Lions News

[whatever_gong82]

New franchise QB, revamped coaching staff, Bears struggling to turn corner heading into Thanksgiving vs. Lions

Justin Rogers
Nov 26


Allen Park — Are we in the death throes of Matt Eberflus’ tenure in Chicago? It certainly feels that way.

The Bears are reeling. After winning four of their first six games, they’ve dropped five straight. The last two have been heartbreaking defeats at the hands of NFC North rivals — one on a blocked field goal, the other in overtime. Now the Lions have the chance to drive another nail into the coffin on Thanksgiving.



This was supposed to be the season the Bears turned the corner. After starting 0-4 a year ago, they finished above .500 the rest of the way. More than the strong finish, they had the No. 1 pick in the draft, a remnant from trading away the top choice to the Carolina Panthers the previous year. And for all the posturing in the months leading up to the event, everyone understood it represented Chicago’s next-best chance to land a long-coveted franchise quarterback.

And maybe they have in Caleb Williams, even if he hasn’t lit the world on fire out of the gate. That's despite being gifted an outstanding trio of receivers for his debut season. Joining DJ Moore, the holdover, the Bears traded for six-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen this offseason, and used their own first-round draft pick, No. 12 overall, on Washington's Rome Odunze, rounding out a potent corps.



The Bears also made efforts to upgrade Williams’ backfield, inking former Lion D’Andre Swift, a talented dual-threat who has exhibited far better durability since leaving Detroit than he ever did for the team that drafted him. Through 11 games, he's racked up 943 yards from scrimmage, putting him on pace for the best year of his career.

To tie the room together, Eberflus reshaped his offensive coaching staff, headlined by a new coordinator and new QB coach. But the addition of Shane Waldron, who coordinated for Seattle the three previous years, was an unmitigated flop. He’s already been relieved of his duties and replaced by Thomas Brown, who started the year as Chicago’s passing game coordinator.



The early results on the midseason switch, particularly in regards to Williams’ performance, have been promising. In the first game with Brown calling the shots, the rookie QB completed 23-of-31 for 231 yards without a touchdown or interception, while adding 70 more yards on the ground.

This past week, against the Vikings, Williams stuffed the stat with 340 passing yards, two scores and zero picks. The young signal-caller hasn’t thrown an interception in five straight games.



The offensive line is still a point of concern for the Bears. The team is starting two budget free-agent additions with Coleman Shelton at center and Matt Pryor lining up at multiple spots, most recently at right guard. Among the consequences, Williams has been sacked more than any QB in the NFL this season.

Overall, Chicago’s offense hasn’t done much consistently well this season. They rank in the bottom half of the league in yards, points, yards per carry and passer rating. Where they have succeeded is protecting the football and punching it across the goal line once in the red zone. They’re top five in both categories.


Defensively, the Bears have been pretty damn good. They’ve held nine of 11 opponents under 21 points and rank eighth in scoring. They’ve also done well at generating takeaways, forcing the opposition to cough it up 18 times.

Largely, it’s a familiar group, with one significant change. At safety, the team parted ways with longtime standout Eddie Jackson and replaced him with Kevin Byard, one of the better playmakers at the position since entering the league in 2016, earning a pair of first-team All-Pro selections along the way. The interceptions haven’t been there for Byard this year, but he’s still been excellent in the back end for the Bears.


The other safety spot is temporarily being manned by another free-agent addition, Jonathan Owens, while regular starter Jaquan Brisker is on injured reserve with a concussion.

Like the offense, the Bears defense also has a new coordinator after Alan Williams resigned during the early stages of the 2023 season. The newcomer, Eric Washington, had been leading Buffalo’s defensive line the past few seasons. He also has previous coordinator experience, filling the role for Carolina for two years, from 2018-19.



Email: jrogers@detroitfootball.net

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[Iron Lion]

So apparently we have cut Houston.

[mason reese]

Wonder if he’ll make it through the waiver wire

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2024/11/26/detroit-lions-waive-edge-rusher-james-houston/76596239007/

[CGVT]

Wonder if he’ll make it through the waiver wire

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sp...n/76596239007/

I am a bit surprised by this. I was looking for him last game some and didn't see him on the field. He wasn't inactive, but looking at the box score it appears that he didn't see the field.

