Tag: Aaron Glenn

Studs and Duds for the Lions’ overtime loss to the Seahawks

Here are the Detroit Lions Studs and Duds after dropping their home opener to the Seattle Seahawks in overtime

The Detroit Lions were left disheartened today after they suffered a devastating loss to the Seattle Seahawks in their home opener. The match went into overtime, but the Lions lost 37-31, much to the disappointment of their fans.

Despite their recent victory against the Kansas City Chiefs, the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Lions were unable to maintain their form against the Seahawks, which was frustrating for their supporters. The team had plenty of time to prepare for the game, but their performance was lackluster and below par, which ultimately cost them the win. A combination of injuries and questionable coaching decisions made it difficult for the Lions to recover and make a comeback.

After such a loss, there will undoubtedly be some finger-pointing and analysis of what went wrong. However, there were some positives to take away from the game. Here are some of the Studs and Duds for the Lions in their game against the Seahawks.

5 biggest fears for the 2023 Detroit Lions

Laying out the five biggest fears entering the season for the 2023 Detroit Lions

Excitement surrounding the Detroit Lions as the 2023 season begins is higher than it’s been in a very long time. The team’s strong finish in 2022, roster upgrades at several spots and impressive football culture cultivated by head coach Dan Campbell have the Lions favored to win their first-ever NFC North division title.

I’m a believer in the hope. I’m a believer in the Lions winning the division and perhaps even a playoff game (or two). But I’m also a longtime Lions fan who has seen promising offseason expectations crash and burn egregiously.

One of the ways to cope with and ultimately conquer fear is to acknowledge the validity of the root. Identify what is plausibly worrisome (clowns) and what is a completely irrational fear (mine is a very strange but very real fear of centrifuges).

In that spirit, here are my biggest fears surrounding the 2023 Detroit Lions. We’ll see which become potential sinkholes (another big fear of mine) and which are ghosts that are really just silly dust bunnies in the breeze.

 

Aaron Glenn breaks down his Lions LB corps and how they’ll play together

Glenn is excited about Alex Anzalone, Derrick Barnes, Jack Campbell and Malcolm Rodriguez

For years, Detroit Lions fans have lamented the team’s linebacking corps. That appears ready to change in 2023.

Detroit has four linebackers who will play a lot in the coming season. Coordinator Aaron Glenn’s base defense almost never plays more than two at a time, but the improved depth and playmaking ability around the unit gives Glenn a lot more flexibility at LB than he’s had in his first two seasons.

Glenn praised his LBs in his weekly press conference before Saturday’s practice session, laying out what each backer brings to the team. Glenn kicked it off with veteran Alex Anzalone.

“Man, obviously Alex (Anzalone), he’s the field general. I mean he knows this defense like the back of his hand. He’s been with me for a long time. I would say that’s his strong point. Also, I would say in coverage is his strong point.”

Glenn then turned to first-round rookie Jack Campbell. No. 46 played a lot in preseason and looked NFL-ready.

“Jack (Campbell): big, strong, physical, blue-collar, hard worker, easily can pick a defense up, which he’s already done and he fits who we are to a T,” Glenn said of the Iowa rookie.

Next up was Derrick Barnes, who projects to start next to Anzalone even with the significant draft investment in Campbell. The third-year LB took a significant step forward in his development this offseason, showing better awareness, quicker reactions and a better ability to defeat blocks all summer.

“Derrick Barnes: explosive, fast, violent, get downhill, knock someone out type of mentality. That’s his strong point,” Glenn said.

Last but not least was last year’s rookie revelation, Malcolm Rodriguez. Glenn kept it simple for the fan-favorite “Rodrigo,”

“Malcolm (is) just a bulldog.”

Okay, coach, Who starts? Glenn answered thusly,

“So, I would say this, all those guys deserve to play, all those guys will play. The thing is they have a role on special teams also, so that’s a good thing because you have your best players out on the field. So, man, I’m looking forward to those guys playing throughout the season. I can’t tell you exactly how much they’re going to play, but they’re going to play.”

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Aaron Glenn offers a warning about reading too much into practice reps

Lions DC Aaron Glenn offers a warning about reading too much into which players are on getting first-team reps in practice

Read any practice report from Detroit Lions training camp, including my own, and you’re bound to see some iteration of “Player X got first-team reps.” It’s generally for players who aren’t expected to be starters.

