Tag: Alex Anzalone

Lions flashback: Alex Anzalone, Kalif Raymond signed 3 years ago

3 years ago the Lions first signed Alex Anzalone and Kalif Raymond. They would epitomize the Brad Holmes free agency blueprint

It’s been three years to the day since the Lions added free agents Alex Anzalone and Kalif Raymond into the den. What at the time seemed like minor moves have turned into very shrewd deals for Detroit. They were also early indicators of the type of free agents that this Lions regime, and specifically GM Brad Holmes, are looking to add every year.

Anzalone was one of head coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn’s former players with the New Orleans Saints, so he was not a surprise signing for the new regime in Detroit. Added on a one-year deal worth $1.75 million, the off-ball LB was a calculated gamble on a really good athlete and high football IQ player who had struggled to stay healthy in his career.

Raymond was more under-the-radar. A seldom-used, 5-foot-8 wideout for the Titans, Raymond’s signing did little to excite Lions fans accustomed to splashier additions. He was primarily viewed as the Jamal Agnew replacement as the Lions’ return specialist and gadget-play wideout. Of course, Raymond has proven to be much more than that. Only Amon-Ra St. Brown and Josh Reynolds have caught more passes for Detroit over the last three seasons than Raymond, who has also been a special teams fixture.

Both Anzalone and Raymond have re-signed with Detroit since those first free-agent contracts three years ago. Nothing says Brad Holmes more than that; instead of signing outsiders to lucrative long-term deals, Holmes offers fair-market, short-term deals to make sure a player fits and finds his role with Dan Campbell’s team. Hitting on these two and converting them into longer-term roster staples epitomizes the Holmes-Campbell era in Detroit and the Lions’ rise into a viable Super Bowl contender.

Lions injury update: Sam LaPorta upgrades, Chase Lucas sits out

Sam LaPorta upgrades, Chase Lucas sits out of Thursday’s practice ahead of the NFC Championship game

The Detroit Lions practice participation report from Thursday’s session in Allen Park had a couple of notable changes from the Wednesday edition.

Good news first!

Tight end Sam LaPorta upgraded from out on Wednesday to being a limited participant on Thursday. The All-Pro is still dealing with the knee injury he suffered in Week 18. LaPorta has played in both playoff games and is expected to do so again, barring any setbacks.

Now for the negative…

Special teams standout Chase Lucas sat out with an undisclosed illness. Lucas has been fantastic as the gunner on special teams since returning to the Lions after being cut during the season.

Frank Ragnow, Jonah Jackson and Kalif Raymond all remained out. Ragnow is the only one of that trio who projects to be available to play in San Francisco on Sunday.

Linebacker Alex Anzalone and wideout Josh Reynolds were limited for the second day in a row. Anzalone has been playing through broken ribs. Reynolds is also dealing with a rib injury.

[lawrence-related id=102681]

17 ex-Saints will compete in AFC, NFC Championship Games

17 ex-Saints players and coaches will compete in the AFC, NFC Championship Games for a shot at advancing to Super Bowl LVIII:

The New Orleans Saints won’t be competing in this weekend’s AFC and NFC Championship Games, but many of their former players and coaches will be fighting for the chance to advance to Super Bowl LVIII.

By our count, 17 former Saints have a shot at moving on to the final stage — here’s a quick look at the list suiting up for the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions, and San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Lions final injury report for divisional round game vs. Buccaneers

Lions final injury report for divisional round game vs. Buccaneers has one player out and two more questoinable

The final Detroit Lions injury report for the Divisional Round matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is a pretty light one for the home team. The Lions only ruled out one player due to injury, with two others questionable after Friday’s practice.

Wide receiver and primary return specialist Kalif Raymond will miss his second consecutive game with a knee injury. Raymond was injured in the Week 18 win over the Minnesota Vikings. He did not practice at all during the week.

