Lions News

[Futureshock]

How James Houston could have Micah Parsons-like impact on Detroit Lions defense in 2023

Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press

James Houston was one of the most disruptive pass rushers in the NFL this season despite playing only a smattering of snaps after starting the year on the Detroit Lions practice squad....
..."Numbers don’t lie, and especially with the percentage of plays he did play," Smith said. "I mean, they got a good tandem now with him and Aidan, and a good coaching staff, so I just think his ceiling is really high."

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

Nah. Hey, let's add another guy to the mix to water down all three guys effectiveness. Maybe Houston can play some DT? <sarc>

[jaadam4]

Is this the fastest culture shift for a team ever? I don't remember hearing these types of quotes, at least not in a long time.

BTW, thank you whatever_gong82 for posting some good articles recently!!

We’ve heard a few quotes but I don’t think it was ever real. This is indeed pretty incredible.

Cinci's shifted pretty damn quick. Winning tends to be the most reliable culture shock in the NFL.

Now, what I'll say is that I've never seen a team that started as low as the Lions get to the point where players are tripping over themselves to stay this quickly, and that is a testament to what Campbell, Holmes, and yes even Sheila have constructed around them.

You’re not wrong there. I bought into MCDC fully last year. Every season I buy the NFL package and by game 4-6 I’m already pissed off. I don’t watch the middle games but then at the end of the year I’ll tune in to root for loses and better picks.

Last year I watched damn near every game. They fought their asses off and it took MCDC from sound bite guy to “ok we might actually have something here”.

Then came Hard Knocks and you could see it all forming. The Band of Brothers between the coaching staff, GM, front office, and the players. Everyone was buying in.

Once the loses started to mount the pressure got absolutely real. I thought next year could be MCDCs last if he didn’t make the playoffs. Now I’m not sure what to think but the division is ours if they’ll just take the motherfucker

[chemiclord]

Well, franchise improvement isn't a linear one. It tends to be more logarithmic (the curve flattens pretty severely from this point on). The Lions have finished the easier part of team building. It's an entirely different (and significantly more difficult) task to take a .500 team to the top. Holmes and Campbell and co. may very well falter going forward. It would hardly be the first time that a team rose from the bottom to the middle... then never took the next step.

[Mainevent]

We've seen the "they play hard for this guy" before in lots of places, primarily with Caldwell in Detroit. That only gets you so far. You have to have smart football people that can build a team, hire good coaches and make tough decisions. Holmes and Campbell have a plan for what they want in a team and an organization and they have every single person on board with what that is. They aren't trying to mimic some other team or where they've been before, but are taking that experience and creating their own vision. But they have also shown an ability to adjust that vision rather than just blindly following a script if something doesn't work. It's really what leadership in an organization is about.

And you can't do that without the right person at the top, so you have to give a ton of credit to Sheila. She started off shaky with some of the BS around Quinntricia, and I was super critical of her, but she's looks like she's hit homeruns all over the place with the hires she's made.

[ghandi]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/data-shows-lions-were-one-150245482.html

Better lucky than good?

[jaadam4]

We've seen the "they play hard for this guy" before in lots of places, primarily with Caldwell in Detroit. That only gets you so far. You have to have smart football people that can build a team, hire good coaches and make tough decisions. Holmes and Campbell have a plan for what they want in a team and an organization and they have every single person on board with what that is. They aren't trying to mimic some other team or where they've been before, but are taking that experience and creating their own vision. But they have also shown an ability to adjust that vision rather than just blindly following a script if something doesn't work. It's really what leadership in an organization is about.

And you can't do that without the right person at the top, so you have to give a ton of credit to Sheila. She started off shaky with some of the BS around Quinntricia, and I was super critical of her, but she's looks like she's hit homeruns all over the place with the hires she's made.

I like the continuing effort to build the OL. Keep it going Holmes

[whatever_gong82]

Is this the fastest culture shift for a team ever? I don't remember hearing these types of quotes, at least not in a long time.

