Tag: Matt Nelson

Week 14 Studs and Duds: T.J. Hockenson leads team in receptions, finds end zone

Identifying the Studs and Duds from the Detroit Lions Week 14loss to the conference-leading Green Bay Packers.

In the second game of the Darell Bevell era for the Detroit Lions, the team was not able to pull off a win as they had in Chicago the week before.

This time around, the Lions struggled to stop the now 10-3 Green Bay Packers from possessing the football and taking control of the entire game.

There’s plenty of players who struggled throughout but don’t let the loss take away from a few players who did manage to put on good performances.

Stud: T.J. Hockenson

Hockenson has become Stafford’s safety net this season. He opened up the game with a one-yard reception for a touchdown and later contributed a few first downs for Detroit. He would end the day with a team leading six catches for 43 yards and a score.

Dud: Oday Aboushi

Aboushi was getting bullied by Green Bay defensive lineman Dean Lowry, who easily shoved the eight-year veteran offensive guard to the ground to get a sack on Matthew Stafford.

Tack on his second-quarter false start, and it’s safe to say that Aboushi was the weak link of the offensive line unit in this game.

Stud: Mohamed Sanu

The veteran wide receiver was brought up from the practice squad three weeks ago and has been a capable replacement for Kenny Golladay.

On the Lions’ first offensive drive, Sanu hauled in two receptions for 37 yards, helping the team move quickly down the field for a T.J. Hockenson score.

Dud: Duron Harmon

Harmon, who has been Detroit’s best safety this season, certainly didn’t look the part against Green Bay.

On the Packers’ first touchdown of the game, Harmon whiffed on a tackle and failed to bring down Davante Adams. He later whiffed on another pass to Adams on Green Bay’s following drive.

Stud: “Dagger Time”

The mantra that was toted prior to the season beginning has finally made its way to the gridiron.

The concept of “dagger time” is that the Lions needed to play more aggressively in critical times of the game, something they prepared for in two-minute and red-zone drills at practice. Once they took the field in week one, “dagger time” was nowhere to be found.

With Bevell now calling the shots in Detroit, the team on both offense and defense has put on much stronger performances. The best example of this was the defense forcing a punt near the end of the first half to give the Lions back the ball with hopes of taking the lead. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to capitalize, but it’s clear that “dagger time” is working under Bevell and his coaching style.

Dud: The pass rush

Zero sacks. One quarterback hit.

The Lions desperately need Everson Griffen and Trey Flowers back on the active roster.

Stud: Jamal Agnew

Agnew’s 75-yard kick return was his best of the season and gave the Lions the chance to come back late in the fourth quarter. The offense wasn’t able to capitalize on it, but Agnew did his job and did it well. The gadget player also had one rush for 11 yards and one reception for four yards.

Dud: Jahlani Tavai

Tavai just isn’t the same player that we saw last season.

Playing from the inside linebacker position, Tavai looked very lethargic in coverage. This was most clear on the Robert Tonyan touchdown in the fourth quarter, where Tavai was in a jog a few steps behind the former Lions tight end.

On what felt like just about every big play that Green Bay made, Tavai always seemed to be there. Unfortunately, just not in a way that helped Detroit.

Dud: Matt Nelson

The former college defensive lineman had a fairly good day overall, but two bad reps are all anyone will remember. Nelson allowed a sack from Rashan Gary in the first half, and then committed a holding penalty that negated a late-game rushing touchdown from Chase Daniel.

Detroit Lions Week 14: Comprehensive depth chart vs Packers

Examining the Detroit Lions depth chart as they take on the Green Bay Packers in Week 14.

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 in charge, things are still a bit unpredictable, but based on last week’s game versus the Chicago Bears, this is our best guess at this time.

Here’s a look at the Lions depth chart as they take on the Green Bay Packers in Week 14.

Note: Starters will be listed in BOLD and you will see some players listed more than once as they have multiple roles.

