Lions News

[froot loops]

Counterpoint - Jones is Goff like figure and would thrive in a Ben Johnson offense. I think Jones got a bad deal in NYG, that organization is shit right now.

Plus I think the plan for Jones is practice squad. Florio mentioned that he is looking for a practice squad gig where he would wait for a contending team to possibly poach him if there was an injury.

[whatever_gong82]

Can the Eagles seriously threaten the Lions in the NFC?

Paywall The Athletic article.


By Mike Sando


The Philadelphia Eagles have won their past seven games and seem to be gaining momentum. Can they seriously threaten the Detroit Lions in the NFC?



After watching Saquon Barkley and the Eagles dominate the Los Angeles Rams 37-20, NBC’s Cris Collinsworth declared Philadelphia a team that could win it all.

The Athletic’s playoff model agrees, with a caveat. The model sees the Lions as about twice as likely to win the Super Bowl, 21 percent to 11 percent.


How do NFL insiders see it?


“One game, head to head, yes, the Eagles could win, but if they played five games, Philly would lose at least three of them, maybe four of them,” an NFC coach whose team faced the Eagles said.


Another assistant from the NFC called the gap between the Lions and Eagles “substantial” even though a single game separates them in the conference standings.


“I don’t know if I trust Philly still,” he said. “There is something about if (Jalen) Hurts gets behind and they have to throw. Now, the defensive turnaround has been enormous for them.”


This was not a consensus view.


“I don’t think the Eagles are far behind because, with Saquon Barkley, they can run it on anybody,” an NFC exec said. “That would be a really good game. I don’t think the gap is as big as some think it is. Vic Fangio’s defense can be a little tricky, but I think they are buying in. They seem to be getting it, making calls, making adjustments.”


The Lions, Eagles and Packers are the only teams ranked among the NFL’s top 10 in EPA per play on both sides of the ball, led by Detroit (second on offense, third on defense), per TruMedia.

Two execs thought Green Bay was the NFC team most likely to threaten the Lions or Eagles.


“I like Jordan Love,” one of them said. “Something makes him short-circuit still, and that is just a growing pain you are going to have to live with. It’s like some of the stuff Josh Allen went with early on.”

The second exec questioned Minnesota because of Sam Darnold.


“I don’t see anyone else in Detroit’s category,” he said. “I don’t trust Darnold. I would say Green Bay because of their overall talent, and because I trust Matt LaFleur and I trust their playoff performance last year.”

The table below stacks all NFC teams by percent chance of reaching the playoffs, according to the model.

(I'm pasting the table in 2 parts due to the size.)

2024 NFC Playoff model as of 11-25-2024.jpg

2024 NFC Playoff model as of 11-25-2024_A.jpg

[whatever_gong82]

https://x.com/LionsPR/status/1861042221807485207

[Mainevent]

Counterpoint - Jones is Goff like figure and would thrive in a Ben Johnson offense. I think Jones got a bad deal in NYG, that organization is shit right now.

Plus I think the plan for Jones is practice squad. Florio mentioned that he is looking for a practice squad gig where he would wait for a contending team to possibly poach him if there was an injury.

Yeah, if they can get him on the PS, go for it. I don’t think the Lions can/would spend 3 roster spots on QB at this point given all the injury juggling they are doing.

And Jones would absolutely give you a better chance of winning a playoff game than Hooker would right now.

[Tom]

Jones has started plenty of games and has played in the playoffs. As a backup, I think he could be useful.

[El Axe]

Jones has actually won a playoff game. 6 weeks of practice and learning the playbook, I'd trust him to finish a playoff game more than Hooker at this point, but I wouldn't break the bank for him either.

[froot loops]

With the way the Lions work the practice squad and their penchant for keeping a roster spot open, they could carry a third quarterback on the 53 man roster. It would be better to have him on the PS and you have unlimited elevations in the playoffs. They are really good at this juggling act.

Jones is going to have a lot of suitors and it's more likely other teams give him a better chance at playing.

