Tag: Tyrell Crosby

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.

Lions 2019 rewatch: Chargers vs. Lions Week 2 notebook

This game was decided more by the Chargers making more mistakes than it was won by the Lions

Lions coach Matt Patricia is a big believer in the process of self-scouting. Like many NFL coaches, he’ll go back after the season and pore over every detail of game film, looking for nuances or things that he might have missed on the first go-through.

I’ve decided to do the same. I’m rewatching every play of every Lions game, using both the broadcast and coach’s tape feeds from NFL Game Pass. I’ll chronicle my reactions in real-time on the rewatch, focusing on specific plays or players in big moments as well as an overall postgame summary of my notes.

After the unsatisfying tie with the Cardinals in Week 1, up next is the weirdly unsatisfying win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2.

Pregame notes:

Starting LT Taylor Decker is out, replaced by Tyrell Crosby. Starting LB Jarrad Davis is also out, replaced primarily by rookie Jahlani Tavai. This game is in Detroit and the crowd was raucous.

First quarter

The Lions open in zone coverage with Jahlani Tavai and Christian Jones both quickly landmarking. First pass of the game goes to Keenan Allen, who drops the Philip Rivers dart just as Jones gets there. The Lions are lucky from the very first play, as Rivers doesn’t look at the slot receiver running a vertical route behind the outside receiver. It’s 6 points for Los Angeles if Rivers sees it because Darius Slay, the outside CB, doesn’t even think of running with the receiver.

Slay gets a PD on the first 3rd down when Rivers misfires behind Allen on a deep cross. Rivers has zero issue challenging Slay and it’s a theme that will play out repeatedly in this game.

Chargers blow an easy TD on the second drive when Mike Williams boots away a perfect fade route from Rivers, beating Rashaan Melvin over the top. Had to double-check to make sure it wasn’t Eric Ebron sneaking into the game for Los Angeles…

L.A. scores one play later when Austin Ekeler leaps over the pile from a yard out. A’Shawn Robinson just misses blocking the extra point and it’s 7-0 Chargers.

The Lions offense is trying to be creative to help ease the pressure against Stafford from the very impressive Chargers defensive front. Lots of quick-hit pass attempts early, plus a naked bootleg throw to Jesse James that is fraught with peril. James is functioning as an extra tackle, helping RT Rick Wagner with either Joey Bosa or Melvin Ingram on just about every play on the first two drives.

Another facet that works well in slowing down the pass rush: the screen pass. Stafford to Kerryon Johnson for 36 yards and the touchdown on a great display by Johnson. Center Frank Ragnow gets lauded by the broadest crew for a phenomenal downfield block that springs Johnson with a clear path to the end zone. It’s a brilliant play call that starts with slot WR Danny Amendola motioning out of the exact spot where Johnson catches the ball and taking the LB with him across the field. Graham Glasgow also makes a great block to pin the EDGE just as Johnson catches the ball on the quick screen. Early front-runner for my favorite Lions play of the year.

Matt Prater yaks the extra point. Snap and hold weren’t perfect but were good enough. 7-6 Chargers.

Second quarter

The quick-hit offense remains the status quo for the Lions. T.J. Hockenson is not having a good day blocking. We get our first sack on Stafford of the game on 3rd-and-4 and it’s a coverage sack. Kenny Golladay and Hockenson are both perfectly covered as Stafford frantically rolls to his right after Bosa beats Tyrell Crosby with a very basic shoulder dip.

Noting a change from the last game: Will Harris is off the punt protect team, replaced by Miles Killebrew. It’s a positive change.

On the Chargers punt after the next drive, Jamal Agnew gets the ball taken by Isaac Rochell like a schoolyard bully ripping away his lunch money. The play is negated by offsetting penalties. Agnew gets benched for Danny Amendola and the Lions promptly commit two penalties on the ensuing punt return.