It’s factual information, but sometimes the facts don’t always tell the complete story. Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn made sure to emphasize that point before Monday’s practice session.

Glenn riffed off a basic point about second-round rookie DB Brian Branch getting some first-team reps.

“Listen guys, listen, we’re going to play guys with different – in different packages,” Glenn addressed to the media room. “We’re going to play guys with the ones, we’re going to play guys with the twos, because you don’t want guys going against the same guys every time. Alright, so don’t get so caught up in where guys are at.”

Glenn noted he learned that from legendary head coach Bill Parcells, and that head coach Dan Campbell also learned the same lesson while playing under Parcells.

Branch is one of several Lions who aren’t expected to start who have taken training camp reps with the starters. Third-round DT Brodric Martin, safety Ifeatu Melifonwu and udrafted rookie CB Starling Thomas have all gotten auditions to see how they stacked up with the starters over the last three days of practice.

Glenn concluded the press conference with the same admonition, albeit with a light tone and a knowing smile,

“…to see if he can play, you have to let him play with the first team, so please stop writing he’s with the first team. Please, alright.”

Detroit Lions Training Camp Battles: Cornerbacks

Breaking down the Detroit Lions depth chart at cornerback to start training camp in 2023

One of the most improved units for the Detroit Lions this off-season has been in their secondary. Much of that is for their success in signing three defensive backs in free agency while drafting another in the 2023 NFL Draft.

When you look at their first big signing in free agency for Detroit, it was a three-year contract that landed them cornerback Cameron Sutton. During his first six seasons in the NFL, Sutton played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He found plenty of success and is coming off the best year of his career in 2022 with 43 tackles, 15 pass deflections and three interceptions. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he ended up as the team’s top cornerback for the next few seasons.

While looking into upgrading the secondary, the Lions made a surprising move by trading away former first-round pick, Jeff Okudah. While it was somewhat of a head scratching move at the time, it makes sense with Okudah feeling like damaged goods from being picked by a previous regime and injuries.

So the alternative move for the Lions was to get some additional draft capital and look back into free agency after adding Sutton. This additional move was by signing veteran cornerback Emmanuel Moseley. Last season, Moseley played in five games and had five pass breakups and an interception. He had torn his ACL and was expected to have a limited market in free agency.

That could be why Moseley signed a one-year contract with Detroit. He’ll need to prove that he’s healthy and hasn’t lost a step. The hope for the Lions is that Moseley returns to form from a few seasons ago. Prior to last year, he played in 39 games with 28 starts. This led to 3 interceptions and 28 pass deflections.

It would make sense if fans are eager to pencil Moseley into the starting cornerback role opposite of Sutton. He’s the obvious choice but the key will be if he’s healthy or not. If he’s not, the Lions could very well turn to a familiar face in Jerry Jacobs.

For Jacobs, he missed the beginning of last season from a torn ACL in 2021. However, once he got activated, he found success on the field and made some key pass breakups in the second half of the season. Jacobs finished 2022 with an interception and 8 pass deflections while playing in 12 games.

It’s worth noting that Jacobs will be a restricted free agent (RFA) this off-season. Him being on the field often and having success should be a driving force for him to earn an extension in Detroit.

Lastly, the Lions will have plenty of options and versatility at the nickle corner spot of their defense. The surprise move this off-season was by signing C.J. Gardner-Johnson to a one-year deal. Nobody saw that move coming but it’s a move that could really get the Lions secondary to the next level.

Over his four year career with the Saints and Eagles, Gardner-Johnson has 11 interceptions and 36 pass deflections while tallying 228 total tackles. Last season for the Eagles, he had a career year with 6 interceptions and 8 pass deflections and 67 tackles. With Gardner-Johnson, he’s versatile enough to play down in the box, cover the slot or even be a single high safety if the Lions run a Cover 1 defense.

If Gardner-Johnson isn’t covering the slot, I’d expect the Lions to turn to Brian Branch or Will Harris. As we know, Harris has spent his entire career in Detroit and in fact, played a career-high of 68% of snaps in the slot last season (per PFF). He had 10 starts and recorded his first career interception.

