Chalk talk on 3rd and 10, Lions final drive, red zone

I don't understand that zone call on Lions TD play. It doesn't makes sense to call a zone in a short field like that. It should have been all hands at LOS. They shouldn't have given any space for any receiver getting off the line. They could have easily ran it in with a zone defense. So it gives the team few more options rather than short pass.

ivotuk":2i9824sg said:

I think KJs reaction was a direct result of that 47 yard TD to Titus Young. Stafford probably showed something identical to that play which would have made Wright thought is was going to Titus.

And as for swapping out a D Lineman Shark, LeShoure was gashing us up the middle for 4.6 ypc, that could have the option had we gone to 3 down linemen.

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I believe LeShoure was injured and out of the game by that point. Either way, I take out the lineman and risk the draw play from the shotgun formation on the 3rd and 10 from the 12. Come on... the run game isn't where we're getting gashed on 3rd down. It is on other downs. If they had run into that particular formation he wouldn't have made a TD and they would have been conceding the FG. I think it's worth it still to go to a 3 man rush when they've obviously gashed us 11/15 times to that point on 3rd downs. I don't think many of those were long runs. It was usually slant passes.

I figured that we'd have to deal with some rookie growth on the part of Wagner, but I really didn't account for that with Wright, even though I knew that his coverage was weaker than his run support (kinda hard not to be though, his play on the run is borderline Pro Bowl at this point). I actually thought Wagner would make a few more mistakes up to this point, although I've seen the depth thing before.


I also don't disagree with the 4 under zone here. It's a good play call, with man on the outside. Our CBs are long and athletic; in this down and distance their length is a huge asset since they're really not going to get beat deep at this point. Thomas has tons of range and can clean up, while our LBers have a lot of speed and can contain things in front of them. We also know Trufant will be assignment correct and will take care of his spot. We've been bitching about lack of pass rush, and I like rushing the 4 guys; theoretically with Bryant in there, we close down some throwing lanes and get a chance at a batted ball, plus if you give Stafford all day, he'll pick you apart eventually.

SharkHawk":2rccggbj said:

Hate to say I told you guys so on Trufant. No wait... I don't. Scheme isn't helping here. Why aren't we rushing 3 and subbing out one more LB or DE for a CB/S? Seems like you'd get about as much pressure with Clem, Irvin, and Red/Mebane as a nose. Then you've got an extra guy to cover that "wide" area that's not getting covered underneath EVER. You could walk up a safety like they used to do with Lawyer Milloy. I thought that was how they were going to use Guy this year. It hasn't happened. Here you see the big results. If you bring somebody like that to watch that RB or that slot receiver coming across the middle then you've not only got an extra set of eyes on the guys sneaking under our coverage, but you have an extra body to cover for people and make the tackle. Clemons or Irvin aren't going to track back and make the tackle before it's a first down anyway, neither are Mebane or Red or Jason Jones. Bring in another quick guy that can hit.

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Hey, what do you know.... I'm an accidental genius! I really felt like the bolded part was the key, and that's exactly what they did. Johnson's sack early really set the tone, and they tightened up a ton. Using him was a smart move, and seemed pretty obvious. I'm glad the coaches did it and practiced it this week, particularly since KJ went out. They would have been boned had they not practiced to have an extra DB in the place of a LB on 3rd and long, but they practiced it and KJ got hurt, but they were still ok because everybody was ready. Johnson played extremely well all around today I thought. He was playing the position they had predicted for Winston Guy in the preseason and I'm quite impressed at what he did today, especially on his awareness to blitz Milloy style (with a ever so slight hesitation) and put Ponder on his butt. It set the tone and left Ponder below 100 yards passing.

Now really guys... wasn't it worth it to wait a year and not take Ponder or Dalton and get Wilson in the 3rd this year? I think we're on to something... as long as it translates to a road game or two by the end of the year then we're going to be a step up on both Cinci and Minnesota in our development for next year, and make the rough road of the last couple of years and parts of this year worth it.