Lions and Turkeys and Bears. Oh My! Thanksgiving Game Day Thread 11/28/24

[froot loops]

One of the strengths of Campbell is they work a lot of end game situations.

I've said it before but as Lion fans we have been spoiled for 15 years with stellar end of game comebacks. Stafford had a lot to do with it. A lot of teams are not good at it. But if you get a penalty and then get sacked, you have to call a timeout.

Two things teams don't do enough of in a two minute drills.

1. Spike the ball upon gaining a first down the seconds you save are much more valuable than an extra down
2. Use the timeouts earlier, use them if you have a big gain. Use it if your quarterback gets sacked.

[mason reese]

Zip back to about the 2:00 warning, where Eberflus did call the time out at the play clock hit 00. Caleb walked over to the sideline with the "hey, I would have gotten it off" pout...

I'm not buying an Eberflus Did Nothing Wrong t-shirt, but this was a bum rap.

Was it a “hey, I would have gotten it off” pout or a “did you just call a timeout to save a 2 yard penalty” pout?

[froot loops]

That first timeout he took was a doozy. The 2-3 yards he might have saved was not worth it.

One of the things that you might not notice now that you noticed at the beginning of the Campbell era is how quickly they get plays in. The first year or two it seemed like they were too slow and it would cost them delay of game penalties or timeouts. A lot of it is Goff, he isn't reading a play off of his sleeve the way you saw Williams on Thanksgiving. They get both plays into Goff and they are at the line pretty quick to make the pre-snap adjustments.

[Meano.Culpa]

Was it a “hey, I would have gotten it off” pout or a “did you just call a timeout to save a 2 yard penalty” pout?

My bad. Bears timeout #2 was with 43 seconds left.

Bears had second-and-ten at the Lions' 25. This was one snap after the DPI on Vildor. Williams had just turfed what really should have been the game-winner. (Kmet finally learned how to disguise a pick and D.J. Moore got open by two steps on a crosser.) The game clock was stopped due to the incomplete pass. Williams ran the play clock all the way down and Eberflus called the TO. Then Williams hit Allen on the play that got wiped out by Jenkins' attempted decapitation of McNeill.

Eberflus probably should have realized that Williams can't move fast pre-snap yet. When Turner and Smith split the sack coming out of the two-minute warning, Williams needed 30 seconds on a running clock to get the ball snapped. After Za'Darius' sack on the second-to-last play of the game, Eberflus should have called the last timeout before Williams even got off of the turf.

I do think the Bears have their QB. Williams has "it" and is going to be trouble in the next year or two. But, for right now, Tom Brady he ain't when it comes to on-field game management.

[mason reese]

My bad. Bears timeout #2 was with 43 seconds left.

Bears had second-and-ten at the Lions' 25. This was one snap after the DPI on Vildor. Williams had just turfed what really should have been the game-winner. (Kmet finally learned how to disguise a pick and D.J. Moore got open by two steps on a crosser.) The game clock was stopped due to the incomplete pass. Williams ran the play clock all the way down and Eberflus called the TO. Then Williams hit Allen on the play that got wiped out by Jenkins' attempted decapitation of McNeill.

Eberflus probably should have realized that Williams can't move fast pre-snap yet. When Turner and Smith split the sack coming out of the two-minute warning, Williams needed 30 seconds on a running clock to get the ball snapped. After Za'Darius' sack on the second-to-last play of the game, Eberflus should have called the last timeout before Williams even got off of the turf.

I do think the Bears have their QB. Williams has "it" and is going to be trouble in the next year or two. But, for right now, Tom Brady he ain't when it comes to on-field game management.

ahhh, gotcha! Forgot the context of time put #2.

Everything I’ve read in the aftermath makes it sound like Eberflus had lost the locker room, and when a coach loses the locker room it’s hard to get them back.

During the first season and the rough start of the second season, I don’t remember hearing any grumbling coming out of the Lions lockerrrom