Lions News

[ghandi]

"Meanwhile, Alim McNeill’s win rate of 4.9 percent ranks 79th among 99 qualified defensive interior players."

The interior defensive line has been a problem....I think people thought because he dropped over 20 pounds, he'd be alot quicker, but that doesnt seem to be the case.....Buggs and Brodrick Martin haven't even been able to make it on the field yet.

[CGVT]

They're missing Meech!

[whatever_gong82]

Some Detroit Lions fans think 'doom and gloom' is back — already. Should it be?


Shawn Windsor
Detroit Free Press

So, we’re redrafting? Already? After two games? That's what an overtime loss has done?

Oh, but wait, it’s not just that the Detroit Lions’ most recent first-round draft picks are bums, or that Jalen Carter is so obviously a Hall of Famer, it’s that the Lions are, to anonymously quote from my inbox:

“A bunch of losers … always have been and always will be … I don’t know why I even bother to watch … I will never expect them to do anything to be proud of – EVER! … I’m jumping in traffic.”

OK, so that last line is my interpretation, if you will, but every other word is quoted verbatim, and also, representative of more than a few fans who have, shall we say, struggled to process the loss to Seattle on Sunday.



I’m not sure if you’re aware, but it was the team’s home-opener, and they had already beaten Kansas City, and although no one figured they would go 17-0, a loss — at home — to a more-or-less equally talented team: How dare they lose?!?

This, apparently, is reason to stop watching. Two games into the season.


Or, better yet, to root for the other team, as a few others have suggested they will now do. Hey, I’m not here to question anyone’s coping mechanism. The PTSD is deep. Six decades of history didn’t simply fall down a memory hole. It’s still there, under the surface, clearly.


No wonder Lions head coach Dan Campbell said this Wednesday during his news conference, when asked what he was going to do to make sure the team kept moving forward:

“Listen, I hate losing, but I love this because this is — I just feel like this is what we’re all about. We’re back to reality. We’re back in the mud.”



And?

“It’s doom and gloom outside of this building,” he said.

Really? I would’ve never guessed.


But inside the building?

“Let’s just hunker down and go to work, and let’s get back to what we do well,” said Campbell. “I just feel like that’s what we do best, and I know our guys, I know our coaches, man, they’re — this is ‘challenge accepted.’”


Maybe that makes you feel better. Maybe it doesn’t. Maybe you aren’t feeling so good about the head coach right now, and the way he handled the last drive of regulation.


For the record, the Lions ran out of downs, not time. They had plenty enough to score a touchdown near the end of regulation. They tried. They just whiffed when Jared Goff threw at Amon-Ra St. Brown’s feet on second down and then checked down on third down to Jahmyr Gibbs short of the first-down marker.


Conservative?


Yeah, the third-down throw was. At that point, though, the smart play was not forcing the ball anywhere. Yet until then, Campbell and Ben Johnson, the offensive coordinator, had smartly balanced milking clock and gaining yardage.

Complete the throw to St. Brown, a completion Goff makes routinely to St. Brown, and its first down inside the 20 with a couple of timeouts and 23 seconds left.



They didn’t execute. Make that throw and catch and the Lions probably win the game.

Or avoid fumbling deep in your territory and they probably win the game. Or don’t throw a pick-six and they probably win the game.


Look, Campbell’s choice to go for it on fourth down in the first half likely cost the Lions three points. As for his choice to go for it late in the third quarter instead of punting?

That didn’t work out so well. Yet this is what Campbell does. This is what math suggests. And this is how the Lions won games last season and how they jumpstarted their win in Kansas City.



In-game coaching decisions didn’t lose the Lions the game, though. Turnovers did. After that? The lack of consistent — and proper — pocket pressure.

Thirty-one points should be enough to win an NFL game. The Lions scored that many despite the pick-six and fumble. If you want to point to Campbell, point to his inability to keep his defensive front focused on the game plan and rush design.


He had too many freelancers up front on Sunday, and that hurt the effort to contain Geno Smith. Campbell talked about it after the game Sunday and again on Monday.

“They know who they are,” he said of the defensive players who kept jumping off script.

Whose job is it to keep em’ on script? His, of course. So, blame him there.

Turning each game into a referendum on Campbell’s tenure in Detroit is understandable given the Lions history, and also given the way football games are scrutinized. It’s part of the sport, part of the weekly buildup to a singular contest.



Expectation has supercharged an already emotional equation, though. The loss to Seattle stung more than a usual regular-season loss because this team was supposed to be a little different. This team wasn’t supposed to give the ball away twice, at home, in front of the rowdiest crowd in memory.


And that felt familiar. And when pain feels familiar, it’s easiest to fall back on familiar coping mechanisms, too.

Thus: I’m out.

No doubt it feels good to say it. Probably feels cathartic to write it.



But if I may make a humble suggestion in this year of sticking your neck out for a team that may not love you back: Lower the expectation, just a smidge. And remember the added pain you felt Sunday is the consequence of having a solid football team to care about.