[whatever_gong82]

https://x.com/nolanbianchi/status/1861156682661019688

[whatever_gong82]

Atlanta Falcons Head Coach Raheem Morris gives a shout out to Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions:

https://x.com/Bryce_Lewis86/status/1861121983234060716

[whatever_gong82]

An update on Lions' injury situation and how they could backfill potential Thanksgiving absences


Justin Rogers


Allen Park — Given the short turnaround between Sunday’s game and padding back up for Thursday’s matchup with the Chicago Bears, the Detroit Lions won’t be conducting traditional practices this week, opting instead for walkthroughs.

Coach Dan Campbell said the message to his team during Thanksgiving week is "rest, recovery and mental work."


“It's how fast can you recover, get your body right, get your mind focused on the job at hand because you're not going to get the physical (reps in practice),” Campbell said.

The reality is the Lions are in rough shape coming out of Sunday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts. Even though the team didn’t practice on Monday, the league required them to release an estimated injury report.


On that report, six players were projected to be sidelined. In addition to the four who had to miss snaps Sunday — running back David Montgomery, offensive tackle Taylor Decker, cornerback Carlton Davis III and return man Kalif Raymond — wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (knee) and defensive tackle DJ Reader (illness) were also listed.


“I've got the list right here and that's tough,” Campbell said. “I think there're probably three of them it'll be hard to get them there (active for the game). But it's really day-to-day. It really is. We're going to know a lot more about some of these guys tomorrow than we do today.

“It's going to come down to the wire with a number of them,” Campbell said. “That's the challenge with the short week. The good news is I think most of these are not some long-term thing, but three days to turn around and play, that's where it becomes a little bit of an issue.”


Campbell clarified the three who are least likely to play on Thursday are Davis, Decker and Raymond.

Raymond was the least surprising from that group. He was carted off with a foot injury after a punt return in the third quarter and Campbell told reporters after Sunday’s game it appeared the injury would sideline the special teams standout for a bit.


As for Davis, he suffered a knee injury when his leg got caught in the artificial turf at Lucas Oil Stadium. He could be seen gingerly testing it out on an exercise bike behind Detroit's bench during the second half and was still uncertain about his future status in the locker room after the matchup.

As for Decker, he hurt his knee and ankle when quarterback Jared Goff was shoved into the back of his leg. He missed the remainder of that offensive series but returned and played most of the rest of the game with his lower leg heavily taped.


“I don't like having extra tape if I don't need it,” Decker said. “Normally I don't really tape my ankles, I just spat (them). I was having to have ankle tape, moleskin straps, hard tape. It was just a lot of stuff and then spat over top of it. I just don't like my movement restricted. It felt a little funky, but it was good.”

If all three are ultimately ruled out, here’s the likely replacement plan at each spot.


Offensive tackle

Decker recently missed the team’s Week 10 matchup against Houston with a shoulder injury he suffered during that week of practice. So we have a pretty good idea about what the alternative looks like.


Veteran Dan Skipper has been the next man up at that spot all season and would be expected to continue in that role if Decker can’t go. The question is whether Skipper would line up at left or right tackle.

Skipper played left tackle against the Texans, but Campbell said with more time to prepare, the team would prefer shifting Penei Sewell to the blindside and starting the backup at right tackle.


Does this week qualify, especially if the team isn’t getting physical reps? That’s unclear.

Also, there’s a question about who would serve as Sewell and Skipper’s backup if Decker is sidelined. The Lions have two other offensive tackles on the 53-man roster — Colby Sorsdal and rookie Giovanni Manu — but opted to elevate and activate the more-experienced practice squad veteran Jamarco Jones against the Texans.


Cornerback

Based on what the team did against Indianapolis, where rookie Terrion Arnold had to miss the contest with a groin injury, Kindle Vildor remains the No. 3 option on the depth chart. But after a shaky showing against the Colts, there’s a question about how long his leash might be, especially with Emmanuel Mosely recently activated off injured reserve.


The Lions slow-played Moseley’s involvement in his season debut, limiting him to a handful of special teams snaps. I asked Campbell on Monday when he would be comfortable using the veteran corner in a defensive role. The answer: Now.

“He’s ready,” Campbell said. “This game yesterday was big. …I mean, really, he hadn’t played in two years, and to be able to go out there and know that, ‘OK, I can trust this, I can trust my body,’ he went out there, competed, did a good job on (special) teams for us. But yeah, I think he’s ready. I think he’s ready and we’re not afraid to use him.”


