Detroit Lions Film – Syndication Server

Lions film room: Breaking down Taylor Decker and Graham Glasgow vs. the Titans

Lions film room: Breaking down left tackle Taylor Decker and left guard Graham Glasgow vs. the Titans

The Detroit Lions rampaged past the Tennessee Titans in Ford Field. The 52-14 final score saw the Lions score the final 38 points en route to improving to 6-1 on the season. Reviewing the game film was reflective of the early struggles followed by sheer dominance thereafter.

This week, I focused on two players: left tackle Taylor Decker and left guard Graham Glasgow. It was an interesting game for the left side of the Lions offensive line, and the film review reflected that.

I evaluated Decker and Glasgow on every snap, giving a plus for a positive play and a minus for a poor one. Not every play earns a plus or minus. Here’s how they fared against the Titans in Week 8.

Opening drive

Decker started out about as badly as someone of his stature can. Titans EDGE Arden Key fired up the field from a 2-point stance and simply ran around Decker, who appeared to set his inside foot too shallow and too early in protection. Decker barely grazed Key on the way to the defender sacking Jared Goff.

The subsequent snap wasn’t much better for Decker, and on this one Glasgow also got soundly beaten. Glasgow started out by firing into massive DT T’Vondre Sweat, who aligned between the left guard and center Frank Ragnow. After doing very little to slow down Sweat (Ragnow took over and also got bulled backward), Glasgow spun the wrong way to help Decker with Key to his left. Goff got the pass away underneath, but the pressure forced him to abandon wideout Kalif Raymond streaking open across the field with neither deep safety picking him up. That’s a 30-yard gain, at minimum, if Goff gets an extra second.

On third down, the Titans run a twist after shifting the line just before the snap. Decker earns a plus for picking up his man, but Glasgow picks up another minus for missing his mark and instead blocking Ragnow’s back before shoving Jeffery Simmons to the ground from behind as Goff lets go of the ball. He missed his twist assignment and also missed his immediate help.

Rest of the first half

Decker settled in nicely. He earned another minus on the second sack of Goff, though the sack itself was definitively on Jahmyr Gibbs. Decker also got beaten on the play, quickly losing the blitzing LB (Jack Gibbens) after making the initial pick-up.

The very next play was a hit on Goff, and on first blush it appeared to be Decker’s fault. But further review largely exonerates the big left tackle–and shifts the minus to Glasgow. The left guard lost immediately over his inside shoulder to Sebastian Jones-Day, which forced Goff to escape directly into where Decker had been successfully locking up Key. In fact, Decker is still engaged with Key when Goff runs almost directly into Key and goes down.

For the half, Decker finished with seven plusses and four minuses, with all the minuses coming in pass protection. Glasgow had six minuses and four plusses, the first of which he earned for a terrific open-field block that helped spring Jahmyr Gibbs on his long TD run. In pass protection, one plus and three minuses.

Second half

The performance after halftime was somewhat abbreviated, as Decker left the game for Dan Skipper in garbage time. Glasgow did stay in the entire game. In the limited duty, Decker did great, earning four plusses and one minus. He earned a plus on the Lions first offensive snap of the half, a beautifully coordinated pickup of a line twist that both Decker and Frank Ragnow played expertly. This was an exotic set for both teams, with the Titans running a DT/DE twist and the Lions having Glasgow pull across to pick up the right-side DE (Key) and RT Penei Sewell chipping back inside to pick up the LDT, who happened to twist deeper away from him.

Glasgow earned one minus in the run game for getting pushed by Jeffery Simmons into Frank Ragnow, causing both to fall down and neutering what could have been a nice run off left tackle by Montgomery. Decker got a plus on the same play for a perfect drive/seal block on the edge. Both earned a minus on the later hit on Goff, with Glasgow being directly responsible for losing over his outside shoulder to Simmons; Decker also got beaten inside, partially because he got clipped (not the penalty) by Simmons and being unable to sustain his solid contact with Key because of it. This play is notable because it changed in the official box score from initially being a split sack between Simmons and Key to just Simmons getting credit–which is exactly correct.

Final tally

Taylor Decker: 11 plusses, 5 minuses. In pass protection, six plusses and five minuses.

