Meet the Cubs: Titus Young

 

2.12 (44): Titus Young
          Wide Receiver, Boise State

With all of the armchair scouting, mock drafts, media hyperventilation, and everything else that surrounds the NFL draft, there are very few surprises left. This is especially true for hardcore fans: just look through the Mlive.com article comments and forums in March; most of the Lion regulars have their preferred targets picked out through all seven rounds.

Very few, if any, had Titus Young on their list—most hadn’t heard of him! Yet another difference between armchair GMs and the pros: Jim Schwartz immediately Tweeted that the Lions had had their eye on Titus Young for a long time . . .

Tom Kowalski immediately told Lions fans not to worry, Titus Young would become a fan favorite. Young plays, talks, and Tweets with irrepressible emotion—from crying when the Lions drafted him, to exulting on the phone with Lions fans at the Hard Rock Café, to throwing himself headlong into becoming a Lion and a Detroiter:

. . . Young doesn't do anything halfway.

“Man Im Bout To Get #313 Tatted on My Chest, and #BringinBackTheBadboys on my Back! Would yall Love me then????????”

It’s amazing, then, that in spotlight of Los Angeles, Young blended into the shadows. At University High School, Young’s rail-thin frame and talented teammates kept him from drawing much attention from big schools, despite being named All-League his sophomore and junior years. But then he attended the USC Nike Camp, and his performance put him on major-school radar—and his unbelievable senior season was too huge for anyone to ignore. As a receiver, Young caught 66 passes for 1,359 and 10 TDs, plus 49 yards and 2 TDs on the ground. As a defensive back, Young had 97 tackles, 11 INTs, 8 PDs and a sack. For good measure, he returned 18 punts for 392 yards and 3 TDs, and 11 kickoffs for 363 and 1 score.

The Pac-10 offers came rolling in: Oregon, Washington, Washington State, Arizona State . . . he was thrilled to see his stock rising, and started lining up officials. Scout.com ranked him a three-star recruit, and so did Rivals.com. On December 11th, 2006, Young told Rivals:

I'm still sending film out right now and I think that could result in even more offers for me. I had a great season and honestly feel I'm one of the top athletes in the country. Schools are just now finding out about me, that's why I'm keeping that last visit open. I want to take all all my trips and then I'll make my decision close to Signing Day."

A few days later, Boise State made an in-home visit. After that visit, Young immediately visited Boise's campus. After that visit, Young immediately committed to Boise State—just six days after telling Rivals he wanted to play it all the way out to the end! It must have seemed like a perfect fit . . . so what happened?

“I was thinking it would be best for him to go someplace else,” [BSU Head Coach Chris] Petersen said.

According to Chadd Cripe at the Idaho Statesman, Young’s impact on the Broncos was immediate. The 2006 team that beat Oklahoma featured three senior wideouts, and Young’s talent and personality turned heads—those of his teammates’, and the media. The spotlight loved Titus, and he loved it right back. The 17-year-old caught a pass in every one of the Broncos’ games that year, and finished third on the team in receptions (44), second in yards (639), and third in TDs (5).  Still, he struggled to hold onto the ball, and struggled to maintain perspective. 

Young was suspended for the first quarter of the 2007 Hawaii Bowl, yet still fumbled twice in the remainder of the game. Still, that humbling experience wasn’t quite humbling enough. Young tuned out his coaches, put himself first, broke some team rules, and was ultimately suspended for all but three games in 2008. It reached the point where both parties were ready to move on.

Still, Young persevered in class, even while barred from team activites:

“I really just wanted to go home for a while, sit on my couch, lock myself in a cage,” he said. “That’s how I really felt at the time. If I would have ran, I would have been running from my problems. I’ve never been a type to run from a problem. You’ve always got to hit it in the mouth and stay strong and endure and have faith.”

Petersen offered him “one more shot" during the practice sessions for the 2008 Poinsettia Bowl, and Titus took it seriously. He remained on the team for the 2009 season, and in spectacular fashion—he finished with 79 catches, 1041 yards, and 1o TDs through the air, plus 15 carries for 138 and 2 on the ground. He was named first-team All-WAC as both a receiver and returner, but that was just the warmup act.

His senior season, Young hauled in 71 balls for a BSU single-season 1,215 yards (that 17.1 YpC!) and 9 TDs. He added 14 carries for 91 yards and a score. He again was named first-team All-WAC, and third team AP All-America. His truncated career at Boise State was still enough to place him #1 all-time in both single-season and career receiving yards.

Young wasn’t done proving himself at Boise State, though. After a disappointing Combine where he cut an official 4.53, Young really needed a great Pro Day performance to assure teams his on-film game speed wasn’t just an illusion generated by WAC competition. Depending on who you ask, Young’s two Pro Day runs averaged somewhere between 4.39 and 4.43, easing the concerns about his timed speed. He dropped no passes, and the National Football Post reported Young successfully boosted his draft stock back into the high second-round/late first-round territory (which, obviously yes). But hey, let's hear it from the scouts themselves:

• Sideline Scouting:

  Positives: Has good but not great speed... Smart player, knows where he is on the field at all times, plays the sidelines well... Runs nice crisp routes, slips well into zone coverage... Quick off the line of scrimmage... has good change of direction ability and cuts well in the open field... Explosive deep threat, gets behind coverage with ease... Dynamic return man, can return both punts and kickoffs in the NFL... Tough to bring down when the ball is in his hands, keeps a low center of gravity and slips through tackles... Elite short area burst, is an absolute terror with the football in his hands... Terrific body control, adjusts well to balls in the air and plays the sidelines well.

  Negatives: Very small, would like to see him add some weight to his frame... Ran slower at the combine than most expected... Questionable hands, drops some catchable balls... Looks up field before securing the football... Average run blocker, size limits his ability to be much of a factor in this area... Stats may be inflated due to playing in Boise State's high powered offense against WAC competition... Comes with character concerns, missed most of 2008 due to suspension.

• CBSSports.com:

  Strengths: Very quick receiver who eats up the cushion out of his breaks and gets on top of the corner in a hurry. Has a solid second gear to get down the field after initial moves and can run away from defenders. Explodes out of his stance with no wasted steps and does a nice job of stemming his routes. Is a sudden athlete who moves seamlessly in and out of his breaks without sacrificing acceleration. Maintains his balance when cutting and keeps his feet under him in his routes. Runs crisp routes to earn consistent separation from defenders and is shifty enough out of his stance to slip press coverage. Has great lateral quickness in the open field and can create on his own after the reception. Sells out to make tough catches and fully extends his body and arms when going over the middle. Possesses strong wrists to snag the ball and hold onto it in traffic. Tracks passes over either shoulder. Understands spacing and will not drift back into coverage. Versatile player who brings added value as both a kick and punt returner due to this combination of straight-line running, toughness and elusiveness.

  Weaknesses: Slight, thin frame that may not hold up in the NFL with his playing style. Loses focus and drops catchable passes. Concentration wavers all too often and will look to run upfield before securing the ball. Does not win jump balls often and struggles to out-leap defenders. Can be stymied at the line by physical corners and lacks the strength and drive to be an effective run blocker. Has nice timed speed, but lacks elite ability to burn by defensive backs on a consistent basis. Has a reputation as an egotistical player who can resist coaching.

• For the first Lion draftee this season, SI.com lists "Positives"! They graded Young a 2.80, practically equal to Mikel Leshoure:

  Positives: Productive college receiver with a consistent game. Fluid releasing off the line and runs sharp routes, quickly getting into breaks and immediately coming back to the ball on exit. Displays terrific focus and concentration and makes the reception away from his frame. Possesses strong hands, showing the ability to snatch passes from the air. Easily adjusts the errant throw, effortlessly makes the reception downfield, and elusive running after the catch. Reads the defense and settles into the open spot on the field. Sneaky fast and finds a way to get behind opponents. Gives effort blocking downfield and gets solid results.

