Tag: Taylor Decker

Lions injury update: Taylor Decker returns but 5 Lions sit out practice

Lions injury update: Taylor Decker returns but 5 Lions sit out practice on Thursday

As the Detroit Lions prepare for the Week 18 finale against the Minnesota Vikings, the watchful eye on the injury front has a lot to look at in practices.

A day after sitting out with a groin issue on Wednesday, left tackle Taylor Decker was back as a full participant in Thursday’s session in Allen Park.

The two other players who were held out on Wednesday were also out on Thursday. Tight end Brock Wright (hip) and wode receiver Jameson Williams (ankle and illness) missed their second straight day of practice. Wright has been out for the last two weeks.

Center Frank Ragnow and right guard Graham Glasgow both got Thursday off as veteran rest days. Defensive tackle Benito Jones missed Thursday’s session with an undisclosed illness.

The Lions have three players designated to return from injured reserve. Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson was a full participant, though he’s still not activated. DT Alim McNeill and EDGE James Houston were limited as they effort to return.

Tight end Sam LaPorta was also limited with an ankle injury.

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Lions film review: Amon-Ra St. Brown was best offensive player vs Cowboys

Lions film review: Amon-Ra St. Brown was best offensive player vs Cowboys

Moving on from what happened at the end of the Cowboys and Lions game, it’s time to give kudos to a bunch of players for their performances in that game. When looking at the offensive film, one of the first players to standout was wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

To no surprise, St. Brown is the leading receiver for the Lions this season. Additionally, he’s having a career year with 112 receptions for 1,371 yards and nine touchdowns. Against the Cowboys, he had six receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown.

On Saturday, five of his receptions went for first down and so far this season, 70 of his receptions have gone for first down (tied for 3rd best in the NFL). Let’s jump into the tape and review why St. Brown was the best offensive player for the Lions against the Cowboys.

No matter the play, it felt like every single time St. Brown got the ball against the Cowboys, positive results happened. Looking at the play above, the Lions come out with a twins bunch formation to the left. With the tight end and another receiver to the right, I’d essentially label this as a 2 x 2 set with their ’11’ personnel (one running back and one tight end).

Once the ball is snapped, you can see St. Brown step back and turn to Jared Goff for the ball. Being that this play is a designed wide receiver screen, it’s an easy pitch-and-catch for the quarterback and receiver. One of the keys to focus on is left guard Jonah Jackson pulling on this play. With Jahmyr Gibbs and Jackson both going away from the ball, this pulls the inside linebackers away from pursuing towards St. Brown.

As you can see, the pass is completed and St. Brown gets a good block from Jameson Williams. Meanwhile, left tackle Taylor Decker gets out in space and blocks the safety that was over the top. With that, St. Brown is explosive and able to run after-the-catch for the first down.

As we’ve seen this year, St. Brown has carried the football a couple of times. However, his best carry of the season came against the Cowboys. When looking at the play above, you can see the Lions come out in their ’12’ personnel (one running back and two tight ends). With that, they have two receivers to the left of the formation. Jameson Williams is labeled as the ‘X’ receiver and in the slot is St. Brown.

Prior to the snap, Jared Goff puts St. Brown in motion and hands it off to him after the snap. On this play, the offensive line reach blocks to the left and it draws most of the defense in that direction. However, the key is from tight ends James Mitchell and Sam LaPorta.

Both of them go opposite of the offensive line. Despite slipping, Mitchell is able to seal off the defender playing on his outside shoulder and LaPorta is able to get out in space. This gives an opening for St. Brown and he takes full advantage with an 11-yard carry and first down.

Lastly, I want to focus on one of the final plays of the game for the Detroit Lions. This one is the touchdown that put the Lions in striking distance to either tie or win the game. Looking at the play above, you can see the Lions come out with their ’11’ personnel (one running back and one tight end) in a 2×2 set.

