Tag: Malcolm Rodriguez

Malcolm Rodriguez nominated for NFL Rookie of the Week for Week 8

Rodriguez racked up seven tackles, a sack, a deflected pass and a fumble recovery in the Lions’ 31-27 loss to the Dolphins.

Congratulations to Lions linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez. The man popularly known as “Rodrigo” is one of six nominees for the NFL’s rookie of the week honor from Week 8.

The award, sponsored by Pepsi Zero Sugar, pits Rodriguez against five other rookies from Week 8. Rodriguez racked up seven tackles, a sack, a deflected pass and a fumble recovery in the Lions’ 31-27 loss to the Dolphins.

The award is decided based on fan voting, so you can help Rodriguez win. Vote here at NFL.com and make sure you select Rodriguez. Fellow Lions rookie Aidan Hutchinson was a nominee in Week 7 but did not win.

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4 Lions who must have good games against the Dolphins in Week 8

Four Lions who all need to have good days on Sunday for the team to have a realistic shot at beating the 4-3 Dolphins.

The Lions enter Week 8 in desperate need of a win. Detroit dropped to 1-5 with a punchless loss in Dallas a week ago, draining any potential momentum boost to be gained from the Week 6 bye.

Now the Miami Dolphins come to Ford Field for Sunday’s interconference matchup. It’s a game the Lions can absolutely win despite the disparity in records and the visitors from Miami currently installed as a 3.5-point favorite. For the Lions to pull off the mild upset win, they need a few key components to step up.

Last week’s predictions proved prescient, though not necessarily positive. Three of the four named did have good games but Jared Goff’s bad day scuttled any chance for the win.

4 Lions who must have good games vs. Dallas in Week 7

Goff is a repeat performer on the list for Week 8, but in a bit of a different context. He’s joined by three other Lions who all need to have good days on Sunday for the team to have a realistic shot at beating the 4-3 Dolphins.

Lions rookie report: Kerby Joseph has rough first day as starter

Once again several members of the Lions rookie class failed to make a positive impact

The Detroit Lions once again failed to come away with a win in a high-scoring game, and once again several members of their rookie class failed to make an impact.

Starting free safety Tracy Walker is out for the season with an Achilles injury, so the Lions made the decision to put third-round rookie Kerby Joseph into that role.

Joseph started at safety and was immediately picked on by Geno Smith and Seattle’s tight ends. On Seattle’s opening drive, Joseph failed to cover Colby Parkinson which led to him having to tackle the tight end out of bounds in the red zone. On the very next play, Joseph was targeted again and couldn’t prevent a touchdown by tight end Will Dissly.

For the rest of the first half, the rookie stayed relatively quiet. He didn’t make nearly as many mistakes in coverage, but he wasn’t making play on defense either. Joseph had four total tackles in the game, and all four were after he or another member of the secondary blew the coverage and had to rally to the receiver.

Malcolm Rodriguez had a spectacular day once again. The rookie started strong on special teams by forcing a fumble that led to Detroit’s first score of the game one play later. On that play, Tyler Lockett caught the punt from Jack Fox and only made it a few yards before Rodriguez wrapped him up and punched the ball out.

On defense, the sixth-round rookie was strong against the run. He finished the day with a team-high 11 tackles, one of which went for a loss of yardage.

Aidan Hutchinson has once again failed to live up to his draft status as he once again came away with very few pressures and no sacks. He bit hard on just about every play action that Seattle ran. It was a tough day for the former Michigan Wolverine.

Rookies Chase Lucas and James Mitchell were active for this game but were non-factors.

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Lions vs Vikings: Best and Worst PFF grades from Week 3

Here are the Detroit Lions best and worst PFF performers for this Week 3 game against the Minnesota Vikings.

It is never easy losing against your division opponent, but what happened for the Detroit Lions at the end makes it hurt that much more, losing their second game against the Minnesota Vikings, 28-24.

The Lions looked to be in control, but after some heavily questionable playcalling, ill-timed injuries, and miscommunication, they felt that win slip through their fingers. It has been documented enough that Coach Dan Campbell wishes he would’ve made a different call at the end, so we don’t need to beat a dead horse while it’s down. The Lions will look to redeem themselves next week against the Seattle Seahawks in hopes they can rebound from this devastation.

