Lions News

[LightninBoy]

what does "21 day clock starts" mean in relation to Paschal?

And why is Mosely not being put on IR?

[Mainevent]

Basically they have 21 days to activate a player from IR before they would have to be put on the season ending injury list.

As for Moseley, sounds like Khalil Dorsey will get elevated in his place probably later this week.

https://www.prideofdetroit.com/platform/amp/2023/10/13/23915934/detroit-lions-edge-josh-paschal-returns-to-practice-21-day-evaluation-clock-started

[ghandi]

So many of that DL just cant stay healthy.....Levi, Paschal, the Okwaras just too many guys you cant count on.....

[whatever_gong82]

Brian Burns, Jerry Jeudy and potential trade candidates for every NFL team as deadline looms


(I'm only focusing on the NFC North, the Rams for the fans on here, Philly, and San Francisco.)

By The Athletic NFL Staff
Oct 13, 2023


The NFL trade deadline is quickly approaching, and teams are browsing the league in hopes of finding the one missing piece that could help elevate their rosters.

Last year, we saw a plethora of moves before the deadline that involved big-name players. The San Francisco 49ers pulled off a blockbuster deal for superstar running back Christian McCaffrey. We also saw Bradley Chubb get traded to the Miami Dolphins, Roquan Smith to the Baltimore Ravens and T.J. Hockenson to the Minnesota Vikings. Could this year offer similar activity?

With the deadline set for Oct. 31 at 4 p.m. ET, our writers at The Athletic list one candidate from each of their respective teams who has the potential to be shipped elsewhere.


Chicago Bears: Jaylon Johnson, CB

The Bears don’t want to trade Johnson. But they didn’t want to trade Roquan Smith at first, either. Smith eventually forced the Bears’ hand. Johnson isn’t doing that. He’s on the record saying he wants to remain in Chicago. But Johnson is still in the last year of his contract — and the Bears have drafted three cornerbacks in the last two years: Kyler Gordon (2022, No. 39), Tyrique Stevenson (2023, No. 56) and Terell Smith (2023, No. 165). If the Bears don’t see a contract extension in Johnson’s future, it makes sense to trade him. Didn’t the Bills just lose their best cornerback? — Adam Jahns


Detroit Lions: Julian Okwara, OLB

For the first time in a long time, the Lions are positioned to add — not sell — at the deadline. Given the wave of injuries we’ve already seen, they probably aren’t likely to move key reserves. But with the pass rush getting healthier, perhaps a sack-needy team should look to add a player like Okwara. He’s just now getting back into action after starting the year on injured reserve, so teams will have a few weeks to evaluate him.

Again, the Lions are probably buyers this year, but they do have some depth at edge, and Okwara is in the last year of his rookie deal. — Colton Pouncy


Green Bay Packers: Preston Smith, OLB

The 30-year-old outside linebacker doesn’t flash much for a team that isn’t anywhere near a contender. If the Packers lose another game or two before the trade deadline, it might be time to ship off a veteran and continue with the offseason’s theme of getting younger.

Green Bay has first- or second-year players in Lukas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare and Brenton Cox Jr. behind Rashan Gary and Preston Smith, and it might be worth giving them an extended look as general manager Brian Gutekunst builds for the future. — Matt Schneidman


Los Angeles Rams: Van Jefferson, WR (traded to Falcons on Oct. 10)

Between the emergence of rookie receiver Puka Nacua and the development of Tutu Atwell, plus the return of Cooper Kupp, the Rams were not likely to extend Jefferson, who is in a contract year. When Kupp was recovering from a hamstring injury, Jefferson played most of the offensive snaps but only had eight catches for 108 yards. With Kupp back in the lineup on Sunday against Philadelphia, Jefferson played only two offensive snaps, and that signaled a move was imminent. Kupp, Nacua and Atwell are now receivers 1, 2 and 3, respectively, on a predominantly 11 personnel team.

Meanwhile, they have extra offensive linemen at a couple of spots (left tackle and right guard), but would they move a player such as Joe Noteboom? They aren’t far removed from their catastrophic injury situation along the offensive line in 2022, so the Rams may not be active here out of caution. But if a team called, they would listen. I can also see the Rams making a move to bring in some help at positions such as outside linebacker or interior defensive line. — Jourdan Rodrigue


Minnesota Vikings: Danielle Hunter, Edge

The Vikings are teetering toward sell mode, and the most realistic premium option is Hunter. The three-time Pro Bowler signed a one-year contract before the season worth $17 million guaranteed and is tied for second in the NFL with six sacks. His pressure rate and pass-rush win rates are less rosy, but they’re affected by the team’s tendency to give up quick completions. Hunter is the one high-end impact player on Minnesota’s defense and is a fan favorite.