Kerryon Johnson is running very well. Attacking downhill, no hesitation. Showing better vision than Week 1 and he’s reading the block from the play-side TE (usually James) very well. Lots of 2TE sets and James is holding up nicely as a blocker. Ty Johnson also runs well on this drive, some good work by Kenny Wiggins at RG here too.

The promising, ground-based drive ends badly when Prater yaks the 40-yard FG wide right one play after Stafford badly misfires behind Amendola on a short crosser. Chargers nearly blocked the kick with strong pressure off the right side.

Next Lions drive, Wiggins moves to LG, Glasgow in at right guard and it’s a trainwreck in both run and pass blocking. Stafford gets the Chargers to jump with a hard count but badly underthrows an open Marvin Jones on the free play. Should have been a big gain. One play later he hits Jones with a perfect throw. It’s that kind of random outcome type of game.

General note: The Chargers defense is very disciplined and well-coordinated. They cover the mesh points in the zones and transitions from short to deep very well. It’s giving Stafford problems and really giving Golladay issues trying to get space.

The Lions pass rush is pretty content to just roll with three, and the mix of zone and man is working well in coverage. Contrasting that is a play just before the half where Detroit brings six rushers. Rivers isn’t fazed in the least and hits Allen for a nice gain even though Slay was guilty of holding Allen on the play. The extra “pressure” brought by the blitzers was completely ineffective and uncreative.

A legit “wow” diving catch by Mike Williams on a 4-wide vertical route sets up the Chargers for the go-ahead 39-yard field goal at the half, 10-6 Chargers.

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How Jonah Jackson shakes up the Lions’ offensive line depth chart

Examining how selecting Jonah Jackson in the third round will shake up the Detroit Lions’ offensive line depth chart.

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The Detroit Lions have a vacancy at their starting right guard position, and they currently have their fair share of linemen vying to take that role.

With the selection of Ohio State’ Jonah Jackson, that competition has gotten even more intense.

Jackson has lined up at left guard, center, and right guard throughout his college career, making him one of the more versatile linemen on the Lions roster. While the Lions have a hole open at right guard, they have been known to shake up the starting five, as they did with both Graham Glasgow and Frank Ragnow.

The drafting of Jackson may have offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell take a look at the entire interior offensive line and try to find the optimal position for each player.

As mentioned earlier, there are a lot of guys in the fight for a starting role. Joe Dahl was the starting left guard last season but will have to win that job again this year. Veterans Oday Aboushi and Kenny Wiggins, who both have multiple years of starting experience, will return to the Lions in hopes of making the first-team lineup. Former San Francisco first-round pick Joshua Garnett joins the team hoping for a fresh start and a chance to revive his career. Also in the fight is Russell Bodine, Beau Benzschawel, Caleb Benenoch, and Casey Tucker.

Ragnow’s job is safe, and he will likely return to play center, but he could go back to guard, a position he played during his rookie season. The Lions traded up to take Jackson, meaning that they want him to come in and contribute right away. While it’s unclear which guard spot he’ll take, his role seems well defined.

That leaves the remaining eight interior linemen to compete for the remaining spot on the line. Detroit usually keeps five interior linemen on their roster, so most of this group will be off the team come August.

Jonah Jackson’s arrival will force the Lions to rethink their offensive line situation. Regardless of where he lines up, one thing that is very clear is that he will be starting in Week 1.

Lions players helping their communities amidst times of crisis

Several Detroit Lions players and coaches have been recognized for helping their communities during the COVID-19 crisis.

Given all that is going on in the world right now, it is refreshing to get some good news.

Several players on the Detroit Lions have taken it upon themselves to help others in these trying times. Whether it is providing food and supplies to first responders on the front lines of the COVID-19 epidemic, or helping communities rebuild after natural disasters, these men have shown that they are much more than just football players.

Members of the Lions organization such as starting center Frank Ragnow, running backs coach Kyle Caskey, and head coach Matt Patricia have already done a lot for their communities in recent weeks, but there have been several other players who also deserve recognition for what they have done.

