Bell Tolls: Lions new identity to be put to test in stretch run
ALLEN PARK, Mich. – Matthew Stafford knows it's way too early to draw conclusions.
"It's NFL football," the Detroit Lions quarterback pointed out. "It's week to week."
And this week, we should learn a lot more about Stafford's team, which takes a four-game winning streak into the desert for a showdown against the Arizona Cardinals.
The Lions (7-2) have a chance to post the franchise's best record after 10 games since 1962, which might be even more stunning than the idea that the Cardinals (8-1) have the NFL's best record.
But who needs to go back to 1962 for significance.
Last year Detroit was rolling along with a 6-3 record, and positioned to seize the NFC North crown while Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sidelined with a broken collarbone.
That the Lions collapsed, winning just one of their final seven games in 2013, is one big reason why they have a new coach this year in Jim Caldwell.
Are the Lions poised for another meltdown?
"We've got a whole different way of going about things, the way we think about things," star receiver Calvin Johnson said. "We've got a different coaching staff. All that plays a part in the way we handle our business right now. Everybody is focused on where we are right now."
Translation: This has nothing to do with the past.
Caldwell inherited arguably the NFL's most dynamic passing combination in Stafford and Johnson, in addition to a team that was noted for lacking discipline under previous coach Jim Schwartz (who last seen in Detroit, getting carried off the field at Ford Field by Bills players in an unseemly in-your-face gesture following a Week 5 win).
Yet Caldwell should be in the conversation for NFL Coach of the Year honors, too, for the quick makeover that has Detroit leading the NFC North and playing on Sunday for the chance to grab the pole position for the No. 1 seed in the NFC North.
The last time the Lions were in the playoffs, in 2011, they rode Johnson, aka Megatron, and a 5,000-yard season from Stafford. With those two, there was always the potential for excitement. But there was also inconsistency.
Detroit started 5-0 in 2011, then lost five of seven games, then rallied with a three-game winning streak in December, then got blown out in the regular-season finale at Green Bay that was the harbinger for a one-and-done playoff blowout at the Superdome.
But this is so different. The Lions don't have live or die with Stafford and Johnson.
Detroit has the NFL's No. 1 defense – for fewest yards allowed and fewest points -- built around Ndamukong Suh and a deep D-line, while strategized by first-time coordinator Teryl Austin, who came over with Caldwell from the Baltimore Ravens staff.
The identity has changed, relieving Stafford of the pressure to win shootouts.
"I'm trying to score as many points as I can, whether the defense is playing well or not," assured Stafford, forever the gunslinger. "That's every offense's goal. But our defense has been playing at an outstanding level, especially late in games, giving us the ball back with an opportunity to win."
The Lions have won each of their last three games by scoring the deciding points inside the two-minute warning – the first time a team has done that for three games in a row since the 1994 Giants.
That says something about Stafford in the clutch, and it is not a new pattern. Of his 31 victories as Lions quarterback, 15 have come with fourth-quarter comebacks.
The close calls also illustrate the fine line that contributes to the NFL's week-to-week environment.
Without the comebacks, the Lions would be sitting with a 4-5 record.
Yet a different pattern was indeed demonstrated when the Lions won all three games that Johnson missed with an ankle injury, something they could never achieve without him in previous years. Stafford, running a new scheme under Caldwell and coordinator Joe Lombardi, was forced to rely on other weapons, including Golden Tate, who ranks among the NFL's best offseason free agent acquisitions.
Having to adjust to injuries (which includes setbacks in a backfield linked to a 31st-ranked rushing attack that should be a concern), Stafford mentioned this week that it has actually aided in his growth in the new offense as it has forced him to be effective with more personnel groupings.
Another test comes on Sunday against a Cardinals defense that leads the NFL with 14 interceptions.
But the test is all-encompassing, with more to come. The Lions will play at New England in Week 12, and if there is indeed a division title to be won it could very well come down to winning the regular season finale against the Packers at Lambeau Field.
Yes, it's too early to draw conclusions.
"We're on a journey," Lions safety Glover Quin said. "On a journey, you need all types of wins. You need comeback wins, you need tough home games, you need blowouts. But you also need to go on the road, tough environment, good team, and get a win."
