Detroit’s disappointing season: struggling to keep pace

Wide receiver Calvin Johnson continues to produce 200-yard days, but the Detroit Lions keep losing.

This is the second in a four-part series detailing the downfall of the Detroit Lions in 2012. In Part 1 we looked at the effects of injuries. Today we examine the effects that improvements in other teams had on the Lions. We also look at Detroit’s off-field issues and the lack of turnovers.

Divisional improvement

The Detroit Lions’ 0-6 divisional record against improved Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, and Chicago Bears teams contributed to their demise. No team can go 0-6 in the division and survive; a 3-3 record is the bare minimum needed to remain playoff relevant.

The Vikings rode running back Adrian Peterson’s MVP-caliber season to a 10-6 campaign. Second-year quarterback Christian Ponder was also improved over his rookie campaign, and the secondary made strides as well. In 2011, explosive plays by wide receiver Calvin Johnson and running back Jahvid Best spurred a comeback at the Metrodome, while a pair of defensive touchdowns sealed the win at Ford Field. This year, the Lions failed to pull out wins despite Johnson’s 200-yard day, as special teams woes doomed them at Mall of America Field. They even lost at home, despite holding the Vikings to six points.

Although Detroit scored the same number of points (24) at home against the Bears as they had in 2011, they turned the ball over four times, leading to 16 Chicago points. The previous year, the Bears had scored no points off turnovers against Detroit.

The irony is Detroit actually played at Chicago and in both games against Green Bay than they had in 2011. They were able to amass a 14-3 lead against the Packers with a semblance of defense, in contrast to the six touchdowns they gave up to backup quarterback Matt Flynn in Week 17 last year. But close didn’t cut it, and Detroit lost all three of those games.

Character concerns

Detroit was rocked by a series of offseason arrests: offensive tackle Johnny Culbreath, running back Mikel Leshoure (twice), defensive tackle Nick Fairley (twice), and cornerback Aaron Berry (twice). Not to mention, wide receiver Titus Young punched safety Louis Delmas at practice.

The Detroit Lions parted ways with No. 2 cornerback Aaron Berry after his second offseason arrest.

Leshoure was suspended for two games, which had little effect on the team. Detroit wouldn’t have beaten the San Francisco 49ers even with Leshoure on the field, and they managed to defeat the St. Louis Rams without him. Although he did exhibit some troubling problems with ball security, at least his off-field character issues didn’t spill over onto the field.

Fairley avoided suspension after the marijuana charge was dropped and ended up having an excellence season. He is currently grappling with a shoulder injury and must recover.

The loss of Berry and Young did hurt, though.

Berry had risen to No. 2 on the depth chart following OTAs. As a result of his antics, Detroit was forced to rely on three rookies and two veteran free agents, one of whom was picked up after training camp. The first rookie showed promise but then got hurt, the second rookie was hurt in OTAs, and the third rookie did a solid job other than the Atlanta game. Jacob Lacey was average even before his injury, while Ron Bartell played a solid game against the Chicago Bears after being signed off the street. Drayton Florence was a problem following his injury.

Young’s blatant disregard for the coaching staff cost Detroit against Green Bay game, as Young sabotaged the offense by lining up wrong on purpose. Down one point, he committed a false start that cost the offense crucial yards and may have thwarted a comeback attempt. The team responded by suspending him immediately after the game and now must cut ties with him altogether. Unfortunately, they no longer have a speedy receiver opposite Johnson anymore. What a waste of a second-round pick. Randall Cobb is declared the winner.

An untimely toss of the red challenge flag by head coach Jim Schwartz helped cost the Detroit Lions the game against the Houston Texans on Thanksgiving Day.

Refs

If you’re expecting me to blame the officials for Detroit’s on-field woes this year, you are bound for disappointment. All I will say is I do find it amusing that even though Packers head coach Mike McCarthy committed the same infraction against the Vikings as Jim Schwartz committed against the Houston Texans — throwing the red flag on an unchallengable play — McCarthy somehow did not forfeit a review of the play due to a timing technicality. Here’s my message for McCarthy, Schwartz, and Mike Smith:

Know the rules, coach!

Turnovers

In 2011, Detroit netted 21 interceptions; in 2012, they only had 11. In 2011, they forced 17 fumbles and recovered a whopping 13 of them; in 2012, they forced 15 fumbles but only recovered six. In 2011, they recovered almost every strip-sack they forced; in 2012, they failed to do so. Some of that was attributable to bad luck — not getting the bounces — but mistakes played a role too. For example, against the Chicago Bears, defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch picked up a ball and tried to run with it but lost it when he was hit.

Despite their poor 2012 showing, the Detroit Lions can take solace in knowing that the Detroit Pride will be there to cheer them on in 2013.

The decline in interceptions was partly influenced by injuries. The loss of of safety Louis Delmas especially hurt; Detroit needs to pick up some insurance for him in the draft.

On the other hand, in 2011, cornerbacks Eric Wright and Alphonso Smith gambled for picks and brought down seven between them. This year the strategy backfired and they were burned for long gains far more frequently than the other defensive backs. Also, cornerback Chris Houston finished with three fewer picks in 2012 than in 2011.

A lack of pressure from the defensive ends also contributed to the reduction in turnovers forced. We’ll get into that in more detail tomorrow.

If the defense is going to get back on track, Detroit needs to re-sign Houston back, develop the rookies they already have, hopefully stay healthy, and perhaps draft a cornerback if he is the best player available in Rounds 2, 3, or 5. If they lose Houston and fail to bring in a veteran to replace him, they are in big trouble.

What’s next

In our next installment, we’ll look at problems on the offense and how they contributed to the lost 2012 season.