Tag: Detroit Lions quarterbacks

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.

Lions quarterback Nate Sudfeld struggles against the Giants

Breaking down the preseason start from Detroit Lions QB Nate Sudfeld against the New York Giants

It’s always hard to buy into everything you see in the NFL preseason. We obviously know that each team has plenty of players that do and don’t make the 53-man roster. But it’s the ultimate job interview for these players. They have to prove that they belong and that the team they play for made the right decision in drafting them or signing them.

In the first preseason game of the year, the Detroit Lions and New York Giants kicked off that interview process. For some players, it went great and for others, not so much.

In Detroit, they’ve got plenty of players that helped kick start this new regime. However, these players could be on the outside looking in and might end up finding themselves not being part of the Lions roster in a few weeks. It’s been a common trend for the backup quarterback spot in Detroit over recent years.

In previous years we saw quarterbacks such as Tim Boyle and David Blough have to battle through training camp and the preseason to earn their spots. Now, there’s another quarterback going through that same process. That quarterback is Nate Sudfeld.

Last season, he had signed with the Lions after being cut by the San Francisco 49ers. During his first season in Detroit, Sudfeld impressed the Lions coaching staff enough to earn a contract extension in the off-season. However, the Lions front office has made it clear that they’re looking to upgrade the quarterback position in Detroit. They want more competition in that room, and they’re doing everything they can to create it.

While Jared Goff looks to be the guy, it didn’t stop Detroit from drafting Hendon Hooker in the third round of the 2023 NFL draft. That alone made it feel like Sudfeld could be on the verge of having to find his 4th team in four years.

Fortunately for Sudfeld, he was able to earn plenty of reps as the Lions backup quarterback this summer. Much of this is due to Hooker likely starting the year on the PUP list. But the struggles for Sudfeld have been real. He has misplaced throws in camp and really had a rough outing against the Giants during the second day of joint practices earlier this week.

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Looking for redemption, Sudfeld was given the chance to start against the Giants in the first preseason game. He went 15-for-28 for 194 yards, two interceptions and had a passer rating of 45.8 while playing three quarters for Detroit.

While head coach Dan Campbell had stated that he saw “more positive than negative” with Sudfeld, the tape tells a different story. For starters, the first play of the game was a pass that floated downfield while the Giants defense aligned with a single-high safety. As Sudfeld was targeting Jameson Williams on this pass, he was hit low in the pocket and the ball hung up in the air for an easy interception.

Even though the Lions defense held the Giants to three points, the next drive wasn’t much better for the veteran quarterback. The first play after the interception was a short-trap run where Sudfeld had just over 10 seconds on the play clock to read the defense. However, it felt like he rushed the snap and didn’t read the blitzing safety that was in the box and it led to rookie Jahmyr Gibbs getting stuffed in the backfield.

Ultimately, the second drive for the Lions offense was a four-and-out. They found themselves going for it on 4th-and-1 with a play-action pass to Sam LaPorta that hit him in the hands but the defender draped over his shoulder broke the pass up.

As the game progressed, Sudfeld found some success throwing to Dylan Drummond, Antoine Green and James Mitchell. There was even a 3rd-down pass in the first quarter where he extended the play outside of the pocket and he found Jahmyr Gibbs for a first down.

Unfortunately, he did have another interception late in the 2nd quarter when throwing over the middle of the field while targeting Jameson Williams. It looked as if Williams could have put his hands up to attempt the catch but didn’t as he had tight coverage around him. This ultimately led to the ball hitting Giants safety Dane Belton in the hands for a big return. This set up a touchdown for the Giants and they took a 13-3 lead going into the half.

Certainly not every bad play was Sudfeld’s fault in the first preseason game. At the end of the first half, he hit Dylan Drummond in the chest on a jump ball in the end-zone but it was dropped. Meanwhile, his best throw of the night was a deep throw to Jameson Williams that was dropped by the second-year receiver.

But the struggles were real though for Sudfeld on Friday night. He’ll need to trust his ability to move outside of the pocket and ultimately, he needs to improve with his pre-snap communication. There were far too many instances where he rushed into taking the snap and it led to tackles for loss or miscues on certain throws.

The way Dan Campbell was talking after the game, it sounds like Sudfeld did enough to hold off rookie Adrian Martinez from taking reps from him. However, Sudfeld will need to get better if he wants to beat out Teddy Bridgewater for the backup quarterback spot.

Head coach Dan Campbell has made it evident that “they need to get Teddy some reps.” The way it’s shaping up is that we’ll see plenty of reps from Teddy and Nate for the QB2 battle in Detroit. I doubt that Sudfeld gets another three quarters of play to prove what he can and cannot do so he’ll need to make every play count against the Jacksonville Jaguars next week.