Tight end Sam LaPorta and EDGE James Houston are each listed as questionable. LaPorta was limited in the final two days of practice with his knee injury, also suffered in the regular-season finale against the Vikings. Houston, activated off the injured reserve on Thursday, is still dealing with the ankle injury he suffered in Week 2.

All other Lions players were full participants in the final two days of practice and none carry any injury designation status for Sunday’s game.

Lions injury report: Kalif Raymond still out, Cam Sutton no longer listed

Raymond was the only Lions player who was listed as not practicing in Wednesday’s walkthrough

The first Detroit Lions practice participation report for the team’s Divisional Round matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a couple of interesting points. The Lions released an estimated participation from Wednesday’s walkthrough.

The only player listed as not participating is wide receiver Kalif Raymond. The speedy receiver and return specialist remains sidelined with a knee injury suffered in the Week 18 win over the Vikings. Frank Ragnow would have sat it out as a veteran rest day, too.

Linebacker Alex Anzalone was listed as limited with shoulder and rib injuries. Anzalone briefly left the win over the Rams with a shoulder issue, which he appeared to suffer on the game’s opening drive.

Some other players who have ongoing injuries were noted as full participants. That includes TE Sam LaPorta, who played without limits in Sunday night’s win. Cornerback Cam Sutton was not one of those, however. Sutton has been a fixture on the injury reports with a toe issue, but he is no longer deemed injured enough to earn a mention on the injury report.

Film room: What I learned from the Lions win over the Rams

Film room: What I learned from the Lions playoff win over the Rams

For the first time in 32 years, the Detroit Lions won a playoff game. Sunday night’s nail-biting win over the visiting Los Angeles Rams ended the longest postseason victory drought in the NFL and set up a second playoff home date in the same postseason for the Lions for the first time in franchise history.

The emotions of the real-time watch on Sunday night made concrete analysis somewhat difficult. The re-watch of the All-22 and broadcast feed on Tuesday morning was a more measured, analytical take. Here’s what I took away from the film review of the Lions wild card win over the Rams.

All 30 of the former Saints players competing in the playoffs

All 30 of the former Saints players competing in the playoffs, from Terron Armstead and Teddy Bridgewater to Sheldon Rankins and Willie Snead:

Who should New Orleans Saints fans pull for in the playoffs? A lot of fans may have already checked out now that the black and gold were eliminated, and some may be choosing their own personal favorites to win it all. But if you’re interested in keeping up with the former Saints on new teams, we’ve got everything you need.

There are plenty of players who suited up for New Orleans competing in the postseason, as are former Saints coaches like Frank Smith and Vic Fangio (with the Miami Dolphins) as well as former scouts like Omar Khan (the Pittsburgh Steelers general manager). To say nothing of former Saints assistant coaches Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn doing big things with the Detroit Lions. The division-rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the only team in the playoffs without a single former Saints player on their roster.

Here’s a quick look at the former Saints players on each playoff team going into the wild-card round:

Takeaways from the Lions Week 17 loss to the Cowboys

Takeaways from the Lions Week 17 loss to the Cowboys, focusing on the game and not the 2-pt. conversion

The Detroit Lions lost a controversial, competitive Week 17 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday night. The Lions fell 20-19 in one of the most bizarre end-of-game scenes in NFL history.

Detroit had an interesting game throughout the night. The focus here is on the football game that took place before and around the unbelievable (using that word in its literal definition) officiating mess.

Snap count notes from the Lions win over the Broncos

Lions snap count notes from the win over Denver, including DB and RB splits and an intact offensive line

One of the first things that jumps out from the Detroit Lions’ snap count notes in the Week 15 win over the Denver Broncos is the continuity of the starters. It’s especially true on offense.

The entire starting offensive line played each and every one of the 66 offensive snaps. It was the first time since the Week 10 win over the Chargers that the team’s top five — Taylor Decker, Jonah Jackson, Frank Ragnow, Graham Glasgow, Penei Sewell — started and finished a game together. And it showed on the field, with the Lions rolling to almost 200 rushing yards.

