Lions Game

[RiverDog]

The latest betting line has us as 4.5 point underdogs, about a 2 in 3 chance of losing. I think those are a bit optimistic and if I were a betting man, I'd give the 4.5 points and take the Lions. Here's why:

We looked absolutely horrible in the 2nd half of our opener against the Rams, due in no small part to losing both of our starting OT's due to injury. One first down and 12 yards of total offense. We'll be on the road facing a team in their home opener, in a dome, and judging by the number of Lions fans who traveled to Kansas City, I get the sense that the stadium will be rocking today, making communications between our new center and two new tackles very difficult.

While not losing the game, Geno didn't do anything to help us last week, either, continuing a trend that started in the 2nd half of last season.

This team does not handle adversity well, or at least they didn't in the first game. If playing a Rams team coming off a historic face plant, going from a SB champ to one of the worst teams in the league, was difficult, playing a thirsty, success starved team led by a very dynamic and inspirational head coach is going to be a supreme challenge. I don't think we're up to it.

Defensively, we will be going up against a very good offensive line, ranked in the top 5 by PFF, a vast improvement over the hodge podge OL that the Rams used to keep their QB clean and control the ball for 40 out of 60 minutes last week.

I'm not giving up on the entire season and don't rule out a resurgence, but not this week. Hawks go down 31-10.

[c_hawkbob]

We were 6 point dogs a week ago. A point and a half is a big move, are bettors looking at us or them making that move?

[RiverDog]

We were 6 point dogs a week ago. A point and a half is a big move, are bettors looking at us or them making that move?

Point spreads are always driven by betting activity, so apparently there are a lot of people throwing money down on the Hawks or not as many betting on the Lions, but I agree that it is strange as you would think that after the Hawks announced that Cross and Adams were both ruled out that more people would bet on the Lions, but as you pointed out, the opposite happened, and not by a little.

My only guess is that there's a lot of casual bets being laid down by Seahawk fans, that or the bookies anticipated more bets on the Lions when they set their initial line.

[NorthHawk]

On paper it looks bleak for us with both starting Tackles out and a suspect Defense against one of the better OL's in Detroit and their hungry young Defense.
But odd things happen in sports, so I think that might be part of the betting changing. People betting on long shots is nothing new and with Pete's history of getting the team up for games, for some it would be enticing to bet against Detroit in this game.

[c_hawkbob]

We were 6 point dogs a week ago. A point and a half is a big move, are bettors looking at us or them making that move?

Point spreads are always driven by betting activity, so apparently there are a lot of people throwing money down on the Hawks or not as many betting on the Lions, but I agree that it is strange as you would think that after the Hawks announced that Cross and Adams were both ruled out that more people would bet on the Lions, but as you pointed out, the opposite happened, and not by a little.

My only guess is that there's a lot of casual bets being laid down by Seahawk fans, that or the bookies anticipated more bets on the Lions when they set their initial line.

It was easy to get enamored with the Loins after their Thursday night game, evidently more so for the book makers than the betting public. There's still a lot of paper bag wearing "same old Lions" trauma mentality amongst Loins fans waiting fore the mirage to evaporate.

[NorthHawk]

True, and we don't know if there's going to be some type of emotional letdown after beating the reigning champions on their home turf.
But Campbell seems to me like he can get them ready for their home opener so that might mitigate some of the letdown.

[RiverDog]

We were 6 point dogs a week ago. A point and a half is a big move, are bettors looking at us or them making that move?

Point spreads are always driven by betting activity, so apparently there are a lot of people throwing money down on the Hawks or not as many betting on the Lions, but I agree that it is strange as you would think that after the Hawks announced that Cross and Adams were both ruled out that more people would bet on the Lions, but as you pointed out, the opposite happened, and not by a little.

My only guess is that there's a lot of casual bets being laid down by Seahawk fans, that or the bookies anticipated more bets on the Lions when they set their initial line.

It was easy to get enamored with the Loins after their Thursday night game, evidently more so for the book makers than the betting public. There's still a lot of paper bag wearing "same old Lions" trauma mentality amongst Loins fans waiting fore the mirage to evaporate.

A distinct possibility. I can imagine being a Lions fan and waiting for the other shoe to drop, for their balloon to pop. They are the only non-expansion team not to have even gone to a Super Bowl, and you can count their playoff games over the past 50 years on one hand.

I can also see a lot of reverse logic betting going on with their fan base, in other words, betting against their team in order to set up a win-win situation. If your team wins, you're so happy that you don't care about losing $50, and if they lose, you at least get a nice consolation prize.

[RiverDog]

True, and we don't know if there's going to be some type of emotional letdown after beating the reigning champions on their home turf.
But Campbell seems to me like he can get them ready for their home opener so that might mitigate some of the letdown.

I think that would be a greater possibility if they were playing on the road and not at home in their home opener.

[HawkSis]

What happened to DK and Riq?

