Lions News

[whatever_gong82]

'It starts with him': Lions zeroed in on key Buccaneers defender Vita Vea



Nolan Bianchi
The Detroit News

Allen Park — He’s mean, anything but lean, and an interior pressure machine.

He’s Vita Vea, the hulking Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle who figures to be a disruptor in both the run and pass game during the Detroit Lions’ Week 6 showdown at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday.


“He is something else in there,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said. “He’s a big, powerful man. He’s hard to move. He can push the pocket, so … I think just in the run game, it starts there with him.”

Vea (6-foot-4, 347 pounds) is in the midst of his sixth NFL season, and it seems he’s only getting better. The former No. 12 pick (in 2018) accomplished career-highs last season in sacks (6.5), quarterback hits (13) and tackles for loss (seven), and this year, is on pace to break those personal bests. Through four games, he has 3.5 sacks, 10 pressures, and five quarterback hits.


Lions quarterback Jared Goff called Vea “one of the best players at his position in the league.”

“He can get in the backfield and cause some problems,” Goff said.

The Lions do have an advantage most other teams don’t, however: Frank Ragnow. The sixth-year Detroit center was selected eight picks after Vea in the 2018 draft, and the two have faced off once prior, in 2019. Back in that matchup, Vea was held to a pretty quiet day over his 48 snaps and did not make the box score.


Ragnow’s assessment of Vea is pretty straightforward. “Very good back then and very good now,” he said. “Very strong, I think he’s added a couple more moves to his repertoire, but (he’s a) very good player for how big he is, and how well he can move is pretty incredible. So it’s definitely a big challenge up front.

“(He’s) just a massive human being, making a lot of offensive linemen look like kids, really. He’s strong and you can see it.”


The Lions have seen their fair share of massive defensive tackles so far through this season. They got Carolina’s Derrick Brown a week ago and Atlanta’s Calais Campbell and Grady Jarrett in Week 3.

One thing that’ll make the task a little difficult this week is a handful of nagging injuries to the team’s offensive guards.


While the Lions have gotten great play from backup right guard Graham Glasgow following an injury to Halapoulivaati Vaitai, left guard Jonah Jackson was seen leaving Ford Field in a walking boot after Sunday’s game and was a non-participant in Wednesday and Thursday practices. While the depth is wearing thin, there’s no place in Detroit’s locker room where the next-man-up mentality is exemplified more than on the offensive line.

“I think a big thing that (offensive line coach) Hank (Fraley) does is just communicate with us and talk about it going into the week, not only making sure he prepares the starting five, but everybody in that room, and he’s doing a great job of that,” Ragnow said.


nbianchi@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @nolanbianchi

[whatever_gong82]

Despite crazy speed, don't expect to see Detroit Lions' Jameson Williams on special teams



Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


The Detroit Lions are looking to get Jameson Williams more involved in their gameplan in his second game back from suspension this week, but that does not mean Williams will have a role on special teams.

Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said he currently doesn't have any plans to play Williams as a return man or gunner Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

A standout kick returner in college at Alabama, Williams was ticketed to play the latter role in his NFL debut last season against the Jacksonville Jaguars but never saw a rep on special teams as the Lions did not punt in the game.


"I think the priority for him right now is to get him up and going on offense," Fipp said. "But I think at some point you’re always looking to put your best players on the field or in a position to impact the game the most you can, so I think that’s always an option or something to always keep in mind or think about him (and running back Jahmyr) Gibbs. I know Gibbs has been down or was down last week, but those guys you’re always looking to see if there’s an opportunity or a position you can put them in."


Williams averaged 35.2 yards on 10 kick returns at Alabama and returned two kicks for touchdowns in a game against Ole Miss. He played primarily on special teams in his two seasons at Ohio State, and Lions general manager Brad Holmes cited Williams' play as a gunner in 2021 as one of the things that separated Williams from other receivers in the draft.

As a receiver, Williams had a minimal impact in his first game last week, catching two passes for 2 yards with one drop, though Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson praised Williams' contributions as a blocker in the run game.


