Let’s review the idiocy of the Lions’ gameplan. Regular readers are aware of what I’ve been saying for years–pass on first down against the bears, don’t kick to Hester, and make the bear offense beat you. I’ll add another bit of wisdom below, again adjusting to what is happening in games. Here’s what Detroit did yesterday:
Despite the fact that the bears had all four defensive-backfield starters out with injury and were playing with rookies making their first starts, and despite the fact the Lions came into the game with the league’s number-one ranked passing offense, the Lions came out running. The Bears lead the league in first-down run defense, but get hurt by first-down passing (by the admission of their play-by-play announcer). The reason the Lions only had three points after three quarters is due to this ridiculous gameplan. The Lions did pass in the 4th quarter, and scored 34 points. What will it take for coaches to understand this? The bears are always in a run defense on first down making them susceptible to the pass, and these runs are never successful. By running early, you keep the bears in the game and set the tone of the game. Passing early and getting a big lead would force the bears out of their gameplan and give the Lions momentum. The Lions could have put this game away early.
I’ve also said for years that you have to make the bear offense beat you, as their special teams are very good and their defense can be great (unless passed against). Walking into the first game LAST YEAR (Hester’s rookie year), I made the statement that anyone who kicks to Hester is a fool.
The bear offense goes nowhere, so why would you allow Hester to beat you? Teams didn’t get this last year, and the bears won a number of games as a result. What happened yesterday? The bears were playing with a QB that hadn’t started a game in years so he’d be rusty, so the offense wasn’t going to be a major threat, yet the Lions continually kicked to Hester. After taking the lead in the 4th quarter, they kicked to Hester and he ran it back, giving the bears the lead. What could they have been thinking? The bears had just thrown three interceptions, were going nowhere offensively, and they let Hester beat them. I’ve always said, punt it 35-40 yards high, forcing a fair catch, and squib kick or kick it out of bounds on kickoffs. The Colts learned this after Hester returned the opening kickoff of the Super Bowl (why they kicked to him then amazed me), and then never kicked to him again. Let me quote today’s Chicago Sun-Times:
“Why in the name of Ford Motor Co. does anybody on any team anywhere ever punt or kick the ball to Bears returner Devin Hester. That’s funny. Lions coach Rod Marinelli has 20 assistants, according to the media guide, and not one of those clowns could say to him, “Uh, Rod, this Hester dude is pretty sweet, so how about we have Nick Harris pooch it out of bounds and Jason Hanson squib to somebody else?” Thank Chicago’s lucky stars the Lions never figured that out until Hester had lit them up like an arsonist. His 95 yards on 5 punt returns and 219 yards on 7 kickoff returns, including a stunning 95-yard masterpiece for a 4th-quarter touchdown, were gifts from perhaps the greatest return man in NFL history. It may not be fair, right or sporting to kick the ball away from a talent like Hester, BUT NOT TO DO IT IS INSANE (emphasis mine).”
Let me quote the Sun-Times after the bears beat the Chiefs (the bears’ lone victory): “Why kick or punt the ball to Hester? As bad as the Chiefs played, they might have won the game if the head coach had told his team to keep the ball away from Hester. You seem like a fairly smart man, Herm (Chiefs coach Herm Edwards). What prompts you to keep kicking to Hester after he repeatedly burns you? Isn’t that coaching suicide?”
Again, I said this prior to Hester’s FIRST game last year. Any coach who ever watched a gamefilm could see the bears’ offense can’t beat you, but Hester can. I heard Hester’s return yards yesterday were the second-most in NFL history.
I used to continually point out that if you pressure Grossman, he’ll be horrible, but if you give him time, he’ll look good. How many times did teams not pressure Grossman and let him look good?
Two weeks ago, I made the statement that when teams play the bears, they need to have their field-goal and extra-point holder line up a yard further back. The bears block field goals every game, and the kicking teams need to adust. They have an entire week to practice this. So, what did the Lions do? They had a field goal and extra-point blocked, both in crucial situations, because they did not do this. How many kicks do the bears have to block before teams will start to adjust? This could have cost the Lions the game. Again, you can’t let special teams beat you when you play the bears; you have to make their offense beat you.
The fact that the Lions won the game will make people not focus on these points. This was one of the worst coaching performances I have ever seen, although there are a lot that are close!
Here’s the beginning of an e-mail I got yesterday after a few minutes of the bear game: I am tracking my fantasy football team and I see the Lions run the first two downs and then kick to Hester! They deserve to lose. The bears have no secondary and they run?