On Easter Sunday, a two-mile-wide tornado tore through the southeast side of Mississippi. In the center of the storm was the town of Bassfield, where Detroit Lions safety C.J. Moore was born and raised. The small town, with a population of just over 200 people, was ravaged by the storm.

All of this destruction, on top of a global pandemic, wasn’t enough to stop Moore and his twin brother A.J. from returning home to help. The two young NFL safeties loaded up on supplies and went to Bassfield. There, they were able to distribute cases of water and toiletries to nearly half of the town’s population.

Moore is looking to make as much of an impact on the field in 2020 as he has in his community. Brought to the team as an undrafted free agent in 2019, he secured a spot on the 53-man roster as a core special teamer and extra safety.

Offensive lineman Oday Aboushi may not be able to help those suffering from the novel coronavirus in the way his siblings, who are health care workers in New York City, have been able to, but that hasn’t stopped him from providing aide to the people of his hometown. The Brooklyn, New York native has done his part by providing food and protective gear to the health care workers on the front lines of the epidemic.

Aboushi wasn’t the only Lions offensive lineman to help out health care workers though. Backup tackle Tyrell Crosby bought dinner for the staff of the Valley Hospital Corelab in his hometown of Las Vegas.

Wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. helped the community of San Diego, where he lives in the offseason, by buying meals for 400 staff members of the Scripps Health Hospital.

These Detroit Lions players have set great examples of what it means to be an NFL athlete. Despite all that is going on in the world, they stepped up and did what they needed to do to help the people of their community.

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.

Report: the Lions have agreed to terms with RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai

Multiple sources are reporting that the Detroit Lions have agreed to terms with offensive tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai.

Multiple sources are reporting that the Detroit Lions have agreed to terms with offensive tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai.

The deal cannot become official until the NFL 2020 new year begins on Wednesday at 4:00 PM, EST, but NFL Insider Adam Caplan was first to report the deal and included the basic terms of the deal — five years, $50 million.

Vaitai has a lot of positional versatility. He has experience playing both tackle spots, can also play guard, but is expected to be the Lions starting right tackle in 2020 and beyond — replacing the recently cut Rick Wagner, who reportedly signed on with the Green Bay Packers this afternoon.

To get an idea of how Vaitai compares to the Lions right tackles from last season here is his Pro Football Focus numbers compared to Wagner and Tyrell Crosby (who is still under contract with the Lions).

Overall Run Block Pass Block
Vaitai 74.4 76.2 64.4
Wagner 59.0 53.9 60.2
Crosby 62.4 64.7 62.5

Vaitai has only started 20 of his 64 career NFL games but as a former 5th round pick out of TCU, that’s not unexpected. He is only 26 years old and had found success on both the right and left sides in Philadelphia — but he has been more successful filling in for an injured Lane Johnson on the right side.

Report: former Lions RT Rick Wagner agrees to terms with Packers on 2-year deal

Multiple sources are reporting that former Detroit Lions starting right tackle Rick Wagner has agreed to terms with division rival Green Bay Packers on a 2-year deal.

Multiple sources are reporting that former Detroit Lions starting right tackle Rick Wagner has agreed to terms with division rival Green Bay Packers.

According to the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson, the terms include $11 million over 2 years, including several bonuses, a playing time escalator, and incentives.

Wagner was slated to make $11.9 million in Detroit but was released last week. The fact that he is making less money in Green Bay over two years than he was scheduled to make with the Lions is a major reason why the Lions moved on — his injury history and on-field performances weren’t meeting his contractual value.

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Our Jeff Risdon recently identified three paths the Lions could take in replacing Wagner at right tackle, including staying in-house and promoting Tyrell Crosby, drafting a replacement, and/or signing a free agent. One of the players suggested as potentially being in the mix is former Packers’ right tackle Bryan Bulaga, who will almost assuredly not be returning to Green Bay after the Wagner signing.

3 different Lions options for replacing Rick Wagner at right tackle

Lions options for replacing Rick Wagner at right tackle include free agency, draft, and promoting Tyrell Crosby

There will be a new starting right tackle for the Detroit Lions in 2020. Three-year starter Rick Wagner was released on Friday, ending his time with the Lions.