Graham Glasgow: 8 plusses, 11 minuses. In pass protection, four plusses and nine minuses.

Decker deserves credit for altering how he played Key after getting abused early on. He appeared to shorten his set and not give Key as much of a target to hit on him.

Glasgow spent a lot of the day going against Jeffery Simmons, who is one of the NFL’s best pass-rushing DTs. That’s important context for his overall poor performance, though that doesn’t excuse Glasgow’s long-running habit of impressively getting out into space in run blocking but failing to actually engage with anyone. Other than the aforementioned plus above, that was No. 60s’ standard fare run blocking.

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Defensive end Mitchell Agude has a real chance of making the Lions 53-man roster

Defensive end Mitchell Agude has a real chance of making the Lions 53-man roster after adding SAM duty to his resume

Who doesn’t love a good story? Especially when it’s an athlete and their journey to the league. In this case, we could be on the verge of seeing dreams come true for Detroit Lions defensive end Mitchell Agude. We’re six days away from finding out what each teams 53-man roster will look like in the NFL. The question for Agude will be if he makes the Lions roster or not.

In 2023, Agude was undrafted out of Miami (FL) and he ended up signing with the Miami Dolphins. Part of the final roster cuts last summer, he was waived and about a month later, he signed to the practice squad of the Lions.

Prior to the NFL, Agude spent a season at Miami (FL) and two seasons at UCLA. With the Hurricanes, he was able to record 39 tackles, 7 tackles for loss and four sacks. During his career with the Bruins, he had 78 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.

Some will say that it’s “just good” but for Agude, it’s remarkable. Reason being is that Agude is lucky to be alive. When he was 9-years old, he was skateboarding at Santana Park in Corona, California and suffered a near-death experience. He fell off his skateboard and hit his head on the concrete. This forced him into a coma and for one and a half days, doctors drained fluid from his head. The fall caused a severe brain bleed and seizure.

After three days of the doctors trying to figure out a way to save his life and essentially telling his family that he’ll be in a vegetative state for the rest of his life, Agude woke up. From there, everything kind of went back to normal in his life. It was a miracle for him and his family.

The only hiccup he had after the accident was trying to convince his mother, Grace Agude, to let him play football. He wanted to follow in his big brothers footsteps and play the game. Despite years of his mother not allowing him to play contact sports, she finally let him in the 7th grade. From there, the rest is history.

Now, Agude is on the brink of making the Detroit Lions 53-man roster. Up to this point, he’s had a very strong summer with the Lions. He’s recorded 8 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. Let’s dive into some film and see what Agude is doing so well for the Lions defense!

The first play I want to highlight is how Agude (DE #50) reads and reacts well to a screen pass to the running back. Looking at the play above, you’ll see Agude aligned in a tilt-7 technique against the Chiefs right tackle.

Once the ball is snapped, the Lions call for a E/T Stunt with Agude and Mekhi Wingo (DT #94). This is where the defensive tackle loops around outside and the defensive end crashes inside to the B-gap. This normally frees up the tackle to get a much clearer path to the quarterback.

However, you’ll see the running back check release on Wingo and in the process, he turns around and catches the screen pass. Fortunately, Agude doesn’t get too deep into the backfield and he actually does a pretty good job reading the offensive lineman releasing up field. He reacts quickly to the running back getting the ball and he makes great effort tracking this down for a minimal gain.

Next up is a rep from Agude where he shows off his pass-rush ability. You’ll see him highlighted on the play above as he works against the Chiefs right tackle. Once the ball is snapped, he shows a quick get-off but most importantly, watch his hands and pad level.

Once the right tackle throws his punch, Agude does a great job chopping the hands of the offensive tackle with his inside arm. Following it up, he rips underneath while dropping his pad level. As he begins to turn the corner, he takes it a bit wide and this allows the right guard to pick him up.

Which, keep in mind, is a great play by Chiefs right guard Trey Smith. This gives Patrick Mahomes enough time to step up in the pocket and get rid of the ball. Overall, this rep from Agude is encouraging as the Lions look for a pass-rusher opposite of Aidan Hutchinson.

