Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
These VFLs were in action in the NFL’s regular season finale.
The NFL regular season has concluded and playoff matchups are set.
A few former Tennessee players were inactive Sunday, including Eagles defensive end Derek Barnett and Saints running back Alvin Kamara.
Several others played, and in some cases, closed out their 2020 campaigns.
The following is a recap of how every VFL performed in their regular season finale.
Examining the contract status of every Detroit Lions player heading into the 2021 offseason, with position group is broken down into detail.
The Detroit Lions 2020 season is over and that means we’re on to the offseason.
Here, we will examine the contract status of every Lions player as the team heads into the 2021 offseason in order to get a better understanding of the team’s depth and needs.
Players are grouped by position, with the starters bolded.
These former Tennessee standouts were in action over the NFL weekend.
Week 13 of the National Football League is complete.
Week 13 showcased games taken place on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday due to schedule adjustments with COVID-19 protocols.
Several former Vols were in action for their respective teams. Below is a recap of every VFL that registered a statistic in Week 13 of the NFL.
Examining the Detroit Lions depth chart as they take on the Chicago Bears in Week 13.
In this comprehensive look at the Detroit Lions roster, we will be examining not only the positional depth chart but also looking at who coaches will turn to in specific situations, including who will step up in case of injury.
With Darrell Bevell now running the team, there’s a lot of things that could potentially change, but based on the personnel available, this is our best guess at this time.
Here’s a look at the Lions depth chart as they take on the Chicago Bears in Week 13.
Note: Starters will be listed in BOLD and you will see some players listed more than once as they have multiple roles.
VFLs in the NFL: Week 12 Recap
Week 12 in the NFL was extended through Wednesday.
Two games took place on Thanksgiving to start the week, and the final game was played nearly a week later as the Ravens and Steelers finally faced off.
Several former Vols were in action over the weekend, with a few standout performances mixed in. Here is a recap of how VFLs fared in the NFL Week 12.
Deshaun Watson’s flea-flicker touchdown pass to Will Fuller against the Lions was even more embarrassing for Detroit than you thought.
Through the first 11 weeks of the 2020 NFL season, the Detroit Lions played man coverage on 160 of their pass defense snaps, the second-highest in the league behind the Cardinals, per Sports Info Solutions. And on those 160 pass defense snaps, they allowed 91 completions in 117 attempts for a league-high 1,286 yards, 11 touchdowns, and four interceptions.
Through the first 11 weeks of the 2020 NFL season, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson faced man coverage on 148 of his dropbacks. On those 148 dropbacks, Watson had completed 68 of 125 passes for 956 yards, 631 air yards, 11 touchdowns, and one interception.
So, when the Lions and Texans faced off on Thanksgiving Day, guess which coverages the Lions played most of the time? Yup. We have written on several occasions about Detroit head coach Matt Patricia and his misbegotten reliance on man coverage despite the fact that he absolutely, positively does NOT have the personnel to do that well (here and here), and this most certainly continued on Turkey Day, because Watson ripped that defense to shreds in a 45-21 beatdown. Watson, who’s been playing as well as any quarterback in the league over the last month, completed 17 of 25 passes for 318 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions, and if he hadn’t missed a few deep balls early in the game, it could have been even worse for the Lions.
Unquestionably the most embarrassing episode in this particular Patricia-designed debacle was Watson’s 34-yard touchdown pass to Will Fuller with 10:04 left in the game. On this play, Watson first handed the ball to Duke Johnson, who ran right, flipped the ball back to Watson, and Fuller had a cow pasture around him downfield for the easiest touchdown he’ll ever see in his life.
If you think the overhead view looks bad for this kind of “man coverage,” take a look at the dots. I have no clue what half the defenders are trying to accomplish on this play — especially cornerback Justin Coleman [No. 27], who follows Fuller halfway across the formation in motion, then turns back to cover receiver Keke Coutee, and then runs back to try and catch up to Fuller like his butt’s on fire. .
OMFG THE DOTS pic.twitter.com/6i8zkDef3O
— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) November 27, 2020
Here’s the worst part of a really bad scene — this whole thing was busted off of the blitz pressure of safety Jayron Kearse [No. 42], who got in the backfield quickly and then kinda stood around. It had been agreed on Houston’s side that if there was pressure, Johnson would keep the ball, but Watson obviously saw just how broken the defense was right off the bat.
“That’s something we wanted an exact look, and really, when I called the play, Duke looked at me and was like, ‘Hey, if we’ve got pressure, I’m going to keep it, and I’m not going to pitch it back.'” Watson said after the game. “So, that’s why he carried the ball a little longer than he was supposed to. And when he kept it, I called him: ‘Hey, Duke! Duke!’ I was yelling his name, and he turned around and threw it back to me. And I grabbed it and saw Will, so I got it to Will, and that’s how it really happened. So, he was really keeping it because that was the plan in pressure, you know, keep it. But I called his name and he trusted me and pitched it back, and I just grabbed it and launched it.”
When you’re playing a defense that doesn’t work to its personnel, and has guys throwing themselves all over the place doing God knows what, it is indeed as easy as that.
VFLs in the NFL recap: Week 11
Week 11 of the 2020 NFL season has came to an end.
Several former Tennessee players were in action last week. Below is a recap of how every VFL performed over the weekend.