That said, if the Vikings are beginning to turn the page toward the future, prioritizing premium draft position and overall draft capital, Hunter makes sense as an obvious trade candidate. — Alec Lewis


Philadelphia Eagles: Derek Barnett, DE

The Eagles have used the 2017 first-round pick sparingly, yet have resisted Barnett’s trade requests because they like the depth he offers. Barnett, who suffered a torn ACL in Week 1 of last season, believes he can now effectively contribute more than the dozen or so snaps a game he’s getting from Philadelphia. If a team in need of pass-rushing help is willing to give up draft picks for the 27-year-old, maybe the Eagles should make the move. — Mike Jones


San Francisco 49ers: Tyrion Davis-Price, RB

The 49ers, who already acquired Gregory, probably remain importers, not exporters, in the trade market. But they do have an abundance of running backs. Even with Elijah Mitchell out of action recently with a knee injury, Davis-Price has had trouble seeing the field. His first carries of the season came at the end of Sunday’s blowout win over the Cowboys.

The 49ers like Davis-Price and think he’s a talented runner. The issue is he’s been leapfrogged for the No. 3 role by Jordan Mason, who went undrafted the same year Davis-Price was a third-round pick. Mason is good on special teams and actually led all rushers Sunday with 69 yards on 10 carries. — Matt Barrows

[ghandi]

WIth Houston out I dont think they trade J Okwara...i dont think he would command much anyway with his injury history.

[whatever_gong82]

Lions remain 'hopeful' about Hendon Hooker being activated this season



Nolan Bianchi
The Detroit News


Allen Park — The Lions remain hopeful that rookie quarterback Hendon Hooker can be activated this season.

But as of right now, there is no timetable to do so. Lions head coach Dan Campbell on Friday said there haven’t been any setbacks in Hooker’s recovery from a torn ACL suffered on the final play of his college career, and that alone is a positive sign.


“Still hopeful (he can be activated), but there again, there’s a lot that can happen between now and, ‘OK, is it time to pull him up? Is it not?'” Campbell said. “I mean, you never know what can happen with this roster between now and then, but he’s doing good.”

Quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell said it’s “all meeting time” right now and that Hooker is doing a “great job picking up our system.”


“Honestly, it’s hard because I can tell you he’s doing very well in meetings, the questions that we ask, the time that he’s putting in, but that has to translate to the field when we get out there,” Brunell said.

“I personally can’t wait to see him out there because I think he’s going to do very well, but everything that we’ve asked of Hendon, he’s just done a very good job. He’s a hard-working kid and it’s important to him. We’re anxious to get him out there, whenever that is, but I know I’m enjoying my time with him, just talking about offenses and defenses, learning terminology, watching a lot of tape.”


Hooker is the forgotten man of a rookie class that has put up major production for a 4-1 Lions team. Even if he was fully healthy, there’d be no reason to get him out there. Lions starter Jared Goff is arguably playing the best football of his career, just one year after doing that same thing in 2022.

But his start on the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list has allowed the Lions to keep two extra veteran quarterbacks on board, with Teddy Bridgewater serving as the team’s backup and David Blough a third-string/practice squad quarterback. It may seem like a small benefit, but Brunell said the “redshirt year” could pay dividends down the road.


“Teddy’s been great. Teddy is awesome. His experience, his personality, his work ethic, you can tell he’s a vet, you know? But for Teddy to be in the room with his experience, I think this is Year 11, for a guy like Hendon, it’s great,” Brunell said.

“They’re always talking about Teddy’s always offering some input, some advice, making fun of him a lot, which is what we do in the quarterback room. If you’re a rookie, you’re gonna get it.”


Hooker, 25, was drafted No. 68 overall out of Tennessee after he led the nation’s top passing offense before tearing his ACL in a November contest against South Carolina. He threw for 3,135 yards and 27 touchdowns with two interceptions and a completion percentage of 69.6%.


nbianchi@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @nolanbianchi

[whatever_gong82]

Anatomy of a trick play: How Detroit Lions' through-the-legs snap came to be



Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


When the Detroit Lions first sat down to install the between-the-legs snap they surprised the Carolina Panthers with last week, rookie offensive lineman Colby Sorsdal noticed someone interesting on the film breakdown of the play —himself.

