Category: Lions News

Lions were the closest NFL team to breaking even in penalties in 2019

Not all penalties are created equal, of course, but the Lions wound up with the closest to even stats for 2019

Complaining about officiating is a weekly ritual for NFL fans. It’s an especially acute phenomenon for Detroit Lions fans, a programmed response based on far too many instances of being on the wrong end of the officiating hose.

But statistically speaking, the 2019 Detroit Lions were the most neutrally officiated team in the NFL. The Lions had the smallest discrepancy between penalties for/against and the smallest total penalty yardage difference of any of the 32 teams.

Detroit was assessed four fewer penalties than its opponents across the 16-game schedule. That tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the smallest range. The Lions netted 24 more yards than they were penalized, trailing only the 49ers (plus-10) for penalty yardage spread.

Penalties Penalty yards
Lions 113 937
Opponents 117 961

Even the Lions’ home/away split was almost perfectly even. Detroit was flagged 57 times at home and 56 on the road. Only the Cowboys and Texans joined Detroit at being within two total penalties of an even split.

Not all penalties, or the timing of those penalties, are equal, of course. Anyone who watched the officiating crew cleanly rob the Lions of a victory against the Green Bay Packers in Week 6 can tell you that. But on the whole, the Lions wound up having the most neutral officiating stats of any team in 2019.

All penalty data is courtesy of NFL Penalties. 

Lions 2019 rewatch: Week 7 notebook from the loss vs. the Vikings

The Lions get outcoached and outworked by the visiting Vikings, spoiling a career day from Marvin Jones

The Lions enter Week 7 coming off a short and frustrating week after the Week 6 Monday Night Football loss to the Packers. Now 2-2-1, Detroit hosts the division rival Minnesota Vikings. Minnesota is 4-2 and has won its last two games (NYG and PHI) by a combined score of 66-30.

Da’Shawn Hand and Mike Daniels are the only regulars who are inactive for the Lions. The Vikings are not missing any starters due to injury. Bradley Rogers is the referee.

First quarter

Lions get the ball first and it’s nearly a disaster right away. Matthew Stafford’s first pass should have been picked off by Eric Kendricks on a checkdown throw over the middle to Kerryon Johnson. Stafford is not sharp on this drive, missing throws to Marvin Jones and Jesse James. He dodges a bullet with a potential fumble that is overturned and ruled an incomplete pass on a play where the Lions OL fails to pick up blitzing slot CB Mackensie Alexander, who hits Stafford as he’s throwing. Give credit to the defensive scheme here as both LT Taylor Decker and LG Joe Dahl correctly locked up their marks, but nobody else was left available to block Alexander in a 7-man rush. That’s on Stafford.

The drive ends with a punt after a false start penalty on the field goal attempt (on long snapper Don Muhlbach) pushed the ball back farther than coach Patricia was comfortable with for Matt Prater’s attempt. Rather than try a 59-yard attempt, the Lions instead punted.

Detroit’s defense forces a punt on a nice 3rd-down sideline tackle by Tracy Walker, who forces the fumble out of bounds. On that play, the Lions showed eight on the line of scrimmage against a bunch formation but only rushed four. Good coverage on Adam Theilen by Darius Slay on both 2nd and 3rd downs. Jahlani Tavai posted a picture-perfect run fit on Dalvin Cook’s only carry, shedding the FB block and (with Christian Jones) striking and dropping the Vikings RB.

Graham Glasgow executes a fantastic RG pull that stonewalls the LB but K. Johnson cannot make safety Anthony Harris miss in the open field. Perfectly blocked run only gains six. It goes for at least 20 if Johnson can break Harris’ clutching at his calf.

Stafford has quickly identified his mismatch for the day: Marvin Jones vs. Xavier Rhodes on the outside. It’s basically the only viable passing target as neither Kenny Golladay nor Danny Amendola are getting any separation. Amendola cannot shake LB Anthony Barr on a quick slant. Golladay looks very sluggish early on, though he is also being held by Trae Waynes quite a bit.