Lastly, I want to focus on Agude playing off-the-ball and aligned in a ’30’ alignment for linebackers. Teams searching for a SAM linebacker will need them to play on and off the line-of-scrimmage consistently. They’ll need to play in coverage, stop the run and rush the passer. Through two preseason games, we’re seeing Agude being able to do that.

The play above highlights just that. As I mentioned, Agude is aligned in a ’30’ and while it’s unclear what pass coverage drop he would have, if any, it’s promising to see him play well against the run. Watch how fluid he is with his lower half while being able to locate the ball carrier. In the process, he attacks up field with a good angle and good play speed to make this tackle for a minimal gain.

Overall, it’s been very encouraging to see Mitchell Agude playing well for the Detroit Lions defense. Coming into this season, it felt like James Houston was somewhat on the hot seat. Houston needs to stay healthy, get on the field and produce.

Fortunately for the Lions, they’ve got a player waiting in the wings and potentially pushing Houston out of his spot. Looking like a more natural fit for that SAM linebacker position, it wouldn’t be surprising if Agude ended up making the 53-man roster over Houston and other defensive players.

Right now, Agude is doing all of the little things right. He does a good job with his run fits, flashes the ability to rush the passer and shows great effort on just about every single play. As he looks to live out his dream, he could be causing nightmares for the decision makers on the Lions roster. Over the next week or so, we’ll see if he can make his dream come true.

Film Review: Hendon Hooker shows plenty of promise in Detroit Lions debut

Film Review: Hendon Hooker shows plenty of promise in Detroit Lions debut in preseason opener

When the Detroit Lions selected Hendon Hooker in the 3rd round of the 2023 NFL Draft, there was some uncertainty on if he’d play at any point of his rookie season. Most of this uncertainty came from the Lions having Jared Goff but also, Hooker, was coming back from a torn ACL. With that, he spent most of last season on the non-football injury list.

As we move onto this season, it’s been evident that the Lions have been searching for a backup quarterback. And not just any type of backup quarterback. They want someone that can help them win, if needed. That’s why they drafted Hooker because there’s starter upside with his skill-set.

Recovering from the torn ACL last season, we weren’t able to see any type of game action from Hooker. Not the preseason nor the regular season. That said, we finally got a chance to see him play for the Lions last week against the Giants. Let’s dive into some tape to see some of what he did for the Lions in the first preseason game!

During the Lions first preseason game, they gave the starting nod to Nate Sudfeld at quarterback. As we saw through the first half and 4th quarter, it wasn’t pretty. However, when the second half opened, we saw Hendon Hooker take the field. From his first drive to his second drive, it felt like the Lions offense was actually able to move the ball down the field.

Starting with one of his five completions on the night, the Lions come out in a shotgun formation with their ’11’ personnel (one running back and one tight end). To the right of the formation, you’ll see a bunched set with two receivers. One of those receivers is undrafted rookie Isaiah Williams from Illinois. Once the ball is snapped, you’ll see Williams run a quick out.

As he runs that route, Hooker takes a quick 3-step drop and flips this pass out to Williams. Certainly, this play wasn’t a big gain but it’s one that gets Hooker and the Lions offense in-rhythm. Meanwhile, it helped jump start a 14-play drive that went 88 yards.

Moving onto the very next play of that 14-play drive, Hooker shows early rapport with Isaiah Williams. From the quick out to this crosser for a first down, it’s an encouraging sign to see this connection.

Looking at the play above, the Lions come out 2×2 with their ’11’ personnel (one running back and one tight end). Aligned in the slot to the left of the quarterback is Williams and he runs a shallow cross over the middle of the field. Staying comfortable in the pocket is Hooker and he gets this pass to Williams with ease.

Moving to the next play, I thought it was important to show Hooker working through progressions before checking down to the running back. That’s exactly what happens on the play above.

The Lions come out with their ’11’ personnel (one running back and one tight) again. However, this time, they’re under center rather than being out of shotgun. Once the ball is snapped, Hooker fakes the hand-off to the running back and begins to look downfield.

Even though it looks like he’s got the dig route open in the middle of the field, Hooker reads the linebacker that’s getting depth towards that route. So rather than forcing the throw, he flips to his left and checks this down to the running back for a 9-yard gain.