BTW, thank you whatever_gong82 for posting some good articles recently!!

You're welcome.



I'm usually working 3rd shift at night when the Freep and Detroit News articles show up online, and I have a current subscription to both for the time being.

[whatever_gong82]

Never has it been easier to see Detroit Lions playing — and winning — in the playoffs

Shawn Windsor

Detroit Free Press


They’re different, these NFL playoffs. They feel different, anyway.

And since perception is reality and the Lions are changing perceptions, well, Sunday's impending NFC and AFC championship games suddenly don’t feel like faraway entertainment as much as a referendum on:

How would the Lions stack up against Kansas City? Or Cincinnati? Or San Francisco?

Or Philadelphia?

Wait, we know how they’d match up against the Eagles. We saw that. Up close. In Week 1, when the Lions scored a touchdown with three minutes and change left in the game to make it 38-35 and then … couldn’t … force … a … punt.

Twice, the Lions pushed the Eagles to third down. Once, they pushed them to fourth down. The game was that close.

And when it was over, and the Lions opened the season with a loss, the assumption, by many, was that Philadelphia was nothing more than a solid playoff team — the Eagles were coming off a wild-card loss — and that the Lions’ fourth-quarter touchdowns weren’t much more than window dressing.

Turns out the play from both sides wasn’t a fluke. The Eagles kept rolling with 13 wins in their first 14 games, earned homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs and are now a win over the 49ers away from the Super Bowl. We all know how the Lions finished their season.

Yes, hanging with the Eagles at Ford Field in September is not the same as doing so at Lincoln Financial Field in late January. But the Lions would hang again with Philly, at least for a while. Just as they could with Cincy, K.C. or San Francisco.



Which means that for the first time in forever, it’s not ridiculous to imagine the Lions — THE LIONS! — in a conference title game. Knowing that has made watching these playoffs different.

And more fun, albeit still a bit bittersweet.



Still, imagining the Lions playing — and thriving — in the conference championship game is one thing. Actually beating the Eagles or the 49ers, and then the Chiefs or the Bengals in the Super Bowl, is another.

It’s a different level, though not one that’s as far away as you might think.


Consider it this way, if you’ll forgive the strained logic (aka, the transitive properties theory) so often applied in sports: If Team X beats Team Y and Team Z beats Team Y, then Team Z should be able to stay with Team X. At least, so we think.

For example, Kansas City beat Jacksonville in the divisional round by a touchdown, 27-20. It was an actual close game, not one of those one that looks close on the score ticker but in fact wasn’t.



The Lions didn’t play Kansas City this season. But they did play Jacksonville in early December.

The Lions won, 40-14.

Again, this doesn’t mean the Lions would beat the Chiefs, not by the 19 points implied by the difference in the victories, nor even by a single point. It does suggest, however, that the Lions could play with them. And, at this point in the Lions' rebuild, that’s significant.

That we’re even having this discussion is radical. The Lions won three games a season ago. They began this season 1-6. Team owner Sheila Hamp had to meet with the media midseason to reiterate her belief in Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes.

And now we’re imagining how’d they line up with the 49ers or the Bengals?

The NFL changes like that. Always has. The Jaguars were a mess a year ago — they fired head coach Urban Meyer late at night midseason, just over 400 days ago — then struggled early this season, just like the Lions. But they stayed in games, and then started winning them.

They caught a break — aka, the AFC South — to make the postseason and beat the Chargers in the wild-card round after falling behind by 27. The next thing they know they’re lining up against Patrick Mahomes, and 2021 No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence had grown up in a hurry.

So, yeah, it can take forever — or at least seem like it — and then it’s sudden, and here the Lions are, likely favorites to win the NFC North next season, the darlings of the national media and a team that will carry serious expectations eight months from now.