Quarterback

  • Matthew Stafford (9) — Questionable, expected to play
  • Chase Daniel (4)
  • David Blough (10) — INACTIVE

Running back

  • D’Andre Swift (32) — Questionable
  • Adrian Peterson (28)
  • Kerryon Johnson (33)
  • Jonathan Williams (41) — INACTIVE

Third Down back

  • Kerryon Johnson (33)
  • D’Andre Swift (32)
  • Jamal Agnew (39)

Fullback

  • Jason Cabinda (45)

Wide receiver

  • Kenny Golladay (19) — Ruled OUT
  • Marvin Jones Jr. (11) 
  • Danny Amendola (80)
  • Mohamad Sanu (12)
  • Quintez Cephus (87)
  • Jamal Agnew (39)

Slot receiver

  • Danny Amendola (80)
  • Jamal Agnew (39)
  • Hunter Bryant (86)

Tight end

  • T.J. Hockenson (88)
  • Jesse James (83)
  • Hunter Bryant (86)

Expected starting offensive line

Reserve offensive line

  • LT – Joe Dahl (66), Dan Skipper (70) — elevated for Week 14
  • LG – Joe Dahl (66), Logan Stenberg (61)
  • C – Joe Dahl (66), Jonah Jackson (73)
  • RG – Joe Dahl (66), Logan Stenberg (61)
  • RT – Dan Skipper (70), Joe Dahl (66)

Interior defensive line

  • John Penisini (91), NT — Questionable
  • Nick Williams (97), DT
  • Da’Shawn Hand (93), Big DE, DT — Questionable
  • Kevin Strong (92), 3T, Big DE
  • Frank Herron (75), 3T, Big DE — INACTIVE

EDGE Rushers

Off-the-ball linebacker

  • Jamie Collins (58), MIKE, WILL, JACK
  • Jahlani Tavai (51), WILL, JACK, MIKE
  • Christian Jones (52), JACK, WILL
  • Reggie Ragland (59), WILL, JACK, MIKE
  • Jarrad Davis (40), MIKE, WILL, JACK
  • Jalen Reeves-Maybin (44), MIKE, WILL
  • Miles Killebrew (35), Hang

Cornerback

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Slot cornerback

  • Justin Coleman (27)
  • Darryl Roberts (29)
  • Mike Ford (38)

Safety

  • Duron Harmon (26), Single-high, JOKER
  • Jayron Kearse (42), JOKER
  • Tracy Walker (21), JOKER, Single-high, Nickel CB
  • Will Harris (25), JOKER, Single-high
  • C.J. Moore (49), Single-high — Questionable — INACTIVE
  • Miles Killebrew (35), JOKER
  • Bobby Price (47), JOKER — Elevated for Week 14

Third-safety

  • Tracy Walker (21)
  • Will Harris (25)

Kicking team

  • Matt Prater (5) — placekicker
  • Jack Fox (3) — punter, holder, kickoffs
  • Don Muhlbach (48) — long snapper

Kick returns

  • Jamal Agnew (39) — kick returner and punt returner
  • Danny Amendola (80) — reserve returner

Kick coverage

  • Tracy Walker (21) — gunner
  • Bobby Price (47) — gunner
  • Mike Ford (38) — reserve gunner
  • Miles Killebrew (35) — five-phase specialist
  • Jalen Reeves-Maybin (44) — five-phase specialist
  • Jason Cabinda (53) — five-phase specialist
  • Will Harris (25) –five-phase specialist
  • C.J. Moore (49) — Personal Protector (PP)

Teams final injury reports

Injured reserve/COVID-19

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4 things I learned from the Lions Week 13 film review

On Matthew Stafford’s brilliance, bad Lions run defense, OL play and more

The Lions knocked off the Chicago Bears in a thrilling comeback victory in Week 13. Detroit balled out for interim coach Darrell Bevell in upsetting the division rivals and finally beating Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky, the most celebrated foil of now-fired coach Matt Patricia.

There was a lot to discover from the all-22 coach’s film of the game. After poring over the coach’s film and another viewing of the broadcast feed, here are a few things I picked up on the Lions.

Lions Week 13 Studs and Duds: Darrell Bevell’s offense leads the way

Reviewing the Studs and Duds from the Detroit Lions Week 13 victory over the Chicago Bears.

The Detroit Lions, under the guidance of interim head coach Darrell Bevell, came back after trailing the Chicago Bears by 13 points in the fourth quarter to pull off a Week 13 win in the Windy City.

There were plenty of struggles on defense, but overall there were a lot of things for Lions fans to be optimistic about.

Stud: Darrell Bevell’s offense

There was a different kind of energy on the field — one that Lions fans haven’t seen in a long time.

Stafford walked out of the tunnel with a smile on his face, presumably knowing he’d have his best game of the season under interim head coach Darrell Bevell.

The offense looked much more comfortable under Bevell. Stafford was able to let loose and make some deep plays. The Lions used just about every weapon at their disposal to move the ball, and move it quickly.

The up-tempo feel to the offense was a breath of fresh air watching this team come back from a double-digit deficit.

Bevell may not be the head coach after this season, but at least he got the bad taste of Matt Patricia out of everyone’s mouths.

Dud: The defense

It’s clear that the Lions will have a lot of rebuilding to do on defense. The unit was so bad against Chicago that it was difficult to pinpoint individual players for the “duds” list.

Penalties were everywhere, with Romeo Okwara and Darryl Roberts assisting Chicago’s offense due to their errors in the first half. Everson Griffen had a neutral zone infraction turned a third-and-six to a convertible 3rd-and-one.

In coverage, everyone struggled. There were holes everywhere, allowing Mitchell Trubisky to look like a Pro Bowler while carving up the defense with passes to Allen Robinson.

And then there’s the run defense that allowed three touchdowns in the first half. The Lions’ front-seven simply could not do anything to contain David Montgomery or Cordarrele Patterson in the run game, allowing over 100 yards in the first half by the duo on their 18 carries.

Tackling proved to be an issue throughout the matchup as well. On one of David Montgomery’s touchdowns, two Lions defenders missed tackles on the young running back before Duron Harmon was able to get his hands on him. Unfortunately, Harmon wasn’t able to bring Montgomery down before he crossed into the end zone.

At the end of the game, the defense bent, and nearly broke, as they tried to prevent Trubisky from coming back in the final seconds. Allowing first down after first down and a horse collar penalty from Jayron Kearse, the defense was able to make a fourth-down stop to ice the game for Detroit.

The defense just didn’t play well, and MLive’s Kyle Meinke summed up their struggles best:

Stud: Matthew Stafford

Bevell’s playcalling has allowed Stafford to do what he does best — throw it deep. The quarterback was making tight-window throws and heaving some accurate deep passes, including one really impressive one to rookie Quintez Cephus — his first career touchdown.

His communication was on point with the young receiver, signaling for him to continue running his deep post and make the touchdown grab.

Stafford hasn’t looked this comfortable in the pocket in a long time, and it showed with the throws he made. He did have one brutal interception on a screen pass in the second half, but overall he balled out.

The quarterback played strong throughout the game and delivered a victory with a 402-yard and three-touchdown game.

Dud: Jonah Jackson

The rookie offensive lineman was bailed out three times in the first half, but that doesn’t excuse his blunders.

Jackson allowed a sack on Stafford by Khalil Mack that would have forced a punt if not for a penalty by Bears slot cornerback Buster Skrine that gave Detroit a first down. Later in the first half, Jackson had a holding penalty that was offset by a Chicago defensive penalty.

To finish off the first half, Jackson also committed a false start penalty. Luckily, Stafford was able to get a first down on the following play.

Stud: Adrian Peterson

The future Hall-of-Famer looked better than he has for most of the season and his late-game performance helped propel the Lions to victory.

His final stat line was 16 carries for 57 yards. He scored Detroit’s first and last touchdowns of the game. His goal line score at the end of the fourth quarter is what sealed the game for Detroit.

Dud: Marvin Jones

This may be an unpopular decision given that Jones finished with eight receptions for 118 yards and a score, but he had some glaring issues in this game. Despite making some solid first down receptions, Jones looked slow on several deep balls from Stafford and then later failed to hang on to a Hail Mary that could have gotten the Lions a walkoff touchdown for the first half. in the second half, he got his hand on another ball that he was unable to bring in.

Jones did help the Lions catch up late in the fourth quarter, but his struggles outweigh his successes in this one. If he was able to hang on to those balls and get separation from the defenders on those plays, the Lions would have been up by a few scores against Chicago.

Stud: Matt Nelson

Tyrell Crosby’s backup has not gotten enough credit throughout this season. When asked to fill in, the former collegiate defensive lineman held his own as Detroit’s right tackle while Crosby was sidelined with an ankle injury.

He didn’t have the best game, but he really put in his best effort against a scary Chicago front-seven.

Stud: Jamie Collins

Collins was a lone bright spot on the Lions defense. The veteran linebacker had two tackles-for-loss on run defense despite the unit struggling as a whole.