"If he blocks like that, there’ll be snaps for him every week, there’s no problem there," Johnson said. "And then the challenge is, 'Hey, how do we get him the ball?' And we’ll keep pushing it that way. But I’ve got no problem with where he’s at right now and where he’s going."


Fipp joked that he wanted to use Gibbs as a gunner again, but probably can't because of the media uproar.

And while he downplayed the likelihood of Williams getting injured returning kicks - "We've had two kick returns on the season. It’s like, you play that guy 60 plays, you want to try to get him out in space and here’s a chance to get a guy out in space in one play or two plays in five games," he said - he admitted Williams' time as a gunner has probably passed.


"Are his gunner days over? I say never say never," Fipp said.


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

[whatever_gong82]

For Lions' Jameson Williams, it's now all about building trust



Nolan Bianchi
The Detroit News

Allen Park — The Detroit Lions and Jameson Williams have seemingly reached a point of stability.

The second-year receiver got his first taste of game action this season in Sunday’s 42-24 win over the Carolina Panthers, which followed what many have deemed a great week of practice. Now, it’s all about continuing to develop trust.


Reading between the lines on the press conference of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Williams is currently a passenger in the Lions’ offense — and that’s not a bad thing. It’s the natural set of circumstances for a player who missed nearly a full rookie season dealing with a torn ACL and an extensive amount of time the following training camp to nurse an ailing hamstring.


Eventually, the Lions want Williams to be a driver of the offense. But for an offense averaging the fourth-most points in the league (29.6) en route to a 4-1 start, there’s no reason to toss him a set of keys before he’s gotten his license.

“He’s going to continue to get better every single week,” Johnson said. “That’s been the biggest issue with Jamo, is the fact that we haven’t been able to stack good days on top of each other since he’s been here. … He had a great week of practice last week.



“I’m looking forward to him doing that again this week because that’s the way you get better. That’s the way you get the trust of the play-caller, the quarterback — the quarterback will play faster, have more anticipation of where he’s going to be and we’ll be able to continue to give him opportunities to catch the ball and be the playmaker that he’s capable of being.”

Williams told reporters Thursday he’s been staying after practice to get extra throws in with Goff, “making sure we’ve got the timing, how to run it, where the ball should be and stuff like that.”

In the meantime, Williams has gotten extensive praise for accomplishing the little things, like his block to spring free David Montgomery for a 42-yard touchdown run.


“The coolest thing that came from the game the other day is, the guy is such a competitor, you see him block in the run game like he is. If he blocks like that, there’ll be snaps for him every week. There’s no problem there,” Johnson said.

“And then the challenge is, ‘Hey, how do we get him the ball?’ and we’ll keep pushing it that way. But I have no problem with where he’s at right now and where he’s going.”



Williams caught 79 passes for 1,572 yards and 15 touchdowns in his final season at Alabama. So far he has just three for 43 yards and a score in his seven-game NFL career. But as much as fans want to see that first man come to life in a Lions uniform, so does he. These things can take time.

“It ain’t easy,” Williams said about working back into the flow of things. “But we work every day, that’s the reason we got practice … we’ve just been going out there and getting work and getting better every day.


“Hopefully the time is coming. It’ll come soon.”



nbianchi@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @nolanbianchi

[whatever_gong82]

How the Lions offensive coaching staff continues to implement unique play calls



Justin Rogers
The Detroit News


Allen Park — Every week, the Detroit Lions' offensive staff holds a meeting where assistants make pitches to add a wrinkle to the upcoming game plan. It's part of the collaborative coaching process, fostered by coach Dan Campbell and executed by coordinator Ben Johnson.

Some great ideas have come out of those meetings, including a successful hook-and-ladder used in the closing minutes of last year's season-ending victory over Green Bay.


Proving the ideas can come from anyone, that one was courtesy assistant receiver coach Seth Ryan. Last week, it was assistant offensive line coach Steve Oliver who delivered a pitch that was implemented; a direct snap between quarterback Jared Goff's legs to running back David Montgomery, which converted a third-and-6 in the second half of Sunday's win over Carolina.