Sorsdal was in his final season at William & Mary last year when the Tribe pulled off a between-the-legs snap in their homecoming game against rival Delaware that went for a touchdown.

One of William & Mary’s two quarterbacks lined up in a traditional shotgun formation, and the Tribe’s second quarterback — William & Mary played most of last season with two quarterbacks on the field — motioned from a slot receiver spot to under center.


The center snapped the ball between the motioned quarterback’s legs to the second quarterback in the backfield, and the quarterback taking the snap ran an option play to the short side of the field while the one under center took off in the opposite direction.


It’s a modernized a version of the old fumblerooski play, in which the quarterback-center exchange is intentionally fumbled for another offensive player to recover. The play is now largely outlawed in pro and college football. And Sorsdal thought it was deviously constructed.

“It was an innovative offense,” Sorsdal told the Free Press on Wednesday. “So we get under center, act like we’re faking a sneak and he snapped it through his legs and we ran speed option the other way. We ran duo off this one (with the Lions), which was different than the William & Mary one, but the snap between the legs was real.”


The Lions used the same concept to pick up a key third-and-6 against the Panthers from the Carolina 14-yard line late in last week’s third quarter.

Jared Goff cuddled up snug behind center Frank Ragnow, who snapped the ball directly to running back David Montgomery, who ran up the middle behind a trio of blockers for a first down.


“It’s just duo is all we ran,” Goff said of the popular run game concept that’s a staple in the Lions playbook. “On third-and-6, are you ever going to run duo? I don’t know, you can. But we ran it with a little bit of a wrinkle on it, were able to pick up the first down based on something we saw in them in certain situations.”

The play came to have a place in the Lions playbook not from Sorsdal, but on a suggestion from assistant offensive line coach Steve Oliver.

Oliver first saw the play when watching scouting tape of Sorsdal ahead of April’s draft, and he presented it to offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as a possible play in one of the Lions’ gameplan meetings.


Johnson said his assistants have “a million ideas each week that they bring up … and maybe we only take two or three” to each game.

“All the young guys, obviously they’re a little bit more versed in the college game having been there most recently, and Steven Oliver played a critical role in that play coming up for us,” Johnson said. “We had noticed on tape — not to give away too much information, but whenever, if the quarterback would get up and give some movements, the (Panthers) defensive line might settle back or take a knee or something of that sort, so we were just looking to take advantage off that and drive off the ball. It wasn’t anything special about the play, but just the way to get to it was a good idea there by Steven.”


Goff set up the direct snap to Montgomery by hunching under center as if to take a snap from Ragnow, then standing tall and directing receiver Jameson Williams to motion across the formation.

Ragnow snapped the ball as Goff stood with his right hand in the air, and Goff capped the subterfuge by acting as if Ragnow had snapped the ball inadvertently and it was loose on the side.


“We were snapping it on ‘Jamo, come on,’ like motioning him in, so when I said, ‘Jamo, come on,’ the ball got snapped,” Goff said. “There was a little bit of playaround with when we wanted to snap it and doing that (in practice), but no, we never hit it off my leg. It was good.”

Johnson said the Lions have a catalog of plays saved “that catch our eye, whether (from) the NFL or college, that goes back for years now.” Last week, the Lions also pulled off a reverse flea-flicker they last used when Johnson was the team’s tight ends coach under interim Darrell Bevell in 2020, and they had another trick play that Johnson culled from a 2007 game.


“It was fuzzy film and our guys were like looking at us sideways,” he said.

Asked about “stealing” plays Thursday, Johnson laughed at the term — “You said steal?” he said coyly — but acknowledged he and other coaches often repurpose concepts they see at lower levels of football or add “eye candy” to give familiar concepts a fresh look.


That applies defensively, too, as Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said he visits with at least one college coach every offseason — he and Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz are close — to discuss concepts prevalent in college football that are making their way to the NFL.

There are things that pop up every year when we evaluate the college prospects that, ‘Holy cow, that’s a great idea,’ ” Johnson said. “Chip Kelly, back when he was in New Hampshire, kind of used that as his laboratory as he came up with all these cool ideas that he was doing up there, and then as he went to Oregon, to (the Philadelphia Eagles), those things kind of blew up and took the league by storm if you will.