It would do so much for the Lions in solidifying this new identity.
Other items of interest as Week 11 rolls on…
Who's hot: Mark Ingram. With free agency potentially looming, Ingram heads into the match against Cincinnati toting the NFL's longest current streak with three consecutive 100-yard games. He's the first Saints runner to put up three straight triple-digit games since Deuce McAllister in 2003, and part of the reason is opportunity. With injuries sidelining Pierre Thomas and Khiry Robinson the past three games, Sean Payton hasn't been able to deploy his typical backfield-by-committee rotation, leaving Ingram to shoulder the load for the ground attack needed to complement the arm of Drew Brees. In rushing for 392 yards the past three games, Ingram has logged 24, 30 and 27 carries. Before that, he averaged 11.3 rushes per game. Conditions are ripe for another big day: Thomas and Robinson have already been ruled out, and the Bengals bring a 31st-ranked run defense.
Key matchup:Calvin Johnson vs. Patrick Peterson. Two of the NFL's most dynamic athletes will provide an intriguing subplot to the showdown in the desert, with another likely one-on-one confrontation. Both roll with momentum. Johnson came off a three-game injury layoff last weekend to post his first 100-yard game since Week 1 (7 catches, 113 yards, 49-yard TD). Peterson is the reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week, with two picks against the Rams. It's possible the Cardinals will occasionally put Antonio Cromartie on Megatron, while Peterson handles Detroit's other threat, Golden Tate. But it's likely Peterson will spend the bulk of the game shadowing the NFL's best receiver, as he did in games the past two seasons. Two weeks ago, Peterson did a whale of a job against Dez Bryant, not allowing a catch until the waning moments. Johnson posted 100-yard games in each of the past two outings against Peterson (16 catches, 237 yards), and had two TDs in last year's matchup, while Peterson had an interception in the 2012 game. Bottom line, Peterson's team won both times.
Pressure's on: Marc Trestman. Through 25 games as Bears coach, Trestman has produced an 11-14 record. That's the same mark that two coaches who took the Bears to Super Bowls – Mike Ditka and Lovie Smith – had in their first 25 games. But this does not resemble a team destined for a Super Bowl. The Bears, hosting Minnesota on Sunday, have tumbled out of the playoff picture with a three-game losing streak. The last time out, they were blown out at Green Bay – after a bye week. Aaron Rodgers threw 6 TDs in the first half against a pass defense that is on pace to be the worst in franchise history – just when it seemed the D could get no worse than it was last year. The Jay Cutler-led offense has lost its way, and too often the football, with its 18 giveaways tied for fifth-most in the NFL. And there's no advantage at Soldier Field, where the Bears have lost four in a row, dating to last season. All this, and Bears chairman George McCaskey recently gave Trestman and GM Phil Emery a vote of confidence…which sometimes turns out to be the kiss of death.
Next man up: Ryan Mallett. New Texans coach Bill O'Brien tried to shake Ryan Fitzpatrick from the turnover problems that have plagued him throughout his career, but discovered a case where past results indicate future performance. Fitzpatrick (who ranked in the bottom quartile in the NFL for INT percentage with his 8 picks) was given the hook in favor of the big, untested arm of Mallett, who will make his first NFL start at Cleveland. O'Brien, who worked with Mallett in New England, made the move during the bye week, allowing extra prep time for the transition. But Mallett will have two things working against him: Arian Foster, ranked second in the NFL in rushing, is expected to miss the game with a groin injury. So rookie running back Alfred Blue is another "next man up." Then there are the ball hawks on the Cleveland defense. The Browns are tied for second in the NFL with 13 interceptions, led by safety Tashaun Gipson, who leads the league with six picks.
Stat's the fact: Andrew Luck is following in Peyton Manning's footsteps in more ways than one. Luck – who has passed for 300 yards in eight of the Colts' nine games this season -- heads into Sunday night's showdown against Tom Brady and the Patriots leading the NFL with 3,085 passing yards. He's on pace for 5,484 yards….which would top the single-season NFL record that Manning set last season with 5,477 yards.