Nick Bawden whiffs on a block on an edge run on his very first rep. Johnson goes down again on first contact. Stafford goes back to what’s working, finding Jones on the right sideline in the red zone. He puts a wicked spin on Waynes, gets a great seal block from T.J. Hockenson and scampers into the end zone. Prater’s conversion puts the Lions up 7-0.

Walker and A’Shawn Robinson both miss clean tackle-for-loss attempts on Cook’s first run on the next drive. The Vikings eventually score a TD on an absolutely gorgeous play fake by Kirk Cousins rolling into a bootleg to his left. Cousins feathers the ball into a microscopic window just over Quandre Diggs’s leaping and the back of the end zone to Theilen, who had a half-step on Slay but very little room. Legitimately one of the best throws I’ve ever seen.

Mike Ford just misses blocking the extra point, great effort. Tie game at 7-7.

Lions use a 3 TE set to start. Both Logan Thomas and Hockenson quickly lose their blocks and Johnson’s run goes nowhere. I love the quick screen to Jones on 3rd and short but he only gets it because of his own effort. Golladay and James both stood there and watched instead of blocking for him.

Ty Johnson takes over at RB and has some good reps, including a real nice circle route that gets the Lions into the red zone. Stafford bounces a throw to a wide open Hockenson in the back of the end zone on a play that gets negated by defensive holding. Great route, should have been six points.

A very decisive Stafford cashes in with the Jones-on-Rhodes matchup two plays later. Rocket throw, nice catch, a bewildered Rhodes looks for anyone to point a finger at for not helping him. 14-7 Lions.

Great Jarrad Davis blitz forces a scared Cousins to just chuck the ball away on the final play of the quarter. Davis blasted through the line and put two people on the ground on the way to Cousins.

Second quarter

Cousins connects with Diggs on another fantastic throw. Slay is in perfect phase in coverage but is late to recognize the ball. This is a fun matchup. The two respectfully tap one another’s behinds after the play.

The Vikings OTs, Riley Reiff on the left and Brian O’Neill on the right, are winning against the EDGEs, primarily Devon Kennard and Romeo Okwara, on just about every run attempt. It’s very noticeable on this drive. Tavai and Will Harris are missing their run fits and that’s not helping.

Legit defensive penalties on Slay and Coleman (negating a Tracy Walker end zone INT; Patricia challenged the call and lost) set the Vikings up for a too-easy Cousins TD pass to Olabisi Johnson. Nice play scheme by the Vikings sets up some natural picks, something the Lions simply do not utilize in the red zone. We’re tied at 14.

The Vikings learned from the Packers game in Week 6 that the Lions do not throw the ball out of 2TE sets well. Their safety is almost at the line of scrimmage waiting for the run plays every time the Lions have a dual TE on one side of the line. A great Sam Martin punt is the only saving grace of the Lions next possession.

I make the point about the safety usage for MIN because the Vikings are frequently deploying 2TE sets, but the Lions safety (Diggs on this drive but also Harris) don’t even take one step forward from their normal spot to counter the formation. Diggs is actually starting deeper than normal on some of these runs.

Coleman strips Stefon Diggs on a crossing route but the Vikings get lucky and recover the fumble. The next play, Damon Harrison goes down with an injury. He’d been nicely occupying the middle of the field against the run. The next run comes right at the gap and John Atkins is blown aside too easily. Another missed run fit for Tavai, who can’t get off the block. Cook runs almost at will and scores to put the Vikings up 21-14. The right side of the Lions defense (Okwara, Davis, Coleman, Diggs) offers zero resistance on the runs late in the drive.

Golladay finally gets a sniff off play-action down the field. Great blitz pickup by Ty Johnson. In the red zone, Frank Ragnow gets called for a hold on a play where Vikings NT Shamar Stephen is guilty of prolonged hands to the face. The officials give the Lions a terrible make-up call with a mythical roughing the passer against Everson Griffen on the next play. Two plays after that, Anthony Barr–playing a spy role on Stafford with a 3-man rush–gets called for roughing the passer after crashing into the QB when Stafford throws it away because neither Golladay nor Amendola can get an inch of separation.

