Tag: Washington Football Team vs. Detroit Lions

Cory Undlin laments not playing more man coverage vs. Washington

The Lions played more zone in the first half when the Football Team couldn’t move the ball

In the first half of Sunday’s game against the Washington Football Team, the Detroit Lions defense held the visitors to just three points on six possessions. The defense was aided by a fumble and a missed field goal, but the Lions were in good control of the Washington offense throughout the half.

They got there by playing more zone coverage than man coverage. When defensive coordinator Cory Undlin switched it up to playing more man coverage after halftime, the Washington offense perked up.

The Football Team picked up 22 first downs in four second-half drives. They scored on every possession, three TDs and a field goal. Quarterback Alex Smith got into a groove by consistently beating the man coverage on the outside and across the middle of the field.

Yet Undlin believes he should have played more man coverage, not less.

“I don’t know exactly what the numbers are, but yeah, we played a lot of zone in the first half and I played a lot of zone starting the second half,” Undlin said in his press conference on Tuesday. “I probably should’ve played more man in the second half, kind of stayed with the plan there as they kind of went through the no-huddle and then Alex (Smith) was ripping that ball out super quick.”

Undlin continued,

“Looking back on it I could’ve probably changed it up faster than that just to give them another look. We’re going to play man, or we’re going to play zone, whatever I think is going to be the best key to win the game. So, if I can do it again, I probably would’ve played some more man faster in the second half.”

The rookie coordinator noted the pass rush wasn’t as effective in impacting Smith as it had been in the first half, as well as citing a couple of unfortunate penalties that contributed to the issues in man coverage.

Even so, the zone worked well in the first half. The man coverage after halftime most definitely did not. It’s an interesting thought from Undlin that he wished he played even more man coverage, not less, when it was obviously helping Washington’s offense.

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Video: Matthew Stafford and the art of manipulating the secondary

Breaking down a few examples of Stafford’s brilliance against Washington

In the latest installment of his video series breaking down various quarterbacks, Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield tackles Matthew Stafford’s outstanding performance against the Washington Football Team in Week 10.

Schofield focuses on three separate plays, leading off with the long TD pass to Marvin Hall early in the game. Next up is the strike to Marvin Jones for a touchdown, where Schofield also highlights the pre-snap adjustment Stafford makes to properly execute the pattern. The final one is a late throw over the middle that not many quarterbacks can pull off.

The common theme from all three throws is Stafford’s ability to manipulate the coverage with his body language and eyes. It creates the separation for his receivers more than their own abilities and that’s crucial for the success of the plays.

 

 

Lions win shouldn’t excuse another epic collapse from Matt Patricia’s team

Patricia’s Lions blew a 24-3 lead at home against one of the NFL’s worst offenses

The Detroit Lions won on Sunday, beating the visiting Washington Football Team 30-27 when Matt Prater’s 59-yard field goal carved through the Ford Field uprights as time expired. The thrill of the last-second victory is nice, but it should not obscure the larger fact that the Lions nearly blew a 24-3 lead against the NFL’s 30th-ranked offense.

Even in victory, head coach Matt Patricia somehow managed to suck the joy out of winning. That’s the Detroit Lions of his making.

It’s certainly not fair to pin the Washington comeback all on Patricia. The officiating curiously aided the road team. There were dropped passes (hello Quintez Cephus) and missed defensive assignments (hello Jahlani Tavai). But the buck stops at Patricia, as he often reminds his players. And the passivity in play-calling, the lack of disciplined play from his defense, the too-cautious decisions on both sides of the ball schematically probably should have cost Patricia another humiliating loss.

The final outcome should not excuse the poor execution, poor handling of early success, and poor response to the Football Team seizing momentum. Those are all things Patricia must control as the head coach. They failed in every single aspect, only to get bailed out by Washington simply being even worse.

It’s an unsavory path to a 4-5 record, holding off a rally from a 2-7 Football Team playing its third-string QB, Alex Smith, making his first start in almost exactly two years. Smith set a career-high in passing yards with 390. Much of it came against either passively, intentionally soft or simply blown coverages by his linebackers and secondary.

Blowing big leads is old hat for Patricia. It’s what he’s renowned for now, more even than being a rocket scientist. Just because the outcome against a very bad Washington team went his way doesn’t let Patricia’s poor coaching job and failure to adapt to prior mistakes off the hook. It shouldn’t for the fans and it shouldn’t for owner Sheila Ford Hamp, either.