Hawks @ Lions MNF

[4XPIPS]

I figured it would be a good time to start the game discussion. I have been reading a lot about this game and It's being dubbed " the litmus test" game for the Hawks being that they have had a cake schedule to this point. I think there is a lot of weight given to the Lions considering they were very close to going to the Superbowl last year.

I know Goff will be the best QB we have gone up against talentwise, but he hasn't played all that great the start of this season. Goff has 4 INTS this season, and should have a pick 6 in the Cards game if it weren't for a bad job on the refs who called it the 2 minute warning when the Lions clearly snapped it at 2:01. That play got erased off the board.

Anyhow, I went back on NFL GamePass and watched all of their games and this is what I gathered. They have a strong one two punch of a running game in Montgomery and Gibbs. It's sort of the opposite of our starters. Gibbs is the electric speedy/shifty back like K9, and Montgomery is the bruising north to south runner like Zach. Their offense is going to miss key players like Frank Ragnow starting center, and Sam LaPorta their starting TE, both are listed as questionable but from different reports I have read they are out for this game. Both are important to the run blocking scheme for the Lions. As for defense, they have lost Marcus Davenport for the season, and out for this game are Brian Branch, and Derrick Barnes. Branch is in concussion protocl.

One thing I notice on the box scores is the Lions tend to fade away in each of their games, and they don't close games out very well. After 3 games they have not scored a TD in any of their 4th quarters, and just have one FG, so they have 3 pts in 3 total 4th quarters played. Last week against the Cards they didn't score any points in the entire 2nd half.

This will be a tough game, and if you asked me start of the season I would think the Lions win this one, but the way they have played thus far and with all the picks Goff has thrown to this point, and the way are closing games out I definitely feel the Hawks can earn this win. The real struggle is shutting down the run game as the Lions like to pound the rock. This will be a good test for our redzone defense as we have been one of the top redzone defenses in the league at this point. Blocking Aidan will be a nightmare, as he is having a DOPY start of the season.

Hawks 33
Lions 24

We keep it rolling.....

[c_hawkbob]

It's MNF. Who has the best record on MNF?

Yup, us.

[Old but Slow]

A win in this game would be a message to the league, but I am not expecting a win. The whole league is having trouble in gaining yards this year, as the defenses seem to have taken a step up. Our strong defensive line will make an interesting study against one of the best O lines they will face. I am hoping that Walker will be able to play, and I hope that we will see change at right guard.

[River Dog]

I figured it would be a good time to start the game discussion. I have been reading a lot about this game and It's being dubbed " the litmus test" game for the Hawks being that they have had a cake schedule to this point. I think there is a lot of weight given to the Lions considering they were very close to going to the Superbowl last year.

I know Goff will be the best QB we have gone up against talentwise, but he hasn't played all that great the start of this season. Goff has 4 INTS this season, and should have a pick 6 in the Cards game if it weren't for a bad job on the refs who called it the 2 minute warning when the Lions clearly snapped it at 2:01. That play got erased off the board.

Anyhow, I went back on NFL GamePass and watched all of their games and this is what I gathered. They have a strong one two punch of a running game in Montgomery and Gibbs. It's sort of the opposite of our starters. Gibbs is the electric speedy/shifty back like K9, and Montgomery is the bruising north to south runner like Zach. Their offense is going to miss key players like Frank Ragnow starting center, and Sam LaPorta their starting TE, both are listed as questionable but from different reports I have read they are out for this game. Both are important to the run blocking scheme for the Lions. As for defense, they have lost Marcus Davenport for the season, and out for this game are Brian Branch, and Derrick Barnes. Branch is in concussion protocl.

One thing I notice on the box scores is the Lions tend to fade away in each of their games, and they don't close games out very well. After 3 games they have not scored a TD in any of their 4th quarters, and just have one FG, so they have 3 pts in 3 total 4th quarters played. Last week against the Cards they didn't score any points in the entire 2nd half.

This will be a tough game, and if you asked me start of the season I would think the Lions win this one, but the way they have played thus far and with all the picks Goff has thrown to this point, and the way are closing games out I definitely feel the Hawks can earn this win. The real struggle is shutting down the run game as the Lions like to pound the rock. This will be a good test for our redzone defense as we have been one of the top redzone defenses in the league at this point. Blocking Aidan will be a nightmare, as he is having a DOPY start of the season.