Stafford correctly finds the best matchup with Jones isolated on backup CB Mike Hughes and the quick-strike TD ties the game at 21 on the last play of the quarter. Great catch by Jones, who has been the best player on the field so far for either team. Fun first half of offensive football for both teams.

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Nick Williams relying on extra meeting time to learn scheme during virtual offseason

Detroit Lions’ new defensive tackle Nick Williams is leaning on coaches and extra meeting time to try and familiarized himself with the defensive scheme.

Detroit Lions’ new defensive tackle Nick Williams is going into his eighth season in NFL but he only emerged as a defensive presence last season with the Chicago Bears.

Williams is intelligent and a hard worker, so why has it taken him so long to get his footing in the league?

“Sometimes you get lost in the shuffle, that’s just the NFL,” Williams said via a virtual press conference on Wednesday. “You get lost behind guys, you play behind big-name guys your whole career, you don’t get the reps, the opportunity, and once it’s available to you’re either going to succeed or your not. I was given the opportunity last year and I succeeded, and I want to continue to succeed.”

While Williams made a name for himself last year, and definitely earned his payday with the Lions, if he wants to continue his success, he will have a new set of problems to overcome in 2020.

Outside of rookies John Penisini and Jashon Cornell, every other Lions defensive linemen has experience playing in the Lions’ defensive scheme — except Williams.

With facilities being shutdown for Spring mini-camps, Williams is missing out on key opportunities to learn the scheme via first-hand experience. So what is he doing to make up the difference and not get left behind?

“Hopping on more calls with our defensive line coach Bo (Davis), and trying to get as familiar as I can,” Williams said. “Nothing beats being able to actually walk through the defenses, be with defensive players, be able to do OTAs, and go through different checks and calls, nothing beats that. But, the way you can kinda get to that level is more meeting time.

“More meeting time with Bo (Davis), more meeting time with coach Undlin (defensive coordinator), I just have to continue — once the Zoom meeting calls are done — I’m going to still be hopping on calls with them to help walk me through it. Once we are able to report and get rolling, we gotta have everything rolling at a certain tempo, so I don’t want to be left behind, (or get lost) in the shuffle, because I’m lagging in the playroom. I want to be on point, so it’s just more meeting time.”

But Williams can’t, and won’t, stop there. Once he gets to camp in the fall he will have to put what he has learned into practice. One big thing Williams does have working for him is through years of adversity he has learned to never be comfortable where he is at.

“I’ve seen every face of this league, so I am never comfortable. And I think once you get comfortable, you don’t have anything to strive for. I’m not the top defensive tackle but that’s something I want to strive for. I want to bring good football to the Detroit defensive line.”

Justin Coleman inspired to act by the murder of high school teammate Ahmaud Arbery

Lions CB Justin Coleman inspired to act by the murder of high school teammate Ahmaud Arbery

For Lions cornerback Justin Coleman, the protest movement against police brutality and racism have a deeply personal connection. Coleman was a high school teammate of Ahmaud Arbery, the African-American man killed by two white men while jogging in Georgia.

In a teleconference call with Detroit reporters on Wednesday, Coleman talked about his relationship with Arbery and how well he knew the murdered man and his family.

“Ahmaud actually was one of my younger brother’s best friends and just to watch him dealing with the situation brings pain to me and I’m just – obviously, everyone wanted justice for the situation because it was just a wrongdoing and I’m just not sure how we can … create a change.”

Coleman is both surprised and inspired by the reaction to the death of his friend. Arbery was one year behind Coleman at Brunswick High School.

“I was just thinking in my head like, dang, your purpose basically was to start this movement and try to change the world ’cause now your life does have a purpose,” Coleman said. “His name is being continuously talked about every single day now.”

Coleman and Lions safety Tracy Walker, another Brunswick-area native who has referred to Arbery as his cousin, are working to help spread the word amongst Lions players. It’s something that has had an impact, notably on center Frank Ragnow.