[Iron Lion]

Wonder if he’ll make it through the waiver wire

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sp...n/76596239007/

From what was said when they were releasing them, not sure if it matters. Not sure he will make our PS.

[Iron Lion]

I feel like he is a casualty of the defensive style we are using. It's been stated before. We prefer to just crush and crunch the pocket and hurry the passer that way, rather than what Houston does, which is get washed out of the play completely most of the time and occasionally get there for a sack. Also Houston's lack of versatility in the LB role. I guess if he can't set the edge or play in coverage, and just maybe gets you a sack here and there, that's still a good player to have, but simply no room for it on this incredibly deep team.

[mason reese]

I am a bit surprised by this. I was looking for him last game some and didn't see him on the field. He wasn't inactive, but looking at the box score it appears that he didn't see the field.

I think the PFF snap count had him at 4

[El Axe]

I wonder if we played him more against the Texans as a showcase to generate trade interest. He looked pretty good in that game.

There's clearly a disconnect between him and the staff. Work ethic or something I'm guessing.

[Mainevent]

Yeah Houston had some good moments against Texans and Jags, but maybe he was still busting assignments elsewhere. And maybe they feel with David Long onboard they have a more reliable LB they’d prefer to use.

[foxhopper]

I am a bit surprised by this. I was looking for him last game some and didn't see him on the field. He wasn't inactive, but looking at the box score it appears that he didn't see the field.

You have to actually have a stat to make the box score.

[Dan V]

It’s amazing that he couldn’t catch on. He’s got such a low squat in a strong burst. He must either be unteachable and unwilling to expand his talent and versatility. He also could be a non-team player. We could never know that for sure, because that’s just something that a class organization would never say. If Patricia was still here……
I liked him a lot.

[whatever_gong82]

I really wanted him to make it, but cutting him right now, before the Thanksgiving Day game against a mobile QB, meant that the team just didn't feel that he fits the team right now.

[whatever_gong82]

Tuesday recap: James Houston cut, Amik Robertson a possibility outside, adding QB Jones hasn't been discussed

Justin Rogers
Nov 26


Allen Park — Unable to recapture the impact of his electric rookie season two years earlier, the Detroit Lions opted to part ways with defensive end James Houston on Tuesday.


“It just didn’t (work out),” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We had James up for a number of games, came back off the injury and got back, and it just never quite worked out. And look, wish him the best of luck. Sometimes you just need a fresh start, and this could be great for him.”

Houston had seemingly flirted with getting cut coming out of training camp the past two years, spending much of both offseasons repping with the third- and fourth-string defensive groupings.


A sixth-round draft pick out of Jackson State in 2022, Houston spent the first half of his rookie season on Detroit's practice squad before a string of impressive performances on scout team earned him a mid-year call-up. He went on a tear with the opportunity, racking up 8.0 sacks in seven games.



But as the team worked on expanding his versatility last offseason, he slipped to the bottom of the rotation. And any hope he had of climbing out of the hole was derailed when he suffered a broken ankle covering a kickoff during the team’s Week 2 game against Seattle.

Houston continued to struggle with off-ball assignments this offseason, eventually returning to exclusively playing along the line of scrimmage. A healthy scratch for Detroit’s early-season games, he got an opportunity for expanded playing time following season-ending injuries to starters Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport.


Still, improvements were modest and the scheme fit remained poor. The Lions prefer pocket crushers on the edges, while the 245-pound Houston was always best bending the edge with almost unnatural ankle flexibility.

With the recent addition of Za’Darius Smith via a trade, Houston’s role declined again. He logged four snaps in last Sunday’s game against the Colts prior to his release.


No talk of adding veteran QB

Former New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is reportedly looking to join a contender after being granted his release over the weekend, with the Lions among the teams he’s been linked to by national reporters.

I asked Campbell if there was fire behind that speculative smoke.


“We haven’t really talked about that,” Campbell said. “The name’s come up, but it’s not like we’ve sat down and talked, so I don’t want to give you a yes or a no.”

The thinking would be Jones would offer a more experienced backup if something were to happen to starter Jared Goff. That said, Campbell expressed confidence with the development of the team’s current option, Hendon Hooker.


