Detroit Lions Week 5 Review: The Good and the Bad

Oct 5, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions kicker Alex Henery (5) misses a field goal during the fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

The Bad

Alex Henery

Henery missed on all three attempts today, including a would-be game winner. He’s gone.

Injuries

The Lions are now without their top receiver, top three running backs and number two tight end on offense, not to mention all of the defensive injuries that have haunted the Lions early in the season.

Every team deals with injuries, but it seems as if the Lions have been extra unlucky this year.

Matthew Stafford

Stafford just didn’t look comfortable at all today. A lot of it had to do with the poor play from the offensive line, but Stafford cannot be absolved from blame after missing plenty of easy throws. His short ball accuracy just wasn’t there today even when the pocket was clean. The Lions cannot afford to have their offense look as out of sync as they did against the Bills.

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The Offensive Line

Even with LaAdrian Waddle returning, the ferocious front four of the Bills were constantly in Stafford’s grill, which led to a total of six sacks.

This tweet pretty much sums up the performance of Detroit’s offensive line this year:

Coaching Decisions

Some may not agree with me, but I thought putting Calvin Johnson in the game was a bad idea from the start. Sure, we could have used him and we ended up losing the game, but we’re going to need him a hell of a lot more towards the end of the year. Johnson ended up leaving the game early after re-aggravating his right ankle, and it remains to be seen whether he’ll be back soon.

Of course this is in hindsight, but I felt like there were also some questionable play calls on offense, including having George Winn run the ball on third-and-one late in the game when your offensive line had failed to get any push in the run game at all.

Regardless, the offense as a whole has some serious work to do right now, and it’s not going to be easy with all of the injuries that are piling up right now.

Honorable Mentions:

Eric Ebron, Brandon Pettigrew, Corey Fuller, Reggie Bush, Alex Henery (yes, again), Ezekial Ansah

Also:

• Jim Schwartz was carried off the field by his players and it makes me sick.
• Kyle Orton is now 5-0 against the Lions and this also makes me sick.