Lastly, I want to showcase the mobility from Hooker as it was on display for both drives he had in the 3rd quarter. In fact, he led the team in rushing with 34 yards on four carries. His longest run of the night was for 16 yards and it’s the run highlighted above.

Looking at the play above, the Lions come out under center with their ’12’ personnel (one running back and two tight ends). Faking the hand-off to the running back, Hooker rolls out to his left. As most of the routes downfield are covered or not fully developed yet, he quickly tucks the ball and runs into the open field.

Once he gets into the second level of the defense, he’s quickly surrounded by multiple defenders from the Giants. Rather than sliding or giving himself up on the play, Hooker drops his shoulder and absolutely levels a defensive back. With his momentum, he falls forwards and gains a few additional yards but most importantly, he kept the drive alive and picked up the first down.

If you watched the Giants and Lions game live, it was obvious that Hooker provided a much needed spark to the Lions offense. Sudfeld didn’t make the right decisions with his legs or arm but with Hooker, he provided a different dynamic. His mobility immediately stands out and the ball does jump out of his hands.

He didn’t complete every pass but he did go 5-for-9 with 34 yards passing in his Lions debut. While he did sustain a concussion in this game, we should see him at least one more time this summer before the Lions start the regular season in September. It may only be two drives but it’s starting to look like the Lions may have the viable backup quarterback option they’ve been searching for over the last three seasons.

Film Room: Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was outstanding against the Rams

Film Room: Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was outstanding against the Rams, from Russell Brown

Regardless of being a consistent weapon in the Lions offense on a weekly basis, it still feels like Amon-Ra St. Brown is slept on. Which is hard to imagine as he finished the season with 119 receptions for 1,515 yards and 10 touchdowns. Furthermore, he’s been on fire in his last five games with 39 receptions for 562 yards and four touchdowns.

As the Lions returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and hosted their first home playoff game since 1991, St. Brown was outstanding in the opening round of the playoffs. Finishing the game with 7 receptions for 110 yards, he made big play after big play on Sunday night. Each one of his receptions went for first down and he caught the first down pass that sealed the Lions first playoff win in 32 years. Let’s dive into the tape to see what makes Amon-Ra St. Brown so good as a pass-catcher for the Lions.

Starting with one of the first big plays of the game from St. Brown, it’s one where he shows his strength and play-making ability. Looking at the play above, you’ll see that the Lions come out in a 2×2 set with their ’11’ personnel (one running back and one tight end).

At the top of the screen, St. Brown is aligned as the ‘X’ receiver. Once the ball is snapped, he releases vertical but hits the cornerback with an inside jab step while pushing vertically along the sideline. As he gets about 7 or 8 yards downfield, he throttles down quickly and turns back to Goff on a curl route.

With an opening, Goff fires the ball to St. Brown and it leads to him securing the catch. Despite having the defender on his back, he tosses him off and puts his play strength and run after-the-catch ability on display.

The next play I want to focus on is one of my favorite catches from St. Brown on the season. Looking at the play above, the Lions come out in a trips left formation with their ’11’ personnel (one running back and one tight end).

Aligned as the lone receiver on the bottom of the screen is St. Brown. Much like the previous play, St. Brown hits the defender with an inside jab step before releasing outside. Rather than turning back to Goff on a curl route, St. Brown runs a wheel route instead. With enough separation, St. Brown is able to concentrate and get his hands up for the catch. His ability to run after catching it is just an added bonus.

Moving onto a huge 3rd down completion, we move to a play that happens coming out of the two-minute warning before the half. Previous Lions teams would have ran a screen or a draw play and gave the ball to the opposition with plenty of time. Not this Lions team.

They go for the jugular every chance they get.

Looking at the play above, the Lions come out in a trips left formation with condensed splits. Bunched together on the left side is Josh Reynolds, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams. Once the ball is snapped, you’ll see all 3 receivers release vertically. As the defender across from St. Brown tries to jam him, you’ll see a quick arm over from St. Brown and that gives him plenty of separation.

Exploding off his inside foot, St. Brown snaps his route towards the sideline on a deep out route. With no defender in sight, he’s able to catch this one freely and clean. Goff really drives this throw and delivers a strike and it leads to a big first down for the Lions.

