A Big Loss To Chicago Has Fans Looking At This Team Like A Dumpster Fire!
Detroit came into Chicago on Sunday looking for a win. Fans were expecting Detroit to beat the Bears at least, they were more banged up than the Lions and were 0-3. Well, Detroit found out that they weren’t as prepared as their opponents were and were outperformed, given the loss.
If you would like to see your questions appear here next week, comment on our Facebook post, tweet me @BKnappBlogs, email me at intern@detroitlionspodcast.com, or call in to the podcast. Here are this week’s questions.
Question 1: Why Couldn’t the Offense Click Against Chicago?
Detroit had their worst game of the season in this loss, and it is only week four. Defense, offense, none of it worked. Why couldn’t it work against a weak defense? I honestly do not know. Detroit struggled to get the running game going and the passing game was stifled with poor route running, drops and inaccurate throws. Jim Bob Cooter had a bad day in play calling and it showed. Overall the answer I can just give to this is everyone was having a bad day. Nobody was ready to play and not everyone gave their 100 percent effort out there.
Question 2: Is This Loss Blamed More on the Players or Jim Caldwell?
Both could be to blame because both were poor. The blame majority though can be pointed at Jim Caldwell. He has to get these players and assistant coaches ready for the game and while players did struggle with blocking, catching the ball, running routes (just to name a few issues) he is supposed to make sure those simple mistakes don’t happen. Receivers should know when and where to run and if they keep making the mistake, you look at who taught them. Then you look at who hired that coach and look at Jim Caldwell.
People want to see Bob Quinn fire Jim Caldwell. Some people want to see Jim Caldwell fire Teryl Austin or Jim Bob Cooter. Right now the blame can all be put on Jim Caldwell. While Jim Bob Cooter and Teryl Austin have not done their best job this season, Jim Caldwell is the main man in charge and the fingers are pointed at him. Jim Caldwell is on the hot seat and it will be getting hotter as the season goes on.
Question 3: Has the Offense Become More One Dimensional/Predictable with Abdullah Injured?
Completely predictable. Abdullah is the only true running back on the team. While Theo Riddick has improved on the ground, he is still not near Ameer Abdullah. He is still a receiving back more than anything. Dwayne Washington can do a little bit of both, but can’t make the same cuts and doesn’t have the speed like Abdullah. Finally Zach Zenner is a power back, so he can’t do what Abdullah did. With our best running back injured, it leaves us leaning on Stafford to throw the ball more and have him make some plays while the running game struggles. It doesn’t help that the offensive line hasn’t improved much, but even if they did they still would be having issues.
Detroit needs to have a stable running back. They have average running backs, but no solid running backs besides Abdullah. While he isn’t the next Adrian Peterson, he can still make defenders miss and has speed to separate himself from the defense. He is the only complete back that Detroit has and it should be something Bob Quinn needs to looks at in the future.
Thanks for reading! We will be taking and answering your questions via Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and even the Podcast! Don’t forget to follow me and ask me questions on Twitter @BKnappBlogs, find and send me questions on Reddit at /u/sportsguy4life. I also have an email you can send questions to at intern@detroitlionspodcast.com Call in to the live post-game show and ask me questions – we will be taking listener calls and share your thoughts on the Detroit Lions subreddit.
