Tag: Trey Flowers

Lions vs Packers: 5 key matchups for the Week 2 game

The Detroit Lions will face the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football and look to come ahead on these 5 key matchups for victory

The national scene is set for the first division matchup of the NFC North, with Green Bay Packers hosting the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football. Last week, the Lions kept fighting against the San Francisco 49ers but ultimately came up short in what would’ve been an epic comeback. On the other side of the coin, things did not go according to plan for the Green Bay Packers as they outmatched against the New Orleans Saints and also dropped their season opener.

For the Lions, there were some positives to take away from last week, like the effective running game coupled with strong offensive line play. Unfortunately, the defense fell short, with the young secondary showing its colors and questionable linebacker effectiveness. The Packers will look to redeem themselves after an embarrassing showing last week, and no better way to do it than against a division rival in front of a national audience.

Not many are giving the Lions a chance, but if they can continue the bleeding the Packers are suffering from and come on top of this week’s matchup, they might have a shot at showing the national audience they will not be bullied.

4 Lions takeaways from a second viewing of the Week 1 loss to the 49ers

4 Lions takeaways from watching the Lions Week 1 loss to the 49ers for a second time

Watching an NFL game for a second time often produces some different opinions and takeaways than the heat-of-the-moment reactions from viewing the action in real-time. The rewatch strips away the emotional intensity and also offers a chance to really study the Xs and Os and player performances on a deeper level.

I went back and re-watched the Detroit Lions in their Week 1 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

In addition to the takeaways here, I also wrote out my evaluation of Penei Sewell’s performance after a (different) re-watch of the rookie offensive tackle.

Lions vs 49ers: Studs and Duds for Week 1

The Detroit Lions comeback came up short against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1, but some performed well where others fell short.

When Dan Campbell took over, he assured everyone this team would give up and put up a fight through every second of the game. And that is exactly what was given. So even though the Detroit Lions comeback ended up falling short, dropping their season opener to the San Francisco 49ers 41-33, you can see the fight in this team that has been missing from years past.

Throughout the game, it became apparent the Lions were being outplayed by the offensive genius, Kyle Shanahan. It seemed he could do anything he wanted against a Lions defense that had some high hopes entering the season.  Somehow the Lions made it interesting at the end with a successful onside kick and well-timed turnover, where it looked like the Lions had something brewing, but it was too much of a hole for the Lions to dig themselves out of.

Thankfully, there were some bright spots the Lions can work with heading into Week 2, but on the other side of the coin, there are too many lackluster performances in this week’s studs and duds.

8 bold predictions for the 2021 Detroit Lions

8 bold predictions for the 2021 Detroit Lions on the eve of the Week 1 kickoff

It’s time for the season predictions for the 2021 Detroit Lions. With so many new faces in important places and so little preseason action to base anything off, the subtitle here is definitely “predictions sure to be proven absurdly wrong”, so keep that in mind as you read through them.

Without further ado, here is what the look into the crystal ball says for the Lions in the upcoming season.

The Lions announce their 5 team captains for 2021

Newcomers Jared Goff and Alex Anzalone earned captaincy honors in voting by their Lions teammates

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbx8sj47vkwrznr player_id=none image=https://lionswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Congratulations are in order for the five Detroit Lions players selected by their teammates as team captains for the 2021 NFL season.

The Lions selected two newcomers to the team as captains, with QB Jared Goff and LB Alex Anzalone earning the honor and respect from their peers.

Goff will serve as one of the two offensive captains, along with Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow. On defense, Anzalone joins DE Trey Flowers with the captaincy. Jalen Reeves-Maybin takes over the special teams captain role after the team parted with longtime long snapper Don Muhlbach.

Detroit Lions top offensive and defensive PFF performers vs Bills

The Detroit Lions had strong showings from the running backs and the defensive line against the Buffalo Bills according to PFF

In a tight matchup, the Detroit Lions lost to the Buffalo Bills 16-15 in their first preseason game of the 2021 season. Even though the play calling was vanilla at best, it gave us a first look at the players and coaches in action. Most of the starters only saw a handful of snaps, where some of them got a good workload in for the coaches to get a long look at. To get a feel on how some of the players performed, PFF released the top five performers on offense and defense.

