Tag: John Cominsky

Lions vs Commanders: Best and worst PFF grades from Week 2

Here are this week’s best and worst PFF Week 2 performers for the Detroit Lions against the Washington Commanders.

The Detroit Lions secured their first victory of the season against the Washington Commanders with the help of impressive performances in every facet of the field. The grit and fight that the players showed were nothing short of inspirational.

Amon-Ra St. Brown put on a clinic on offense setting NFL records left and right, turning in the Lions top playmaker. Hutchinson secured his first three sacks of his short NFL career so far, while Rodriguez continues to impress for a sixth-round rookie. The coaches are designing and scheming to allow their players to succeed, especially when injuries wreaked havoc on certain areas. Still, they overcame as a team and walked away as the victors.

Here are this week’s best and worst PFF performers for the Lions in Week 2.

Eagles-Lions initial Week 1 injury report: Miles Sanders a full participant in practice

The Philadelphia Eagles released their initial Week 1 injury report, and Miles Sanders is a full participant in practice while three others are limited.

The Eagles released their initial injury report for Sunday’s matchup at Detroit, and running back Miles Sanders was a full participant.

Sanders missed all of training camp with a hamstring injury, and Philadelphia was cautious with his rehab, but he should start against an improved Lions defense.

Josiah Scott, Derek Barnett, and Javon Hargrave were all limited participants, while Jason Kelce is cleared and will start on the road at Ford Field.

Lions DL John Cominsky got ‘into the groove’ nicely vs. Colts, helps his cause to make the team

Lions DL John Cominsky got ‘into the groove’ nicely vs. the Colts and helped his case to make the team in the process

John Cominsky is battling to make the Detroit Lions amidst a crowded and uncertain defensive line. The veteran put his best foot forward in the Lions’ 27-26 preseason win over the Colts in Indianapolis.

Cominsky started at defensive end opposite Austin Bryant while the starters sat out. Both Bryant and Cominsky turned in stellar games against the overmatched Colts reserve offensive tackles. Bryant bagged two sacks while Cominsky added another as both lived in the Colts backfield all afternoon.

“We started to get a feel of what the protection was,” Cominsky said after the game. “So we just started doing some twist games and guys starting to come into their own and get comfortable rushing the passer. Everybody’s starting to get into the groove.”

It wasn’t just the pass rush where Cominsky and the Lions defensive line grooved on Saturday. They also bottled up the Colts run game, allowing just 30 yards on 18 carries. Cominsky bagged a tackle-for-loss among his team-leading six stops, a figure that also included his sack. The run defense was a priority.

“We knew we needed to improve,” Cominsky told reporters. “The Falcons were able to get a couple of good runs. We want to take pride in stopping the run so we took the necessary adjustments. Everybody showed up in their gap … the running backs had nowhere to go.”

Cominsky did his damage primarily from the outside in Indianapolis, but he’s also been effective when kicking inside throughout camp. It’s that versatility that attracted the Lions to claim him off waivers from the Falcons earlier this offseason.

With all the injuries on the Lions defensive front, it’s that versatility and effectiveness in doing multiple things well that makes Cominsky a real asset. Second-round rookie Josh Paschal, last year’s second-rounder in Levi Onwuzurike and veteran Romeo Okwara are all capable of playing the same role, but they’re all hurt. Paschal and Okwara are both on the PUP list and appear unlikely to start the season on the active roster, while Onwuzurike continues to struggle with a back/hip injury that dates back to his college days.

Cominsky is quickly proving to be a savvy acquisition. He’s played his way from a variable on the roster bubble into a solid, useful player who should see some reps in the regular season. Saturday’s strong performance should cement his spot on the initial 53-man roster.

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5 things to watch in the Detroit Lions preseason opener vs. the Falcons

The Detroit Lions take on the Atlanta Falcons in their preseason opener and these are the 5 things you should be on the watch for

Heading into the second year of the Brad Holmes/Dan Campbell regime, there is a lot of hype surrounding the Detroit Lions, who will be looking to start off on the right foot against the Atlanta Falcons in their preseason opener.