It’s been a while, I know. Which means a deep breath may be in order. Because we’re not even to Week 3.

Now, if the Lions lose to Atlanta Sunday at Ford Field?

Then, sure, protect your heart and quit the team … forever.


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

[whatever_gong82]

Avoiding a Pitts-fall: Lions know they can't let Falcons' talented TE get on track


Justin Rogers
The Detroit News



Allen Park — Detroit Lions fans know a thing or two about the team drafting a position historically earlier than just about anyone else. They did it twice at tight end — taking one in the first-10 picks twice — and again at cornerback, when they made Jeff Okudah the earliest selected player at his position in three decades.

So when the Atlanta Falcons took tight end Kyle Pitts with the No. 4 pick in 2021, earlier than any team had addressed that position in history, it probably felt familiar.


But unlike the Lions' three, unorthodox first-round stabs, the Falcons appeared to have a potential superstar in Pitts, who went over 1,000 yards receiving as a rookie, becoming only the second tight end to accomplish that feat. If you're going to take an outside-the-box swing, that's how it has to look.


Unfortunately for the Falcons, that's been Pitts' peak. Some injury issues and questionable usage has limited his effectiveness since that stellar rookie campaign. He went from 60.4 yards per game his debut season to 35.6 last year. And through two games this year, that per game production has dipped even further.


The film suggests Pitts is still the same, supremely talented player. There are plenty of clips available on social media that show him getting open against the coverage and not getting the ball. That's the reason it feels like it's a matter of when, not if he'll reemerge as an elite receiving tight end.



The Lions haven't lost sight of that and intend to make sure it won't be this week Pitts gets into the groove, more than 600 days since his last 100-yard performance.

"Here’s what I do know, looking at that offense, it’s only one ball and we have players like the running backs that they have, you have players like (receiver Drake) London, then you have him," Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said. "You (also) have the quarterback that can do some things outside of the pocket. I think it’s only a matter of time when he does break out, not against us, but that guy’s a really good player and it was a reason why he was drafted the way he was drafted. There’s a reason why he did the things he did when he came in as a rookie, so man, he’s a good player and we’re aware of him."



If the Lions hope to execute that goal, they'll need to be better than they have been to start the year. Despite missing out having to face the NFL's best tight end, Travis Kelce, in Week 1, the Lions have allowed a league-worst 175 yards to the position.


jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers

[whatever_gong82]

Aaron Glenn: Ex-Lions CB Jeff Okudah still can be a dominant player in NFL

Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


The Detroit Lions traded Jeff Okudah to the Atlanta Falcons in April, but Okudah's former defensive coordinator with the Lions hasn't given up hope Okudah can become a dominant cornerback in the NFL.

"He has the capability to do that," Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said Thursday in Allen Park. "I mean, he has all the physical traits that you look for at that position and he works his butt off. I know for a fact he’s doing that down there cause he gets a second chance and we text each other quite a bit, so we still have a good relationship."

Okudah is expected to make his Falcons debut Sunday against his old team at Ford Field, after missing the past two weeks with a foot injury.


Okudah, the No. 3 pick of the 2020 NFL draft, was taking first-team reps in the Falcons secondary when he injured his foot in training camp.

He told ESPN on Wednesday he has "no hard feelings" toward the Lions and is happy to have found a new home in Atlanta.



"In retrospect, I have to think of it in retrospect, I wouldn’t say I felt indifferent about it, but in retrospect I’m just really glad to be here,” Okudah told ESPN. “So I guess you could say it worked well for both sides."


The Lions had high hopes for Okudah when they made him the highest-drafted cornerback since Shawn Springs in 1997, but Okudah never found a groove in Detroit.

He started six games and allowed a 118 passer rating as a rookie, when he missed the end of the season with a groin injury, then tore his Achilles tendon in the season opener in 2021.



Last year, Okudah started 15 games and had one interception, but lost his starting job late in the season to Jerry Jacobs. Not intending to pick up his fifth-year option, and after signing three new defensive backs in free agency, the Lions traded Okudah in April for a fifth-round pick.


Glenn disputed the notion that things didn't work out for Okudah with the Lions, saying he chooses to "look at it as him getting a better opportunity somewhere else" instead.

"And that happens across this league," Glenn said. "There are some guys that’s drafted to a team that, man, it just doesn’t work out and then they go somewhere else and they become Pro Bowlers and All-Pros. That’s just how it is, and you guys have seen certain guys that it happened to. ... Sometimes things don’t work out at one team. Man, you go to another team, you become a dominant player."


Okudah told ESPN he considers his time in Detroit “a lot of lessons learned." Now, it's up to him to use those lessons to become a dominant player.

"You kind of get rid of that utopia mindset that things will always go perfect and try to just take things as they come,” Okudah told ESPN. “In this game there’s a lot of competitors so things might not always go your way so it’s just how you respond, how you bounce back from all that."


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

[whatever_gong82]

Battle of the backs: Lions locked in on Falcons offense led by Bijan Robinson

Nolan Bianchi
The Detroit News


Allen Park — The Detroit Lions could have had electrifying rusher/pass-catcher/all-around dynamo Bijan Robinson in this past year’s NFL Draft, but instead chose to trade down and select former Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs.

