The Detroit Lions arguably put together their best
performance of the season in Week 7 with a
big
Color Rush T.J.
Hockenson Jersey , decisive road victory over the Miami Dolphins. We¡¯ve
already voted on the Player of the Game, but who did Pro Football Focus think
played particularly well? Here are their top five performances on both sides of
the ball:OffenseMatthew Stafford was nearly perfect, and his performance landed
him on the PFF Week 7 ¡°Team of the Week.¡± Not only was Stafford¡¯s 93.6 grade the
best of any quarterback this week, according to PFF¡¯s Matt Stopsky, it was his
highest grade ever.¡°Although Stafford is known for his strong arm, it was his
short passing game efficiency that led to the highest grade of his career,¡±
Stopsky wrote. ¡°On passes between one and nine yards, he was 10/11 for 90 yards
and a touchdown. His lone incompletion was a dropped pass.¡±It¡¯s not surprising
to see both Michael Roberts and Kerryon Johnson near the top, as both had career
games against the Dolphins. What is a bit surprising, however, is the big drop
off in grades before hitting some of the offensive line players. On a day in
which the Lions created some massive holes and kept Stafford relatively clean,
it¡¯s pretty surprising to see only T.J. Lang with a grade 65.0 or
better.DefenseWe are truly living in bizarro world right now. The Lions have a
running game on
offense
Cheap T.J.
Hockenson Jersey , and their front seven¡ªspecifically the interior of
their defensive line¡ªshowed up to play against the Dolphins. Da¡¯Shawn Hand
continued his magical rookie year in Week 7, ranking among the Lions¡¯ top
defenders for the fourth time in the past five games.A¡¯Shawn Robinson is also
rebounding nicely after being a healthy scratch to open up the season. Combined
with Hand, the two were almost unstoppable. ¡°The two of them combined for 13
pressures and both of them ranked in the top three in Pass-Rush grade among
defensive interior linemen with at least 10 snaps last week,¡± according to
Stopsky. But perhaps the biggest story here is the rise of linebacker Jarrad
Davis. No player had been more disappointing than Davis over the past season and
a half, and fans were just looking for any signs of optimism from the Lions¡¯
former first-round pick.Well, they got it this week. Davis made PFF¡¯s Week 7
¡°Team of the Week,¡± and it was well deserved. Davis was excellent in pass
coverage, allowing five catches, but for just a total of 17 yards. Per PFF, his
coverage grade was fourth-best on the day among linebackers with at least 10
coverage snaps. Davis has also shown up consistently as a solid pass rusher. He
was credited with a sack on Sunday, and also led the team with seven tackles
(one for a loss). Per PFF, Davis blitzed 13 times against the Dolphins and
accounted for three hurries. It¡¯s pretty stunning to see such a dramatic
turnaround with the Lions¡¯ front seven in just one
week
T.J. Hockenson
Jersey Womens , but that¡¯s exactly what you want to see coming out of the
bye week. Now, if the secondary can get back on track, the Lions defense could
actually turn into something formidable. If the Detroit Lions plan on moving on
from offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, head coach Matt Patricia isn¡¯t
tipping the team¡¯s hand yet. During his final press conference of the year,
Patricia said the team hasn¡¯t made a decision on the coordinator¡¯s fate for
2019, and that he wants to wait for the dust to settle before coming to any
conclusions. ¡°It¡¯s only fair at this point of the season, for all aspects of the
team¡ªplayers, coaches, personnel, all of it¡ªto allow the emotion of the season
to come down and for everybody to have that opportunity to clear your head,¡±
Patricia said. ¡°Then go back through and analyze everything at that standpoint
to see what is best for the team moving forward.¡±When asked how long that
cool-down phase may take and when the evaluation will take place, Patricia
wouldn¡¯t give
specifics
Kerryon
Johnson Jersey , but it sounded like it may be soon. ¡°I don¡¯t think I need
to put a hard timeline on it at this current moment, but obviously we have a
timeline that we do have to address with it, and things will come up when they
come up,¡± the Lions head coach said. ¡°For the minute, I¡¯m just going to take the
rest of the day, maybe enjoy the new year and see my kids and my wife, and we¡¯ll
settle in and we¡¯ll go from there.¡±So while Black Monday has already opened up
eight head coaching gigs around the NFL and claimed the jobs of several other
coordinators, it looks like Patricia and company will take a little slower
approach. We¡¯ll see if that means a couple days, a couple weeks or longer to
find out who their offensive coordinator will be in 2019. Remember, Cooter¡¯s
contract only ran through 2018, so at some point¡ªlikely still in the near
future¡ªthey¡¯ll have to make a choice.