David Montgomery – Page 4 – Syndication Server

Lions vs. Cardinals: Last-minute thoughts and final score prediction

Lions vs. Cardinals: Last-minute thoughts and final score prediction for the Week 3 matchup

Autumn has arrived, even if it felt like midsummer for much of the last week in Michigan. The nights are getting cooler, and the warming power of the sun isn’t as high.

That lack of offensive heat has already hit the Detroit Lions. Ben Johnson’s unit has gained yards almost at will, but converting those yards into points has been like an early frost; it’s beautiful until you have to scrape it off your car windshield, and the hoodie and shorts you’re wearing makes you feel a lot colder than needed.

The Lions travel to Arizona to try and defrost the scoring bus. Spoiler alert: They get it rolling today.

Why I think the Lions will win

The offense has been outstanding until it reaches the red zone. It’s inside the opposing 20-yard line (really the 25) where the opposing defenses have done a really good job of condensing the middle of the field and forcing QB Jared Goff to get the ball out on his first read. Other than the smashmouth overtime touchdown drive by RB David Montgomery and the offensive line in Week 1, the defenses have gotten the better of Johnson’s offenses.

I don’t think the Cardinals can do that with their defense. Outside of Dennis Gardeck, the Arizona pass rush isn’t one that intimidates the offense. Their cornerbacks, led by 2023 Lions castoff Starling Thomas, aren’t sticky in coverage or particularly disruptive.

Let’s play the “don’t overthink it” card: Starling Thomas starts at outside CB for the Cardinals. It’s the same Starling Thomas that couldn’t make the CB-desperate Lions a year ago (Detroit kept Steven Gilmore and Kindle Vildor over him). He’s actually shown some improving ability and certainly has closing speed, but it’s unlikely Thomas would be active on game days in Detroit.

On defense, the Lions draw a good RB in Arizona’s James Conner and a complementary back in rookie Trey Benson. They’re an impressive 1-2 punch, though that’s been more in theory than practice in the first two weeks. Detroit’s ability to snuff out the run by RBs is the basis for their defensive rise. The Cardinals line is a good one in run blocking, but I still buy into Detroit’s interior combo of DJ Reader and Alim McNeill and a deep LB corps behind them to control it.

Speaking of the run…

I think this is a get-right game for Ben Johnson and his play-calling. If Montgomery is racking up six yards a carry behind the snowplow of an offensive line, I am of the belief that Johnson won’t foolishly abandon it like he’s done this year. I am also of the belief that Dan Campbell won’t let Johnson deviate from what’s working to earn style points. This team needs actual points, not the style one.

Detroit’s pass rush has been outstanding, and the “crush the can” style from big EDGEs Aidan Hutchinson, Levi Onwuzurike and Marcus Davenport can be very effective against a more finesse-based Cards tackle combo. Led by Hutchinson, this pass rush can contain the edges on its way to the quarterback, and it also opens up opportunities for slot blitzes that have proven very effective against the Cardinals.

What worries me about the Cardinals

Two words: Kyler Murray.

Don’t mistake Murray for a run-only threat. The young Cardinals QB has evolved as a passer, showing better timing and ball placement than he has in the past. He’s capable of winning from the pocket as long as the line keeps him clean, a la Jared Goff.

Unlike Goff, Murray is one of the NFL’s best escape artists and runners. Detroit’s defense has been endemically vulnerable to quarterbacks who can tuck and run, and I don’t think that changes against Murray and the Cardinals. He could very well get 100 yards on the ground, and that sets up a spritzing of read-option runs and quick passes that can make the defensive heads spin.

Murray also has a couple of impressive targets in rookie WR Marvin Harrison Jr. and TE Trey McBride. Harrison vs. fellow first-rounder Terrion Arnold is a premium rookie matchup, and I expect each to record some victories in that battle. McBride serves the Sam LaPorta role in Arizona and does so a lot more effectively than his low name recognition might have Lions fans expecting.

Final score prediction

I see the Lions prodigious offensive yardage production finally turning into points on the scoreboard. I think going on the road, wearing the all-whites, and being focused on what’s gone right thus far will serve them very well. Arizona will put up more than 20 on Aaron Glenn’s defense. I think Detroit’s offense will outscore whatever the defense gives up.

Lions 36, Cardinals 31

Don’t hit the panic button on Detroit Lions offense but reasons for concern are valid

Don’t hit the panic button on Detroit Lions offense after a disappointing start, but reasons for concern are valid

Sparing all of us from every little detail, we all know the Detroit Lions let today’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers get away from them. Sure it’s a team game but this loss primarily falls on the Lions offense. It was an odd but also, bad performance from this offense today.

