Lions News

[edindetroit]

image.png

[whatever_gong82]

Jameson Williams gets a reprieve from the NFL. It's time he took advantage.


Shawn Windsor
Detroit Free Press



And now Jameson Williams is back. Two games early. Thanks to a commuted sentence from the NFL. Which can only mean one thing:

The Detroit Lions are America’s team. Get used to it.


Get used to the attention, the praise, the love affair so many non-Michiganders have with your coach. It’s only going to get more intense.

It’s confusing, this national praise. Not the praise itself, but that it exists. No one around here has any practice with it. Then again, no one around here has much practice in how to handle the kind of win we saw Thursday night in Green Bay.


On Friday, I heard so many folks admit they weren’t entirely sure what to do with their feelings. Yes, they felt happy, and joyous, thrilled even, that the Lions beat the Packers, 34-20, took control of the division, and finished the first (almost) quarter of the season at 3-1.


More confusing still is that the win was kind of … expected? And now Williams is back? What in the name of Bobby Layne is going on here?


Is Williams’ return karma for a missed clock violation at the end of the third quarter? A miss that set up an easy Green Bay touchdown?


Or his return two weeks early serendipity?

Possibly. But then that’s radical, too, to think that this franchise is suddenly a recipient of luck.


How about simple coincidence?

That the Lions are a good team, that they were scheduled to play on Thursday in Green Bay long before the league and the players’ union got together to rework the rules regarding gambling. That the new rules, which freed Williams, just happened to come down as the Lions were still enjoying the national stage to themselves.


This makes sense if we’re being logical. But then logic doesn’t have much to do with fandom, thank goodness. Besides, it’s more fun to think the NFL is atoning for its obviously anti-Lions calls the last few decades, especially at Lambeau Field.

Who doesn’t love a good sports conspiracy?


Whatever the reason, the league’s No. 6 offense just added one of the fastest receivers in football, a potential game-changer who — in theory — will give offensive coordinator Ben Johnson more angles and lanes with which to play.

Obviously, the key word here is “potential,” for right now, that's all Williams is: a fun idea. Or not so fun if you’re inclined to believe he peaked against the Minnesota Vikings last year when he caught a 41-yard touchdown pass.


That was the only catch of his career, by the way, and while he missed the first 11 games of the season as he recovered from a college ACL injury, he still played six games and was targeted nine times.

So, yeah, one catch.


Not too terribly hard to excuse as he missed rookie camp, training camp and well more than half the season. He joined the team after it had started to make its second-half run.

More concerning were the drops this training camp. And the mistimed routes. And the hamstring injury that cut his training camp short. That his rough August on the field happened in the shadow of his then-six-game suspension for gambling on NFL property intensified the worry.


Dan Campbell, to his credit, preached patience with Williams. As he has done with other young players, as he did Friday when asked about running back Jahmyr Gibbs relatively slow rollout.

“Every player grows at a different rate in this league,” he said of Gibbs. “We're not panicking here. (We will) continue to do some things to try to get him the football. We're not going to try to force feed him. … This kid is gonna be just fine. He’s smart. He works at it.”


Campbell may use slightly less enthusiastic words when he’s talked about Williams, and understandably so, but his point applies: Every player grows at a different rate, and Williams has played all of six NFL games.


At the very least, once he’s ready to play, and that could be as soon as next Sunday when Carolina comes to Ford Field, he will serve as a threat. What kind of threat is hard to say yet. But his speed is real, and defensive coordinators will have to consider what he is capable of doing.

That should help Johnson scheme. How much it helps is ultimately up to Williams. He’s got two extra games to show what he might become.


As Campbell said of Williams back in August:

“I’m telling you, as with anybody, the more reps (Williams) gets, the more time on task, the more consecutive practices and reps he can put together, he’ll just grow — I really believe that.”


Thanks to the new league rules, he’ll now get 13 games to ramp up instead of 11. Those two games could make a difference. If nothing else, he gets two more weeks of practices, of film study, of life in the NFL.


Expect his ramp-up to be cautious. Not just because he had the hamstring injury — Campbell said last week Williams was doing better — but because the Lions have found an efficient offensive rhythm, and it’s not like they are working back in an established piece.

He is still a new piece. And it’ll be up to Williams to consider that as he fully rejoins his team.


Everyone has seen the chemistry and togetherness these Lions have. The way they trust one another, the way they move onto the next play, regardless of how the previous play unfolded.

They are a tough-minded group. Teams don’t just roll into Green Bay and score 27 unanswered points — after an early interception — without mental resilience.



This is the vibe Williams is rejoining. And if he improves his route running and leaves the drops behind, he’ll help this team, perhaps push the offense to an elite level.


It’s a safe bet Campbell and his staff and the rest of the locker room will set the table for Williams and give him every chance to take advantage of his gifts. Because this offense needs a downfield threat. It needs a receiver who can take a quick slant to the house or turn up field for 30 yards after catching an out route.

Williams knows this. He knows, too, that it’s time for him to eat.


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

[El Axe]

[mason reese]

Any word in how Levi Onwuzurike had been doing? ESPN has him at 4 games played, but only 1 recorded tackle.

[El Axe]

I love this so much.

What is fun about his summary is that it sounds exactly like summaries of Lions games for the previous couple decades. Lots of reasons and blame for why they were completely outplayed.

[El Axe]

Any word in how Levi Onwuzurike had been doing? ESPN has him at 4 games played, but only 1 recorded tackle.

I was wondering the same thing. Here are the snap counts against the Packers

He got 10 snaps and had an assist. I think all the DTs had fewer snaps because we had such an early lead that we played our pass-rushing group which includes Cominsky & Hutchinson at DT more than our run-stopping group.

image.png

[froot loops]

Any word in how Levi Onwuzurike had been doing? ESPN has him at 4 games played, but only 1 recorded tackle.

I know in the first game against KC he was the highest rated defender. With the return to action of Buggs and how good Alim McNeil is playing, I don't think he is going to get that many snaps barring injury.

[CGVT]

What is fun about his summary is that it sounds exactly like summaries of Lions games for the previous couple decades. Lots of reasons and blame for why they were completely outplayed.

This guy is a typical packers fan. He cannot accept the fact that the packers are not a good team. I guess they just aren't used to it.

"They just played like they didn't respect the packers' defense."

No shit. There is no reason to respect that defense.

[chemiclord]

What's funny is that Grossi has seen this coming for a bit. His entire thing has been that it really wasn't a matter of IF the Lions imposed their will, but WHEN.

Sure, he's approaching his latest video from the perspective of a Packers' fan, but he's liked what the Lions are doing for a while.

[-Deborah-]

[El Axe]

I'm guessing that Branch and Carter are the prime contenders for DROY.

LaPorta is probably in the conversation for OROY, but definitely behind Robinson & Stroud atm.

[Cody_Russell]

Christian Gonzalez too. Very, way too early, rookie leaderboard consideration.

Any word in how Levi Onwuzurike had been doing? ESPN has him at 4 games played, but only 1 recorded tackle.

It’s unfortunate, but we might have to wait another season for a fair evaluation of Onwuzurike. I will be fine with him if he can simply prove to stay healthy… which would be amazing considering back surgery. Flash occasionally as a backup rotational DT. I believe there’s a quote out there from Aaron Glenn suggesting Onwuzurike didn’t have a legit shot to work on his body and ways to improve. Rather it was mostly an injury rehab offseason. Similar reason to why Paschal didn’t standout as a rookie and had an awesome week 1 this season.

[jaadam4]

I'm guessing that Branch and Carter are the prime contenders for DROY.

LaPorta is probably in the conversation for OROY, but definitely behind Robinson & Stroud atm.

Stroud will be tough to beat. He’s playing really well

[whatever_gong82]

Detroit Lions film review: How the team executed a near-perfect half in Green Bay



Justin Rogers
The Detroit News


The Detroit Lions are — and should be — riding high after going into Lambeau Field and firmly establishing themselves as the favorites in the NFC North, dismantling the Green Bay Packers, 34-20.

The Lions came out swinging Thursday night, and despite an early turnover, managed to run up a 27-3 advantage by the half, outgaining the Packers by a staggering margin through two quarters, 284-23. And after slogging through the third frame, the Lions put the finishing touches on the victory with a 14-play touchdown drive in the fourth quarter that ate nearly nine minutes off the clock.

The win was the second straight for Detroit that was a true three-phase effort, with the offense, defense and special teams all doing their part. For this week's film review, we're going to focus on what went so right, on both sides of the ball, in that opening half.


What went right on offense

As noted in the introduction, things started poorly, with quarterback Jared Goff throwing an interception on the game's third snap. We'll come back to that a little later. For now, let's break down how the Lions managed to score nearly a point per minute before halftime.


The offensive output was the result of three things: Explosive plays, quality play-calling and timely run-blocking execution.


Let's begin with the explosive plays. The Lions' five longest gains of the game all occurred in the contest's first quarter, with two coming back-to-back during their second possession, immediately following the turnover.


Facing third-and-5 from their own 41-yard line, the Lions came out in a condensed formation, with two receivers split left and one to the right, along with tight end Sam LaPorta to that side. By motioning Amon-Ra St. Brown pre-snap, Goff was able to identify the Packers were in man coverage. The Packers showed a Cover-2 look, but revealed Cover-1 on the snap, rotating safety Darnell Savage down into a robber/plugger role.


LaPorta, covered by cornerback Rasul Douglas, beat a jam with his release and ran an in-breaking route at a 10-yard depth. Douglas remained reasonably in tight coverage, but Goff was able to squeeze the ball into a tight window, allowing LaPorta to do the rest, breaking the corner's tackle attempt and rumbling for a 35-yard gain.


On the next snap, the Lions went after Douglas again, baiting him based on a tendency they identified on film. Feigning a short, sit-down route against the Packers zone coverage, Douglas broke hard on the pattern, which was further sold by a Goff shoulder fake. As the corner drove, St. Brown spun around and accelerated into the vacant space, taking in Goff's pass and falling across the goal line for a 24-yard touchdown.


The Lions again took advantage of the attention St. Brown was drawing on a similar route their next possession. As the safety drove on the sit-down route, Josh Reynolds ran a slant into the space behind St. Brown for a 23-yard third-down conversion.


Those plays and a 26-yard fade route to Reynolds later in the quarter are two examples of excellent calls by coordinator Ben Johnson. On the 23-yarder, Johnson showed how to exploit opponents game-planning to stop St. Brown on third down, installing a route combination that could counter those schemes.


The fade to Reynolds, meanwhile, highlighted how to take advantage of a mismatch. The veteran receiver faced tight coverage from rookie corner Carrington Valentine pre-snap and the play called for an outside release, challenging the inexperienced defender to be able to get his head around on a 50-50 ball. The bet paid off as Goff made an outstanding throw for the big gain.


Detroit's final explosive of the half came the next snap, when Kalif Raymond ran a reverse on a flip from running back Jahmyr Gibbs, using speed and quality blocking to gain 40 yards down the right sideline. The purpose of a reverse is to get the defense to commit going the wrong way, but still relies on downfield blocking to be effective. Raymond's first block surprisingly came courtesy of Goff in the backfield, with St. Brown and right tackle Penei Sewell paving the path downfield once the speedy Raymond got around the edge of the formation.


Finally, Detroit's ground game shook off a sluggish start to churn out 70 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries, between running backs David Montgomery and Gibbs. Montgomery got the first touchdown drive rolling with a second-effort, third-down conversion, setting the tone for a day where almost all of his 121 rushing yards came after contact.


continued..

[whatever_gong82]

The film showed a few notable missed opportunities, including two where if LaPorta could have sustained his block a fraction of a second longer, it would have sprung his back into the second level for a massive gain.

On Montgomery's touchdown runs, the blocking was effective in those short-yardage situation. On the first, the Lions utilized a turbo-motion, pull block from tight end Brock Wright to seal Packers edge rusher Preston Smith outside the lane, while Taylor Decker was able to hold off the inside defender just enough, despite struggling to anchor while playing through a high ankle sprain.



On the second, Montgomery was able to walk through a hole between center Frank Ragnow and guard Jonah Jackson. Ragnow did an outstanding job crossing the face of 330-pound nose tackle T.J. Slaton to seal him inside, while Jackson worked in tandem with Decker to keep linebacker Justin Hollins outside the lane.

It merits mention that one of Detroit's two field goals should have been a touchdown, but the Lambeau grass caused some footing issues at times, including Reynolds stumbling out of his break on a short out route in the end zone where he had separation and Goff's throw was otherwise on target.



What went right on defense

It's a wild thought, but Detroit's defense was probably even more impressive than the offense in the opening half. The unit held the Packers to three first downs, with two coming via penalty.

The defense was put in a tough position immediately, after the Packers returned an interception inside the red zone. But the unit held firm thanks to a strong start from Aidan Hutchinson, who had a pressure leading to a throwaway on first down and a sack on second down, bulling the guard into the pocket after running a stunt before yanking quarterback Jordan Love down by the front of his jersey.


Detroit's front, specifically its interior, also contributed to stops on Green Bay's second, third and sixth possessions. On the second series, the coverage took away Love's first two reads as Isaiah Buggs quickly split the guard and center to bring down the quarterback for a 6-yard loss on first down.

And Alim McNeill singlehandedly ended the other two possessions. Facing third-and-3, the Lions had a zone coverage breakdown that Love identified, but the quarterback was unable to follow through with his throwing motion on a pass across the middle to an open Romeo Doubs because McNeill had collapsed the pocket. The lack of a follow through caused the ball to sail beyond the receiver's reach.


Later, midway through the second quarter, after the Packers finally got a first down due to an encroachment infraction, McNeill made back-to-back plays in the backfield, beating two blocks off the snap to drop running back A.J. Dillion for a loss, one snap before overwhelming the guard to sack Love, making it an unmanageable third-and-21 for the Packers.


Arguably the best play for the unit was an interception leading to Montgomery's second touchdown. On the first snap of the possession, Love executed a terrible run fake, which allowed Detroit's linebackers to quickly diagnose and drop back into their coverage zones. That put Alex Anzalone in position to leap up and deflect the quarterback's pass across the middle, which was corralled by cornerback Jerry Jacobs and returned to the 7-yard line.


Detroit's secondary was largely on point in the first half, led by Jacobs, who took away a read leading to Buggs' sack and knocking away a pass later in that possession. It's worth noting, it appears the Lions made an adjustment to Jacobs' coverage technique. Early in the season, he was struggling with a side shuffle the team was asking their corners to play with, opting to let him go back to a backpedal, which he seems more comfortable playing.

Finally, we hit on it a little with McNeill's run stop on Dillon, but Detroit continued its season-long trend of being stout again the run, limiting the Packers to 7 yards on five carries the first two quarters. Their best play, without question, was how well they handled a tricky, play-action, read-option.



With Love in the shotgun, the Packers motioned Aaron Jones into a split backfield with Dillon to the quarterback's right. On the snap, Love faked a handoff to Dillon, going left. But Anzalone and rookie Brian Branch read two pulling blockers going right and followed that motion, while Hutchinson did a good job not overcommitting on that edge to the play fake.

The strong positioning on the edge forced Love wide before he pitched the ball to Jones, where the running back was immediately upended by cornerback Cam Sutton. Anzalone was in position to make the play, as well.


What could have been better

Up 24 points at the break, anything here is admittedly nitpicking, but no matter how well you play, it's never perfect and there are always things to correct.

And given how well the defense played, there's no reason the Packers should have had any points. They mustered the three because of Goff's error to start the game. And while the quarterback should have been more careful with the ball, not throwing off his back foot across the middle on third-and-long, Packers safety Rudy Ford deserves a tip of the cap for how well he played the snap.


In a Cover-3 look, Ford had outside responsibly on the underneath layer of the zone, but he stayed inside the numbers, ignoring Gibbs' outbreaking route because he effectively read Goff's eyes as Green Bay's pass rush collapsed the quarterback's pocket. That put the defender in position to jump the ill-advised throw.


Beyond that, the Lions have a couple coverage lapses which were covered up by an effective pass rush, an overthrow by Goff on a deep out route, and a couple losses to the turf monster, with Reynolds slipping in the end zone and Gibbs losing his footing across the middle, costing the chance for the offense to convert a third down.


jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers