Notes from Lions vs Falcons (1 Viewer)

[John Norton]

There are some interesting and important notes from this game, particularly for the Lions where we needed some answers.

The Lions seem to be playing right and left OLB rather than strong weak. Ernie Sims is working on the left which is most often the strong side, with Julian Peterson on the right. While that is not great news for Sims owners, it could be worse. At least he is staying on the field with Larry Foote in passing situations. You may want to slide Sims down a few slots but we should definitely bump Foote up our boards significantly. With this news as he becomes the favorite to lead the club in tackles.

There had been rumblings that Peterson would put his hand down in passing situations. When Devries was injured it made that seem even more likely. Peterson left the field on passing down in this game while Jason Hunter (not Cliff Avril) lined up at left DE on what I believe was every snap of the first two series and beyond. The good news for Avril owners is that Hunter looked very ordinary.

Things were basically as expected with the Falcons. Peterson is playing at WLB pairing with Lofton in the nickel. Peterson got close to Culpepper on a couple of blitzes and looked very good getting off blocks to make plays. Between his strong play and the added big play opportunity we should probably bump Peterson up a little also.

We knew before the game that with William Moore hurt, Thomas DeCoud was going to start at safety. This game confirmed that DeCoud is working at FS with Eric Coleman at SS. This is great news for Coleman's box score production. He's a player who has been largely overlooked in the drafts I've seen and will be a steal if you can get him in the late rounds.  

 

[Toads]

Good stuff there: Thanks, John.

 

[Jene Bramel]

Agreed on the Lions nickel package. I think Peterson eventually works his way into those packages, but it would appear that Foote has a clear role as well.

The Falcons looked to be playing the stack the "WLB" behind the big bodies overshifted to the strong side of the offensive formation game. Peterson was still seeing a lot of blockers, but will get the benefit of playing in the nickel.

 

[Larry Thomas]

Agreed on the Lions nickel package. I think Peterson eventually works his way into those packages, but it would appear that Foote has a clear role as well.

The Falcons looked to be playing the stack the "WLB" behind the big bodies overshifted to the strong side of the offensive formation game. Peterson was still seeing a lot of blockers, but will get the benefit of playing in the nickel.

I have this recorded and need to go back and re-visit, I noticed Nicholas on the weak side, thought maybe they were doing a left/right thing. I recall one play where he was lined up weak side, but at the snap he shot over to strong side and picked up the TE, actually think he was flagged for illegal contact.

 

[bcr8f]

When Levy was in how did he look?

 

[Anthony Borbely]

Dizon was playing play in the nickel packages in camp, but was hurt, so that is something to consider. I was surprised to see Peterson on the sidelines during the nickel packages, but it's still preseason. I would think his versatility would keep him on the field. Definitely something to watch.