Offense:

  1. RB Craig Reynolds: 90.7
  2. WR Javon McKinley: 83.3
  3. RB Dedrick Mills: 82.0
  4. G Logan Stenberg: 80.8
  5. QB Jared Goff: 80.1

Fresh off the streets, Craig Reynolds made a strong impression in his debut in Honolulu Blue with 49 yards on six carries scoring the only touchdown for the Lions. Another player competing for the third running back spot, Dedrick Mills, made a case with five carries for 32 yards and a bull-rush of a run where he could covert the fourth down attempt. What is even more impressive is that Reynolds and Mills finished first and eighth, respectively, amongst running backs through the first preseason games.

The Lions top receivers are cemented with Tyrell Williams, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Kalif Raymond, but a couple of spots are still open, and UDFA Javon McKinley hopes to snag one. He caught both his targets for a strong 40 yards, second-best for the Lions. He still might have a long road ahead of him, and with another strong performance, he may end up in the mix for a receiver slot.

The Lions offensive line depth did not give anyone warm cuddles, but Logan Stenberg provided a performance he absolutely needed. Even though Stenberg would’ve probably made the team either way due to lack of strong depth amongst the guards, he showed he could the way and open up lanes for the running game. Now the pass protection still needs refinement, but it’s a good step in the right direction.

Everything didn’t go exactly right for the first-team offense on their only two drives, but it has to feel good seeing Jared Goff in this list. Goff did almost through an interception right off the bat, but he cleaned up and was able to sustain the drive for 18 plays, but in the end, it only resulted in a field goal. It is a good start for the new Lions play-caller, but still plenty to improve on heading into the regular season.

Defense:

  1. DL Bruce Hector: 81.6
  2. EDGE Austin Bryant: 80.5
  3. DL Kevin Strong: 78.5
  4. S Dean Marlowe: 77.8
  5. EDGE Trey Flowers: 76.1

One important note is that Derrick Barnes ended the day with a 93.1 PFF grade but did not meet the minimum 10 snap requirement to be recognized as the top contributor. However, it was easy to see why the Lions fell in love with him between his instincts to read the play and agility to make the play. It was a breath of fresh air from what we were used to in the linebacking corps.

With the number of starters missing the game (Michael Brockers, Nick Williams, Levi Onwuzurike, John Penisini, and Da’Shawn Hand), it gave a lot of opportunities to the lower-depth players, and it was Bruce Hector and Kevin Strong to grab hold and try to make an impression. Hector was able to notch a sack in his belt, and Strong generated a forced fumble. The defensive line is one of the deepest areas roster wise and with plenty of players ahead of Hector and Strong, it’ll be tough to justify a spot for them, but they are making a case.

On the other side of the interior group, Trey Flowers and Austin Bryant provided a nice showing from the edge group. With Flowers transitioning to a different position than what he played last year, it is good to see he is performing well through the change, but it shouldn’t be a shock, all things considering. Bryant, on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise. He showed up in run defense and pass-rushing, recording two tackles, one pressure, and only allowed seven yards total (two rushing, five passing). Considering where he started this season, this was a performance he needed to get him on the roster.

The safety group is arguably one of the weakest parts, the defense and overall on the Lions. We haven’t heard much from Marlowe from camp, but he only allowed one catch for two yards on 30 snaps, which by anyone standard is top-notch. Now it won’t alleviate the safety group’s worries, but hopefully, he can keep up those showings and provide an adequate secondary presence.

Frank Ragnow leads the way for Lions players in latest Madden 22 ratings

The Madden ratings were not kind for the Detroit Lions, but there are notable ratings that are quite interesting among the team

In the midst of the opening of training camp, EA Sports released their latest Madden 22 ratings for every player and team. With the new regime in place, not many people have high hopes for the Detroit Lions this coming season, and it showed with the ratings that were given to the team and players.

With only five players managing to receive an 80 overall rating or higher, the team came at a 74 overall rating, coming in at third-worst in the league behind the Carolina Panthers (73 overall) and the New York Jets (72 overall).

Frank Ragnow comes in as the highest-rated Lion with an 88 overall rating, which was good enough to (barely) crack Madden’s Top-100 players — coming in right at 100. To no surprise, he is the lone Lions representative. Ragnow is easily the best player on the Lions and will be looked upon as a cornerstone for the organization going through a rebuild.