The Lions don't have Mahomes or Lawrence or Joe Burrow or Jalen Hurts, but they have a good story — like the 49ers do with Brock Purdy — and sometimes stories have a way of creating their own momentum.

They also have talent, maybe more than is realized at the moment: A lot of their talent is young talent, and young talent can change fast, too.

Potential is tantalizing like that. Each week of the playoffs has made the Lions’ potential even more tantalizing.

Hey, the Lions could score on those guys. Jared Goff could make that throw. Kerby Joseph could break up that pass. James Houston could sack that quarterback. So, this is what it’s like to love a team that might just be able to compete … with anyone?

Yeah, it is.

Of course, right now, it's only a feeling. So let the imagination run wild when the title games kick off. About what the Lions need next. About where they might be going next. A team appearing to be on the come-up is the most endearing period of fandom.

Because you never know. Expectations can get heavy. Bad luck can take over: A tipped pass, a fumble, a missed tackle — how many times have Lions fans seen those? — and one loss turns into three and seasons get away in a flash.

That’s for the future, though. For now, enjoy Sunday's conference championships — and enjoy more that the Lions wouldn’t look out of place playing in one.

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

[ghandi]

The NFL is a pretty mediocre league...really there are only 4-5 pretty good teams.....Thats why a team like Cinci can go from the 5th pick to the super bowl......A 8 win and a 9 win team won their divisions and hosted a playoff game.....Jags went from worst team in the league to the playoffs.....Lions went from second worst team to just missing playoffs.

[jaadam4]

BTW, thank you jaadam4 for posting amazing shit all the time. I see why you’re loved, respected and feared (in fantasy football of course). Don’t you ever change

Fixed it for you Deb

[whatever_gong82]

Fixed it for you Deb

I didn't know that I'm you now!! LOL

[whatever_gong82]

The serious love for Jamaal Williams shows something about him — and Detroit Lions fans

Jeff Seidel

Detroit Free Press


I didn’t expect to write this column.

I didn’t even expect to work on Saturday — I was supposed to be on vacation. But I got an email that Detroit Lions running back Jamaal Williams was scheduled to do an autograph signing at DC Sports at Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights.

I thought: Well, that could be interesting, just to see Williams interact with fans. He is one of the most charismatic athletes I have ever met. Funny. Engaging. Authentic. Incredibly likeable. Just so dang personable and enjoyable to be around.

So I decided to check it out. But on the way there, I started to question myself: Will anybody show up? For a free agent? I mean, there is no guarantee Williams will return next season.

To make it worse, the weather was miserable — gray skies and light snow flurries.


I walked into the mall about 30 minutes before the signing, and there were about 30 people in line. Almost all of them were wearing Lions gear. Hmm. OK. Not bad. Expected more. Then I looked again. All those Lions fans were in line at a pretzel place, which suddenly looked like a concession line at Ford Field.

So I kept walking, and what I found was stunning. More than 500 people were waiting in a line that snaked through the mall. It started at DC Sports, curved around one end of the mall, went down a long hallway and back, snaked through the middle of the mall, down another walkway, around the front of Lord & Taylor and back again.

Stunning.



I shot video of the crowd, walking from one end to the other, and it took me 2½ minutes. And I didn’t even get to the end.

“It's one of our biggest signings — ever!” DC Sports owner Steven Graus said.

DC Sports has done more than 500 signings in the past 30 years, and this was easily in the top five.


Right up there with Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson. Miguel Cabrera after his Triple Crown. Or even a young Justin Verlander.


Which says several things:

1. Clearly, the Swagg Kazekage, “the leader of the Hidden Village of the Den,” is beloved by fans;

2. Lions fans got one taste of winning — six of eight to end the season — and the excitement around this team has skyrocketed;

3. Williams has strong crossover appeal with the Pokemon crowd. Yeah, that's part of it, too.


Which all lead to one overwhelming thought: The Motor City is gonna go berserk if this team ever starts to win consistently.