The Lions coaches pluck play ideas from all over the place. In this case, it came from a 2022 William & Mary game against Delaware, discovered and tucked away from when the team was scouting eventual fifth-round draft pick Colby Sorsdal.


"We had noticed on tape, not to give away too much information, but whenever the quarterback would get up and give some movements, the defensive line might settle back or take a knee or something to that sorts," Johnson said. "We were just looking to take advantage of that and drive off the ball."


The plays come from everywhere, whether borrowed from studying film on a future opponent or an offseason look at some college tape, while scouting potential draft prospects. Johnson noted college coaches, particularly at smaller schools, have fewer people dissecting their every decision, which allows them to be more creative than NFL counterparts.

"There’re a million great ideas out there and sometimes the college game, I don’t want to say there’s less at stake, but there’s maybe not as much scrutiny if something goes wrong, so you’ve got the green light to be a little bit more creative," Johnson said. "Truthfully, that’s the wonderful thing about our head coach; he’s not afraid to go ahead and do some things that maybe haven’t been done before in this league."


Johnson said many of the staff's pitches die on the vine. He quipped that of the million ideas offered up weekly, only a dozen are viable, and only two or three make it to the call sheet. The conversation then turns to when is the right situation to try to execute the schematic wrinkle.

"It’s only good if it works, and I know that every time one of these gets dialed up," Johnson said. "We spend a lot of time as a staff, the head coach, the offensive staff, on when to pull these things out to give us the best chance of them actually succeeding because if they don’t then it’s a little bit of egg on your face."


But more often than not during his tenure as a coordinator, the Lions have connected with their non-standard plays. Beyond the between-the-leg snap, the Lions also scored a touchdown on a flea flicker out of reverse motion against the Panthers. They've also successfully run a traditional flea flicker and reverse in recent weeks. Last year, among the notable decisions was a game-sealing pass to offensive tackle Penei Sewell.


Johnson said everything starts with good fundamentals. His ability to trust players to execute the basics, things like pad level, holding a block and securing the ball has allowed the coaching staff to push boundaries with their play designs and calls.

And it doesn't hurt that it brings an element of fun to the roster each week.

“Yeah, it makes it fun," Goff said. "I think that’s a credit to Ben and what he’s done. Obviously, 99% of our offense is very focused and detailed, but here and there, he’ll throw in something that’s just fun and doesn’t really have a complete rhyme or reason necessarily, but it’s something that we expect to work."


jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers

[whatever_gong82]

After 'tough' few days, Lions LB Alex Anzalone can rest easy with his parents home



Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press

Alex Anzalone was up late Wednesday night, surfing social media, trying to keep tabs on his parents' plane flight home from Israel when he happened upon a video of passengers at the Tel Aviv airport with their heads down, taking cover from missile strikes.

No missiles came close to hitting the airport. The city's missile defense system made sure of that.

But after four harrowing days of waiting and wondering when his parents were going to make it out of the war-torn country safely, Anzalone was growing impatient about their departure.

"I’m texting my parents, 'Are you guys at the airport right now?' " the Detroit Lions linebacker told reporters Thursday. "And they’re like, 'No, we’re waiting for everything to calm down on the bus to go into the airport.' So once I figured they were in the airport, cleared through all that and got on the plane and got out of the airspace, I was really excited."


Anzalone's parents had been stranded in Jerusalem since war broke out between Israel and Hamas last weekend.

The veteran linebacker first shared news of his parents' plight after the Lions' 42-24 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, when he commented on a social media post by U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Florida), who said 53 of his constituents were visiting the country and looking to leave as soon as possible.


Anzalone deleted that post out of concerns about his parents' safety, but spent the past few days hoping and praying about their return.

"I had like the flight tracker, like FlightAware.com, I was tracking the flight and then once they got out of that airspace I was like, 'OK, I can go to sleep now,' " he said. "But it was tough."


