Lions News

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I'd sooner become a Packer fan than give up NCIS: New Orleans

If the Lions keep winning do we get an NCIS: Detroit?

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Alex Anzalone and Lions find success together in perfect fit for both



By Colton Pouncy
Oct 18, 2023


It was January, and the Detroit Lions’ high of a satisfying win over the Green Bay Packers was soon replaced by the somber reality that the season was over. Knocked out of playoff contention, right when the Lions had discovered how to win, there would be no more football. Players cleaned out their lockers and packed their belongings, as the offseason awaited. But just before it began, a meeting between Alex Anzalone and Lions general manager Brad Holmes took place.

There, the two would discuss Anzalone’s future. The veteran linebacker was set to hit free agency in search of a multiyear deal after a career season. Holmes informed Anzalone that he’d have options based on how he performed. He told Anzalone he appreciated what he had done for the franchise — one of the first external free agents signed when this regime took over in 2021 — and that, should he want to be a part of it, the Lions would welcome him back with open arms.


Two months later, when free agency opened, Anzalone’s agent fielded calls from roughly 10 teams. Anzalone knew where he wanted to be, though. He saw what was coming because he’s been here from the beginning. The opportunity to win, and win with Detroit, was too good to pass up.

“It’s something that, as a young player, you want,” Anzalone said, after re-signing with the Lions in March. “I was finally able to attain that. Just to be a part of something special like this is important to me and my family. To win in this city is going to be the focus.”


Anzalone is the latest example of the Lions (5-1) trusting their own evaluation process, rather than listening to the opinions of those outside their facility. The Lions’ decision to re-sign Anzalone to a three-year, $18.75 million contract was met with questions. Anzalone has never been viewed as a top linebacker in the NFL. He had the second-most missed tackles in the league in 2021 and the 10th most last year. Detroit’s defense has finished toward the bottom of the league in several statistical categories in Anzalone’s first two seasons with the team. He had his moments, but the week-to-week consistency escaped him.

This was a deep free-agent linebacker class, headlined by Bobby Wagner, Lavonte David and Tremaine Edmunds — all of whom have Pro Bowls under their belts. The Lions could’ve looked to potentially upgrade. But they knew what Anzalone meant to them. He was their guy.



“He’s the field general,” Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, who was part of a New Orleans Saints staff that selected Anzalone in the third round of the 2017 draft, said last month. “He knows this defense like the back of his hand. … I would say that’s his strong point.”

“Alex is one of our captains,” head coach Dan Campbell said. “He’s been a guy going on three years around here that those guys look up to and we rely on. He’s one of our guys. He’s a bell cow on defense.”

In re-signing Anzalone, the Lions looked beyond the present and projected toward the future. Anzalone has played with Glenn for every season of his career. He was brought to Detroit in Year 1 of a rebuild to set the tone in the locker room and run Glenn’s defense. While there were struggles along the way, the Lions believed Anzalone was capable of anchoring one of the better defensive units in the league, that his game would grow with added help, that his best football was ahead of him.

They were right.

“I’ve been lucky to play with him now for three years and seeing him grow, seeing him play as well as he is right now — I said it a few weeks ago — it’s the best I’ve ever seen him play,” Lions quarterback Jared Goff said. “I’ve played against him and with him now and he’s certainly the igniter over there on defense and he’s a hell of a leader, he’s a hell of a dude. (He) practices hard every day, comes to work with a smile on every day, no matter what. I think back to some of the hard times and he was always the guy with a good attitude, putting things on his shoulders and (he) deserves a lot a credit for how they’re playing right now.”

It’s not a stretch to say Anzalone is playing the best football of his career. He ranks 14th among linebackers in PFF stops with 19 in six games, on pace for roughly 54 this season. For context, Anzalone had 34 stops in 17 games a year ago. He’s tied for the second-most pass breakups among linebackers, with four. His forced incompletion percentage ranks 14th. He’s seen the third-most targets among linebackers, and ranks 21st in reception percentage. His PFF coverage grade of 75.0 ranks 16th among linebackers.