Examining the Detroit Lions Week 8 snap counts to identify which players coaches leaned on and how that impacted their game strategy.
The Detroit Lions entered their Week 8 contest with the Indianapolis Colts by trying to take away their biggest strengths and that meant adjusting their offensive and defensive lines.
The offensive line once again saw a shuffling of players up front, adding Joe Dahl back into the starting lineup — this time at right guard — pushing Hal Vaitai outside to right tackle and sending Tyrell Crosby to the bench.
On defense, the Lions used each of their four interior defensive linemen on over 53-percent of plays, something we haven’t seen during this coaching staff’s tenure.
The main goal: Establish the run on offense, take it away on defense.
The results were not in the Lions’ favor.
The Lions managed just 29-yards rushing, with only eight of those yards coming from their running backs group. On defense, they faired better, but after a rough fourth quarter, they finished the day allowing a total of 119-yards, more than their previous two games combined.
That, and more observations in this week’s review of the Lions snap counts.
The Detroit Lions drop their fourth loss against the Indianapolis Colts at their own hands with turnovers and penalties.
[sendtonews_embed video_id=”1J2op1BgVL-1022107-7498″]
The Detroit Lions were handed their fourth loss of the season after dropping an ugly one against the Indianapolis Colts, with a final score of 41-21.
The Lions looked completely out of sync the entire game. The offense couldn’t sustain drives and the defense couldn’t get off the field. The run defense looked good early but took a step back late allowing 119 yards. On the offensive side of the ball, they completely abandoned the run after finding little success, gaining only 29 yards the entire game. They also allowed five sacks.
It was hard to say when the rails completely fell off in this game, but there are quite a few ill-timed penalties and turnovers that led to the Lions’ demise this week.
Let’s start with the first penalty that set them back. With the game was tied 7-7, the Lions were about to force the Colts to punt after a Danny Shelton sack. The Lions were called for an unnecessary roughness penalty on Shelton. The penalty gave the Colts an automatic first down, and two plays later, the Colts scored a touchdown.
Referee's explanation for the personal foul against Danny Shelton: pic.twitter.com/CVxbrPkunZ
— kyle meinke (@kmeinke) November 1, 2020
The second penalty came against Tony McRae after he made contact with the returner, who had signaled for a fair catch. It looked like he was pushed into the returner, but the refs upheld the penalty. Instead of the Colts starting at their own 37, the penalty pushed them to the Lions 48 yard line. The Colts took advantage of the extra yards and went on to score pushing their lead to 20-7.
A Matt Prater missed field goal kept it a 13 point difference at the half.
After coming out in the third quarter and bringing the game to one score, the Lions were able to muster much-needed stops on defense, and the offense was looking like they were finding their stride.
Then the Lions gave up their first fumble of the season.
On the Lions’ third drive of the second half, they were deep in the Colts zone, threatening to score to try to take the lead, when the Colts star linebacker Darius Leonard found a hole and ripped the ball out of Stafford’s grip, forcing the turnover.
WELCOME BACK DARIUS LEONARD!! 😈
📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/ZGoRBdUr07
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) November 1, 2020
The fumble was starting to be a distant memory when the Lions forced the Colts into a 3rd and 14 to go situation. Philip Rivers heaves a deep pass in Justin Coleman’s direction, but Coleman was called for passer interference. A few plays later, the Colts scored again — then added a two-point conversion — driving the score up 28-14.
To put the final dagger in the heart, the Lions’ next drive ended as quick as it began after Stafford threw one the easiest interceptions Kenny Moore will ever see. Moore took it to the endzone and at that point, the game was signed, sealed, and delivered for the Colts.
DO YOUR DANCE KENNY! 🕺@KennyKennyMoe3 | #INDvsDET
📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/kA0kAvJYVY
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) November 1, 2020
From start to finish, the Lions offense was in all sorts of disarray. Stafford was under constant pressure, and the rushing attack was halted in their place. The defense looked like the group at the beginning of the season and had no answer for the Colts offense.
The Lions will head to Minnesota next week to face their division rivals, who are riding high after they upset the Packers 28-22. If the Lions want any hope to stay relevant this season, they need to find a way to chisel out a win against the Vikings.
The Detroit Lions announced they have activated starting slot corner Justin Coleman from injured reserve.
The Detroit Lions announced they have activated starting slot corner Justin Coleman from injured reserve.
There was no need for a corresponding move to make room for Coleman, as the Lions had released Elijah Lee on Thursday and had an open spot on the roster.
Coleman had a very solid training camp and opened the season impressively, but 19 snaps into Week 1 versus the Chicago Bears he injured his hamstring. From the moment he went down, it was clear this injury was going to take time to heal. After spending a few weeks on injured reserve, Coleman returned to practice last Thursday and coach Matt Patricia noted that he was “getting better every week”.
With Coleman returning to the starting lineup, Darryl Roberts will likely return to a reserve role. Roberts had been filling in during Coleman’s absence, and while he is a terrific tackler, his coverage was inconsistent and he was coming off his worst game of the season.
It’s possible Roberts will still get some work this week, as Coleman may need time to re-acclimate back to gameplay and Desmond Trufant is questionable with a hamstring injury, but expect him to still rep behind young up-and-comers Amani Oruwariye and Jeff Okudah.