  Negatives: More quick than fast. Erratic workout at the combine. Lacks top size and likely to struggle handling jams or battling at the next level.

  Analysis: Young was exceptionally productive the past two seasons and turned in a terrific performance at the Senior Bowl in January. He's a prospect who comes to play on game day and should be a productive third receiver while also being an asset on special teams.

• Pro Football Weekly:

  Positives: Exceptional burst, acceleration and deep speed to stretch the field vertically. Fluid strider with big-time turnover. Quick-footed to slip the jam. Is sudden in and out of breaks and makes speed cuts smoothly. Very good hands and concentration — tracks the ball well over his shoulder. Outruns angles and can take it the distance. Agile and elusive in the open field. Versatile and highly productive — consistent playmaker as a receiver and kickoff returner.

  Negatives:

  Has a slight build with short arms and lacks bulk — is not equipped to work inside, and durability could be a considerable issue. Can be outmuscled and does not always come down with the contested catch. Has limited run strength and exposes his frame to some shots. Occasional concentration drop. Soft blocker. Was immature early in his career. Production was slightly inflated by WAC defenses and was rarely challenged by comparably athletic cornerbacks. Did not run through the gauntlet drill at the Combine with any tempo.

  Summary: Thinly built, tight-skinned, confident, competitive, explosive deep threat whose loose hips and lateral agility set him apart from generic burners. Versatility increases his value —possesses the vertical speed to scalp a secondary as a vertical “X” receiver, the suddenness and run-after-catch ability to create mismatches from the slot and the burst to pose a threat as a primary kickoff returner. Multifaceted playmaking ability could even push him into the first round, though his slight frame could keep evaluators at bay and shorten the shelf life of his NFL career.

Of course, none of this is why you are here. You are here for the TRUTH. You want to KNOW if Titus Young is bound for the Hall of Fame or the Charles Rogers Failure Valhalla. Fortunately the One True Oracle of NFL Success, YouTube Highlight Reels, loves Titus Young more than any prospect I’ve ever had the pleasure of breaking down for Meet the Cubs. You know a kid is a player when he has HIGH SCHOOL YouTube Highlight Reels, especially one that's such a love letter to the art:

I’m . . . I’m not saying someone who is really into Titus Young is also into video editing, but there’s a treasure trove at YouTube just too big to embed. Here’s a nice collection of straight highlights, followed by a very interesting meta/narrative/trick catch/interview thing that you don’t see every day (which also includes straight highlights). When contrasted to the high school clip above, the difference between who Titus Young was a kid, and who Titus Young is as a man is dramatic, and unmistakable.

Here's a special treat. Aaron Aloysius of Draft Breakdown does some really, really nice videos that spotlight individual prospects throughout individual games, and this one of Young vs. Nevada is a gem:

First of all, the speed thing. Young definitely plays much faster than the WAC opponents, and I believe he’d still be electrifying against AQ conference competition. I got frustrated while watching through these, because it seemed that so much of the running time of each video was Young blowing by everyone to the house—over, and over, and over again . . .

There’s no doubt that Young is a long strider with good top speed, but even given how much of his body is legs, it’s astounding to see how quick his foot speed is, and how naturally he chops his stride short to change direction—and how quickly he digs back in and gets to that gliding, cruising speed. Normally, those types of runners struggle to get in and out of cuts quickly, but as you see above his footspeed and instincts neutralize that tendency.

In my mind, there’s no doubt that if Young applies himself as he did his senior year, he’ll be able to make an immediate impact here. My question is, how does Scott Linehan plan to use him, in combination with Nate Burleson? As the WR Old Mother Hubbard showed us, the Lions desperately need a field stretcher, a playmaker who can get open downfield and break medium routes to the house. He did that in college, over and over and over again—but can he do it in the NFL? Burleson is a hair taller and decidedly thicker; so is he really the natural choice to slide inside while Young plays #2?

From what the scouts above say, Young will actually be better suited for the outside than Burleson, because Burleson has the strength to handle hits and traffic, and mix it up with linebackers, while Young has the speed to get open deep. Young shouldn’t see much press coverage, given all the short- and medium-depth options the Lions have (Burleson, Pettigrew, Sheffler, Best); He’ll simply be asked to fly—and that, he can do. I see Young used right away as the #2 receiver in three-receiver sets . . . and after that, who knows? Maybe the spotlight loves Young even on the biggest stage of all.

Technorati Tags: nfl,detroit lions,titus young,nfl draft,wide recievers,scouting reports

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Old Mother Hubbard: The Wide Receivers

Finishing up the Old Mother Hubbard series, post-draft, seems anti-climatic. However, there’s plenty of offseason left (maybe too much), and this cupboard isn’t done being restocked. To that end, we dig into the Pro Football Focus grades for wide receivers:

In this case, “Pass” refers to their grades in the passing game, i.e. their receiving performance. “Run” refers to their performance when running the football (on reverses, etc.). Unlike tight ends, run blocking and pass blocking are consolidated into “Blocking,” as receivers rarely pass block. The bright orange line represents Brandon Lloyd, the wideout who turned in the best overall grade. His +24 is predicated almost entirely on his +23.4 receiving grade (the other dimensions have little variation, and therefore little impact on the overall grade). Should we be surprised that Darrius Heyward-Bey is bringing up the rear? His –14 overall grade is the worst of any NFL wideout.

There’s a little thing in research called “confirmation bias,” where you seek out objective facts that confirm your preconceptions. That the Lions drafted a speedy receiver with their second pick suggests the Lions saw a need that had to be filled. I simply have to acknowledge this: I’m curious to see why the Lions thought they should pick a wideout so high, especially one whose game superficially matches Nate Burleson’s. I’m going to do this straight, but keep an eye out for signals that there’s a need to stretch the field.

The Lions’ WR corps is the most divergent unit on the team. Most of the other positions’ players are clustered around the thick black AVERAGE line, with only a few strong deviations in either direction. However, Calvin Johnson was PFF’s third-best graded receiver in 2010, with a very strong +14 overall grade. That was powered by a +14.5 receiving grade, and only having a single penalty called against him all year. He also had a (very) slightly above-average rushing grade.

Surprisingly, Megatron’s blocking grade was awful. He turned in a –3.1 blocking mark, well below the NFL average of –1.27, and ranked 94th out of 110 receivers. We don’t play Megatron to block, but you’d think a dude who has half a foot and sixty pounds on most corners could do better than that without breaking a sweat.

Statistically, Calvin caught 77 of 131 passes thrown at him; his percentage of passes caught is actually a little below-average at 58.8% (NFL average: 59.6%). Part of this is definitely due to system and quarterbacking. The top receiving percentage guys are typically slot receivers in pass-first, multi-WR offenses featuring quality quarterbacks; Megatron is a #1 wideout in a conventional offense driven by very inconsistent quarterback play last year. Still, I’d expected Calvin to be better than the mean at getting to, and hauling in, footballs.

Perhaps it's in the way they use him? Megatron was thrown at once every 7.8 snaps, exactly the NFL average. His yards per reception, 14.5, is definitely a notch above average, 13.2. But his touchdowns . . . well, his 13 12 vastly outstrip the league average of 4. It was my eyeball observation that the Lions tended to move between the 30s with passes to slot WRs, TEs, and RBs, then take shots at the endzone with Calvin once they got close. I divided receptions by touchdowns and . . . yup! Megatron was 10th in the NFL with 6.4 receptions per touchdown (4th with 5.9 if you count the Chicago Robbery). If the Lions were throwing to Calvin, they were often taking a shot at the end zone.