Coach Campbell mentioned we should expect the starters to play the first quarter, then afterward we should expect a nice healthy dose of players who are trying to make a name on the Lions roster. There are plenty of questions surrounding the depth chart, and hopefully, throughout the game, we will gain some insight.

Here are the five things to watch for as the Lions take on the Falcons to open their football season.

Lions training camp notebook: Looking at the lines on Day 12

Notes and news from the Detroit Lions 12th training camp practice session with special focus on the offensive and defensive lines

The pads were on in Allen Park for Tuesday morning’s Detroit Lions practice session, the 12th of training camp. A near-capacity crowd got to watch a lot of hitting and spirited action on the sun-soaked morning.

With the contact amping up, I spent most of the day watching the offensive and defensive lines at full speed. The notes will reflect that emphasis in my viewing.

Here’s what I saw, heard and observed on the 12th day of Lions practice, August 9th.

Lions training camp notebook: The heat is on for Day 11

Bengals attempted to claim DL John Cominsky on waiver wire

The Bengals were trying to upgrade the defense on the waiver wire.

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The Cincinnati Bengals attempted to make a move on the waiver wire but came up just short.

We recently wrote those Bengals needed to be active in free agency at the defensive tackle position with names like Larry Ogunjobi.

It turns out the team would agree, as according to ESPN’s Field Yates, the Bengals were one of eight teams who tried to put in a claim on John Cominsky.

Cominsky ended up going to the Detroit Lions via waiver wire order. A 2019 fourth-round pick, Cominsky spent most of last year as a healthy scratch for the Falcons before getting cut in May.

If nothing else, the interest shows the Bengals will certainly be looking at more line depth in certain price ranges.

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Lions had serious competition to claim DL John Cominsky

The Detroit Lions had serious competition to claim DL John Cominsky on the NFL’s waiver wire

The Detroit Lions claimed defensive lineman John Cominsky off waivers from the Atlanta Falcons this week. It turns out the Lions were far from the only team interested in bringing in the 25-year-old Cominsky.

Per Field Yates of ESPN, seven other NFL teams placed waiver claims on Cominsky. Because the waiver wire claim order matches the NFL draft order through the first few weeks of the season, Detroit earned the priority and landed Cominsky from Atlanta by virtue of having the No. 2 overall pick and waiver wire claim status. The other teams who put in claims, according to Yates:

The Bengals, Browns, Cardinals, Colts, Commanders, Texans and Vikings.

If nothing else, there should be a market for Cominsky if he doesn’t work out in Detroit. There’s clearly interest in the versatile lineman around the league.

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John Cominsky: What the Lions are getting in their new DE

John Cominsky: What the Lions are getting in their new defensive end claimed off waivers from the Falcons this week

There is a new defensive lineman in Detroit with the Lions claiming John Cominsky off waivers from the Atlanta Falcons on Tuesday. It’s a calculated acquisition to find a gem that just didn’t fit with the changes in Atlanta. Can he fit in Detroit?

Cominsky was a fourth-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft after an impressive finish to his career at Charleston, a D-II school in West Virginia. A former option QB in high school in Northeast Ohio, Cominsky really bulked up and emerged as a viable NFL prospect with a stellar senior season that saw him bag 16.5 TFLs, three sacks and two forced fumbles for the Golden Eagles.

Drafted by the Falcons as a 285-pound end for their 3-4 defense, Cominsky didn’t have an easy positional fit. While he’s a very impressive athlete in terms of quickness and movement skills for his size, a 6-foot-5, 285-pound speed-based defensive end is a tough transition from D-II to the NFL. He tested significantly better at the 2019 combine than he ever translated to the field for the Falcons.

The prior Falcons regime, headed by GM Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Dan Quinn, viewed him as a player who could start at base DE in the 4-3 scheme and kick inside on pass-rush downs. He showed some progress after not playing much as a rookie.

Cominsky played quite a bit more in 2020 and demonstrated some interior pass-rushing ability. His length and quick feet were better served inside, though he was almost exclusively a pass-rush specialist at DT.