At the bottom of the screen, you can see St. Brown and Kalif Raymond bunched together. They run hi-lo concept and this particular one would be called Diagonal. In this instance, Raymond runs a corner route and St. Brown runs a diagonal route, also known as a bench or flat route.

As you can see, the defense works vertical with the Raymond on his corner route. This creates a throwing window and enough separation for St. Brown to do something after the catch. He does just that with his effort and ability to extend the football over the pylon for the touchdown. This was a great play design with even better execution from the Lions.

On his podcast, The St. Brown Bros Podcast with The 33rd Team, this drive was discussed. Amon-Ra had stated that before the drive, he got dabbed up by Dan Campbell and was told “we’re going to win this game.”

Regardless of the ending, the Lions final drive lasted 1:18 and they went 75 yards in 9 plays. During the drive, St. Brown was targeted 3 times with 2 receptions for 25 yards and a score. It’s been a joy to watch St. Brown throughout his career but especially this season. He’s had a career year and it’s been a big part to why the Lions won the NFC North and have a home playoff game. Look for him to dominate in the final weeks of the NFL as he’s “ready to run through a brick wall.”

Dean Blandino: ‘No doubt in my mind that Taylor Decker reported’

Blandino, on the Detroit Lions Podcast, placed the blame squarely on Brad Allen making a mistake on the controversial conversion attempt in Dallas

As part of the latest episode of the Detroit Lions Podcast, former NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino joined us to talk about the controversial 2-pt. conversion call in Dallas. It’s an interview that the NFL and, more specifically, referee Brad Allen will probably not like.

Blandino has spent several years now working in broadcast media, including as the top NFL rules analyst for FOX Sports. He was also in charge of officiating at the XFL and introduced the “open mic” concept where fans could hear the official’s discussions.

When asked about the idea that the Lions were attempting to gain a deceptive edge with their approach of having multiple linemen head toward Allen, Blandino made it clear the Lions did nothing wrong there.

“The Lions did not do anything illegal,” Blandino said. “The Lions did nothing illegal.”

“I have no doubt in my mind that Taylor Decker reported,” Blandino said. “No doubt because the play doesn’t work if Taylor Decker doesn’t report.”

Blandino continued, with his take on how Allen made his mistake.

“Allen saw Skipper come onto the field and went into autopilot … (Allen) assumed that Skipper was reporting, and he went too fast. That’s what happened.”

He did concede, “The way the Lions presented it was unusual.” However, he continued to place the onus on Allen for “going too fast” and not performing his job properly.

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NFL sends out video to teams proving referee Brad Allen screwed up the Lions-Cowboys game

NFL sends out video to teams proving referee Brad Allen screwed up the Lions-Cowboys game

By now, we all know that the Lions executed a two-point conversion successfully against the Cowboys in the closing seconds of their game last Saturday. Despite celebrating after the play call, the Lions were quickly reminded why they’re scapegoat of the league.

In this instance, NFL referee Brad Allen and his crew changed the ruling on the field and marked Lions offensive tackle Taylor Decker ineligible. In their ruling, they had stated that Decker didn’t report as eligible and instead, it was Lions offensive lineman Dan Skipper that reported as eligible. They even communicated that Skipper was ruled eligible.

However, there’s been photos and video evidence circulating that the Lions did everything right. Instead, it looks like Brad Allen and his team made a mistake. Despite communication before the game from Dan Campbell to the referees about a potential trick play or two, this two-point play was just assumed to be marked with Decker as ineligible.

Yesterday, Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network posted about communication that was sent from the NFL to head coaches and general managers. This communication was a video centered on the controversial finish between the Lions and the Cowboys.

Looking at the evidence the last several days, it’s becoming laughable at the little credibility being taken by the NFL and the officials after the outcome of this game. So since they simply want to blame the Lions, let’s review the evidence and talk this one out.

Going to the first quarter between the Cowboys and the Lions, you can clearly see Dan Skipper coming onto the field. While he’s coming onto the field, you can see wide receiver (No. 8) Josh Reynolds preparing to run off the field.

