Hooper31 said:
Welcome to the playoffs. Best of luck this coming weekend against our Seahawks. Would be happy to do some Q and A with any of you guys if you wish to invest the time.
Seattle weakness? Offensive line is offensive. Starting two rookies and have struggled mightily against dominant pass rushers from the DT position. Calais Campbell and Aaron Donald four times a years absolutely sucks (1-2-1 in those games). Running game has disappeared. What was a constant strength for so long is now a liability. PFF guys grade Seattle as one of the worst run blocking groups nearly every week.
Seattle strength? Russell Wilson, Doug Baldwin, and Jimmy Graham on offense. If given a bit of time Wilson is dangerous. He's a great drop back passer and even more dangerous out of the pocket as he has wonderful field vision. Wilson is not the scrambling athlete that some might want to box him into being. He kills from the pocket. His early season injuries seem to be far behind him. Stars still all over the place on defense still. Bobby Wagner just put up a legitimate defensive MVP performance this year. Led the league in tackles and is the backbone alone with Bam Bam Kam Chancellor. Chancellor may be the best run defending safety I've ever watched in 30+ years of analytically watching football. Michael Bennett continues to make big plays and was recently rewarded with contract extension. Cliff Avril (hey, remember me Lions fans?) and Frank Clark combined for 21 1/2 sacks which is the leading duo on all playoff teams. Richard Sherman is still a great cover corner. He gets a lot of negative attention for opening his mouth and opposing fans love to see him give up yardage, but the reality is that when being targeted he's still among the league leaders in opposing passer rating. As of last week I think he was second. Sherman has a specific skill set that he's very good at. Don't attempt to beat him over the top with a fade.
Seattle questions? Special teams has been weird. Problems with long snaps and the kicking game has hurt. Will it be a problem next week? Will Darrell Bevell continue to commit to running the ball on first down? Pass defense has been inconsistent since Earl Thomas was lost for the season. How will Steven Terrell perform this week? He was torched by Zona. Played better this past week.
I can easily see a path to victory for the Lions if Seattle continues to struggle running the ball on first down. Again, I think they will continue to try. They put themselves in long down and distance situations leading to three and outs. If Stafford can be patient and dink and dunk down the field they can move the ball. Seattle is built to not give up the big play on defense.
Hope its a good game.
Lions strengths:
Special Teams - 2016 saw outstanding production / performance on STs. Prater missed a 39 yarder last night but generally he's been clutch. Martin is a top 3 punter, great weapon. Roberts is exasperating at times but as a KR it's hard to find fault with a guy who took two to the house.
QB - Stafford has been slumping of late as injuries piled up but looking beyond recent games, for the last year and a half he's thrived under OC Jim Bob Cooter. With a weak running game and at times shaky O-line, they've designed a passing game that ideally (when everyone is healthy) is built around quick passes & screens. He's gone from a gunslinger to a highly efficient game manager. Not top 5 elite, but def can get it done in the end game. He's been fantastic in the last 5 minutes of close games.
As a leader I think he is elite. He's a great guy in the community, in the locker room and no one has ever challenged his authority in the huddle. He's the man and everyone on that team respects him. He has not won very often on the road versus good teams, and he's 0-2 in the playoffs. But he's better than 3/4ths of the guys playing the position and tough as nails. Didn't miss a snap all year and 96 straight starts. Most importantly, in his 7th and 8th years he has improved his footwork, pocket presence, mechanics and ability to extend plays. He's not perfect but he's pretty good.
As an outside observer who isn't subjected to listening to the daily criticism of the media & fans, I am shocked at the way he is treated. He's one part of the team. Think about the talent that has consistently surrounded Brady, Ben or other "elite" QBs. It would be farcical to even try to compare the rosters of consistent winners in the NFL (GB, NE, PIT, SEA) and the historically inept Lions.
Everything else is a weakness in some form or another. The other positional groups:
D line - Ziggy Ansah has had leg injuries all year, but Kerry Hyder has been a tremendous surprise. Haloti is still a good run stuffer & A'Shawn Robinson is becoming a force. Lot of depth here & they substitute liberally to keep them fresh.
HBs - Abdullah & Riddick have missed 19 of a possible 32 games. Zenner has run like a pro bowler the first half of the last two weeks. Unfortunately they haven't sustained the run game once their opponents turn up the intensity. He's a very basic runner, hits the whole hard and keeps churning. Not a great pass catcher but he is involved in the passing game.
WRs/TEs - Tate is a very good gadget WR who racks up a ton of YAC. Ebron is a decent top 8 TE but not really a force and virtually disappears in the RZ (last receiving TD was WK 1.) Boldin is very reliable on third down and Stafford's (by far) favorite RZ option. Marvin Jones started well but battled injuries. He's started to play better the last couple weeks & is pretty much the only vertical threat. The other WRs are rarely on the same page as Stafford.
DBs - Darius Slay is not a total shutdown corner but when healthy he's one of the better cover guys in the league. The other CB, Lawson, is improving but doesn't look like he'll develop into anything special. Quinn is a terrific veteran Safety in coverage. Couple other guys (Bush, Killebrew, Wilson) have had good moments. If you see Asa Jackson, Don Carey or Jonathan Bademosi on the field, scream at the top of your lungs for RW to go after them. If you get any 40+ plays Saturday night, there's a good chance one of those three will be the trailing DB.
O-Line - Not sure if Swanson will be back at C. Rookie Graham Glasgow was an outstanding addition at LG starting with WK 5 and has seamlessly moved over to snap the ball the last 3 weeks. #1 pick Taylor Decker will be the LT for a long time and he's improving. RG Larry Warford is a road grater in the run game. RT Reif has a hip issue. His replacement Corey Robinson had a rough outing last night. On a positive note, Laken Tomlinson sucked less than usual. This group is headed in the right direction. Really good job run blocking the last couple weeks.
LBs - I hate this group. Often out of position, not good at anything: stopping the run, non-existent as edge rushers, mediocre in coverage. I am convinced Austin game plans to minimize their exposure. Levy is a shadow of his former self. Rarely does anyone in this group impact a game in a positive manner.
On a historical basis, there's no reason to think the Lions will walk into a hostile environment and win a playoff game. It hasn't happened since 1957. They're 0-3 in outdoor games this year (CHI, DAL, GB.) They have lost three straight, are missing two of their best offensive playmakers, lost their slot CB a month ago, and they're working with a patchwork O-line.
OTOH, their opponent is very beatable. Their o-line is shaky & they're not the run heavy offense that has carried them to 9 straight home playoff wins. Wilson has battled a knee injury all year and has put up mediocre stats. The heart of their defense is out with an injury. They can still hit on big plays in the passing game & their run defense is stout, but the Seahawks are vulnerable.