Lions News

[whatever_gong82]

Lions film review: Detroit's undermanned defensive front holds up against Packers

Paywall article.

Richard Silva
The Detroit News



For the first time this season — and for only the second time in their last 24 outings — the Detroit Lions surrendered 30 or more points in a game.

But don't let anyone discredit the performance defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn's unit put on display in a 34-31 win over the Green Bay Packers last Thursday.


The defense was wildly shorthanded — none of the eight linemen on the active roster to begin the season were available to play in the second half, after Alim McNeill exited early because of a head injury — and the offense, due to an uncharacteristically poor interception from quarterback Jared Goff and a failed fourth-down attempt near the 30-yard line, gave Glenn's side two short fields to defend in the second half.

For this week's film review, we'll examine how the defense was able to cobble together an adequate showing without the majority of its starters in the front seven.



Pedal down

The Lions haven't had the luxury of leaning on Aidan Hutchinson's game-wrecking ability since Week 6 — they're amazingly 8-0 without him, which shouldn't get lost in the shuffle — and were missing some of their best interior push, with McNeill and DJ Reader (shoulder), who had two sacks on Thanksgiving, sidelined.


In an effort to help the available personnel, Glenn dialed up creative blitzes. Packers quarterback Jordan Love dropped back to pass 24 times against Detroit, and the Lions brought at least five rushers at him on 16 of those plays. They sent six or more rusher six times, and threw seven at Love twice.

Love was solid when blitzed, but the extra defenders coming at him often forced the ball out of his hands quickly. On a third-and-9 in the third quarter, Detroit had six defenders rushing the QB. The Packers kept running back Josh Jacobs in to protect Love, meaning it was a six-on-six battle.


Green Bay's offensive line initially holds up well, but a well-executed stunt, featuring Trevor Nowaske (53) looping around Za'Darius Smith (99) and Pat O'Connor (95), gave Nowaske a lane toward Love. The ball came out short of the sticks to receiver Christian Watson (9), and Terrion Arnold (0) made sure the first down wasn't picked up.

Glenn also changed how he deployed one of his best players. Second-year defensive back Brian Branch has been a force next to Kerby Joseph at safety this season, but the role he served versus the Packers was more akin to what he did as a nickel cornerback last season.


Branch, rather than lining up 10 or more yards off the ball like he's done for the majority of 2024, often set up near the line of scrimmage. His presence up front made sense, given the players the Lions were missing in that area of the field. Branch saw 13 snaps lined up as an outside linebacker on the edge of Detroit's defensive line, per Pro Football Focus. That's his most for a single game this season.


Even when Branch wasn't set up on the edge, he was flying in from depth and making plays. He had a great tackle for loss on the first play of the second half, creeping up from the secondary before blowing Jacobs up, as he tried to bounce outside.


Individual efforts

Not one single player up front had a dominant game — pass rushers Za'Darius Smith and Al-Quadin Muhammad led the way with a team-best three pressures apiece — but there were multiple pieces who flashed in particular moments.

Take O'Connor, for example. He finished with two tackles, but he was disruptive on multiple occasions with some incredible get-off. O'Connor must've seen something on tape that allowed him to time his first step well, because at least three times, he was the first defender reacting to the snap.


O'Connor's speed helped lead to an incompletion on third down in the first quarter, as he got in Love's face and caused the quarterback to fade away and overthrow a pass deep intended for receiver Dontayvion Wicks. O'Connor is nearly side-by-side with center Josh Myers (71) by the time he's done snapping the ball.

Muhammad adds some pressure off the edge for good measure.


Another player who flashed was Smith, who set the tone with a sack on Green Bay's first play from scrimmage. Smith has been a great addition since Detroit acquired him via a trade with the Cleveland Browns on Nov. 5. Over the last four games, Smith leads the Lions in pressures (20) and sacks (3). He's also second on the team in pass-rush win rate, at 20.6%, just 0.2% behind linebacker Jack Campbell.

Smith (99) showed his noted power on the sack against Green Bay, straight-up bulldozing Green Bay's right tackle.