Bottom Line: Calvin Johnson was one of the NFL’s best receivers in 2010, despite being targeted the average number of times, primarily in the red zone, by a rotating cast of quarterbacks. If he and Matthew Stafford play all 16 games in 2011, expect Megatron to be #1 by a long shot.

The neon-green line a little ways inside of AVERAGE is Nate Burleson, the Lions’ second-splashiest free agent acquisition of 2010. Burleson turned in a –2.7 receiving grade, which couldn’t be offset by his run grade (+1.6, tied with Devin Hester for third-best in the NFL), or his relatively clean penalty grade. His very-slightly-below-average blocking performance (-1.4) didn’t help either.

Burleson’s negative grade didn’t come entirely from dropped passes, as Brandon Pettigrew’s clearly did. Burleson was ranked 56th in snaps-per-drop, with 17.0 (avg.: 17.6)—not great, but barely off the NFL median and mean. His YAC was excellent; 18th-best in the NFL with 5.6. He also made a defender miss on a post-catch tackle 8 times on just 55 receptions—the 21st-highest rate in the NFL (6.9 Rec./MT; NFL avg. 10.8).

That is the end of the good news for Burleson—who, outside of two great games against the Jets and Dolphins (+2.9, +3.4), turned in neutral or weakly negative grades the rest of the year (none worse than his –1.8 week one; most not nearly that low). He also, despite his well-above-average YAC rate, could only muster 11.4 yards per reception. Think about that: he ran for an average of 5.6 yards after every catch, but only gained 11.4 yards on an average catch. He caught the ball an average of 5.8 yards downfield! The picture this all paints is of a slightly-below-average receiver who struggles to get open deep—but becomes a genuine threat once the ball is in his hands.

Bottom Line: Nate Burleson proved to be a valuable asset, often getting open short and manufacturing yards in space when there were none to be had. However, he failed to provide a credible threat across from Calvin Johnson, instead carving out a niche in underneath the coverage. “Recepticon” has a future in this offense, but it will be much brighter if he can work in the space created by a legitimate deep threat.

Bryant Johnson is a receiver from Penn State who seems like a really cool guy on Twitter. Unfortunately, PFF’s grades are not kind to him. Johnson’s –13.1 overall grade is second-worst in the NFL, ahead of only Darrius Heyward-Bey. His –13.5 receiving grade is at the very bottom; it’s only his total lack of penalties called that pull him up above Heyward-Bey. His 37.5% of targets caught is also second-worst in the league; dropping 7 passes on just 48 targets didn’t help.

Here’s one positive tidbit for Johnson, though: his 4.2 catches per missed tackle means he was the third-hardest WR to bring down in the NFL. Should he happen to catch the ball, Bryant Johnson is tough to stop.

Bottom Line: Bryant Johnson struggled mightily to catch the ball in 2010, as he did in 2009. Though his body type and tool set would be the perfect complement to draw coverage away from Megatron and open up space for Burleson, his inability to catch the ball strips him of any credible threat—and of any real chance of returning for 2010.

Derrick Williams is a receiver from Penn State who seems like a really cool guy on Twitter. Williams's commitment to giving back to the Detroit community is as impressive as it is unheralded. Unfortunately, PFF’s graders took a dim view of his 2010 performance, as well. Williams, whose 154 snaps didn’t qualify him for the 25% cutoff, only saw time in weeks 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, and 13.

His –6 overall rating and –4.8 receiving rating didn’t come from doing a bad job catching the ball. The problem was, he was never open: in 154 snaps played, Lions quarterbacks only targeted him three times. Astonishingly, that’s the exact same number of penalty flags he drew (though one was called back).

Bottom Line: Despite being, by all appearances, a great guy and a good teammate, Williams’ single reception for 7 yards was probably the former #1 recruit in America’s last as a Lion.

SHOPPING LIST: Though no one identified WR as a need prior to the draft, had I managed to crank this one out I’d have been screaming from the mountaintops about this one, too. Calvin Johnson is a flat-out stud, Nate Burleson is a quality slot ninja, and after that the Lions have two guys who’ve proven they can’t help, and practice squadders like Brian Clark and Tim Toone. The need for a wideout with legitimate downfield speed and NFL hands to go with it was, in fact, desperate—and the Lions may have filled it with Titus Young.

Technorati Tags: nfl,detroit lions,nfl draft,2011 nfl draft,calvin johnson,nate burleson,titus young,boise state,team needs

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Three Cups Deep: Preseason Week 1

Last year at this time, I started a regular Monday post I called “Three Cups Deep,” and the rationale went a little something like this:

On Mondays, it takes little bit more of the good stuff to get me going. The first desperately-needed cup is often not until nine o'clock or so, often because I’m such a complete zombie that I forget to go get coffee. I’m lucky to make it back to my desk with that first cup before I’m trekking back to the office Bunn—desperately hoping I won’t be the sucker who kills the joe, and therefore beholden to make some mo’.

The second cup I down steadily, solidly, workmanlike. By the end of that second helping, I’m starting to get the tingle; my eyes aren’t drooping quite so much. I realize I’m slouching so badly in my chair that the backrest is supporting my head instead, and move to an upright position. But the third cup . . . ahh, the third cup. The initial sip of the third cup is like Zeus’s lighting; a bolt from the heavens igniting my nervous system! I lean forward in my chair, attacking the problems of the day with emphatic keyboard strikes, pummeling my dreary to-do list into submission. It is now, at the beginning of that third cup, that I write this.

For the first time this season, there was Lions football over the weekend—so Three Cups Deep makes its triumphant return.  I spoke at length about my impressions on last night’s Fireside Chat podcast, but a good night’s sleep—or in my case, a bad night’s sleep and three cups of coffee—always provides valuable perspective.

In my guest Gameday post over at The Steelers N'At, the first sentence I wrote was, “On offense, I want to see a lot of completed passes.”  I got what I wanted on an impressive scale: Lions quarterbacks combined to complete 23 of 32 passes.  Stafford was 8-of-11; two of those were attempted TD strikes to Calvin, and one was the ill-fated swing pass to Jahvid Best.  Other than that, Stafford was nearly perfect.  The Lions spread it around a lot, too: those 23 passes went to 15 different Lions, with no receiver catching more than two balls each.

It was bizarre to watch the offense simply work.  Dropback, pass, complete.  Dropback, pass, complete.  Handoff, run forward, gain yards.  Dropback, pass, complete.  It was practically boring.  I thought to myself, “This is . . . easy.  Just, you know, complete the passes.  Why didn’t they just do this before?”  After all the wailing and lamentations, after decades of quarterback purgatory, duh, just throw and catch!  It didn’t hurt that this was the preseason, where the reaction from the Steelers crowd was a combination of silent puzzlement and total indifference.  The whole thing felt surreal.

What was even more surreal was every single end-zone replay showing a perfect pocket for Stafford to throw from.  I don’t know if the Steelers were just laying off, or what—but there was no heat on Stafford whatsoever, and he was getting rid of it quickly anyway.  Kudos to the line for keeping him clean, regardless of the pressure.

Save for the unfortunate swing pass (assigning blame is irrelevant), Jahvid Best was very impressive, and absolutely looked like an NFL every-down back.  Speed, moves, vision, yes—but strong between the tackles, and fast to the hole.  I’ve said for quite some time that the questions about his size and toughness were unfounded, but anyone who watched Best run this weekend came away knowing he’ll be just fine.

