Detroit Lions notes: Stafford like a concert pianist; video late for replay

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) looks to pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

By Paula Pasche | The Oakland Press

PUBLISHED: December 19, 2016 at 12:51 p.m. | UPDATED: June 17, 2021 at 6:36 a.m.

ALLEN PARK >> Last week Matthew Stafford’s injured middle finger was the big concern.

Turns out that finger was not the reason for the Detroit Lions’ 17-6 loss to the Giants on Sunday.

That is not to say, it had no effect at all.

“Here’s a guy that’s been holding a football in his bare hand for years and years and years and, all of a sudden, he’s wearing a glove. Do you think there’s going to be a difference? I mean these guys aren’t any different than concert pianists. These guys aren’t any different than any other expert,” coach Jim Caldwell said on Monday. “There is a little difference. There is some adjustment that’s made there. It’s not a non-issue until he doesn’t have it off and doesn’t have it on anymore, so there are things. Now, can he perform with it? There’s no question he can perform with it. I think it’s because of his mind-set and his ability he can get it done and I think we’ll be fine in that regard.”

Stafford’s next test will come against the Cowboys (12-2) in his hometown of Dallas on Monday Night Football. Turns out it was turnovers and an ineffective run game that hurt worse than the finger.

Sticking with his decision

On the third snap of the game on Sunday, Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., clearly dropped the ball and yet the officials ruled it a catch. It was first-and-10, the Giants gained four yards.

Caldwell did not challenge the play in part because he didn’t see the video replay in time.

“As you well know, it was early in the game, No. 1. No. 2, the fact of the matter is, I saw the play happen and I saw him go down. Looks like he juggled it and had it between his knees. Nobody reacted to it, literally. Most often you’ve got guys saying, ‘Hey, throw the flag that was not a catch’ or something of that nature. They didn’t give me anything upstairs, obviously, because we didn’t see it until late,” Caldwell said on Monday.

“They don’t show them to you until real late and so, right there at the end of it, it would have been thrown, the challenge, in an uncertain situation because we really didn’t know. If we had seen it clearly, OK, like it came out after you all – action pictures and all that kind of stuff, which we have, that’s different if we know it for a fact, but I’m talking about when there’s uncertainty on a four-yard play, not going to throw it and that’s where we were. We were kind of in a little bit of a limbo in that situation, so you know, didn’t see it clearly until the next play was up.

“When you are away from home, your opportunity to see video is not very good and it’s as late as possible and oftentimes you may not see it at all, that’s just kind of the way it is in visiting stadiums,” Caldwell said.

Sticking with the run

The Lions, minus running back Theo Riddick for the second straight game, managed just 56 rushing yards in the loss to the Giants.

Caldwell said they have to stick with it.

“You find teams that unleash the passing game against guys that can rush the passer and you’re going to have problems,” Caldwell said. “Fortunately, I’ve been around teams that have thrown the ball pretty well and I know for a fact you better have some sort of a running game or at least make an attempt and be patient with it if you’re going to give yourself a chance, particularly down the stretch, so we have to be patient, but I think it’s a delicate balancing act just like you said, you know, but you can’t abandon it completely. You abandon it completely and you know, obviously you’re going to have some problems. You start throwing the ball over 40 times a game and there are going to be a few bad things that happen to you along the way.”

Rookie Dwayne Washington had 14 carries for 31 yards, Stafford had two for 13 yards and Zach Zenner had three for 12 yards. Zenner also fumbled in the end zone on his first carry.

Levy coming along

Linebacker DeAndre Levy, playing in his second straight game, played 30 snaps – a dozen more than in the previous week.

“He was productive. I thought he played a solid game. He’s coming along,” Caldwell said.

Levy finished with eight tackles working 47 percent of the defensive snaps.

This and that

Tahir Whitehead led the Lions with 12 total tackles (10 solo). It was Whitehead’s eighth game this season with 10-plus total tackles and his fifth game with 12 total tackles, which is a career single-game high. … Rookie Anthony Zettel played just 14 snaps (22 percent) on defense but notched his first career sack. … Since Week 7, the Lions have allowed 16.5 points per game, the second lowest total in the League over the past eight weeks. … Wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr., set a new career high for the season topping 815 yards which he had in 2015 with the Bengals. Jones had three receptions for 41 yards on Sunday. He has registered 838 receiving yards on 49 catches this season.