It would be surprising to see the Lions thrust Moseley into an every-down role given his lengthy layoff, but rotating him in for a few series against Chicago is seemingly in play.

As for Arnold, he was projected as a full participant on Monday's practice report, suggesting his absence will only be the one game.


Punt returner

A few weeks ago, undrafted rookie Isaiah Williams would have been the logical replacement for Raymond, but Williams was claimed off waivers by the Bengals when the Lions had to do some roster shuffling earlier this month.



One thing is clear, the Lions don’t need to be putting All-Pro receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown in that spot like they did down the stretch against the Colts, unnecessarily jeopardizing the health of the passing game’s key cog.

The logical answer would be someone off the practice squad, either Tom Kennedy or Maurice Alexander. The team re-signed Alexander in response to losing Williams.


Kennedy would probably be better suited to replace Raymond’s limited role on offense.

“We're prepared, like we always are, next man up,” Campbell said. “You've got to hold the line, do your job and go compete.”





Email: jrogers@detroitfootball.net

X: Justin_Rogers

Bluesky: Justin-Rogers

[whatever_gong82]

https://www.youtube.com/live/YE1wln3e4PM?si=iTkrbQwJ6zjiv0U9

[DanO]

Atlanta Falcons Head Coach Raheem Morris gives a shout out to Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions:

https://x.com/Bryce_Lewis86/status/1861121983234060716

LOVE!

[Coop]

Giants are almost as bad as the Jets...hard to evaluate Jones. don't think Jones would cost much as they are paying his salary.

[whatever_gong82]

Lions film review: What led to the offense's inconsistency against the Colts?

Justin Rogers
Nov 26



Allen Park — In many ways, the Indianapolis Colts stuck to the defensive script of their season against the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

The opposition stayed true to what they'd done the first 11 games, surrendering a truckload of yardage, but preventing the opponent from cashing in on the scoreboard to a degree that matched that production. Maybe the only difference is the takeaway-happy unit couldn't manufacture a turnover along the way.


If you watched the game, Detroit’s top-ranked offense felt disjointed in the 24-6 loss. That feeling wouldn’t be wrong. The 390 yards they racked up were in line with their typical weekly output, but the 5.4 yards per play average was down more than 13 percent, and the 24 points matched their lowest-scoring total in eight games. The other time they posted 24 during that stretch was in rainy, muddy conditions in Green Bay.

The best way to say it is the offense didn’t live up to its pre-established standard on Sunday. For this week’s film review, we’re going to look at what went right and the root of the inconsistencies on Sunday that caused the Lions to fall short of their own, lofty expectations.



Let’s start by examining the three touchdown drives, which required nine, nine and 10 plays to punch it into the end zone. The first two came on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter. What stands out is an easily identifiable theme, both included explosive pass plays. The 27- and 21-yard gains were actually the two longest of the game for Detroit.

The first series started with sloppy execution but was salvaged by quarterback Jared Goff’s ability to adjust under pressure. After Jahmyr Gibbs’ drive-opening run was stuffed for no gain when rookie Sione Vaki whiffed on his blocking assignment, Goff found himself flushed from his pocket by a well-executed stunt on second-and-10.


Buying time rolling to his left, the QB stayed poised on the move, keeping his eyes downfield instead of accepting a short gain on a scramble. That allowed him to locate Tim Patrick, the veteran receiver who has a knack for finding space when a play breaks down. Goff was able to deliver the cross-body throw while still on the move as two Colts defenders collapsed on the ball, giving Patrick the space to run for a 27-yard gain after making the grab.



The gain put the Lions in field goal range, and facing third-and-8 three snaps later, that appeared to be where things were heading. But instead of throwing on the obvious passing down, the Lions ran Gibbs up the middle, likely seeing if the call could create a fourth-and-manageable. Instead, the back converted with a 17-yard gain.


The gap concept, with two tight ends off right tackle, was largely successful because of a combination block by Taylor Decker and Graham Glasgow that drove defensive tackle DeForest Buckner from his gap.

A high-effort block by tight end Sam LaPorta, paired with center Frank Ragnow’s successful climb to the second level, extended Gibbs’ lane upfield, effectively keeping the back untouched before reaching the safety, where he was able to churn out the remaining yardage.