[Spohawk5092]

What happened to DK and Riq?

from what I saw on bottom of screen, Metcalf may have a rib injury, don't know about Rig. Injuries are the main news of the early 2023 season so far.....and not just us.

[EmeraldBullet]

We are hanging in there. Those two missed fg loom kinda large

[Spohawk5092]

We are hanging in there. Those two missed fg loom kinda large

geez!!!!!!!

[HawkSis]

LFG!!!!

[EmeraldBullet]

Love it! we finally get a sack and then more pressure and a pick 6

[Aseahawkfan]

This is a hell of a game. Not much defense, but the offenses are stepping up.

I really thought Dre'mont would have had more of an impact, but I guess I was wrong, at least he's doing something today.

[EmeraldBullet]

That has to one of the worst sacks ive ever seen. WTF was Geno doing? Itll be tough to hold this 3 point lead now

[Spohawk5092]

wow!! What a gutsy win today!!!!!!

[c_hawkbob]

Yes, wow! Awesome game! I can't believe this is the same team that laid that egg in the second half at home last week!

[Spohawk5092]

Yes, wow! Awesome game! I can't believe this is the same team that laid that egg in the second half at home last week!

doesn't sound like it!!!

[jshawaii22]

Great Win today - My wife coughed up the $$$ for UTube TV so I could see all the games, for the first time ever. I love my wife! It's great once you get the game established, but you can't move around from game to game instantly like a cable TV, so that's a bummer.

The Good:
Our two 'replacement' tackles kept Geno upright all game and were better lead blockers for the running game then the two high picks they replaced.
Our two-headed RB's looked like they belonged this week.
Our three-headed TE's were all in the passing game and helped the tackles with good chip blocks.
Geno's use of multiple targets today. Everyone got the ball and no drops that I remember.
Our punter in TOP Nfl class.

The Bad:
0-2 on FG's, and he never does that. I'll write it off for one week.
Last 5 possessions of the Rams and last 2 of the Lions all scored points rather easily on our D.
The aforementioned Geno sack. That looked a lot like something Russell would of done, except at least Geno held onto the ball.
The grounding call on Geno when Tyler broke off the route. That was BAD. But if you didn't catch it, Jake held a rusher bad on the OT TD, so maybe that was a good makeup call.

The Ugly: I'm perfect through the early games on the Pick'em game EXCEPT for the freaking Seahawks. Damn, Three time in 4-5 years I pick them to lose and every time they win. Luck or Skill?

[Aseahawkfan]

Witherspoon looked like a top 5 pick in his first game. That dude is the real deal.

[RiverDog]

This game was eerily like the one the year before, same locale, early in the season, high scoring, and the game hinging on a pick 6.

Fantastic win by the Hawks! Everything they did wrong last week, they did right in this game. The unsung hero's having to be our offensive line as Geno was sacked just once and by in large, had sufficient time to find his receivers. And the Hawks didn't lose their cool when facing adversity, an example being that hideous intentional grounding call.

I'm lucky I didn't have any bricks close to me when Geno had a massive brain fart by a sack inside the 5 instead of throwing it away or else I'd be in the market for a new TV.

I'm still not convinced that we're a playoff team, but we're not a runaway train heading for a washed-out bridge like we might have been had we lost this game. We really needed this win to wash out that vomit taste out of our mouths after last week.

[EmeraldBullet]

Its week 2, anyone could be a playoff team. The next few games will be important. We showed a lot of improvement but still have some things to work out. All we can do is take it one game at a time and try to win.

[Stream Hawk]

This game has definitely shifted my outlook (again) on the season. I was basically calling for Pete’s head after last week. He’s still not off the hook because defense still concerns me big time. Will still need a trade for DT imo. But offensive player makers are legit. Geno was outstanding on the OT drive. Of course this was after taking one of the worst Russell-like sacks in the fourth quarter. Clutch after that. LFG.

I think we could definitely be 3-1 going into by week. And hell Cincinnati doesn’t look too tough anymore after that.

[RiverDog]

This game has definitely shifted my outlook (again) on the season. I was basically calling for Pete’s head after last week. He’s still not off the hook because defense still concerns me big time. Will still need a trade for DT imo. But offensive player makers are legit. Geno was outstanding on the OT drive. Of course this was after taking one of the worst Russell-like sacks in the fourth quarter. Clutch after that. LFG.

I think we could definitely be 3-1 going into by week. And hell Cincinnati doesn’t look too tough anymore after that.

It brought my opinion back to center. I was seriously worried that starting out 0-2 might be the start of a real train wreck of a season.

Just looking around the rest of the league, I still see us beating the Panthers, Cards X2, Browns, Commanders, Titans, Rams and Steelers while losing to the Giants, Bengals, Ravens, Niners X2, Cowboys, and Eagles for a 9-8 record and a wild card. And yes, the Bengals don't look too imposing right now, but keep in mind that they started slow last year too, opening their season with the same 0-2 record.

But we still have two games left in this week that involves 3 of our future opponents.