T.J. Hockenson follows with an 85 overall rating, landing him as the 8th-best tight end in the league. That seems disrespectful considering who is ahead of him: Hunter Henry, Rob Gronkowski, and Austin Hooper. None of those three tight ends came near what Hockenson produced last year and it leaves you scratching your head.

Next comes Michael Brockers (82 overall), who will be looked upon providing a veteran presence, especially for the two rookies, Levi Onwuzurike and Alim McNeill, while providing a force up the middle. Trey Flowers comes in with an 81 overall rating as a right outside linebacker, following suit to his position change from end. He will be a player to keep your eye on with the new coaching and see how he responds.

Finishing out the top five lands us in the special teams category with Pro Bowl sensation punter Jack Fox with an 80 overall rating. Fox lit the NFL on fire leading, averaging 49.1 yards per punt, ranking third in the league, and was easily was one of the better players for the Lions last season.

To round out the top ten Lions, Jamie Collins (79 overall), Tyrell Williams (79 overall), Romeo Okwara (79 overall), D’Andre Swift (78 overall), and Taylor Decker (78 overall). Jamaal Williams finishes outside the top ten with a 77 overall rating, but interesting how close the two running backs are rated.

For the rookies, Penei Sewell comes at a respectable 75 overall, landing him eighth among rookies. McNeill and Onwuzurike each earn a 71 overall rating, Ifeatu Melifonwu and Amon-Ra St. Brown receive a 67 overall rating, Derrick Barnes gets a 66 rating, and Jemar Jefferson lands with a 64 rating.

Since these two are tied at the hip with comparisons, Jared Goff comes in with a 77 overall rating, while ex-Lion Matthew Stafford receives an 83 overall rating.

Other interesting rating nuggets for the Lions:

  • Brockers comes in with the highest tackle rating with a 96, ahead of Aaron Donald with a 95.
  • Williams ranks as the third-best back in the carrying attribute with a 97 rating. Also, rates at the 20th-best back in stiff-arm with an 85 rating.
  • Melifonwu ranks as the 18th-best player (95 rating) in the jumping rating, the best among rookies
  • Goff ranks as the 11th best (86 rating) in medium throw accuracy, 12th best quarterback (88 rating) in the play-action category, and short-throw accuracy (90 rating). But comes at 29th overall with an 89 throw power rating.
  • Kalif Raymond rates as the fastest Lion with a 94 rating in the speed section.
  • Ragnow comes in as the 13th-toughest player rating with a 98 overall, but it should be a 99 considering he played with a broken throat.

How much the Lions are spending on each position in 2021

Breaking down the positional cap obligations of the Detroit Lions for the 2021 season

The Detroit Lions are beginning the new era under GM Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell with ample cap room in the coming year. That is by design. After trading high-priced Matthew Stafford and letting several free agents leave Detroit, the Lions have cut spending on the field for the coming season.

Only the New Orleans Saints are spending less than the Lions in 2021 in terms of current salary cap obligations on the active roster. At just $164.3 million, the Lions are almost $30 million below the league average spending of $191.9 million.

How does that break down by position?

Quarterback: $13.9 million (rank – 15th)

Running back: $5.6 million (30th)

Tight end: $9.9 million (16th)

Wide receiver: $13.7 million (29th)

Offensive line: $33.3 million (18th)

Defensive line: $44.1 million (7th)

Linebacker: $16.8 million (22nd)

Note that Trey Flowers and Romeo Okwara are included with the defensive line. They are expected to switch to rush OLB in the Lions’ new defensive scheme under coordinator Aaron Glenn. Flowers is the team’s highest obligation in 2021, costing the team $19.99 million.

Defensive back: $22.8 million (29th)

Specialist: $4.8 million (20th)

Remember, these figures are the salary cap charge for the team in 2021, not necessarily the salaries being paid to the players. As an example, quarterback Jared Goff counts just $10.65 million against the active cap thanks to the structure of his four-year, $134 million contract he signed with the Los Angeles Rams prior to the 2019 season.

All salary figures are from Spotrac. 

[vertical-gallery id=63057]

Lions have some post-June 1st trade candidates

Don’t expect the Lions to be buyers, however

When the calendar flips to June 1st, it’s a big deal for the NFL. Even though it’s the heart of the offseason, the date looms large for teams and players.