Hawks 33
Lions 24

We keep it rolling.....

Nice scouting report. I haven't taken the time to research the Lions as thoroughly as you have, but I agree with the pundits that this is a litmus test of sorts and agree with you that we have a very good chance of winning this one, especially when you consider how well our defense has been performing. Heck, even history suggests that we'll be in this game. The last time the Lions beat us was in 2012, a full 12 years ago, and includes the past 3 seasons, two straight in Detroit.

But history doesn't necessarily work in our favor. The one thing about being as successful as we have in the past means that we won't be sneaking up on them. They'll be ready. I'm worried about the Lions pass rush and that without K9, our rushing attack has been rather weak. Adian Hutchinson is the best edge rusher in the game, quite a complement when you think of guys like Maxx Crosby and the Bosas. Combined with our problems dealing with an interior pass rush, it's going to be tough keeping Geno upright.

On defense, both Murphy and Williams left the Fins games with injuries, and I haven't heard whether or not they've practiced this week. Although Goff hasn't looked good in his first few outings, we know that he can perform, so I wouldn't expect his early season slump to continue. Despite not having his tight end, he still has a very good weapon in WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. I know, I've had him on my fantasy team for the past two years.

I think that our luck of facing rather weak opponents to start the season finally runs out. Call me a Debbie Downer if you like, but I have a feeling that we're gonna lose this one.

Lions 17, Hawks 16.

[Oly]

I worry injuries will decide this game. Two of our best best DTs—Williams and Murphy—did not practice Thursday. Nor did our two best edge rushers—Nwosu and Mafe. If they don't play, then you can make an argument that not a single member of the ideal DL will start against a team with a good OL and punishing rushing attack. Oh, and our best LB this year—Dodson—was also a DNP yesterday. That, alone, may decide the game. I'm less worried about the passing attack even though Goff-to-St. Brown is a solid pair. I trust our secondary to keep their passing game in check. I'm expecting the Lions to score in the high-20s if those injured players don't see the field. But if even half those guys play, then I revise downward by a TD or more.

On the other side of the ball, K9 seems to be out again, and both starting guards are injured. And before we get too excited that those latter injuries will be good (they have been the worst starters on the team so far) we have to remember that their backups are likely worse. Campbell is a good coach, and I shudder to think of what a stunting Hutchinson is going to do to our backup guards. I see the pocket collapsing and Chardonnay not being quick enough to escape to the 2nd level. I think they can make the Hawks one-dimensional. Fortunately, that's a pretty great dimension, and I could easily see Geno racking up over 300 yards, but those leading to more FGs because they can defend a compressed red zone pretty well and our running game might not be able to be the counterpunch. I can see something like one TD and four FGs out of the offense.

In the end, I'm thinking something like 27-19 Lions, unless some of those injured DL are going to play. If we get Williams back and each of the edge rushers, I can live with a homer pick of 21-20 Hawks.

[Spohawk5092]

so why are the Lions 4 point favorites. Do we have a rash of new injuries or anything? WE clearly have a very good MNF record, so wondering why were are the under dogs?

[MackStrongIsMyHero]

The Seattle has won in Detroit twice: 2022 and 2023. Both times with Geno Smith under center. Skill positions and offense line were about the same, but the defense was worse; our injuries (if most of them don't play) means we're probably no worse off than last year. The scores were 48-45 and 37-31. Aidan Hutchinson is most definitely better now than in 2023, so that's going to be tough, but there's not a whole lot that's changed about their defense. Another thing is Ragnow has a torn pectoral and will not play.

I'm expecting another high-scoring affair that comes down to the wire.

[Stream Hawk]

Our defensive line depth will be tested big-time. Big Cat, Murphy, Nwosu, & Mafe all out. https://www.seahawks.com/news/week-4-in ... ions-x4481

I do have faith in the wizard figuring something out with crazy schemes. Also have faith and Geno et al. My boy K9 is back.
34-24 Hawks

[River Dog]

The injury report doesn't look good. Almost our entire DL/Edge is out, including Williams, Murphy, Nwosu, and Mafe. The offense is going to have to come to the party.

