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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUF at NE | CHI at GB | DAL at TB | DEN at CIN | DET at NO | JAX at IND | KC at BAL | MIA at ATL |
| MIN at CLE | NYJ at HOU | PHI at CAR | SD at OAK | SF at ARI | STL at SEA | TEN at PIT | WAS at NYG |
Week 1 Game Recap: Detroit Lions 27, New Orleans Saints 45
Detroit Lions
| QB Matthew Stafford, Pass: 16 - 37 - 205 - 0 TD / 3 INT, Rush: 2 - 0 - 1 |
Stafford was down two touchdowns after having taken only three snaps from center, a tall order against a veteran defense led by an aggressive coordinator. Stafford did show a strong arm and good accuracy early, hitting Calvin Johnson in stride on a quick hitter then showing good balance and touch on a screen to Kevin Smith. Things began to come apart as the Saints turned up the pressure, however, and Stafford began to throw off his back foot and rush throws on timing patterns during the second quarter. Stafford's footwork and mechanics completely came apart in the second half. His accuracy suffered as a result, overthowing sideline passes and leaving deep passes short of their mark or behind their intended receivers. He would be intercepted three times and nearly picked on a number of others.
| RB Kevin Smith, Rush: 15 - 20 - 1, Rec: 7 - 52 - 0 (9 targets) |
Smith had difficulty finding running room between the tackles and had to make a move in the backfield on nearly every play. Other than a successful misdirection play on a fourth down touchdown run in the second quarter, Smith wasn't much more effective when the Lions tried to get him outside on pitch plays and sweeps. He caught the ball well on a variety of screen passes and underneath routes, showing good elusiveness after getting the ball in open field.
| WR Bryant Johnson, Rec: 4 - 45 - 0 (8 targets) |
Johnson was targeted eight times by Matthew Stafford, primarily on short sideline and slant routes. He had one red zone target in the corner of the end zone that was thrown too far outside to catch.
| WR Calvin Johnson, Rec: 3 - 90 - 0 (13 targets) |
Johnson picked up where he left off in 2008, showing his hands, quickness and physical style of wide receiver play on a pair of receptions during the Lions' second series. Johnson turned two quick hitting routes into solid gains by catching passes in stride and breaking tackles. Johnson gained separation on the Saints' corners regularly, but often fell victim to Matthew Stafford's struggles with inaccuracy as the game progressed, unable to haul in a number of overthrown and shorthopped passes. Johnson was targeted eleven times, but could manage only three catches. Johnson was able to turn an in route into a long gain and nearly a touchdown in the second half, again breaking tackles and running away from the Saints' secondary after beating man coverage.
| WR Dennis Northcutt |
Northcutt was the slot receiver against the Saints, but was not targeted in the game.
| TE Brandon Pettigrew |
Pettigrew saw a significant number of snaps, but he was used primarily as an extra blocker. He rarely went out in pass patterns and was not targeted against the Saints.
New Orleans Saints
| QB Drew Brees, Pass: 26 - 34 - 358 - 6 TD / 1 INT |
Drew Brees had no trouble carving up the Lions' defense, spreading the ball around and taking advantages of mismatches in man coverage and holes in the Detroit zones to great success. Rarely flushed from the pocket, Brees had time to go through his progessions and wait for routes to develop downfield. Brees did try to force balls into coverage and missed a timing route or two, but his performance was nearly flawless. His lone interception came on an underthrown deep pass on a flea flicker in the first half.
| RB Mike Bell, Rush: 28 - 143 - 0 |
Bell, filling in for an injured Pierre Thomas, ran hard between the tackles early, attacked holes as they opened, cut decisively and moved the pile in short yardage. Early in the game, Bell was mostly a change of pace back, splitting carries with Reggie Bush and leaving the field in spread sets. Bell quickly began to assert himself on the ground, however, and saw most of the Saints' carries in the second quarter before having even more success against a worn out Detroit defense in the second half.
| RB Reggie Bush, Rush: 7 - 14 - 0, Rec: 5 - 55 - 0 (6 targets) |
Reggie Bush looked healthy against the Lions. The Saints continue to motion him out of the backfield to force the defense to show their hand and generate mismatches. Bush quickly took advantage of one such man coverage mismatch against a linebacker on a long sideline route for a long gain early in the first quarter. When Bush wasn't in the backfield, the Saints often aligned him behind a WR to keep the Lions from jamming him on the line of scrimmage and threw him quick passes to get him in space. Bush struggled between the tackles as a ballcarrier, however, and wasn't nearly as effective as Mike Bell, who got the bulk of the carries in the second half. Bush also struggled as a punt returner, fumbling twice while returning punts and losing one.
| WR Devery Henderson, Rec: 5 - 103 - 1 (8 targets) |
Henderson drew the start opposite Marques Colston and was targeted frequently by Drew Brees. Henderson alternated with Robert Meachem as the second wide receiver in some sets, but Henderson got the majority of the snaps and seems to have a clear hold on the WR2 job for now with eight targets to the five combined of Meachem and Lance Moore. Henderson split the corner and safety on a post route for a long touchdown pass late in the game, but was also successful on shorter routes.
| WR Marques Colston, Rec: 3 - 30 - 1 (6 targets) |
Colston showed no ill-effects from offseason microfracture surgery and looked in sync with Drew Brees during the opening drive, when he slipped behind the Lion secondary on a defensive miscommunication for an easy touchdown catch. Colston and Brees missed on some timing patterns later in the game, but Colston was able to play every down while the game was close.
| WR Robert Meachem, Rec: 2 - 51 - 1 (2 targets) |
Meachem saw time in the Saints' spread sets early and rotated with Devery Henderson in packages where the Saints had just two wideouts. His first quarter touchdown catch came on a deep route that Meachem and Brees adjusted after the safety rolled up in coverage, allowing an easy 38 yard pitch and catch.
| WR Lance Moore, Rec: 2 - 38 - 0 (3 targets) |
Moore saw relatively little playing time in the first half, getting snaps in a minority of the Saints' three and four wide receiver sets. Moore wasn't targeted until late in the first half on a skinny post and he made a twisting leaping catch for a long gain. Brees and Moore connected on a nearly identical route a few plays later. Moore had another sensational catch on a long play near the end of the first half but couldn't get his feet in bounds before being forced out.
| TE Jeremy Shockey, Rec: 4 - 31 - 2 (4 targets) |
The Saints moved Shockey around the formation and put him in pass patterns from a traditional three point stance and from tight bunch formations outside the tackles. Shockey's first touchdown pass came on a play action rollout on a third down goal line play, the second after he somehow got behind the Lions' defense in the back of the end zone during the two minute drill in the first half. He finished with four catches on four targets.