Detroit Lions Game 1 Film Review

Sep 13, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Detroit Lions running back Ameer Abdullah (21) scores a touchdown during the first quarter against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Offense

As I said earlier the first half started off great, the Lions were able to drive 80 yards down the field in 8 plays (5 passes and 3 rushes). The offense looked explosive and their was nothing the Chargers could do to stop the Lions from rattling off big plays.

The picture above shows the formation on Calvin’s catch on the first drive. He is lined up in the slot and has single coverage with the safety in a single high look. It’s 3rd and 3 and the Chargers load up the box with 6 defenders (Lions have 5 blockers) in a dime sub package. Calvin easily gains separation at the line of scrimmage and the defender doesn’t stand a chance. The safety is too deep to make an impact on the play so the Lions get an easy first down. Calvin is almost unfair in the slot, it makes it very hard to successfully double cover him and allows the Lions to get the match ups they want over the middle of the field. Unfortunately the Lions only lined Calvin up in the slot four times, they were not creative with his assignments and allowed the defense to dictate where the ball was going.

The next big play of the drive came on Ameer Abdullah’s touchdown run below. Ameer stole the show during preseason, he looked incredibly impressive and Lions fans were itching to see him in some extended action. He certainly didn’t disappoint in his NFL game, he finished the night with 94 all-purpose yards and a rushing touchdown on 11 touches. This run was one of his many highlights of the night, he sets the edge hard by running hard at the right tackle. The defense over pursues on the zone run and Riley Reiff seals the backside defender, opening up a perfect cut back lane for Ameer. He jump cuts and explodes through the backside hole. Ameer only has one man left to beat, five time All-Pro safety Eric Weddle, he sets him up with an inside fake and makes him look stupid in the open field. This is a high level run, Ameer is a perfect fit for a zone blocking scheme and has already been very productive in this role.

The next drive did not go as smoothly, Laken Tomlinson gave up a QB hit on the first play of the drive that forced an incompletion even though Calvin Johnson was open on an out route. Then on third down and 6, the Lions drew up a solid play to take advantage of Eric Ebron’s single coverage. Calvin Johnson has two guys all over him and is completely taken out of the play. However, Ebron runs a very efficient out route and is able to get very good separation. Stafford delivers a perfect ball that is fast enough to beat the safety in charge on the deep half of the field, but the ball bounces off Ebron’s hands for his first drop of the season. This is a catch Ebron needs to have, he stops the Lions drive and stalls all of their momentum. He redeemed himself later in the night (more on that later) but the drop is still a cause for concern considering his problems last season.

Defense    

The defense started the day off strong as well, their first drive ended in a three and out. They were able to stuff Melvin Gordon on his first carry of the night (vine here) and set up their defense in a favorable 3rd down situation (3rd and 7). The Lions lined up with two deep safeties and a dime sub package. They rush four defenders and covered the play well forcing Phillip Rivers to hold onto the ball. Phillip Hunt is able to fight off his blocker and gets free rushing from the edge. Hunt wins the leverage game with textbook hand placement and absorbs the blocker’s cushion. He then overpowers the tackle with a straight arm and is able to slip by him for a sack. He had a strong day and finished with 5 combined tackles and a sack on 26 snaps. He looks like the perfect replacement for George Johnson, he brings the same speed off the edge but has more functional strength.    

Just like the offense, the second drive was a completely different story for the defense. They struggled to get off the field and were exposed by the Chargers short area passing and delayed runs. This was a common theme throughout the game, the Lions played a lot of soft coverages with their linebackers deep in the middle of the field, making them very susceptible to the underneath passing game. The Chargers attacked this coverage with short crossing routes and screen passes. The play below is a great example, Stephen Tulloch takes forever to recognize the swing pass and is not fast enough to recover. The Chargers do a great job blocking downfield and it takes Tulloch 9 yards to catch up and make the tackle. The Chargers took advantage of Tulloch’s athletic decline and mental mistakes all game long (again this will be further discussed later).

The Chargers really were only successful running against the Lions when they used delayed runs like the one below. It was a clever move by their play caller because it takes advantage of the Lions aggressive one gap scheme. The offensive line looks like it’s blocking for a pass play, they allow the Lions to shoot their gaps and don’t try to stymie them at the line of scrimmage. Then the guard and tight end seal off the Lions linebackers giving Danny Woodhead a clear running lane. When the Chargers didn’t use this type of misdirection they struggled to move the ball against the Lions defensive line. The Lions will need to learn to stop this play because until they prove they can teams will continue to exploit their aggressiveness.

The Chargers kept driving down the field until with their short area passing, until they faced a 3rd and 2 on the Lions 12 yard line. The Lions are on their heels and are in desperate need for a stop. They rush four and played sound defense behind their pass rushers. Tyrunn Walker used his trademark bullrush and runs right through the Chargers guard. He is then able to disengage and force an incompletion with the QB hit. The Lions defensive line did a great job setting each other up for this play. Haloti Ngata anchors a double team inside and Ezekiel Ansah bull rushes the tackle removing River’s ability to move from the pocket.

The Lions were able to force a field goal and keep their lead, but the Chargers showed their ability to move the ball on the Lions at will. The quarter ends with the Lions leading 7-3 and looking like they are in control of the game.

Next: Second Quarter