Lions News

[ghandi]

I hope it doesn’t last longer than the year because it can be negatively construed but f it. It’s better than paper bags

Thats kinda how I see it...Like we are ashamed and have to cover our faces.....or "well I already have the ski mask on might as well go rob the local liquor store!"

[edindetroit]

King of the Hill?

Yep!

[Mainevent]

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Eradicator!

[whatever_gong82]

After pedestrian opener, Lions OC Johnson looking for better tempo, third-down production

Justin Rogers


The Detroit News


Allen Park — Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson will never have to apologize after a win, especially one as impressive as knocking off the defending Super Bowl champions on the road, but he can still be disappointed with the path to victory.

The Lions' highly-productive offense from a year ago didn't look like itself in the season opener against Kansas City. It was most noticeable on the scoreboard, where the unit mustered just 14 points against a Chiefs defense missing its best player, defensive tackle Chris Jones.

The day after the game, Lions coach Dan Campbell said two points of emphasis going into the next week would be improving the offensive tempo and being more efficient on third down. Johnson readily took the blame for the operational inconsistencies in the opener, including a snap-timing error in the red zone that resulted in a fumble.


"I put that on me more than anything," Johnson said. "That and some of those procedure issues we had. I take a lot of pride in that, and I think that’s a reflection of me probably biting off more than we can chew with some of the play calls got a little wordy. We’re a little bit slow getting the substitutions in there. I have to do a better job getting the play to the quarterback."



In 2022, the Lions averaged 28.0 seconds between snaps, which was identical to the team's pace of play against Kansas City. But Johnson noted tempo is more than how quickly the team runs plays, which is where improvement is needed.

"It is once we get out of the huddle, let’s align with some urgency and put some stress on the defense, and we didn’t feel that up to our standard last week."



As for third downs, the Lions finished 5-of-15, resulting in four three-and-outs — among Johnson's least-favorite stats. Even more problematic is that many of Detroit's failed conversions came in manageable down-and-distance situations.

"We did have chances in some of those short yardage, call it third-and-2-to-6 area, (and) we weren’t very good," Johnson said. "I think we were 2-for-7 for the game there and we should be over 50 percent based on what we’re aiming for, so area of emphasis going into this week. We have to improve there.



Despite finishing with a top-five offense a year ago, Detroit lagged in the third-down area. The team's 40.8% conversion rate fell well short of the league's other elite offenses, ranking 14th in the NFL.

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers

[whatever_gong82]

This Detroit Lions defense is so much more explosive in 2023, thanks to its instinct

Shawn Windsor

Detroit Free Press


Instinct is a word coaches love, especially football coaches and particularly head coach Dan Campbell. So does Brad Holmes, the Detroit Lions' general manager. It may be their favorite word, aside from grit.

The pair uses those words like their lungs use oxygen. Watch the Lions play these days and it’s not hard to see why.

Instinct makes a player faster, or puts a player in position to make a play. This is critical on defense, and the Lions showed why in their opener at Kansas City.

In fact, when asked why this season’s defense already looks worlds better than last season’s defense, the first reason Campbell gave was … Aaron Glenn. He loved the defensive coordinator’s plan. And if there is one thing (good) head coaches love to do, it’s praise their fellow coaches whenever they get the chance.



But the second reason?

Well, this is where the core words show up. And sure enough, Campbell fell back on ol’ reliable: “We have guys that if something breaks down, we have some pretty aware, instinctive players that can make up for some things when the play gets long.”


The key part of this phrase, of course, is “make up for some things.” Here, Campbell is using it to refer to several dynamics that determine good defense.

First, mistakes will always be made, no matter how good the player. Sometimes it’s a miscommunication. Sometimes it’s a misread. Sometimes it's biting on a head fake from a quarterback, or a false plant from a receiver. Whatever the reason for the first wrong step — or few steps — instinct gives a player a chance to recover.




Second, speed is nice, even essential, but speed without instinct is, um, just speed. Good instinct helps a player move faster.

Then there is football speed, which is a cousin of football instinct. Rookie nickel back Brian Branch is a good example. He ran a 4.58 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine in February. Not slow, but not fast, either.


