Lions News

[Trickalicious]

though I doubt many farmers can pull off his outfits, lol.

Short of going full Cosby, a farmer could start by bringing him out for a fancy dinner at Ponderosa.

[foxhopper]

Grow a little weed and now you are a farmer....

[jaadam4]

That’s what all the traffickers say.

[froot loops]

He legit owns a cow farm and a trucking company.

[jaadam4]

Wow that’s pretty cool. He’s also owned a few offensive lineman this year. He’s played really well

[jaadam4]

Shit!! I just saw that they flexed the TB game. That means I’ll be up until 1 am watching.

[froot loops]

Tampa is high on my power rankings($)

[jaadam4]

Here we go again ($)

[foxhopper]

Gibbs questionable after Hammy injury...
https://sports.yahoo.com/m/8d756c6a-...myr-gibbs.html

This was a game I was hoping he could get it going.

[edindetroit]

Shit!! I just saw that they flexed the TB game. That means I’ll be up until 1 am watching.

You can't stay up until 1am? Dang you old.

[wcfwtf]

I didn’t see Gibbs on any injury report. Must have been a very late addition

[whatever_gong82]

Detroit Lions No. 1 WR Amon-Ra St. Brown doubtful to play against Carolina Panthers



Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


They have won games without their leading rusher, starting left tackle and the emotional leader of their defense. Now, the Detroit Lions are about to find out if they can win without their No. 1 receiver.

Amon-Ra St. Brown is doubtful to play Sunday against the Carolina Panthers because of an abdominal injury that kept him out of practice all week.

St, Brown, who leads the Lions with 26 catches, 331 yards and two receiving touchdowns, was hurt in last Thursday's win over the Green Bay Packers. He played a full complement of snaps in the game, but said he was dealing with a pain tolerance issue this week.

The Lions are thin at receiver behind St. Brown, and if St. Brown can’t play, Lions coach Dan Campbell said the offense will take a “committee” approach to try and replace his production.


Tight end Sam LaPorta and running back Jahmyr Gibbs are second and third, respectively, on the Lions in catches, Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond are the team’s No. 2 and 3 receivers, and Jameson Williams will make his season debut after serving a four-game suspension. Veteran Marvin Jones is also on the roster.

“We’ve got plenty here,” Campbell said. “You get Jamo back, so look, we’ll spread that ball around and we’ve got something for a little bit of everybody and it’s just when their number gets called they’ve got to show up. And our players have got to show up this week, man. You get the ball in your hand, you’ve got to make something happen, you’ve got to secure the football.”


St. Brown, 23, has 222 catches and 2,404 yards in 37 career games. He missed one game last season with an injury and was limited in two others, and the Lions had sporadic offensive production in his absence.

The Lions lost to the Seattle Seahawks, 48-45, last October in the only game St. Brown has missed in his career, but scored six points total in their next two games when he was limited by an ankle injury one week and left another game early with a concussion.


Campbell said Williams looked "good" in his return to practice, though the speedy receiver is expected to play only a rotational role on offense.

"With the potential of not having a guy like Saint, it makes it hard because he is, he’s a very productive, impactful player for us," Campbell said. "He’s very dependable. You don’t have to worry about him being where he’s supposed to be, do the job he’s supposed to do, and that’s run and pass game. I mean there’s so many things that people don’t even notice about him that he does behind the scenes, whether it’s opening up a teammate in the pass game or blocking for the running backs.


"But the good news is, is that we feel like, there again, man, we’re by committee here and we’re going to use all the pieces we have, all the resources if he’s not able to go."

Tight end James Mitchell also is doubtful to play Sunday with a hamstring injury, and the Lions (3-1) ruled out defensive back Brian Branch (ankle) and fullback Jason Cabinda (knee).


Reynolds (groin), Williams (not injury related), left tackle Taylor Decker (ankle), safety Kerby Joseph (hip), linebacker Julian Okwara (shoulder), guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai (knee), cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (knee/hamstring) and Gibbs (hamstring) are listed as questionable.

Gibbs was a late addition to the injury report Friday, Okwara is eligible to be activated from injured reserve and the Lions must reinstate Williams from the exempt list by Saturday.


Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him@davebirkett.

[whatever_gong82]

Lions' St. Brown doubtful, Branch ruled out and Gibbs questionable after hurting hamstring



Justin Rogers
The Detroit News


Allen Park — Neither Amon-Ra St. Brown nor Brian Branch practiced for the Lions this week. The rookie defensive back has officially been ruled out for Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, while the Pro Bowl receiver is doubtful, pending a final evaluation this weekend.

"We’re going to continue to work with him on the side and I think tomorrow’s going to tell us a lot," Lions coach Dan Campbell said of St. Brown. "I don’t want to push it today, so, I think we’ll know a lot more after (Saturday) morning."