The Falcons changed regimes and schemes for 2021, and the move did not portend well for Cominsky. He wasn’t stout enough as a 3-4 DE or lithe or savvy enough to play as an OLB in the odd-man front. As a result, he barely played. That greatly contributed to his release from Atlanta.

Here’s the skinny from Falcons Wire editor Matt Urben:

Cominsky was drafted by previous Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. While playing for former head coach Dan Quinn — who ran more of an attacking 4-3 scheme — Cominsky developed into a solid rotational defensive end who could also slide inside on pass-rushing downs. In 2020, Cominsky played 44 percent of the team’s defensive snaps and racked up 21 pressures, however, the Falcons would fire both Quinn and Dimitroff after an 0-5 start that year. Atlanta hired Dean Pees as DC in 2021, but Comsinky just wasn’t a great fit in that 3-4 base defense.
The former Charleston standout played in just four games last season.

While his release wasn’t a total surprise, I completely understand why the Lions claimed him. Cominsky’s got a good motor and fits Detroit’s scrappy mentality. And more importantly, he’s a much better fit in Aaron Glenn’s defense where he can provide quality reps at both DE and DT.

I interviewed Cominsky at the 2019 Senior Bowl and got a chance to watch quite a bit of his Charleston tape after it became clear the Matt Patricia-era Lions had considerable interest in Cominsky. Here are my abridged notes from prior to the 2019 NFL draft on Cominsky:

  • Smart vs. the run, good tackling power
  • Very quick feet and good balance for a taller guy
  • Lacks power, especially in the lower body
  • No real sense of how to counter blocking or attack as a pass rusher on the outside
  •  Bad tendency to get straight up after engagement with blocker

One notable thing about Cominsky in Atlanta: he played at 275 pounds, down from his top college weight. For an interior player in Detroit’s new-look 4-man front, that’s very light. He projects to compete with Detroit’s recent second-round picks, Levi Onwuzurike (2021) and Josh Paschal (2022) for reps as a base end who can also play inside. Romeo Okwara and Michael Brockers are veterans in that role, too. If Cominsky bulks back up and adds functional lower-body strength, he could find a role playing more as a straight 3-tech DT in Detroit. He did not show that sort of ability in Atlanta, however.

It will take more pass-rushing oomph from Cominsky to crack the Lions lineup, but he does have developmental potential even after three NFL seasons. At minimum, he’s got a better chance to stick around than the man he replaced on the 90-man roster, kicker Aldrick Rosas.

Lions claim DL John Cominsky off waivers, release K Aldrick Rosas

The Lions successfully claimed DL John Cominsky off waivers from the Falcons and released K Aldrick Rosas

The Lions made a roster move to put a bow on the month of May. Detroit claimed defensive lineman John Cominsky off waivers from the Atlanta Falcons on Tuesday.

Cominsky was waived by the Falcons after three underwhelming seasons. He was a fourth-round pick out of D-II Charleston (WV) by the old Atlanta regime in 2019 who never really caught on as a regular. In 2021, the 26-year-old hybrid end/tackle played just 13 snaps on defense. In 27 career games for the Falcons, Cominsky registered 42 total tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Claiming Cominsky off waivers means the Lions do take on the remainder of his contract. The 285-pounder is due $985,000 in base salary. The Lions will not lose any cap room if they cut him before the season.

To make room for the successful waiver claim on Cominsky, the Lions released veteran kicker Aldrick Rosas. That reduces the number of kickers to just two, Austin Seibert and Riley Patterson.

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Falcons release veteran DL John Cominsky

The Atlanta Falcons released veteran defensive lineman John Cominsky on Thursday.

The Atlanta Falcons have released veteran defensive lineman John Cominsky, the team announced on Thursday afternoon.

A fourth-round pick out of Charleston (WV) in 2019, Cominsky spent three seasons on the team as a rotational defensive lineman. The 26-year old’s role was reduced in 2021 once the Falcons’ new coaching staff took over.

Cominsky played in just four games last season after he was active in at least 10 games the previous two years. Over his three-year Falcons career, he played in 27 games, racking up 41 tackles (19 solo), 1.5 sacks and five QB hits.

By releasing Cominsky, the Falcons save $965,000 in cap space.

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