Skip to main content
Advertising

TIM AND MIKE: Week 1 observations

Tough debut: It was a tough debut for a lot of Lions players and coaches Monday night in a 48-17 loss to the Jets, but rookie guard Frank Ragnow had a particularly tough time. The Lions' first-round pick allowed two quarterback hits and four hurries, including the one on Matthew Stafford's pick-six to Darron Lee, where Ragnow whiffed on a block on Jets defensive lineman Henry Anderson that contributed to the interception. – Tim Twentyman

Martin 5.0: That's not the latest internet program update. It was Sam Martin's net average for three punts Monday night, and just one example of how badly things went for the Lions' special teams. Martin's punts traveled 152 yards for a gross average of 50.7. Former Lion Andre Roberts had one return for a 78-yard TD. A 43-yard return to the Lions' 32 put the Jets in position to drive to their first TD. – Mike O'Hara

Disappearing tight ends: There were a lot of question marks surrounding Detroit's tight end group heading into the season. After the first week of the regular season, a lot of those questions still remain. The biggest among them is whether anyone can step up to be an explosive threat in the offense. Levine Toilolo led the group with one catch for seven yards against the Jets. Hakeem Valles had one catch for five yards. – Tim Twentyman

Short yardage opportunity: The Lions want to improve their short-yardage run game, but they bypassed a chance to use it in the third quarter. After a nine-yard run by rookie Kerryon Johnson made it third and one the Lions called a pass play. It was intercepted by Jets linebacker Darron Lee and returned 36 yards for a TD that extended their lead to 31-17. – Mike O'Hara

Not enough: Big things are expected of linebacker Jarrad Davis in his second season after the Lions selected him in the first round last year. He led all rookies in tackles with 96 in 14 games as a rookie. Like most of his teammates on defense, Davis' 2018 debut was less than stellar. He played in 97 percent of the team's snaps and recorded just four tackles. He also gave up a couple of catches in coverage. – Tim Twentyman

0-7: There were seven new head coaching hires in the NFL this offseason in Detroit, Arizona, Chicago, Indianapolis, New York (Giants), Oakland and Tennessee. All seven lost their Week 1 matchups. – Tim Twentyman

Quin's playing time: Throughout his career in Detroit, veteran safety Glover Quin has always be counted on to be available week in and week out, and he usually plays every snap. Quin, 32, was subbed in and out of the game quite a bit Monday night, and played just 67 percent of the team's snaps on defense. – Tim Twentyman

Related Content

Advertising