[4XPIPS]

The injuries up front will be an issue for our defense, but our scheme is good enough to draw up pressure even with less talent at hand. It will be a big game for Derrick Hall and Dre' Mont Jones. Good news is that our Secondary is still intact and this is the strength our defense.

Geno is going to have to play "Hero Ball" in this game. When the offense goes to "up-tempo" no huddle, we tend to move the ball down the field quickly, and I think this will be used more often to slow the pass rush attack down for the Lions. It's going to be a good game, and hopefully it won't be a penalty fest game like last week.

[Spohawk5092]

the only good news, is with all our D injuries, Walker is back, and we are going to need some offense with so many injured defense players. Could be a high scoring game I expect.

[4XPIPS]

Well with 3 games in a 10 night span, is the main reason why they are resting Mafe and Uchenna. I read a report if this was a playoff game, Uchenna, Mafe, and possibly Leonard Williams would suite up to play, but it was the right decision to rest these guys. Uchenna was a full participant in practice late in the week, which is a great sign, but will be back for the home game against the Giants.

Going to have to win this Lions game with out these guys, and it's time for Derrick Hall and Jones to apply the edge pressure, and will be good to see Myles Adams step up and play. He is a big boy, and hopefully he can help slow that rushing attack the Lions have.

[trents]

Goff perfect deep into the game. You can proclaim "next man up" all you want but it doesn't make up for 5 defensive starters out. Those guys are starters for a reason. And two of the subs were brought up from the practice squad at that.

[Aseahawkfan]

Goff perfect deep into the game. You can proclaim "next man up" all you want but it doesn't make up for 5 defensive starters out. Those guys are starters for a reason. And two of the subs were brought up from the practice squad at that.

Talent trumps coaching every day. You want good coaching, but I'd take healthy, quality talent with lesser coaching every without question. Five defensive starters out his making our defense look weak.

[4XPIPS]

Entertaining game, being short handed certainly hurt us. I myself will own this as I believed we could slow the run game down better, and was banking on our secondary getting the job done. However, our secondary got diced up for short to big plays. It’s going to be a good learning experience, proud how hard this team fought short handed, and they will get better from this.

[trents]

We also had beat the Lions 6 straight games. That string wasn't going to last forever. Our offense moved the ball well. Having K9 back in the lineup made a huge difference.

[River Dog]

Goff perfect deep into the game. You can proclaim "next man up" all you want but it doesn't make up for 5 defensive starters out. Those guys are starters for a reason. And two of the subs were brought up from the practice squad at that.

Goff was perfect the entire game and became the first QB in NFL history to have thrown 10+ passing attempts and not have thrown a single incompletion or interception.

The game pretty much went to my expectations. Having those 4 defensive linemen out really hurt us, particularly on our run defense. The big difference in the game was turnovers. Our offense performed extremely well, racking up 38 first downs and over 500 yards of total offense, but we coughed the ball up twice while the Lions didn't commit a single turnover and punted just twice. Take the turnovers out of the equation and the game gets quite a bit closer.

It was also another penalty fest, with 21 accepted penalties between the two teams.

Oh, well. We're still a good team that could be a threat to go to the SB if we can get some guys healthy.

[Oly]

Some of that went how I thought it would—the Lions run game was really the most important part of the game, IMO, and I thought that would be the case with our DL injuries, I thought Geno would have a great day, and I thought we'd lose by more than one score. Some didn't play out the way I thought it would—I thought our secondary would be better against the pass and that the Hawks would score fewer TDs and be held to FGs.

Overall, though, the Hawks acquitted themselves pretty well on the road against one of the two best teams in the NFC. It was an entertaining game and I don't have any less faith in Macdonald as I did heading into the week.

[NorthHawk]

It was a fun game to watch.
The Seahawks Offense is going to be tough for other teams. According to PFT the Seahawks gained 38 first downs (22 passing) - the most for any team that lost the game. Geno is really playing well in this new Offense.
I really wish we had seen both teams at full strength, though. That would have given us a better view of where the team is going against real good opposition.

