I was pretty adamant in pinning yesterdays 16-10 loss to the Giants on Shaun McDonald, who fumbled and was then mostly responsible for two game-losing interceptions in the final two minutes. But like any decent team -- the 49ers don't apply in this instance -- no one in the Lions locker room was pinning the blame on McDonald except for Shaun himself.Roy Williams put the loss on himself for making too many mistakes, including the inability to take advantage of blown coverage and extend for a catch with nothing but the end zone in front of him. That touchdown would have won the game like both of McDonald's chances could have. But the Free Press pins the loss on Mike Martz.
A few minutes earlier, Kitna heaved an end-zone prayer to McDonald that might have been a touchdown but was wrestled away by James Butler for a pick. And though Kitna maintained that was a great defensive play, Butler is 6-feet-3 and McDonald is 5-feet-10. Those plays work better when the personal stats are reversed -- as in 6-5 Calvin Johnson against 5-8 Kevin Dockery, which resulted in the Lions' only touchdown.
This is true -- just minutes before Johnson made the same catch McDonald couldn't, by extending over the defensive back and stealing the pass. Why Johnson wasn't involved in a jump ball opportunity to win the game is beyond me. Michael Rosenberg thinks it's a sign of Martz's greater ego.
Martz seems to prefer Johnson on the sideline. I don't know why. I thought maybe Martz figured that the tall Johnson would be the first guy on the team to know it is raining, but then I remembered this game was indoors. ...Valid point. Martz has never been known as the most humble of guys, and he is quite thickheaded. Will he cost the Lions their season?
Does Martz want people to think he is so smart that he can turn McDonald and Mike Furrey into productive NFL players?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-20-2007 @ 2:23PM
nyc said...
No, the fact that they are still a one-trick pony will do it.
The Giants did all in their power to give that game away, but all passing game and a D that relies only on fumbles ain't gonna cut it
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11-20-2007 @ 3:09PM
Matt said...
It's insane how quickly Lions fans will turn on their team. Both passes to McDonald in the end of that game were off. The deep pass was short. McDonald had beat his man, but had to slow down for the pass. For the last interception, the pass was too high. Maybe McDonald could have caught it, and maybe if CJ was in he would have caught it (assuming he would have had the same coverage and made the same cut as McDonald), but Kitna could have thrown that pass better. It's possible McDonald didn't run the route correctly, but I wouldn't blame the interception on the play call.
It's common knowledge that rookie wide receivers don't put up great numbers their first year. Given CJ's back injury and the complexity of a Martz offense, it shouldn't surprise anyone that CJ hasn't been as productive as one might expect given his hype. I think it would be foolish to try to force him to develop faster than he is.
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11-20-2007 @ 3:22PM
Tom Mantzouranis said...
Matt,
You're right in that both passes were off. On the first, I noted in my game recap that the pass was short. But McDonald didn't make ANY effort to catch it or at least bat it down. If a receiver can't make the catch, his second job is to play cornerback against the cornerback. And on the second, there's a rule in football: if you can get your hands on it, you HAVE to catch it.
As for CJ, I'm not expecting him to live up to his hype. I've actually defended him using your logic (http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/11/16/calvin-johnson-is-wounded/). But the fact is...you drafted the guy to win games. If you're gonna play the guy 10-15 snaps a game on offense, THAT'S the situation he HAS to be in on. Especially when he proved earlier in the game he can overpower the Giants secondary and make a play when he had to.
I'm not saying Johnson has to play every down as the #2 receiver. But when there's under two minutes to go and you need a touchdown to win, you go to your playmakers. I don't think anyone on Earth would argue that Shaun McDonald is more of a playmaker than Calvin Johnson, except McDonald's mom. And even she'd be hesitant.
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