I’d expect Harris to see somewhat of a dip in production and with his snap count this upcoming season. Much of that could be due to the Lions selecting Alabama defensive back Brian Branch in the 2nd Round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

With Branch, he’s dynamite in a small package. He won’t drop any jaws with his straight line speed (4.58 time in the 40-yard dash) but he’s physical, versatile and his been praised for his football IQ. I’d expect for Branch to shadow Gardner-Johnson during training camp but most importantly, I’d keep tabs on how many times he’s aligned in the slot and taking snaps as the nickle corner of the Lions defense.

Ultimately, this Lions secondary has gotten tremendously better. It’s probably the group I’m most anxious to see during training camp and the preseason. If all goes right, here’s how I predict the Lions secondary for the 2023 season:

  • CB1: Cameron Sutton
  • CB2: Jerry Jacobs until Emmanuel Moseley is healthy
  • Nickle: Brian Branch with a rotation of C.J. Gardner Johnson and Will Harris
  • FS: Kerby Joseph
  • SS: C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Tracy Walker

I’d expect the Lions to have multiple packages for their secondary with a combination of players at a variety of spots. I’d be somewhat surprised if Kerby Joseph wasn’t the team’s starting free safety with how well he played as a rookie and just due to his ball skills.

As I put in the diagram above, I’d expect times that we see more of a DIME defense from the Lions. It would present the Lions the option to have Joseph, Walker, Gardner-Johnson and Branch on the field at the same time. Much of that will depend on the success that we see from Sutton, Moseley and Jacobs on the perimeter of the defense.

Report: Hard Knocks may not force the Saints into 2023 feature

The Detroit News’ John Niyo reports Hard Knocks may not force the New Orleans Saints into a 2023 feature, instead considering the Lions for a second season:

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The New Orleans Saints may not be forced into a “Hard Knocks” feature in 2023 after all; the Detroit News’ John Niyo reports that NFL Films reached out to the Detroit Lions about being their featured team for a second consecutive season.

Last summer’s spotlight was good for Detroit, helping to build a lot of hype for Dan Campbell’s team before their surprising 9-win season ended with an upset of the Green Bay Packers, eliminating Aaron Rodgers’ squad from playoff contention in his final game at Lambeau Field. The HBO feature made household names out of many undersung talents in Detroit, including former Saints assistant coach Aaron Glenn (the Lions defensive coordinator) and charismatic running back Jamaal Williams, who went on to lead the league in touchdown runs (before he signed with the Saints as a free agent, ironically).

So it makes sense that Campbell and the Lions might be up for a second summer in front of the cameras. That can’t be said for Saints head coach Dennis Allen, who has voiced his opposition to a “Hard Knocks” feature while seeing it as a distraction. While the Lions are trending up, the Saints just had their worst record in a decade, and Allen’s job should be on the line this season. Anything he can do to keep his players and coaches focused would be important. Having videographers tailing them everywhere during training camp and in the preseason wouldn’t exactly achieve that goal.

But the Saints could still be forced into hosting “Hard Knocks” this year. So could the Chicago Bears, New York Jets, and Washington Commanders as teams without first-year head coaches, winning records, or playoff berths. If the Lions decline this opportunity and no other volunteers emerge, the producers at HBO and NFL Films could twist Allen’s arm. Of course they’d rather have a willing partner. We’ll find out who’s hosting in the weeks ahead.

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Watch: 1st Lions OTA practice recap and breakdown

Thoughts and observations on the press conferences, undrafted rookies, Jamo, Levi O and more

After the first Detroit Lions OTA session open to the media, I had a lot on my mind. In conjunction with the Detroit Lions Podcast, I shot a recap video summarizing what stood out in Allen Park on a brisk but sunny Thursday afternoon.

Among the topics covered in the summary video:

  • Aaron Glenn’s press conference thoughts
  • The ever-fluid kicker situation
  • Jameson Williams not having a great day
  • Some of the Lions UDFAs who stood out
  • Dan Campbell’s words and actions on team expectations, and also his awesome shirt
  • Levi Onwuzurike’s status
  • What’s important to watch in May and what can be put aside

The audio-only version of the show is available via your favorite podcast provider.