Certainly, nobody should be sounding the alarms, but the reasons for concern right now are valid. No question, everyone has bad days at the office. The Lions offense is allowed to have them, too. That said, it’s consecutive weeks of head-scratching play-calling from offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.

Today was by far the worst we’ve seen from him during his tenure in Detroit. The lack of commitment to running the football in this game was odd. In the first half against the Bucs, the Lions had 20 pass attempts, seven rushes and one fake pass attempt. All they had to show for it was six lousy points.

Looking at the Lions 2nd, 3rd and 4th drive in the first half, here’s how they all went:

2nd series: 4 pass plays to 1 run play was called. 2 out-of-the final 3 plays inside the Bucs 10-yard line were pass plays. Only one run play was called and it gained 7 yards. Lions settled for a field goal.
3rd series: 8 pass plays to 4 run plays were called. 2 out-of-the final 3 plays inside the Bucs 20-yard line were pass plays. Only one run play was called. They gained one yard inside the Bucs 20-yard line despite having 16 yards (4.0 yards per carry) rushing on this drive.
4th series: 7 pass plays to 3 run plays were called. Despite converting on 4th down twice, the Lions still had to punt on this drive. When the Lions crossed midfield and were facing 2nd-and-6, they dropped back to pass consecutive times. Both were incomplete. They had gained four yards on the ground from David Montgomery to setup that 2nd-and-6.

Without going full play-by-play from today’s game, it just feels like Ben Johnson was getting away from manageable situations on 2nd and 3rd down. Last season, the Lions seemed content on running the ball to get into 2nd-and-6 or 3rd-and-3, but not in this game. Instead, it felt like Johnson was trying to pick up bigger down and distances all in one play every chance he got.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1835401578234442103

Look at the 4th quarter with under 8 minutes left to play. The Lions are only down four points and are faced with a 2nd-and-16 after a holding call on Frank Ragnow. Rather than trying to get into a more manageable 3rd down situation, the Lions ran deeper routes or had concepts towards the sideline. Nothing was run towards the middle of the field nor was anything open. This led to Goff forcing a throw rather than taking a sack and it ultimately led to an interception.

https://twitter.com/SharpFootball/status/1835409351600656870

If Ben Johnson wasn’t trying to get chunk plays off just one pass, the passing script sure felt forced to start the game. Like I said, Goff had attempted 20 pass attempts in the first half. However, 14 of those pass attempts were intended for Amon-Ra St. Brown or Jameson Williams. Tight end Sam LaPorta didn’t even have a target in the first half.

No doubt, the Lions should get the ball to their playmakers. But with them having so many weapons, it should never be one-sided.

One week removed from only having 28 pass attempts, Goff had 55 pass attempts today. That’s practically double from the Rams game in week one. Keep in mind, those 55 pass attempts were the most Goff has thrown with the Lions since his very first game in Detroit during the 2021 season (57 attempts). You can call me crazy or a hater, but to me, that just can’t happen.

We all know what Goff is at quarterback, but it feels like Johnson is forcing him to be something he’s not. Sure, there’s plenty of football left but it’s been a very odd start to the season for a Lions offense that got so much praise this summer. Sooner rather than later, they’ll need to commit to running the football. If they don’t it could lead to a lack of confidence for the entire offense as this season continues.

Top photos from the Lions overtime win vs. the Rams in Week 1

The Detroit Lions didn’t have their “A” game in the Week 1 overtime win against the Los Angeles Rams, but the team did enough to still vanquish the visitors and open the season 1-0.

The 26-20 overtime win wasn’t always pretty football, but the reigning NFC North champs effectively defended the den in beating back a spunky, well-prepared Rams team and quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Rocking the all-blue uniforms, Detroit salvaged the victory for the Ford Field faithful. The “blueberries” also made for some outstanding visuals, as captured by the professional photographers in the stadium. Here are some of the best shots from the game.

Lions survive a shaky effort to beat the Rams in overtime

The Detroit Lions survive a shaky effort to beat the visiting Los Angeles Rams in overtime

The Detroit Lions are 1-0. It can be difficult to remember that, because it doesn’t really feel like a triumphant debut for the 2024 Lions.

Detroit survived a vastly undermanned Los Angeles Rams team, eking out a 26-20 overtime win in Ford Field. In front of a national audience on Sunday Night Football, the Lions looked rusty and meek, especially on offense. There were sporadic reminders that the Detroit offense has been one of the NFL’s best over the last two years, but they were not close to being in top form after not playing a down together in the preseason.

