Lions News

[ghandi]

Well, I don’t know if anyone is going to be banging on Glenn’s door for a HC vacancy in the off-season so he might still be around next year.

Well Dan Campbell has parted with coaches in the past.....If he feels the defense is what is costing the team games, he might well make a move, or Glenn may take a head coaching job in college if one is offered.

[CGVT]

It's not Glenn, well, it may be, but the reality is that they just don't have the horses.

[whatever_gong82]

Reunion between Detroit Lions, free agent Ndamukong Suh seems unlikely


Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press



Detroit Lions fans hoping for a reunion with Ndamukong Suh - and there are plenty out there - probably shouldn't hold their breath.

Lions coach Dan Campbell downplayed the possibility of re-signing Suh, one of the most disruptive defensive linemen in franchise history, with top defensive tackle Alim McNeill potentially out for the rest of the regular season with a knee injury.


Asked Wednesday if the Lions have considered adding Suh, Campbell said general manager Brad Holmes has looked at "all" options.

"We haven’t overlooked anybody," Campbell said. "Brad, we got it all up there. We’ve looked at everybody. So at this moment, we’ve made the decision we felt like was best for us."

The Lions signed Tyson Alualu, a first-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2010 - he went 10th overall, eight picks after the Lions drafted Suh - to their practice squad Tuesday, the same day they placed McNeill on injured reserve.


McNeill will miss at least the next four games with a sprained knee.



The Lions (9-3) have a host of backup interior linemen - Levi Onwuzurike, Brodric Martin and Isaiah Buggs - who have played sparingly this season and will get the first crack at replacing McNeill.

Campbell said the Lions will bring Alualu along slowly, much like they did with Bruce Irvin after signing the edge rusher to the practice squad Nov. 15. Irvin made his Lions debut last week in a 33-28 win over the New Orleans Saints.


Suh, 36, has played for three different teams in the past five seasons while hunting Super Bowl rings, but has not played this season.

He spent his first five NFL seasons with the Lions, where he won Defensive Rookie of the Year and was a three-time first-team All-Pro, before leaving for a record-setting free agent contract with the Miami Dolphins. He played three seasons in Miami, the first in 2015 when Campbell finished the season as the Dolphins' interim head coach.



Known for his ferocious play and bad-boy image while with the Lions, Suh has 71.5 career sacks and started every game from 2018-21 both with the Los Angeles Rams for one season and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for three.

He won a Super Bowl with the Bucs in 2020, and has said he wants a second championship so he has a ring to give each of his two children.


Last year, Suh signed midseason with the Philadelphia Eagles and played the final eight regular season games as a backup. He played 11 snaps in the Super Bowl, which the Eagles lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, 38-35.

Alualu, 36, played his first 13 NFL seasons with the Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers. He has 25 career sacks and can play both as a big defensive end and inside as a tackle.

"Honestly, it’s a guy who, he brings the floor," Campbell said. "He brings stability. And so, you kind of know what you’re going to get, exactly what you’re going to get. And that gives us comfort."


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

[whatever_gong82]

Detroit Lions' Frank Ragnow, Bruce Irvin miss practice; Jalen Reeves-Maybin honored


Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press



Frank Ragnow is feeling "good" three days after he suffered a knee injury against the New Orleans Saints, but the Detroit Lions' Pro Bowl center did not practice Wednesday.

Ragnow status for Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears is uncertain after he left the Saints game late in the first half with a knee injury.


Asked about Ragnow on Wednesday, Lions coach Dan Campbell said, "He's doing good."



Ragnow was one of two key Lions who did not practice, along with practice squad linebacker Bruce Irvin (ankle). Linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez was limited with an ankle injury, while quarterback Hendon Hooker, still making his way back from a college knee injury, was a full participant.

Irvin had one sack and played 11 defensive snaps in his Lions debut against the Saints after signing to the practice squad in mid-November.

Detroit Lion Frank Ragnow 12-3-2023.jpg

The Lions held Irvin, 36, out of games against the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers as he worked into football shape and with intentions on keeping him healthy for the playoffs.

Campbell said he hopes to work Irvin more into the playing rotation in the coming weeks after he showed he still can be an effective pass rusher. The Lions (9-3) rank 26th in the NFL in sack percentage (6.17%).



"That was the plan last week was give him some opportunities and then see where he’s at there, see how he handled it, see how his body is," Campbell said. "And then potentially get him some more, so we’re looking into that. But yeah, I’d say he’s earned that."

Linebacker Alex Anzalone returned to practice Wednesday after missing the Saints game with a thumb injury. Anzalone practiced with what appeared to be a cast on his left hand and said he hopes to play Sunday.



Reeves-Maybin honored


Jalen Reeves-Maybin was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week on Wednesday after he made four special teams tackles against the Saints, tied for the most special teams stops in a game this year.

Detroit Lion Jalen Reeves-Maybin 9-24-2023.jpg

Reeves-Maybin also played a season-high 20 defensive snaps and had two defensive tackles, a quarterback hit and a pass breakup.



"I just try to come out and impact the game, whatever role that is, if it’s special teams, a couple defensive snaps, whatever it is," Reeves-Maybin said Sunday. "I just come out here and try to impact the game, bring a little bit of energy to the team. I think I did that."

Reeves-Maybin is the third Lion to win a player of the week award this season. Aidan Hutchinson was NFC Defensive Player of the Week after a two-sack performance against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3, and Jared Goff was Offensive Player of the Week after throwing for 353 yards in a Week 5 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.



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

[El Axe]

Lions confident with in-game process for assessing injuries, allowing players to return

Justin Rogers
The Detroit News

Allen Park — Under the leadership of coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes, Detroit has quickly become a place NFL players want to work. And part of that equation has been the team's willingness to put a player's individual health over team needs.

Consistently, throughout the nearly three-year tenure of the tandem, the organization has taken a clearly conservative approach with its injured players. They'll rest a player dealing with injury as many weeks as necessary, without question, just to ensure things have healed fully. And they've even gone as far as to encourage season-ending surgery, if the decision is in the best interest of the individual, long-term.

But the checks and balances that exist during the week, when extensive medical testing and results can best shape the organization's course of action, don't exist to the same degree during games. In the scenarios where a player suffers an in-game injury, without things like an MRI machine at the ready, medical advice can involve more guesswork. It's why Campbell will never offer up immediate injury updates postgame, until more thorough testing can be done.

That also means a player's opinion of his ability to play through pain often factors more heavily into in-game decisions to return to action.
For the Lions this season, there have been some concerning results with these situations. Several times in 2023, players have been allowed to try and battle through injuries, only to miss one or more games immediately after. That includes Taylor Decker and Jonah Jackson, who each missed multiple weeks after playing most of a game with high ankle sprains, cornerback Brian Branch missing two matchups after exiting because of an ankle injury and aggravating it upon an attempted return, and most recently, defensive tackle Alim McNeill, who will miss at least the next four games after being placed on injured reserve because of a leg injury he tried to play through against New Orleans.

Toughness is an undeniable virtue in the NFL, and players have long been counted on to power through bumps and bruises. Durability is a badge of honor. So much so that in recent years, the league has had to install safety mechanisms to protect players from themselves when it comes to concussions, adding a spotter capable of buzzing down to the field to have a player removed and evaluated before being allowed to return to action.

Ankles, knees and other joint and muscle injuries aren't treated the same way, for obvious reasons. Still, the question remains how much a player's opinion should be weighed into the decision to return from injury, particularly when the adrenaline of a moment can be masking their pain and clouding their judgment.

There's no easy answer.

Campbell, who was someone who embodied toughness during his playing career, was asked if the team's in-game process needs to be re-evaluated given the growing list of players who have missed time after returning to or finishing a game following an injury.

"How do you know that made them worse?" Campbell replied. "I’d be careful on that assumption because I think if we really felt like, man, they’re going to make this thing worse, we’re not putting them back in there. It’s not worth all that to where, all right, man, we can see if he can limp along and now we’re going to lose him for six weeks. Well, we’re not doing that."

Campbell emphasized that medical opinion continues to be weighed first and foremost in the process. An ankle or knee injury must be deemed stable before the player's pain tolerance is even considered.

"I think those are a little bit different and if it’s, look, it’s not going to get worse, he’s going to have to deal with pain, he wants to go back in, I’m all for it," Campbell said. "But, if we feel like, man, we could put this player behind and relative to the production we’re going to get out of him being less than 100 percent, it’s probably not worth it, then yeah, we don’t want to do that to our guys."

Campbell said the only instance he feels the team might have set back a player this year is with Decker, who played nearly the entire season opener with an ankle he hurt in the opening minutes of the contest. Otherwise, the coach remains confident with his staff's process.

"Look, there’s always going to be a little bit of that give-and-take," Campbell said. "You do the best you can with it and you’ve got to trust your doctors and you’ve got to trust the player, too, at some point. Then use your gut on it."

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

@Justin_Rogers

[El Axe]

Lions' Anzalone describes thumb injury, surgery and chances of playing vs. Bears

Justin Rogers
The Detroit News

Allen Park — It was quite a week for Alex Anzalone.

On Thanksgiving, the Detroit Lions linebacker played against the Green Bay Packers and injured his thumb. On Sunday, he had surgery to insert a screw to stabilize that injury. And three days later, he was back at a different hospital for the birth of his second child, daughter Carter.

That's a great way to end things, but the injury unfortunately sidelined Anzalone for this past weekend's game against the New Orleans Saints. That had been a matchup he had circled, given that's where he spent the first four years of his career after the franchise selected him in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft.

"Yeah, it's been tough but a blessed week, I would say," Anzalone said.
A little more than a week after the surgery, Anzalone was back on the practice field, wearing a custom, hard plastic brace to protect this thumb. He still doesn't even know exactly what happened to cause the injury, but noted the thumb "kept sliding in and out" of place.

"Put it back in, then it would come back out," he said.

The surgically inserted screw stabilized that. His status for Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears remains up in the air. As he practices this week, it will be about determining his pain tolerance of playing with the injury.

But if there was a blessing from this process, it allowed him to stay home while the team traveled to New Orleans, providing him extra family time with his wife and newborn daughter.

"I really wanted to play in that game," Anzalone said. "You guys know how much that meant to me. But, yeah, I guess there was just a silver lining in all of it. God gave me just enough injury to not have me try to play that game. (Coach) Dan (Campbell) and everyone did a good job taking care of me, too. Making sure I was able to focus on my family."

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @Justin_Rogers

[-Deborah-]

[chemiclord]

If CJ Stroud wasn't lighting the AFC South on fire, he'd be right there with Puka for OROY.

[ghandi]

Special teams player (JRM) and rookie of the week (LaPorta) nice!

[gibby]

Confession time:

I hated the LaPorta pick. I'll eat that crow, feathers and all

[chemiclord]

I think a lot of people were ambivalent, and figured he was one of three guys they'd be okay with; the consensus was that Meyer was the more "balanced" guy, Washington was the primary blocker, and LaPorta was the receiving TE.

Turned out LaPorta was a pretty good blocker in his own right along with elite receiving chops.

[froot loops]

I was excited about the pick because of a real deep dive analysis of he was an Iowa tight end.

[ghandi]

Confession time:

I hated the LaPorta pick. I'll eat that crow, feathers and all

There were several really good TEs in the draft...I'll give Brad credit for figuring out which one was elite.....Maybe Dan Campbell saw something too when they had LaPorta in for a look during draft visit.

[whatever_gong82]

How the Lions’ defense can improve: More takeaways, tighten up in red zone

Detroit Lions defense_picture by The Athletic.jpg

By Colton Pouncy
Dec 7, 2023



The Detroit Lions are searching for answers on defense, trying to piece together parts to get the most out of a group that has regressed.



The Lions rank 23rd in points per game allowed at 23.8. They have one of the NFL’s worst red-zone defenses, a limited pass rush and a secondary allowing the 12th-most passing yards in the NFL. It has been a struggle, and the Lions are certainly feeling the loss of key pieces.

They’re also eager to silence the growing number of critics.



“We’re definitely motivated as a defense to kind of get going here and start playing good football,” said linebacker Alex Anzalone, who was a full participant in practice Wednesday after missing last week’s game with a hand injury. “We hear the outside noise to a certain extent and we definitely want to prove those people wrong.”

The only way to do that is to prove it on the field. As December football marches on and the Lions (9-3) inch closer to a playoff spot, all eyes will be on the defense. Here’s what they’ll need to do to improve.


Marry the rush and coverage


The Lions have had trouble all season getting their pass rush and coverage on the same page.

Against the Green Bay Packers, for example, the Lions played more man coverage than they have all season — 51.9 percent. The reason? Jordan Love gets the ball out quickly, which is kryptonite for an effective pass rush, let alone what the Lions have. Knowing that, the Lions asked their corners to play man and win their matchups in those quick-throw situations, rather than zone. It didn’t work.



“That’s always the plan when you’re playing against a team that’s getting the ball out quick because the rusher is not going to get there,” Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said last week. “So now, when you’re in man coverage, you’ve got to win those one-on-one battles. And that’s what happens with any team that tries to get the ball out quick like that.”

At this point, the Lions might not have the horses to play man the way Glenn wants to. The best way to improve the secondary is to improve the pass rush. That gets harder after the loss of defensive tackle Alim McNeill, placed on injured reserve Tuesday after a knee injury.



There’s work to do, but last week’s results against the New Orleans Saints were a step in the right direction.

Aidan Hutchinson continues to win his matchups, even if the sacks aren’t there. His pass-rush win rate of 35.7 percent was the highest of any edge defender (minimum 10 pass-rush snaps) and his seven pressures were tied for third in the league last week, per Pro Football Focus.



Though Detroit’s sack total of two was modest, it certainly passed the eye test. Several players outside of Hutchinson turned in quality performances. Bruce Irvin had a sack and a win rate of 20 percent in his Lions debut. Josh Paschal had a win rate of 21.1 percent on 19 pass-rush snaps. Romeo Okwara came through with a clutch sack of his own. And Detroit’s defense pressured the Saints on 51.6 percent of their dropbacks — the fourth-highest rate in Week 13, per TruMedia.

The biggest thing players are looking for is consistency. The Lions are searching for answers, trying to make do with what they have defensively. But if Irvin and Paschal can continue to provide some juice opposite of Hutchinson, it could have a trickle-down effect for the rest of the defense, and the Lions could have better days ahead.

Alim McNeill will be out 4 games_2023.jpg

Be more opportunistic


One thing Lions coach Dan Campbell wants to see from Detroit’s defense is more takeaways. The Lions are tied for 24th in turnovers forced with 14 for the season.



“Here’s what we got to do, we have to get takeaways,” Campbell said after the Lions’ Thanksgiving loss to the Packers. “We have to, that’s something that we desperately got to work on. That’s one of the things we did a really good job of this time last year. Once we hit that last, call it eight to 10 games, we were getting takeaways. We were playing tough, man, we were pressuring the quarterback, affecting him, but then, man, we were getting these (takeaways). You’re getting two a game, and that’s where we’re not getting those enough right now. And to me, that’s a mindset and it’s something we got to work on. Have we worked on it? Yeah, but not enough.”

The numbers back up Campbell’s sentiments. The Lions had just six turnovers over the first eight weeks of the 2022 season, which ranked 30th in the league. In Weeks 9-18, right when the Lions’ run began, they recorded 16 turnovers — sixth-most in the league. They recovered six forced fumbles, recorded 10 interceptions and were largely opportunistic during that stretch.



So what goes into turnovers? Some of it is being in the right place at the right time, which can be a product of luck or preparation. But it can also be chalked up to mindset, making a conscious effort to punch out a ball, deflect a pass at the line of scrimmage, etc.

It’s easier said than done, but this group saw a year ago what happens when it creates turnovers in bunches. Last week’s results, two turnovers leading to 14 points for the offense, was a good start.



Tighten up in the red zone


The overall numbers in 2022 show a Lions defense that struggled in the red zone. They had the sixth-worst red-zone efficiency in the league a year ago and the fifth-worst goal-to-go efficiency, per TruMedia. But as we know, it was a tale of two seasons.