“There’s 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. And truthfully, that’s the wonderful thing about our head coach is he’s not afraid to do some things that maybe haven’t been done before in this league.”


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

[whatever_gong82]

Detroit Lions 'can't wait' to get Hendon Hooker on field, still no timetable for return



Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


The Detroit Lions still hope to activate Hendon Hooker to their 53-man roster at some point this fall, but Lions coach Dan Campbell declined to put a timetable on the rookie quarterback's return to action Friday.

"Still hopeful, but there again, there’s a lot that can happen between now and, 'OK, is it time to pull him up? Is it not?'" Campbell said. "I mean, you never know what can happen with this roster between now and then. But he’s doing good."

Hooker has spent the first six weeks of the regular season rehabbing from the torn left ACL he suffered last November in his final college game at Tennessee.

He cannot practice with the team while on the non-football injury list, but runs through passing drills with trainers and has been a regular in position and team meetings.


Lions quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell said he and Hooker spend one-on-one time every Tuesday and that Hooker is "doing very well in the meetings, (understanding) the questions that we ask."


"I personally can't wait to see him out there because I think he’s going to do very well," Brunell said "But everything that we’ve asked of Hendon, he’s just done a very good job. He’s a hard-working kid and it’s important to him and so we’re anxious to get him out there whenever that is, but I know I’m enjoying my time with him just talking about the offense and defenses, learning terminology, watching a lot of tape. He’s really doing an excellent job for us."


Brunell reiterated that he does not expect Hooker to play for the Lions this fall.

Jared Goff is off to a hot start, completing nearly 70% of his passes for the Lions' sixth-ranked offense, and veteran. Teddy Bridgewater is his top backup.

"I mean, this is a redshirt year for him," Brunell said. "And when he comes back, I don’t know, that’s past me. I just know that we can’t wait to get him on the field, he can’t wait to get on the field and actually doing football is better than just talking about football, so when he gets that chance I think he’s going to be great. But he is getting the opportunity as far as the mental side of it, to get absolutely everything before he has to go on the field. So it is a positive."


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

[whatever_gong82]

[whatever_gong82]

[whatever_gong82]

Detroit Lions place Emmanuel Moseley, Zonovan Knight on IR; sign Dan Skipper to roster



Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


The Detroit Lions placed cornerback Emmanuel Moseley on injured reserve Saturday, ending his season with a torn ACL.

Moseley, one of the Lions’ top free agent signings of the offseason, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee on his second snap of the season in last week’s win over the Carolina Panthers.

Moseley missed the first four games of with a torn left ACL he suffered last season with the San Francisco 49ers.

The Lions (4-1) also placed running back Zonovan Knight on injured reserve with a torn labrum in his shoulder, activated cornerback Khalil Dorsey off injured reserve and signed offensive lineman Dan Skipper to the 53-man roster from practice squad.

With Knight and rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring) unavailable, the Lions elevated running back Devine Ozigbo to the game day roster from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against the Tamp Bay Buccaneers (3-1).

[whatever_gong82]

How Ben Johnson crafted a Lions run game that’s diverse, unique and a whole lot of fun

(I'm going to break this long article into at least 4-5 parts. whatever_gong82.)

Detroit Lions no 5 and Ben Johnson.jpg

By Nick Baumgardner
Oct 14, 2023


At age 14, Ben Johnson registered a perfect score on the Mathematical Association of America’s AMC 8 exam, a challenging middle school test. In his spare time, Johnson pretended to be Joe Montana.

The son of a school principal, Johnson studied math and computer science at North Carolina. He also was a walk-on in the QB room of Gary Tranquill, an offensive wizard with more than five decades of experience, ranging from head coach at Navy to being one of the first NFL assistants hired by Bill Belichick. Academia never stood a chance.


Three years ago, Johnson was a smart guy you’d likely never heard of. Today, he’s offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, in charge of a unit whose uniqueness at the moment can be challenged only by the top offenses in football. Those offenses are run by Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco 49ers), Mike McDaniel (Miami Dolphins) and Nick Sirianni (Philadelphia Eagles) — names you surely recognize.

Through five games this season, Detroit’s offense is the third-most efficient in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus, behind only the Dolphins and 49ers. It is a classic throwback system with zero tendencies and modern wrinkles all over the place. The Lions are 4-1 and leading the NFC North.