Those rushes came from David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs in an almost even split of snaps. Montgomery played 34, while Gibbs got 32. No other RBs played. The Lions also did not use a fullback, though Dan Skipper played eight snaps as an extra tackle and blocking tight end James Mitchell was on the field for six. Mitchell still doesn’t have a single passing game target in his second season.

The wide receiver splits:

Amon-Ra St. Brown – 61

Jameson Williams – 45

Josh Reynolds – 38

Kalif Raymond – 20

Donovan Peoples-Jones – 11

On defense, LB Alex Anzalone was the only Lions player on the field for all 64 defensive reps.

The starting lineup changes in the secondary were definitive. Safety Ifeatu Melifonwu got the nod over Tracy Walker for the second straight game, and Melifonwu played 62 of the 64 snaps. Walker didn’t play on defense. The same was true at cornerback, where Khalil Dorsey replaced Jerry Jacobs. Dorsey (44 snaps) and Kindle Vildor (18) split the outside CB duties, while Jacobs only appeared on special teams.

Aidan Hutchinson’s heavy workload continues. The standout DE played 59 of the 64 snaps, another week over 90 percent participation. Some of that could be a function of the Lions deploying John Cominsky (46) and Josh Paschal (43) with more reps inside as part of a lighter front. Hefty DTs Benito Jones (30), Isaiah Buggs (23), Levi Onwuzurike (14) and rookie Brodric Martin (11) split more reps than usual with the lighter linemen.

Romeo Okwara (18) and Bruce Irvin (11) saw limited action. The Lions used rookie LB Jack Campbell in the SAM role a little amongst his 33 snaps. Derrick Barnes briefly left the game with a shoulder injury, and that held down his snap count to 35. Jalen Reeves-Maybin played 10, while Malcolm Rodriguez returned to the defensive lineup with five. Anthony Pittman played on defense for the first time in 2023, seeing action on four snaps.

[lawrence-related id=100572]

Broncos coach Sean Payton is very proud of his Lions coaching proteges

Broncos coach Sean Payton is very proud of his Lions coaching proteges including Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn

Sean Payton is in his first season as the head coach of the Denver Broncos. That’s not enough time to set up a culture or create strong trends or rivalries for his new team. However, playing in Detroit will be a different story for Payton’s Broncos.

When Payton looks across the sideline to the Lions, he’ll see a plethora of coaches he helped mentor and guide into the positions they have today during his lengthy tenure running the New Orleans Saints. It obviously starts with head coach Dan Campbell, but the ties with the Payton-era Saints go much deeper.

Payton was asked about his ties to Campbell and the Lions in a press conference this week. As is his custom — a trait which Campbell clearly inherited from his mentor — Payton gave a lengthy and candid answer:

“There are so many ties for me with this staff. Obviously, I’ve been with [Lions Head Coach] Dan [Campbell]. I was in New York when we drafted him. When I went to Dallas, I convinced [Pro Football Hall of Fame Head Coach] Bill [Parcells] to sign him as a free agent. I signed him later in New Orleans as a player. I spent the better part of two or three years trying to hire him as a coach, and I was lucky enough eventually. He became assistant head coach, and I have tremendous respect for everything about him—what he stands for, and how he coaches. You have [Lions Defensive Coordinator] Aaron Glenn, who I hired. He’s the same way. He’s going to be a head coach. [He was a] fabulous player [and is a] tremendous coach. [Lions LB] Alex [Anzalone]—you have [Lions Quarterbacks Coach] Mark Brunell. There are a number of guys with a lot of ties. As a former head coach of theirs, you’re proud of them. You really are. Enough flowers (laughs).”

As transcribed by the Broncos media staff

It should make for an interesting matchup between teacher and students on Saturday in Ford Field.