Tag: Quintez Cephus

Six points with David Dorey: Week 1

David Dorey looks at the most interesting six things heading into the weekend.

Well, the season started and so far COVID-19 mostly impacts concession sales at the stadium. We’ve got four months left to reach the playoffs, so fingers crossed that the players don’t act the way I would if I was in my early twenties with millions in the bank account.

Six things I am thinking about heading into the weekend:

  1. Saints receivers – The unthinkable happened when Michael Thomas suffered a high-ankle sprain against the Buccaneers.  His absence should boost the playing time for Tre’Quan Smith who was hyped this summer by players and coaches. The reality is that some or even all of those passes once meant for Thomas will now end up with Alvin Kamara or Jared Cook and both are already fantasy starters. Smith has scored five times in each of his first two seasons, but last year never did more than one or two catches in a game. He had two monster games as a rookie (10-157 and 3-111) but was quiet in all other games. Smith is one to watch since Thomas seems likely to miss a few games. Notable as wellNotable as well is Marquez Callaway, an undrafted free agent that signed with the Saints in May after the NFL draft. Technically, he is the backup for Thomas while Smith is behind Emmanuel Sanders. It’s been five years since the Saints have had to play without Thomas who topped 100 catches in each of the last three seasons. The Saints face Raiders, Packers, Lions and Chargers next, and will need to throw downfield to someone new.
  2. RB Benny Snell – The Steelers backfield is instantly harder to read after James Conner sprained his ankle in the win over the Giants. Conner was ineffective on his six runs for nine yards but Snell gained 113 yards on 19 carries and looked very comfortable. Now Conner is back to full practices yesterday and should face the Broncos on Sunday. HC Mike Tomlin said that Conner would return as the primary back but the speculation is that Snell has bought himself a bigger role. The Steelers offensive line has been hit with injuries which won’t help, but they play in home games in three of the next four games. Snell was already a must own for the less-than-durable Conner owner and now is the one to watch in this backfield.
  3. RB James Robinson – It’s not often that a a no-name, undrafted rookie running back makes the team. It’s unheard of to see him shoot up the depth chart to No. 1 in about one week right before the season started. The former Illinois State back ran for 1,899 yards on 364 carries in 2019 but went undrafted since he was from a small school in the Missouri Valley Conference. But Robinson ran for 62 yards on 16 rushes versus the Colts in Week 1 and no other back had a carry. Chris Thompson only fielded two short passes for six yards. Robinson faces the Titans this week, but his next three opponents are the Dolphins, Bengals and Texans. If he looks as good this week at the Titans, Robinson will end up as one of the biggest running back surprises of the season.
  4. WR Quintez Cephus – The Lions spent their fifth-round pick on the Wisconsin wideout who topped out with 59-902-7 last year on a team that greatly prefers to run. He made the Lions final roster and was already speculated to be in line to play some slot. But Kenny Golladay injured his hamstring right before the start of the season and missed Week 1. Cephus took his place and led the Lions with ten targets versus the Bears. He only caught three for 43 yards but he faced the Bears defense and Matt Stafford kept trying to connect with him. The Lions are not going to have the luxury of rushing at the Packers and then Cardinals next and Golladay appears likely to miss at least this week as well.  This is a powerful passing attack that starts the year against some of the better defenses. Cephus could earn an ongoing role if he can continue to attract the attention of Stafford.
  5. WR Parris Campbell – The Colts used their 2.27 pick of 2018 to take the 4.31/40 speedster out of Ohio State, but he was plagued with injuries his first two seasons. The Colts offense is all new now with Philip Rivers as the starting quarterback. His first game this year saw him start across from T.Y. Hilton (not Michael Pittman). Campbell tied with Hilton with nine targets and left the team with 71 yards on six catches. This week their home opener is against the Vikings defense that struggled in their opening loss to the Packers. Campbell looks to finally be cashing in that potential and worth watching on Sunday.
  6. RB Peyton Barber – The lack of preseason games or even comprehensive reports from training camps led to numerous depth chart surprises across the NFL in Week 1. One of the biggest was Peyton Barber who out-carried Antonio Gibson 17 to 11 rushes and  scored both short touchdowns.  Dwayne Haskins only completed three passes for nine yards to his running backs so receptions are not going to be part of the running back value in Washington. Goal line plunges are and Barber has quickly climbed through the logjam in the backfield to be the No. 1 back. Bryce Love was a surprising inactive in Week 1. If he doesn’t suit up for the matchup in Arizona on Sunday, his career is likely to never start. Week 1 is usually in favor of veterans, but Washington’s depth chart was open for any back to climb. There is a chance that Gibson eventually overtakes Barber, but there is an equal chance that it remains a committee and Gibson is not considered a primary back.