All told, the jury’s still out on the move; the Lions have extremely high hopes for Gibbs' ceiling, and they think he can be one of the most dynamic weapons in the NFL.

At this point, that line between hope and confirmation is what separates the two young backs after two games. Robinson has amassed 255 yards from scrimmage and cut highlight after highlight, as Atlanta has gotten off to a 2-0 start. Gibbs, meanwhile, has frustrated the Lions’ fan base and fantasy football owners alike with his low share of the workload (14 carries and nine receptions), all while flashing glimpses of the upside that was apparent on draft day.


Whereas Gibbs makes up a portion of the Lions’ offense, Robinson is already the straw that stirs the drink in Atlanta's.

“He’s an elusive back. He’s a big — looks like a power back, but he’s got really excellent feet. You give him a lane, give him space and that’s where he’s pretty dangerous,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said.



Still, what makes the Falcons so dangerous is that Robinson is far from the only weapon. The team also employs a former No. 4 overall pick, Kyle Pitts, at tight end, and Drake London, who went No. 8 in 2022, at wide receiver. And Robinson was just a cherry on the top for a rushing attack that found 5-foot-11, 220-pound back Tyler Allgeier in the fifth round last season.

“The thing that’s funny to me is everybody brings up Bijan. But man, there is a lot of different parties that goes into them having a really good rushing attack. Number one is the coach (Arthur Smith). He does a really good job of being creative and moving guys around to gain leverage,” Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said.


“Two is, I mean, (Allgeier), man, he’s a hammerhead, now … it’s two different styles of running back. You have Bijan that has the jump-cuts, and he’s going to make people miss. Then you have (Allgeier) that comes in. He’s getting right downhill, so as a defense, you have to be ready for both types of runners, so I think they kind of throw you off in that aspect.”

All of this operates behind an offensive line that ranks fourth in run blocking through the first two weeks, according to Pro Football Focus.




“They do a really good job with this wide zone blocking, so we have to do a good job with our hands,” Glenn said. “We have to do a good job of making sure we don’t get cut off, and our guys are really studying. We were actually practicing that quite a bit, not just in practice, but in walk-throughs, making sure we give our guys that look.”


Following glaring struggles at the beginning of last season — and the complete implosion at Carolina on Christmas Eve — the Lions have done well to limit the league’s best backs. Detroit held New York Giants back Saquon Barkley to 22 rushing yards on 15 carries in Week 11, Jacksonville’s Travis Etienne to 54 yards on 13 carries in Week 13, Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook to 23 yards on 15 carries in Week 14 and Green Bay’s Aaron Jones to 48 yards on 12 carries in Week 18.


Last week, Seattle’s Kenneth Walker III was limited to 2.5 yards per carry, rushing it 17 times for 43 yards.

“They like to run the ball. They have two dynamic running backs who, you get them in space, and our emphasis this week is to gang-tackle. Everybody has to get there. With a guy like (Robinson), he’s a good guy in space and he’s one of the guys you want to make sure (he) doesn’t run through the tackle. It’s a big challenge, but it’s nothing we can’t handle.

“We’ve seen backs like him, and we know how to play backs like him.”



Gibbs said he’s been impressed by what Robinson — an old friend — has done with his opportunities.

“They’ve done a great job using him. His skill set, he can do pretty much everything, and it’s really impressive with his size, being 220, that he can move like that,” Gibbs said Wednesday. “I do watch him play. That’s my brother, so I’m always there to support him.”



nbianchi@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @nolanbianchi

[whatever_gong82]

Amon-Ra St. Brown returns to Detroit Lions practice; David Montgomery, 3 OL out


Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


Amon-Ra St. Brown returned to practice after a one day absence because of a toe injury, but the Detroit Lions still were without six starters Thursday in Allen Park, including 3/5ths of their offensive line.

Left tackle Taylor Decker (ankle), right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai (knee) and center Frank Ragnow (toe) were among those who did not practice Thursday.

Decker injured his ankle in the Lions' Week 1 win over the Kansas City Chiefs and did not play in last week's loss to the Seattle Seahawks. On Thursday, he spent the open portion of practice doing resistance work on the side with a Lions trainer, the first time he has done that publicly since his injury.



Vaitai will miss Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons because of a knee injury he suffered against the Seahawks.


Ragnow takes one day of practice off a week to rest his toe.

Running back David Montgomery (thigh), safety Kerby Joseph (hip) and cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (knee/hamstring) also did not practice Thursday.



Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said he's ready for the challenge of having to replace four key contributors on offense, if it comes to that against the Falcons.

"I think we knew that these weeks were going to come," he said. "Really, any NFL season this happens and so that’s been our challenge all of training camp is making sure we have the right depth in place and feel really good about the guys that could potentially step up and play more snaps this week. They’re guys we believe in, they’ve been here and they know our system so expect no drop off in production."



