Guys, it’s time to say it. The Detroit Lions have now crossed into elite. I’ve been waiting for the team to do something it hasn’t done before. We played at an elite level last year, even with devastating injuries, however we got the benefit of a cake schedule. Tonight, in a game that many including myself had chalked up as a tough loss, the Lions absolutely dominated both sides of the line of scrimmage against a damn good Baltimore team.
We are not perfect, we are going to have losses and set backs, just like every elite team does. However, when this team locks in, they can walk into any team’s stadium and walk out a winner. That’s elite. That’s now the Detroit Lions.
We weren’t ready. GB is counting their blessings they got us Week 1, and not Week 4. They just lost to the Browns, and watched the Lions handle the Ravens, on the road. GB knows now, the road to the division still runs through Detroit.
The Lions have never contained a scrambling QB, until tonight. Lamar got his, because he is a premier talent, but Kelvin Sheppard had answers all night long for him. On the road, we shut down a team that scored 40 points in 2 straight games, and has the most dangerous QB in football. That’s elite.
Right now, Buffalo is the beast in the AFC. We won’t see them until the Super Bowl. Eagles are the best in the NFC, but they have some competition coming up.
A few of us have already come to the conclusion that the Lions are an elite team…especially after going 15-2 last year. The bad news is that many of us cannot appreciate where this team is now because we are so used to them LOSING!
That game doesn’t bother me at all. Even if the Lions still had Ben & AG and had added some more of whatever the fans feel that they are missing…I thought the Packers would win just out of the sheer frustration of having lost three straight home games to Detroit and 5 of the last 6. The Lions and Dan Campbell (well along with Shep and Mort) have put that week one beat down behind them!
I was sadly convinced this team would take 8-9 games to get the Oline in shape. And that winning division would be off the table by the time they gelled.
I am pretty blown away by how well they have looked. I expected the guards to mature into plus players. But even GG has looked above average. This team looks in very good shape for the next few years if this is really who these young guards are.
You know who else was pretty blown away? The Ravens DL.
I knew the GB game was really an OL breakdown. I also knew that even with competent blocking, we could have won that game. Jordan Love tried to pass us back into it himself. The bad news with OL breakdowns is they kill everything you can do on offense. The good news is, once you get that fixed, everything will instantly get better. That’s exactly what’s happened the past two weeks. It’s experience, and it cannot be taught on the practice field.
I think Mahogany-Glasgow-Ratledge are now starting to trust where the other one is going, and who/when to give help. Guys aren’t abandoning assignments to help block someone who is blocked and leaving someone unchecked. I know Baltimore was missing Maduibuke (like we were missing Alim), but they still have a very good DL and we were blowing them off the line by 3 and 4 yards, each snap. Two 90 yard drives led by rushing? That’s elite.
There is zero doubt in my mind that the Amon Ra 4th down play only happens because Baltimore sold itself out to stop the run. They had to. Before that play, Baltimore had TEN guys on the line, and the Lions still ran for 2 yards. My buddy I was chatting with said “The Lions have play action wide open, as soon as they want it.” I told him that they would take it when they needed it. As soon as the 4th down play happened, we both texted “there it is”.
We still aren’t perfect of course, I don’t want to peak at week 3, but what I saw last night showed me this team is taking the next step. I know we went 15-2 last year, but we also beat up on some weak teams. The elite team we played last year was Buffalo, and Josh Allen had his way with us. I was not convinced we could stop a running QB until I saw it. Last night I saw it.
For the game last night, Lamar Jackson walked into the stadium and said “welcome to jail”. As soon as the cell door closed, the Lions showed him “it’s you who is locked in here with me”.
I hope both teams go into that game healthy, because that’s going to be on Thanksgiving and everyone will be watching. You know Dan will have the team ready for that game.
