize when it's just not going to work. Our coaches fail to do that. Same goes with Mike Nolan on the defensive side of the ball. The second half began and once again just like in the past, our defense moved to a manila zone defense scheme.We ran a lot of man coverage gap blitzes in the first half, but it disappeared in the second half. It's just not adding up as to why this happens. All you can assume is that Mike Smith makes the call to play conservatively and it doesn't work out.

 

This can't keep going on. We need to get a new head coach in Atlanta, that's all there is to it.

 

 

Also, I'm starting to think Julio Jones is as unclutch as it gets. Guy is an absolutely amazing player and he makes circus catches all the time. Whenever the game is on the line though, he makes the worst drops I've ever seen. This goes back to me wanting a coach who is a real motivator to get our guys' 110% out. The drops, the missed tackles, the sloppy coverage when the game is on the line,it's all just got to get cleaned up.

 

 

On another note, it sucks to lose the way we did on that final field goal. BUT, despite what Falcons fans are crying about, the call the refs made was the right call. While any other penalty on the field probably would have ended the game on the first miss, this was the exception of them getting another chance. The play was actually blown dead just as they snapped the ball, so Prater took that "free" kick that they always talk about getting in a penalty situation. That wasn't one of the fouls that a deferral ends the game. Quite frankly, we didn't lose because of that anyway.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Chatbox

    TGP has moved to Discord (sorta) - https://discord.gg/JkWAfU3Phm

    Load More
    You don't have permission to chat.
×