The Lions did not get great performances from the expected stars on the team. All-Pro wideout was a nonfactor all night, getting just six targets and netting three catches for 13 yards. One target to St. Brown was a throw where Jared Goff was a half-count late over the middle and Rams safety John Johnson picked it off.

Tight end Sam LaPorta was very quiet as well, catching just four passes for 45 yards. On one key third-down catch, LaPorta ran his route well short of the sticks. Whether by schematic design or a lapse by LaPorta, it’s the kind of mistake the Lions don’t typically make. His last catch, on the game-tying drive at the end of the fourth quarter, netted nearly half of LaPorta’s yards.

Goff wasn’t at his best, either. The drive after his INT intended for St. Brown should have ended in another Rams INT, but cornerback Cobie Durant dropped it. Goff wasn’t aggressive in attacking down the field, and it allowed the Rams to cram the field effectively.

Safety Brian Branch had a poor overall game. Branch missed two INT opportunities and a couple of tackles as well. He got burned on a huge play by the Rams, where backup LB Malcolm Rodriguez ran past Branch well down the field to save a potential touchdown.

About the only thing that worked for the Lions offense was Jameson Williams. Well, David Mongtomery was effective running between the tackles early, and Jahmyr Gibbs had one nice drive. Beyond that, the Rams rookie defensive coordinator, Chris Shula, won the battle against Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.

The defense did just enough, barely. Aaron Glenn’s unit probably should have done more against a dilapidated Rams offense that played fourth-string tackles most of the night. Matthew Stafford was sharp in his old building, and some costly penalties by rookie CB Terrion Arnold helped the Rams get two scores as well.

Kicker Jake Bates forced overtime with a clutch 32-yard field goal. Aidan Hutchinson sacked Matthew Stafford to end any Rams threat at the very end of regulation.

And then Ben Johnson remembered that he had David Montgomery. In his first carries in several drives, Montgomery put the Lions on his back and dragged Detroit, as well as the Rams defense, into the end zone for the game-winning score. Montgomery ran for 45 yards on five carries on the final drive, none bigger than the final one.

Montgomery and Williams, who authored the game’s biggest highlight and turned in his first career 100-yard game, were the overriding positives to take away. That, and also not blowing a prime-time game against a team playing backups and undrafted rookies all over the place, which would have been a devastating blow.

It’s still not good enough football from the Lions, but never apologize for a win or take it for granted. Week 1 is a good lesson in that for Dan Campbell and the Lions.

Lions exhaust Rams in overtime

The Lions scored nine points on their final two drives to down the Rams in OT

The Detroit Lions got a field goal to force overtime and marched down the field for a touchdown in the extra period to down the Los Angeles Rams, 26-20, on Sunday Night Football.

The Lions devoured 1:54 on a nine-play drive before Jake Bates kicked a game-tying field goal with 17 seconds left.

The Rams’ final drive went nowhere and the teams went to OT.

Matthew Stafford called the toss but the Lions won it and took the football.

The eight-play, 70-yard drive ate up 4:41 before David Montgomery scored on a one-yard run.

Game winner.

It got LOUD in the Motor City 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/X675RGsGht

— NFL (@NFL) September 9, 2024

In all the Lions ran 17 plays and gained 125 yards while scoring nine points on their final two drives to win the game.

The Rams had come back from being down 17-3 to take a 20-17 lea only to see the Lions score the game’s final nine points.

Bish & Brown LA Rams Preview – Detroit Lions Podcast

We’ve finally made it to the opening week of the NFL! That means we’ll see our Detroit Lions play the Los Angeles Rams at Ford Field on Sunday night. The Lions have been heavily discussed this off-season as one of the best teams in the NFL and potentially a team that could win the Super Bowl.

Taking it one game at a time, Scott Bischoff and I return on the Detroit Lions Podcast! For our first episode of the 2024 season, we give you our game preview between the Rams and Lions on Sunday night!

On this episode, Scott and I discuss the following:

What’s the Lions passing attack going to look like this season?
Is Jahmyr Gibbs going to take the expected step forward in this offense?
The defense added a ton of good pieces. Can this unit put it all together?
What to expect from the Rams and Lions?
All that and more!

Be sure to rate, review and subscribe to the Detroit Lions Podcast on Spotify, Spreaker, YouTube, Apple Podcasts and more! Also, you can follow Scott and Russ on Twitter: @bischoff_scott and @russnfldraft

Fantasy football: Where to draft Detroit Lions RB David Montgomery

Analyzing Detroit Lions RB David Montgomery’s 2024 fantasy football ADP and where to target him in fantasy drafts.