Defensively, Cliff Avril made his presence known immediately, and the starting defensive line looked every bit as impressive as advertised.  The linebackers weren’t quite as impressive; Zack Follett looked like he was a step slow to react on a lot of things, but at least looked credible out there.  Of course, the loss of Jordon Dizon is unfortunate—but at this point in his career, I can’t tell you how much better he is than Vinny Ciurciu, which says a lot about both him and Ciurciu.

In the secondary, I was impressed by the ball skills of Chris Houston and Eric King, and undrafted free agent safety Randy Phillips.  We’ll see how long that lasts once things get a little more “for real”, but the starting secondary held their own out there, which is a fantastic first sign.  I still anticipate some real struggles in the back seven over the course of the season, but I’ll take any reason for optimism I can get.

And now, for the fourth cup . . .

Technorati Tags: nfl,detroit lions,pittsburgh steelers,preseason,matthew stafford,jahvid best,cliff avril

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Meet The Cubs: Tim Toone

7.48, 255: Timothy Toone, Weber State WR
About seven seconds into my research on Toone, I knew what we were in for.  That catchy, alliterative name, plus a phonically germane nickname: “Tarzan.” Those incredible, flowing, straw-colored dreadlocks.  His tiny FCS Utah school.  His blazing speed, his special-teams prowess, and his legendary work ethic.  Of course, his coveted “Mister Irrelevant” status as the final pick in the 2010 draft.  All the elements are there, all the pieces are in place.  Tim Toone is a mortal lock to be this year’s marquee inductee into the Lions Fan Hall of Fame.  Immediately, my words from last year about Zack Follett came rushing back to me:

Zach Follett is going to be the next inductee into the Lions Fan Hall of Fame. Players like David Kircus, Scotty Anderson, Casey Fitzsimmons, David "Blue" Adams, Greg Blue, and Buster Davis have been drafted late (or signed as a UFA) by the Lions, made a big play or two in training camp or preseason, and become cult heroes--often, with fans insisting that these practice squadders and/or bench riders would be immediate upgrades over the current starters, if only they were given the opportunity. Zack Follett perfectly fits this profile; I have no doubt we'll be seeing Follett jerseys in the stands sooner rather than later.

The only way he could be any more perfectly qualified would be to have played at GVSU, or come up through the Detroit Public Schools system.  Unfortunately, Toone hails from from Peoria, Arizona—where, despite being first-team All-State as a senior, he was unknown to Scout.com, and an unranked one-star recruit at Rivals.com.  His senior year, he caught 37 balls for 1,125 yards, setting an all-time state record for YpC with 30.4.  Thirty.  Point.  Four.  Yards.  Per.  Catch.  I love me some high school statistics.

Timonthy “Tarzan” Toone redshirted (and paid his own way) his first year at Weber State, then served his two-year Mormon mission in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.  NFL Draft Blitz asked Toone about that mission, in one of the most desperate and war-torn regions on Earth:

It was difficult, but it helped me grow up. It made me more responsible. I had life goals after I came back from the mission. I knew how to work hard towards those goals.

Work hard he did, immediately making an impact as a deep threat.  He had seven catches for 275 yards (39.3 YpC).  Nine games in, he took over as punt returner, and in his first game he took a punt back 61 yards to the house. 

As a redshirt sophomore, he was the team’s second-leading receiver, with 32 catches for 698 yards (21.81 YpC) and 10 TDs, tying the school’s single-season receiving TD record.  Toone was named Honorable Mention All-Big Sky conference that year, but it was only a hint of what was to come.  Over the next two seasons, Toole became the Wildcats' primary offensive threat: over the next two seasons, he averaged 83.5 catches, 1,314.5 yards, and 8.5 TDs--and was first-team All-Big Sky Conference in both seasons.

How does all that small-school success translate to the big time?  Sports Illustrated grades Toone as a 2.05, a practice-squadder.  Most of the information I can find agrees: at Weber State, Toone’s calling card was his blazing speed, but that speed is merely adequate at the next level.  However, his technique, his willingness to go across the middle, his hands in traffic, routes, body control, they all grade very well.  His lack of typical deep-threat size (5’-11”, 170 pounds) means that though he put up outlandish, ridiculous YpC numbers in college, he projects to the NFL as a sneaky, second-level possession receiver—one who’s very dangerous after the catch.

As for character . . . well, Toone grades highest of all in that category.  Here’s a great ESPN TV interview of Toone, where they closed it out by asking how he’d apply the lessons learned in west Africa to his life in the NFL:

It's for Detroit, the team is for Detroit. To try to help them out, and do everything I can to make that city proud, and happy to be a Detroit Lions fan.

It’s not just his off-the-field exploits that show great character and work ethic.  Here’s a little piece from the Deseret News, telling how Toone punished himself for loafing after an eight-catch, 135 yard, 2 TD performance that won his team the game:

I just was not playing like I usually do, so I had to go in there [the up-down circle].  I felt like I didn't block and do all that I needed to do, all the little things that count. Maybe if I would have blocked a little more, some big plays would have sprung and we wouldn't have been in that situation [to need a last-minute touchdown].

Wow.

Well, enough of that nonsense; let’s get to what really matters; the only true oracle of NFL success: YouTube highlight reels!

Subjectively, it’s hard not to love the hell out of this kid.  Like I said, all the indicators, all the effort, all the character in the world.  Looking at these clips, he’s obviously in a class by himself on this field, but his speed is far from breathtaking.  However, his hands, routes, football sense, and open-field ability will certainly give him the inside track on impressing the coaches over, say Derrick Williams.

In fact, that's how I’d say Toone projects: as Derrick Williams’ replacement, if Williams doesn’t get his head screwed on straight.  Sap away a little bit of Williams’ speed, and add all the common sense, sticky hands, and work ethic that he lacks, and it’s hard to see how the resultant player wouldn’t be Toone.

I'm not guaranteeing a roster spot for Toone, but I’ve said several times that neither Bryant Johnson, nor Dennis Northcutt, nor Derrick Williams appears to have any great future here as a Lion; any of them could be cut tomorrow and I wouldn’t be that surprised.  A kid who’s put service, hard work, and team success above all else—including his own career?  You absolutely want to see him succeed, and I think he’s got an excellent chance here.

Technorati Tags: nfl,nfl draft,detroit lions,tim toone,mr. irrelevant

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Donte Stallworth to the Lions?

Those of you who have paid attention to my Twitter feed over the past year are well acquainted with my views on Michael Vick: he spent years as the architect, orchestrator, and Don of an empire of animal cruelty, animal murder, and illicit gambling.  After a six-year career filled with inconsistency, poor attitude, and bad decisions, in my mind he’d lost his privilege to play professional football.

Imagine my surprise when, upon Vick’s release, I heard the phrase “Vick deserves a second chance” about four hundred and seventy-two million times in the span of a few weeks.  On what planet?

Besides being a serial perpetrator of disgusting, torturous, brutal, soulless federal felonies, and patron of the attendant gambling rings, Vick flatly denied responsibility for his crimes, telling bald-faced lies to police and federal agents.  In fact, he only admitted guilt when multiple co-conspirators flipped on him.  As if his contempt for our justice system was in doubt, he made it plain by testing positive for marijuana while out on bond between his plea and sentencing.

Until he actually did time in Leavenworth, he never “got it”.  Even then, his first attempt to satisfy his creditors through bankruptcy court was essentially “I get to keep everything, and once I get back in the NFL I’ll pay you all back”. 

Meanwhile, Donte Stallworth, a wide receiver drafted in the first round by the Saints, recently of the Browns and currently a free agent, killed a man while driving drunk.  While Vick served 19 months in federal prison, Stallworth served only 24 days in jail.  The outcry over this disparity became the most tired ‘take’ since . . . well, since “Mike Vick deserves a second chance”. 