[River Dog]

It was a fun game to watch.
The Seahawks Offense is going to be tough for other teams. According to PFT the Seahawks gained 38 first downs (22 passing) - the most for any team that lost the game. Geno is really playing well in this new Offense.
I really wish we had seen both teams at full strength, though. That would have given us a better view of where the team is going against real good opposition.

I get tired of the penalties. Some of those were very ticky tack that didn't have anything to do with the outcome of the play, like when Cross got called for being downfield on a passing play.

Maybe it's just me, but it sure seems like they're throwing more flags this season than they have in the past. The most frustrating are the roughing the QB penalties. I get that they're trying to make the game safer, but IMO the emphasis needs to be on those involving potential life threatening/altering injuries to the head/neck area. No one's going to end up in a wheelchair over a knee injury. We had two in last night's game that come to mind. One where one of our guys inadvertently rolled up on Goff's legs and another when a Lions' DL landed on him with his full body weight. I don't know how a defensive player is to avoid those kinds of contact. IMO call it if there was a way to avoid that kind of contact, but they should let the inadvertent contact slide.

[NorthHawk]

There are too many penalties all across the league for my taste, but the QB is the most expensive and important position so they have to be protected. The knees I can understand, but the glancing blows on the helmet are too much.
The other penalties this year that seem to be called more are illegal motion and the OT's lining up in the backfield which wasn't called as often in previous years - at least in my memory.
Players landing on QBs with their full body weight has largely decreased over the last couple of years so it can be done safely for both players and I don't have a problem with it considering most QBs when hit are standing still or in the throwing motion.
It's tough for the DL, but for the most part they have adjusted quite well.

[River Dog]

There are too many penalties all across the league for my taste, but the QB is the most expensive and important position so they have to be protected. The knees I can understand, but the glancing blows on the helmet are too much.
The other penalties this year that seem to be called more are illegal motion and the OT's lining up in the backfield which wasn't called as often in previous years - at least in my memory.
Players landing on QBs with their full body weight has largely decreased over the last couple of years so it can be done safely for both players and I don't have a problem with it considering most QBs when hit are standing still or in the throwing motion.
It's tough for the DL, but for the most part they have adjusted quite well.

Yeah, I get the injury thing and that they're trying to protect their 'star' players. But with the exception of the head/neck area contact, a commonsense judgement where intent and avoid ability should be allowed to be factored in.

[NorthHawk]

I suppose they figure that another layer of judgement would mean more controversy and maybe more injuries.
The Defenses seem to have adjusted well for the most part.

[River Dog]

I suppose they figure that another layer of judgement would mean more controversy and maybe more injuries.
The Defenses seem to have adjusted well for the most part.

Those are many times huge, game changing penalties, 15 yards and an automatic first down. I wouldn't mind seeing another layer of judgment/controversy. And the types of penalties I'm talking about wouldn't necessarily result in more injuries.

At the very least, they could go to some type of penalty system like they have with roughing/running into the kicker/punter. If it's deemed inadvertent or unintentional, give them 5 yards but no automatic first down. The flagrant ones that are determined to have been avoidable or involve the head/neck area then hit them with the industrial strength version, 15 yards and automatic 1st down. That way, the players will still do everything in their power to avoid a penalty.

[4XPIPS]

I was fortunate to take the day off and watch it live from home, Tuesday 1:15pm kick off time for me. I think there is a lot of good that can come from this game, and it does show how far away we are from being an actual contender. I still believe we are a playoff bound team, but not one of the top elite NFC teams at this point. Here are some positives and negatives.

A few positives to take from the game. Geno is "Legit" and playing the best football of his career. We are probably asking too much of "hero ball" from him, but he is delivering when it matters most. AJ Barner, looks like he is starting to develop into a decent pass catch TE, however still a ways to go. As for the for the offensive line, I think they did decent considering what they were up against. Bradford avoided any penalties, which is a positive. I feel like the offense is doing things in reverse, it's like the short passing game is softening up the middle of the field and opening up the running game. It's forcing the safeties to play back in 2 deep, and the linebackers have to cover the flats for the pass. When we tried running early, we were getting stuffed as the box was stacked. However, in the 2nd Half when we were moving the ball through the air, it opened up big runs for K9 and even Zach had a few. Offense put up stats in a losing effort, and it shows we can move the ball quickly, but it's not a winning recipe when you have to play this way.