“He’s progressed,” Campbell said. “We told him from day one, we just need growth. We need you to grow every week and we’ve given him opportunities in practice, good on good, to run our offense. As much as we can put him under pressure, we’ve done that, and I would say he’s progressed.

“That’s the best way to say it,” Campbell said. “Every guy grows at his own rate and he’s growing. Listen, if the time comes, he’s got to be ready to play. Period. It doesn’t matter whether he’s ready or not. He’ll go in there and there’s things that he does well and those are things that we would call that I think he’ll have success with, and you go from there.”


Secondary shuffle discussed

It’s not looking like offensive tackle Taylor Decker, cornerback Carlton Davis III or return man Kalif Raymond will be ready for Thursday’s game against Chicago. Campbell said the outlook for those three players hasn’t changed since Monday.

Campbell was more positive about wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and running back David Montgomery, who had also been listed as projected non-participants for Monday’s practice.


Because it’s come up a lot in the chat and on social media, I asked Campbell if there was any consideration being given to playing nickel corner Amik Robertson on the outside, in place of Davis.

“We talked about it,” Campbell acknowledged. “It’s up for discussion. It’s hard to say, there again, on a walkthrough. …It’s hard to do that, but all things are on the table. It’s not like Amik’s never played outside. He can go out there and not bat an eye, and then you move (Emmanuel Moseley) E-man inside, which is great.


“We have all options on the table,” Campbell said. “We’re not afraid to play (Khalil) Dorsey with (Kindle) Vildor or whatever the case is. We’ve got options and we feel good about all of them.”

Robertson primarily played on the outside for the Raiders last season.


I also asked about the plans at punt return. Campbell said he’s still working through the decision with practice squaders Tom Kennedy and Maurice Alexander both in play.

Campbell also said he’ll probably stick with St. Brown in the role, but the comment was clearly sarcastic.


The popular kids

There have been times in recent years when the Lions have struggled to put a single player on the league’s list of the top-50 merchandise movers. Not anymore. In a mid-year report released by the NFLPA, the Lions have five on that list, including three in the top 20.

Near the top are defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who were No. 6 and No. 7, the top sellers among non-quarterbacks.


Rounding out Detroit’s representation on the list are running back Jahmyr Gibbs (No. 16), quarterback Jared Goff (No. 28) and tight end Sam LaPorta (No. 45).

Coordinator change brings scheme tweaks

The Bears recently made a change at offensive coordinator, dismissing Shane Waldron after just nine games and turning things over to passing-game coordinator Thomas Brown. The early results have been promising, particularly with the performance of rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.

I asked Campbell if there were any notable differences between the play-callers that were discernable through the two games.


“There’s a lot more quick game, get the ball out, pretty simple progressions that he’s doing really well with,” Campbell said. “You watch him, bam, bam, bam, he’s working across the board, flipping his hips, processes it pretty fast, and if it’s not there then he takes off.

“There is some shift, motions, perfect plays, kills, so there’s a little bit of that that’s different than it was, but they’re still doing some of the same things,” Campbell continued. “ I think they’re trying to give him the best opportunity to have success or with any offense as much as you can.”


No charges for Jamo

This week, it was reported there will be no charges filed against receiver Jameson Williams following a review of the Detroit Police Department’s decision to not arrest him for improperly transporting a registered gun without a concealed carry license.

That brought a fresh batch of questions to the coach about the message the team had conveyed to the young receiver after the lesson-learning opportunity.


Turns out, nothing new to add.

“We had this conversation with Jamo back, I guess right before his suspension started, somewhere in there,” Campbell said. “So this has been talked about. We’re all good. (We told him,) ‘Hey, you got to be mindful of where you’re at, be on top of your details, get that, all eyes are on you.’ And he’s good. We hit it and he understands that.”



Email: jrogers@detroitfootball.net

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L

[Mainevent]

That’s a lot of injuries on a short week against a division rival. Chicago has played GB and MN to the wire the last two weeks and gave the Lions offense fits last year.

Going to need to grit out this one.

[CGVT]

That’s a lot of injuries on a short week against a division rival. Chicago has played GB and MN to the wire the last two weeks and gave the Lions offense fits last year.

Going to need to grit out this one.

Yep. This one scares me.