The Lions also got a little bit of help from the secondary in containing Jacobs, who finished with 66 yards on 18 carries. Midway through the fourth quarter on a first-and-15, Wicks motioned inside and that allowed cornerback Carlton Davis III (23) to step closer to the line of scrimmage.

Once diagnosing the run, Davis comes up, maintains the edge and tackles Jacobs.


Parting thoughts

Everyone involved in the defensive operation deserves credit, from the coaching staff to the players. The use of Branch near the line of scrimmage to supplement the losses up there was smart, and the individual efforts of defenders like O'Connor, who played a career-high 41 defensive snaps, deserve to be highlighted.

Maybe it's sustainable; maybe it's not. Whatever the case, the Lions earned a massive divisional win and clinched a spot in the playoffs by beating the Packers. One game at a time is how this team has taken things, and there's no reason to think they'll stop using that mentality against the Bills in Week 15 and beyond.


rsilva@detroitnews.com

@rich_silva18

[El Axe]

How the NFC North now perceives the Detroit Lions:

It's remarkably self-aware for a Packers fan

[whatever_gong82]

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2024/12/08/dan-campbell-lookalike-contest-hopcat-detroit/76851508007/

[mason reese]

Justin Rogers put a page together listing all the current Lion’s injuries where he’ll post any updates as the come out.

https://www.detroitfootball.net/p/detroit-lions-injury-updates

[whatever_gong82]

Taylor Decker is still trying to be ready for Sunday's Buffalo Bills matchup:

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2024/12/09/detroit-lions-dl-still-in-flux-with-injuries-going-to-take-time/76864212007/

[whatever_gong82]

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2024/12/09/dan-campbell-updates-detroit-lions-aidan-hutchinsons-recovery/76864797007/

[whatever_gong82]

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2024/12/09/pro-bowl-voting-several-lions-move-up-rankings-in-latest-update/76866887007/

[whatever_gong82]

[whatever_gong82]

Paywall article below.

Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell reckless or ahead of the curve? Results speak for themselves.

Shawn Windsor
Detroit Free Press



Dan Campbell went for it on fourth down five times against the Green Bay Packers last week. The Detroit Lions converted four.

Maybe you’ve heard.


And maybe you’ve heard the assorted former players and coaches and NFL analysts ripping the Lions coach for his aggressiveness. That he was reckless. That he is a “bad” coach — yes, that was said. That he is coaching a good team now and he needs to act like it. That he will cost his team in the playoffs as he supposedly did last season.

Ouch.


Also, do we really need to relitigate the NFC title game loss to San Francisco?

Apparently, we do. And it’s tiresome.


Primarily because it’s not true. But also, because the reaction to the Lions' win over the Packers is just the latest reminder that too many of us can’t handle change. Or a different way of looking at the world. Or anything that goes against conventional wisdom. Or a narrative that gets scooped up without proper context, or facts.

Campbell went for it twice in January against the 49ers because the percentages of making a field goal — for his particular kicker — were far less than the percentage of his offense converting fourth-and-shorts. Beyond the math, he’d watched every second of his team’s every practice and game — he knew where its strengths were.


The decisions didn’t work. Sometimes they don’t.

The problem is the assumption that when a decision doesn’t work, the alternative decision would’ve. This is bunk. Not just because it is an assumption, but because even the most casual sports fan has seen situations where the alternative doesn’t work.


Former Tigers manager Jim Leyland welcomed second-guessers. He knew it was part of baseball, and part of the fun of loving a baseball team. He also understood the backseat drivers.

What he didn't abide was the utter conviction that the opposite choice would've been better, that a different relief pitcher — or lineup — would've been the difference. The second-guessers, as he rightly pointed out, had no way of knowing.


Only the heavens knew. Or the hand in charge of fate.

Which brings us back to Thursday night, when the Lions faced fourth-and-1 from the Packers’ 21-yard-line. The game was tied, with 43 seconds remaining. Most coaches would’ve kicked the field goal and hoped their defense got a stop, or at least held Green Bay to the tying field goal.