Anzalone said he spoke to and texted with his parents throughout their odyssey, which began as a pilgrimage to Israel with their church group Oct. 2.

When Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, invaded Israel, Anzalone said his parents were in the Jerusalem hotel where they spent most of the past five days. Anzalone said his parents occasionally had to take shelter in the hotel's bunker, though he has yet to hear many other details about their trip.


"I know that they were in Jerusalem at one point and the 'iron dome' was working, put it that way," Anzalone said, referring to Israel's missile defense system. "They said they have videos of that. That’s all I really heard so far."

The Lions' leading tackler with 35 stops through five games, Anzalone said he buried himself in football whenever possible the past few days to try to stay "as sane as possible."

He talked to Florida congressman Gus Bilirakis about his parents' safety. His parents considered fleeing the country by car and trying to fly out of Jordan. But ultimately they left on their originally scheduled direct flight from Tel Aviv to Miami on El Al Israeli Airlines, which Anzalone said was equipped with its own missile defense system.

The Lions play the Buccaneers on Sunday in Tampa, Florida, and Anzalone said his parents will be at the game. He plans to see them Saturday night at the team hotel.

"First thing I'm going to do is get a big hug, but next thing I'm going to do is (ask) like, 'What exactly happened?' " Anzalone said. "Cause I know they were hiding the truth. I know they were in the bunker a few times in their hotel, but they only told me that when they knew for sure they were getting out, so I'm sure they’ll have some stories to tell."


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

[whatever_gong82]

Amid hot start, Detroit Lions rookie TE Sam LaPorta dealing with calf injury



Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


Sam LaPorta's fast start might have hit a speed bump.

The Detroit Lions' rookie tight end missed his first practice of the season Thursday with a calf injury.

LaPorta has 25 catches in the Lions' 4-1 start, the third-most ever by a tight end through his first five career games. His status for Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is uncertain.

"I’m trying to see what he can’t do right now because really he’s been really impressive handling it all," Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said. "He’s done a phenomenal job. He’s a pro. As a rookie, he’s a pro."


LaPorta has emerged as one of the most important players on a Lions offense that ranks fourth in the NFL in scoring and fifth in total yards. He caught two touchdown passes in last week's win over the Carolina Panthers and has 289 receiving yards on the season.


A second-round pick out of Iowa, LaPorta is on pace for 983 receiving yards if he plays all 17 games this year. Just two rookie tight ends have topped 1,000 yards in NFL history, and before Kyle Pitts hit that mark in 2021, no rookie tight end had eclipsed even 800 yards since Jeremy Shockey in 2002.

"I give credit every time his name comes up to his position coach, Steve Heiden," Johnson said. "He’s done a phenomenal job with him getting him ready week in and week out. And Sam is uber-talented as well. You see a lot of young guys in this league, particularly in that position, they’re either really strong pass catchers or maybe they’re shifted the other way and they’re more in the blocking department, and he’s equally good in both ways. So, another member of our unit that is really invaluable to what we’re going right now.”


Along with LaPorta, rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring), rookie defensive back Brian Branch (ankle), left guard Jonah Jackson (ankle), center Frank Ragnow (rest) and backups Zonovan Knight (shoulder) and James Mitchell (hamstring) did not practice Thursday.

Both Gibbs and Branch could miss their second straight games with injuries.


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

[whatever_gong82]

David Montgomery-Jahmyr Gibbs duo working exactly how Lions envisioned



Nolan Bianchi
The Detroit News


Allen Park — We’ve heard this all before.

Detroit Lions running backs coach Scottie Montgomery took the podium in Allen Park on Thursday and delivered a prophecy on rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs.


“The same way that he’s having to manage these expectations, in a few weeks, you’ll have to manage (when) people are saying really, really good (things about him),” Montgomery said.

He is, of course, referring to the Lions fans (and fantasy football managers) that feel Gibbs should be getting a bigger slice of the pie. Gibbs missed last week’s win over Carolina with a hamstring injury that popped up late — Lions head coach Dan Campbell called him "day-to-day" entering Week 7 — but even before that, it’s been the veteran David Montgomery who’s carried the load thus far, with Gibbs having limited opportunities to showcase the electrifying talent that prompted the Lions to draft him No. 12 overall last spring.