The contractual language changes on June 1st. Teams can spread out salary cap hits on players released or traded after June 1st instead of taking the whole cap hit on the current season.

That’s one of the reasons why there are trade rumors flying around the league right now, including those with Atlanta WR Julio Jones, Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers, Vikings DE Danielle Hunter and Philadelphia TE Zach Ertz. Many of those players have problematic contracts for their teams strapped for cap room.

The Lions are in good shape cap-wise, but could free up more money to roll over into 2022 and do higher-end free agent shopping in the coming offseason by moving on from some vets now.

Don’t expect the rebuilding Lions to be buyers, certainly not for big-ticket veterans like Jones or Houston EDGE Whitney Mercilus. But Detroit does have a few players who are candidates to get moved after June 1st.

Jamie Collins: Prior to June 1st, moving on from Collins would cost the Lions over $4 million against the salary cap. After June 1st, the team would save $2 million.

Collins remains the top LB on the team and an impressive athlete for his age, but the 31-year-old’s contract is set up such that 2021 is almost certainly his last season in Detroit. With newcomers Alex Anzalone and rookie Derrick Barnes entering the mix and younger, cheaper Jahlani Tavai in much better shape after dropping significant weight, Collins could be more valuable to a contender looking for a boost than he is for the Lions in 2021.

Trey Flowers: Flowers is the highest-paid Lion entering 2021 and arguably the team’s best overall player. But he’s changing positions (from DE to OLB) in a new-look defense that might not suit his particular set of skills all that well. His cap figure jumps to over 10 percent of the team’s allocation in both 2022 and 2023, too. Read that as Flowers not being long for Detroit, barring an unexpected restructure.

After June 1st, the 2021 cap penalty for trading Flowers drops over $11 million for Detroit, down to just $1.675 million.

Tyrell Crosby: Crosby’s cap status doesn’t change after June 1st, but he’s still a good candidate to get traded. The Lions drafted Penei Sewell in the first round to take Crosby’s starting RT job, and he’s now entering the final year of his contract. Trading Crosby would free up over $2.1 million in cap room that the Lions could rollover.

Halapoulivaati Vaitai: Moving the projected starting right guard would be a stunner, especially after the resounding vote of confidence in “Big V” from the coaching staff during OTAs. But just for argument’s sake, the Lions would save $4.2 million in cap penalties by moving Vaitai post-June 1st. Again, do not expect any action here.

Trey Flowers moving to OLB in Lions new-look base defense

Flowers had his best years playing that role in New England

The defensive line depth in Detroit went from being a weakness to an abundance of talent in the offseason. In fact, the Lions have so many capable defensive linemen now that the best returning player, Trey Flowers, is switching to linebacker.

That’s according to new Lions DL coach Todd Wash, who met with the media on Thursday and provided a deeper glimpse at how Flowers will be used.

Wash acknowledged what head coach Dan Campbell said a couple of weeks ago, that the Lions “will be a 3-4 (front) out of base (scheme).”

He envisions Flowers as “playing the outside linebacker spot”. Wash then noted that when the team flips into sub-packages that the dynamic changes.

“In our sub and dime package, then (Flowers) is going to be playing the defensive end spot.”

Flowers has primarily played as an end in his NFL career, moving between a 5-tech and a 7-tech in the various “multiple” fronts deployed by ex-coach Matt Patricia in both New England and Detroit. In 2020, Flowers played all but 21 of his 307 snaps on defense on the line.

He does have some considerable, and successful, experience playing in a stand-up OLB role. In the “LEO” role in a 3-4 base defense, the position is responsible almost exclusively at attacking the quarterback from a stand-up role outside the defensive end. Flowers played that role in over 50 percent of his snaps in his final two seasons (2017-2018) in New England and scored the highest Pro Football Focus pass rush grades of his career in that role.

The team added veteran Michael Brockers, a more natural 5-technique end who also outweighs Flowers by some 35 pounds, going off their listed weights in 2020. Second-round pick Levi Onwuzurike is also heavier and capably suited to play the DE role in a 3-man front. Onwuzurike can kick inside to rush tackle when Flowers plays DE in the 4-man front and sub packages.