Yet when he raced toward the end zone after his interception against Kansas City, he clocked the fastest speed of the night at 20.74 mph, according to the NFL's tracking system, Next Gen Stats. Only two players ran faster all of last season, by the way.

Branch used both last Thursday night. His instinct carried him toward the ball. His football speed catapulted him toward the end zone.



But back to Campbell’s use of instinct and this year’s defense. He would include Branch’s talent for being around the ball. He would also include linebacker Jack Campbell's diving pass breakup in the third quarter, a gem that was a bit overshadowed by Branch's pick-six two plays later.

Obviously, the rookie from Iowa doesn’t make the play without talent, and talent here means physical gifts. Campbell (the player, not the coach) is 6-foot-5 and long. He is built like a small defensive end.



He may well spend his entire offseason working on balance, but without a natural gift for it, he can’t do what he did last Thursday, not at his size anyway.

Let’s go back to that moment at Arrowhead Stadium: It was first-and-10 with Kansas City at its own 42. Patrick Mahomes dropped back to pass. Campbell dropped back in converge, backpedaling toward his right. Mahomes set up and looked down the middle, behind Campbell.




Campbell kept his head up, though, and his eyes on the quarterback. Alex Anzalone was slightly to his right and in front of him.

Chiefs wide receiber Kadarius Toney — yes, that Kadarius Toney — was running toward the middle of the field from the right side. He was behind Campbell, who was shaded left-middle; if he could see Toney, it was peripherally.

As soon as Mahomes released the ball, Campbell realized the pass was up the middle, aimed behind him. He was maybe five yards from Toney when the ball was released.

Without losing momentum, he dropped his left foot to pivot, planted with his right foot, and nearly pirouetted —while running backwards, mind you — to head in the opposite direction, toward Toney.

He exploded through the change of direction. (Again, while moving backwards. That is talent, too.)

At the last second, Campbell dove toward the ball and knocked it to the ground. The read, the balance, the change of direction, the speed, the dive and, finally, the instinct, allowed the rookie to make a highlight play.



A stunning play, truthfully, like Josh Paschal made later in the game when he shot through a gap after sniffing out a direct snap and tackling the runner for a loss of three yards.

That led to a punt, one of three the Lions forced in the second half. And that’s not including the fourth-down stop the Lions got that gave their offense the chance to end the game.

You wouldn’t call it a dominant performance. The defense made too many mistakes of miscommunication — especially early — to say that. Besides, Kansas City was missing its best non-Mahomes playmaker on offense, Travis Kelce.

No, Kelce’s absence doesn’t mean the Lions’ win deserves an asterisk. We aren’t here to litigate that.

What we are here to do is detail the obvious differences in athleticism, speed and instinct in this defense from a year ago. Branch, Campbell and Paschal are part of the reason.


So are Aidan Hutchinson — who was dominant vs. K.C. after increasing his “get-off” speed at the line of scrimmage, along with his lower body and core strength, in the offseason — and Derrick Barnes and Cam Sutton and Kerby Joseph and Alim McNeil and C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

All of them either looked better as Lions than a year ago or brought something new to the defense now that they are playing for the Lions. Think about it this way: Safety Tracy Walker is a good player and team captain ... and he is no longer starting.

Gardner-Johnson took his spot. Because Branch took his spot, or at least his planned spot at the nickel.

Malcolm Rodriguez was a solid linebacker as a rookie last year. He made plays.

But Campbell (the coach) and Glenn think Barnes and Campbell (the linebacker) can make more.

They weren't wrong against the Chiefs.



Which leads to another word coaches love using: depth. The Lions have it. Up front. In the middle. In the back.

Lastly, there is this oldie but goodie: fundamentals. Campbell (the coach) sees them.

“Fundamentally, Mac (McNeill) and Benito (Jones) and Paschal and Comish (John Cominsky) and Hutch (Hutchinson) and Charles (Harris) … (James) Houston, like all of those guys, you could see our fundamentals really showed up and I felt like that made a difference,” he said. “Our front versus their front. And in the back end, we just … we’re better equipped to handle some things that are going on back there.”


And?

