Lions vs. Packers - Week 1
As the Lions begin perhaps the most important season in recent memory, the black jerseys were not nearly as sharp as the expectations of a hungry and starved fan base.
Electricity filled the Ford field as 60,000+ people watched as the 2005 season began. A season that has more questions than answers, such as:
- Can Joey make the jump from expectation to production?
- Will Charles Rogers stay healthy?
- Will Roy Williams continue to develop as one of the best young NFL WR’s?
- Will Mike Williams achieve all the hype that he brought with him to the NFL?
- Will the Detroit safeties and cornerbacks become a productive and sufficient defensive backfield?
- Will the LB core reach the potential equal to the talent they have?
- Can the questionable DE position (opposite of James Hall) produce?
- Will the Lions find a way to come back in the second half and win a game?
- Will this team step up and win?
O.K. I told you that there were a plethora of questions and that was some of them. All of that said, even before kickoff it was evident that once again another great year of parity was beginning in the NFL. As surprise scores echoed the NFL company line of parity, the Lions looked to change many of the scores that usually came out of Detroit showing yet another Lions loss.
As the ball got teed up for the kickoff, the excitement was through the roof as the NFL’s most loyal fans once again carried huge hopes and dreams into a new season. Eddie Drummond took the end zone and the crowd went crazy to see their hero once again. The Packers squibbed the punt, and the Lions took the field at the 27.
The Lions drove the ball efficiently but after Kelly Butler gave up a sack, Kevin Jones had a monster run but couldn’t make up the difference. Mooch called a great alignment that appeared to be a fake, forcing the Packers to burn a TO. So Harris punted and the Pack began their first drive from the 9.
On came the part of the team that has so many questions. The defense has a lot to prove and against future Hall of Famer Brett Favre, who better to face, to start the job of earning everyone’s confidence and most importantly respect. They held the Pack after Favre got a first down, and the crowd roared the chant of EDDIE as Drummond took the field and gave them a 3-yard return. The Lions began drive number 2 from their own 32.
The Lions had an 8-play 68-yard drive that concluded with Joey hitting Pollard on a 9-yard pass for the TD. It was a thing of beauty as you watched Joey look off easy short distance passes he would have taken in previous years and take the more challenging but drive enhancing plays, and to make it look easy. Hanson hit the PAT and the Lions took the 7-0 lead with 4:49 in the first quarter.
After the kick, the Packers started at their own 26, and while the game was on a TV timeout, the crowd roared as Tom Izzo was shown on the big screens to the crowd. After the kickoff Hanson went to the locker room with a hamstring issue, but later returned.
The Packers drive however was marred by penalties on both teams. One significant development in the series was that the Lions showed some 3-4 defensive alignments. The Packers however had the ability to drive and got as close as the Lions 4, but the Lions refused to bend, and when the kicker stopped before kicking the field goal, Fernando Bryant rushed in and made the tackle. The Lions began the drive at their own 15.
This drive was very impressive. Joey scrambled for 15 and once again the Packers had a Lionesque mistake with a 15yard penalty for hands to the face twice on the drive and a roughing the passer. The Lions eventually faced a fourth and four at the Packers 33 but could do nothing else than get a 2 yard pass to Roy Williams giving the Packers back the ball at the Packer 32. Why are they running a 2-yard route when they need 4? That infuriates me. That is one of the strengths of the Patriots and other championship teams: they go for what they need. NO ONE should have run less than four yards in that situation. That is a coaching error and could come back in another game to bite our butt.
The Packers next drive culminated in a Longwell 50 yard field goal. Favre was visibly upset and gave it to the back judge after the drive. With 2:59 left in the half, the score was 7-3 Detroit ! The Lions drive was stifled and the Lions punted, giving the Packers the ball on there 19 –yard line. They also exercised futility and after a three and out, punted back to Detroit for the final drive of the half.
The Packers first drive of the second half ended as quickly as it started with a Favre fumble that was recovered by Kalimba Edwards and the Lions had the ball at the Packers 34.
