Tag: Honolulu Blueprint

The Honolulu Blueprint: Keys to a Lions victory over the Bears

The Detroit Lions will look to hand the Chicago Bears a sixth straight loss and this week’s Honolulu Blueprint lays out key areas to win.

The Detroit Lions (4-7) are on the road this week to face their division rival Chicago Bears (5-6), where one game separates the two teams in the division cellar.

After the Lions Thanksgiving slaughter, principal owner Sheila Ford Hamp decided to clean house and fired both Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn. In their stead, Darrell Bevell was named the interim head coach, while the GM duties are made up of a slew of front office personnel.

It’s difficult to anticipate how different the Lions will look this week, but Bevell has said he wants the players to work hard but have fun in the process. On the flip side, mixed signals have gone out about the defense, but it’ll be interesting to see if the issues were mostly due to Patricia or these coordinators should share some of the blame.

The Bears were handed their own massacre on Monday Night Football against the Green Bay Packers, getting pummeled 41-25. Coach Matt Nagy was embarrassed by the performance and expected a whole lot more from the players.

The Bears started hot to begin the season, but they have fallen into the dark abyss, and have dropped their last five games — bringing into question if they are on the verge of purging their coach and GM as well.

It’ll be interesting to see how well the players have responded to the coaching situations this week, and with playoff hopes all but shot, for both teams, this game may determine the rest of their seasons.

Here are the key areas in this week’s Honolulu Blueprint the Lions need to focus on to secure victory.

Lions look to leave Washington with second win ever

The Detroit Lions will travel to Washington where wins have historically been hard to come by. In fact, they’ve only won there once — ever.

The Detroit Lions will travel to Washington on Sunday, where wins have historically been hard to come by.

Overall, Washington leads the series 30-14, although, the Lions have won the last four meetings, including a 2013 win at FedEx Field, which marked the first time the Lions had beaten the Redskins on the road — ever.

A trip down memory lane

Until 2013, the Lions had made 21 trips to D.C. and suburban Maryland, and then traveled back home with a loss.

Matthew Stafford led the Lions with 385 yards and two touchdowns. Calvin Johnson finished the game with six receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter that would prove to be the dagger.

The Lions’ tough defensive unit, led by Ndamukong Suh, contained Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III en route to nine hits, two sacks, three forced fumbles (one lost) and an interception.

When the Lions (3-6-1) take the field against Washington (1-9) on Sunday, it’s hard to fathom that they will be aiming for only their second all-time win in the nation’s capital. Nonetheless, they need to take advantage of key matchups and clean up their defensive play. Erik Schlitt gave us the Honolulu Blueprint for the Lions to come back to Detroit with win No. 4 on the season.

The Honolulu Blueprint: Keys to a Lions victory over Washington

The Honolulu Blueprint: Identifying several key strategies the Lions will need to do, in order to be victorious over Washington in Week 12.

The Detroit Lions (3-6-1) are banged up as they prepare to travel to Washington (1-9) in Week 12, and they’ll need to follow this week’s Honolulu Blueprint if they want to come away with a victory.

Let’s take a look at the key components the Lions need to take advantage of in Week 12.

Driskel needs to keep it simple, play to strengths

Matthew Stafford (back) will miss yet another game and that means the Lions will call on Driskel once again to step in and step up.

Driskel has played well the last two weeks, producing through the air and on the ground. He’s thrown for 478 yards, three touchdowns, and only one interception, while his 88 rushing yards, and a score, have been very problematic for defenses.

No one will be mistaking Driskel for Stafford anytime soon, but he won’t need to be in this game. Driskel’s priorities should be to keep active feet, limit turnovers, and take what the defense is giving him.

Keep Bo Scarbrough rolling

From practice squader to starter in the 24-hours leading up to last week’s game, Scarbrough made the most of his opportunity with the Lions. He scored on only this third NFL touch:

At the end of the day, Scarbrough’s numbers may have appeared average, finishing the game with 14 carries for 55 yards (3.9 yards per carry average) and the above touchdown, but when you look closer, there were some impressive stats — specifically, yards after contact:

Per Pro Football Focus, Scarbrough is averaging an impressive 4.07 yards after contact.