St. Brown suffered an abdominal injury in last week's victory over Green Bay, but was able to push through and finish the contest, only for it to become increasingly irritated in the days following the contest. On Thursday, he said the issue is pain management, more than anything, and he remained hopeful to play against the Panthers.


Consistently Detroit's No. 1 target in the passing game, St. Brown has caught 26 passes for 331 yards and two touchdowns through the first four weeks. Campbell acknowledged it is difficult to game plan for an opponent without knowing whether the team's top receiving option will be available.


"Look, it’s not easy," Campbell said. "With the potential of not having a guy like Saint, it makes it hard because he’s a very productive, impactful player for us. And above all, he’s very dependable. He’s very dependable. You don’t have to worry about him being where he’s supposed to be, do the job he’s supposed to do, and that’s run and pass game. I mean there’s so many things that people don’t even notice about him that he does behind the scenes, whether it’s opening up a teammate in the pass game or blocking for the running backs, I mean he’s just very productive for us."

If St. Brown can't go, the Lions will have to spread the ball around more to the other options on offense, including rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs, the returning Jameson Williams and veteran Marvin Jones, who is off to a sluggish start to the 2023 season.


"It’s just when their number gets called, they’ve got to show up," Campbell said. "Our players have got to show up this week, man. You get the ball in your hand, you’ve got to make something happen; you’ve got to secure the football."

Unfortunately, Gibbs' status is also up in the air after coming out of Friday's practice with a hamstring injury. He's listed as questionable for Sunday's game.


As for Branch, he's working through an ankle sprain suffered last week at Green Bay. Not only is he out this week but he could also miss next week's game against Tampa Bay, although the team remains hopeful for a rapid recovery.

One player who is trending toward returning this week is guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai. He is officially listed as questionable, although if medically cleared, it's unlikely he'd be immediately reinserted into the starting lineup after missing the past two games with a knee injury.


"Yeah, he’s getting better," Campbell said. "We’re hopeful that we’ll have him for this game in some capacity."

Graham Glasgow has started the past two games in Vaitai's place and should get the call again against Carolina.

Also questionable for the Lions are offensive tackle Taylor Decker (ankle), safety Kerby Joseph (hip), cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (knee/hamstring), wide receiver Josh Reynolds (groin), defensive end Julian Okwara (shoulder) and Williams (not injury related).


jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers


Personal note: Today is the anniversary when Bobby Layne was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

[whatever_gong82]

Detroit Lions' Jared Goff says he ignores critics. But he doesn't, and that's good




Shawn Windsor
Detroit Free Press


Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff is good enough to play in a Super Bowl. How do we know this? Um, because he played in a Super Bowl?

Oh, but the running game propelled those Rams. Remember Todd Gurley? And what about their defense? And Aaron Donald?

Yes, yes, some quarterbacks do it by themselves — Tom Brady, cough, cough. And some need 21 All-Pros in the locker room.

That’s always the argument, right?

And it’s silly, of course, not to mention untrue, and while not all quarterbacks are created equally, a quarterback good enough to play in a Super Bowl brings value. Just as Goff brought value to the Rams. Just as he is bringing value to the Lions.

A lot of it.


Though until he gets back to a Super Bowl — and wins it — he’ll hear the kind of backhanded compliments he heard last week in Green Bay, when Ryan Fitzpatrick, a former NFL quarterback and current NFL analyst for Amazon Prime, said of Goff:


“Poor man’s Matt Ryan.”

Fitzpatrick said this during the network’s pregame show at Lambeau Field. It got back to Goff. After the Lions beat the Packers, Goff was invited onto the postgame set on the field.

“Hope it’s up to your standard,” Goff told Fitzpatrick, staring directly at him. “I didn’t know I was a poor man’s anything.”

Too sensitive?

Hardly. Goff had a right to defend his performance and call Fitzpatrick out on the insult. Fitzpatrick tried backtracking by saying he was kidding, and that Ryan was a helluva quarterback, which meant that any comparison, however modified, was a compliment.

During Ryan’s prime, he was a terrific quarterback, as Fitzpatrick said. But attaching “poor man’s” to any description never sounds like a joke. Hence, Goff’s response.


When asked about the comment this week back in Allen Park, Goff responded:

“Yeah, gave him a hard time. Ryan’s a good dude, but that’s it.”

Is it though? And, more importantly, should that be it?

Sure, Goff said his piece on the postgame set. And said even more with his play against Green Bay. Asked this week if he feels like he’s silenced some of the critics with his play last season and this, Goff said:


“Don’t care. Don’t care. There’s still going to be some and there will always be even if I’m playing great, if I’m playing poorly, there’ll always be haters and lovers and ignore them all and keep trying to get better.”


Of course, he cares. It’s almost impossible not to care. Which is why Goff said something to Fitzpatrick.

Besides, it’s not about ignoring the “haters” as much as it’s about flushing the outside noise from within. But that has to be processed first. Sometimes, that process can turn doubt into energy, like corn into ethanol.