“We just want to open up eyes and help educate people on what’s going on,” Coleman said. “What’s really happening in this world, because we want it to be a better place.”

Kerryon Johnson ‘excited’ to share backfield with D’Andre Swift

Detroit Lions running back Kerryon Johnson virtually spoke to the media on Wednesday and said he is “excited” to share a backfield with second-round rookie D’Andre Swift.

Detroit Lions running back Kerryon Johnson spoke to the media on Wednesday and explained why he is looking forward to sharing a backfield with second-round rookie D’Andre Swift.

“I’m excited, he’s a phenomenal player,” Johnson said. “I remember playing against him in college and I hated seeing him — every time. We played against Nick Chubb and Sony (Michel), and I’m telling you when that kid (Swift) stepped on the field, he’s lightning in a bottle. He’s threatening to go 80-yards, 70-, 60-, every time he touched it.

“So, I’m excited. I can learn from him, he can learn from me, we can all learn from each other and we can all get better and win some games.”

Players can often feel pressure when teams invest in other talents at their position but the Lions deploy their running backs in a rotation, so when Johnson was asked if he felt he was “put on notice” with the Lions drafting another player at his position so high in the draft, Johnson took the opposite approach.

“Look, I knew we were going to draft another running back eventually. I think we got, in my opinion, definitely one of the top two (in this draft class). I love having a running mate, I love winning games, and I think he can help us do that, so I wasn’t tripping at all.”

Johnson would go on to explain why he and Swift would complement each other in the backfield rather than being in direct competition.

“Obviously we are two different people. He’s a lot more elusive — I think everybody would agree to that. But just having multiple running backs that are capable of running the ball at an efficient level, — whether the style is different or the style is the same — it just takes the stress off one another.”

Johnson said he was happy with the depth at the position and noted that outside of the rookies, the other returning backs have all started in the NFL — Bo Scarbrough (5), Ty Johnson (1), and Wes Hill (1) — and he believes they will “all get along just fine.”

Former Lions RB Joique Bell to lead ‘Belle Isle Freedom March’ on Friday

Former Detroit Lions running back Joique Bell helped organize and will lead the “Belle Isle Freedom March” on Friday in Detroit.

Former Detroit Lions running back Joique Bell helped organize and will lead the “Belle Isle Freedom March” on Friday in Detroit, with the goal of working towards strengthening relationships between minority communities and local police.

The march starts at 3:00 pm EST, and participants will begin silently walking from Gabriel Richard Park just before the bridge at 4:00 pm.

“It isn’t just a march just to say we did it,” Bell told Dave Birkett of the Free Press. “It’s to march and then to start a dialogue and to bridge that gap with the civilians who are Detroit citizens and also with the local police and the state police, and ultimately kind of be the staple of this is how you should go about creating a change.”

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In an effort to gain more awareness for this event, Bell reached out to the Lions and asked them to support him.

“When I called president (Rod) Wood and told him about our initiative and what we’re trying to get accomplished and what we wanted to get done, he was all in, no questions asked,” Bell said. “(Wood asked), ‘What do we need? How can we be a part? We want this to be successful and we want you guys to know that we are standing with you. That spoke volume to his character and the organization.”

The Lions have promoted the march on social media and several members of the organization, including players, plan on attending.

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Trey Flowers urges folks to ‘try listening’ to the protests and people of different backgrounds

“It’s not wrong to not know, it’s wrong to not want to know”.

Lions defensive end Trey Flowers is typically a man of few public words. But Flowers was compelled to address the ongoing protests and the death of George Floyd that are dominating the nation right now. He titled his address “It’s not wrong to not know, it’s wrong to not want to know”.

In his nearly 10-minute video post on his Instagram account, Flowers described how the messages being transmitted and received often resemble the “telephone game”, where it gets progressively diluted and distorted the more people get involved in the chain of conversation.