A little zone-stressing, sit-down route to Amon-Ra St. Brown a couple of snaps later would give the Lions first-and-goal from the 3, and Gibbs would put a bow on things with a 1-yard run around the left side where he outran a couple defenders to the corner and picked up a block from a pulling Glasgow to remove the final piece of resistance.

The next possession was the offense’s smoothest of the game, opening with efficient gains of 8, 10 and 8 yards. Then, on second-and-2, Goff found Jameson Williams for 21 yards, putting the Lions just outside the red zone.


A variation of a dagger concept, St. Brown ran a vertical route from the left slot, angling toward the middle of the field to occupy both of the Colts’ middle-field safeties.

Combined with play-action that held the linebackers close to the line of scrimmage, it allowed Williams to come open with his deeper dig pattern from a wide-right alignment, taking advantage of the space between zone layers created by St. Brown’s route and the play fake.



Still, the Lions found themselves facing another third-and-long, and again, they opted to run it on the third-and-6 snap from the 19.

This time it was David Montgomery taking the shotgun handoff, and despite missing an initial lane to his left between Decker and LaPorta, the back bounced right through a tiny hole created by blocks from right guard Kevin Zeitler and Ragnow. From there, the back pinballed off one tackler and dragged a second several yards for the 13-yard gain to the 6.


Two plays later, Montgomery was in the end zone, scoring from 6 yards out. And Glasgow again provided the key block(s), initially delivering a hard shoulder into Grover Stewart to help Ragnow seal the defensive tackle to the outside of the lane before climbing to the second level to wipe out linebacker Zaire Franklin.


Detroit’s offensive momentum stalled for a bit with a clunky two-minute drive at the end of the half and a turnover on downs to open the third quarter. We’ll come back to those later.

The team returned to the end zone late in the third frame with a 10-play, 79-yard march that gave the Lions some needed breathing room.


But it was nearly a one-play, 79-yard drive.

Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson dialed up a quick screen to Williams, who sliced inside between several quality blocks. The final block, on the deep safety, belonged to St. Brown. He managed to get across the defender’s face as designed, but Williams’ momentum prohibited him from making a final cut left into space for what would have been a long score.


Despite lacking explosive plays on the series, Detroit did have several chunk gains, overcoming a strip-sack for a loss of 7 allowed by Dan Skipper, who was serving as an extra blocking tight end on the snap.


St. Brown kept the drive alive after that blunder with a 12-yard catch-and-run, taking an underneath throw against the zone coverage on third-and-9 and powering ahead for the chain-moving gain.

The Lions racked up 30 more yards the next two plays with a screen to Montgomery and a 16-yard zone run by Gibbs, who found a lot of green with a backside cut to set up first-and-goal from the 9.


Gibbs added his second score of the day on third-and-goal from the 5, using his rare speed to outrun the unblocked contain defender, cornerback Samuel Womack III (No. 33).

Fittingly, the score made it so all three touchdown drives contained a longer-than-usual third-down conversion on the ground.



We’re going to gloss over it, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the game-closing possession, where the Lions killed the remaining 4:42 of clock before taking a knee to end the contest. A 15-yard curl to Williams and a 16-yard Gibbs run were key on the series, which likely felt as good as any of the scoring drives.


But that left six drives where the Lions either didn’t end up in the end zone or end the game. Let’s look at what went wrong with each of those series, starting with the offense’s first possession.

Things started well enough with a pair of first downs moving the ball across midfield, and the Lions had a manageable third-and-3 from the 37-yard line after Montgomery got tripped up on the perimeter the previous play.


On the third-down snap, Goff looked to pass from shotgun, with the Colts countering with Cover-2. The QB’s initial read, LaPorta on a dig route out of motion, was covered. And before Goff could progress to his second read, he was moved off his spot by Buckner, who initially gave Zeitler trouble.

Despite the guard recovering to keep the pocket clean, Goff got flustered and missed the open throw across the middle. Trying to evade Bucker, who had gotten free a second time, Goff lost his footing and was touched down for the sack.


The Lions would score the next two possessions and had a chance to extend their lead before the half, but Buckner was key to causing the failed series.

On first-and-10, the three-time Pro Bowler knifed past Glasgow, forcing Goff to tuck and scramble, resulting in the QB sliding for the short sack.