The last three weeks, in particular, Anzalone has been nothing short of stellar. His overall PFF grade of 88.2 from Weeks 4-6 ranks fourth among qualified linebackers. He’s earned above-average grades in run defense (80.9) and coverage (86.1). He has generally performed like one of the best linebackers in the league this year, on a defense that ranks seventh in the league in yards allowed and ninth in scoring. It’s all the more impressive, considering what he’s played through recently.

On Oct. 2, Anzalone’s parents, Sal and Judy, were part of a group of 53 that set out for a trip to Jerusalem with their Naples, Fla.-based church. As attacks unfolded in Israel beginning on Oct. 7, the group searched for ways to make their way back to America. Anzalone was able to receive updates from his parents, but didn’t know how long it would take for them to return home safely or the severity of their situation. The Lions had a game against the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 8, and he didn’t tell his coaches or teammates about the situation ahead of it.


But last Thursday, the group was able to safely fly home to Florida, just days before Anzalone and the Lions would take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the state where his parents reside.

That’s what made Sunday’s game all the more special. Not only did Anzalone turn in one of the better performances of his Lions tenure — nine tackles, two passes defended and a career-high six stops — he was able to reunite with his parents, have dinner with them Saturday night and hug them after a 20-6 win.

“For me, it’s a little homecoming,” Anzalone said after the game. “I have a house here in Clearwater. I train with a lot of these Bucs players here in Tampa. I played at Florida. My parents were here. Just a good vibe going into the game. There was no way I was gonna play bad today.”

“I know that that was a load off for him, obviously, to get his parents back here,” Campbell said. “He is an extremely smart football player and he is playing as physical as I’ve ever seen him and he’s playing at a very high level. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find backers that are playing better than him right now in this league.”


In many ways, Anzalone is a perfect fit for this Lions team. He’s a versatile linebacker, able to play the middle or weakside backer positions on Detroit’s defense. He answers the tough questions when the team isn’t playing well, keeps the focus when it is, and puts things into perspective as a player who’s been here from the beginning and has grown with the franchise.

His development is a testament to patience and an example of the success the Lions have had in acquiring — and retaining — guys who fit what they’re all about.



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

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Lions earn day off practice after going through 'meat grinder' in recent weeks



Nolan Bianchi
The Detroit News


Allen Park — The Detroit Lions have earned a day off.

Head coach Dan Campbell said Monday he issued a change to the team’s practice schedule ahead of Week 7’s contest at the Baltimore Ravens, a result of having played physical opponents for a number of weeks with another one on tap this Sunday.


“We’ve been going pretty good. We’ve been playing physical opponents. We’ve got another one coming up, and so, I wanted to back down today,” Campbell said.

Worry not: The Lions were still in the building Wednesday to prepare for one of their hardest tests yet, a 4-2 Ravens squad that’s coming off a win over the Tennessee Titans in London. In lieu of practice, Campbell said the team will be doing “a lot of mental work.”


Campbell said the day off of practice was not a result of Detroit’s growing list of injuries. A team that has already dealt with multiple injuries to its top pick, offensive line, defensive line, secondary and running backs room now also will be without bell-cow running back David Montgomery once again, after Montgomery suffered a rib cartilage injury in Sunday’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Lions have faced physically imposing teams — specifically, physically imposing defenses — pretty much all season long. After the team’s Week 1 win over Kansas City, they returned home to face the Seattle Seahawks, then played Atlanta (home), Green Bay (road) and Carolina (home) before traveling to Tampa.


With the team at 5-1, Campbell said his goal is to make sure the Lions can maintain their recent level of play.

“Just with where we’ve been going — I mean, we’ve been in a meat grinder here for a while, and I just felt like this was the right time,” Campbell said. “We’re responding well and I want them to have enough gas in the tank.”



nbianchi@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @nolanbianchi

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Detroit Lions running back Craig Reynolds misses practice with toe, hamstring injuries



Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


The Detroit Lions are dealing with a new injury in their running back room.