From Weeks 1-8, the Lions ranked 30th in red-zone efficiency and 31st in goal-to-go efficiency. But when they went on their 8-2 run last year, they tightened up in that area of the field. From Weeks 9-18, they ranked 18th in red-zone efficiency and 12th in goal-to-go efficiency. It was a notable improvement that didn’t feature a midseason addition, a drastic scheme change or a fired defensive coordinator.



These Lions could learn something from that bunch.

This year, the Lions find themselves in a similar boat. Detroit ranks 30th in red-zone efficiency and 30th in goal-to-go efficiency. It explains the stark contrast between yards allowed (14th) and scoring defense (23rd).



When you’re that close, it’s about winning your individual matchups. The Lions aren’t winning them right now. They’re aware of it.

“That’s a situation where there’s really a lot of one-on-one situations where you’ve got to win because there’s not a lot of space and you can’t really just play zone, so you have to really match up with guys,” Glenn said. “And we’ve got to understand where our help’s at also. So that goes in with the players just executing and that’s us making sure we put those guys in the right positions. Anytime you’re in the red zone, it is basically one-on-one.”



Do the Lions have enough players who can win one-on-one battles in tight spaces where it matters? The season statistics say no, but they’ve got five games left to prove otherwise. Getting some players back who can win those matchups should help.

“We have to limit points as a defense,” Anzalone said. “That’s the number one stat. And then, obviously, the red zone has to improve. These next five games going into the playoffs, this is when it has to happen. We have to come together as a unit and get it done, figure out a way how to get it done.”


Reinforcements


The goal for the Lions right now is to clinch the NFC North and a home playoff game. Anything beyond that is gravy. This season was always about getting into the postseason and seeing what they’re made of.

The Lions are on pace for that. They have a 94 percent chance to win the NFC North, based on 201,529 projections via the New York Times playoff simulator. As the regular season winds down, the Lions should be able to integrate key pieces lost throughout the season.


McNeill will miss at least the next four games with a knee injury suffered against the Saints. That’s a huge blow to the defense, but if the Lions can weather the storm without him, there’s a good chance he’ll be back for the regular-season finale against the Minnesota Vikings.



The Lions are holding out hope that safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, a key free-agent addition who suffered a torn pectoral muscle in Week 2 that required surgery, could still return this season. He’s a difference-maker on the backend, thanks to the confidence he instills, his playoff experience and playmaking ability, leading the league in interceptions a year ago for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Pass-rush specialist James Houston has been working his way back, spotted off to the side with trainers at practice a few weeks ago. Houston played just two games before an ankle injury landed him on IR. But in those two games, he had a pass-rush win rate of 23.1 percent, per PFF — good for 10th in the league at the time. The Lions know how impactful he can be when they let him loose. After impressing Detroit’s starting offensive line on the practice squad last year, players urged coaches to give him a shot. He didn’t disappoint, recording eight sacks in seven games as a rookie. While those numbers would be hard to replicate, Houston’s speed off the edge and ability to pressure could open things up for Hutchinson on the other side.



“Those are two high-level players,” Houston said Wednesday in the locker room, asked about he and Gardner-Johnson returning to action. “I feel like we can really change the outcome of our season, the outcome of the defense, everything. It should be a really exciting time.”

The last time the Lions defense was at full strength, it was holding Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense to 20 points at Arrowhead Stadium. We’ll see if they can recapture that spark.



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

[ghandi]

"Houston played just two games before an ankle injury landed him on IR. But in those two games, he had a pass-rush win rate of 23.1 percent, per PFF — good for 10th in the league at the time. The Lions know how impactful he can be when they let him loose."

If the team values him so much why was he playing in the 4th quarter in pre-season games? Why was he covering TEs 30 yards downfield instead of rushing the passer? Why was he even on special teams (where he broke his leg)? Why was Harris given the starting job when he has done nothing the last 2 years? We saw last year what Houston can do, yet this year they treated him like he was a 6th round rookie draft pick all over again.