Aaron Glenn very confident in EDGE Josh Paschal entering his second season

Glenn is excited to see what Paschal can do in his 2nd season with a healthy offseason

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He’s a bit of a forgotten entity for a lot of Lions fans, and certainly for national media pundits. However, the Lions themselves know the name Josh Paschal very well.

The second-year EDGE had a rough start to his Lions career. Coming off an injury that ended his college career at Kentucky, Pashcal then suffered a different injury during training camp that cost him half his rookie season.

Paschal came in and played the final half of his rookie season, and he showed glimpses of why Detroit valued him as a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft. In 10 games, starting four, Paschal registered 16 tackles, two sacks and two TFLs.

Throughout the offseason, the Lions have quietly set expectations pretty high for Paschal in his second season. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn made those aspirations for No. 93 public this week.

Here’s what Glenn said about Paschal prior to Thursday’s OTA session:

“I mean this is a guy, when you think about his path, like he really didn’t get a chance to have an OTA last year because he was injured. He really didn’t have much of a training camp because he was injured. I think he only played eight games, if I’m correct. So, we’re expecting that player to be the player that we drafted in the second round and actually end up improving because he’s had this time to be in the training room to work with our strength staff, to work with our coach and understand exactly what we need out of him, so absolutely I feel like this player is going to be a good player for us.”

Expect to see Paschal get every chance to keep the starting job he held down the stretch last season, a period which coincided with the team playing much better defense.

How the Detroit Lions restored the roar with their new secondary in free agency

With free agents Cameron Sutton, Emmanuel Moseley, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson, the Detroit Lions have completely remade a secondary in desperate need.

In 2022, the Detroit Lions finished with a 9-8 record, just missing the playoffs right at the end of the regular season, and compiling the franchise’s first winning record since 2017. The Lions and head coach Dan Campbell did so despite a defense that ranked 28th in Defensive DVOA, and a secondary that allowed opposing offenses to put up some pretty garish numbers. The Lions’ cornerbacks and safeties allowed 171 completions on 295 attempts for 2,657 yards, 17 touchdowns, eight interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 95.8, which was the fourth-worst in the NFL behind only the Titans, Chiefs, and Panthers. Detroit’s EPA allowed of 28.18 among their secondary was also the NFL’s fourth-worst, behind the Raiders, Bears, and Falcons, and their Positive Play Rate allowed of 47.1% was the NFL’s sixth-worst.

Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes knew that changes needed to be made if the Lions were to take a major step forward in 2023, and with two picks (sixth and 19th) in the first round of the upcoming draft, most everybody has auto-slotting the best available cornerback prospect to Detroit with that first pick in their mock drafts. That may still happen when mocks become reality in the last week of April, but the Lions’ braintrust also knew that they didn’t want to wait until the draft to start sorting it all out — free agency would have to provide more than one piece of the puzzle.

To the credit of that braintrust, the Lions went all-out and got three new members of their secondary; all potential impact players on team-friendly deals.

  • Cornerback Cameron Sutton signed a three-year, $33 million contract with $22.5 million guaranteed;
  • Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley signed a one-year, $6 million deal with $2 million guaranteed; and
  • Safety/slot defender C.J. Gardner-Johnson signed a one-year, $8 million contract.

And with that, the Lions completely remade their secondary for less than other teams might spend on one really good cornerback. It was a series of masterstrokes by Holmes and his staff, and here’s why these deals will matter so much for defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and his staff.

Detroit Lions Free Agency Plans: Jalen Ramsey and Daron Payne are off the market

Jalen Ramsey and Daron Payne are off the market. How does that impact the Detroit Lions plan in free agency?

On Sunday morning, not only did we all wake up to our clocks being moved up an hour, we also got word that the Rams were trading Jalen Ramsey. Now there were all kinds of betting odds stating that the Lions were the favorites to land Jalen Ramsey. Most of that makes sense, especially with the ties of Brad Holmes to the Rams. However, after the Sunday coffee brewed, the news broke and Ramsey wasn’t headed to Detroit.

The Miami Dolphins were able to land the Pro Bowl cornerback, not Detroit. While the Dolphins barely gave up anything, they are giving Ramsey and adjusted contract that will pay him fully guaranteed money for the next two seasons. It will average out to $20 million per season and an additional $25 million guaranteed.