“We are faster,” he said “Yeah, we are faster overall. I know we are. We play faster. We have guys that have outstanding play-speed because they see it and they pull the trigger quickly.”

And that leads back to instinct. Just ask coordinator Ben Johnson, whose offense went against this defense for 5-6 weeks of training camp.



“I felt like we hit a few more explosives last year and probably felt a little bit better about our offense at that point in some ways,” he said, grinning.

Why the grin?

Well, he was thinking about how often the defense — and Glenn — let him know about it.

“I felt them talking a lot more,” Johnson said. “They were chirping at us constantly. Yeah, so, had to deal with that. You’ve got AG (Glenn) standing right next to me: ‘Bam!’ I’m like, ‘You think so? We don’t have pads on, but OK.’ ”

OK, indeed.

As for the chirping? Johnson isn’t the only one who is going to hear it if the Lions defense keeps playing like it did in the opener.


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

[whatever_gong82]

With renewed confidence, Lions LB Barnes validates offseason praise with strong start


Justin Rogers

The Detroit News


Allen Park — Imposter syndrome exists in any profession, including professional sports. During the first two years of Detroit Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes' career, he questioned whether he belonged in the NFL.

"Early in my career, I think I lost sight of myself and my confidence," Barnes said. "I had to sit back and regroup, think about how far I've come. I've been doubted my whole life. I kind of felt, at one point, I didn't deserve to be in this league, that I wasn't good enough."

Last year, Barnes entered his second season with lofty expectations. Instead, he lost the battle for a starting job to sixth-round rookie Malcolm Rodriguez. And Barnes' confidence was dealt another stiff blow in the offseason, when the Lions used a first-round draft pick on his position, taking Jack Campbell at No. 18 overall.



Barnes understandably wondered where he fit in with the Lions. He texted his position coach, Kelvin Sheppard, after midnight on draft night, expressing those doubts. Sheppard didn't sugarcoat the situation, but he assured Barnes no matter how much money a player was making or where they were drafted, Sheppard intended to run his room as a true meritocracy. He challenged Barnes to make it undeniable he deserved to play.



And that's exactly what Barnes has done. When the Lions opened the season against the Kansas City Chiefs last week, it wasn't Rodriguez or Campbell in the starting lineup; it was Barnes, who also logged the most snaps in the three-player rotation. In those 27 defensive snaps, he finished with a team-high six tackles and was the team's highest-graded run defender, on a great night for Detroit's run defense, by analytics site Pro Football Focus.



"I was excited about the player and what he showed on tape, what he did in the game, is exactly who he is," Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said. "Everybody’s different. Every player is different, and sometimes, it takes a player a year. Sometimes, you can come off the box ready to go, and sometimes, it may take you three years. The thing is, we saw a player in Barnes, and that’s starting to show up in the games."




What a difference a year makes.


Early last season, the Lions were dialing back Barnes' role to rebuild his foundation. This year, he looks like a completely different player, taking the hard work he put into the offseason and transferring it to the field. And while development is anything but linear, he appears to be beyond taking one step forward, followed by three steps back, like he did in 2021 and 2022.


The fact the team stuck with him through his ups and downs — not only continuing to believe in his abilities, but giving him a true shot to earn back playing time — has meant the world to Barnes.

"Man, it's something different here," he said. "I know I haven't been anywhere else, but you talk to a lot of guys in this locker room, and it's not like this everywhere. It's not like you can get every opportunity. Even the guys on the practice squad. When you're in Detroit, you're not just on the practice squad; you're waiting for your name to get called to go play.



"It meant a lot to me and it really showed me what type of people Dan (Campbell), Brad (Holmes) and coach Shep are," Barnes said. "Did I have doubts? Yeah, I thought there was no way I'd be able to come in here and start over a guy who started last year or a guy we just drafted in the first round. I got in my head a little bit about that, but when I sat back and thought about who I am, what type of player I want to be and what I can be, I changed my mentality. I know I deserve to be in this league, and I was going to do everything I could to fight my way into being a starter or getting playing time this year to help our team win."



No longer does Barnes feel like an imposter. He now believes with every fiber of his being he belongs and he can make a difference in Detroit.