It's true, Stallworth was driving after having had one or two too many.  It’s also true that he hit someone with his Bentley, and that person died.  However, surveillance video that captured the accident apparently showed the victim jaywalking directly into Stallworth’s path, and Stallworth’s car simply unable to avoid him.

Florida law states that in order to convict a person of DUI manslaughter, the prosecution has to prove that the alcohol was a factor—i.e., that the accident wouldn’t have happened if the accused was stone cold sober.  However, the existence of the video tape prevented such a conviction; apparently the video makes it plain that there was little Stallworth could have done.

Moreover, everyone on-scene agrees that Stallworth stopped immediately after the accident, called 911, cooperated fully, accepted full responsibility, apologized to the family, and has since shown nothing but regret, remorse, and sorrow for what he did.  He made a mistake; he is not a monster.  THAT is a man who “deserves” a second chance.

Though I usually have a N.I.M.B.Y attitude towards players with attitude problems, and Stallworth’s career has so far not justified his first-round draft status, I feel a perverse sense of pride that it’ll be the Lions to give Stallworth his first crack at a second chance.

In pure football terms, the signing makes excellent sense.  The Lions desperately need a field-stretcher to pair with Megatron; a second fiddle with deep speed.  Of course, Stallworth has never possessed reliable hands, nor exceptional route-running ability—but they don’t need him to possess either of those traits.

All the Lions really need is a WR who presents a physical mismatch for a #2 corner, and Stallworth can fit that bill.  He should come cheaply—and even if he can’t beat out Bryant Johnson for the #2 role, he’s an unquestionable talent upgrade over Dennis Northcutt, Derrick Williams, or any of 2009’s slot receivers.

As I write this, it's all still up in the air.  The Lions could work Stallworth out tomorrow, he could cut a Chuck-Rogersesque 4.8, and this would all be moot.  Or, he could blow them away, get signed on the spot, go on to humiliate the all the #2 corners playing man-to-man ten yards off of him, and become the Alvin Harper to Calvin Johnson’s Michael Irvin.

Either of those scenarios, or anything in between, are entirely feasible.  All that’s left is to see today what Stallworth can make of his second chance.  For a variety of reasons, I hope he makes the most of it.

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Sifting through embers: offense vs. Atlanta

I'm aware that this is more than a little bit late. I've had the charting done for quite a while, but I'm playing with both the formatting and style in an attempt to wrest control of the fonts, sizes, etc. back from my template's CSS. However, I realized that I needed to get this bad boy out there before it loses all relevance--so let's get right to the good stuff:

FP	D/D	O FORM	D FORM	TYP	PLAY	YDS
L42	1-10	I-Form 2 WR	Base 4-3	Run	Trap R	+7
Both WR are split left, TE right.  Loper pulls right; Peterman and Cherilus block left.  Raiola is responsible for filling the gap left by Loper, and while he's initially beaten, he pushes the DT just wide at the last second.  Smith seems to briefly look outside, but instead takes the intended path up the middle for a nice gain.  Loper, oddly, never ends up blocking anyone despite rambling well downfield.
L49	2-3	I-Form 2 WR	Base 4-3	Run	Trap L	+4
Almost the same play, to the weak- instead of strong- side this time.  Peterman pulls left, Raiola seals off the tackle on the backside, Smith hits the hole hard.  Falcons do a better job of tackling at the second level--also no TE on this side.
F48	1-10	Offset I 2 WR	Base 4-3	Pass	Short R (Smith)	+11
The offensive line gets great protection here.  Colbert is held downfield by Falcons CB Brent Grimes (called, declined), and Culpepper swings it out to Smith, who's wide open in the flat.  It hits him in stride, and he takes off for 11.
F37	1-10	Offset I 2 WR	Base 4-3	Run	Trap R?	+1
Felton motions to offset at the last second.  Loper again pulls right, Cherilus and Peterman block left. DE Babineaux overwhelms the TE (Heller?), pushing Smith inside. He dives for, and gets, Smith's ankles.
F36	2-9	I-Form 2 WR	Base 4-3	Pass	inc (Williams), penalty	+7
The Falcons send the Sam and Mike between Peterman and Cherilus.  OL does a good job, and and Smith picks up one blitzer, but Felton helps Peterman on the DT instead of blocking the other.  Culpepper deftly sidesteps him, then lauches a gorgeous deep ball out the back of the end zone.  Williams had a step on his man.  Harry Douglas is called for holding, +5 yards and a first down.
F30	1-10	Single 2-TE	Base 4-3	Run	Counter R	+1
This looks like a simple dive between Loper and Backus--but both TEs are lined up to the right.  After a step left, Smith counters to run behind the TEs. OLB Mike Peterson ushers Gronkowski past him like a matador, then stuffs Avieon Cason.  Why Caseon?  WHY?
F29	2-9	I-Form 2 WR	Base 4-3	Pass	Scramble	+3
Falcons again blitz two.  Good initial pickup.  Culpepper looks right, scans left, seems to look deep left, then MLB Curtis Lofton takes Felton to the ground right next to him.  No threat since Lofton fell down, too, but he clearly didn't see much.  Looking very quick, he tucks an runs for the sideline.
F27	3-7	Single 3-WR? (gun)	Base 4-3	Pass	Screen R (Smith)	+16
Guessing this is a 3-WR look, but can only find 2 WR, 1 TE, and 1 RB on this 720p feed.  Even if they only had ten out there, the play works.  The Falcons pick a bad time to send everyone; Smith slips behind the rush and 'Pepper flips it to him.  Smith turns upfield with an escort (Raiola), whose inability to destroy the safety is the only thing that prevents a TD.  Smith out.
F11	1-10	Single 3-WR	Base Nickel	Run	Dive Left	+1
Simple dive, looks to be intended to go left.  John Abraham vs. Will Heller's a mismatch; Abraham pushes Heller back into Cason's path.  Cason bounces off Heller, and by the time he recovers, Babineaux gets off of Gosder and brings Cason down.  A waste of a GREAT push up front by the guards; lots of daylight.
F10	2-9	Single 3-WR	Base Nickel	Pass	Scramble (play action)	+7
There's a play action; the OL does an iffy job of selling it.  Loper pulls right while Cherilus and Peterman block down, but Backus is clearly ready to pass block--not very well, as Abraham pushes him back pretty far.  Loper holds Babineaux off, but Daunte tucks and runs--before any of the routes develop.  Cpep nearly scores.
F2	3-2	Offset I-Form 3 TE	Goal line	Pass	Sack (play action)	-7
Cripes.  The Lions call a play action, but DT Thomas Johnson happens to crash a gap in between Raiola and Loper, who are downblocking left to sell the run, when Culpepper is about to fake and roll right.  That works on the 20 but not on the 2; you have to know the DTs are going to bullrush here. Johnson blasts through the line and manages to snag Culpepper's ankles.  Loss of seven.
F10	4-9	Field Goal			Field Goal
First drive: 12 plays, 48 yards, Field Goal, Lions 3-0.  Great field position, great drive, miserable to get just three here.  I blame Linehan's playcall as much as any of the players for their execution.
L30	1-10	Single 3-WR	Base Nickel	Run	Trap? R	+4
Lions do a good job of showing pass against the nickel.  Peterman pulls right while the TE and Cherilus block left.  DE Chauncey Davis gets good penetration, forcing Cason to take a step outside and then cut back in.  Peterman drills his man downfield, and Cason picks up an easy four-ish yards.
Hey, did you know Michael Turner is good, and the Falcons beat the Lions last year?  Just checking, because NFLN wants to make sure you didn't forget.
L34	2-6	I-Form 2 WR	Base 4-3	Run	Dive R	+4
I can't tell which gap this was intended for, because DE Chauncey Davis splits Peterman and Cherilus and disrupts the run.  DT Peria Jerry is blown several yards back by Raiola, but Raiola releases and goes to the next level; Jerry is free to trip Cason up.  I think the move to avoid Davis disrupted the timing here.
L38	3-2	Offset I 2 WR	Base 4-3	Pass	Short M (Felton)	+6
Colbert motions inside, next to Heller. At the snap, they cross, and Heller goes deep while Colbert runs a drag across the middle.  Felton runs a quick curl, and Cason flares out to the flat.  Good protection.  Culpepper hits Felton for the first down; end of first quarter.
L45	1-10	?	?	Run	?	+4
TV feed came back after a Cason 4-yard run had just finished.  Thanks.
L49	2-6	Single 2 TE	Base 4-3	Pass	Short R (PA, Colbert)	inc.
Falcons show blitz with Sam and Mike, then blitz Mike and Will.  Interior linemen to a great job of picking it up, partly thanks to max protect on outside.  After half-hearted play action, Culpepper throws to Colbert, high and over wrong shoulder.  Easily defended by Grimes.
L49	3-6	2 RB 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Pass	Scramble	+1
Falcons do a delayed blitz with both 'backers.  Abraham beats Backus inside; while Backus reengages and pushes him wide, Culpepper tucks and runs.  Iffy blocking upfield keeps him from converting.  IMO he had the time and target pull the trigger if he was willing to get hit; starting to think he's got happy feet.
Second drive: 6 plays, 21 yards, Punt.  Falcons blitzing more; protection inconsistent.  Culpepper looks fast, but is either dumping off or scrambing on every play.  Could be chalked up to the scout-team WR corps not getting open.
FP	D/D	O FORM	D FORM	TYP	PLAY	YDS
L34	1-10	I-Form 2 WR	Base 4-3	Run	Trap R	-1
Falcons twos in on D.  Loper pulls right, fullback goes right, Cason runs up the middle, into the teeth of a stunt.  The DE coming inside stuffs him, then wraps and drags him down.
L33	2-11	I-Form 2 WR	Base 4-3	Pass	Short M (T. Smith)	+3
No blitz, great protection; Culpepper has all day.  He zips through all his reads and hits Terelle Smith for 3 yards.  Cute.  Oh, generous spot, make it four.
L21	3-23	2 RB 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Pass	Short M (Somebody)	+4
TONY GONZALEZ IS SO INTERESTING!  Lions were apparently flagged at some point for something.  It's now third and 23; Culpepper dumps it off to the somebody for a few.  Thanks, Duante.
Third drive: 3 plays, -13 yards.  Ankle-biting is not going to get us anywhere against the Falcons.  Sooner or later, the Lions will have to score.
FP	D/D	O FORM	D FORM	TYP	PLAY	YDS
L31	1-10	Single 2 TE	Base 4-3	Pass	Deep L (Colbert)	inc.
Stafford in at QB.  Max protect keeps Stafford clean.  He has Keary Colbert open at midfield . . . Off Colbert's hands.  Incomplete.
L31	2-10	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Pass	timeout
Stafford doesn't like what he sees; calls time at the line.  Let's try this again.
L31	2-10	Single 4 WR (gun)	Base Dime (?)	Pass	Middle L (Williams)
It's tough to tell alignments for sure thanks to the inset interview with Stafford, but he hits Derrick Williams on a quick in route; Williams turns it up for the first.
L41	1-10	Single 3 WR	Base 4-3	Run	Off-tackle (Cason)	+1
Raiola blows his guy, DT Trey Lewis, several yards back, but then Lewis releases and runs over to make the play.  Loper got stood up a bit, forcing Cason to adjust; that may have slowed him just enough for Lewis.
L42	2-9	I-Form 2 WR	Base 4-3	Pass	Screen-ish R (Cason)	+5
What looks like a basic dropback ends up looking like a screen, as the Falcons blitz two, and Stafford lofts one over the rush to Cason.  Cason just needs to beat the CB for a big gain; the corner wraps through Cason's stiff arm & brings him down.
L47	3-4	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Pass	Short M (Colbert)	inc.
TE goes out, RB stays in to block.  No blitz.  Backus is beaten to the outside, but Stafford already found Colbert across the middle.  Stafford steps up and fires--it hits Colbert in the hands and he stone cold dirty drops it.  CRUCIAL.  Ugh.
Fourth drive: 6 plays, 22 yards, Punt.  Stafford flashing both a gun and some touch on his first drive; Colbert had two critical and infuriating drops.
FP	D/D	O FORM	D FORM	TYP	PLAY	YDS
L15	1-10	Single 3 WR	Base 4-3	Pass	Naked Bootleg (Heller)	+3
Very well-executed naked bootleg.  The line convincingly run-blocks left, Cason and Stafford sell the play-action, and then Stafford rolls right and hits Heller cleanly for a few.  Heller's hit by 2 Falcons simultaneously, but well done, Lions.
L18	2-8	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Pass	Deep R (Colbert)	+29
THERE we go.  This reminds me of some of the Georgia highlights.  From the gun, perfect protection, Stafford looks deep left and then resets deep right, hits Colbert in stride in between the corner and closing safety.  Colbert hangs on.
L47	1-10	Single 3 WR	Base Nickel	Run	Trap R (Cason)	+8
Raiola pulls between Peterman and Cherilus and stuffs the run-blitzing Coy Wire.  Peterman seals the DT well, giving Cason a great seam.  Cason bursts ahead for 8.
F45	2-2	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Pass	Deep R (Colbert)	inc.
Similar to two downs ago, Stafford looks great here.  The OL again gives him a perfect pocket, and again he has Colbert wide open downfield.  Stafford ZIPS it, but it's slightly high and behind.  Stil, it's definitely catchable; Colbert makes a nice adjustment, but it hits him square in the hands and bounces off.  ROAR.  Falcons broadcast replays Backus neutralizing DE Kroy Biermann for some reason.
F45	3-2	Single 3 WR	Base Nickel	Pass	Deep R (Colbert)	inc.
Falcons flash blitz; Stafford audibles at the line. Not sure what he changes, but both DTs get double-teamed; Cason is left to block the DE solo.  Cason cuts him, and slows him down enough for Stafford to let it fly again.  Colbert might be able to 'make a play' to bring it down, but CB Chris Owens has great position.
Fifth drive: 5 plays, 30 yards.  Stafford looking very sharp with his reads and execution.  Colbert is absolutely killing him . . . and the Lions . . . and me.
FP	D/D	O FORM	D FORM	TYP	PLAY	YDS
L35	1-10	Single 3 WR	Base Nickel	Run	Trap L (Brown)	0
Twos in on offense.  Line downblocks left; center & RT pull left.  RG releases to the second level, which is interesting, but the LG (Salaam) is driven backwards into the running lane.  Brown counters, spins out of a tackle, and then is swarmed at the original LoS.
L35	2-10	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Run	Draw R (Brown)	+4
Falcons do a little zone blitz here, showing blitz from the Sam, then he backs off and the Mike and nickel back come instead.  Fortunately it's a draw away from the blitz; Salaam pulls and helps Brown pick up solid yardage.
L39	3-6	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Pass	Int., TD (Gronkowski)	INT
. . . and this is the rookie part.  Falcons again show one blitz but run another, with the Sam coming, the Mike, Tony Gilbert, backing off, then Gilbert picking up the TE.  Off the play action, Stafford sees Gronkowski on an out route, but the previously-blitzing Gilbert reads Matt's eyes and breaks on the ball.  Pick six.  Ouch.
Sixth drive: 3 plays, 4 yards, INT-TD, 3-16 ATL.  Ow.
FP	D/D	O FORM	D FORM	TYP	PLAY	YDS
L20	1-10	Offset I 2 WR	Base 4-3	Run	Iso R (Brown)	+4
At the snap, the gap opens up between the RT and TE, but the fullback (Smith?) tries to a nonexistent gap between the RG and RT.  Brown veers left looking for daylight, finds none, but spins out of a tackle and fights for two more yards.