Bottom line: don’t get caught up in the total yards rushing, it’s how he’s producing those yards that matter. He brings a huge missing piece to the Lions backfield and one that they need to keep working if they hope to find success on the ground.

Get creative with pressure

Washington’s rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins hasn’t quite acclimated to NFL pressure. The first-round pick was announced the starter less than three weeks ago, and his two games as a starter, he has thrown 57 passes and been sacked 10 times.

The Lions will be without their top two defensive line pressure creators in Trey Flowers (concussion) and Da’Shawn Hand (ankle). Because of this, coaches will need to get creative in how they scheme up pressure.

One of the most impactful ways they have found success doing this is by disguising where the pressure is coming from and bringing linebackers from non-traditional spots. With injuries upfront — and Tracy Walker (knee) also out — expect the Lions to deploy a lot of linebacker sets, which should afford them the opportunity to utilize these pressure schemes.

Shut down Haskins top option in McLaurin

Haskins and fellow rookie Terry McLaurin (3rd round pick) were a formidable duo at Ohio State a year ago and their chemistry has carried over to the NFL. On the season, McLaurin has 566 yards receiving, more than double the next receiving target on the team.

There’s little doubt McLaurin is Washington’s top receiving option, and when it’s this obvious, it’s almost a foregone conclusion he’s going to draw Darius Slay. If Slay can take away Washington’s top option, it could force Haskins into uncomfortable situations and that means opportunities for turnovers.

On the year, 79 passes, Haskins has thrown five picks. At the same time, the Lions have gone five weeks without an interception. This could be a prime opportunity to end the drought.

Overcome the loss of Agnew on special teams

Lions kick and punt returner Jamal Agnew will miss this game with an ankle injury and that means an opportunity for someone else to step up.

Last week after Agnew went down, Marvin “all I do is catch 40-yard passes” Hall filled in returning punts — there were no kick returns after Agnew left the game but the expectation is Hall or rookie Ty Johnson will line up there this week.

The Lions shouldn’t have a problem replacing Agnew’s 4.34 speed — Hall and Johnson can also each run sub 4.4 — but can they replace his production? Last year in Atlanta, Hall returned 26 kickoffs for a 23.7-yard average, roughly 3 yards less than Agnew. Johnson has never returned a kick in the NFL but he took two to the house against Michigan and Ohio State.

The Lions have the potential to overcome the loss of Agnew — which is more than can be said in years past — but they need to show it on the field.

The Honolulu Blueprint: Keys to a Lions victory over the Cowboys in Week 11

The Honolulu Blueprint: Identifying several key strategies the Lions will need to do, in order to be victorious over the Cowboys in Week 11.

If the Detroit Lions (3-5-1) want to shock the world and come away with a victory over the Dallas Cowboys (5-4) in Week 11, they’ll need to follow this week’s Honolulu Blueprint and execute several key strategies.

Let’s take a look at the key components the Lions need to take advantage of in Week 11.

Lean on Jeff Driskel’s strengths

By this point, we all know Matthew Stafford has been ruled out and the Lions will be starting Jeff Driskel for the second consecutive week. Last week, Driskel wasn’t notified he would get the ball until the morning of the game, but this week it’s been clear from Monday, Driskel would start again.

The extra time should afford the Lions the opportunity to prepare a game plan suited to Driskel’s strengths, which are listed below per Lions Wire’s own Jeff Risdon’s evaluation:

  • Very athletic and creative outside the pocket
  • Above-average arm strength and zip on deeper throws
  • Mechanics don’t break down on the move
  • Improved his footwork and developed a more consistent release point that really helped his accuracy
  • Enthusiastic presence on the sideline and in the huddle

The Lions opened last week’s game with a read-option and Driskel gave the ball to J.D. McKissic for a 10-yard run. As the game progressed, Driskel would keep the ball on five runs, amassing a team-leading 37-yards (one more than McKissic). Expect the Lions to continue relying on Driskel’s 4.56 speed to move the ball on the ground.