“I think what this shows you is just the tip of the iceberg if the Lions ever become successful,” Graus said.


Indeed.


So loveable they brought him gifts



Williams, being Williams, had wonderful conversations with countless fans.

No. He had warm conversations with darn near every single fan, asking questions and starting conversations.

"Love your hair!" he said.

“You played great this season,” somebody said.

“Thank you,” he said. “I appreciate you.”

Williams scored 17 rushing touchdowns during the 2022 season, setting the Lions' single-season record (ahead of some Sanders guy).

“Congrats on the touchdown record,” somebody said.

“Oh, thank you,” he said.

When somebody brought up how he was fined for his, um, dancing moves, Williams begged for help.

“You gotta talk to the NFL and tell them not to fine me,” Williams said. “Please. Please. I need a petition.”

“I’ll start it off,” the guy said.

Williams was personable and funny and engaging, taking time to have real conversations, brief though they were.

Dozens of fans brought him gifts. Books. Pokemon cards. More Pokemon cards. Stacks of Pokemon cards. Far more gifts than any of the workers at DC Sports could ever remember another other athlete receiving. Clearly, I was watching something special.

This was Lions fever, and it’s spreading.

“I just want to give him a hug and tell him not to leave,” said Riki Maruszczak, 30, of Detroit, who got in line four hours before the signing was supposed to start.

Maruszczak brought Williams a book and said, “I love Jamal Williams. I think he is an exemplary addition to the Lions and the identity that they're trying to build. He is what I consider to be a shining beacon of character that has always existed in Detroit. Resiliency and character are what the city is, and he matches so well into what we are.”

When Maruszczak approached Williams, he tried to tell him that. Wanted him to know that.

“You are so very loved,” Maruszczak said. “I grew up in the city and there is nobody who exemplifies the city more than you.”

“Thank you so much,” Williams said. “I appreciate you.”



Coming back?


Countless fans encouraged Williams to return to the Lions.

“You coming back?” somebody asked.

“I don’t know,” Williams said. “Hope so.”

So do these fans.

But should the Lions bring him back?

It’s a tricky question. If they can work a deal that makes sense for both sides, yes, of course. But I wouldn’t break the bank for him. From a football standpoint, there are other running backs who can perform behind this fantastic offensive line.

But on a personal level, I hope they bring him back.

Because he’s just so dang personable — a true gift for reporters.

And he is invaluable to the team. He exudes everything this team is trying to build.

He’s tough and determined, full of grit and resiliency, while demanding respect for the Lions — yeah, that's why fans love him. That's easy to like.

Best of all, he has embraced Detroit.

Just as Detroit has embraced him.

Williams has a great presence in the Lions' locker room. The same presence he had at the mall. For hundreds of fans.

On a gray, snowy Saturday afternoon.

This was Lions’ fever, snaking through a mall. Out in the open for everybody to see. And it was seriously cool.

Just the tip of the iceberg of what could be.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.

[whatever_gong82]

This 'revelation' led Detroit Lions' Shaun Dion Hamilton to leave playing for coaching

Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press


A few days after the Detroit Lions' preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons last summer, linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton started peppering his position coach, Kelvin Sheppard, with questions about what it was like to be a coach.

What was the best part? What was the worst part? What were the hours like?

"He said, 'I already know what you’re getting at. I had to have the same realization with myself at some point,' " Hamilton recalled in an interview with the Free Press this week.

Hamilton, who entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick in 2018, made his bones as a special teams player for three seasons with the Washington Commanders and missed the entire 2021 season with injury. He saw his place near the bottom of the Lions depth chart and decided it was time to start thinking about his future.

He played 15 late-game snaps in the Lions' first preseason game of 2022, behind young linebackers Malcolm Rodriguez and Derrick Barnes, saw the money the team gave linebacker Chris Board in free agency and knew veteran Alex Anzalone had one starting job locked up.

