Lions News

[whatever_gong82]

[whatever_gong82]

[whatever_gong82]

[whatever_gong82]

[whatever_gong82]

[froot loops]

Cominsky has a glaring miss on Sunday on a key play. He had Herbert dead to rights but he didn't properly break down before attempting to tackle.

[Mainevent]

Yeah, saw that one watching the condensed game yesterday - really weird, like he thought Herbert was going to bail out backwards and just let him escape up and out through the middle.

[froot loops]

The sacks are going to start coming, a lot of counting stats pile up against bad opponents, sacks are no different. Some of the issues on the pass rush are because they are trying to stop the run so they do not abandon run responsibilities in pursuit of sacks. For the most part, teams do not run successfully on them.

The issue Sunday was much more about the secondary than the front 7. The three lowest defensive players PFF grades were Branch, Sutton and Joseph. The safety play has been bad in coverage this season. Most of the time when you see these long passes where a guy is wide open, it has been coverage busts by the safeties.

[whatever_gong82]

As far as the Chargers setting a dubious NFL record, that's almost always the SOL doing something awful like that.

In a weird sort of way, Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers reminds me of the Matt Stafford era Detroit Lions: A talented quarterback stuck on a mediocre team.

Hopefully, we're long past SOL but we're barely past halfway through the regular season, with the Playoffs coming up, as long as disaster doesn't strike.

[whatever_gong82]

Lions signing former first-round pass rusher Bruce Irvin to practice squad



Justin Rogers
The Detroit News



Allen Park — The Detroit Lions' pass rush has been better this season, but it has also struggled with consistency. In an effort to remedy the situation, the Lions are signing former first-round pick Bruce Irvin, a team source confirmed.

Like many veteran additions at this stage of the season, he'll initially be added to the team's practice squad. Selected with the 15th pick of the 2012 draft by the Seattle Seahawks, the 36-year-old Irvin has played for five teams during his career, most recently completing a third stint in Seattle last season.

Bruce Irvin NFL linebacker.jpg

In 138 career games, he's tallied 55.5 sacks, including 3.5 in 11 appearances in 2022.

The Lions are coming off a game where they failed to record a single sack. It's the second time in three games and the third time this season they've been shut out in the category. In nine games, they've recorded five or more sacks three times, while being held to one or fewer on six occasions.

“We’ve got to really hone in on our technique with where we’re at," Lions coach Dan Campbell said Monday. "We’ve got a lot of things that are schemed up that we can be better at, the execution of it. ...We’ve got to win our one-on-ones when they show up upfront, and really, even in the backend, too. When those times present themselves, we have to win a one-on-one. Certainly, more than we did (Sunday)."

The Lions have been paced by last year's first-round pick, Aidan Hutchinson, who has 4.5 sacks through nine games. None of the team's other edge rushers has more than two. As a team, their 21 sacks are tied for 21st in the league.


jdrogers@detroitnews.com

[whatever_gong82]

Detroit Lions reportedly add pass rush help, sign veteran DE Bruce Irvin to practice squad



Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press



The Detroit Lions didn't do anything to upgrade their defense at last month's trade deadline, but the team made a move to bolster its pass rush Tuesday.

The Lions signed veteran defensive end Bruce Irvin to their practice squad, Irvin's agent, Daniela Salazar, told NFL Network.



Irvin has 55.5 career sacks over 11 seasons with five different teams. He made 10 starts and appeared in 11 games with 3.5 sacks last year for the Seattle Seahawks.

Irvin, 36, is far removed from his early days as an every down edge rusher, but he adds depth to a Lions pass rush that has been inconsistent this season.

Bruce Irvin NFL linebacker_8-12-2020.jpg

The Lions have not had a sack in two of their past three games and three times this year, but have three games with five or more sacks. They rank 25th in the NFL in pass rush percentage, recording a sack on 6.5% of opponent drop backs.


Second-year defensive end Aidan Hutchinson leads the Lions with 4.5 sacks. He had three quarterback hits in last week's win over the Los Angeles Chargers, but has not had a sack since the Lions' Week 5 win over the Carolina Panthers.

Outside linebacker Julian Okwara (two sacks) is the Lions' only other edge player with as many as two sacks.



James Houston, who was expected to start at outside linebacker and give the Lions an edge presence opposite Hutchinson, has not played since fracturing his fibula in Week 2.

Houston could return in late December.


The Lions, who have 21 sacks as a team this season, host a Chicago Bears team that's tied for the sixth most sacks allowed (30) this season.

Along with the Seahawks, Irvin has played for the Bears, Raiders, Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers.


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

[whatever_gong82]

https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/film-review-lions-vision-montgomery-gibbs-shine

[whatever_gong82]

Lions' Vaitai heading to injured reserve with a back injury



Justin Rogers
The Detroit News



Allen Park — Offensive lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai pondered retirement this offseason following a back surgery that cost him the entire 2022 season, but returned to the Detroit Lions on a significantly reduced salary because he felt he had unfinished business.

Unfortunately, things haven't gone according to plan for the veteran guard. On Tuesday the team placed him on injured reserve with a back injury, which will sideline him at least the next four games.

Offensive lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai.jpg

Vaitai had won Detroit's starting right guard job out of training camp, but was initially put on the shelf after suffering a knee injury in Week 2. After missing two games, he was active the next four, but mostly as an emergency option, making a single start, against Baltimore.

Since Week 8, ahead of the team's Monday night matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders, Vaitai began showing up on the practice report with a back injury. That worsened this past week, when he missed Thursday and Friday's practice and was ruled out for Sunday's game against the Chargers.

Since Vaitai's early-season knee injury, Graham Glasgow entered the starting lineup. He's played three different positions, but as long as the unit is at full strength, he'll continue to serve as the team's right guard.



jdrogers@detroitnews.com

@Justin_Rogers

[whatever_gong82]

[CGVT]

Big V is now Lubinized.