Tag: Dan Skipper

Referee Brad Allen may have cost the Detroit Lions a win against the Dallas Cowboys

Brad Allen may have been the NFL’s worst referee this season, and right now, it looks as if he cost the Lions a win against the Cowboys

We at Touchdown Wire have had issues with referee Brad Allen before, and with good reason. And now, it’s entirely possible that Allen and his crew cost the Detroit Lions a win they should have had.

Here was the situation. The Lions went right down the field against the Dallas Cowboys down 20-19 starting with 1:41 left in the fourth quarter. The Lions had that much time because Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy called three straight passes before a field goal that put Dallas up 20-13. Dallas then gave quarterback Jared Goff all the soft coverage he could ever dream of having, which allowed Goff to drive his team downfield and hit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for an 11-yard touchdown with 27 seconds left.

Then, head coach Dan Campbell called for a two-point conversion, as is his wont, and it looked for all the world that Goff hit offensive tackle Taylor Decker in the end zone for the successful try that would have given the Lions a 21-20 lead. But Allen called an illegal touch pass on the play, saying that Decker didn’t report as an eligible receiver.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell said after the game,”70 [tackle Dan Skipper] reported, 68 [Decker] didn’t. That was the explanation.”

Well, here’s the problem with that. ESPN, who had the game, had clear video evidence of Goff telling Decker to report as eligible. And there is clear video evidence of Decker going over to do just that.

Longtime NFL offensive tackle and football analyst Mitchell Schwartz had an excellent blow-by-blow breakdown of what happened…. and what should have happened.

As Schwartz said, this would have been a legal formation had the eligibility not been in question. A nd you can see Allen running away from the tackles as they’re clearly trying to report as eligible.

“I’m guessing that Brad Allen, based on his mannerisms, and his eyes… where his hat is looking, he never recognized [Decker],” ESPN rules analyst and former NFL referee John Parry told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt after the fact. “It’s not reviewable. What you need to do in that situation when the game is on the line… remember that the clock is stopped. You just had six points. So now, we’re going to go for two, so there’s no rush here, Take your time. Make sure you know who’s participating. They’re going for two. Slow everything down, make sure you have it correct. Make sure the defense knows who is eligible, and who is not. I think in this case, when you watch Brad, and his movements, and him focusing on No. 70 [Skipper], I don’t think that 68 [Decker] and Brad Allen ever connected.”

You could argue that it’s Decker’s responsibility to get Allen’s attention, but as Allen was running over to Dallas’ defense to let them know who was eligible. Decker thought Allen heard him.

Or… it could be even worse.

If that’s the case, Allen got the reporting lineman wrong.

Here’s the pool report, in which Allen appears to have gotten confused because Skipper had reported eligible to him earlier in the game.

And we now have a situation where one official is lying, or several members if the Detroit Lions are lying. That’s what Allen set up.

Allen probably isn’t lying — he’s going on his own incorrect interpretation of the situation and the rule. But given every other grievous error he’s made this season, Brad Allen should never be allowed to have this position in the NFL ever again.

It’s as simple as that.

Detroit Lions final injury report for Week 10 vs. the Los Angeles Chargers

The Lions head to Los Angeles with every starter ready to roll and just one player ruled out for Week 10

Coming out of the bye week, the Detroit Lions are as healthy as they can reasonably expect to be in Week 10. Only one player has been officially ruled out from Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers, with one other Lion doubtful for Week 10.

Offensive lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai is out with a back injury. Vaitai was already replaced in the starting lineup at right guard by Graham Glasgow, but this makes the move academic. Vaitai missed the 2022 season with a back injury and subsequent surgery.

The player listed as doubtful is defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike. He’s missed the last two practices with a hip issue. It’s unknown if Onwuzurike’s hip injury is related to his previous back injury. No player listed as doubtful and missing at least two days of practice has ever played during the Dan Campbell era, so consider Onwuzurike almost certain to be inactive in Los Angeles.