L24	2-6	I-Form 2 WR	Base 4-3	Pass	Middle L (Williams)	inc.
Great protection up front.  FB runs a flare to the right, Brown stays in to block.  Stafford looks right, then left, and fires to the sideline.  The reciever (#10? Not on roster) is locked up with the CB.  Either WR's route was disrupted, or Stafford leads him too much.  TV feed doesn't show it, but may have been (uncalled) PI.
L24	3-6	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Pass	Screen (Ervin)	+22
Offense sells the pass here very well, initial protection looks good, and Stafford "goes through his reads".  Suddenly all the Falcons "beat their man" at the same time, and Stafford floats one to Allen Irvin, in stride.  With a 3-man convoy, Irvin follows/sets up his blocking well, and bursts to the 46.  Great execution by the Lions.
L46	1-10	I-Form 2 WR	Base 4-3	PEN	Penalty (False Start)	-5
False start, Derrick Williams.
L41	1-15	I-Form 3 WR	Base 4-3	Pass	PA Rollout Deep R (Fowler)	+31
WR are split wide right, the weak side.  The line blocks right, and Stafford half-heartedly fakes the give to Ervin.  He rolls right; great protection.  He draws back and fires a rocket to Fowler on the 40.  Soft handed catch by Fowler; he hits and drags the CB for a few more.
F37	1-10	I-Form 3 WR	Base Nickel	Run	Reverse (Jennings)	+8
WR are split far right (ball on right hash, slot on left numbers).  RB seems a step deep; slot WR (Jennings) motions inside.  Before he sets again, ball is snapped, and he sprints backwards as Stafford fakes the handoff.  Jennings takes it, and bursts for 8.
F29	2-1	Offset I 2 WR	Base 4-3	Run	Trap R? (Ervin)	-1
RG pulls to the right, but the Falcons run blitz that gap.  Salaam forgets to block the adjacent DE (literally), and the DE comes unblocked.  The Falcons have done a good job of plugging the intended hole, but it doesn’t matter anyway; the DE gets there.
F30	2-2	Single Trips R	Base 4-3	Pass	Scramble	+6
Hard not to smile here.  No blitz; initial protection sets up well.  Nobody open.  Stafford steps up, still sees nothing, and takes off.  As the DTs release and try to grab him, he slips one, outruns the other, and finally ends up underneath 3 Falcons, grinning like an idiot and trying signal the first while flat on his back.  Awesome.
F26	1-10	I-Form 2 WR	Base 4-3	Pass	Deep R (Fowler)	inc.
Good play action.  Line blocks right, LG pulls.  Stafford sells the play action.  Good protection; he sets up and throws over a double-covered Fowler's head.
F26	2-10	I-Form 2 WR	Base 4-3	Pass	Deep L (Williams)	TD
Lions fake an Iso play to the right, with the fullback charging the right guard-tackle gap, and a good play fake.  Stafford sets up, looks to the left, quickly resets right, and fires.  The blitzing safety, who ran right past Salaam, drills Stafford a moment after release.  The pass is gorgeous, right over the shoulder of Williams, just out of reach of the lunging corner (who had great position), and is caught beautifully for a picture-perfect touchdown.  It is this play that I point to when talking about Stafford; in this one play he does everything an NFL quarterback is asked to do, at the speed he needs to do it, with flawless execution.  Perfect!
Seventh drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, TD Lions, 10-16.  Salaam looks wretched; he seems like he has no idea who he is supposed to block.  Other than him, protection was great on this drive.  Williams shows up for a bit, a big relief, and Stafford rebounds from that pick with a truly well-executed drive.  Very, very nice.
FP	D/D	O FORM	D FORM	TYP	PLAY	YDS
L20	1-10	Offset I 2 TE	Base 4-3	Run	Dive R (Irvin)	+2
Stanton in.  Dive play up the middle, Brown slides around looking for daylight, but there isnt any. 2-yard push up front by the OL, but nothing doing after that.
L22	2-8	I-Form 2 WR	Base 4-3	Pass	Flare R (Stanton)	+12
Stanton has plenty of time.  He looks over his first three options, and swings it over to Ervin, who does a great job of slipping the CBs tackle, and sprints to the 35.  Ridiculous fumble call quickly reversed.
L34	1-10	Single 3 WR	Base 4-3	Pass	Int
Initially an I-form set, Ervin motions out wide to make it a single-back (FB), 3 WR set.  No blitz, protection is good, coverage is good--too good.  Stanton fires into the slot, and an LB, Jamie Winborn was right there to jump the route.  Stanton gets a HUGE break when the Falcons are flagged for PI away from the play.  Terelle Smith picks up a personal foul, too, though, so the play is nullified.
L34	1-10	I-Form 2 WR	Base 4-3	Run	Iso R (Brown)	+5
Lions go to the ground instead, and with a great lead block by Smith, Brown gains 5.
L39	2-5	I-Form 2 WR	Base 4-3	Run	Trap R (Brown)	-1
Aaron Brown (I think?  They're rotating and spotting isn't always easy) on the trap; though the RG pulls to help clear the way, the Falcons run blitz overwhelms the line.  Nothing Brown can do.  Loss of what looks like two.
L37	3-5	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Pass	Scramble	+9
Stanton drops back, doesn't see anything open.  Salaam cuts his man's legs (?), and the right guard is beaten inside.  Stanton sees a linebacker coming free and runs.  The center gets free and seals the linebacker off to the left, creating a nice running lane.  Stanton gets nine yards, and judiciously slides--something he's rarely done well.
L48	1-10	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Run	Trap R (Ervin)	+14
From the gun, Stanton gives to Ervin.  The pulling RG helps open a nice seam, and again Ervin shows great burst in zipping up the middle for a first down.  Manny Ramirez COMPLETELY manhandles Peria Jerry on this play.
F38	1-10	Single 3 WR	Base Nickel	Run	Sweep R (Brown	+2
Center (Gerberry) pulls, but can't get to his man in time.  Brown has to bounce it back after trying to turn upwards, then makes a beeline for the sideline.  Once there, he turns it back up and gets a nice gain.
F32	2-4	I-Form 2 WR	Base 4-3	Run	Iso R (Brown)	TD
Brown takes the handoff, fullback hits the gap between right guard and tackle.  The TE kicks his man out way wide, looks like there's some daylight--but Brown cuts left, hard, and explodes past the defense to the left sideline.  Catching the CB flat-footed, he races, untouched, to the end zone. Touchdown.
Eighth drive: 12 plays, 80 yards, TD.  17-23 Lions.
FP	D/D	O FORM	D FORM	TYP	PLAY	YDS
L26	1-10	Single 3 WR	Base Nickel	Run	Draw M (Brown)	-3
Rookie DT Vance Walker explodes up the middle; Ramirez got overwhelmed after the initial attack.  Brown bounces off Walker and keeps fighting, but is swarmed.
L23	2-13	I-Form 2 WR	Base 4-3	Pass	Scramble	+27
Stanton does a little half-hearted play fake and looks downfield.  OL picks up the stunt on the right side, and Ervin stuffs the stunting DE on the left.  However, the stunting DT on the left pushes the guard near Stanton's blindside, and he takes off slicing through the D for a huge gain.  I'm not convinced the pressure was all that bad, but he made a better play running here than he would have throwing.
50	1-10	Single 2 TE	Base 4-3	Run	Dive R (Ervin)	+1
Ervin runs to the right, gets stuffed.
F49	2-9	Single 3 WR	Base Nickel	Run	Off-tackle (Brown)	+5
Brown takes it right, and the OL gets great push.  He cuts back one gap and finds a seam.  Nice little gain on a long second down.
F42	3-3	Single 3 WR	Base 4-3	Run	Dive R (Brown)	0
Run to the right, nice job by the OL vs. the DL, but the MLB gets there before Brown can get through the hole.  No gain.  Punt.
Ninth drive: 5 plays, 16 yards.  The Lions were rolling up yards on the ground, 168 at this point.  Stanton making plays like a playmaker.
FP	D/D	O FORM	D FORM	TYP	PLAY	YDS
L20	1-10	I-Form 2 WR	Base 4-3	Pass	Naed Bootleg (Gronowsi)	+3
Nice play fake on the rollout by Stanton.  He hits Gronkowsi in stride, but Gronko bobbles it long enough for a defender to get there and prevent any YAC.
L24	2-6	I-Form 2 WR	Base 4-3	Run	Dive (Brown)	-1
Simple run up the middle.  Nothing much came of it.
L25	3-7	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Pass	Penalty (Int. Grounding)
Drew intentinonally grounds it, trying to get away from the rush.  Bad plan.
Tenth drive: 3 plays, -5 yards.  Nothing much here; the penalty forces a 3-and-out.
L16	1-10	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Pass	Middle M (Boldin)	+9
Great protection; Stanton has all day.  Nobody's open downfield, so he hits Boldin underneath.  Decent pickup.
L25	2-1	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Pass	Scramble	+5
Stafford has good protection up front, but again can't find anybody open.  Brown appears to be an option, but Stanton sees a linebacker closing, and opts to run for the sideline; he gets it (and the first down) easily.
L31	1-10	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Pass	Deep M (Smith?)	+34
No blitz; no pressure.  Stanton fakes the handoff (a play action draw?), then pulls back and fires down the right hash to Smith for a big gainer across midfield.  Quick read, great decision, decent (slightly behind) throw.
F35	1-10	2 RB 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Pass	Short R (Brown)	TD
Falcons send both LBs; Brown sorta helps the RT with the LE for a second, then releases into the empty flat.  Stanton has time, checks his deep options, then flips it to Brown just as the blitzers get free of their blocks.  The pass hits Brown in stride and he explodes upfield, putting a sick juken on CB Eric Brock, then getting a HUGE block from D.J. Boldin.  Brown races to the end zone and does a 10-even-from-the-Russian-judge roundoff-backflip.  Falcons homer announcer calls both the jawdropping play and the backflip with the same excitement as he would while calling me buying a gallon of milk. Touchdown.
Eleventh drive: 4 plays, 75 yards.  Superb blocking, both in the run game and pass protection. Stanton and Brown are both killing it.
FP	D/D	O FORM	D FORM	TYP	PLAY	YDS
L27	1-10	2 RB 3 WR (gun)	Base Dime (?)	Pass	Scramble, Short L (Holt)	+7
Drew drops back, a nice pocket sets up at first, but then the RE gets free.  He steps up, checks again, still no options, so he takes off for the sideline.  Halfway there, he sees Glenn Holt, pulls up, and fires. A little low, but Holt goes and gets it. Looks like five yards, they seem to spot it for seven, and the scorer says it's 2nd-and-2.  I'll take it.
L35	2-2	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Pass	Scramble, Short R (Brown)	inc.
Another initial nice pocket, but again the RE starts to get push.  Stanton runs to his right, and throws at Brown's feet (?).  Not sure if this was a misfire or intentional.
L35	3-2	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Pass	Short R (Brown)	+
Good protection; Stanton whips through his reads and sees Brown all alone in the flat.  He swings it out to him, hits him in stride, and Brown gets out-of-bounds after a six-yard pickup.
L41	1-10	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	PEN	offsides	+5
Atlanta helps us out by jumping offsides.
L46	1-5	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Pass	Middle R (Boldin)	+7
Great dropback and pass; Drew drops, sets, and fires to Boldin in the slot.  Good throw and catch for the first down.
L47	1-10	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	spike		inc.
Spike to stop the clock.  Camera keeps cutting to Hanson, who's warming up.
F47	2-10	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Dime	Pass	Deep R (McMullen)	inc.
Lots of urgency here, only :45 left on the clock and no timeouts.  Drew drops back, has time, fires deep for McMullen; it's high and bounces off his hands.
F47	3-10	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	Pass	Scramble	+25
I can't tell if this is a planned run or not, but Drew drops back, bounces once, and then sprints between the tackles.  With nobody anywhere near the middle of the field but the umpire, Drew makes a beeline for the 30-yard line.  A good block from Boldin ensures his unimpeded travel into Field Goal Range, where he slides.
L32	1-10	Single 3 WR (gun)	Base Nickel	spike		inc.
The Lions wait for the clock to hit :03 before spiking the ball to stop it.
L32	1-10	Field Goal				FG
Betting on Jason Hanson is always a smart bet.  Field Goal, Lions win 27-24.
Twelfth drive: 12 plays, 57 yards, FG.  Stanton bailed every time he felt pressure (and he was pretty sensitive).  Still, he absolutely made several great plays; you couldn't ask for anything more.  Lions come from behind, clutch up, and win.  YES.