As for the defense, it was pretty awful after their first drive. I felt after the Lions' opening drive we got a 3rd down sack, I was like here we go we are going to set the tone. But that was soon an afterthought as the Lions did what they want, when they want. Credit to them as they do have some talented players. We obviously were talent deficient on the front line, and it was apparent. The Secondary gets an "F" in this game as they didn't much right all game.

My biggest disappointment was Spoon. He was out of place on a lot plays, and got beat deep on many deep crossing routes. He is also now a highlight for Montgomery who trucked him in the open space. The significance of this play. First off Montgomery is a very underrated tailback, and is elite in my opinion. He is tough runner, and can absorb big hits and break tackles better than most tailback, well maybe not better to Derrick Henry. However, Spoon trying to make the big splash hit instead of trying to go low and wrap up, and what is worst multiple Hawks on that play couldn't tackle Montgomery, and he scampered off for a big gain. That play broke the defense's back right there. Also, credit Ben Johnson for out coaching Mike Macdonald. He called the right plays at the right time, called a screen pass when the Hawk's expected it least, and it went for a big gain. All in all it was an a$$ whoopin from the Lions, and the Hawk's defense and Mike Macdonald needs to learn from this and bounce back.

I still feel good about this team, and that is great when when you don't have to have high expectations about a team with a rookie HC, and first time OC. It will hopefully be a learning experience, and now we know what a top tier QB can do, and if and when we start getting our starters back healthy and ready I think we can still compete, and at least for the NFC West title still. Albeit, I still believe the 49ers are the better team at this point in the division.

[River Dog]

I was fortunate to take the day off and watch it live from home, Tuesday 1:15pm kick off time for me. I think there is a lot of good that can come from this game, and it does show how far away we are from being an actual contender. I still believe we are a playoff bound team, but not one of the top elite NFC teams at this point. Here are some positives and negatives.

A few positives to take from the game. Geno is "Legit" and playing the best football of his career. We are probably asking too much of "hero ball" from him, but he is delivering when it matters most. AJ Barner, looks like he is starting to develop into a decent pass catch TE, however still a ways to go. As for the for the offensive line, I think they did decent considering what they were up against. Bradford avoided any penalties, which is a positive. I feel like the offense is doing things in reverse, it's like the short passing game is softening up the middle of the field and opening up the running game. It's forcing the safeties to play back in 2 deep, and the linebackers have to cover the flats for the pass. When we tried running early, we were getting stuffed as the box was stacked. However, in the 2nd Half when we were moving the ball through the air, it opened up big runs for K9 and even Zach had a few. Offense put up stats in a losing effort, and it shows we can move the ball quickly, but it's not a winning recipe when you have to play this way.

As for the defense, it was pretty awful after their first drive. I felt after the Lions' opening drive we got a 3rd down sack, I was like here we go we are going to set the tone. But that was soon an afterthought as the Lions did what they want, when they want. Credit to them as they do have some talented players. We obviously were talent deficient on the front line, and it was apparent. The Secondary gets an "F" in this game as they didn't much right all game.

My biggest disappointment was Spoon. He was out of place on a lot plays, and got beat deep on many deep crossing routes. He is also now a highlight for Montgomery who trucked him in the open space. The significance of this play. First off Montgomery is a very underrated tailback, and is elite in my opinion. He is tough runner, and can absorb big hits and break tackles better than most tailback, well maybe not better to Derrick Henry. However, Spoon trying to make the big splash hit instead of trying to go low and wrap up, and what is worst multiple Hawks on that play couldn't tackle Montgomery, and he scampered off for a big gain. That play broke the defense's back right there. Also, credit Ben Johnson for out coaching Mike Macdonald. He called the right plays at the right time, called a screen pass when the Hawk's expected it least, and it went for a big gain. All in all it was an a$$ whoopin from the Lions, and the Hawk's defense and Mike Macdonald needs to learn from this and bounce back.

