• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

NFL Pre-Preseason Thread |OT| Milana Vayntrub presents "Wet Dreaming of a Super Bowl"

At what point during the development of Batman Arkham Knight did the developers say to themselves "You know, it's time to add the Batmobile to these games, and make it as shitty and unfun to use as possible!"

I wouldn't have minded like a 10% batmobile usage in the game to add a little spice but how they did it was ridiculous. I beat the game and liked it but it's by far the worst of the trilogy in large part due to bat mobile
 

Kastrioti

Persecution Complex
Good article, albeit repetitive. It touches on a couple things many of us have been saying for awhile.

1) The offensive line was horrible last year. Injuries played a major role in destabilizing the line

2) Lombardi did not make the adjustments required to deal with the offensive line's implosion

Bottom line: Lombardi shouldn't be an NFL offensive coordinator. You can't drop back 5 to 7 steps with a battered o-line. Nor can you wait for long routes to develop behind that type of line. Yet Lombardi didn't change anything until the end of the season, where he dumbed down the playbook by removing some plays. Seriously? That's it?

I like Caldwell and think he hit the jackpot by hiring Austin as defensive coordinator, but he dropped the ball with Lombardi and it might cost him his job in the long term. My views on Stafford are well known so I won't go into them, however the line couldn't protect him last season and Lombardi didn't adapt. That's a big problem.

Luckily this year the line looks far better (on paper). If guys can stay healthy we should be good on that front. Stafford really has no excuses this year, barring injuries. Megatron, Tate, Lance Moore (?), a hopefully improved Ebron, Abdullah and Riddick in the backfield, an improved line...the pieces are in place for him to put up Madden numbers. If he can't do it we're fucked.

It's way, way to early to make a call on Lombardi. It was an extremely disappointing 2014 season offensively but there were various factors as to why it didn't work out as expected. He's from the school of Vince Lombardi and Sean Peyton (top 3 NFL HC) so I have faith in him.

But the New Orleans Saints style offense he's trying to run suits our team perfectly if implemented correctly (and it will be via our Quarterback).

1.) It was a first year, brand new playbook from Scott Linehan to the Sean Peyton style offense we are trying to run. That means receivers that can stretch the field, combined with athletic tight end(s) who can easily get open against slower linebackers combined with a speedy running back option as a check down.

Basically the offense the New Orleans Saints have run since Sean Peyton, Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Darren Sproles, Jimmy Graham etc. came into town post Hurricane Katrina.

Reggie Bush was disappointing and was supposed to fill that role he and Darren Sproles did for Drew Brees in New Orleans for so many years. I still don't understand why we did not use Theo Riddick more in the season. He's a confident player who proved himself in clutch situations but we did not use him.

This is an offensive system that relies heavily on being able to check down to RBs and no doubt in my mind with Theo Riddick and Ameer Abdullah we'll be able to do that.

2.) The offensive line as a whole went through adjustments last year, not only because of a new offensive coordinator and playbook. It was obvious that Staffords since coming into the NFL,, Dominic Raiola, was on his way out one way or another. The transition to Travis Swanson had probably been planned since he was drafted but Raiola helped speed up the process by stuff he did on and off he field.

The repertoire between a QB and Center is essential and we saw the transition last year, during the playoffs, where our Rookie Center had to start against the Dallas Cowboys because Raiola was suspended. Swanson did a solid job all things considered and the repertoire between him and Stafford, I'm sure, has only grown through training and hanging out this offseason.

3.) We finally have a #3 WR/TE option that we've needed since Titus Young and Nate Burleson in 2011.

Matthew Stafford went from 2012-2014 with Kris Durham as his #2 passing option and that shit still bothers me. Golden Tate is a legit #1 WR on most NFL teams but didn't have a chance to showcase his skills in Seattle.

Even with a #1 and #2 passing option it's still easy for solid defenses to shut down if there is not option at #3. Peyton Mannings teams have always had it, Drew Brees teams have always had it as have Tom Bradys teams (for the most part).

Whether Eric Ebron shows up this year and contributes (and he will IMO), or seasoned vet Lance Moore or second year players TJ Jones, Corey Fuller, Stafford will have a reliable third option when Megatron and Tate are covered as well as explosive check down options in Ameer Abdullah or Theo Riddick.

This offense is going to tear up whoever we face.
 
cEZWRVV.gif



#RIPinPeaceBigAT
 

Tom Penny

Member
Kas = Ngata...

Ngata says that alongside fellow Lions defensive linemen Jason Jones, Ziggy Ansah, Caraun Reid and Darryl Tapp, he thinks he’s on the best defense he’s been a part of in his entire career.
 
Kas = Ngata...

I don't think the line will fall off as much as people expect. We'll still stop the run, and might actually improve at getting to the QB. If I have a Suh complaint it would be that he played a bit undisciplined when it came to getting to the QB. He bull rushed forward, and if the QB wasn't in that area he wasn't going to get pressure; obviously he was better at pressuring last year than the previous two years, but it was still a flaw in his game to me.

The other major positive for the defense is that Tulluch is healthy, which should improve the run and pass defense. Last year we had freak injuries in the secondary, losing nearly all of our nickle corners. That area has been improved this year and is (currently) healthy.

Bottom line: the Lions defense will be good. Will it be good on a historic level like 2014? No. But it'll be good enough not to lose games. This is Stafford's ball to drop.
 

Arc

Member
I have confidence Goodell will do what's right and remove the suspension. It's for the good of the league (and the TV deals).
 

Fox318

Member
cEZWRVV.gif



#RIPinPeaceBigAT

Wal-mart in this nation really is amazing for shit like this.

Even in neighborhoods with almost no white people or fat white trash you can always find them there. I had to stop at a Wal-Mart to pick up some wiper-blades and there was a women breastfeeding twins in the middle of an isle with another kid in a shopping cart.
 
Top Bottom