Stud: T.J. Hockenson

Despite gaining any yards after the catch on his seven receptions, the former first-round pick came through as one of Stafford’s top targets. The young tight end made some crucial and athletic catches on deep throws and finished the game with 84 yards.

Stud: Romeo Okwara

Okwara came out of the gates early, blocking the PAT after Chicago’s first touchdown. Though he was quiet for almost the whole game, he made his presence known late in the fourth quarter, forcing a fumble on Trubisky and giving the Lions the ball at the seven-yard line with less than two minutes to go in the game.

Week 9 snap counts: Lions went big up front to stop the run and it didn’t work

Reviewing the Detroit Lions snap counts from the Week 9 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

The Detroit Lions went big in order to stop the Minnesota Vikings rushing attack, and it didn’t work — at all.

Going bigger up front was the perfect post-bye adjustment and the Lions found immediate success against the Jaguars and Falcons running games, but the past two weeks the strategy has fallen flat.

This raises several concerns, including, what do they do now?

The Lions have to take a hard look at what’s happing up front because if they don’t fix it soon, it could be curtains on the season.

Matt Patricia proud of Matt Nelson’s transformation from DE to OT

Matt Nelson was a defensive lineman at Iowa two years ago

Matt Nelson played 46 snaps at offensive tackle for the Detroit Lions on Sunday. Many fans wondered, “who’s that guy?”

That guy is former Iowa defensive end Matt Nelson, wearing No. 67 in his second season in Detroit. At 6-foot-8, he’s pretty easy to spot. And there he was in Jacksonville, taking over at right tackle for a dehydrated Tyrell Crosby — and looking like he belonged there the whole time.

Lions head coach Matt Patricia proudly talked about Nelson and his transformation from playing pass rusher at Iowa to stopping pass rushers in the NFL.

“Just give him all the credit in the world,” Patricia said Monday in his Zoom session with reporters. “It’s obviously pretty hard to believe he was playing defensive line a couple years ago.”

Patricia continued,

“I think you’ve really seen a guy who took last year to transform his body from a defensive lineman into an offensive lineman, with some of just the weightlifting and the strength and conditioning program that we did with him. It was very specific, and I thought he did a phenomenal job of that. It’s been a huge learning curve for him to switch sides of the ball, and I think he’s done an outstanding job with that. Some of the athleticism that shows up as – defensive lineman sometimes are a little bit more athletic – you can see some of that transfer over, but I thought his bend, his ability to bend and move the line of scrimmage has been good.”

Nelson was a bit of an afterthought to even make the final 53-man roster. Now he’s taken snaps at both tackle positions during the regular season and looks like a keeper as a reserve offensive lineman.

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How adding Halapoulivaati Vaitai impacts the Lions roster

Examining how agreeing to terms with offensive lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai impacts the Detroit Lions roster.

The Detroit Lions opened the 2020 tampering period of free agency by agreeing to terms with offensive lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai and the early expectations are that he will take over the vacated starting role at right tackle.

Playing behind Eagles tackles Jason Peters and Lane Johnson, it’s not surprising that Vaitai’s starting experience was limited to only 20 games. But over his career he saw starts at both right and left tackle, even seeing some snaps at right guard.

Despite his limited starting experience, Vaitai (6-6, 320 pounds) is an underrated athlete — he meets all the Lions preferred benchmarks identified in my QIB system — and is an ideal scheme fit in the Lions offense, as mauling run blocker.

So how does Vaitai impact the rest of the Lions roster?

With the money the Lions are investing in Vaitai — reportedly averaging $10 million a year for five years — it’s fair to assume he is penciled in at right tackle. With left tackle Taylor Decker playing on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, the starters are in place.

Tyrell Crosby will likely be given a shot to win the right tackle job in training camp, and the Lions love his versatility to reliably back up both tackle spots. He is at worst, their third offensive tackle and primary backup.

Currently, the Lions’ fourth offensive tackle is Dan Skipper, while defensive end convert Matt Nelson is still learning the position and doesn’t appear to be in the mix at this time.

Will the Lions add any more offensive tackles?

Probably not in free agency, but with Decker in the final year of his contract, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Lions add a developmental tackle in the draft — a prospect that could compete for a potential OT4 role with Skipper this season and a potential starting role in 2021.

While tackles may be limited to the draft, the Lions still have a starting right guard position open and that role could be filled in free agency or the draft.