[NorthHawk]

They played a good all around game yesterday.
Given that last year we played the year with 2 rookie OTs and now had a pretty good game from the backups overall, I think some kudos have to go to the OL coaches and Waldron in getting the Tackles ready for one of the better DLs and Waldron in game planning to take some of the heat off of them.

Overall, the Offense looked pretty good, but the run game wasn't much of a factor. Lockett is just money. Easily the most underrated WR in the league. The IOL played pretty well and Olu got some playing time, too and didn't look out of place.
The Defense still is suspect as we still look soft in the middle. I'm surprised the Lions didn't run more up the middle when they had the lead along with intermediate crossing passes.
There was a great start to the 2nd half with a fumble recovery and Brown was lucky that Goff and the WR were not on the same page for the Pick 6. It looked to me that either Goff just missed or he expected the receiver to sit in the zone. Either way, Brown was in the proper position to take advantage of that mistake.

ST were hit and miss. Great punting and coverage, but 2 missed FGs.

I get the feeling that this might be one of those years where we end up with middling results but win some games we shouldn't and lose some that we should win. Just more of the same tempting us fans with some promise but never putting it together for a long stretch or take the next step to becoming a dominant team.

I hope that those that got banged up are just sore and not injured.

[TriCitySam]

Interestingly, S.I. in their preseason game-by-game predictions had the Hawks going 11-6, but losing the first two.....so we'll see how this plays out and I'm excited to see what impact Jamal may have. Regardless of one's perspective on the value of the trade, he is no doubt an impact player when healthy.

[Aseahawkfan]

I hope Jamal helps shore up the run game in the Kam role with some pass rush help.

[Vegaseahawk]

I still see us beating the Panthers, Cards X2, Browns, Commanders, Titans, Rams and Steelers while losing to the Giants, Bengals, Ravens, Niners X2, Cowboys, and Eagles for a 9-8 record and a wild card

I see us beating the Giants, & splitting with the niners. The rams are good. By the time we play them again, Cupp will be back. I think they'll sweep us.

[4XPIPS]

I had to wait to post for a bit as I wanted to watch the game fully before passing judgement. It was great to get the win, and there are a lot of plays that could have sent the game one direction or the other but we could easily be 0-2 as much it is relieving to be 1-1 at this time.

Coaching: Well it's A-typical for Pete to punt when given the opportunity, unless his hand is forced to go on 4th downs. I know our punter is amazing and can drop it where it needs to be, but our defense lacks the ability to get instant 3 and outs and I think Pete believes too much in this defense. It was great to seem some creativity, but let's be honest most of the offensive plays were not great play design but rather individual effort.

Offense: Lockett was the MVP of that game with his ability to shake defenders make the big plays proves he is still playing at a high level and will not unseated by rookie JSN. Speaking of JSN its good to see him out there and growing into this offense. His targets are increasing game by game and I believe in the next 3 games he will have a break out game. Geno played well, and while under pressure managed to flick check down passes pretty accurately. I was pretty please to see that given the adjusted blocking schemes we had, Geno stepped up and played very well. He did have the "brain fart" play that everyone has mentioned giving up a sack in that situation. However, like a true veteran he didn't let that phase him and went out in OT and engineered a successful drive.

Defense: Where do I begin, or shall I say when will this soft zone ever end? Is this the only defensive scheme we have in the playbook, because it ain't working? There is no consistency with the defense. It lacks the ability to stop the run up the middle, and pretty much anything thrown in the middle. Unfortunately, we are going to be talking about a lot of close wins this year where our offense will have to outscore the opposing offense because this defense can not get off the field especially on 3rd and long.

Witherspoon played well in his debut, had some good plays and of course he was targeted often and did give up some big plays. Not sure if that was individual effort, or poor defensive scheme. Too many broken tackles. Taylor got trucked a few times, and even Bobby as well. I still think the talent level on this defense is good, but the scheming is horrific and will continue to be blueprint how to effectively pick the defense a part week by week. Hopefully Riq is ready to go next week. This defense is on pace to give up 519 pts this season which will be historically bad, and should be embarrassment to this team.

It's great to get a win, but I am not sold we are good enough to be a top 5 NFC team let alone compete with the 9ers for the NFC west crown. This will have to be like the old Dallas Maverick days where it was all about outscoring your opponent and have a non existent defense in order to win..

[RiverDog]

Offense: Lockett was the MVP of that game...

Not to take anything away from Lockett, but IMO the offensive MVP of that game was our offensive line, guys like Forsythe and Curran. They kept Geno clean for nearly the entire game. I thought that Adian Hutchinson was going to wreak havoc, but they kept him pretty quiet. Plus, they said that it was one of the loudest environments in recent memory, and I don't think that we had any false starts. Gotta give some kudos to the big uglies.

[NorthHawk]

Like I said earlier, Waldron and the OL coaches deserve a lot of credit to get the Tackles coached up and ready to play at a good enough level. They did it with rookies last year and hopefully they can continue getting the most out of the backups.