I’ll say this to the Lions fans that feel like Detroit are doing it wrong for not “offering anything.” We don’t know what has been discussed behind closed doors but keep in mind that the Lions have some contract extensions that are going to have to get figured out over the next year or so. Also, Miami was the preferred destination for Ramsey. It was going to be hard to top that and to be honest; there’s no reason to get into a bidding war for a defensive back that’s approaching the age of 30 and is starting to see decline in play.

To add to the disappointment for Lions fans, not only will they not be adding Jalen Ramsey, they won’t be adding defensive tackle Daron Payne. On Sunday afternoon, the Washington Commanders announced a four-year contract extension worth $90 million dollars for Payne.

While we still need to see how the contract is formatted, it’s still a lot of money for a player that the Lions probably were never going to sign. One thing we’ve learned by watching the Brad Homes regime is that he takes a conservative approach to free agency.

So keep that in mind as we await for some crazy deals for the Lions over the next few weeks. That said, I wouldn’t expect them open the check books and just start slinging money around. The Lions could look at bringing in cornerback Jamel Dean if they wanted to sign a big name but it wouldn’t be surprising if he signed elsewhere. While I’m becoming the bearer of bad news, let’s take a look at two free agents that match the conservative approach that we’ve seen from Brad Homes and the Lions over the last two off-seasons.

CB Sean Murphy-Bunting 

Like I said, it would be pretty cool if the Lions became big time spenders and brought in Jamel Dean. But it wouldn’t be surprising if they pivot and look for a cheaper options. One player that comes to mind is New Orleans Saints cornerback P.J. Williams. He’s got some familiarity with Aaron Glenn but he’s also going to be 30-years old this summer.

So what if the Lions don’t go with the top free agent cornerback in Jamel Dean or a familiar face in PJ Williams? I could see them looking at a potential hometown kid in Sean Murphy-Bunting. Coming out of Chippewa Valley High School in Clinton Township, Michigan, he wasn’t highly recruited. He ended up at Central Michigan and carved out a very good career in Mount Pleasant. It ended up leading to him getting a Scouting Combine invite and ultimately, he ended up being a 2nd round pick to the Buccaneers in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Looking at the projected contract predictions on PFF, they’re predicting that Murphy-Bunting will get a two-year deal with $4.25 million guaranteed and an average of $3.75 million per year. While an injured quad limited him to only 9 games played for the season, Murphy-Bunting finished the 2022 season strong with six pass deflections and an interception.

As of now, Murphy-Bunting looks potentially like the odd man out in Tampa Bay due to cap restraints and some injuries over the last two seasons. With a reasonable contract and a potential trip back home, Sean Murphy-Bunting could look to Detroit for the next chapter of his NFL career.

IDL Sheldon Rankins 

As I mentioned earlier, the market for defensive tackles has been set with Daron Payne getting a $90 million dollar deal over the next four years. Teams are going to pay plenty of money for Dalvin Tomlinson, Javon Hargrave and Dre’Mont Jones. Maybe the Lions will be one of those teams, but we’ll have to wait and see.

If we follow along the conservative approach that we’ve seen from the Lions front office, the top player on the top of their list could very well be Sheldon Rankins.

Over the last two seasons, Rankins has compiled 70 tackles and six sacks for the New York Jets. Prior to that, he had spent six seasons with the New Orleans Saints. The Saints had drafted Rankins in the 2016 NFL Draft with the 12th overall pick. That would bring a player that’s familiar with Aaron Glenn on the defensive side of the football.

While Rankins will be 29-years old this spring, there’s still good reason to believe that an affordable two-year contract could be worthwhile. PFF predicts that his market value will be a two-year contract worth a total of $12 million dollars. Fairly reasonable for a player that provides some pass rush value but is also versatile and is coming off one of his best defensive graded (73.1) seasons (per PFF) since 2018.

Slotting him on the Lions defensive line gives Detroit plenty of flexibility within their rotation. Meanwhile, it gives them an explosive option on the interior. Lastly, it doesn’t force the Lions to not draft an interior defensive lineman. They could still look at a player such as Calijah Kancey, who has a similar skill-set to Rankins. Rather than breaking the bank, this could be a much more affordable option that fits what the Lions are starting to build.