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Detroit Lions RB David Montgomery has been a workhorse in his 5 NFL seasons, joining the league in 2019. Montgomery was taken in the 3rd round of the 2019 NFL Draft — out of Iowa State — selected 73rd overall by the Chicago Bears. He then joined the Lions at the start of the 2023 season and was often used as the team’s goal-line back. Below, we look at David Montgomery’s 2024 fantasy football average draft position (ADP) and where you should draft him.

Entering this upcoming season, look for him to take a step back in his development with a downtick in production. Ideally, he’ll still be a touchdown-dependent starting option for managers. The running back is intriguing in terms of fantasy value.

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David Montgomery’s ADP: 52.79

(ADP data courtesy of MyFantasyLeague.com; last updated at time of this publishing – ADPs continually change as more drafts occur)

Montgomery’s 52.79 ADP in redraft leagues puts him in the 5th to 7th round depending on the size of the league. His ADP ranks 4th on the Lions, behind WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (6.66, 5th overall), RB Jahmyr Gibbs (15.92, 12th) and TE Sam LaPorta (34.03, 33rd).

Among running backs, Montgomery’s ADP puts him 19th at the position, behind Arizona’s of James Conner (52.76), Houston’s Joe Mixon (40.59), Buffalo’s James Cook (40.30) and New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara (36.53). New England’s Rhamondre Stevenson (56.59) and De’Andre Swift (61.94) are 20th and 21st respectively.

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David Montgomery’s 2023-24 stats

Games: 14

Carries | rushing yards: 219 | 1,015

Rushing touchdowns: 13

Receptions | receiving yards: 16 | 117

Receiving touchdowns: 0

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Where should you draft Montgomery?

Montgomery’s fantasy value might take a hit in 2024. He finished last season as the 9th-best fantasy back, the second time he’s been among the top 10 in the NFL. In each season he’s played since 2019, he’s finished within the top 22.

Montgomery is the starter on the depth chart, but he’s going to face added pressure from 2nd-year back Gibbs, who is typically being taken in the late 1st or early 2nd round.

Montgomery changed from being a receiving back in Chicago, having notched over 40 receptions in 2 of his 4 seasons, to being the main power back and the go-to goal-line option in Detroit. That means he’s very touchdown-dependent, getting into the end zone a career-best 13 times in 2023.

Montgomery should see 150-plus carries and 700-plus rushing yards. However, his pass-catching and touchdowns may both see a hit with the increased involvement of Gibbs. Montgomery is rightfully being drafted in the 5th round, which is acceptable in standard leagues. In PPR formats, let him drop to the 6th round before snagging the 27-year-old back.

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Vikings snubbed in PFF’s perfect NFC North team selections

In somewhat of a surprise, the Minnesota Vikings were completely left out of PFF’s perfect NFC north team.

We’ve officially entered summer, which means we’re right at the tail end of the NFL’s dead period. Training camps will be starting soon, and before you know it, we’ll have some real football to talk about. Pre-season football, roster cut-down day, and free agent signings from said cut-downs will all lead up to the first kickoff of the 2024 NFL season.

But we’re not there yet, so we’re still in the preview—and in this case, hypothetical—phase of the offseason. With that in mind, the team at PFF has been going division-by-division and building their “perfect” team out of units from the teams in each division.

For their perfect teams, the PFF crew has chosen to take a “room by room” approach, choosing one unit as a whole rather than selecting individual players. The Minnesota Vikings are noticeably absent from the selection process for their NFC North team.

It makes sense that PFF wouldn’t take the Vikings quarterback position, instead opting for Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers. Given the Vikings’ running woes last season, it also makes sense not to take their running backs—even with the addition of Aaron Jones—and indeed, PFF opted to take the Detroit Lions’ room and their 1-2 punch of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.

Things may get a little surprising with PFF’s choice of a wide receiver room. Rather than taking the tandem of Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, they opted to go with the crew the Chicago Bears have built with the additions of Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze to pair with D.J. Moore. You can’t help but think the uncertainty Minnesota has at the WR3 was the determining factor there.

Rounding out PFF’s perfect NFC North team, they chose the Lions offensive and defensive lines, the Bears linebackers, and the Packers secondary units, leaving the Vikings completely unrepresented.