In the process, it appears to me that Dan Skipper isn’t checking into the game as eligible or ineligible. Instead, he’s indicating some type of strong or heavy package for the offense with how he’s flexing his left arm. Meanwhile, the head official, Brad Allen has his back to Skipper and just about the entire Lions offense.

To ensure we’re not losing our minds, the play above is what was called by Detroit for the 12:50 check-in from Dan Skipper. The Lions come out in their ’12’ personnel (one running back and two tight ends) but with Skipper playing as a tight end rather than an offensive lineman, it would be signaled as some type of “heavy” formation or personnel. That’s what it appeared to be in the picture from the NFL and when you watch the play, it appears to be just that.

The Lions run some type of Duo concept. The right guard and center combo block the defensive tackle that is heads up over the right guard and is aligned in a 2-technique. This play is designed for the running back to read the inside linebacker so he can bend, bang or bounce the run.

While the play wasn’t successful and was defended well by the Cowboys, it just goes to show that Skipper was the last man on the line-of-scrimmage (LOS). Tight end Sam LaPorta is off-the-line but both players are technically eligible to run routes. However, the photo and All-22 clip is just some of the evidence showing what the Lions did on that particular play.

Lastly, here’s the next example used by the NFL. It’s one of the final plays of the game and it’s the two-point play that the Lions used. Looking at the image above, we can see the exact same motion from Dan Skipper as he’s highlighted.

He’s jogging onto the field and is flexing his left arm. Again, that appears to be a signal for a “heavy” package. Just like the previous image, a wide receiver comes off the field. On the play above, it’s not Reynolds coming off the field but instead, it’s Kalif Raymond.

Additionally, I want you to look at referee Brad Allen on the far right of the picture. He’s looking at a group of Lions players and if you look close enough, you can see Lions offensive tackle Taylor Decker staring at Allen. Seconds later, not only is Taylor Decker giving the signal to Allen but Dan Skipper and Penei Sewell are all present for this exchange to Allen. Why is that important?

According to the video released by the NFL, their rule is stated as the following, “clearly communicated to the referee by both a physical signal up and down his chest and to report to the referee his intention to report as an eligible receiver.”

My questions are simple. For starters, what else is Decker, Skipper and Sewell supposed to do? They’ve all played the tackle-eligible roles for the Lions in their career. Decker has caught two touchdowns in his career in the exact same role and position he played against the Cowboys. Last season, Sewell caught a nine-yard pass against the Vikings and Skipper has played all over for the Lions on offense. 

Next, can we just make these referees full-time employees? It’s a billion dollar industry being ran like it’s a Dollar General. There’s 16 games a week with 7 officials per game, not per team but per game. Pay them accordingly and be done with this foolishness.

Lastly, can we stop using the Lions as the examples of the league? I know that Brad Allen reported “number 70 as eligible” but it’s quite clear he made a mistake. We all make mistakes but how is a mistake like this acceptable? Especially with all this technology we have for sports today. We can cut to a hundred commercials in a game and put cameras in the pylons but we can’t pull the audio from a referee that’s wearing a microphone the entire game?

Changes won’t be made this season but moving forward, they will. There will be changes made to support everyone else but for now, the Lions and their fan base have to live with the reality of “what if” as their potential reign towards the top of the NFC could be blemished by controversy.

4-Down Territory: Lamar MVP, Brad Allen needs to go, Eagles or Chiefs, Worst of the Week

In this week’s “4-Down Territory,” Doug Farrar and Kyle Madson discuss Lamar Jackson, Brad Allen, Eagles or Chiefs, and the Worst of the Week.

With 17 weeks of actual football in the books for the 2023 NFL season, it’s time once again for Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire, and Kyle Madson of Niners Wire, to come to the table with their own unique brand of analysis in “4-Down Territory.”