Most of this week’s PFF grades fall right in line with the eye test, good and bad. So we will go ahead and highlight the best and the worst PFF performers for the Lions for Week 3 against the Vikings.

Malcolm Rodriguez: Breaking down the Lions rookie LB in Week 2

Malcolm Rodriguez: Breaking down all of the Lions rookie LB’s snaps in the Week 2 win over the Commanders

Malcolm Rodriguez is quickly making a name for himself in Detroit. The sixth-round rookie has earned the starting role at linebacker and rolled with it. “Rodrigo” led the Lions in tackles in the team’s Week 2 win over the Washington Commanders and earned acclaim as one of the league’s “Secret Superstars.”

As I did with cornerback Jeff Okudah in Week 1, I went back and charted every single rep from Rodriguez against the Commanders. Rodriguez played 54 of Detroit’s 74 defensive snaps in the win.

I reviewed all 54 of Rodriguez’s reps on defense. Even playing linebacker in the middle of the field, Rodriguez was only actively involved in 23 plays. On those plays where Rodriguez directly mattered in the outcome, I assigned either a plus for a good play or a minus for a bad one. The tally: 15 plusses, eight minuses.

Some of the plusses were obvious ones. The second defensive snap of the game was a great example. Rodriguez attacked a Commanders run, picking off the outside blocker and pushing him into the way of RB Antonio Gibson, who was quickly gobbled up by Will Harris and Alex Anzalone for a minimal gain. If Rodriguez doesn’t do what he does, Anzalone doesn’t get there on the scrape in pursuit from the other LB spot.

Two other first-half plusses resulted in major positives for the Lions defense. Rodriguez helped create an intentional grounding penalty against Commanders QB Carson Wentz with a delayed A-gap blitz. No. 44 was integral in the Charles Harris sack of Wentz that produced the safety, too; Rodriguez was in coverage on Wentz’s desired target and locked up TE Logan Thomas on the play, forcing Wentz to hold the ball long enough for the cavalry to get the huge play.

Rodriguez also contributes on special teams, and he earned a plus on the very next rep, the free kick after the safety. He made a textbook seal block that helped spring Kalif Raymond for a 52-yard return.

The minuses primarily came in the second half and in open field or coverage situations. He was exploited in coverage on two big plays by the Washington offense on the touchdown drive that closed the score to 22-15. The first was a deep crossing pattern where he couldn’t keep up with WR Curtis Samuel, a very nice play design by the Commanders. Two plays later, Rodriguez didn’t get enough depth in his cover drop, allowing Wentz to hit Thomas for a TD before safety DeShon Elliott could close from his high-coverage role. It appears Pro Football Focus hung this TD on Elliott’s ledger, but Rodriguez is of at least equal culpability.

It was a frustrating minus to give on the TD pass because Rodriguez earned a plus one drive earlier for getting great positioning in coverage on Thomas and forcing Wentz to throw the ball too high to his giant TE, resulting in the tip-drill INT by Will Harris. Another coverage plus came later when Rodriguez nearly snatched an interception while staying in lockstep coverage.

There was one missed tackle, a play where Wentz juked a diving Rodriguez on a scramble up the middle. He had another arm tackle that failed but was quickly cleaned up by Harris, and Rodriguez at least held his leverage so I didn’t give him a minus there.

Three minuses came on run plays where he was devoured by blocks on the play side of the run. But Rodriguez earned several plusses in the run game, notably a huge stuff tackle on 3rd-and-2 at the end of the third quarter. Three plays later he initiated a tackle-for-loss in tandem with DT Isaiah Buggs, a big plus for No. 44.

Overall it was a very impressive performance for Rodriguez’s second NFL game. The minuses in coverage were primarily more of a schematic issue than mental failures by Rodriguez. The instincts and quick reactions that made Rodriguez appealing as a draft prospect and rocketed him up the Detroit depth chart were validated in the win over the Commanders.

