Lions News

[-Deborah-]

This was interesting. They mentioned that the players voted Ford Field among one of the worst places to play. Does that mean because of the noise? Or is it a bad stadium?

[-Deborah-]

You know, Deb (Or do you prefer Deborah? All these years I've never asked, lol.), after that Breaking Bread video you showed me I decided I like Scott Mitchell for the first time in years. BUT now he is throwing Barry under the bus because Barry had low rushing outputs in playoff games? Oh why, why God did the Lions want Joe Montana instead of me? Maybe because you were a friggen backup quarterback and Joe Montana was the GoaT? Dafuq who does this guy think he is? Chris Spielman took ownership of that Philly wildcard game. Scott Mitchell wants to blame everyone, including himself. Well, he's half right.

Either Deborah or Deb are fine, haha. I am not impressed with Mitchell's reaction at all.

[whatever_gong82]

Either Deborah or Deb are fine, haha. I am not impressed with Mitchell's reaction at all.

Besides, he of the 32-39 lifetime record in the NFL as a starting QB shouldn't be throwing stones from his glass house.

I remember watching that horrid game he had against Philly in the '95 NFC Playoffs.

He effectively took the entire team out of the game.

And now, with YouTube, millennials that weren't old enough to watch or even alive can watch and see his bleep poor performance. And, if it's available, his sorry job that he did in the Playoff game vs. Tampa Bay.

[whatever_gong82]

This was interesting. They mentioned that the players voted Ford Field among one of the worst places to play. Does that mean because of the noise? Or is it a bad stadium?

I can post the entire Athletic article if you like.

I was working on some of the Freep and News articles, but getting that posted has just moved up to #1 for me.

I'll get it done before midnight EST.

[whatever_gong82]

Bruce Irvin's Lions debut likely on hold for at least another week



Justin Rogers
The Detroit News



Allen Park — The Detroit Lions are still looking for a pass-rushing spark, but not enough to accelerate the inclusion of veteran edge rusher Bruce Irvin into the lineup.

Signed to the team's practice squad a week ago, the 36-year-old Irvin had estimated he'd be ready to go for Detroit's Thanksgiving game with Green Bay, but coach Dan Campbell said it'll likely be at least another week before Irvin gets his shot to show what he has left in the tank.



"It's possible, but I still don't see that happening," Campbell said when asked if Irvin could be activated on the short week. "Not right now. We want to be smart. We want to be smart with how we do it. Look, he's working, he's learning it, he's in good shape. I just think, we just want to be smart with how we proceed here. That's all."


With 23 sacks, the Lions are tied for 22nd in the NFL in the category. Even though they're struggling to get the quarterback on the ground, the team has been far more consistent generating pressure on the pocket. Detroit's pressure rate of 24.3% ranks seventh.

Irvin, a former first-round pick entering his 13th season, has tallied 55.5 sacks during his career. In 11 games with the Seattle Seahawks last season, he recorded 3.5 sacks and 12 total pressures. He also had a sack and another quarterback hit during Seattle's playoff loss to San Francisco.


jdrogers@detroitnews.com

@Justin_Rogers

[whatever_gong82]

In player poll by 'The Athletic,' Lions safety runs away with trash-talking title



Justin Rogers
The Detroit News



Allen Park — Of all the gimmicky sports articles that make the rounds annually, who doesn't love an anonymous player poll? On Tuesday, "The Athletic" posted the results of a series of questions posed to more than 80 NFL players and the Detroit Lions showed up in a number of the answers.

Most amusing, and also most predictable was safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson getting the nod as the league's biggest trash talker, according to his peers who filled out the survey. He drew nearly a quarter of the 71 responses, well ahead of Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey.


"I think that’s just kind of like his schtick," one player included on their survey. "I don’t know if it necessarily works, but it’s what he reverts to."



Gardner-Johnson certainly did plenty of gum-flapping during the brief time he was on the field for the Lions this year, jawing at teammates and opponents with the same reckless abandon. Among his most comical moments was walking up to Jacksonville kicker Brandon McManus before a joint practice and asking him what he was doing, and when McManus responded that he was warming up, Gardner-Johnson kicked the ball away and said, 'No you're not.' And later that day, the safety got a rise out of Jaguars coach Doug Pederson with a string of relentless, curse-filled taunts directed at quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Gardner-Johnson was even caught on camera jawing with Panthers receiver Adam Thielen from the sideline while in street clothes.



