How the Detroit Lions can bounce back in third preseason game
Defensive pressure
The Lions’ two lines have reversed the results they’d like to see. The defensive line has generated very little pressure on opposing quarterbacks, while the offensive line has been allowing too much.
The Lions have zero sacks this preseason. They are the only NFL team that is true of. They only have three quarterback hits in their first two preseason games, too. The Vikings, Bears, and Packers have a combined 25 sacks.
This deficiency has largely been blamed on the defense playing vanilla, base formations and the fact that they are not scheming for opponents. The other factor has been missed time by starters like Ziggy Ansah and Devon Kennard.
A little production out of the starting defense would go a long way to lifting the spirits of many fans.
Offensive scoring
The Detroit Lions haven’t scored much in their two preseason games, 27 points in total. Quarterback Matthew Stafford has only played in three series, which partly explains the lack of production. Let’s be real, we simply need to see a winning team on the field.
The quarterbacks have played poorly, although Jake Rudock had a decent game against the third string Giants players. Other than his performance, the Lions preseason has lacked any consistency or spark from under center. The buzz generated by rookie running back Kerryon Johnson in Game1 provided the other big headline.
It will suffice to say that the Lions could use a couple well-executed drives by the starters to smooth things over. When Stafford was asked about his goals for this week by Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, he was candid and succinct.
"“Obviously, you’d love to go down and get points and play some really good football,” Stafford told the Detroit Free Press. “We’re going to go out there and just try to play like we’ve been practicing and execute our offense, play clean football, limit our penalties, all that stuff. Just play good football.”"
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That pretty much sums up what KITCW is looking for. What other things do you hope to see this week? Follow me on Twitter CoachKirk @mkirk2 for more Lions, Detroit and Michigan sports, and other random content from the life of a diehard.! Kick in the Crotch Weekly, signing off! Go Lions!