Craig Reynolds was listed a non-participant on the Lions' estimated practice report Wednesday because of hamstring and toe injuries.

Reynolds finished last week's win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the Lions' lead running back after David Montgomery left with torn cartilage in his ribs. Reynolds had a key block to spring Amon-Ra St. Brown for the game's first touchdown and finished with 15 yards rushing on 10 carries.


Montgomery and left guard Jonah Jackson (ankle) also were listed as non-participants on Wednesday's practice report. Montgomery is expected to miss multiple weeks with his injury, while Jackson did not play against the Bucs.

Previously, the Lions lost backup running back Zonovan Knight to a torn labrum, and rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs has missed the past two games with a strained hamstring.


Gibbs was listed as a limited participant Wednesday, as were defensive back Brian Branch (ankle), tight end Sam LaPorta (calf), center Frank Ragnow (toe), tight end James Mitchell (hamstring) and defensive lineman Josh Paschal (knee).


Lions coach Dan Campbell said he had no meaningful update on the status of Gibbs or Branch for this week's game against the Baltimore Ravens because of the Lions' revamped practice schedule.

The Lions held meetings, lifted weights and had an hourlong walk-through Wednesday, and will return to normal practice Thursday and Friday. The change in structure was not due to the Lions' injury situation, Campbell said.


"Just with where we’ve been going, we’ve been in a meat grinder here for a while and I just felt like this was the right time," he said. "We’re responding well and I want them to have enough gas in the tank."


Blue checks

Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson said he encountered one drawback to the Lions' newfound road-field advantage last week against the Bucs.

"I came in with some snap count indicators," Hutchinson said. "When you hear something, this or that, and I couldn’t hear anything when I was on defense. Like I couldn’t even hear the snap count, so it definitely changed up kind of what I was expecting going into it just cause it’s like, it’s damn near a home game, it’s half and half when we’re away right now."


Droves of Lions fans have shown up to support the team in road games against the Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers and Bucs. The Lions are 3-0 on the road this season, and chants of, "Let's go Lions," have been prevalent at every game.

On Monday, Lions coach Dan Campbell said road games are "not really road games" anymore because of the sizable Lions crowds in attendance.

"It’s hard to hear any little checks or something, stuff you pick up on in the week, you can’t hear anything," Hutchinson said. "So it makes my job a little harder, or not even hard but it just makes those tips and tricks, they go away. But it’s all worth it because you get that momentum and you get that energy that the fans bring us, that’s the most important thing."


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

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Week's first injury report shows Lions' banged-up backfield in worse shape than expected



Justin Rogers
The Detroit News


Allen Park — The Detroit Lions' depth at running back is being put to the ultimate test this week, with the top three options on the depth chart all showing up on Wednesday's injury report.

Ditching a traditional practice in favor of a walkthrough to preserve the team's banged-up roster, the Lions could only offer up an estimation of practice participation. The good news is rookie runner Jahmyr Gibbs was projected as a limited participant after missing the previous two games because of a hamstring strain.

But the team's other two running backs wouldn't have been able to go Wednesday. With David Montgomery, that was expected, given coach Dan Campbell said the lead back will be down for a little bit after suffering a rib cartilage injury in Sunday's victory over Tampa Bay.


More surprising and concerning was Craig Reynolds also being listed as a non-participant, while dealing with both a hamstring and a toe injury. If he is unable to get cleared ahead of Sunday's game in Baltimore, and Gibbs isn't ready for a full workload, the team will likely have to turn to its practice squad to help shoulder the load.


The Lions have two running backs on that unit after re-signing undrafted rookie Mohamed Ibrahim earlier this week. He joins Devine Ozigbo, who was temporarily elevated for last week's game against Tampa, seeing three carries and catching a pass in the win.

Campbell also noted on Monday the team could turn to one or more of its receivers to help backfill the backfield.


Beyond the running back situation, guard Jonah Jackson was also projected as a non-participant, as he continues to deal with a sprained ankle that shelved him last week. Meanwhile, defensive back Brian Branch (ankle), tight end Sam LaPorta (calf), tight end James Mitchell (hamstring), center Frank Ragnow (toe) and defensive lineman Josh Paschal (knee) were all listed as limited.