Lions rookies stayed quiet in season opener versus Bears

It was a quiet debut weekend for most of the Detroit Lions draft class of 2020

The Detroit Lions suffered an all-too-familiar loss to the Chicago Bears, leading for most of the game only to sputter out in the fourth quarter.

In the 27-23 loss, the bulk of the Lions’ rookies failed to make any positive impact on the field.

Right guard Jonah Jackson contributed the most out of anyone in Detroit’s 2020 rookie class, as he was the only one of that group to start against Chicago. He allowed a sack on Matthew Stafford and committed one penalty,  but ultimately held his own against Chicago’s fierce front seven.

Rookie running back D’Andre Swift didn’t see much action on offense, with just three carries for a mere eight yards, though one of those three carries did lead to a goalline touchdown to close out the first half. He also added fifteen more yards on three receptions. Though he helped the Lions early on, his dropped touchdown reception in the last moments of the game is all anybody will remember.

Quintez Cephus earned something extra playing time while Kenny Golladay sat out with an injury. The rookie was on the field for 79-percent of offensive snaps, the second-most of all skill positions on the team. Cephus was targeted ten times throughout the game but only was able to haul in three of those passes for a total of 43 yards.

Both Julian Okwara and John Penisini were used sparingly against Chicago, with neither of them being in the field for more than nine snaps on defense. The two rookies kept their names clear from the stat sheet as well.

Jeff Okudah and Hunter Bryant both missed out on the action due to injuries suffered during practice. Logan Stenberg was a game-day inactive.

 

Week 1, Studs and Duds: Questionable decisions haunts the Lions once again

2020 Week 1, Studs and Duds illustrate why questionable decisions from the coaching staff and key players continue to be a problem.

The Detroit Lions have yet again disappointed in a season debut.

Though most of the focus will be on how they blew a fourth-quarter lead to the Chicago Bears, there are some players who deserve some credit for their performances throughout the game.

Here are the studs and duds for the Lions this week:

Stud: Tony McRae

The special teams standout from Cincinnati reunited with his former coordinator in Detroit and immediately justified his roster spot with a tackle on Tarik Cohen in the first quarter. Before Cohen could return Jack Fox’s first punt of the game, McRae was there to prevent the running back from making a play.

Dud: Jamie Collins

The veteran linebacker made a careless rookie mistake by headbutting a referee during the first quarter. Collins was ejected, leaving the Lions with an even worse linebacker group than they had at the beginning of the game. Not a great start to his career in Detroit.

Stud: Jason Cabinda

The linebacker-turned-fullback looks comfortable in his new role. In the first quarter, he laid out a clean block on Bears’ linebacker Danny Trevathan to open a path for Adrian Peterson’s 19-yard run.

Dud: The run defense

Detroit’s run defense allowed 149 yards against them in the 23-27 loss. Despite additions like Danny Shelton and Nick Williams on the defensive line, they were unable to contain Tarik Cohen for most of the game.

Stud: T.J. Hockenson

The second-year tight end finished the game with 56 yards and a touchdown. After being unable to finish his rookie year due to injury, it’s nice to see the former first-round pick bounce back.

Dud: D’Andre Swift

Don’t let his second-quarter touchdown fool you; Swift did not have a great rookie debut. The second-round pick rushed for just eight yards on three carries and dropped what would be the game-winning touchdown pass.

Stud: Adrian Peterson

Peterson was by far the best Lions running back on Sunday afternoon, rushing for 93 yards on 14 carries. The 35-year-old must have discovered the fountain of youth because he looked good against Chicago’s defense.

Dud: Tyrell Crosby

With starting right tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai sitting out of this matchup with a foot injury, the Lions looked to Tyrell Crosby to fill that role. Crosby had a tough time containing the Bears’ pass rush and committed two costly holding penalties. Let’s hope that Vaitai can return soon.

Stud: Quintez Cephus

This rookie made the most out of Kenny Golladay missing thus game with an injury. Stafford targeted him ten times, the most of any receiver in this game. Though Cephus only brought in three of those passes, he proved he can be a safety net for Stafford when the offense inevitably sputters.

Dud: Will Harris

Harris looked lost while covering Allen Robinson and Jimmy Graham. Lucky for him, Graham‘s knee went down before he could reach the endzone. The fact that he’s playing more than Tracy Walker is disgraceful.

Dud: Matt Patricia and Cory Undlin

When you let Mitchell Trubisky score 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, you have a serious problem on defense. Keep coaching like this and you’ll be out of a job by the bye week.

Quintez Cephus doing ‘an excellent job’ early in Detroit Lions camp

The former Badger is showing out in Detroit

While rookie Badgers in the NFL begin their journeys around the league, former Wisconsin WR Quintez Cephus has continued to impress his new coaches in Detroit.

After being selected No. 166 overall in the fifth round, the former Badger has immediately taken it to his new teammate, the Lions first overall pick and former Ohio State star Jeff Okudah, in practice. The two went at in multiple Big Ten battles between Ohio State and Wisconsin, and Cephus has gotten the better of the Buckeye star early.

More praise for Cephus came today from Lions coach Matt Patricia in an article by Lions beat writer Nick Baumgardner in The Athletic.

“He’s really caught on to everything we’re doing,” Patricia told reporters on Sunday morning. “I think the guys on defense are studying him a little bit harder right now and trying to get a good grip on what exactly he is, so they can go out and compete.”

The former Wisconsin standout is not only doing an excellent job on the field, but also in his quick adaption of the playbook. “I think he’s doing an excellent job of learning the offense,” Patricia told reporters when asked about Cephus. “But really learning the individual technique, and he has a little bit of that football savvy, maybe if you want to call it, about him that is allowing him to handle the mental part of it.”

Wisconsin fans should not be surprised about last year’s top Badger target’s fast start at the next level. The only question should be why so many other teams let the Badger wideout fall to the fifth round.

 

Quintez Cephus is catching major attention at Detroit Lions’ Training Camp

Quintez Cephus has been nothing short of spectacular in Training Camp for the Detroit Lions so far after he was drafted this spring in th…

Quintez Cephus has been nothing short of spectacular in Training Camp for the Detroit Lions so far after he was drafted this spring in the fifth round of the NFL Draft.

In the last few days of camp, Cephus has been impressing reporters by beating former Ohio State foe and a first-round pick, Jeff Okudah, on several routes. One of these catches was even reported by Chris Burke of the Athletic to have been a touchdown.

A slow 40 yard dash time and leaving early from Wisconsin may have contributed to the low draft stock of Cephus, but he is now likely competing for a starting spot with the Lions. The Macon, Ga. native was even drawing comparisons from Lions’ writer, Kyle Meinke, to Anquan Boldin during his time in Detroit.

Quintez Cephus is now showing the NFL, and the Detroit Lions, what we as Wisconsin fans have already known about his play since his freshman year, that he is a phenomenal deep threat with great hands and is physical in coverage.

Quotes from the Lions’ beat: Praise for rookies during early days of training camp

During the first few days of Detroit Lions’ 2020 training camp, local beat writers have had lots of praise for the team’s rookies.

With no Spring camp, no preseason, and limited practices, rookies across the NFL were expected to be playing behind the eight-ball entering training camp.

“A lot of the rookies we’re trying to take it slow with,” Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia said after Monday’s practice. “There’s a lot of information that they have to learn and certainly from a standpoint of being on the field for the first time in an NFL practice with pads on, there’s definitely just a lot coming at those guys from different directions.”

Despite the accelerated learning curve, and the Lions taking a slow approach, several Lions’ rookies have looked ahead of schedule during the early portions of training camp.

Lions Wire has yet to be out to Lions training camp this offseason — our turn in the rotation begins on Friday — but for now, let’s take a look at what the rest of the Lions beat writers have had to say through the first two practices.

Jonah Jackson starting at RG

Third-round pick Jonah Jackson was starting at right guard on Day 1 of padded practices and his consistent play earned positive remarks from all the Lions beat.

At his post-practice press conference, Patricia made sure to acknowledge that the guards have been rotating in training camp. “Really, Oday (Aboushi) and Kenny (Wiggins) and those guys have been working through there previous to getting out there today, so it’s kind of just a rotational thing that wound up being the first day of pads.”

But went he Lions took the field for the second day of practice, Jackson was once again holding down the starting position at right guard.

Quotes from the beat: “Rookie guard Jonah Jackson has gotten a lot of run with the first-team offense the first two days of padded practice at right guard. During an offense vs. defense run drill the rookie showed off his athleticism and power when he pulled left and pancaked Ragland right on his butt in one rep. It’s early, but Jackson has shown some good things through the first two days.” — Tim Twentyman, Detroit Lions senior writer’s Tuesday observations.

“The Lions didn’t trade up for Jackson in the third round for nothing.” — Kyle Meinke of MLive.

Jeff Okudah with the second team … for now

Expectations are that third overall pick Jeff Okudah will be one of the Lions starting cornerbacks when they open the regular season, but for now, he is having to earn that spot and is playing with the reserves.

Of note, Kenny Golladay mentioned that both he and Marvin Jones made a point of having Okudah skip the line in one-on-ones so they could match up against him because that’s the level “of competition (Okudah will) be seeing come Sunday.”

Quote from the beat: “As for Okudah, the expectation for most is he’ll be a Week 1 starter. But Patricia is going to make the rookie earn the job and he likes the way the competition is shaping up in the back end of the defense.” — Justin Rogers of the Detroit News.

D’Andre Swift catching on quickly

Second-round rookie running back D’Andre Swift is quickly living up to expectations — most notable because of his route running and pass-catching chops.

Swift mentioned that he feels really comfortable on the field already, and while he is still working to absorb the playbook as quickly as possible to earn the coaches’ trust, he has turned to veterans like Matthew Stafford, Kerryon Johnson, and Ty Johnson for advice.

Quote from the beat: “You’ve probably already seen every Lions beat guy Tweet about how rookie D’Andre Swift looked absolutely uncoverable as a receiver on Tuesday, and they’re all correct.” — Jeremy Reisman of pride of Detroit wrote after his Tuesday Observations.

Julian Okwara taking it slow

Julian Owara is a tremendous athlete and his attributes will likely be featured in situational pass-rushing roles early in the season. But, for Okwara to justify a spot on the roster he will need to expand his game more and that means contributing in other phases of the game.

Quote from the beat: “During individual drills, Okwara was mostly repping with special teams and not the linebackers. He got a fair amount of second and/or third-team jack linebacker reps, but it appears the Lions are trying to get him ready for a special teams role first and will rotate him into the regular defense later.” — Reisman’s observations from Tuesday.

Logan Stenberg competiting

For now, Logan Stenberg has been taking reps at third-string left guard behind starter Joe Dahl and veteran Oday Aboushi, as well as rotating through snaps at reserve center.

Quote from the beat: “Stenberg still has some bad habits to break. He’s still playing too tall out of his stance. He competes, but it’s not as clean (as Jackson) right now.” — Nick Baumgardner of the Athletic (subscription).

Quintez Cephus looks like he belongs

Fifth-round wide receiver has also gotten a handful of “he looks like he belongs” quotes from the beat and he is a player that appears on track for a contributing role early in the season.

Quote from the beat: “Back during the NFL Combine, Jeff Okudah said that the best receiver he went up against in college was Quintez Cephus. Well, Cephus proved him right on Tuesday, beating Okudah on back-to-back reps during one-on-ones.” Reisman’s observations.

Jashon Cornell suffers “pretty severe” injury

Seventh-round defensive lineman Jashon Cornell went down in practice on Tuesday and the early reports were bad. Things appeared worse when Patrica called his injury “pretty severe” in his post-practice presser, and took a final turn for worse when the Free Press’ Dave Birkett reported that it was an Achilles injury. If it’s a tear, he’s done for the season.

Quote from the beat: “Cornell, a seventh-round pick out of Ohio State, injured his left Achilles tendon during a one-on-one pass-rushing drill near the end of practice. He screamed in pain as he fell to the ground while making a move on guard Kenny Wiggins.” — Dave Birkett of the Free Press.

No quotes for these rookies yet

Jason Huntley, John Penisini, Hunter Bryant, Jalen Elliott, Bobby Price, Luke Sellers, Arryn Siposs, and Steve Wirtel have all flown a but under the radar early in camp but it’s still early.

Marvin Jones Jr. ready to take Quintez Cephus under his wing

Detroit Lions veteran wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. is ready to take rookie receiver Quintez Cephus under his wing during training camp.

The Detroit Lions have a lot of depth at skill positions on offense and wide receiver is arguably the deepest of those positions. Lions veteran receiver Marvin Jones Jr. joined local media on Thursday, and he discussed his excitement over such a talented group of players.

“We’re definitely excited,” Jones said. “It’s going to be big, because (of) the people that we have. You look to the left, you look to the right, and we have ballers. That’s something that’s very exciting. An obviously, this is our second year in (offensive coordinator Darrell) Bevell’s offense, which we love. So, excitement is definitely up.”

One of those exciting players is rookie receiver Quintez Cephus and Jones has already gotten an up-close look at him.

“We got acquainted this offseason,” Jones said of Cephus. “He came up to the BZN training facility (Jones’ training area set up at his home in San Diego) and got some good work in.”

“He definitely has the tools,” Jones continued. “His strength. His explosiveness. Dude can jump out of the gym. So, it’ll be great to see him go once we start picking everything up (in training camp).”

Like with Kenny Golladay three years ago, Jones plans on taking Cephus under his wing during training camp to help the rookie further acclimate to the NFL.