Michael Jordan famously remembered every slight he ever heard whether it was real or imagined. And if you think he didn’t care, check out his Hall of Fame induction speech, where he laid out his career in segments of who’d trolled him.

It sounds good to say you don’t care when someone’s criticized you. It sounds even better to say there will always be critics, and that it’s best to ignore them. I mean, sure it is. And if by ignoring them he meant not responding to them, then absolutely, that’s usually best.

Unless you’ve got your critic a few feet away and you each have mics. I’d argue it took some courage for Goff to clap back at Fitzpatrick, a character trait that he’s shown on the field since he’s been a Lion.


It's no accident that Dan Campbell has used the word “tough” to describe his quarterback at various times, an underrated part of Goff’s ability. It takes toughness to throw an interception on the first series of the game and come back and lead a touchdown drive, as Goff did against Green Bay. In fact, he’s led TD drives after all three of his picks this season.

Now, ask him about resiliency and the first thing he’ll tell you is that he’s got to take care of the ball better, that he’s got to stop putting the team in the position to where it has to follow a turnover with a touchdown drive.


Fair enough. And another good answer, by the way: take ownership of the mistake, wash it, and send it back out clean.

Goff is playing the best football of his career, by metric and by sight. Every game, he makes a few throws that are quietly spectacular. As he did against Green Bay, when he whipped a pass to Sam LaPorta with a defensive back riding his shoulder.


LaPorta, the rookie tight end, drew praise for his run after the catch and for his stiff arm; the play gained 35 yards. But the replay from the camera behind Goff showed the near impossible angle he had, and the accuracy it required to squeeze the ball into the sliver of space.

Later in the game, Goff feathered a tear-dropper over the shoulder of Josh Reynolds for 26 yards, who also had a DB clinging to his pads. It was a gorgeous pass that grabbed the attention of the color analyst, and it should’ve.


Somehow, it remains easy to forget about the kind of passes Goff produces fairly frequently. Part of this is because he isn’t especially fast or athletic — comparatively — in the pocket or outside the pocket. Nor does he look athletic.

Nor is he especially outspoken or terribly charismatic, at least in the way his coach is; rarely do you see him smile, at least publicly.

He is steadfast and serious in front of a microphone or a camera, and his play on the field appears similar, which makes the kind of throw he made to LaPorta easier to forget. Because, let’s face it, how we view quarterbacks aren’t always about numbers or even Super Bowl wins.


Ryan is a good example of this. He is a better quarterback than his reputation. Goff is too, and he’s been playing like it for more than a year.

Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him@shawnwindsor.

[whatever_gong82]

Detroit Lions 'hopeful' DB Brian Branch returns for Week 6 game vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers




Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


Brian Branch likely will miss Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers, and Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said there is "a little bit" of concern Branch's injury could keep him out more than one week.

"I don’t think it’s this long-term," Campbell said. "That’s why we didn’t put him on IR, so we’re hopeful for Tampa but we’ll just have to play it by ear."


Branch, a second-round pick out of Alabama, injured his right ankle in last week's win over the Green Bay Packers and missed his fourth straight practice Friday.


The rookie defensive back has been one of the Lions' most impactful players this season. He's tied for the team lead in tackles (25), tackles for loss (three) and pass defensed (four) through four games, and returned a Patrick Mahomes interception for a touchdown in the Lions' Week 1 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.


The Lions (3-1) are 10-point favorites against the winless Panthers (0-4) on Sunday, but visit the NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6.

Will Harris is expected to start at slot cornerback Sunday in Branch's absence.


"Will’s somebody we’ve got a lot of trust in, he’s banked a lot of nickel reps," Campbell said. "And there again, Will, not only to be able to play nickel, outside corner, safety in a pinch, he’s just got so much versatility for us. So that’s good."

Campbell said cornerback Emmanuel Moseley remains on track to make his Lions debut in a part-time role Sunday.


The Lions signed Moseley with intentions of starting him opposite Cam Sutton at cornerback, but Moseley tore the ACL in his left knee last fall with the San Francisco 49ers, missed all of training camp after undergoing a clean-up procedure on his knee, and pulled a hamstring in his return to practice in September.


Moseley could see reps as a rotational replacement for both Sutton and Jerry Jacobs, Campbell said.

"He’s a veteran guy, a guy that’s played a lot of good football in this league," cornerbacks coach Dre Bly said. "So very smart player, done a lot of good things in the past. Leadership. Experienced player. A guy that’s been out there and made a lot of plays and done some good things, so when he’s out there we expect him to be that same guy."


Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown did not practice Friday and his status for Sunday is uncertain because of an abdominal injury. Campbell said St. Brown, the Lions' leading receiver with 26 catches for 331 yards and two touchdowns, played through the injury against the Packers.

"I don’t want to push it today, so I think we’ll know a lot more after tomorrow morning," Campbell said.


Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him@davebirkett.