The early expectation is most of that limited group will be available against the Ravens this weekend. Paschal is the biggest question mark, having just returned to practice last Friday after spending the past four weeks on injured reserve.


jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers

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Lions CB Khalil Dorsey details frightening 'illness' that sidelined him a month


Justin Rogers
The Detroit News


Allen Park — It's not unusual to see an NFL player miss a day, or even a week of practice with an illness. The football season overlaps with flu season, and rather than risk spread throughout the roster, a player exhibiting those kind of symptoms are told to stay home.

But when a player is placed on injured reserve, sidelining them a month or more with what is listed as an illness, that raises a red flag. So what exactly was Detroit Lions cornerback Khalil Dorsey dealing with when he went through that scenario following the team's season-opener in Kansas City?

Rhabdomyolysis.


It's a condition that's as scary as it is difficult to spell. Here's an explainer from the Cleveland Clinic:

"Rhabdomyolysis is a rare muscle injury where your muscles break down. This is a life-threatening condition that can happen after an injury or excessive exercise without rest. If you notice symptoms like weak and sore muscles and color changes in your pee, contact your healthcare provider."


Dorsey was understandably reluctant to discuss his bodily functions in detail, only noting "stuff was coming out that shouldn't have been coming out." On top of that, his body, which is finely tuned enough to play a professional sport, was betraying him.

"I felt dead for about a week and a half," Dorsey said. "Everything was sore. Yeah, I had no energy to do anything. I was on IVs. I would come here (to the practice facility), get like three bags, come back later and get another bag."


The onset of the condition likely tied into the end of his preseason. In the finale, he was playing more than usual, a full allotment of defensive snaps on top of an uncharted role as a kickoff returner. On his first effort as a returner, he brought it back 62 yards and felt uncharacteristically overwhelmed by exhaustion from that point on. Battling a stomach bug that week probably didn't help.

The battle with rhabdomyolysis was admittedly a frightening experience, but lab work shows Dorsey avoided long-term damage to his organs. Medically cleared, there also isn't concern of a recurrence, although he did acknowledge some lingering mental hurdles he faced in his return to action last week against Tampa Bay.


"It messes with your mind, mentally, just because you want to go 100% all the time," Dorsey said. "But it was in the back of my mind, 'Damn, if I go 100% the whole time, all these plays, is it going to affect me. But I'm going to do it until something happens."

Healthy, Dorsey figures to be a central figure on Detroit's special teams for the remainder of the season. Against the Buccaneers, he played 19 snaps with the groups, including resuming his role as the team's kickoff returner. This week, he'll have an opportunity to do it against his former team, the Baltimore Ravens.


"It's definitely special any time you get on the field, regardless of who we're playing, regardless of the score, how teams are doing," Dorsey said. " It's always special to be out there."


jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers

[froot loops]

Those CrossFit people get that illness commonly.

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Detroit Lions film review: Examining Jameson Williams' play through 2 games



Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


Jameson Williams looked over his right shoulder, then his left, then turned halfway around again before reaching both arms out to make a basket catch on a Jared Goff pass in the front corner of the end zone.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Ryan Neal tripped into Williams as Williams made his catch, knocking both to the ground. Williams popped up, dropped the ball at his feet, then jogged around the back of the end zone to celebrate what turned out to be the Detroit Lions' game-clinching touchdown in their fourth straight victory.

After a slow start to his career and some drop problems that were evident even in pre-game warmups Sunday, Williams’ timely touchdown could turn out to be the confidence boost he needs to maximize his potential in the Lions’ dangerous offense.



“You don’t know what play might come that really just boosts your confidence, and I can tell you this,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said Monday. “It’s not going to hurt it one bit.”


Williams caught two passes for 2 yards with one drop in his season debut against the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 8, when he played 28 snaps in his first game back from a gambling suspension.