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3 Lions earn ‘Secret Superstar’ status in Week 2 win over Washington

John Cominsky, Malcolm Rodriguez and dan Skipper all earned spots on Touchdown Wire’s Secret Superstar list for Week 2

The stars came out in Detroit’s 36-27 win over Washington last Sunday. Aidan Hutchinson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, D’Andre Swift and Jared Goff all had great games in Week 2. But the Lions also got great performances from some less-heralded players in the win.

Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire recognizes those sorts of players each week with the “Secret Superstar” honors. And he found three Lions worthy of inclusion in the Week 2 edition of honoring the underappreciated.

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Left guard Dan Skipper, defensive lineman John Cominsky and rookie linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez all made the cut. They’re all smart inclusions.

The segment on Cominksy epitomizes the concept of the Secret Superstar,

Through two games in the new season, he has a sack, a quarterback hit, and eight quarterback hurries. It got lost in rookie Aidan Hutchinson three-sack performance against the Commanders on Sunday, but Cominsky had that sack, and seven total pressures.

The sack was specifically impressive, because as Hutchinson (No. 97) stunted several gaps inside, Cominsky (No. 79) shredded a double-team on the way to Carson Wentz.

Congrats to the Lions trio of underexposed contributors, they all deserve the acclaim.

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Secret Superstars for Week 2 of the 2022 NFL season

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar points out the NFL’s great performances by unheralded players in his weekly Secret Superstars team.

There are all kinds of reasons that NFL players are underrated.

Perhaps they’re in systems that don’t best show their skills. Maybe they’re buried on a depth chart. Or, they’re in somebody’s doghouse, and their coaches can’t see their potential. Sometimes, young players haven’t quite put it all together, but there are enough flashes to make you sit up and take notice, and when it does work, it’s all good.

Week 1 of the 2022 regular season features players at every position who showed up and showed out despite their underrated statuses, and here at Touchdown Wire, it’s our job to point them out.

Here are the Secret Superstars for Week 2 of the 2022 NFL season.

Lions vs. Commanders: Game notes from the Week 2 film review

Lions film room notes on Jared Goff’s big day, disciplined aggression in the run game, great special teams and more

Tuesday mornings are devoted to rewatching Sunday’s Lions performances. Some of those Tuesdays are easier than others, and this week was one of them.

The game film from the Lions’ 36-27 home win over the Washington Commanders in Week 2 revealed a lot of positives from Dan Campbell’s Detroit team. Quite a few initial judgments were confirmed, but there were also some fresh observations that needed the second (and third–I watch both the game and the All-22) viewing to appreciate.

Here’s some of what really stood out from watching the film of the Lions’ triumphant date with the Commanders.

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.

Lions rookie report: Aidan Hutchinson helps Detroit to its first win of the season

Lions rookie report: Aidan Hutchinson helps Detroit to its first win of the season

The Detroit Lions shocked the league when they managed to pull out a win against Washington Commanders, and much of the credit for their win can go to members of their rookie class.

Aidan Hutchinson was the star of the show with his three-sack performance on Sunday afternoon.

While he didn’t shine in Week 1, Hutchinson reminded everyone why he was worthy of being drafted second-overall. The Detroit-area native managed to accumulate all three of his sacks on Carson Wentz in the first half of the game.

The rookie came away with six total tackles against Washington. While he had a stellar first half, he did suffer a very minor injury that had him sidelined for a few plays. Though he did get back into the game, he had a noticeable limp and his high level of play started to simmer down.

Helping Hutchinson put pressure on the Commanders’ offense was sixth-round pick Malcolm Rodriguez. The rookie linebacker made waves early on as he was able to take some of the heat off of Hutchinson and let him make plays.

He had a decent day in coverage as well. He struggled to defend against one pass from Wentz late in the game but overall was not the reason why any of Washington’s big plays occurred.

Rodriguez finished the day tied for first in tackles with eight. He also had one quarterback hit early.

It’s rare that a team can find such a talented player in the sixth round, let alone a starting linebacker. The only way is up for Rodriguez this season.

Rookie defensive backs Chase Lucas and Kerby Joseph were active for this game but did not take the field on defense or record a single stat on special teams.

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