Two other reserves are listed as questionable. Lineman Dan Skipper and new wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones are both questionable with rib injuries.

No other players missed any practice time during the week, and none carry any injury designation into the trip to face the Chargers.

Best and worst PFF Grades from Lions Week 8 win against Raiders

Another week, another dominant performance for Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions. In primetime in front of a national crowd, too.

Another week, another dominant performance for Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions. In primetime in front of a national crowd, the Lions started out slow but caught fire at the end of the first half and used that to take full control in the second half.

With a dominant win comes some significant PFF scores.

The offense had plenty to be happy about, especially between the skill players. On defense, the front seven shined with someone even securing their highest grade of the season against the Raiders.

Lions snap count notes vs. Buccaneers: Dan Campbell rode his starters to victory

Lions snap count notes vs. Buccaneers: Dan Campbell rode his starters to victory, playing reserves less than normal on both sides

The Detroit Lions improved to 5-1 with Sunday’s 20-6 win in Tampa Bay, and they got the victory by leaning heavily on the starting lineup, especially on offense.

Head coach Dan Campbell shortened the bench on offense in the win. Some of that was injury-related necessity. With regular starting guards Jonah Jackson and Halapoulivaaati Vaitai unable to start, the starting five playing the whole way was a necessity. All five played all 70 offensive snaps, as did QB Jared Goff.

The other key starters played very high percentages of the game. Amon-Ra St. Brown was on the field for over 90 percent (64 of 70), followed closely by Josh Reynolds (57) at wide receiver. Rookie TE Sam LaPorta repped on 58 snaps, with Brock Wright in for 43 as the Lions leaned heavily into using two TEs against the Bucs’ impressive defensive front.

The reserves didn’t get much action. Jameson Williams caught his two passes on just 16 snaps, which is one more than Kalif Raymond got on offense. David Montgomery’s injury after 18 snaps thrust Craig Reynolds (43) and Devine Ozigbo (6) into more action than expected. Dan Skipper played four reps as an extra tackle in his first game back on the active roster.

On defense, 17 players saw action for Detroit. Five never left the field, playing all 56 snaps: DBs Kerby Joseph, Tracy Walker, Jerry Jacobs, Cam Sutton and LB Alex Anzalone.

DE Aidan Hutchinson crept back up over 85 percent usage again, playing 50 reps. John Cominsky played a season-high 43 snaps, out-repping Charles Harris (18), Levi Onwuzurike (11) and Romeo Okwara (9) combined in the No. 2 DE role.

The Lions split playing a third LB and a fifth DB pretty evenly. Will Harris was the No. 5 DB and played 39 snaps, with no other CBs or safeties seeing action. Jack Campbell was the third LB at 29 snaps.

Vaitai did play, but only on special teams. He was one of 11 Lions to appear strictly on special teams. Notable again amongst the 11: linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, his second straight game no seeing any action on defense.

Lions place 2 players on I.R. in a series of moves ahead of Week 6

The Lions made a series of internal moves to handle some injury issues ahead of Week 6

As expected, the Detroit Lions made some injury-related roster moves on Saturday ahead of the Week 6 matchup with the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay.

The Lions placed two players on injured reserve. Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley will miss the rest of the season with a torn right ACL, while running back Zonovan Knight will miss at least four games with a left shoulder injury. Both injuries happened in the Week 5 win over the Carolina Panthers.

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The I.R. moves opened up two roster spots which the Lions filled internally. Detroit activated CB Khalil Dorsey from the injured reserve to take Moseley’s spot. Offensive lineman Dan Skipper was signed from the practice squad to the active roster. Skipper, who has been back on the practice squad after spending the summer with the Indianapolis Colts, will help bolster the offensive line depth.

With Knight on I.R. and Jahmyr Gibbs ruled out with an injured hamstring, the Lions added a running back by elevating RB Devine Ozigbo from the practice squad. He’ll be the third RB behind David Montgomery and Craig Reynolds in Sunday’s matchup with Tampa Bay.