“That’s what we do,” Jones said. “When you’ve been in the league for this long, and the type of people that we are, it’s always to help. Because if you help somebody, that’s just going to make the team better. Especially when you see potential in somebody. We saw that with Kenny (Golladay) – and you obviously know how that turned out.

“But it’s not just for one person, we do that for everybody, all rookies. We treat them all the same. We (tell them) stick with us and you’ll know the way. And the people who are motivated will do that. And we see that in him (Cephus) and we’re going to go out here in training camp and let the young man do what he does.”

The Lions have begun phase 2 of training camp and have been getting in some light fieldwork, are headed towards non-padded practices, and are likely to put the pads on as early as Monday.

Opinion: Who will be the third starting receiver for Wisconsin this season?

Last season, Wisconsin relied heavily on the talents of Quintez Cephus to stretch the field and make big plays. Many Wisconsin fans were hoping that former Badger Aron Cruickshank would be the third receiver this season that would take over the role as a deep threat, but he transferred to Rutgers shortly after last season to play under Greg Schiano. 

Last season, Wisconsin relied heavily on the talents of Quintez Cephus to stretch the field and make big plays. Many Wisconsin fans were hoping that former Badger Aron Cruickshank would be the third receiver this season that would take over the role as a deep threat, but he transferred to Rutgers shortly after last season to play under Greg Schiano. 

This left me, as well as many others wondering, who will be Wisconsin’s third starting wide receiver for this season? 

My prediction is that Jack Dunn will beat out Adam Krumholz for this position because of his experience last season. Dunn was a favorite to be used by Paul Chryst for trick plays or misdirections and finished the season with five receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown. The Madison, Wisc. native also contributed heavily last season as the punt returner for the Badgers, which leads me to believe that Dunn was being groomed to be the next starting receiver. 

Up to his redshirt senior season, Adam Krumholz has yet to have made an impact on this team, which leaves me to believe that this trend will continue into this season. Krumholz has neither the game experience nor the favor with Paul Chryst that Dunn has. It is going to take a heck of a camp for Krumholz to crack the starting lineup this season. 

Jack Dunn is not the deep play threat that Wisconsin is looking for, but his experience and play style lends him to be a solid slot receiver next to Kendric Pryor and Danny Davis. Pryor or Davis are going to have to develop a deep threat ability as a part of their game for this season because it definitely will not be Dunn, who has mid-range speed and stands at 5-foot-7.

Madden 21 ratings released for three former Badgers

A handful of player ratings were released for the newest edition of Madden and among those rated were Seahawks quarterback…

A handful of player ratings were released for the newest edition of Madden and among those rated were Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor and Lions wide receiver Quintez Cephus.

I’ll give a rundown of each Wisconsin product’s rating when the full list is released. But first, here is how Madden evaluators saw the three former Badgers listed above:

 

Jonathan Taylor

NCAA Football: Wisconsin at Illinois
Oct 19, 2019; Champaign, IL, USA; Wisconsin Badgers running back Jonathan Taylor (23) runs the ball against the Illinois Fighting Illini during a game at Memorial Stadium. Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

Overall: 73

Notable Skills: 93 speed, 92 acceleration, 84 agility, 90 injury, 91 stamina, 90 toughness,

 

Next…arguably the greatest Wisconsin product of all time and one of the best players in the soon-to-be-released video game

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Quintez Cephus officially signs with the Detroit Lions

During what has been a unique NFL offseason to say the least, it has taken longer than usual for the 2020 draft picks to officially…

During what has been a unique NFL offseason to say the least, it has taken longer than usual for the 2020 draft picks to officially sign with their new team.

For former Badger wide receiver Quintez Cephus, that wait is finally over as last week he officially signed his contract with the Detroit Lions.

Cephus was selected by the Lions in the fifth round with the No. 166 overall pick, the fourth and final Wisconsin product to hear his name called during the league’s first virtual draft.

Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press wrote about the former Badger last month and spoke with Ted Gilmore, his former position coach, about what he brings to the next level.

“The speed thing didn’t concern me as much as others,” said Gilmore, now the tight ends coach at Michigan State. “Prior to this year, I think that year was considered one of the deepest drafts as far as receivers, when you had the Sammy Watkins and all those guys coming out. And as a football player, he was right up there, in my opinion.”

“More than anything, it’s just the way he played the game,” Gilmore said. “Here’s a guy that didn’t run as fast as (some other guys) but still had success, and this is why he had success, because he loved football and he competed.”

A Jarvis Landry comparison is high praise for a fifth round pick but if Gilmore is even close to right about Cephus’ talent, his selection could turn into a steal for the Lions as they look to win the NFC North for the first time since 1993.