This week, the guys have some serious questions to answer:

  1. Can anybody but Lamar Jackson be the NFL Most Valuable Player right now?
  2. It is time for the NFL to fire referee Brad Allen and his entire crew?
  3. If you had to take one of last year’s two Super Bowl teams — the Chiefs or the Eagles — which one would you be stuck with?
  4. And what was your Worst of the Week (non-officiating version)?

You can watch this week’s “4-Down Territory” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “4-Down Territory” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Report indicates the NFL blames the Lions for Brad Allen’s mistaken call

A report from Pro Football Talk indicates the NFL blames the Lions for Brad Allen’s mistaken call

The Brad Allen saga continues into the new year, and it’s not headed in a direction that many Detroit Lions fans will like. Allen, the referee who mistakenly announced Dan Skipper as an eligible receiver instead of Taylor Decker on the critical 2-pt. conversion late in Detroit’s loss in Dallas in Week 17, has the protection of the NFL shield.

In a report propagated by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the NFL is effectively covering up for Allen and pointing the finger at the Lions for the referee’s mistake:

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the NFL does not plan to change the procedure for players reporting as eligible. The league views the situation as an effort by the Lions to engage in deception and gamesmanship that backfired.

While there might be some inherent deception built into the play, that doesn’t excuse Allen for his lazy, irresponsible error. He failed to do his job properly, period. If he’s that vulnerable to legally permitted deception, deliberate or not, he shouldn’t ever be allowed to blow a whistle again.

Technically, the report shows the NFL is correct on one front. The league does not need to change the procedure for players reporting as eligible. The Lions did that part to the letter of the law. Allen simply screwed it up on his own.

The fact the league defends him is a frustrating acknowledgment that the NFL doesn’t really want to fix its officiating issue. Failing to hold officials accountable for their own egregious mistakes is a slippery slope that keeps getting slicker and steeper for the NFL. The downhill momentum furthered willingly in the Allen case just might snowball into something much worse for the league.

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Best and worst PFF grades for the Lions loss vs the Cowboys

The best and worst PFF graded players for the Detroit Lions in their loss against the Dallas Cowboys

Even after a night’s rest, the sting lingers from the Detroit Lions’ 20-19 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, a defeat that can only be described as tough in every sense of the word.

Considering the competitiveness between two playoff-caliber teams, there were pivotal moments in the game where execution could have been different for the Lions. Unfortunately, the conversation now revolves around the referee error that nullified the potential game-winning two-point conversion for the Lions. Overcoming such challenging situations is tough, but this resilient team is poised to move forward, gearing up to face the Minnesota Vikings next week.

While some Lions delivered masterful performances last night, others may hesitate to review the tape. Here are the best and worst PFF grades for the Lions against the Cowboys.

Tre Brown, Bruce Irvin questioning officials after Lions get screwed again

The NFL has no tradition they hold more sacred than screwing over the Detroit Lions.

The NFL has no tradition they hold more sacred than screwing over the Detroit Lions with poor officiating. The Seattle Seahawks benefitted from it earlier this season in their Week 2 win over Detroit, which was marred by horrific officiating from start to finish – much of it going against the Lions. Last night Detroit got the shaft yet again, this time from Brad Allen’s crew.

In case you missed it, it looked like the Lions had pulled off an upset over the Dallas Cowboys, becoming the first visiting team to win in Dallas this year. However, Taylor Decker’s touchdown was wiped out after officials claimed that Decker did not report as an eligible receiver.

The Lions got two more tries at their two-point conversion but couldn’t close the deal. We have since learned that Decker most definitely did report – but it appears that Allen simply ignored him and walked away while Decker was trying to inform him.

Even worse, Lions head coach Dan Campbell says he explained the entire play to officials before the game even started.

It’s an awful way for the Lions to lose such a critical game for playoff positioning. A lot of players are voicing their displeasure with the officiating, including current and former Seahawks. Here’s cornerback Tre Brown calling for refs to have to give press conferences after games.

