Detroit Lions Week 16 PFF Grades: A Day To Forget For Dominic Raiola
By Alex Reno
If you are not aware by now, Pro Football Focus is a website dedicated to grading NFL players’ individual performances based on in depth review of every snap of every game. If you’re interested, here is a look at their grading system.
Let’s take a closer look at what PFF had to say about the Detroit Lions and victory over the Chicago Bears, shall we?
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With the First Pick
Offense
Best Grades:
Riley Reiff: +2.5
Calvin Johnson: +1.3
Reggie Bush: +1.3
Rob Sims: +0.9
Ebron/Ross/Collins: +0.7
Worst Grades:
Dominic Raiola: -5.5
Matthew Stafford: -1.7
Theo Riddick: -1.1
Golden Tate: -0.8
Larry Warford/Brandon Pettigrew: -0.6
Analysis:
You probably can’t have a worse day than Dominic Raiola had against the Chicago Bears yesterday. Not only did he have his worst performance on the season, but he may be getting a fine and/or suspension for his actions after a play was blown dead.
Raiola was caught stomping on the ankle of a defenseless player after a play was ruled dead halfway through yesterday’s game. If you ask me, the stomp was clearly intentional when looking closely at the video.
Regardless, Raiola has had arguably the worst year of his career with the Lions this year. A suspension might not be the worst thing in the world with the Lions fighting for an NFC North title.
On the bright side, the rest of the offensive line had much better performances than Raiola. Riley Reiff earned the highest grade on offense (+2.5), and only Larry Warford had a negative grade (-0.6). Even Rob Sims joined in on the fun with a +0.9 — mostly due to his solid day as a run blocker.
Reggie Bush earned his highest overall grade since week three against the Packers (+1.3). I’m sure Lions fans are hoping he can have another big day against Green Bay next week.
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Defense
Best Grades:
Rashean Mathis: +4.3
Glover Quin: +3.0
James Ihedigbo: +2.8
Ndamukong Suh: +2.2
DeAndre Levy: +1.9
Worst Grades:
CJ Mosley: -2.4
Ezekiel Ansah: -2.3
Jason Jones: -1.1
Tahir Whitehead: -0.9
Don Carey: -0.6
Analysis:
Seems like we see the same names recycled over and over in terms of who earned the highest grades defensively. Glover Quin is having an incredible year for the Lions at free safety. He’s recorded an interception in each of his last four games. None of which were as monumental as his game sealing interception versus the Bears yesterday.
Rashean Mathis was outstanding yesterday. Out of 11 passes thrown Mathis’ way, only five were completed. None of which gained over nine yards.
Though Ndamukong Suh’s +2.2 grade may not seem that spectacular for him, it is when you consider what the rest of the defensive line did. The starters on the defensive line aside from Suh all found their way to the top three worst grades against the Bears.
Ziggy Ansah has had a tremendous Sophomore season, but is currently slumping over the past couple of games. He was nonexistent in yesterday’s game. And also hurt his team after being called for a personal foul late in the game.