Numbers can't account for feel

Campbell wanted to win the game right there. He knew his defense was tired and beat up. He’d watched Green Bay score 24 points in the half. (Seven of those points were aided by a short field when the Lions couldn’t convert on a fourth down on their own 31, but even that decision made a sort of sense. See: The Lions buckling defense.)


And he liked simplifying the variables: pick up the yard, run the clock down and kick the winning field goal, or kick the field goal and put the game in the Packers' hands and possibly even the hands of fate with an OT result: Win a coin toss in overtime and it’s possible to win the game.

Some models suggested Campbell’s decision to go for it hurt his team’s chances of winning by a few percentage points. But, again, those models don’t account for losing defensive tackle Alim McNeill to a head injury, or for a makeshift defensive line, or for the Lions' numerous injured linebackers.


Nor do they account for Campbell’s feel for his team. This isn’t the same as his gut feeling about a moment, though coaches rely on that, too. This is about accumulated information through countless practices and games, and through every play of a given game. It’s ebb and flow, if you will.

History and situational standards matter, but so does context. Context isn’t neat.




The Lions, of course, gained the yard, though Jared Goff’s stumble as he handed the ball to David Montgomery emboldened the doubters more. Of course it did.

And if the Lions hadn’t gained the yard? And lost?


Campbell would’ve been roasted. But he understood that.

And if he’d kicked the field goal and the Lions still lost? Talk would’ve been about the injuries, or Jordan Love’s heroics, or Green Bay coming for the NFC title. Few would’ve criticized Campbell for not going for it.


That's odd, because going for it put the game in not just his hands, but the strength of the team, especially that night against the Packers. (And going for it four earlier times helped the Lions to a net gain of seven points; the successful conversions led to two touchdowns, while the unsuccessful one led to a Packers' touchdown.)

In other words, the Lions might not have won without his aggressive choices. But Tedy Bruschi didn't want to think about that.


Campbell had math, not emotions, on his side

Here is what the former New England Patriot and current football television analyst said:


“The decision to go for it would be enough to make my blood boil for weeks. ... I would look at this decision as a lack of confidence in our ability as a defensive unit to come up with a big play to win the game.”

Oh, sorry, that's what Bruschi said 15 years ago, talking about his former team, and the decision by his former head coach, Bill Belichick, to go for it on fourth-and-2 from New England’s 28 against Indianapolis in 2009. The Patriots led, 34-28. Two minutes were left in the game.


New England didn’t convert. Peyton Manning threw a touchdown pass four plays later. New England lost by a point.

Give Bruschi props for consistency, I suppose, because he tore into Campbell over the weekend for making a similar decision.



“Don’t put Dan Campbell on my sideline,” said the former linebacker. “... I don’t know the emotional control of this coach.”

Bruschi went on to say that there are “no more ankles and kneecaps to bite. You’re on top. Start playing like it and start coaching like it. Sometimes, you’ve got to know to be in a game to where let the other team mess up because I know I’m better because it’s gonna give us a better chance to win. There are those situations that I don’t think Dan Campbell knows right now, that he still has to learn. I have been watching him this entire season based on the way last season ended. Okay, did he learn in the offseason? Maybe he’s a little less emotional? He is not.”



Campbell wasn’t acting on emotion in the NFC title game. He had an inconsistent kicker, a leaky defense and bet on his offense. He also had math.

Nor was he acting with emotion against the Packers. He liked his chances of picking up the yard and icing the game. He based those chances on reason, not to mention reams of data specific to his team.



It worked. It could have failed, too. That’s sports.

Campbell has had his defenders in the days since beating Green Bay, including fellow NFL Sunday Countdown panelist — and former New York Jets coach — Rex Ryan. Yet Bruschi wasn’t alone in his view.



This isn’t surprising. Information evolves. Parameters shift. Change isn’t easy. And there is a difference between what’s risky and what’s reckless.

Figuring out the distance between the two can be hard. So far, Campbell is making it look easier than it is.