Buckner would have an impact on the next snap, as well, hitting the quarterback and hurrying Goff into a check-down after quickly swatting his way past Ragnow.

Then, on third, perhaps dealing with an altered mental clock from the previous two snaps, Goff made a rare poor throw, pushing a curl to the outside shoulder of receiver Kalif Raymond that was nearly picked off by Womack, who broke on the route from his Cover-4 alignment.


Detroit looked poised to rebound after halftime, taking the opening kickoff of the third quarter and moving deep into Colts territory. The drive was fueled by three consecutive throws to the running backs for 30 yards, including a slot screen to Gibbs that converted a third-and-7.


Leaning on the success of the perimeter blocking, the Lions pushed inside the 20 with a quick out to St. Brown on a first-down snap that gained 8, but the offense stalled, ending their perfect day in the red zone.

Things started falling apart when Goff misfired behind his target on a play-action rollout to Sam LaPorta, who had initially blocked the defensive end before a delayed release into the right flat.


Another protection breakdown wasted third down as Penei Sewell surrendered inside pressure to rookie edge rusher Laiatu Latu, forcing Goff to scramble, with the QB coming up a yard short of the line to gain.


Not surprisingly, the Lions opted to go for it on fourth-and-1, handing it off to Montgomery, but the play was D.O.A. when Franklin shot the backside gap and blew things up in the backfield.

After rebounding with a touchdown their next possession, the Lions would do next to nothing with their first three drives in the fourth quarter, gaining 37 total yards.


After a quality gain of 16 on a screen pass to Brock Wright, the Lions found themselves facing third-and-8 following an inefficient 2-yard run by Gibbs, where he eschewed some yards with an unnecessary spin and bounce to the perimeter, followed by a throwaway by Goff when the Colts covered a play-action rollout designed to go to Williams.

Facing a blitz on third down, the pocket held, but Goff was errant again, throwing a tight-window post pattern behind Williams, leading to a punt.


The next series was hindered by a loss of yardage on first down when Wright faltered in pass protection, forcing Goff to hurriedly fire to Gibbs in the right flat, where he was immediately dropped 3 yards behind the line.

The Lions got back 5 on a second-down handoff, but more pass-rush pressure on third down from a right-side stunt flushed the QB from his pocket and forced a throwaway.


Taking over near midfield following a defensive stop, the Lions mustered three points after working into range for a long Jake Bates field goal.

Gibbs made up for a false start before the first snap of the series with a leg-churning third-and-2 conversion after initially running into a wall.


The Lions went for a kill shot on the next snap, but the bomb to St. Brown was woefully underthrown when Ragnow and Glasgow each lost their blocks, forcing Goff to hurl the effort off his back foot.


After Gibbs lost 4 yards on second down, the Lions settled for a check-down to LaPorta on third to give Bates a shot at the 56-yard effort, which the strong-legged quicker converted with ease.


Concluding thoughts

The lack of explosive plays was glaring. The Colts took away the downfield opportunities with an effective four-man pass rush paired with a lot of Cover-2 and Cover-4 looks in the back end.


He didn’t have a huge stat line, but you could really see Gibbs’ continued growth as a runner in this one. Outside of one carry, he picked the right time to lean on his speed and he repeatedly demonstrated an excellent feel for using his cutback lanes, resulting in some quality gains.

Goff wasn’t at his best and got away with putting a couple balls in danger. He particularly struggled when under pressure, an area where he's been much improved in 2024.


The blocking of Tim Patrick and Sam LaPorta deserves to be highlighted, with both playing key roles in several successful run and pass plays.

It’s always weird to see a team’s best players have bad days, but Ragnow and Sewell both had multiple lapses in pass protection.


Taylor Decker was Detroit’s best lineman in an otherwise inconsistent outing for the vaunted group. He was effective both in protection and with his run assignments, aside from one or two. If he can’t go against the Bears on Thursday due to knee and ankle injuries, the absence will be felt.

The Lions clearly identified something in their game planning with how the Colts defended screens. The team worked a variety of them to various position groups with success.



Email: jrogers@detroitfootball.net

X: Justin_Rogers

Bluesky: Justin-Rogers

[chemiclord]

It says something when an analyst feels compelled to figure out what went wrong in a game a team scored 24 points and won by 18.