In-game injuries force more OL shuffling for the Lions

Already down 2 starters on the OL, the Lions lost two right tackles in the first half against the Falcons

Already down two regular starters due to injuries, the Detroit Lions were forced to really reach into the depth chart with more injuries in the first half of Sunday’s game against the Falcons.

Matt Nelson started the game at right tackle but was injured in the first half. He left the field on a cart. He was initially ruled as questionable but quickly ruled out with a knee injury.

Nelson was replaced by Dan Skipper, who was signed to the practice squad this week. Skipper played well but was also forced from the game with a hamstring injury after just two drives.

He was replaced by fifth-round rookie Colby Sorsdal, making his NFL debut. Sorsdal played tackle in college but had almost exclusively played guard for the Lions in training camp and the preseason.

Regular right tackle Penei Sewell started at left tackle, moving due to the injury to Taylor Decker.

Lions elevate OL Dan Skipper and S Brandon Joseph from the practice squad

Lions elevate OL Dan Skipper and S Brandon Joseph from the practice squad for Week 3

The Detroit Lions have brought up some reinforcements for Sunday’s matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. Faced with several injuries across the roster, the Lions elevated some help from the practice squad.

Detroit promoted offensive lineman Dan Skipper and safety Brandon Joseph from the practice squad to the active roster on Saturday. It’s the first elevation of the year for both players.

Skipper, who re-signed with the Lions practice squad this week, will help bolster the offensive line depth. Left tackle Taylor Decker and RG Halapoulivaati Vaitai are ruled out for the game in Ford Field.

Joseph, an undrafted rookie from Notre Dame, will make his NFL debut on the active roster. Starters C.J. Gardner-Johnson (on I.R.) and Kerby Joseph (inactive with a hip issue) are out at safety.

Lions make big changes to the practice squad

Lions make big changes to the practice squad by signing 4 players, including OL Dan Skipper

There were quite a few new players at Detroit Lions practice on Wednesday. The team signed four players to the practice squad to help bolster the injury-riddled roster.

Two of the newcomers have some history with the Lions. Foremost is offensive lineman Dan Skipper, who has been on and off the Lions active roster and practice squad over the last six seasons. Running back Devine Ozigbo is also back after spending the preseason with Detroit. Ozigbo is notable for his receiving and pass protection ability as a running back.

The two other players signed to the practice squad came from the workouts earlier in the week. The Lions added CB Darius Phillips and LB Mitchell Agude. Detroit also released rookie defensive tackle Chris Smith from the practice squad.

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Lions add OL help in a flurry of roster moves

The Lions add some OL help in a flurry of roster moves to help bolster the banged-up roster

Faced with several injuries around the roster, the Detroit Lions made some roster moves on Tuesday to help bolster the depth.

Offensive lineman Kayode Awosika was signed from the practice squad to the active roster. Awosika can play either guard spot as well as right tackle. With starting RG Halapoulivaati Vaitai dealing with a knee injury, Awosika likely becomes the backup guard behind replacement starter Graham Glasgow.

Detroit also brought back veteran Dan Skipper to the practice squad. It’s a return to the Lions for the NFL’s tallest player after a brief stint with the Colts.

This is in addition to the previously reported move of promoting RB Zonovan Knight from the practice squad to the active roster.

To create room on the 53-man roster, Detroit placed OLB James Houston and DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson on injured reserve. They will each miss a minimum of four games.

Colts sign G Arlington Hambright to practice squad

The Colts brought Arlington Hambright back to the practice squad.

The Indianapolis Colts signed guard Arlington Hambright to the practice squad and released offensive tackle Dan Skipper from the practice squad, the team announced Monday.

Hambright initially made the 53-man roster but was cut when the team made waiver claims the following day. He spent the 2022 season on the practice squad and was with the Colts for the entire 2023 offseason.

Skipper signed with the Colts during training camp and was released during roster cuts. He was then signed to the practice squad.