"Looking back, reflecting on myself, I realized what I could do," Barnes said. "I looked back at previous tape and saw examples of what I had done in this league already. That gave me the confidence I needed. From this year forward, I'll never let anyone take my confidence from me again. I know where I want to go and I know what player I can be and what I can bring to the table. That's all the confidence I need."



jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers

[-Deborah-]

Screenshot_20230915_232408_Facebook.jpg

[wcfwtf]

Should be interesting.
My opinion has always been the same.
In his draft day interview with Mitch Albin he said a successful career would be to play 10 years and retire healthy.
Thats what he did. He stuck with the plan. Winning may have changed the plan but they weren’t. So he stuck with it no matter the contract or anything else.

[wcfwtf]

And if you ask why would remember such a point in an interview it was because the answer bothered me.
A follow up questions from Albom was what about winning a Super Bowl and he said he didn’t need that to have a successful career.

[ghandi]

Should be interesting.
My opinion has always been the same.
In his draft day interview with Mitch Albin he said a successful career would be to play 10 years and retire healthy.
Thats what he did. He stuck with the plan. Winning may have changed the plan but they weren’t. So he stuck with it no matter the contract or anything else.

I think Barry also recognized what a disaster Matt Millen was going to be and wanted no part of that....I give the man credit for walking away with his health...he has to live in that body the rest of his life.

[Forsh]

I think Barry also recognized what a disaster Matt Millen was going to be and wanted no part of that....I give the man credit for walking away with his health...he has to live in that body the rest of his life.

Millen was 3 years after Barry left tho

[CGVT]

Millen was 3 years after Barry left tho

But Barry had such great vision. He saw it coming. ;)

[Iron Lion]

I'm sure Bobby Petrino Ross had nothing to do with it whatsoever.

[Sanders Fan]

Barry had another five years in him. If he would have played as long as Emmitt, the rushing records would all have been unbreakable, similar to Jerry Rice.

[whatever_gong82]

Pick-six was nice, but Detroit Lions' Brian Branch has bigger goal: Making Hall of Fame


Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press



Brian Branch's jersey is headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the Detroit Lions rookie is hoping that he'll be worthy enough to one day have a bust to go with it.

"It’s big, to have my jersey in the Hall of Fame," Branch told the Free Press on Thursday. "It’s there with the greats and, shoot, hopefully one day, that’s the plan, hopefully one day I can myself be in the Hall of Fame."

A second-round pick out of Alabama, Branch made three tackles and returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown in the Lions' season-opening 21-20 win over the Kansas City Chiefs last week.



Branch is the first NFL player to return an interception 50 or more yards for a touchdown in his first game since Marques Anderson of the Green Bay Packers in 2002, and the fifth Lions rookie ever with a pick six.

One of the others, Lem Barney, is enshrined in Canton.



Branch said the Hall of Fame reached out to the Lions this week to inquire about displaying his jersey. He agreed to loan it to the Hall through the end of the season, but wanted to keep the jersey as a memento of his NFL debut.



Branch did not keep the ball from his pick-six — he dropped it in the end zone after crossing the goal line and it didn't dawn on him to pick it up until it was too late — but was given another game ball that the team will have painted to mark the occasion.

He said he has dreamed of being in the Hall of Fame ever since his mom bought him his first football jersey when he was about 7 years old.

"I’m blessed to just make it (to the NFL)," Branch said. "But my overall end goal is that."


Branch has quickly established himself as a key player in the Lions secondary. He won the starting slot cornerback in training camp and was so good he altered the team's plans for how it initially intended to construct its secondary.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who signed to play slot cornerback after tying for the NFL lead in interceptions last season but has since taken Tracy Walker's job as a starting safety, said Branch is "better than me" already, and Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn cut short a question about Branch during his weekly media session Thursday.



"You want me to continue to say he’s a good player?" Glenn said. "How many times do I have to say that?"

Asked how he makes sure Branch builds off his debut, Glenn said that won't be a problem for the humble rookie.

"Have you talked to that player?" he said. "That should tell you everything about him. I don’t think that’s a worry. Well, I know it’s not a worry. This guy’s come from a great program and he’s made a lot of plays on the biggest stage that he can be in. He made a pick-six, man. He’s on to the next.”


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