Lastly, I want to focus on one of the greatest plays we’ve seen in our lives. It’s the play that secured the game for the Lions. Coming out of the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter, the Lions were given a chance to talk this one out with Ben Johnson and Dan Campbell.

Looking at the play above, the Lions come out in a 2×2 set and aligned in the slot on the bottom of the screen, you’ll see St. Brown. Despite facing off-coverage from the defender, it’s not enough to slow him down. He pushes vertically and while it appears like he could be running a deep route, he snaps his route back towards Goff. While there’s contact from St. Brown, there’s also contact from the defender.

This gives separation to St. Brown and Goff gets the ball to him quickly. Turning up field right after catching the ball leads to St. Brown picking up the first down and it sets up the Lions to come out in the victory formation. After three straight kneel downs, the Lions win the game and advance to the next round of the playoffs!

When looking at the tape, you can see St. Brown make plays constantly. He’s by far the best player on the offense and is an absolute joy to watch every week. As he enters a contract year, it’s no secret that he’ll be worth every penny he’s given on his next contract. We can only hope that it’s an extension to stay in Detroit for a very long time. For now, look for him to continue to make big play after big play this weekend against Tampa Bay in the Divisional Round of the playoffs!

Sam LaPorta has best game of his young career against the Saints

Lions rookie ET Sam LaPorta has best game of his young career against the Saints, and Russell Brown breaks down the film

Throughout much of this season, Sam LaPorta has been a key contributor to the Detroit Lions offense. It’s not overly surprising but at the same time, LaPorta is playing a position that tends to take a year or two of development to see the type of results we’re seeing right now.

So far this season, LaPorta is fourth in the NFL in receptions (64) and fourth in receiving yards (679) for tight ends. More impressively, he’s tied for the league lead for touchdowns at the position with six touchdowns.

Through 12 games of his young career, LaPorta has already put himself in the conversation to be on the same level of players such as Travis Kelce, George Kittle and Mark Andrews. Continuing to make his case, LaPorta had the best game of his career in week 13 against the Saints with 9 receptions for 140 yards and a score. Let’s jump into the film to review why he had such a strong performance against New Orleans.

Starting with his first reception of the day, it was one of the most important plays of the day. It was the second touchdown of the game and was a big part to the Lions hot start against the Saints.

Looking at the play above, the Lions come out with their 11 personnel (one tight end and one running back) in a 2×2 set. Aligned off-the-line of scrimmage, you can see LaPorta, who appears to be an H-back. Prior to the snap, quarterback Jared Goff sends LaPorta on an exit motion to the right of the formation. This gives the Lions a trips right formation as the ball is being snapped.

Once the ball is snapped, LaPorta explodes vertically up the field before breaking in towards the middle of the field. Initially, Jared Goff, eyes wide receiver Josh Reynolds on the post route that freezes the safeties in the end-zone. This gives a window for Goff to hit LaPorta in-stride as he heads to the end-zone. Goff does just that and it leads to the Lions second touchdown of the game.

Moving to the next play, I want to focus on the ability of LaPorta to run after-the-catch. This play was on the Lions 3rd drive of the game and it was the play that set-up the touchdown pass for Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Looking at the play above, you can see the Lions aligned in a twins right formation with their 11 personnel (one tight end and one running back). At the top of the screen, you can see LaPorta aligned as the lone receiver.

Once the ball is snapped, he runs a deep over and is able to shake off the initial contact from the safety that tries to tackle him. Afterwards, LaPorta is able to gain plenty of additional yardage after-the-catch.

Whenever a player goes off with 9 receptions, it’s hard to break down each one. That said, the best reception and best play of the day for LaPorta came on the play above. It was 3rd down for the Lions and they came out in a 2×2 set with their 11 personnel (one running back and one tight end).

Prior to the snap, LaPorta gets motioned to the left and it becomes a trips left formation. Once the ball is snapped, he runs a crosser over the middle of the field. Reading the Cover-1 man defense with the single-high safety, quarterback Jared Goff knows that he should have an opening to fit a pass to him.

As LaPorta starts to make his break, the opening is created. Despite the ball being thrown behind him, he makes a great adjustment and it was one of the most important plays of the day for this Lions offense.