The Lions drove 11 yards on two Kevin Jones runs. However after a pass that lost yards and an incomplete pass the Lions needed some help. On third and sixteen, Joey hit Marcus Pollard for the first down and the Lions stood at first and ten on the 13. The Packers got their third illegal hands to the face penalty of the game and Detroit was first and goal from the seven. Kevin Jones had a great run to the one, and was stifled for a two-yard loss at the three. So it was third and three from the three and Roy Williams couldn’t hold onto a fade for a TD. Jason Hanson came in on fourth down and hit the 21- yard FG giving the Lions the 10-3 lead with 8:34 left in the third quarter. The drive was 10 plays for 31 yards and took 4:44.
After a great kickoff return from Antonio Chapman, Favre and the Packers started the second drive of the half at the Packer 37.
Detroit held the hapless Pack, but when Favre hit Javon Walker with a long bomb, it was brought back on an offensive pass interference call. Javon Walker and Dre’ Bly both got hurt on the play but fortunately both walked off the field. So it was 3rd and fifteen and the Lions held. The Packers punt gave the Lions the ball at the 27.
So as Detroit came back onto the field for the next drive, the energy level was high as the fans could sense the momentum definitely moving in the Lions direction. Joey’s performance however didn’t disappoint as he once again continued his great play. He hit FB Paul Smith with a screen right in the hands that Smith dropped, but that wasn’t Joey’s fault. Then Kevin Jones had a nice six-yard run that gave the Lions a third and four. Joey made a great pass to Roy Williams that he dropped (his third drop) and the Lions had to punt, and the 47 yard punt was returned 47 yards, but once again the Packers faltered as they got two illegal block in the back penalties on the play so they started at their 10 rather than the Detroit 33.
With the Packers buried deep in their own territory, the crowd came alive. Led by Dre’ Bly as the cheerleader, the noise was deafening. Favre quickly however, as he has done hundreds of times in his illustrious career, quieted them with a quick complete. An Ahman Green run for a first down however was again called back with another Packer penalty. Bringing up 2nd and 12 from the Packer 8. A quick slant pattern gave Favre 4 but once again the crowd erupted for 3rd and 8. Favre is not as fleet of foot as before however, and Dan “Big Daddy†Wilkinson knocked his pass down. After an Eddie Drummond spectacular return on the 50 yard punt that took the ball inside the packer thirty, it was called back for an illegal block in the back penalty by R.W. McQuarters giving the Lions that ball at their own 28.
Kevin Jones began the drive with a 7-yard run to the Packer 35 however the Lions fell apart on some sloppy play (not Joey) and they had to punt. The 40-yard punt had a 3-yard return thanks to the great tackle by Vernon Fox.
Favre came out starting at his own 28. He handed off to Green trying to calm the crowd and picked up 4. Favre missed an open Driver for a bomb and once again the hapless Packers got a penalty. Making Favre work from third and eleven at his 27.   Favre hit Fisher for the completion but he fumbled and the Lions held. The packers had a 38 yard punt and Drummond again showed his flair, but a illegal block in the back penalty by Rainer, gave the Lions the ball at their own 37.
Jones again opened the drive as the Lions tried to eat away at the clock, it was a 5-yard gain. Jones showed his magic as he scrambled for 4 more and it brought up 3rd and 1 as the third quarter came to an end. Harrington opened the fourth quarter with by hitting Pollard across the middle for a first down. On a crucial 3rd and 13 Mooch ran a draw to Jones that was not received well (and rightly so) by the Lions. That was pathetic play calling. The Lions punted and the packers started at their own 16.
The Packers had a quick three and out and the Lions began again at their own 42. The Lions play calling was pathetic. With a third and nine, the Lions WR ran a 7-yard route that he didn’t catch. The play calling is certainly not championship caliber however. The Lions punted and the Packers got the ball at the 27.
The old warrior Favre however began a fourth quarter march that showed us a lot about whether or not he still had the fire. He drove his team down the field, but when a receiver missed a play and tipped a pass, Kenoy Kennedy picked off the pass and the Lions again had the ball.
Harrington hit Charles Rogers immediately for a 41-yard bomb that gave the Lions the ball at the 22. A Joey to Mike Williams strike in the end zone that gave the Lions the 17-3 lead capped the drive. That was the final score as the Lions took the first game of the season for a 1-0 record.
Grades:
Offense B-
Defense:Â A
Special Teams:Â B-
Coaching:Â B-
Overall:Â B-