I still feel good about this team, and that is great when when you don't have to have high expectations about a team with a rookie HC, and first time OC. It will hopefully be a learning experience, and now we know what a top tier QB can do, and if and when we start getting our starters back healthy and ready I think we can still compete, and at least for the NFC West title still. Albeit, I still believe the 49ers are the better team at this point in the division.

I remember the tackle on Montgomery Witherspoon tried to make. It was very poor form as he was standing virtually upright instead of positioning his center of gravity in front of him so he could absorb the blow. But to 'Spoon's credit, he still pursued the play and helped make the eventual tackle. It was more a great play by Montgomery than it was a bad one by 'Spoon. I'm not too worried about him. Getting our DL healthy again will help our secondary.

IMO the big play was Metcalf's fumble that was returned some 50 yards. It was a potential swing of 10-14 points as the fumble occurred at the Lions' 37 and returned to our 14-yard line, so in all likelihood, it represented a 10–14-point swing. I loved Metcalf's effort to get extra yardage, but he did not have his palm over the point of the ball, so it did not require that bone jarring of a tackle to displace it. It was entirely preventable. He wasn't lunging for a first down or trying to break the goal line plane, so gaining that extra few yards didn't mean a whole lot in the overall scheme of things. There are times that Metcalf doesn't play under his shoulder pads, metaphorically speaking.

I'm not so sure that the Niners are still kings of the division this season. They're a different team without McCaffery, and it looks like he's going to be out for at least another couple of weeks. They're still the champs until they aren't, but I don't think there's that much daylight between us and them. Their window may be closing.

[BamBam]

I was going into this game with an open mind and walked away with the overall feeling that we have fixin to do on D, but excited about the future.

[4XPIPS]

I remember the tackle on Montgomery Witherspoon tried to make. It was very poor form as he was standing virtually upright instead of positioning his center of gravity in front of him so he could absorb the blow. But to 'Spoon's credit, he still pursued the play and helped make the eventual tackle. It was more a great play by Montgomery than it was a bad one by 'Spoon. I'm not too worried about him. Getting our DL healthy again will help our secondary.

IMO the big play was Metcalf's fumble that was returned some 50 yards. It was a potential swing of 10-14 points as the fumble occurred at the Lions' 37 and returned to our 14-yard line, so in all likelihood, it represented a 10–14-point swing. I loved Metcalf's effort to get extra yardage, but he did not have his palm over the point of the ball, so it did not require that bone jarring of a tackle to displace it. It was entirely preventable. He wasn't lunging for a first down or trying to break the goal line plane, so gaining that extra few yards didn't mean a whole lot in the overall scheme of things. There are times that Metcalf doesn't play under his shoulder pads, metaphorically speaking.

I'm not so sure that the Niners are still kings of the division this season. They're a different team without McCaffery, and it looks like he's going to be out for at least another couple of weeks. They're still the champs until they aren't, but I don't think there's that much daylight between us and them. Their window may be closing.

The DK play again shows he can't just rely on brute strength vs proper technique, and yes that play was a back breaker. There were so many individual plays that could have easily altered the game, and had huge implications. Not to take credit from Detroit, but a few plays here and there an who knows what they outcome would be. I am not going to say we would have won, but it would have made the game closer.

First huge back breaking play. The DK play, we were driving down field with the offense. DK didn't protect the ball, and the defender hit it just right and popped it loose. Got to be better DK, and yes you are right we were on their side of the field.

Second play, and this one is on Lockett. The 4th and 3 to go. It's 4th down, and everyone needs to know their assignments. Lockett is clearly going to run a rub or pick for JSN to get open, but he slows to make contact with the defender and didn't show he was running the route, that was an easy call to make, and that blew a scoring opportunity. JSN beat the outside coverage, so a rub route wasn't needed on that one.

Anyways, there are plenty of "what ifs" and at the end of the day it came down who made the bigger plays, and Lions did.

As for the for the 49ers, until we beat them which on a side note, I AM GOING TO THAT GAME!!! I will consider us the top of the NFC West, but for now they are the top until unseat them. They don't have CMC, but Mason is running well for the 49ers. It will be a good Thursday Night home game to be at.