David Montgomery, who signed a three-year deal with Detroit worth up to $18 million last offseason, already has carried the ball 88 times in four games, and despite missing the team’s Week 3 contest against the Atlanta Falcons, he’s just 11 runs behind the pace-setter (Christian McCaffrey, 99) in attempts.

The production has matched the opportunity, as David Montgomery also ranks fourth in rushing yards per game (92.8) and is third in rushing touchdowns (six). But many have argued it doesn’t exactly match the split people envisioned he would have with Gibbs, on whom the Lions used precious draft capital to acquire.

Campbell would beg to differ.

“To me, that type of guy (David Montgomery) is always going to be your — he carries the load. And the other one is the change-up,” Campbell said.

“You always want a guy who, man, he can, if you need it, he can take on 20, 25, 30 carries. And (David Montgomery) has been all of that and then some. He is a workhorse and he is dependable, he is tough, he is quick, he’s explosive and he’s a finisher, so I’m glad we got him.”




Both Campbell and Scottie Montgomery added that Gibbs’ workload will continue to build, and, in some way, referred to the idea that Gibbs would ultimately be used as more of a pass catcher than a rusher. It’s not exactly new information, but it does seem to indicate that Gibbs’ involvement in the run game may not exceed what it already has, as long as David Montgomery is back there with him.

And it should be noted the Lions don’t think Gibbs is incapable of putting up the type of production David Montgomery is. In the one game without David Montgomery, Gibbs took 17 handoffs for 80 yards, and in each game he’s played, has had more than 50 yards from scrimmage on an average of just over 13 touches per game.



“That doesn’t sound significant, but when you talk to our coordinator (Ben Johnson), you talk to our head coach, and especially when we have the type of room and the type of talent that we have on the field … there’s only a certain amount of yardage that can happen on a football field,” Scottie Montgomery said.


And the cherry on top: While many were worried about the cultural loss that would come with the departure of former Lions running back Jamaal Williams, who signed with New Orleans after Montgomery’s deal in Detroit was inked, it’s clear David Montgomery has delivered a similar presence in Detroit’s locker room. His teammates and coaches love him.

“I think one of the first times he came in the building, he came with his significant other and his child,” Scottie Montgomery said. “That kind of set the tone, when you’ve been that vulnerable with new people and you're showing what you really do it for.”


nbianchi@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @nolanbianchi

[jaadam4]

I don't want LaFleur within 100 miles of the Detroit Lions, unless he's with the opposition. His offense with Green Bay is meh, and we've beaten his teams 4 straight times, and handled his offense each time.

Dan Campbell has already got someone that's working with Ben Johnson right now, and if Mr. Johnson leaves, that person will take over the OC position.

Screw LaFleur

[Iron Lion]

Someone should create a forum power ranking thread. Forum members can sit down at their kitchen tables, or basement labs, and post their full or top 10 power pole.
Then we can discuss it and take all disagree and insults to the argument thread. The in between games one that doesn’t yet exist but also can be created.

Screenshot-20230914-081323-You-Tube.jpg

[DanO]

Screw LaFleur

Yep!!!!!!

[froot loops]

In think LaFleur would get another head coaching job if he were fired, but I would take him as a replacement OC in a New York minute. The analytics guys love his offense and the concepts they run are very similar. Occam's razor says it would be Scottie Montgomery.

[Mainevent]

Yeah you don’t really bring a guy in from the outside when things are working. Plus DC has made a point about wanting to develop coaches and give guys opportunities. But I’ll worry about all of that stuff in the offseason.

[froot loops]

Yeah that's right, the reason in the hypothetical situation LaFleur would be appealing is he has a connection with Goff from his LA OC days. But again, if he were available, he would have a good shot at head coaching gigs

[-Deborah-]

Don't be dissing the Deb!

Ha! He was quoting the video I referenced.

[whatever_gong82]