Graham Glasgow is expected to start at right guard Sunday in place of Vaitai. Penei Sewell will again slide to left tackle and Matt Nelson will fill in at right tackle if Decker can't play. The Lions signed running back Zonovan Knight and guard Kayode Awosika off their practice squad this week.



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

[whatever_gong82]

Detroit Lions OC Ben Johnson: 'Feel really good about' late-game play calling vs. Seahawks


Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


The Detroit Lions did not take a shot at the end zone with a chance to beat the Seattle Seahawks on their final drive of regulation last week, and given the circumstances, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said he would not change his late-game play selection.

"No," Johnson said Thursday. "I felt really good about what we did."

The Lions started their final possession at the 50-yard line with 1:44 on the clock and all three timeouts. They moved the ball to the Seattle 27 in two plays, but did not run a third until 32 seconds remained.


After a pass to Jahmyr Gibbs for a short gain and a timeout with 26 seconds to play, Jared Goff threw incomplete to Amon-Ra St. Brown on second down, then hit Gibbs on another short pass on third-and-6 before the Lions sent the field goal unit on for the game-tying kick as time expired.


The Seahawks won when they scored a touchdown on the first possession of overtime. The Lions never touched the ball in the extra period and finished regulation with one unused timeout.

"Obviously, an offense like ours that we feel really strongly about, we want shots in the end zone to win the game," Johnson said. "We want that on us. We had opportunities within the plays that were called to get the ball a little bit closer, and I think the shots would have come to the end zone from there. But I know we didn’t push it into the end zone, but was very happy with Jared, what his decision-making was and we came really close to executing a touchdown.”



Lions coach Dan Campbell defended his two-minute approach after the game and again this week, and Johnson echoed Campbell's sentiments Thursday, saying the offense's No. 1 objective was "to get in field goal range and if we did kick the field goal, we didn’t want to leave any time for them to respond."

Asked if field position was what kept the Lions from throwing to the end zone once they got inside the 30 — Gibbs was Goff's second read on first-and-10 from the 27 — Johnson said he never felt pressed for time.



"I don’t think time was an issue," he said. "We had plenty of time with two timeouts and we were just making sure we handled it really well that we were a manageable field goal, at a minimum, with no time left and had an opportunity to get it into striking range.”


No Aaron Donalds in Lions' defense


The Lions have one sack through two games, by linebacker Alex Anzalone, and Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said getting more pressure on the quarterback is a point of emphasis with the Atlanta Falcons coming to Ford Field this week.


"That’s us as coaches trying to scheme guys into doing things and that’s players also, just executing their job," Glenn said. "So that’s one thing that we have to get better at and also, when you look at the pass defense, man, you’ve just got to win and we’ve got to make sure we put guys in positions to win.”


Anzalone's sack came on the Seahawks' final snap on offense in regulation, when Geno Smith scrambled wildly trying to extend a play after being flushed from the pocket.


Aidan Hutchinson has three of the Lions' eight quarterback hits —Anzalone has two, and Charles Harris, James Houston and John Cominsky have one each — and the defense has received little pass rush production from interior linemen Alim McNeill, Benito Jones and Levi Onwuzurike through two games.

Glenn said he's pleased with the job his defensive tackles have done against the run this season; the Lions are averaging just 86 yards rushing allowed through two weeks, after allowing 146.5 a game last year. But McNeill, Jones and Onwuzurike have combined for six tackles (none for loss) this season.


"Everybody on our defense has strengths and has weaknesses, and you look at our run defense, you see what those interior guys are doing, they’re doing a really, really good job," Glenn said. "Are they Aaron Donald? No, they’re not. There’s not many people in this league that’s like that, so we have to do a good job — well, I have to do a good job of trying to scheme some things up so those guys can get a chance to get to the quarterback, maybe pick games and things like that, so those guys will have a better chance. That’s going to be my job to help those guys do that."


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

[whatever_gong82]

Jahmyr Gibbs can be a fantasy superstar: Here are four offensive plays that will help him get there


This article from yesterday's Athletic is for the fantasy football fans out there.

By Brandon Howard
Sep 20, 2023


It looks like David Montgomery could miss some time after sustaining a quad injury in the Detroit Lion’s 37-31 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.


While this may very well mean that rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs will see an increased workload in Montgomery’s absence, Gibbs’ fantasy value is still in question.

There’s a reason the Detroit Lions drafted Gibbs with the 12th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. At 5-foot-9, 201 lbs., he’s ultra-explosive, as evidenced by his 4.36 40-time at the 2023 NFL Combine. In addition to his big-play speed, he’s incredibly versatile and adept at running routes at every level of the field — both from the wide receiver spot and out of the backfield.


My comparison for Gibbs during the pre-draft process in terms of sheer movement skill was Percy Harvin. However, the beginning of his NFL career is eerily similar to Reggie Bush’s. Early in Bush’s career, the Saints seemingly struggled to find ways to get the ball into his hands. He was never viewed as an every-down back by the Saints coaching staff. Bush was a gadget player, while Deuce McAllister was given the lion’s share of carries.


Like the Saints in 2006, the Detroit Lions appear to be struggling with getting the ball into the hands of Gibbs. Through two games, he has just 14 carries and 9 receptions. That’s only 11.5 touches from scrimmage per game. With Montgomery out of the lineup, the Lions would be wise to give Gibbs more work than they have in the first couple of weeks of the season. Unfortunately, the NFL is full of coaches who regularly overthink and misuse top-tier talent.



If you can buy low on Gibbs, I certainly recommend it. With that said, waiting for him to eventually become the fantasy boon he was projected to be this offseason will require some patience. The Lions just promoted running back Zonovan Knight to the active roster, and he will likely receive a lot of the work between the tackles, while Gibbs maintains his role as an “air back.”


The prospect of Gibbs ceding carries to an undrafted free agent (albeit a talented one) because the team that drafted him doesn’t think highly enough of him to consistently hand the ball off to him is wildly infuriating. He’s simply too talented to be limited to this extent by his coaches.


In addition to his receiving skills, Gibbs proved that he could carry the ball exceptionally well between the tackles during his time at Alabama. Unfortunately, the Lions seem to be trying to reinvent the wheel when it comes to how they’ve deployed Gibbs to this point.


Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson did tell reporters prior to Week 2 that the coaching staff plans to, “get Gibbs going as he gets more comfortable.” If that is indeed the plan, let’s explore a few plays they should lean on to allow Gibbs to achieve superstar status in the NFL. If you don’t see any of the below plays being run early and often within the next two weeks, it might be time to jump off the Gibbs bandwagon—at least for the 2023 season.


Pin and Pull Sweep


The pin and pull sweep is versatile and can be adapted to exploit various defensive fronts. Its success largely depends on the execution of the blocking assignments. The speed and agility of a running back like Jahmyr Gibbs can stretch the defense horizontally, creating wider running lanes and forcing defenders to spread out, which can lead to missed tackles and open field opportunities. Running backs like Gibbs love this play, as it often leads to them getting to the second level of the defense. Look for this play to become a staple in the Lions’ offense.


Inside Zone


Inside zone calls are an excellent fit for a running back like Gibbs because they capitalize on his quickness, vision and ability to make split-second decisions. His speed and instincts can turn what might be a modest gain for another running back into a game-changing play. With Gibbs as the lead back, a read-based approach should become an essential component of the Lions’ offensive playbook, as there will be several cutback opportunities that enable him to showcase his homerun-hitting speed.


Angle Route


Angle routes can be used to get Gibbs in one-on-one matchups with linebackers and safeties. These are easy wins for a player like Gibbs. The Lions could greatly benefit from calling this play on early downs and/or against man coverage. His speed, agility, and instincts in the open field will allow him to turn short receptions into explosive plays consistently. Gibbs is an absolute matchup nightmare, and the Lions would be wise to get him isolated on linebackers and safeties as often as possible.


Wheel Route


Wheel routes can also be effective man-beaters. This route allows players like Gibbs to breeze past flatfooted defenders because they’ll be running at full speed by the time they approach the linebacker or safety responsible for them. Wheel routes work exceptionally well off play-action, as the play fake can freeze linebackers and safeties for a split second. This is long enough for Gibbs to consistently create significant separation in man-to-man coverage. It also makes the game easier for Lions quarterback Jared Goff, as throwing windows will be wider due to the mismatch.


I’m a big fan of Gibbs. He was my No. 1 running back in the 2023 draft class (yes, ahead of Bijan Robinson — which may be another story for another time). He’s a versatile playmaker who can generate mismatches as a receiver. Thanks to his great potential, the Lions might be overthinking where his true abilities lie. Gibbs needs the ball in his hands to make an impact on the Lions’ offense, and it doesn’t get any simpler than just turning around and handing the ball to him.

If the Lions can make things a little less complicated and refrain from giving Zonovan Knight David Montgomery’s workload, we could see Gibbs have a breakout game within the next two weeks. But if we don’t see Gibbs involved in the plays mentioned above, it may be time to sit him, as we may very well be looking at a situation that won’t get on track until the end of this season — or maybe even next year.



Brandon Howard is a contributor to The Athletic. He has written for Dolphins Wire USA Today, Sports Talk Florida, Palm Beach Post and the Sun Sentinel. Brandon uses his practical experience as a former college football player to convey his knowledge of the sport to football fans, fantasy players and sports bettors. Follow Brandon on Twitter @bhoward_81

[whatever_gong82]

Why RBs Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs are perfect in their own ways for Falcons, Lions


By Colton Pouncy
5h ago


ALLEN PARK, Mich. — NFL general managers are typically tight-lipped and guarded in the weeks leading up to the NFL Draft. Their main objective is to keep their intentions close to the vest, as they work to improve their rosters. But if you listen closely, you might just be able to read the tea leaves and cut through the noise.

So, then, perhaps we should’ve paid more attention when, a little more than a week before the 2023 draft, Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes didn’t shy away from the idea of spending premium capital on a running back.


“I just kind of look at it as they’re all football players,” Holmes said, when asked for his opinion of first-round running backs — eventually telling a story of how the Los Angeles Rams drafted Todd Gurley 10th in 2015 and never regretted it. “They’re all football players and if they can help you, they can help you.”



First-round running backs aren’t for everyone. The position is susceptible to injuries. Some data suggests running backs rarely live up to second contracts. It’s also easier to find starting-caliber talent in lower rounds of the draft.

But the two teams that had no problem rolling the dice early on potential game-changing backs this April, the Atlanta Falcons (2-0) and Lions (1-1), will meet in Detroit on Sunday, hoping to showcase their shiny new toys: Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson.



Robinson and Gibbs will forever be linked due to their respective draft positions and how increasingly rare it is for multiple running backs to be selected among the top 12 picks. Between 2000 to 2010, multiple running backs were selected within the top 12 picks on four occasions. But it has happened just twice in the last 13 years, in 2017 (for Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey) and in April.



Gibbs is a fan of his Falcons counterpart.

“They’ve done a great job using him,” Gibbs said Wednesday. “With his skill set, he can do pretty much everything and it’s really impressive with his size — being 220 and can move like that is very special.”


The Lions had a chance to draft Robinson. He was there for the taking at No. 6 and was viewed as one of the elite players in this class, regardless of position. But Detroit ultimately passed, opting to make a deal with the Arizona Cardinals and trade down to No. 12 instead. That paved the way for the Falcons, coached by a run-heavy offensive mind in Arthur Smith, to draft Robinson at No. 8.



Holmes and the Lions, meanwhile, waited nervously as the next few picks played out. Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter went ninth to the Philadelphia Eagles, following a trade with the Chicago Bears. A pair of offensive linemen, Tennessee’s Darnell Wright and Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski, went to the Bears and Tennessee Titans at picks 10 and 11. The Lions were on the clock at No. 12.

When that happened, Holmes couldn’t help but celebrate. He knew he got his man in Gibbs.


That’s a genuine reaction to a player Holmes believed to be one of the better prospects in the class, even if it was considered by some to be a reach. But Holmes said he would’ve been comfortable selecting Gibbs sixth overall if it came to that.

Holmes attended the Alabama-Texas game in 2022, the first matchup between Robinson and Gibbs. He saw both players with his own eyes and determined that Gibbs, in addition to the draft capital earned in the trade down that helped Detroit land tight end Sam LaPorta, was the move for this Lions team.



“I think that if you’re asking the difference between Bijan and Gibbs, I actually think they’re different players,” Holmes said in April. “I think one guy is probably more of a bell-cow running back, very, very talented player who’s going to be a really good player in this league and he makes a lot of plays.

“But I think that our guy Gibbs is a very, very talented player who is going to make a lot of plays. I just think that they’re different flavors. They were both really high-impact players. But there was just something about Gibbs. And again, there’s something about Gibbs for us. It’s not about what Bijan would be for us. It’s about what would Gibbs be for us. So, that’s why we had him in such high regard.”



“We like Bijan too, man,” Campbell said last week. “But we just really felt like with where we were at, we got (RB David Montgomery) here and we just felt like with Gibbs, man, he fit what we needed perfectly. I just think it’s rare to have a guy that you really feel like, in due time, can be dynamic in the run and the pass game as a halfback. I just think there’s so much versatility with him. … He fits what we do perfectly and he has that potential to be dynamic in both areas of the offensive side of the football. It was too good to turn down.”



The Lions have their man and the Falcons theirs, selecting talents they felt would strengthen their respective offenses and never apologizing for it. Both Gibbs and Robinson are dynamic in their own right — Robinson at making guys miss; Gibbs as a dual threat with 4.36 speed. However, two weeks into their NFL careers, their usage has been noticeably different.

Robinson has outpaced Gibbs in touches (39 to 23) and scrimmage yards (255 to 116). He’s coming off a game in which he rushed for 124 yards on 19 carries, plus made four receptions for an additional 48 yards. Gibbs, meanwhile, had 14 total touches for 55 yards in a game that Montgomery couldn’t finish after suffering a thigh bruise. In crunch time, the Lions turned to Craig Reynolds over their first-round rookie.


Like Holmes and Campbell, Smith also cautioned against surface comparisons of Gibbs and Robinson.

“If you actually watch the tape, they are different,” the Falcons coach told reporters in Atlanta this week. “Different styles of runners, different skill sets. That’s why I think sometimes comparisons are ridiculous. Obviously, (Gibbs) is a good player for them.”

It’s fair to wonder when the Lions might give their first-round pick the necessary touches to justify his draft position — especially considering some of the talent available at both No. 6 and No. 12. Sunday’s game could be a breakout game for Gibbs, though.



The Lions, like the Falcons, love running the ball. Montgomery has been Detroit’s workhorse through the first two weeks, but his injury has him day-to-day and potentially set to miss Sunday’s contest. It’s unclear how much time he’ll need before he’s ready to return. In theory, it should pave the way for Gibbs to play more snaps and demonstrate his versatile skill set with the added volume.