Nobody in the NFL runs offense quite like Ben Johnson and Lions coach Dan Campbell. Let’s unpack what makes their attack so much fun.

When Campbell turned his offense over to Johnson midway through the 2021 season, it was as much about making quarterback Jared Goff comfortable as it was finding ways to utilize the few strengths the team had at the time. Those strengths, specifically, were center Frank Ragnow, rookie offensive tackle Penei Sewell and quality veterans like offensive tackle Taylor Decker, guard Jonah Jackson and running back Jamaal Williams.


As a result, Johnson rebuilt the offense to take advantage of where Detroit was best: right up the middle, right in your face. In 2022, with Johnson fully in charge as offensive coordinator following the departure of Anthony Lynn, Williams was one of the few successful lead backs in football to run more gap plays than zone. The Lions’ offense established an identity rooted in a diverse run game that featured more personnel groups than the average outfit and relied on old-school concepts — like power and counter — that are hard to get right.

They’re even harder to defend if an offense has the right linemen, which, of course, the Lions do.


Perhaps the best part: They’d run anything, from any personnel group, anywhere on the field. Every game plan during that 2022 season featured a base set of runs (usually gap, though not always) with play-action shots built off them. No two game plans were the same, and Detroit finished the year No. 5 in offensive DVOA. The number of variations on a theme within the Lions’ playbook (especially with counter and duo) likely is rivaled only by Miami and San Francisco.

In his book “The 2022 Detroit Lions Complete Offensive Manual,” NFL analyst Bobby Peters charted the Lions as having run 26 different variations of counter alone. Entering 2023, Johnson’s plan was to do everything all over again — only better and more often.

continued..

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“When we look back at what we did, in self-scout, all of our plays from last year, I came away thinking if we didn’t run one new play this year, if we ran all the same plays that we ran last year, then we would be a better offense,” Johnson said this summer. “Because we (were going to) execute them better than last year.”

Last season, colleague Ted Nguyen charted the Lions with 10 different run concepts (plus multiple variations from nearly every personnel group) in the first two weeks alone. This season, I charted the Lions with 10 in just the first game.

These Lions, true to Johnson’s word, are running the same stuff but better. And it’s also now become nearly impossible to predict which handful of concepts Johnson and Campbell will favor on a week-to-week basis.

Through five games, I’ve charted the following run calls from the Lions, nearly all of them featuring multiple variations, from every personnel group:


* Duo
* Inside zone
* Power
* Counter
* Wide zone

* Pin-pull sweep
* Crack-toss
* Sift-toss
* Windback
* Zorro, outside zone

* Trap (short, long and tackle trap)
* Crunch
* Jet sweep
* Draw
* Zone-read
* Multiple reverses


By my count, the Lions are averaging 7.2 yards per carry on their power series, 6.6 per carry on their pin-pull sweeps and have scored at least one touchdown each with duo, inside zone, power, counter and even the old-fashioned QB sneak. Another thing that has happened here: The Lions accomplished an offseason personnel upgrade.

Williams’ specialty was (and remains with the New Orleans Saints) running between the tackles, which is partly why Detroit relied so heavily on counter and duo a year ago. The Williams-D’Andre Swift pairing featured only one perimeter threat, Swift, and his health during three years in Detroit was up-and-down.

The Lions turned heads this spring by drafting Jahmyr Gibbs to replace Swift, but the decision to flip Williams for David Montgomery via free agency was outstanding. Montgomery ranks No. 3 in the NFL with 21 missed tackles forced (two behind Christian McCaffrey) and is as credible a threat on a sweep as he is on a duo play.

A big reason why Swift is off to a great start in Philadelphia is the Eagles’ reliance on zone runs, which play to his strengths. Of his rushing 76 attempts this season, 61 have been zone runs (per PFF). Detroit asked Swift to shoulder more gap runs a year ago, and the result wasn’t ideal.

continued..

[whatever_gong82]

In Montgomery, Detroit believes it has a credible gap hammer who can also stretch defenses. And while the jury’s out on whether Gibbs is an upgrade over Swift (as Detroit believes him to be), Gibbs is averaging 4.6 yards per carry so far, with 24 gap attempts to 12 zone.