So what have we learned? First, the speed and burst that Aaron Brown displayed throughout training camp and the open practice is for real; the kid is a legitimate playmaker. If Avieon Cason makes the team and he doesn't, it will be an egregious crime. I understand that he has a long way to go in terms of blitz pickup, blocking assignments, and the like--but he's absolutely got the potential be a real weapon.

Second, Daunte Culpepper has proven that he can execute the offense like a veteran. As much as I've relentlessly derided his knack for turning the ball over, he's exhibited calm, poise, and managed the game very well--perhaps too well; he's not throwing downfield, even when the situation demands it. Also, I know it wasn't all his fault, but guess who got sacked on 3rd-and-goal to turn a TD into a field goal? You guessed it.

That brings us to another point: Linehan seems to be focusing on selling the play action.  I noticed a lot of the passes were play action; moreover, I noticed that the Lions almost always blocked the play actions the same way they blocked actual running plays.  I know this is, to an extent, standard practice.  But in this game, the Lions were taking it to the extent of pulling guards the same way, and having the fullbacks and tailbacks hit the hole the same way as they did on the actual traps and isos they ran.  I’ve always thought that “doing the opposite”--running when the defense expects pass and vice versa—is one of the keys to offensive success, knowing that this is a point of emphasis for Linehan is encouraging.

Thirdly, I’ve said it plenty and I’ll say it again, Matt Stafford is at least a decent NFL quarterback.  He may or may not ever establish himself as an elite stud, but just with the things he did in this game, he proved that he belongs with the big boys—right now.  As a corollary, we were treated to some good old-fashioned Drew Stanton Gunslinging Clutch Gamership; the Lions won the game at least partly thanks to his playmaking skills.

Fourthly, if the offensive line is going to be much better this year, it won’t be because of the many veterans signed to be versatile backups.  Salaam was a total liability out there, and Jansen was unremarkable.  The Lions’ offensive linemen are going to have to improve mostly through, well, improvement.  However, a lot of the pressure on the OL can be relieved  through a combination of Linehan’s scheming, the quarterbacks’ decision-making speed, and Kevin Smith’s running ability.

Finally, I apologize again for the lateness of this SFE.  I’m trying to develop a more efficient system for doing the breakdowns, because I will be doing these throughout the regular season.  As my friend and regular commenter Jim said to me, “It’s the preseason for everybody.”  As always, I deeply appreciate your time and patience.

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