They also need to test the Cowboys deep, like they did in the clip below, which encompasses all five of Risdon’s positive attributes into one play:

This play was one of only three deep shots (passes over 20 yards) taken by Driskel on the afternoon — and the only one he connected on — but there is enough potential there for the Lions to increase the frequency of plays like this.

Keep hitting the safety valves

When a young quarterback is in trouble he often relies on tight ends and running backs to alleviate pressure. Last week, Driskel leaned on his running backs early and tight ends late, totaling 19 targets, with 14 of them being completed for a collective 100-yards.

Similarly, last week, the Cowboys allowed the Vikings tight ends and running backs to complete 17 of 20 passes for 136 yards, two touchdowns, and a 2-pt conversion.

While the Lions should test the Cowboys secondary with the deep ball, players like McKissic and T.J. Hockenson need to step up and provide Driskel with reliable and consistent options in the passing game.

Time of possession/Fast start

The Dallas Cowboys offense is potent, checking in as Football Outsider’s top DVOA offense, earning the No. 2 rushing and No. 3 passing spots on offense. There’s no doubt the Lions defense will be challenged but the Lions offense can help in two major ways: time of possession and scoring early.

In the Cowboys’ four losses, they lost the time of possession in three of them, and in all four games, they trailed heading into the locker room at halftime:

  • Saints held the ball for 36:04 and led 9-3 at the half
  • Packers 36:43 and led 17-0 at the half
  • Jets only had the ball for 27:57 but got out to a 21-6 at the half
  • Vikings 33:27, ahead 14-0 after 1st quarter and 17-14 at the half

Bottom line: keep the Cowboys’ offense on the sidelines.

Focus on Ezekiel Elliot 1st, Dak Prescott 2nd

Elliot is one of the best running backs in the league and while the Lions have historically had trouble containing him, that shouldn’t deter the Lions from focusing on slowing him down first.

While the Cowboys rushing attack is aggressive and efficient, they failed to break 50 yards rushing in two of their losses (Saints and Vikings), averaging 2.3 yards per attempt in both games.

The Lions run defense has struggled all season, but in two of their last three games, they did not allow a rushing touchdown and held their opponent to 80 (Giants) and 81 yards (Bears) on the ground — with 3.3 and 3.4 yards per attempt average respectively.

If the Lions can build on their recent success, it’ll go a long way to helping them earn a win.

Attack the weakness on the OL

The Cowboys offensive line is one of the best in the NFL and features three first-round picks (Tyron Smith Zack Martin, and Travis Frederick), one of the highest-paid right tackle in the league (La’el Collins, who should’ve been a first-round pick if not for a timely investigation) and a third-round pick in Connor Williams.

Williams, the Cowboys starting left guard, currently has a knee injury and will miss this game. He will be replaced by Xavier Su’a-Filo, and according to Pro Football Focus, it’s a major downgrade — Su’a-Filo has a PFF grade 24.2 points lower than Williams.

Expect the Lions to attack Su’a-Filo with a variety of combinations. Look for the Lions to initially deploy Damon Harrison over him, and when Su’a-Filo gets used to the power, they will shift Trey Flowers inside to try and expose him with athleticism. Additionally, look for Jarrad Davis to attack Su’a-Filo’s A-gap responsibility to keep him guessing.

Be opportunistic

There are only two teams in the NFL who have the same numbers turnovers as takeaways — the Lions and Cowboys both have 12 of each.

Whoever wins this battle will have a big advantage. Look no further than the results from these teams last three games:

  • Lions lost to Bears – lost turnover battle 1-0
  • Lions lost to Raiders – lost turnover battle 2-0
  • Lions beat Giants – won the turnover battle 1-0
  • Cowboys lost to Vikings, lost turnover battle 1-0
  • Cowboys beat Giants, won the turnover battle 3-2
  • Cowboys beat Eagles, won the turnover battle 4-1

It’s not definitive, but win the turnover battle and you have a decisive advantage towards winning the game.