Hamilton's coaches — Kirby Smart, his defensive coordinator at Alabama; Jeremy Pruitt, his linebackers coach and then his DC with the Crimson Tide; and Rob Ryan, his position coach in Washington — had told him for years he would make a good coach one day. For the first time in his life, Hamilton started to wonder if that day had come.

When the Lions had a player-led practice a week or so later, after their second exhibition game, Aaron Glenn let Hamilton act as defensive coordinator. And when the Lions released Hamilton in their first round of cuts the next day, head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes told him if he had trouble catching on with another team, he had a place on staff in Detroit.

"Every player has to have that revelation one day," Hamilton said. "It could be in Year 1 for you, it could be in Year 6, it could be in Year 5 like it was for me. It could be in Year 10. So I had that revelation where I’m like, 'I see where this career’s going, and I need to start setting myself up for my future,' because that’s one thing: Life goes on after your playing days are over."

Hamilton spent a week and a half after his release mulling his future.

Did he want to go the journeyman route, making the workout rounds and maybe bouncing from team to team, spending weeks on a practice squad in hopes of getting a late-season call-up? And was he OK with never strapping on a helmet again?

Yes, Hamilton decided, he was content with his career. He never landed the $100 million contract he dreamed of as one of the top high school linebackers in the class of 2014, but he played four NFL seasons, fought through a slew of injuries and started seven games during his three years in Washington.

In early September, the Lions hired Hamilton for their minority coaching internship; after spending the season as a defensive assistant, as which he worked with linebackers and defensive backs, Hamilton is set to coach cornerbacks in the Senior Bowl college all-star game next week.

For Hamilton, an Alabama native who never got a chance to play in the Senior Bowl because of injury, the appointment has brought his football career full circle, with the end of his playing days serving as a springboard to what he hopes will be a long, successful run as a coach.

"(When) coaches would say (you'd make a good coach), as a player like you’re like, 'Man, forget that. I’m going to sign that $100 million contract and I’m going to retire and live my life,' " Hamilton said. "There’s very few people who get those contracts and things go exactly how they want it to go, and I think that, now I look back and think about it, I think about some of the coaches who were telling me that, very successful, and they saw something in me."

Hamilton said this season was both enjoyable and eye-opening.

He worked with players who weeks earlier were his peers, but made sure to draw a line personally and professionally as coach.

"It’s a different respect," Hamilton said. "I totally believe in, I’m your coach, I’m not your friend. We’re here to work and we’re here to get better, and at the same time, I get it. I was just playing with you guys. At the same time, you got to know, we’re not buddy-buddy. We can talk and laugh and stuff like that, but at the end of the day, we’re here for one common goal and that’s to do what we got to do to be successful and win ballgames."

And he was part of the team's midseason turnaround, which he credited to the "special culture" Holmes and Campbell are building.

For the Senior Bowl, Hamilton will travel to Mobile, Alabama, on Saturday for a staff dinner — he is part of the American team coaching staff, with Chicago Bears offensive coordiantor Luke Getsy serving as head coach — and begin meeting with players when they arrive Sunday.

He should gain valuable insight on prospects who could help the cornerback-needy Lions in the draft — Virginia's Anthony Johnson and Kansas State's Julius Brents are among the top corners on his squad. He should also gain valuable experience that he hopes will propel him toward one day being a head coach.

"I definitely have aspirations to be a head coach, but I know time will tell when and if that comes," Hamilton said. "Just trying to each day just learn a little bit by a little bit. Just keep on sharpening my knife and just keep on chopping that wood so I can be the best version of Shaun Dion Hamilton I can be and just continue to just learn so when that opportunity presents itself, I’ll be ready."

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

[jaadam4]

I didn't know that I'm you now!! LOL

Deb made a typo. It was meant for me. She sent me a PM and said so

[-Deborah-]

The serious love for Jamaal Williams shows something about him — and Detroit Lions fans

Love this!!!