Through five weeks, only the 49ers (59.6 percent) rate higher than Detroit (52.8 percent) in the number of rushes called on first or second down. The Lions are averaging 4.9 yards per carry on first down, have netted 18 first downs on second-down calls and are averaging 4 yards per crack on third down. Detroit’s offensive DVOA rates No. 4 in the NFL. Johnson, Campbell and offensive line coach Hank Fraley have hammered detail relentlessly and, as a result, have helped the Lions create offensive answers for just about any situation.

Detroit vs KC 1.jpg


Also credit that success to the uniqueness of the Lions’ offensive line. Ragnow and Sewell are perennial Pro Bowl talents, Jackson is one of the most underrated guards in the NFL, Decker has been with the franchise longer than anyone and veteran guards Graham Glasgow and Halapoulivaati Vaitai are capable starters.

Not unlike San Francisco or Philadelphia, Detroit’s front can handle just about anybody inside the tackle box while also maintaining the collective athleticism to just destroy people in space. It’s not uncommon for Detroit to root half its game plan around a particular counter run designed to attack the interior, and the other half around an outside zone or sweep series.

Defensively, you’re on alert for literally every type of run in the book — on first, second and third down.

Detroit vs KC 2.jpg


continued..

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One particular sweep that’s been successful for the Lions early this season has been the pin-pull concept (as drawn above). Ragnow’s athleticism gives Detroit the ability to run this concept against more fronts than most teams can. Certain calls will see Ragnow pull with the left guard; others will feature both guards pulling as Ragnow stays home.

In addition, Detroit — a heavy motion team — likes to run its Z receiver away from where the ball’s going to wind up. The Lions have expansive jet-sweep and receiver-screen sets, which give defenders more to think about in situations like this.

Detroit gashed Kansas City on runs of 17 and 18 yards using this concept, before bringing it back periodically against both Seattle and Atlanta. Then, in Green Bay, the other great piece of this offense showed itself.

Every run in this playbook has some type of action off it, be it a pass or another run.

You’ll note in the clip above that things look a bit different, as there’s no motion and the back is lined up opposite the tight end. However, for the defensive eyes in the tackle box (and the safeties) staring into the backfield, this looks like the pin-pull concept their coaches likely hammered all week in film prep. Just as the defense reacts, Detroit hits the reverse to Kalif Raymond for a huge play.

Pin-pull is just one wrinkle on a theme, of course. The true beauty of the Lions’ full run package lives in Johnson’s ability to shelve a particular concept the Lions are typically good at blocking — like duo, a power-without-the-puller concept — if it’s not hitting, only to bring it back later. That callback might come later in the same game or against another team entirely, in a spot when the defense isn’t really looking for it.

In fact, the Lions did that this season. After netting just 11 yards on its first six counter attempts versus Kansas City and Seattle, Detroit more or less put it away against Atlanta in Week 3. Instead, it built more concepts off the edge in that game, with some creative waggle-action throws off them.

Detroit vs GB 1.jpg


Then, come Week 4 at Green Bay, Detroit brought its counter series back into a more featured role, running it four times for 23 yards — the best output that play had given the Lions to date. Beyond that, Johnson also packaged a handful of counter passes (as noted in the slideshow up top), including a 20-yarder to Josh Reynolds in the second half of that game.

Johnson’s creativity and Campbell’s dedication to a powerful identity are the chief drivers behind one of the league’s top offenses over the last year-plus. However, the bulk of the credit here goes to Detroit’s offensive line, which is now getting the type of national praise it has deserved for a bit.


In 2021, Campbell and his staff inherited a football team without much of anything to hang its hat on beyond a handful of linemen people forgot about and some really valuable draft picks.

Campbell said the day he was hired in January 2021 that the Lions would be built to reflect the city of Detroit, the culture of its residents and what the fans wanted from their football team. From there, GM Brad Holmes and Campbell simply decided to double and triple down on the areas of the roster that were already strong. Day by day, people matured, voices grew, talent blossomed and a system — one that’s completely and totally unique to this version of the Detroit Lions — was born organically.

From the organization, to be sure, it was a stroke of genius — with a coaching staff that includes at least one of ’em.


Nick Baumgardner is a senior writer/NFL Draft analyst based in Michigan. He co-hosts “One of These Years," a Detroit Lions podcast with Colton Pouncy. He joined The Athletic after stops at the Detroit Free Press, MLive Media Group and other newspapers in Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky. Follow Nick on Twitter @nickbaumgardner