“Try listening” was Flowers’ impassioned plea to folks who are upset with the protest movement. It’s worth the time to watch–and listen–to what Flowers has to say.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CBBivzRFAkP/?igshid=1pspxx8w71vw1

Oday Aboushi donates 35,000 pounds of food to his hometown food bank

Lions offensive guard Oday Aboushi donated and distributed 35,000 pounds of food, and he joined The Jim Rome Show to talk about it.

Lions offensive guard Oday Aboushi is one of the genuinely good people you’ll meet in life. Throughout his journeyman NFL career, he’s always been a generous and thoughtful man. He proved his giving spirit once again this week, and Aboushi joined the Jim Rome Show to talk about it.

Aboushi and his sister donated 35,000 pounds of food, including fresh produce, to those in need in his home city, New York.

“It was amazing,” Aboushi told Rome enthusiastically. “We can’t take all the credit. We teamed up with a bunch of amazing community members.”

Aboushi humbly describes “the rush” of feeling the support and gratitude of his community.

It’s great to see a player remembering and honoring his roots and using his success to help those who helped him succeed.

Lions release a statement on “racism and social injustice”

The Detroit Lions have released a statement centered around racism and social injustice.

The Detroit Lions have put Phase 3 of their offseason training program aside in favor of discussions surrounding racism and social injustice, following the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery (Lions safety Tracy Walker’s cousin).

Today, the organization released the following statement:

“The painful examples of racism and social injustice reflected in the senseless deaths happening in our country are incredibly disturbing and it is clear that immediate change is necessary.

Over the last several days, it was important for our team to gather virtually so that the pain, confusion, anger and frustration that people are feeling could be shared as we attempt to process what is happening around us. This range of emotion has consumed the time we have spent together as a team this week. Our internal conversations have been powerful and emotional. We will continue to listen, support our players and learn as we press forward together.

Right is right and wrong is wrong. What is happening is not acceptable. We recognize that the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery are only the most recent examples plaguing our communities. Our club vows to expand on the work already being done in the Detroit community – through real action and conversation – to help our team make an impact in areas of great need. We have a duty to lead these conversations now and always, but it is equally if not more important that we continue to LISTEN. The events over the past week are a hurtful reminder that we have a long way to go with inclusion, diversity and equality for all people.

We have a responsibility to create positive change.”

Matt Patricia alters team meetings away from football and towards conversations on racism

The Detroit Lions were supposed to begin Phase 3 of their offseason on Monday but instead pivoted to player-led meetings surrounding racism.

The Detroit Lions were supposed to begin Phase 3 of their offseason on Monday but instead, they pivoted to player-led meetings surrounding racism and the current protests happening across the country.

Late Tuesday night, coach Matt Patricia spoke with MMQB’s Albert Breer and discussed how the team shifted their team meetings away from football in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.

After watching the video of Floyd’s death, Patricia told Breer that “Honestly, I was just disgusted, angry, sad, depressed. The range of emotion, you watch the video, someone being murdered and you’re like … I didn’t even know how to process it. And the range of emotion I know I felt in watching that was only one-tenth of a fraction of a minute percent of what my players must’ve been feeling.”

Patricia discussed how he knew he was out of his depth on this topic and that the best thing he could do for his players was to put football conversations on hold and allow them to share their thoughts, feelings, and experiences related to the current events.

“It was just about listening and making sure we tried to get on and open it up for conversation, real conversation, truthful conversation, honest conversation, heartfelt conversation,” Patricia said. “And really, honestly, credit to my players for leading that. They’re the ones that really were able to get it to where it became so powerful.”

The Lions held both large (120 people) and small (only position groups) meetings, giving players multiple ways to share depending on their comfort level.

After two days of player-led conversations, and an off day on Wednesday, it’s still a bit unclear when the Lions will get back to football but Patricia is confident his players will help him decide when it’s the right time.

“When everyone’s ready to talk and move in that direction of football, we’ll move when the team wants to move,” Patricia said. “I think the one thing to understand there—we won’t move away from the conversation. It’s just, at some point, you’re having the conversation and then you’re also working on what we do, which is football.”

The Lions have not yet made a public statement regarding the events surrounding Floyd’s death or the fallout since, but one is expected to be made soon.