The second-year receiver got less playing time Sunday — officially, 16 snaps — and finished with two catches for 53 yards and that score. He had one drop on an underthrown pass in the third quarter, but Campbell said he was more assignment-sound and better overall.



“He made improvement,” Campbell said. “And take away the touchdown catch, if you said that didn’t even occur, was he better? Yes, he was. He played better. He was cleaner. He still, he gets in there to block and everything, but that was a hell of a (catch).”

After watching every snap Williams has played this season for this film review, it’s clear he still is building trust with Campbell, Goff and Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. He has played sparingly on third downs and in red zone situations over the past two weeks — with routes on a little over half his plays (23 of 44 snaps) — but has enough talent to be a difference-maker on offense.


Against the Bucs, the Lions used Williams primarily as a backside blocker in the secondary on run plays, targeted him on three passes (all in the second half) and used him to stretch the field and occupy safeties against a Tampa defense that entered ranking 16th in the league against the pass.

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In the first half Sunday, Williams played six snaps, including three in “12” personnel — two tight ends on the field — and a fourth with two tight ends and an extra offensive lineman.

He ran a clear-out route over the middle of the field on one play when Goff threw a screen pass to David Montgomery out of the backfield — on the play Montgomery was injured — and was the take-off receiver on the Lions’ final play of the first half, when he ran an out-and-up on second-and-10 from the Lions 40-yard line against off coverage and a single-high safety look.


Goff was sacked on a linebacker blitz before Williams finished the “out” portion of his route, though with Josh Reynolds running a post route to occupy Neal, Tampa’s deep safety in the middle of the field, Goff might have had a shot downfield to Williams with better protection.

In the second half, the Lions used Williams in a more traditional receiver role. He ran two routes out of stack formations on the Lions’ first drive, then played five of nine plays on the drive he capped with a touchdown.

Williams caught his first pass of the game on a second-and-9 from the Lions’ 45-yard line on a play where he appeared to be Goff’s first read. Goff faked a handoff to Craig Reynolds, then rolled to his left, where Amon-Ra St. Brown stayed in as a crackback blocker on Tampa’s Yaya Diaby.

The Lions ran a layered route concept on the play, with Williams running a short stop route on the sideline and Josh Reynolds running a corner route over top. Williams had a 10-yard cushion on the snap and went to his knees to make a basket catch on a low throw, but probably could have got another yard on his route and/or stayed on his feet to make the catch and pick up the first down.



In eight career games, Williams has presented as more of a body catcher than a hands catcher so far. He had three drops on nine targets last season, let a ball sail through his hands on a slant route in Week 5 and had two drops in a five-play span while running routes on air in pre-game warmups Sunday.

Williams dropped his second target against the Bucs on a first-and-10 from the 45, though his route was a tantalizing example of his skill.



Split wide left outside the numbers in press coverage against Tampa cornerback Jamel Dean, Williams got an outside release with minimal contact and ran a 17-yard stop route down the sideline. He hit the brakes around the 28-yard line and gained about 5 yards of immediate separation from Dean, who had been running stride-for-stride with Williams but could not change directions as fast.

Goff’s pass was underthrown, and Williams had to come back for the ball, which glanced off his hands as he made a lunging attempt for the catch.



The Lions ran that play out of heavy personnel, with Dan Skipper as a sixth lineman and two tight ends on the field, set up by their use of Williams in similar sets in the first half. Tampa responded with an eight-man box, and the lone safety on the play shaded to his left, rookie tight end Sam LaPorta’s side of the field.

Williams caught his second career touchdown two plays later, when he was the point receiver in a bunch formation on third-and-10 from the 45. Josh Reynolds and St. Brown ran layered routes along the sideline, while Williams angled slightly inside off the snap to get leverage on his defender before veering towards the pylon.

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“It was a great catch by him,” Goff said after the game. “Probably not a great throw, but a great catch. And that’s what is good when as a quarterback, when you can miss a throw a little bit and a guy’s able to make a play like that for a touchdown. It doesn’t get much better. But yeah, pretty simple concept there. He was the top shelf of it and the cornerback kind of bit the sail (route) to Saint and nobody there. I threw a little bit better ball, it might look a bit better, but he made a great play.”