And here’s Bruce Irvin (currently with the Lions) taking note of Detroit’s 0-6 record and lopsided penalty yardage in games that Brad Allen calls.

Unfortunately this is just the latest footnote in a long, sad history of Detroit suffering a disproportionate amount from NFL officials failing to do their jobs well.

If it’s not going to be the Seahawks, there’s no other team we’d rather see hoisting the Lombardi than the Lions.

More Seahawks Wire stories

4 best bets for Seattle vs. Pittsburgh in Week 17 game

7 things to know about Seattle and Pittsburgh for Sunday

53-man roster tracker: Jamal Adams, Dee Eskridge to IR

12 famous celebrities who are fans of the Seahawks

Referee Brad Allen’s crew blew two more crucial calls late in Lions-Cowboys game

Referee Brad Allen didn’t just blow the Lions’ two-point conversion — he got two more calls wrong late in the game. Why is Allen still in the NFL?

NFL Referee Brad Allen had already been at the center of more controversy this season than any NFL referee should want. Then, there was the illegal touch pass called on the Detroit Lions with 27 seconds left in Saturday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. The two-point conversion that wasn’t likely came about because Allen and his crew got the offensive tackle reporting eligible wrong between Taylor Decker and Dan Skipper. Had Decker’s catch been legal as it should have been, the Lions would have had a 21-20 lead instead of a 20-19 deficit.

But we’ve already gone full Zapruder on that one.

Referee Brad Allen may have cost the Detroit Lions a win against the Dallas Cowboys

Now, let’s get into two more crucial calls Allen’s crew blew late in the game.

With 2:05 left in the game, Cowboys running back Tony Pollard hit a seven-yard gain on first-and-10 from the Detroit 29-yard line. This was the play after Jared Goff’s interception to safety Donovan Wilson, and at this point, the Cowboys could run the clock down and seal a victory up 17-13.

But Allen called tight end Peyton Hendershot for tripping, which negated the run and put the ball 15 yards back at the Detroit 44-yard line. Mike McCarthy’s three-play passing sequence, which took just 11 seconds off the clock, followed, and that was its own disaster. But let’s focus on the tripping call.

Here’s the All-22.

Hendershot was facing Lions edge-rusher Aidan Hutchinson on the play, and there was an attempt at tripping. But the overhead and end zone angles show that it was Hutchinson who made the attempt. On the overhead view, you can dee down judge Sarah Thomas throw the flag from the lower sideline. How Allen managed to extrapolate tripping on Hendershot is a mystery. Could Hendershot been busted for a hold? Maybe… but had this been called correctly, the worst that would have happened for the Cowboys was offsetting penalties and replaying the down. Not a 15-yard deficit that changed the complexion of the Cowboys’ drive.

Then, with 48 seconds left in the game, the Lions had second-and-10 at the Dallas 26-yard line. Receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown ran a seam route from the left slot, and he was clearly impeded by cornerback Jourdan Lewis — that’s a nice way of saying that Lewis was all over St. Brown before the ball got there. There was no call for pass interference. The Lions converted on the next play with a Goff pass to tight end Sam LaPorta which took the ball to the Dallas 11-yard line, but this was about as obvious a pass interference as you’ll ever see.

Now, go back to Allen’s performance in the Kansas City Chiefs’ 27-19 Week 13 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Allen’s crew clearly missed an obvious pass interference on Green Bay cornerback Carrington Valentine with 19 seconds left in the game, so we’ve seen these late-game issues before.

Referee Brad Allen embarrassed the NFL on Sunday night, and nothing will be done about it

As ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported in early December, Allen’s crew was already under scrutiny for a no-call the week before.

With 4:07 remaining in the second quarter, on second-and-9 at the Falcons’ 23-yard line, Saints quarterback Derek Carr threw a pass to running back Alvin Kamara, who was being defended by linebacker Kaden Elliss. The pass fell incomplete on a play in which Elliss never turned around to defend the ball, but Allen’s crew did not call pass interference.

