Detroit Lions: Winless Browns look to spoil Motor City momentum
Running backs
Related to the above discussion on the line, the running backs looked terrible on Monday. Ameer Abdullah reverted back to being Mr. Fumble. The other runners, Theo Riddick and Dwayne Washington, barely looked competent, either. Riddick had one big play on a pass that accounted for 63 of his 73 total yards on nine touches. That’s eight touches for ten yards, if you take out the 63 yard reception, FYI.
The line didn’t run block well, but they did a pretty good job of keeping a clean pocket for Stafford. It just didn’t translate to any production running the ball.
This is one of those chicken or the egg kinds of discussions, but here it doesn’t matter which came first. They both are contributing to the failures.
Even on the touchdown run by Abdullah, he seemed to dart out from behind his blocker where he almost got tackled before reaching the endzone. Stay behind your lineman. Why make it harder?
For the rest of the year, I don’t know what might be done, but Zach Zenner might be useful. He is more of a thumper, between-the-tackles, runner. There is also talk of giving Tion Green a shot. Both running backs, Green and Zenner, have not been used due to injuries or their place on the depth chart. Fumbles change things.
Receivers and quarterback
I included this group just to say that I thought this was a unit that needed a big night, and they did their jobs. Here is last weeks article that discusses the team’s need for a win this past Monday.
Golden Tate and Marvin Jones, Jr., in particular were great. Both wide receivers had over a hundred yards and seven catches. They complimented each other well.
Eric Ebron, the whipping boy of many fans, contributed a few catches from the tight end spot, too.
Of course, this was in part due to the passing clinic put on by Matt Stafford, who hit guys all over the field. It was fun to watch the Packers just not be able to keep up for a change.
Next: Detroit Lions should sell the farm to draft Saquon Barkley
What group of players do you think has to improve to have a better second half? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading!