Lions News

[ghandi]

He stared him down so hard that Gary spent almost the entire game going against Decker instead.

[ghandi]

Detroit Lions' Jared Goff: 'I just got to take care of the ball better' after interceptions



Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press



Jared Goff's 10-game streak without an interception came to a halt in Week 2, just shy of an NFL record. Now, the Detroit Lions quarterback is onto a new streak - one he'd rather not have.

Goff has thrown an interception in three straight games, the only blemish on an otherwise impressive first quarter of the season.

"You just got to be smart with it," Goff said Tuesday. "I’ve had three, two of them were bad throws, one was a bad decision. Try to limit the decision ones. Those are the ones that really sting. But yeah, I just got to take care of the ball better and really limit that. It’s something I’m focused on."


Goff went 383 straight pass attempts without a pick, a stretch that started in the second half of the Lions' Week 9 win over the Green Bay Packers last season and ended in the fourth quarter of the team's Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks last month.


Goff's first interception of the season came when he threw behind rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs on a pass Seahawks defensive back Tre Brown returned 40 yards for a touchdown.


He made another errant pass in the Lions' Week 3 win over the Atlanta Falcons, when he overshot Amon-Ra St. Brown on a ball he said was "about as bad as I’ve thrown a ball in my career." And last week, Goff threw his third interception in as many weeks when he launched a pass off his back foot over the middle on the Lions' opening drive.


Two of Goff's turnovers have come under duress, and all three interceptions have come in Lions territory, though the Lions held the Packers to a field goal after the interception last week and forced a four-and-out turnover on downs by the Falcons.


Lions coach Dan Campbell said Monday that Goff, who struggled with turnover problems during his final seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, has been accountable for his mistakes and added, "I don't feel like he's pressing."

"I don’t feel any panic, and he knows," Campbell said. "He came up to me right after the game and he was like, ‘Look, believe me, I (know).' He doesn’t want it to happen, but what I want more than anything is I don’t want him to go into a shell or start panicking. And he’s not, and I love that. It’s something that he’s thinking about, we’ll be on top of and the ability to overcome those, because some of those will happen.”


Through four games, Goff has completed a career-best 69.5% of his passes with six touchdowns. He ranks seventh in the NFL with 1,029 yards passing and his 383-throw streak without an interception is third-best in NFL history.

Last year, he finished with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions, matching his career-low in 2016 (when he played in just seven games) and 2017.


"He’ll tell you, he made an error, he made a mistake," Campbell said. "He’s falling away in the pocket and makes an ill-advised throw, his eyes are on the receiver and best part about it was he didn’t get frazzled. He went right back to work and he didn’t let it — we were fortunate it didn’t hurt us because our defense went right out and put the fire out. And that’s what you’ve got to be able to do is overcome those errors."


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


Next up: Panthers

Matchup: Lions (3-1) vs. Panthers (0-4).

Kickoff: 1 p.m. Sunday; Ford Field, Detroit.

TV/radio: Fox; WXYT-FM (97.1).

Line: Lions by 8½.

What I saw on the Goff INT against the Packers looked like the guy that made the pick was actually covering Gibbs, but he peeled off when he saw Amon Ra and cut in front of him...It looked like if Goff had thrown to Gibbs instead he was uncovered and it would have went for a good gain.....I think that was just film study and the other team guessing where Goff would go with the throw.

[whatever_gong82]

Lions' Glenn happy with defense's early performance, not with proving his critics wrong



Justin Rogers
The Detroit News


Allen Park — If coaching positions in professional sports were decided by fan polling, there's no way Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn would have made it out of last season.

Off to a historically bad start prior to the team's Week 6 bye, social media and talk radio were offering every drop of gasoline they could muster to further heat up what they believed should have been the franchise's hottest seat.


In reality, Glenn's seat was never that hot. Lions coach Dan Campbell maintained steady, genuine support for Glenn, the man Campbell brought with him from New Orleans to run Detroit's defense in 2021. And in a business where patience isn't a strong suit, Campbell's patience with Glenn looks to be paying off.


After ranking last in yards allowed a year ago, the Lions are fourth through four games this season. They've also been the league's best at stopping the run and are near the top of the charts in quarterback pressure and sacks, despite three edge rushers, both of the team's starting safeties and a top cornerback addition missing time with injury.

And even though the persistent edge Glenn approaches every day with hasn't dulled in the slightest, the coordinator can acknowledge he's been pleased with the early-season results from his group.


"Am I happy? Absolutely," Glenn said. "Guys are playing hard. We're doing some pretty good things. And there's room for improvement, (but) I'm happy the way those guys are playing."

After hitting a bump in the road against Seattle in Week 2, where Glenn's defense was put in some tough spots and the offense surrendered seven points on a turnover, the group has been undeniably stout in wins over Atlanta and Green Bay the past two games. The Falcons never located the end zone in a 20-6 loss, while the Packers found themselves down 24 points at the half after Detroit held them to 21 yards of offense through two quarters.


Glenn always had confidence Detroit's defense would reach this level of effectiveness if he could get the pieces in place, both on the coaching staff and the roster, and the unit was given time to develop their skill sets and trust in each other.

"I've seen a lot of really, really good coaches not have success early and they're fired, and then end up going somewhere where they have the time to get it exactly how they want it to be, get the staff they want to get in and get the players they want to get in, and you see success happen," Glenn said. "That's just what happens in this league, and as a coach, you know that. That's just what it is.


"You have to have confidence in what you do and you have to have confidence in the players doing exactly what you want them to do. Right now, you see that with our guys. Not just me, you see the staff having confidence, you see (the players) having confidence in us as coaches and having confidence in each other to go out and execute at a high level."

That's not to say Glenn didn't hear the outside criticism, but he claims it never bothered him. After playing cornerback for 15 years in the NFL, including a lengthy stretch in the New York media market, he's learned to let the clanging of pitchforks be little more than white noise.


"Listen, we're in the business of criticism and that's not going to change," he said.

Still, he's grateful to have a leader in Campbell, who trusted their shared vision and never felt pressure to pull the plug before it could come to fruition.


"(That's) a man that knows and has been around," Glenn said. "He doesn't waver when things get rocky, because that's what this league is. Look at my mentor, Coach (Sean) Payton, you see what he's going through. I could tell you right now what he's doing; he's staying right here (holding his hand level) and continuing to coach. That's the way we've been brought up in this league is trust in what you're doing and continue to coach. That's what he's done and that's what I'm going to continue to do."


jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers

[whatever_gong82]

'It's a big deal': Lions OC Ben Johnson reveals one key area needing improvement



Nolan Bianchi
The Detroit News


Allen Park — Offensively, the Detroit Lions’ second halves have been a tale of starts and finishes.

On the one hand, the Lions’ offense has been brutal to open the third quarters. The team has gone three-and-out three times to open the second half, with the only outlier being a David Montgomery fumble on the first play from scrimmage in a Week 2 loss against Seattle — an even worse outcome.


On the flip side, Detroit’s offense at the ends of games has been spectacular. In each of the team’s three wins, the Lions have managed to end the game in victory formation. In two of those instances — against the Chiefs and Packers — they actually had to gain a first down before Jared Goff was able to take the knee.


Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson addressed both the positive and negative on Thursday, saying the team’s run of starting second halves poorly is a trend he’s noticed and finds concerning.

“It’s a big deal because it was a problem last year,” Johnson said, “so it’s one we haven’t been able to fix yet. We’re certainly aware of it as a coaching staff, the players are aware of it, and so, that’s something that we’re looking to improve. There’s a number of ways that we’re tackling that.”

While Carolina's defense is tied for 25th in points allowed (25.5 points per game) and 14th in total defense (313 yards per game), it's not safe to automatically assume Detroit will have this issue corrected by Sunday. In four chances thus far, the Panthers' defense has forced three-and-outs to open a second half three times — the only outlier being their Week 3 matchup against Seattle, when they allowed a field goal out of halftime.


Still, Johnson has been very pleased with the way his team has closed out games this year. The defense has certainly made crucial plays late in the second half, but Detroit has also shown the ability to reach victory formation with its four-minute offense when necessary. The explosiveness of the Lions’ offense has become Johnson’s calling card, sure, but one can’t discount the importance of being able to control the clock late in games.

“I think (we have) the ability to morph into whatever’s needed. I feel good that we can throw the ball, when necessary, and we run throw the ball, when necessary,” Johnson said. “I go back to last year, early in the season, we had Minnesota at Minnesota, and we had an opportunity to close out that game with a lead, and that was a failed four-minute drive for us.


“That’s something I know, the offensive line — they still look back and we learned a lot from that week. And so when we get those opportunities in the fourth quarter and we have the ball, we’re doing everything we possibly can not to get our defense back out on the field.”


nbianchi@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @nolanbianchi

[whatever_gong82]

Lions' St. Brown hopeful about injury status ahead of Panthers showdown



Nolan Bianchi
The Detroit News

Allen Park — For the second day in a row, Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown on Thursday was kept out of practice because of an abdomen injury.

But it doesn't sound like it's going to keep him out of Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers. St. Brown referred to it as "just a little abdominal injury" and said "the plan" is to play against Carolina.

Along with St. Brown, Lions rookie slot corner Brian Branch (ankle) and fullback Jason Cabinda (knee) were also held out of practice. Their status for Sunday's game is unclear. Branch was carted off the field during Thursday's win over the Packers but returned with a few minutes left in the game, only to suffer a tweak.

Offensive tackle Taylor Decker (ankle), safety Kerby Joseph (hip), cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (knee/hamstring), linebacker Julian Okwara (shoulder), wide receiver Josh Reynolds (groin) and offensive guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai (knee) were all limited in Thursday's practice.


nbianchi@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @nolanbianchi

[whatever_gong82]

Lions locked in on stopping old foe, Panthers receiver Adam Thielen




Nolan Bianchi
The Detroit News


Allen Park — Aaron Rodgers got all the attention, but he wasn’t the only Detroit Lions nemesis to leave the NFC North last offseason.

After nine years with the Minnesota Vikings, two-time Pro-Bowler Adam Thielen started anew with the Carolina Panthers, who will travel to Detroit this Sunday for a Week 5 matchup at Ford Field.

Lions fans probably won’t be happy to see him. Over 17 career games against Detroit, Thielen caught 58 catches for 687 yards and four touchdowns.


But, his final work with the Vikings against Detroit was his best: In 2022, he caught 13 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns, and in the Week 3 meeting at Minnesota, former Lions corner Amani Oruwariye took four penalties — two for illegal contact and two for defensive pass-interference — while trying to defend the team’s No. 2 wideout.


In year 10, Thielen, 33, might not have the athleticism or quickness he once did. But, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn on Thursday said that hasn’t taken away from his overall ability as a player. The task of stopping him will grow even taller if rookie slot corner Brian Branch (ankle) is ruled out of Sunday’s contest. This season, 68.2% of Thielen's snaps have come from the slot.

“I’ll tell you what, that’s a guy that I’m impressed with. Actually known him personally just from being at Pro Bowls and he’s been there,” Glenn said. “And just to see exactly how he operates — very smart, dependable, trustworthy — you really see that with the quarterback and Thielen. And even though you could say the skills have diminished, the mentality and the smarts has continued to rise.”


Thielen signed a three-year deal with the Panthers this offseason worth $14 million guaranteed. He hasn’t been a weapon for rookie quarterback and No. 1-overall pick Bryce Young — he’s been the weapon. He leads the team by a considerable margin in receiving yards (287) and pass receptions (27), while adding two touchdown catches.

"He's a guy that we have to pay attention to because he's a really good player," Glenn said.


Chasin' on special teams

Lions defensive back Khalil Dorsey was placed on injured reserve because of an illness, following the team’s Week 1 win over Kansas City, which has opened the door for second-year cornerback Chase Lucas to get some special-teams reps.

It’s been a winding road for Lucas, a seventh-round pick in 2022, to carve out a role on this Lions roster. He was active for just three games last season and was in a hotly contested position battle during training camp. But, he sure made his presence felt in last Thursday’s 34-20 win over the Green Bay Packers by recording two kickoff-return tackles on Packers returner Keisean Nixon and drawing holding penalties on two other returns.


“He did a nice job in the last game, and the truth is, he’s done a great job really since he’s been here of being who he is,” Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said. “He’s ultra-competitive. He wants to make a play with everything he’s got. So, every play you put him out there, he’s going to fight and scratch and claw to come up with the football at the end of it, and it’s kind of what he did against Green Bay.


“He forced the two penalties and then he had a couple of tackles, too, so he did a nice job.”


Dorsey will be eligible to return from IR following Week 5’s game against Carolina. He’s been running off to the side in practice, so there’s reason to believe he’ll be ready for activation next Monday.

But at this rate, it doesn’t look like Lucas has any interest in giving him his job back.


nbianchi@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @nolanbianchi

[whatever_gong82]

WR Marvin Jones is odd man out, but Detroit Lions like 'what he's bringing to the table'



Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


Marvin Jones’ second go-round with the Detroit Lions has been a struggle, but even with Jameson Williams set to return to the lineup Sunday, Lions wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El insisted there still is a role for Jones on offense.

“The opportunity’s going to be there and the reason is like, guys run different things,” Randle El said. “There’s certain things I wouldn’t put Jamo on that I would put Marv on. And vice versa. You would think I could put (Amon-Ra St. Brown) on everything, and he would think so as well. But we just don’t. It’s like, ‘Ah, give it to Marv,’ or give it to somebody else to run. So that’s the way we work it from that standpoint.”


Jones, who had 289 catches for 4,296 yards in five seasons with the Lions in 2016-20, has seen his playing time decrease amid minimal production through the first four weeks of the season.


Jones lost a fumble and dropped a pass in the Lions’ Week 1 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, then went two games without a target while playing about half of the Lions’ offensive snaps in games against the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons.


Last week, he played a season-low 21 snaps and dropped his only target in a win over the Green Bay Packers.

The oldest receiver in the NFL, Jones, 33, has contributed as a blocker to the Lions’ rushing success, but has struggled to get separation from defenders in the passing game — he averaged less than 2 yards from the nearest defender on his six targets the Chiefs, when he caught his only two passes of the season for 8 yards — and his path to more playing time seems limited now that Williams is back practicing after serving a four-game suspension.


St. Brown leads the Lions with 26 catches and 331 receiving yards, and Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond are locked into the second and third receiver spots.

Williams, the No. 12 pick of last year’s draft, adds a field-stretching element to the Lions offense, and Jared Goff also has leaned heavily on rookies Sam LaPorta and Jahmyr Gibbs in the passing game.


The Lions do not have to clear a roster spot to bring Williams back to their 53-man roster – they’ve been operating with only 52 players since placing Khalil Dorsey and Josh Paschal on injured reserve Sept. 16 – so his job does not appear to be in immediate jeopardy even though he could be inactive Sunday against the Carolina Panthers as the team’s sixth receiver.

Both Williams, if he plays, and rookie receiver Antoine Green have special teams ability, while Jones does not play in the kicking game.


Randle El said he’s confident Jones would contribute if he had a bigger role on offens. For now, he’s happy with “Marv and what he’s bringing to the table for us .. not just on the field, but in the room, too.”


“Being that 12-year veteran, I can be explaining something and some of the young guys are like, ‘Nah, Coach, I don’t see it like that,’” Randle El said. “And then Marv’ll say something, it’s like, ‘Oh. They get it.’

“But Marv’ll be fine. He’ll bounce back more and more. That first game was a little, like, ‘Ah,’ for him from that standpoint. Two drops, I think he had, and he had the turnover, so that was not what he was used to from the standpoint, in terms of his play. So now it’s just opportunity comes his way, being able to make a play. And certainly, we got a long season. We need every guy. Every guy. That’s the way it works.”


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

[whatever_gong82]

Amon-Ra St. Brown sits another practice; Lions OC Ben Johnson feels 'good' about replacements



Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


Amon-Ra St. Brown missed his third straight practice with an abdominal injury, and if he has to miss Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson expressed optimism about St. Brown's replacements.

"I feel good about all of our guys up this week," Johnson said. "We’ll see as the week goes who exactly is available, but we have plans and contingency plans based on how the week goes for us. But we know, it happens every year and last year we played nine, 10 O-linemen, last year we played nine, 10 receivers. It just so happens we’re four games in and we’re already having this circle going on."


St. Brown leads the Lions with 26 catches and 331 yards receiving through four weeks. He played a full complement of snaps in last week's win over the Green Bay Packers, but spent practices Tuesday and Thursday working on the side with trainers.

The Lions were off Wednesday and held a light practice that was closed to media Monday.


If St. Brown can't play, Josh Reynolds, Kalif Raymond, Marvin Jones and Antoine Green could have more prominent roles in the passing game. Jameson Williams also is expected to play Sunday in his first game back from suspension.


"Here’s what I’ll say about Jamo," Johnson said. "If he’s active this week then he will have plays in for him this week. It’s like that with all of our skill guys."

Defensive back Brian Branch and fullback Jason Cabinda also did not practice Thursday.

Branch could miss Sunday's game with an ankle injury, while Cabinda is expected to miss his second straight game with a knee injury.


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

[whatever_gong82]

Detroit Lions' slow-starting third quarters 'a big deal' to OC Ben Johnson



Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


As good as the Detroit Lions have been offensively in their 3-1 start, they've had trouble moving the ball in the third quarter. And with a home game against the Carolina Panthers on tap Sunday, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said it's time for that to change.

"It’s a big deal," Johnson said. "Because it was a problem last year, so it’s one that we haven’t been able to fix yet. We are certainly aware of it as a coaching staff, the players are aware of it and so it’s something that we’re looking to improve."


The Lions rank eighth in the NFL in total and scoring offense, but have just one offensive touchdown in the third quarters of their first four games. They've gone three-and-out on three of their four second half-opening drives, lost a fumble on the first play of the fourth and have one other third quarter turnover this year.


Penalties have been an issue. The Lions had two holding penalties that wiped out big plays on third quarter drives that ended in punts against the Atlanta Falcons. And run efficiency has put the Lions behind the sticks early in the period. On their four second half-opening drives, the Lions have zero yards rushing on four carries.


Johnson said there are "a number of" things he is doing to try to be better in the third quarter, with the most prominent being simply making sure his offense knows it's an issue.


"I said this last year when we had a turnover problem early in the season, just the awareness of the problems is the first step to correcting the problem," Johnson said. "So we cleaned up our turnovers the second half of the year and that was part of just drawing their attention to how important that is. Same thing I think as the starting point for this is, 'Hey guys, this isn’t good enough, this is not what we’re capable of.' So as long as they are understanding of what we’re trying to get done I think we’ll see improvement and then there’s some things as a coaching staff we can do a little better as well."


Not really a reunion

Johnson was widely considered the frontrunner for the Panthers head coaching job when it opened after last season, so much so that many around the league expected him to be offered the job if he accepted an in-person interview.

Johnson declined, and on Thursday he declined to elaborate why.


"Let’s just, let’s end that one right there," Johnson said. "I don’t want to talk about that stuff during the season. We talked about it in the offseason, so I don’t mean to be rude there, but I want to keep the focus on our guys and the Panthers right now."

Johnson, 37 and a North Carolina native, is expected to be one of the top coaching candidates again this offseason.

Helping hand

Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said he did not play any part in drawing the late penalty flag on the Green Bay Packers for leaping on a field goal block attempt, but suggested the NFL's replay assistance rule may have helped the Lions.

Packers linebacker Quay Walker was penalized for using a running start to jump over long snapper Scott Daly on the kick attempt. The Lions made the field goal to take a 13-point lead, and both teams were in the process of sending their kickoff teams on the field when officials flagged Walker.


The Lions accepted the penalty, which nullified the field goal and gave them a first-and-goal at the Green Bay 6-yard line. David Montgomery scored his third touchdown of the game four plays later to give the Lions' an insurmountable three-score lead.


According to NFL rules, replay officials and designated members of the NFL officiating department can proactively "advise on-field crews based on clear and obvious video evidence" for things like penalty enforcement, clock administration and possession of a loose ball.

Players are allowed to leap over the long snapper on a field goal block attempt so long as they do not start from more than 1 yard behind the line of scrimmage.


“I do think, and I don’t know if this is the case on that play, the league has used the replay and the Hawk-Eye system and all that, upstairs, a little bit more than ever before, and at the end of the day for me, that’s really how it should be," Fipp said. "Just get it right. If there was a penalty or a foul that occurred out there, make sure you get it right. And I think it probably helps that you’re on national television and everyone’s watching. They want to make sure they get it right and there’s only one game on at the time, so I don’t know if that had anything to do with it, but if it did I really commend them for getting the call right at the end of the day."


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

[El Axe]

[ghandi]

I dont know about DPoY but if theres a best dressed category he has our vote.

[jaadam4]

The hat ties it all together

[CGVT]

The hat ties it all together

Respectfully!

[El Axe]

Apparently Benito is a legit farmer, though I doubt many farmers can pull off his outfits, lol.

[jaadam4]

Apparently Benito is a legit farmer, though I doubt many farmers can pull off his outfits, lol.

Either way he’s been a legit monster in the middle of our DL. He and Buggs have been fantastic for us. Everyone was all in on that’s our worst position group on the team. Now I’m not even sure what the weakest spot would be. Kicker?

The whole team is evenly spread out with talent