Contact Shawn Windsor: swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him@shawnwindsor.

[Mainevent]

Disagreeing with Campbell is anybody's prerogative, to each their own. Anybody who thinks DC was acting on emotion or isn't one of the smartest coaches in the business that thinks through these things and prepares for them is just lazy.

[whatever_gong82]

Disagreeing with Campbell is anybody's prerogative, to each their own. Anybody who thinks DC was acting on emotion or isn't one of the smartest coaches in the business that thinks through these things and prepares for them is just lazy.

And I don’t respect him anyway, since Belichick was known to copy the other team’s walkthrough (which is illegal, I believe).

[whatever_gong82]

Paywall article below.

Why Dan Campbell isn't worried about a rookie wall for Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold

Richard Silva
The Detroit News



Allen Park — If rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold was still playing at Alabama, he'd only have one more game to go — the Crimson Tide will play Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Dec. 31 to end their season — before being able to give his body a well-deserved rest.


But he's no longer a student-athlete in Tuscaloosa. He's in Detroit, a dozen games into his professional career. He'll have to play seven more times before getting an extended break if all goes to plan, as the Detroit Lions hope to secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC before marching their way to Super Bowl LIX in February.



Some rookies understandably hit a wall at this point in their first seasons. Never before have they had to play 17 games, plus whatever comes in the playoffs. They've also never had to see this level of competition on a week-to-week basis; Alabama got a reprieve with FCS program Mercer in November. The NFL, meanwhile, doesn't let up.

Other rookies begin to flourish and separate themselves from the pack at this juncture. Take receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, as an example. The former fourth-round pick out of USC had 352 yards through the first 11 games of his career, but he exploded for 560 yards over the final six games of 2021, including a game-winning 11-yard touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13 to secure the first win of head coach Dan Campbell's tenure. Offensive tackle Penei Sewell took his lumps early that season before settling in, too, as did defensive lineman Alim McNeill.


So, what kind of rookie is Arnold going to be?



"What happens with a lot of rookies, especially guys that you’re counting on, unfortunately, some of them start to take a nosedive because this is where their season begins to dip down; it’s over," Campbell said Monday. "But then the other ones who hang in there, they really start taking flights. What St. Brown did his rookie year, right? He started to take off once we hit November, December. He started to gain strength.



"Sewell did the same thing; Mac did the same thing. I feel like that’s where Arnold’s at."

Campbell praised Arnold for his performance against the Green Bay Packers last Thursday, calling it the best game of his young career. Arnold was targeted three times in coverage, with one of those being a screen pass thrown in his direction that went for three yards and another being a 6-yard pickup by Christian Watson on a drag route that was ultimately short of the sticks on third down.



The other play directly involving Arnold came near the conclusion of the second quarter, when the cornerback was guarding Watson near the goal line. Watson ran a corner route to the back of the end zone, and Arnold was initially sticky in coverage. The play broke down as the pass rush couldn't break through, though, and Watson started working back to his quarterback. Arnold, who grabbed Watson and got his head around late, was whistled for pass interference.


It's the 10th time this season Arnold has picked up a defensive penalty, but that doesn't tell the whole story. Eight of those infractions came in the season's first four weeks, with three — a pass interference and two defensive-holding calls — coming against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 30.



The only other time Arnold has picked up a penalty since Week 4 was at the Houston Texans in November, when he hit receiver Xavier Hutchinson early on a deep ball 41 yards down the field. Arnold doesn't have much of a problem with being out of position, but coaches have been trying to instruct him to be less grabby and to get his head around when the ball is in the air.

Pro Football Focus grades aren't perfect, but they do give a general idea of how a player is performing. From Weeks 1-8, Arnold had an overall defensive grade of 49.5, which ranked No. 112 out of the 121 cornerbacks who had played at least 100 snaps over that stretch.



From Weeks 9-14, Arnold has a grade of 58.0. That's good for 68th among the 114 cornerbacks who met the 100-snap criteria. Not perfect by any means, but it signals the type of tangible improvement that's giving Campbell optimism.