Williams remains very much a work in progress, and he likely will remain the Lions’ No. 4 receiver so long as St. Brown, Reynolds and Kalif Raymond stay healthy this year.

Last week’s touchdown isn’t necessarily a springboard to stardom, but Williams can be a valuable role player on offense and his game-breaking ability is too real for defenses to ignore.

“(The touchdown) was a big play for us,” Williams said Sunday. “It got us going to start the second half. We went three-and-out our first drive and then we just got going. It was just momentum, I feel like, for the team. You see how the guys got excited, everybody running up. I was just excited, man. It felt like that play added a little spark for me.”


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

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Don't call Detroit Lions' Jared Goff a game manager. Call him one of NFL's best QBs.



Shawn Windsor
Detroit Free Press


TAMPA, Fla. — Jared Goff iced up back in June. Or, more accurately, he let his teammates do it for him. You wanna talk about camaraderie and chemistry and what's propelling these first-place Detroit Lions?

Then let’s start with the quarterback. Not that jewels make a quarterback. But when Goff embraced the “ice” safeties Kerby Joseph and Tracy Walker draped around his neck and the diamond-studded watch they slipped on his wrist for a photoshoot in early summer?

His poses said it all. Along with his smile.

For one, that he is comfortable in his skin — always a good thing for the man directing the huddle, the man in the spot that absorbs more heat than any other. For another, that there is belief in him, from every crevice of the locker room.


Goff played arguably his best game as a Lion on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. On a day the offense couldn’t run the ball, and ran it even less after David Montgomery went down with a rib injury, the quarterback led the way — despite facing a tough defense bent on blitzing its linebackers (who also happen to be some of the best in the game).



“We felt like the best way to move the football (was to) put it in his hands,” said Dan Campbell, the Lions head coach. “We were protecting well up front … and our receivers were finding ways to get open and we just felt like, let’s put it on him, and he did a great job. And really, that’s kind of where the game was going … we needed him to step up. And he did.”

Put it in Goff’s hands? They needed him to step up?


That’s a long way from the expectation the day he arrived. Campbell — and general manager Brad Holmes — wouldn't have traded for Goff if they didn’t think he could play solid football. But this? Maybe they dreamt of this, sure. Almost no one outside the franchise did, including other “football” people.

Even now, few attach the phrase "difference-maker" to him. Or simply "playmaker." Yet he has become both. The Lions don’t beat Tampa without him and his stellar performance.


Like any good leader, Goff deflects when he rises up. And he did again after the game. It’s not quite aw, shucks, but listen closely enough and you’ll hear the words of a quarterback who genuinely believes it’s not about him.

In part because the game plan wasn’t about him. It never is. It’s about balance. When the field tilted away from that, Goff leveled it with his arm.


“I don’t know if that is the way we wanted it when we came in into it,” he said, “but it turned into that, right? I thought (the offensive lineman) were protecting their tails off and giving me plenty of time to see everything. When that’s the case, we have good players down the field who are able to make plays. I can’t give those guys up front enough credit. I know Graham (Glasgow) has been a player in this league for a long time but stepping in after ‘Big V’ (Halapoulivaati Vaitai) went down and then obviously ‘Yode’ (Kayode Awosika) stepping in after Jonah (Jackson) went down, and then playing the way they played — it’s been huge for us offensively.”

Ah, spoken like a pocket-passer who knows he needs a reasonably clean pocket to pass. This isn’t to say he can’t make plays when the pocket breaks down. Of course, he can, and does. It’s just not associated with his game yet, though it should be.



It’s just his history — his early résumé — muddies the perception of the performances he keeps stacking up. Probably not for much longer, though.

Goff arrived in Detroit as an afterthought, as a “toss-in” for Matthew Stafford, at least from the view of many outside the franchise. The draft picks, including a pair of first-rounders, were supposed to be the rocket fuel for the rebuild, the centerpiece of the trade with the Los Angeles Rams.


Those picks turned into a handful of promising players — among them, Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs, Josh Paschal, Ifeatu Melifonwu and Brodric Martin — with varying degrees of potential. So far, the best pick has been tight end Sam LaPorta.

And if he and at least two others truly hit — almost all of them have shown flashes — then the trade will have been a big win.


Now, add Goff to that haul. All he has done is win 13 of his past 17 starts, toss 27 touchdown passes against four interceptions in those games, and complete almost 68% of his passes.


And he makes a handful of throws every week that defies the faint-praise label of “game manager.”

Game manager? Please. This nasty little moniker suggests a player who can’t make a difference, who can only lose the game instead of win it.


As if Goff hasn’t led any of these wins. Shoot, look what he did in Tampa against one of the better defenses in the NFL. Look at the second-half throws to Amon-Ra St. Brown, especially the sideline outs, where he finessed the ball into angles so slight you’d need a geometry lesson to see them.

Game managers don’t throw for 353 yards and two touchdowns when the running game is stalled. Game managers don’t complete 30 of 44 attempts — without an interception — and without a lot of time to throw, despite what Goff and Campbell said. Yes, the line gave him more time in the second half, but the defense knew what was coming because the Lions couldn’t run and sent extra pass rushers all … game … long.



It’s true Goff doesn’t extend plays the way the most athletic quarterbacks in the league do. But that doesn’t mean he can’t extend plays. There is a slope here between the QB tiers, not a right-angled cliff with the “elite” on top and everyone else at the bottom.

So, he doesn’t throw a 70-yard rope off his back foot the way, say, Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen do. You know who is playing better football than those two right now?


The Lions' starting quarterback. Y'know, the one Pro Football Focus ranks as its top QB at the moment — just ahead of Allen.


Now, take these rankings with a dose of salt: Mahomes, for example, is ranked behind Baltimore's Lamar Jackson. Metrics and the view of those outside film rooms aren’t perfect.

Still, Goff is balling, which is why Campbell gave him a game ball in the post-victory locker room — a well-deserved nod.


Just listen to his teammates, and to his head coach:

“This guy showed up in a big (expletive) way today … with his arm.”


Cue the crescendo for Jared Ice. Then cue the cool response.

“Love you boys, love you boys,” he told his teammates, deflecting as always. “Proud to be a part of this team. That defense, (expletive) keep doing your thing.”


Are those the words of a game manager?

No, they are not. They are the words of one of the best quarterbacks in the league, one who is playing as well as anyone and one who is playing better than he ever has before.

Put the ball in his hands? Yeah, sounds like what a coach does when he’s got a playmaker who embraces the “ice” when he needs to.


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

[whatever_gong82]

Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff named NFC Offensive Player of the Week



Andrew Birkle
Detroit Free Press


Jared Goff played like an MVP-caliber quarterback in the Detroit Lions' 20-6 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and now he's being recognized like one.

Goff has been named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his surgical performance in Sunday's victory, finishing 30-for-44 with 353 yards passing and two touchdowns against a stout Bucs defense.

The performance was especially impressive considering the surrounding circumstances. Running back David Montgomery was forced to leave the game early with a rib injury, while fellow running back Jahmyr Gibbs was ruled out before the game, the Lions had to rely almost solely on the passing game to move the ball.

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The Lions managed to pick up just 40 yards on the ground on 22 attempts as the Bucs committed to taking away the run game.

Goff connected time and time again with wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown on key plays. The third-year pass catcher finished with 12 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown. Goff also delivered a nice deep ball to Jameson Williams in his second game back this year, giving him his first touchdown of the season.


The Lions may need another stellar performance from Goff when they face the Baltimore Ravens (4-2) at 1 p.m. Sunday as Montgomery is likely to be out and Gibbs is still recovering from the hamstring injury, but hasn't been ruled out yet.

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Dan Campbell on Detroit Lions' Jared Goff's MVP case: 'He's playing at a very high level'



Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


Jared Goff has vaulted himself into MVP contention with his play in the Detroit Lions’ 5-1 start, and Exhibit A for his case might be last week’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Goff was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday after throwing for 353 yards with two touchdowns in the Lions’ 20-6 victory. He completed 30 of 44 passes in the game and had touchdowns of 27 yards to Amon-Ra St. Brown and 45 yards to Jameson Williams.


Asked about his quarterback’s MVP credentials Wednesday, Lions coach Dan Campbell said, “I don’t know what MVP is or isn’t these days, but I know this, he’s playing at a very high level.”

“He’s making the throws that are there, he’s seeing the field and he’s exactly what we need and he’s doing exactly what we’re asking him to do,” Campbell said. “I’ve said this before, he is an evolving quarterback, he’s developing, he’s been developing and he just keeps getting a little bit better, a little bit better, and that’s a credit to him. That’s a credit to coaches, but it’s a credit to him. He’s somebody that does believe he’s always got more to give, and he’s growing.”



Acquired along with three draft picks in the Matthew Stafford trade of 2021, Goff has played the best football of his career over the past 12 months.


He currently ranks fifth in the NFL in passing yards (1,618), is tied for fifth in passing touchdowns (11) and tied for fifth in completion percentage (69.5%).

In the Lions’ last 17 games, the length of an NFL regular season, Goff has completed 67.6% of his passes for 4,473 yards and 29 touchdowns with four interceptions, and the Lions have gone 13-4.



“There’s been consistency in his play and there’s been growth. And he’s in a good place right now,” Campbell said. “His confidence is sky high and we’ve got to keep it there, we’ve got to keep him there. And that's really on all of us, the players, the coaches, everything. But we’re in a good spot.”


Goff has won four previous Player of the Week awards, including in Week 13 of the 2021 season with the Lions.

He’s the second Lions player to take home that honor this season. Aidan Hutchinson was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week after he had two sacks and forced and recovered a fumble against the Atlanta Falcons.



Barry Sanders is the only modern-era Lions player to win MVP, sharing the award in 1997 with Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre. Hall-of-Fame linebacker Joe Schmidt was MVP in 1960, Frank Sinkwich won the Joe Carr Award as league MVP in 1944.


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

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Detroit Lions' Aidan Hutchinson: Helmet to thigh 'price you got to pay' trying to score



Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


He's piled up sacks (14), fumble recoveries (three) and interceptions (four) in his first 23 career games, but there's one thing Aidan Hutchinson hasn't done yet — score a touchdown.

Hutchinson said the end zone was on his mind when he picked off his first pass of the season in the Detroit Lions' Week 5 win over the Carolina Panthers and took a nasty helmet to the thigh on the return.


"I promised myself after that Giants game (last year) that I'm going to go score a touchdown, cause the Giants game I kind of — I won’t swear, but I did walk out of bounds," Hutchinson said. "So I promised myself I’m going to run in the end zone. That’s the price you got to pay to try."



Hutchinson had three interceptions as a rookie, including one in a win last November against the New York Giants that he returned to the Giants' 18-yard line. Hutchinson had a cavalcade of blockers on the play, but got spun out of bounds by the first defender he encountered.

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On his pick against the Panthers, Hutchinson read a screen pass after he slipped his block at the line of scrimmage and reached his right hand out to make a one-handed interception on a pass to tight end Ian Thomas.

Hutchinson said he was so focused on trying to house the return that he did not see Panthers receiver Jonathan Mingo coming from near the Lions sideline to make the tackle until "the last second."



Mingo dove into Hutchinson's right leg, and Hutchinson hobbled off the field after the hit and and limped his way through the rest of the game.

He said Wednesday the injury still was a minor hindrance in last week's win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when he was held without a quarterback hit for the first time this season.



"I couldn’t walk for a little while and then I played — it was still a little bit in the last game, but I think I’m over it now and it was just one of those things where my leg whips and the hip gets all jacked up," he said. "It’s just a lot of pain, but that’s football."



As painful as the hit was, Hutchinson said it didn't dampen his desire to get in the end zone.

"Head a swivel next time," he said. "But still I’m getting that damn touchdown."


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