When asked if his rookie running back is ready for more touches, Campbell smiled and said, “We’ll find out.”

Gibbs believes he is.

“You’re always gonna be excited when you get to play some more and touch the ball some more,” Gibbs said. “So, yeah, I’d be pretty amped up for that.”



And so, the stage is set for Gibbs and Robinson’s first NFL meeting. Robinson was a five-star running back; Gibbs was a four-star prospect. They both played in the All-American Bowl in 2020, which is where they first struck up a friendship. They’ve grown to appreciate one another and even shared a position coach in college — Tashard Choice — who was Gibbs’ coach at Georgia Tech before leaving for Texas to coach Robinson. NFL scouts traveled from all over the country to watch them face off in college, and it was enough for both players to be drafted in the top 12, just four selections part.

Two running backs who will forever be linked, in two high-powered offenses, aiming to prove why their teams invested in them.

May the best back win.



Colton Pouncy is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Detroit Lions. He previously covered Michigan State football and basketball for the company, and covered sports for The Tennessean in Nashville prior to joining The Athletic. Follow Colton on Twitter @colton_pouncy

[whatever_gong82]

Detroit Lions' Vaitai, Moseley likely out vs. Atlanta Falcons, 'with more to come'


Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


With 48 hours till kickoff, Dan Campbell is keeping his options open when it comes to who the Detroit Lions will and won't have for their game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Campbell said the Lions likely will be without right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai (knee) and cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (hamstring/knee) because of injuries, but left open the possibility some of the team's other injured starters could play Sunday.


"Vaitai and Moseley are the two that I feel most that would be out at this point, but with more to come," Campbell said. "We’ll know more out here (after practice)."

Left tackle Taylor Decker, running back David Montgomery, and safety Kerby Joseph have not practiced this week, and Decker has not played since injuring his ankle in a Week 1 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.



Montgomery suffered a thigh bruise against the Seattle Seahawks, while Joseph is dealing with a hip injury.


Decker, Montgomery and Joseph all worked with the Lions' rehab group during open practice at one point this week.




"All of those guys are improving and so much of it is going to be what does it look like today," Campbell said. "We’re going to continue to work. Get those guys to the side. Some of those guys are doing walk-through, jog-through portion. And so we’ll know a lot more after this morning."

The Lions are entering a tough two-games-in-five-days stretch against NFC playoff contenders. The Falcons are 2-0 and tied for the lead in the NFC South, and the Lions play the Green Bay Packers (1-1) at Lambeau Field next Thursday.


Campbell said the Packers game, which will have major implications on the division race, could factor into the team's medical decisions this week.

"There are a couple of guys that it could be, alright, if it’s close enough, do you try to play them this week knowing that maybe if you do, then they’re probably out for Green Bay anyway," he said. "I’m not going to say who they are, but that may have a little bit, but I think more than anything it’s about this one right in front of us and who we’ll have available and who we think can be available."



On Friday, Campbell said one issue with getting players back from injury next week is the Lions won't have live practice reps because of the short week to test injuries out.

"So that’s what makes it harder," he said. "Even some guys it’s, can you really get them practice reps even if they are physically ready? That’ll be the trick with some of these guys."


Amon-Ra St. Brown "felt good" and "moved well" in his return to practice Thursday from a toe injury and is in line to play Sunday, Campbell said, while Vaitai is considered a long shot to play against the Packers.

"He’s improved significantly since last week," Campbell said. "It’s still, we won’t know. It’s just a matter of how quickly he recovers, but he is improving. I can’t really give you a window (for his return) yet."


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

[whatever_gong82]

Lions' Martin sharpening skills against Pro Bowl teammates while waiting for opportunity


Justin Rogers
The Detroit News


Allen Park — Brodric Martin had a vision. The Detroit Lions rookie defensive tackle had designs on playing, and making an impact, in the team's season opener in Kansas City.

But things don't always go according to plan.

The third-round draft pick, who has been routinely referred to by team leadership as a developmental project, was a healthy scratch for not only the opener, but also the Lions' Week 2 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. And while these situations have a way of changing in a hurry — look no further than the lineup shuffling the team has needed to do this week following a rash of injuries — there don't appear to be immediate plans to activate Martin in the near future.



Obviously, it's been a disappointing situation for Martin, the big man with an equally big personality. Discussing how he's been handling the adversity, Martin is notably more reserved than he was throughout the offseason program, pointing to his faith as his source of strength during this time.


"God has a plan and I'm just following God's plan," Martin said. "I can complain all day, every day, but if it's not in God's will, then it doesn't matter."

But as the saying goes, God helps those who help themselves, so Martin is putting in the work each day to make the improvements his coaches want to see in order to earn an opportunity to see the playing field.



If you talk to anyone about Martin's progress since coming to Detroit, inevitably his pad level is among the first things mentioned. It's been a point of emphasis for the massive 6-foot-5, 330-pounder, and there's a multi-faceted approach to finding consistency in that area, which includes a daily stretching routine to maintain and improve hip and lower-back flexibility, combined with a cardio component that allows him to stay low through the duration of the game. The final piece to the puzzle is mental, according to Martin.