The Superdome and the Saints organization were furious at the lack of a pass interference call on the play, which prompted the Saints to kick a field goal and trim their deficit to 14-9 with 3:54 remaining in the first half. The Saints (5-7) ultimately lost the game 24-15 and trail the first-place Falcons (6-6) in the NFC South.

Here’s that play, where you can see that Elliss was face-guarding Kamara and did not have his head turned to the ball. At the end of the overhead film, you can also see that this happened about five yards away from one of Allen’s officials.

Whatever this “increased scrutiny” was supposed to be, it certainly hasn’t helped matters.

So, we’re left with the larger discussion here. It’s time to focus out from which team Brad Allen may or may not have screwed in the Cowboys-Lions game. It’s time to ask whether Brad Allen is competent to officiate NFL games.

And the answer, clearly, is no.

Referee Brad Allen may have cost the Detroit Lions a win against the Dallas Cowboys

Brad Allen may have been the NFL’s worst referee this season, and right now, it looks as if he cost the Lions a win against the Cowboys

We at Touchdown Wire have had issues with referee Brad Allen before, and with good reason. And now, it’s entirely possible that Allen and his crew cost the Detroit Lions a win they should have had.

Here was the situation. The Lions went right down the field against the Dallas Cowboys down 20-19 starting with 1:41 left in the fourth quarter. The Lions had that much time because Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy called three straight passes before a field goal that put Dallas up 20-13. Dallas then gave quarterback Jared Goff all the soft coverage he could ever dream of having, which allowed Goff to drive his team downfield and hit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for an 11-yard touchdown with 27 seconds left.

Then, head coach Dan Campbell called for a two-point conversion, as is his wont, and it looked for all the world that Goff hit offensive tackle Taylor Decker in the end zone for the successful try that would have given the Lions a 21-20 lead. But Allen called an illegal touch pass on the play, saying that Decker didn’t report as an eligible receiver.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell said after the game,”70 [tackle Dan Skipper] reported, 68 [Decker] didn’t. That was the explanation.”

Well, here’s the problem with that. ESPN, who had the game, had clear video evidence of Goff telling Decker to report as eligible. And there is clear video evidence of Decker going over to do just that.

Longtime NFL offensive tackle and football analyst Mitchell Schwartz had an excellent blow-by-blow breakdown of what happened…. and what should have happened.

As Schwartz said, this would have been a legal formation had the eligibility not been in question. A nd you can see Allen running away from the tackles as they’re clearly trying to report as eligible.

“I’m guessing that Brad Allen, based on his mannerisms, and his eyes… where his hat is looking, he never recognized [Decker],” ESPN rules analyst and former NFL referee John Parry told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt after the fact. “It’s not reviewable. What you need to do in that situation when the game is on the line… remember that the clock is stopped. You just had six points. So now, we’re going to go for two, so there’s no rush here, Take your time. Make sure you know who’s participating. They’re going for two. Slow everything down, make sure you have it correct. Make sure the defense knows who is eligible, and who is not. I think in this case, when you watch Brad, and his movements, and him focusing on No. 70 [Skipper], I don’t think that 68 [Decker] and Brad Allen ever connected.”

You could argue that it’s Decker’s responsibility to get Allen’s attention, but as Allen was running over to Dallas’ defense to let them know who was eligible. Decker thought Allen heard him.

Or… it could be even worse.

If that’s the case, Allen got the reporting lineman wrong.

Here’s the pool report, in which Allen appears to have gotten confused because Skipper had reported eligible to him earlier in the game.

And we now have a situation where one official is lying, or several members if the Detroit Lions are lying. That’s what Allen set up.

Allen probably isn’t lying — he’s going on his own incorrect interpretation of the situation and the rule. But given every other grievous error he’s made this season, Brad Allen should never be allowed to have this position in the NFL ever again.

It’s as simple as that.