[4XPIPS]

I was going into this game with an open mind and walked away with the overall feeling that we have fixin to do on D, but excited about the future.

Perfectly said Bam!

[NorthHawk]

I’m not sure this game says a lot about the Defense with 4 starters out and Love getting injured during the game.
Young players and those unsure or hesitant about their role in this new complicated scheme cause big problems.
We are only 4 games in and in 2 years we will look back and see a lot of players having been moved on because of lack of scheme fit.
An added factor was a Lions team that was having a very good game.
So I’m not worried about the Defense at this point.

[4XPIPS]

I’m not sure this game says a lot about the Defense with 4 starters out and Love getting injured during the game.
Young players and those unsure or hesitant about their role in this new complicated scheme cause big problems.
We are only 4 games in and in 2 years we will look back and see a lot of players having been moved on because of lack of scheme fit.
An added factor was a Lions team that was having a very good game.
So I’m not worried about the Defense at this point.

I agree, I don't think anyone should worry about this defense, but it goes without saying we have a lot that needs to be corrected, and our secondary could have played a bit better in the passing game. I would imagine a fully healthy defensive line would have assisted in better secondary play, but I was expecting better from our secondary.

[NorthHawk]

I’m thinking that maybe some of the Secondary players might have been thinking they had to make a big play or turnover to make up for the DL.

[4XPIPS]

I wanted to get anyone thoughts on us going for 2pts instead of the kicking the EP, the first time around. The score was 20-28 around 6:57 to play in the 3rd quarter. We elected to go for the 2pt, and I am not sure why we did it? We obviously didn't get it, the score remained. I heard Troy and Joe talk analytics and agreed to go for it, but just wondering if that made any sense to anyone? If we kick it, it would have been 21-28. Now, again my question is going to indicate that this would have altered the entire game, but just wanted know if this was a head scratcher for some of you as it was to me.

[River Dog]

Yeah, I'm with North Hawk on this one. The recent history of this series has been offensive shootouts. We won 37-31 in OT last year, 48-45 in 2022, 51-29 in 2021. Given the fact that we had 4 starters in one position group out, it shouldn't be too surprising that we had difficulties on the defensive side of the ball. Plus, their quarterback had an all-time record performance, with a perfect passer rating and not having thrown a single incompletion. That's not going to happen this Sunday.

Let's wait until this Sunday's game against the G-men before we hit the panic button.

[River Dog]

I wanted to get anyone thoughts on us going for 2pts instead of the kicking the EP, the first time around. The score was 20-28 around 6:57 to play in the 3rd quarter. We elected to go for the 2pt, and I am not sure why we did it? We obviously didn't get it, the score remained. I heard Troy and Joe talk analytics and agreed to go for it, but just wondering if that made any sense to anyone? If we kick it, it would have been 21-28. Now, again my question is going to indicate that this would have altered the entire game, but just wanted know if this was a head scratcher for some of you as it was to me.

I was dumbfounded. I understand that they do so many unconventional things in the name of analytics nowadays, but I don't understand the logic on that one. The only thing I can think of is that our coaches saw something, some sort of weakness in the Lions defense, that made them think that they had a gimme. Either that or our kicker had to suddenly run into the locker room to take a leak.

[I-5]

I wanted to get anyone thoughts on us going for 2pts instead of the kicking the EP, the first time around. The score was 20-28 around 6:57 to play in the 3rd quarter. We elected to go for the 2pt, and I am not sure why we did it? We obviously didn't get it, the score remained. I heard Troy and Joe talk analytics and agreed to go for it, but just wondering if that made any sense to anyone? If we kick it, it would have been 21-28. Now, again my question is going to indicate that this would have altered the entire game, but just wanted know if this was a head scratcher for some of you as it was to me.

Since you asked about the strategy of going for 2 points instead of the point after kick, here https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/when-to-go-for-2-for-real/#:~:text=If%20you're%20down%208,8%20points%20(if%20you%20miss

The above article includes a table graphic that shows different situations, and the risks/benefits of going for 2 in each instance based on data.

It's a game of numbers, just like baseball managers playing chess with lefty/righty between pitchers and batters in various situations.