"It's the want-to; you have to think about it every single play," he said.



The benefit of Martin's situation is he's been working with the scout-team defense during regular-season practices. That means he's going head-to-head with Detroit's starting offensive line every day, including Pro Bowlers Frank Ragnow and Jonah Jackson. There are few things that could prepare him better for when his number eventually gets called.

"Working against them every day is helping me perfect my craft," Martin said. "When my time comes, I'm pretty sure I'll be ready."



But for now, one of the biggest things Martin needs to work on beyond his pad level, hand placement and footwork is patience.

"It's definitely helping me grow mentally," he said. "It just builds up my hunger, every time I'm inactive. When I get my chance, you'll see."


jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers

[whatever_gong82]

Aidan Hutchinson reveals 'biggest thing' hindering Lions' pass rush


Nolan Bianchi
The Detroit News


Allen Park — Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson on Thursday revealed the “biggest thing” keeping the team’s pass rush from turning rushes into pressures and pressures into sacks.

If you’ve been following along with the aftermath of Sunday’s 37-31 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks, it may start to feel like Groundhog Day a bit.


Hutchinson, whose 13 pressures have not yet led to a sack, said the defensive line needs to be communicating better and “playing more together.”

“From the edges, from the interior, even — we got some good rushes and we’re just not playing complementary football, with the back end either,” Hutchinson said. “They’ll be playing really good coverage where we don’t get as good of a rush and vice versa. It’s just about playing complementary football with our secondary and just being more on the same page with our D-tackles as an edge player.”


Following the loss Sunday, nearly every member of the secondary who spoke to the media said the same thing about that unit’s missteps through the first two weeks. And like the defensive backs, Hutchinson said a big portion of the issues can be solved by communicating pre-snap. This week’s practices have been all about “trying to be more together.”

“I feel like when you’re out there sometimes, it just doesn’t work. Sometimes there’s no communication and there’s a wide-open B-gap for the quarterback to go right through,” Hutchinson said. “Communication was a really big thing this week…and that’s what we’ve been working on.”



The difference between the defensive line’s struggles and the secondary’s, however, is that the defensive line at least seems to be just on the cusp of making a play most of the time. According to Pro Football Reference, the Lions rank third in hurry percentage (16.7%) and 10th in pressure percentage (25.6%).

But so far they have just one sack, on the 13-second scramble by Seattle’s Geno Smith where he evaded the arms of Lions edge rusher Charles Harris twice before getting taken down by Alex Anzalone in the fourth quarter of Sundays’ game.



Hutchinson, who had 9½ sacks in his rookie season, acknowledged the frustration of executing the game plan but not seeing the results.

“We’re getting there a lot of the time but we just got to get the quarterback on the ground," he said. "We've got to match up our good coverage with our good rushes. Ideally, that’s how you get sacks in this league, is when you’re playing good coverage and you also got the good rush paired up with that.


“Me and all these guys, we want (the sacks) more than anything. It was obviously a little frustrating last game, even Week 1, but we’re working on it. We’ll be better.”


nbianchi@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @nolanbianchi

[ghandi]

I'd like to see both Buggs and Martin active and gettting some action against Atlanta

[whatever_gong82]

Lions' C.J. Gardner-Johnson: 'I've got to lay down for a couple months, I'll be back'



Justin Rogers
The Detroit News


Allen Park — Lions safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson took to Instagram this week to share his first public thoughts regarding his injury.

In the emotional, two-minute recording, Gardner-Johnson noted his situation overlapped with the recent, unexpected passing of a close friend.


"This (stuff) makes me tear up, for real," Gardner-Johnson said to an unidentified person recording the video. "I don't want to cry no more. I just want to get to it. You feel me? Look at this, I'm out there playing with one arm. They can't stop me with this (stuff). When we (talking about) tapped out, I ain't tapped out yet. I ain't tap out yet, bro."

Johnson suffered a torn pectoral muscle during the opening drive in Detroit's loss to Seattle last Sunday, only missing two snaps before returning to play the remainder of the game. The extent of his injury was revealed the next night and he landed on injured reserve this week.



It remains unclear whether the injury will end up being season-ending. The team is holding out hope he can return at the end of the year. Regardless, it's a tough blow for Gardner-Johnson, who led the NFL with six interceptions last year but struggled to find a long-term contract as a free agent. He ended up signing a one-year deal with the Lions, hoping continued success would land him a more lucrative contract his next go through free agency.

"I played the whole game, bro, with a torn arm," Gardner-Johnson said. "You hope people see that. You know what I'm saying? I've got kids to feed, bro."


Gardner-Johnson ends the short video acknowledging he's got a long recovery ahead.

"I'll be back," Gardner-Johnson said. "I've got to get my bag. I've got to lay down for a couple months. I'll be back. I'll catch you all."

Warning: Video contains explicit language.


jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers