Random NFL comments/thoughts

[MichiganCardinal]

20 minutes ago, NYLion said:

I think some people forget how impactful Houston was last year. This is just a 6 game reel of all sorts of different ways Houston impacted the game. Insert THIS guy into the lineup and the Lions can make a real run...

Him and CJGJ. The two weakest position groups on this Lions team are about to be infused with the 2022 NFL leader in interceptions and the 2022 NFL leader in sacks per games played, just in time for the playoffs.

We don't even need Houston to continue the ridiculous tear he was on to close the season last year. If he just generates some amount of pressure from the opposite side of Hutch.... causes attention to be devoted to him... If he's just half the player Charles Harris was supposed to be and never was... it will be a game changer on the defense.

[Motown Bombers]

13 minutes ago, MichiganCardinal said:

Him and CJGJ. The two weakest position groups on this Lions team are about to be infused with the 2022 NFL leader in interceptions and the 2022 NFL leader in sacks per games played, just in time for the playoffs.

We don't even need Houston to continue the ridiculous tear he was on to close the season last year. If he just generates some amount of pressure from the opposite side of Hutch.... causes attention to be devoted to him... If he's just half the player Charles Harris was supposed to be and never was... it will be a game changer on the defense.

Don't forget McNeil will likely be back by the playoffs as well. Melifonwu has picked up the slack recently for CJGJ. I'm not sure how you work CJGJ, Melifonwu, Branch and Joseph on the field at the same time. 

[gehringer_2]

39 minutes ago, buddha said:

patrick mahomes is a much better qb than jared goff.  no offense to jared goff.  patrick mahomes is a much better qb than most qbs in the history of the nfl.

we had the same argument about lamar jackson for the entire offseason.  that argument seems to have quieted down a bit.

QB is in odd position to rate overall because the criteria are so slippery. It's such a mix of brain performance and body performance and talent on one side can make up for talent or lack on the other. If you were to compare QB's on a physical or style similarity scale, Jerod Goff plays more like Tom Brady than Patrick Mahomes, but while Mahomes' physical abilities make him a better QB than Goff, Brady's mental abilities made him better than both of them. Montana another guy who whose play over time proved he was 'better' than other guys that threw better or ran faster. 

Then you have Jalen Hurts, who probably has the season's (maybe decade's?) first QB tackle (and PF!) of a CB after running him down from behind after an INT  even if it did come too late in the end zone. Don't see that too often.

Edited December 26, 2023 by gehringer_2

[Motown Bombers]

6 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

QB is in odd position to rate overall because the criteria are so slippery. It's such a mix of brain performance and body performance and talent on one side can make up for talent or lack on the other. If you were to compare QB's on a physical or style similarity scale, Jerod Goff plays more like Tom Brady than Patrick Mahomes, but while Mahomes' physical abilities make him a better QB than Goff, Brady's mental abilities made him better than both of them. Montana another guy who whose play over time proved he was 'better' than other guys that threw better or ran faster. 

Then you have Jalen Hurts, who probably has the season's (maybe decade's?) first QB tackle (and PF!) of a CB after running him down from behind after an INT  even if it did come too late in the end zone. Don't see that too often.

In baseball terms, Mahomes reminds me of Torii Hunter from his Minnesota days. Hunter would make a bad read on the ball, but had the speed and athleticism to recover and make an acrobatic catch and win a gold glove. Goff is like Jhonny Peralta on the Tigers. Not really athletic to make the highlight real play but he always seemed to position him well before the pitch so he was always in the right spot at the right time and made all the plays hit to him. 

[NYLion]

55 minutes ago, MichiganCardinal said:

Him and CJGJ. The two weakest position groups on this Lions team are about to be infused with the 2022 NFL leader in interceptions and the 2022 NFL leader in sacks per games played, just in time for the playoffs.

We don't even need Houston to continue the ridiculous tear he was on to close the season last year. If he just generates some amount of pressure from the opposite side of Hutch.... causes attention to be devoted to him... If he's just half the player Charles Harris was supposed to be and never was... it will be a game changer on the defense.

The difference between a lot of these guys, Hutch included, is that he has the athleticism to not only get home on the QB but to also keep him honest in terms of evading the pocket, just look at those plays he made on Fields in open space in that highlight reel. This is my biggest issue with the D-line, lack of dynamic athleticism. Even an old fart like Irvin showed in his limited snaps what kind of impact an athletic edge can have.

Bringing up CJGJ also got me to thinking that people have been a little too hard on Glenn. While his schemes have certainly been questionable at times, they've missed 3 of their better defensive players pretty much the entire season in CJGJ, Houston and Moseley with a 4th in McNeil being out the last few weeks. I'm sure their pass defensive improvements were heavily dependent on not only Houston being even close to what he was last year but CJGJ and Moseley playing big roles. Without those guys, the latter two in particular, the Lions has lacked athleticism and also experience. It's been Sutton, Anzalone and a bunch of young guys still learning the game. It's no wonder why the defense is very hit and miss in the passing game in particular and a lot more miss usually.

Edited December 26, 2023 by NYLion

[MichiganCardinal]

1 minute ago, Motown Bombers said:

Don't forget McNeil will likely be back by the playoffs as well. Melifonwu has picked up the slack recently for CJGJ. I'm not sure how you work CJGJ, Melifonwu, Branch and Joseph on the field at the same time. 

They'll have options. Ideally, someone could take over opposite Sutton. Neither Jacobs nor Vildor are one of the best 11 players on the defense, but we might just be stuck with one of them at corner, because you don't want to force a square peg into a round hole... Iffy was originally a corner and they moved him to safety, maybe he could be a press corner? But you don't want to undo the progress made towards making him a quality player. If it's working, don't fix it and all that... You can also run more multi-safety looks on obvious passing downs and take Campbell/Barnes off the field.

If I had to guess though it will be rotational. I don't have the stats in front of me, but intuitively it feels like Branch is better against the run but a little weaker in coverage. CJGJ has (historically at least) been a ball hawk against the pass and less dominant against the run.

[1984Echoes]

1 hour ago, buddha said:

... but when the stuff hits the fan...

Well then the Lions need to stuff his fan with hits.

[buddha]

21 minutes ago, MichiganCardinal said:

They'll have options. Ideally, someone could take over opposite Sutton. Neither Jacobs nor Vildor are one of the best 11 players on the defense, but we might just be stuck with one of them at corner, because you don't want to force a square peg into a round hole... Iffy was originally a corner and they moved him to safety, maybe he could be a press corner? But you don't want to undo the progress made towards making him a quality player. If it's working, don't fix it and all that... You can also run more multi-safety looks on obvious passing downs and take Campbell/Barnes off the field.

If I had to guess though it will be rotational. I don't have the stats in front of me, but intuitively it feels like Branch is better against the run but a little weaker in coverage. CJGJ has (historically at least) been a ball hawk against the pass and less dominant against the run.

theyre good at safety.  corner is the problem.  

hopefully this new found ability to get home on the blitz continues to bring pressure.

[1984Echoes]

1 hour ago, Motown Bombers said:

Don't forget McNeil will likely be back by the playoffs as well. Melifonwu has picked up the slack recently for CJGJ. I'm not sure how you work CJGJ, Melifonwu, Branch and Joseph on the field at the same time. 

I thought Branch was playing solely nickel?

Then you have 4 guys for 3 spots, or 4 spots if they play any dime packages...

So I'm certain the coaches will figure out the rotation. Plus... I wouldn't wanna play CJGJ full minutes his first game back from this injury. And, IIRC, CJGJ was playing both safety and nickel so... there is a small amount of flexibility in there as well...

[Mr.TaterSalad]

2 hours ago, MichiganCardinal said:

I've thought for a while now that the Lions matchup well against the 49ers. What we saw last night is what can happen when you limit McCaffrey's potency and force Purdy into spots where he is uncomfortable. The 49ers are 0-4 when CMC has 15 or fewer rush attempts in a game and 11-0 when he rushes the ball 16+ times... It's not an easy feat, they have a superb offensive line and CMC is as good a running back as you'll find in the NFL. But if you force Purdy to win the game with his arm, he will struggle.

By the numbers, the Lions have a better rush defense than any team the 49ers have played this season.

Agree with all of this. Baltimore, and Cleveland earlier in the year, really showed the formula on how to beat them. Even though our defense is subpar overall , our run defense has been a good, bright spot this season. Limiting CMC's carries and YPC is a tough, but doable task IMO. As well, Brock Purdy isn't a complete statue in the pocket and does have some mobility. But Baltimore got pressure on him and had him rattled all night long and forced him to make mistakes. In the same way some Lions fans complain about Jared Goff's play when he doesn't have a perfect and clean Pocket, Purdy showed his play is little different under pressure.

[Motown Bombers]

 

[RandyMarsh]

Assuming Ben leaves I think more than likely the Lions will like to promote from within but if they decide to go outside the organization I would really like to look at Ken Dorsey. As QB coach in Carolina that's when Newton and Carolina played their best offensively. Also he really helped turn Josh Allen around when he became QB coach and passing coordinator for the Bills and as OC last year they didn't miss a beat offensively after Daboll left. This year they took a little step back under him but that was mainly due to turnovers, without actually watching all of them I'm not sure how much you could put that on him. 

 

[MichiganCardinal]

9 minutes ago, RandyMarsh said:

Assuming Ben leaves I think more than likely the Lions will like to promote from within but if they decide to go outside the organization I would really like to look at Ken Dorsey. As QB coach in Carolina that's when Newton and Carolina played their best offensively. Also he really helped turn Josh Allen around when he became QB coach and passing coordinator for the Bills and as OC last year they didn't miss a beat offensively after Daboll left. This year they took a little step back under him but that was mainly due to turnovers, without actually watching all of them I'm not sure how much you could put that on him. 

 

I’d be surprised if they don’t hire from within for OC. DC is the gig they might look elsewhere for.

[Motown Bombers]

I bet it will be Tanner Engstrand. 

[Motown Bombers]

I wonder if Ben Johnson gets the Carolina job if he will hire Staley to be assistant? I worry more about Johnson poaching coaches from the Lions than him leaving but the Lions can probably attract the best assistants in the league. 

[MichiganCardinal]

19 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

I bet it will be Tanner Engstrand. 

That would be my guess too

[TP_Fan]

Imagine how good this offense will be when they have the option to pass on 2nd and long. 

[Motown Bombers]

I can't believe Ben Johnson wants to be paid more than Monty Williams. 

[gehringer_2]

9 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

I can't believe Ben Johnson wants to be paid more than Monty Williams. 

Why not, he's likely to win more games....

[Motown Bombers]

11 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

Why not, he's likely to win more games....

But he's likely not as involved in the community. 

[Sports_Freak]

12 hours ago, MichiganCardinal said:

I've thought for a while now that the Lions matchup well against the 49ers. What we saw last night is what can happen when you limit McCaffrey's potency and force Purdy into spots where he is uncomfortable. The 49ers are 0-4 when CMC has 15 or fewer rush attempts in a game and 11-0 when he rushes the ball 16+ times... It's not an easy feat, they have a superb offensive line and CMC is as good a running back as you'll find in the NFL. But if you force Purdy to win the game with his arm, he will struggle.

By the numbers, the Lions have a better rush defense than any team the 49ers have played this season.

Their OL had a few injuries. I'm not sure how long they'll be out but their backups didn't look very good.

[Motown Bombers]

 

[buddha]

how each qb has played against the top defenses in point per drive this year:

 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

38 minutes ago, buddha said:

how each qb has played against the top defenses in point per drive this year:

 

I used to bring these types of stats up when Ma . . . Ah nevermind. It's just nice to see a Lions QB is playing really well against top defenses. Nice job Goff!

[Motown Bombers]