Beyond Gardner-Johnson, both quarterback Jared Goff and receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown drew votes as the best player in the game, a distinction Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes ran away with, netting 46.4% of the vote.

Several Lions players got a vote for the league's most underrated player. That group included linebacker Alex Anzalone, defensive lineman John Cominsky and St. Brown. Only two players, Bengals receiver Tee Higgins and Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II received more than one vote.


It's worth acknowledging players were not prohibited from voting for their own teammates.

Players were asked which coach they would like to play for other than their own. Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin was the runaway winner, with 26.4% of the vote, but Dan Campbell garnered support from 8.3% of the 72 respondents, behind only Tomlin, Miami's Mike McDaniel and Kansas City's Andy Reid.


Finally, Ford Field drew mild support as the worst stadium to play in. The qualifications for what made it the worst were unclear, but location and having an artificial surface were noted as reasons for some of the other selections.


jdrogers@detroitnews.com

@Justin_Rogers

[whatever_gong82]

Now a vet, Lions' Alim McNeill continues upward trajectory



Nolan Bianchi
The Detroit News



Allen Park — Alim McNeill’s offseason revolved around getting slimmer.

But through the first 10 games of the season, the Detroit Lions defensive tackle has been playing bigger than ever.

McNeill picked up his fifth sack of the season in the fourth quarter of the Detroit Lions’ 31-26 win over the Chicago Bears at Ford Field on Sunday and recorded four pressures for the fourth game this season, bringing his total to 25. He recorded two sacks and 29 pressures in all of 2022.

Alim McNeill sacks Justin Fields_A_11-19-2023.jpg

He’s the anchor of a run defense averaging the fifth-fewest yards per game (89.5) and the interior bedrock of a pass-rush with the fifth-highest pressure percentage (40.1%).

“He’s playing big right now,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Monday. “He’s having a really, really good season and I thought he really showed up last night.”



In addition to crediting McNeill for his role in anchoring the run defense and “doing the stuff that doesn’t really get noticed all the time,” Campbell also noted McNeill’s ability to win one-on-one as a rusher.

While it’s certainly not the only area he’s helping the Lions win games this fall, it is where his game has seen the most tangible improvement. According to Pro Football Focus, he has a pass-rush win rate of 11.7% (up from 7.9% a year ago), 16 hurries, nine quarterback hits and a pass defense. His five sacks are tied for eighth among all defensive tackles and second on the team behind Aidan Hutchinson (5.5).



He said the biggest difference between this season has been his ability to finish a rush. In years past, when he wasn’t as savvy, he’d tend to find himself coming up just short of affecting the passer because he couldn’t make the final move.

The math adds up: In 2022, he was averaging one sack for every 14.5 pressures recorded. This year, it’s one for every five pressures.



Shedding the weight has helped — McNeill said in July it was 22 pounds, down to 305 from 327 — but his success is also a product of learning how to manipulate blockers over his time in the league.

“You can get to the top of the rush and power arm them, but if you don’t finish at the top, I mean, you’ll always just be sitting there. You won’t ever get to it,” McNeill said.


“I’m finishing my rushes, and then I’m more calculated with it now, setting guys up throughout the game as it goes. I’m selling outside, outside, outside then I come back inside, or I’m selling inside for a couple rushes then I come back outside.”

The Lions love McNeill’s consistency. But with what he’s shown in 2023, you can’t help but think about his trajectory.



nbianchi@detroitnews.com

@nolanbianchi

[whatever_gong82]

The Detroit Lions are finally a force as Thanksgiving arrives


Analysis by Neil Greenberg
Staff writer
November 21, 2023 at 1:15 p.m. EST

Dan Campbell and fourth down.jpg

It’s almost Thanksgiving, and Detroit Lions fans are thankful their team is not only relevant this Turkey Day but downright exciting. Thursday’s national television audience will see a squad that’s not just playing for, uh, pride, but fighting for a prime spot in the playoff picture. If you’ve grown accustomed to post- (or pre-) turkey letdowns during the Lions’ matinee, you might want to tune in because this year things are different.




For starters, the Lions tied the franchise record (set in 1991) for wins through 10 games since the AFL-NFL merger of 1970. At 8-2, this Lions team has a chance at the top seed in the NFC, trailing only the 9-1 Eagles. (They’re a whopping four games ahead of the Green Bay Packers, their opponent Thursday.) From 2002 to 2022, 73 teams had eight or more wins at this point of the season. A lion’s share of those teams won their division (65), with 25 going to the Super Bowl, including a dozen eventual champions. Representing the NFC in the Super Bowl would be a victory in and of itself; the Lions are the only NFC team that has never advanced to the Super Bowl. (Three teams in the AFC can say that: the Browns, Jaguars and Texans.)

Detroit Lions # of wins prior to Turkey Day.jpg

According to the latest playoff odds using analyst Aaron Schatz’s defense-adjusted value over average — which measures a team’s efficiency by comparing success on every play to a league average based on situation and opponent — the Lions are a near certainty to win the division (92 percent) and have a 24 percent chance at earning the NFC No. 1 seed. That’s important because the top spot comes with a first-round bye. At the least, the Lions should be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed, which would give them home-field advantage in the opening round.

2023 Detroit Lions postseason chances_11-20-2023.jpg

According to Schatz, this is the best-performing Lions team at this point in the season since at least 1981, when his data begins. Schatz calculated estimated DVOA ratings for prior years and found only three seasons when the franchise had a better estimated DVOA through Week 11: 1953, 1961 and 1970. After splitting the metric into its offensive and defensive components, Schatz found this is Detroit’s best offensive performance since at least 1981 and its best defensive performance since 2014. This year’s team, according to DVOA, is better than the team that won the 1957 NFL championship.



Quarterback Jared Goff is the story on offense. He has had some issues, including three interceptions Sunday, but he ranks seventh in ESPN’s Total Quarterback Rating, which values the quarterback on all play types adjusted for the strength of opposing defenses. He has been even better according to Pro Football Focus, which ranks him second in the NFL.

“Here’s what we know about Goff,” Lions Coach Dan Campbell said Sunday. “At the very least, he’s going to be mentally tough and physically tough. You can always count on that. You can bank on that.”




Goff also has embraced rookie tight end Sam LaPorta, who has caught 50 of 69 targets for 492 yards and four touchdowns. LaPorta ranks fifth among all tight ends in catches, while Amon-Ra St. Brown is sixth in receptions among wide receivers.

Campbell is also showing his faith in the offense by being the NFL’s most aggressive coach on fourth down. Campbell has left his offense on the field 22 times on fourth down, resulting in a fourth-down try a third of the time, the highest mark of any coach.

Percentage of plays where 2023 Detroit Lions go for it.jpg

Detroit’s defense is below average in several raw statistical categories, such as points allowed per game (22nd), first downs allowed (19th) and net passing yards allowed (18th). But after adjusting its efficiency for its opponents, the Lions’ defense is actually the 10th best in the NFL — after having faced the 11th-hardest slate of opposing offenses.



It’s clear the Lions have transformed from perennial underdogs to serious contenders. With eight wins secured, this season is an escape from the ghosts of Thanksgiving past. They return to Ford Field as a Thanksgiving favorite (the current line is Detroit -7½) for the first time since 2016, with the top seed in the NFC within reach and a good chance for their first holiday win in six years.

Speaking of droughts, the Lions have won one playoff game in 12 postseason appearances over the past five decades, and they have no playoff wins since the 1991 season. A Thanksgiving win would be nice, but if they continue to excel in this breakthrough season, the real pressure will arrive with the playoffs.


Playoff wins since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.jpg

[whatever_gong82]

[jaadam4]

Thank goodness. I'd love to have him on our team but not playing against him. Starting to remind me of Vontaze Burfict

[jaadam4]

In player poll by 'The Athletic,' Lions safety runs away with trash-talking title



Justin Rogers
The Detroit News



Allen Park — Of all the gimmicky sports articles that make the rounds annually, who doesn't love an anonymous player poll? On Tuesday, "The Athletic" posted the results of a series of questions posed to more than 80 NFL players and the Detroit Lions showed up in a number of the answers.

Most amusing, and also most predictable was safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson getting the nod as the league's biggest trash talker, according to his peers who filled out the survey. He drew nearly a quarter of the 71 responses, well ahead of Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey.


"I think that’s just kind of like his schtick," one player included on their survey. "I don’t know if it necessarily works, but it’s what he reverts to."



Gardner-Johnson certainly did plenty of gum-flapping during the brief time he was on the field for the Lions this year, jawing at teammates and opponents with the same reckless abandon. Among his most comical moments was walking up to Jacksonville kicker Brandon McManus before a joint practice and asking him what he was doing, and when McManus responded that he was warming up, Gardner-Johnson kicked the ball away and said, 'No you're not.' And later that day, the safety got a rise out of Jaguars coach Doug Pederson with a string of relentless, curse-filled taunts directed at quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Gardner-Johnson was even caught on camera jawing with Panthers receiver Adam Thielen from the sideline while in street clothes.



Beyond Gardner-Johnson, both quarterback Jared Goff and receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown drew votes as the best player in the game, a distinction Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes ran away with, netting 46.4% of the vote.

Several Lions players got a vote for the league's most underrated player. That group included linebacker Alex Anzalone, defensive lineman John Cominsky and St. Brown. Only two players, Bengals receiver Tee Higgins and Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II received more than one vote.


It's worth acknowledging players were not prohibited from voting for their own teammates.

Players were asked which coach they would like to play for other than their own. Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin was the runaway winner, with 26.4% of the vote, but Dan Campbell garnered support from 8.3% of the 72 respondents, behind only Tomlin, Miami's Mike McDaniel and Kansas City's Andy Reid.


Finally, Ford Field drew mild support as the worst stadium to play in. The qualifications for what made it the worst were unclear, but location and having an artificial surface were noted as reasons for some of the other selections.


jdrogers@detroitnews.com

@Justin_Rogers

I hope we get him back for the playoffs. He'd be a HUGE shot in the arm to the defense come Jan.

[edindetroit]

Here is the Lions social media tweet that burned Fields

This Pride of Detroit article explains the tweet (I needed the explanation):
https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2023/...ck-win-dancing

LOL

[edindetroit]

Either Deborah or Deb are fine, haha. I am not impressed with Mitchell's reaction at all.

There was a gal at the Motley Fool boards and her board name was Deborahborah. I have no idea why.

[whatever_gong82]

How the Lions’ dominant O-line is driving a playoff charge: ‘The engine under the hood’

2023 Detroit Lions Offensive Line.jpg

By Nick Baumgardner
1h ago


They travel in packs and read more than you think. They sample all cuisines without favor or fear. They laugh at the same jokes, share secret languages and carry each other’s pain. They are the men behind the curtain and the trunk of the family tree.

Collectively, they are the Detroit Lions’ offensive line. And when it comes to that surging team’s hopes, they are everything.



“This offensive line,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said earlier this month, “they’re the engine under the hood, man. They make it go.”



The Lions enter their annual Thanksgiving game 8-2 for the first time in the Super Bowl era, and the biggest reason for that is not Campbell nor general manager Brad Holmes nor Jared Goff.

In Detroit, things are a bit different. The Lions have a two-and-a-half-game division lead with seven weeks left because they believe in running the football — whenever, wherever, against whomever. This is not an overnight sensation. It has been there the whole time, even when Campbell’s team was bad — the pillar of the rebuild when it was really only an idea on paper.



Offensive linemen, as a rule, don’t grow up dreaming of being offensive linemen. Their dreams are often simpler: to be one of 11, to have a home, to be a football player. When you find five talented players who share those thoughts, you’ve got something special.

And in Detroit, one of football’s most powerful five-cylinder engines — comprised of Penei Sewell, Taylor Decker, Frank Ragnow, Jonah Jackson and Graham Glasgow — is exactly that.



“We’ve been doing this for four years now,” Jackson said in a tone that’s neither boastful nor resentful, simply factual. “This is nothing new here.”

After 10 games, Detroit ranks No. 7 in the NFL in expected points added (EPA) per play, No. 4 in EPA per rush attempt, No. 3 in rush EPA per game from a non-QB, No. 2 in yards per game and No. 6 in points per game.



Sunday’s turnover-filled day against Chicago aside, Goff has had terrific stretches this season, and the Lions continue to get outstanding play from stud wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. The running back tandem of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs has been rounding into form. And all of it — the QB with great accuracy but subpar feet, the star receiver who works more underneath than over the top, the high-priced RBs — was specifically picked to be in Detroit for one reason:

This offensive line. Nothing works as well without it.

Goff’s connection with offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has been sensational, and he’s transformed himself back into the prospect that flashed during his early days with the Rams. However, he’s still a limited player athletically who would not be playing at this level if he were working behind even an average line.

St. Brown’s route running, dependability in traffic and consistency in just about every area are the chief reasons why he’ll likely get a great contract extension. All of it, including his ability to run block, has been elevated by Detroit routinely being in manageable situations on second and third downs (spots where underneath route runners feast) thanks to the offensive line.



Two situations from the past two weeks illustrate why Detroit’s offensive line is among the NFL’s top position groups.



First, on Nov. 12 in Los Angeles. Up 7 near the end of the first quarter, facing a fourth-and-5 from the Chargers 28, Campbell kept his offense on the field. On third-and-10, just before this play, Detroit ran a wide flare screen to Kalif Raymond for 5 yards, setting up fourth-and-manageable.

Then, of course, the Lions ran the ball.



Nobody does this — any of it, really, but especially the decision to call an inside trap on fourth-and-5. The play itself was a microcosm of Lions football. Detroit got a terrific trap and seal block from Jackson, two outstanding down blocks from Ragnow and Glasgow, along with an even better effort from Montgomery (and Sewell diving on the pile) to extend beyond the marker.

“That’s just trusting our guys to get the job done,” Johnson said of the call.



The Lions beat the Chargers 41-38. Every conversion mattered, and Detroit showed no fear looking to its front when everything was on the line.

The second scenario happened in Week 11 against Chicago. The first 55 minutes or so featured the worst stretch of Goff’s season, including three picks (and nearly a fourth). Still, Detroit was in position to win after regaining possession on its own 27 with 2:33 to go.



Detroit moved out to the 40 just before the two-minute warning, then ran the ball on second-and-long for 12 yards. Four plays later, facing a second-and-1 with 1:14 left, the Lions ran it again against a suddenly gassed Bears defense, picking up 12 more yards and bleeding the clock in the process. After two more throws pushed the Lions to the Chicago 7, Johnson called another run — this time, a draw. It netted 5 yards and a first down.

A play later, Montgomery ran right over Montez Sweat — Chicago’s prized trade-deadline acquisition — for the game-winning score.



The blocker he ran behind? Sewell, of course.

Sewell is good enough to make you think you’re seeing things.



During his first padded practice at Oregon, he came off the snap so hard in a run-blocking drill that a coach worried he’d broken the defensive tackle’s back. Days earlier, in Sewell’s first one-on-one pass-rush drill as a college player, he stoned the Ducks’ best edge rusher, Justin Hollins, an eventual draft pick. Minutes later, offensive line coach Alex Mirabal asked him to do it again. So he did.

It’s the same for every coach Sewell has ever played for, save for maybe his father. Eventually, you stop asking questions and start enjoying the experience of watching someone in their absolute element.



“After you get up close, you see all of it in person,” Mirabal said of Sewell. “And you can actually feel and hear the difference between how he does it and how everybody else does it.

“He’s special.”



Sewell started his first year of college at age 17, as a left tackle, in a Power 5 league. And he never took a deep breath. In his fourth game, against Stanford, Oregon was set to run a reverse it had practiced all week long.

Just before the snap, though, Mirabal was concerned. The front the Ducks saw wasn’t one they’d practiced against that week — Stanford was bringing a complex pressure right over Sewell’s inside gap. How did Sewell react? The prodigy literally checked into a call himself and blocked two guys — driving one 15 yards into the end zone — to spring a touchdown.



When the line got back to the sideline, Mirabal immediately went up to Sewell and asked how he’d been able to figure everything out so fast.

“He looks at me and goes, ‘Coach, I just saw it,’” Mirabal recalled. “And I’m like, ‘Well, OK.’ And he’s 17 years old (at that point). And this is his fourth game.



“He can just feel stuff out there other guys can’t.”

College coaches who recruited Sewell were in awe of how confident he was at a young age, but also of how he and his brothers wouldn’t say a word unless asked to by a family elder. In a football sense, Sewell’s ability to fit in has been perhaps his best-hidden talent.




He moved from tiny American Samoa to Utah as a kid and had no problem. He was Oregon’s best lineman at 17 and nobody was jealous — the entire O-line room loved him and wanted a chance to play next to him.

When he was drafted by Detroit, the team already had a left tackle: Decker. And while many outside speculated about how this might all fit, the reality was that, inside, Sewell meshed with everyone immediately. He simply saw himself — and still sees himself — as one of five.


The Lions’ offensive line eats together constantly — after games, during the week, in the facility. Sewell loves to share his favorite Polynesian dishes and spots with the group. Jackson’s an amateur home cook (who can also skateboard) and has free rein to bring in leftovers from anything he’s ever made. His empanadas are Sewell’s favorite.



Ragnow, the NFL’s best center not named Jason Kelce, has his own hunting and fishing YouTube channel, so there is no limit to what he brings to the table. Decker’s an Ohioan, which means he’ll enjoy pretty much anything. Glasgow’s the dessert guy — expensive, quality desserts, sometimes flown in from exotic locations.

Glasgow also might have been the missing piece, one who should’ve been here all along. Drafted by Bob Quinn and Jim Caldwell in the third round out of Michigan in 2015, Glasgow — a walk-on who outplayed every scholarship guy in the program and became Jim Harbaugh’s first truly great Michigan offensive lineman — came to Detroit in the same rookie class as Decker. They contributed immediately and helped the Lions earn a playoff spot.



Not long after, though, Quinn hired Matt Patricia and all hell broke loose.

In 2019, Patricia started rotating veterans in with Glasgow, who was on his way to earning a nice extension after his rookie deal ended. He provided nonsensical reasons for the decision, and eventually, Glasgow left for Denver as a free agent.



That error was one of the last major blunders of Patricia’s short, nightmarish run. But had it not happened, Detroit likely wouldn’t have drafted Jackson in 2020.

The same year, the Lions also signed Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Quinn and Patricia’s free-agent tackle answer. Injuries have plagued Vaitai throughout his four years in Detroit (he’s currently on IR with a back injury), but he’s beloved in the locker room and an important piece of Detroit’s chemistry. When he went down with a knee injury earlier this year, Sewell stood next to him and got emotional.



Vaitai’s likely done for the year, which, along with some other injuries up front, has provided opportunities for youngsters like Colby Sorsdal and Kayode Awosika. No matter who’s in there, offensive line coach Hank Fraley tailors his approach to every player’s strengths and weaknesses.

Individually, each guy is uniquely important. Collectively, they’re one of the strongest growing forces in the NFL.



“The hard part is the consistency. Being able to do it, day in and day out,” Jackson said. “Some lines, they flash and they go away. It’s about finding your baseline (standard). We’re getting our flowers a little now, I guess, and that’s cool. But at the same time, this is a production-based business and we know it.”

The hard part about building your team around a line is that it’s so hard to keep everyone healthy (and paid) for very long. There are no promises here, either.



The Week 10 win over the Chargers marked the first time Detroit had a healthy offensive line since the season-opener in Kansas City. Then, last week, the Lions had to play without an ailing Jackson (wrist), using Sorsdahl in his place — the team’s eighth starting O-line combination this season.

For other teams, that type of attrition can be a disaster. The Lions are 8-2, though, and the run game just keeps churning.


Detroit’s front office will have decisions to make soon. The Lions already have Ragnow locked up through 2027, and Decker’s current deal runs through 2025, but Sewell will be the most expensive extension of the bunch — perhaps on the entire team. His production and versatility could make him a market-setter at tackle, one of the most expensive positions on the field.



Jackson is on the final year of his rookie deal and could command at least $10 million per season on the open market (depending on his play the rest of the year). Glasgow signed a one-year deal this offseason (with a void year in 2024) and Vaitai is in the final year of his contract (he also has a void year in 2024).

Where all this goes in the future remains to be seen. But in the here and now, the Lions’ heartbeat — and title chances — rests with the front five.



“We’re willing to run it whenever we want to,” Johnson said recently. “That’s how we feel.”

And that, more than anything else, is why the Lions are eating well this Thanksgiving.


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

[whatever_gong82]

Today is also the anniversary of the late William Clay Ford Sr. buying the Detroit Lions in 1963 -- which also was the exact same day JFK was killed.

Grim coincidence.

Also, the late NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle infamously had the entire NFL play their schedule after JFK's assassination, a move that he regretted the rest of life.