"He’s starting to push through this and he’s gaining enough valuable reps (and) experience," Campbell said of his rookie. "He’s not letting the grind of the season weigh him down, and he’s getting better."



rsilva@detroitnews.com

@rich_silva18

[whatever_gong82]

Another paywall article.

'Winning performances': Newly added Lions linemen draw rave reviews from Dan Campbell

Nolan Bianchi
The Detroit News



Allen Park — The best-laid plans of Lions general manager Brad Holmes have often gone awry.



In his quest to bring a Super Bowl-caliber defense to Detroit, Holmes has had to deal with an unprecedented number of injuries to that side of the ball. Each week, a fresh batch of reinforcements arrives in Allen Park, ready to serve as a mercenary for a Lions defense that has so far held the line.

This past week, in a 34-31 walk-off win over the Green Bay Packers, the Lions had five defenders making their season debut: linebackers Jamal Adams, Kwon Alexander and Mitchell Agude and defensive linemen Myles Adams and Jonah Williams.



With a couple of days to digest the performance, Lions coach Dan Campbell — who nicknamed the defense "the Northern savages" after the game — gave rave reviews for the newly added defensive linemen on Monday.

"Myles and Jonah, I thought both had winning performances," Campbell said. "I thought they went in there and battled and did their job."



Myles Adams did some impressive work as both a pass rusher and run defender. He logged two pressures on eight pass-rush snaps with three combined tackles on just 11 run-defense snaps. Williams, meanwhile, had one pressure on 12 pass-rush snaps and a hit on the quarterback.

Alexander had two tackles, and Jamal Adams and Agude each added one.



Detroit allowed a season-high 31 points in the game, but they did just enough to win it and were hampered by short fields on multiple occasions. And with the Packers looking to take the lead on a scoring drive midway through the fourth quarter, linebacker Ezekiel Turner — who was playing his second game in a Lions uniform — corralled Packers quarterback Jordan Love on third down to force a field goal.



The collective performance of Detroit's defense in the wake of significant injuries across the board continues to impress, and Campbell tipped his cap to Holmes for the success they've had amid an awfully tumultuous season, health-wise. More than a dozen players who were not on Detroit's initial 53-man roster have taken snaps for the Lions' defense.

"It was good to see and it’s exactly why Brad brought those guys in, because we felt like they fit what we’re about and what we need and we just need guys that are lunch-pail guys, hard hat, come in a give us a good day's work, do what we ask you to do and go all out doing it, and just battle, just strain," Campbell said Monday. "And I thought those guys did it."



The Lions are hopeful that a few of the ailing defensive linemen will be ready to roll by the time the Buffalo Bills roll into town this Sunday. Buffalo's offense ranks second in EPA per play (+0.14) and is coming off a 42-point performance in a loss at the Los Angeles Rams this past Sunday.

Regardless of who's able to make their way back for the Lions, Campbell and Co. will continue relying on the newest faces in Detroit's locker room.


"Now we need to take it a step further," Campbell said. "Now that you guys are laying it on the line, you're finishing, now we have to start getting a grasp of what we're doing defensively and take the next step and the detailed part of this to where we don't have a few plays that hurt us."

Campbell said he expects improvement from last week to this week.



"We're going to be better than we were last week, I believe that, and whether we don't get anybody back or not, this will be another week in the system with (Jamal) Adams and Myles Adams and Jonah and Kwon, and so I know that they'll be better," Campbell said.

"But we'll do whatever we have to to win the game."



nbianchi@detroitnews.com

@nolanbianchi

[Tom]

I saw Rob Parker calling Campbell a bad coach in the past week. I can’t remember the last time I thought Rob made sense with one of his “hot takes”.

[DanO]

I saw Rob Parker calling Campbell a bad coach in the past week. I can’t remember the last time I thought Rob made sense with one of his “hot takes”.

I had forgot about him. Always thought he was terrible. I was right. They were talking about him on Ermanni and Edwards yesterday. Reminded me of what an asshole he is.