Detroit Lions Week 3 Review: The Good and the Bad

Sep 21, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions kicker Nate Freese (3) during the second quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

The Bad

Nate Freese

For the second straight week, place kicker Nate Freese headlines the bad column for the Lions. After missing wide left on another field goal attempt, Freese is now 0-for-4 on attempts that are 40+ yards and I’m betting this is the last you’ll see of him in a Lions uniform.

Moving forward, the Lions will likely take an extensive look at Free Agent kickers Alex Henery, Garrett Hartley and Giorgio Tavecchio, who was the runner-up to Freese in camp this year.

First-Half Stafford

Stafford held it together and got the job done later in the game, but looked awful in the first half. He threw two picks early in the game and was off target on nearly all of his throws. He clearly did not look comfortable to start the game.

He wasn’t to blame for his first interception after he threw a ball that went through Corey Fuller’s hands and was deflected directly to rookie safety HaHa Clinton-Dix.

Live Feed

With the First Pick

His second interception, however, was a broken play ending with Stafford attempting to force a ball deep to Calvin Johnson, who was a step or two behind both defenders. He overthrew Johnson on the play, but luckily enough, Stafford unintentionally helped his team out with the poor throw after it was picked off at the one-yard line. This resulted in a safety courtesy of DeAndre Levy, shifting the momentum back in Detroit’s favor.

Joique Bell

It’s been a rough start for Joique Bell who went into yesterday’s game averaging just 3.5 yards per carry, which equals the lowest mark in his career. He had 15 carries against the Packers for just 32 yards with his longest run equaling just five yards.

The coaching staff remains confident in Bell’s ability and they’re persistent in getting him involved by constantly rotating backs in and out of the backfield.

One major problem I’ve noticed in Bell’s game is that he’s just not capitalizing on the opportunities he’s been given like he has in the past. In my film breakdown last week I pointed out a specific play where instead of running through a lane presented to him, he decided to cut back across the field for minimal yardage. Hopefully this works itself out sooner rather than later, because we could really use him in his old form.

Honorable Mentions:

Tight Ends, Stephen Tulloch (injury), Don Carey (injury)