Where will Wagner’s replacement come from? The Lions have some options on which course of action to pursue.

Promote Tyrell Crosby to starter

Crosby is entering his third season in Detroit, and he saw his most extensive playing action late in 2019. Crosby started the final three games and five total on the season.

In his increased sample size, Crosby outplayed Wagner in 2019. Here’s how they stacked up according to Pro Football Focus:

Run block Pass block Overall
Crosby 64.7 62.5 62.4
Wagner 53.9 60.2 59.0

Wagner did play almost twice as many snaps on the season (753 to 397), and Crosby was flagged for seven penalties to Wagner’s three, but the on-field statistics back up the PFF grading. The Lions rushed for 4.9 yards per carry in the final three games, which Crosby started in place of the injured Wagner. For the season the team averaged just 4.1.

Moving Crosby to full-time starter creates an opening for a reserve/swing tackle. That’s a much easier hole to fill than a starting right tackle.

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Tyrell Crosby takes in the FC Barcelona experience

Lions offensive tackle Tyrell Crosby got the VIP treatment touring the facilities of FC Barcelona during his offseason trip to Spain

Detroit Lions offensive lineman Tyrell Crosby is doing what many NFL players do in the dead time of their offseason. Crosby is decompressing from the long campaign by traveling to other parts of the world.

One of his stops is bound to make fúbtol fans jealous. Crosby was a special guest of FC Barcelona in Spain, one of the world’s most successful soccer franchises. Crosby got a guided tour of their impressive stadium, VIP treatment and a customized Barcelona jersey with his Lions No. 65.

“It’s such an honor to be hosted by FC Barcelona,” the wide-eyed Crosby says, clearly enthused by the experience. “This is unreal. Blown away by the size of this, how amazing this is.”

He continued his tour of southern Europe with a stop in Portugal. Follow along with his travels on Twitter @Tyrellcrosby.

Rick Wagner: Why cutting the Lions starting right tackle makes little sense

Dumping Wagner creates another hole the Lions cannot afford to capably fill

One of the more popular notions from Lions fans on social media and sports talk radio is to cut starting right tackle Rick Wagner. It’s not something GM Bob Quinn and the Lions should seriously entertain.

Contractually, dumping Wagner does little positive. The team would gain $6.1 million in cap room for his salary, but cutting him forces Detroit to eat $5.8 million in accelerated bonuses Wagner is guaranteed. The $6.1 million in new space doesn’t begin to afford a suitable replacement for Wagner.

Then there’s the matter of replacing a veteran starter at right tackle.

Wagner is coming off his worst season, a subpar year marred with a knee injury and a revolving door on his inside shoulder at right guard. He finished ranked 47th out of 60 offensive tackles who played at least half the offensive snaps in 2019 according to Pro Football Focus grading. It was a rough year, no question.

But the prior years, when he was healthy and had a relatively stable presence at guard, Wagner was solid. He was 29th out of 62 tackles in 2018 and 14th out of 57 (and No. 3 in right tackles) in 2017 in PFF rankings.

With a new primary starter coming at right guard — Graham Glasgow is a free agent — creating more instability on the line is a recipe for disaster. Wagner is a great candidate for a rebound season, and his contract is lower than what a replacement of equal caliber via free agency (Jack Conklin, Anthony Castonzo) figures to cost.

If the plan is to install Tyrell Crosby as the replacement right tackle, that’s a little easier to swallow. Crosby was better in the run game than Wagner, though his struggles with penalties and handling edge speed in the pass game were a definite downgrade from the more proven veteran. Finding a new No. 3, or “swing” tackle to replace a promoted Crosby is a lot easier than finding a ready-made starter, too.

Even so, spending resources to fill a hole that doesn’t currently exist takes away from the Lions’ ability to plug the more pressing, urgent holes that are keeping the team from succeeding. Teams don’t get better by artificially creating more problems for themselves.