Jahymr Gibbs rookie season film review

Jahymr Gibbs rookie season film review from Lions Wire’s Russell Brown reveals a dynamic building block for the Detroit Lions offense

When the Detroit Lions were on the clock with the 6th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, they made a surprising move to trade down. This gave them the 12th overall pick and the 34th overall pick that they used to select tight end Sam LaPorta. However, they surprised everyone by selecting running back Jahmyr Gibbs out of Alabama with the 12th overall pick.

Some called it careless, and others called it clueless. It’s only been one season, but the tune towards the Jahmyr Gibbs selection has changed. It’s changed so much that some would call them geniuses.

After 15 games played as a rookie, Gibbs compiled 945 rushing yards on 182 carries and this led to 10 rushing touchdowns. Additionally, Gibbs was able to record 52 receptions for 316 yards and a touchdown.

It’s been evident that the Lions have wanted a split backfield under Dan Campbell and while they feed David Montgomery plenty of carries, that doesn’t change the way Gibbs can impact a game. Let’s dive into some film to review the rookie season from Gibbs and how impactful he really is for the Detroit Lions offense.

Now it’s extremely difficult to pick which plays to highlight from Gibbs’ first season in the NFL. That said, I picked 3 plays through my summer re-watch on his film to highlight for this article.

The first play I want to highlight is from week 16 against the Minnesota Vikings. For Detroit, they come out with their ’11’ personnel (one running back and one tight end), but they’re aligned with a condensed set on both sides of the formation.

Prior to the snap, Jared Goff sends Kalif Raymond on an exit motion to the left of the formation. Post-snap, Amon-Ra St. Brown runs underneath the line of scrimmage (LOS) and as you can see Vikings safety Harrison Smith is aligned in man coverage and goes into a full-out sprint in the same direction as St. Brown.

While this play looks like it could lead to a potential play-action pass with St. Brown spilling out to the flats, this play is a designed run. With a great combo block between Frank Ragnow and Graham Glasgow on the right side, there’s also a good kick out by Penei Sewell. As Gibbs gets the football, he follows his blockers and while he slightly hesitates, it looks like he has nowhere to go but that’s all by design.

Gibbs shows his ability to start and stop while being able to run through initial contact. The burst to get the edge and upfield gets put on display and all of this contributes to him scoring one of his two touchdowns from this game.

The next play I want to highlight is certainly a tip of the hat to the Lions offensive line. For starters, we all need to give kudos to Frank Ragnow for his ability to peel off his combo block and pick up the blitzing inside linebacker. As you can see, his body may be positioned full to the right but his head is inside and all eyes are on that linebacker.

Next, look at Penei Sewell going toe-to-toe with Joey Bosa on the right side. While Bosa gets turned around, this gives a slight opening for Gibbs and look at how explosive he is once he makes his way through the hole.

While this run is credited to excellent blocking, it’s also impressive to see Gibbs play with little hesitation on this run. As I mentioned, he puts his explosiveness and speed on display and it’s the type of play that helps set the tone.

This is one of those runs where the defense gets back to their huddle and each player has an internal conversation that they’ve got to buckle up or they’re in for a long day. Unfortunately for the Chargers, it was a long day as they gave up 200 rushing yards, 41 points and over 530 total yards.

Lastly, I want to look at how Gibbs can be a mismatch machine. For starters, if he gets a linebacker aligned over the top of him, there’s a good chance he’ll find a way to get open. He may only beat that linebacker by one step, but if he gets open, that’s all that matters.

Looking at the play above, the Lions come out with a trips right formation. Out of the backfield, you’ll see Gibbs run a speed out against the linebacker. With how shifty and explosive he can be, you’ll notice the linebacker get flat-footed and stop in preparation of Gibbs breaking the route off inside.

This gives Gibbs plenty of separation and Goff delivers a good ball to him for the first down. Even though he only averaged 2.43 yards per carry in this game, Gibbs did have 7 receptions for 39 yards in this game.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was a strong rookie season for Jahmyr Gibbs, and it appears that he could take an even bigger step this season. While he does split backfield duties with David Montgomery, the play making ability from Gibbs is electric. That showed once he started to get settled into the Lions offense and into the NFL. From week 7 through week 17, he recorded 766 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.

During the Lions playoff run, he scored in every single game and averaged 4.97 yards per carry. According to Player Profiler, Gibbs had a 8.2% breakaway run rate last season and that was second best in the NFL. Meanwhile, he evaded 56 tackles last season (3.7 per game) and that was ranked 13th in the NFL.

Whether you’re for or against taking a running back in the first round, one thing is for sure, Jahmyr Gibbs looks worthy of being selected there. He’s a difference maker with the football in his hands and it feels like he can score at any moment. Look for him to take more than just a step forward this season.