Packer VS Lions Post Game Observations

[Just Want A Title]

Overall:  A lot of young players really stepped up in this game.  Aidan Hutchinson had a great game.  Kerby Joseph had a great game until he got knocked out by Okudah.  Josh Pascal was all over the field.  James Mitchell had a TD and a key first down late.  The secondary played much better his week following the firing of Aubrey Pleasant.  The secondary seemed to play with much more cohesion.  This was a good performance that should provide the Lions with a decent boost of confidence.

Offense:

--Jared Goff continues to his maddening ways.  He makes some big throws but when we really needed to close out the game he couldn't get it done.  The interception wasn't completely his fault.  The receiver should fight for position and box out the DB.  There was zero effort to do so.  However, he definitely is not the long-term answer at QB.

--D'Andre Swift must be pretty banged up to be such a short pitch count.  He is electric when he plays but his availability is a problem

--Justin Jackson played well in a reserve role.  It seems like he earned more playing time today

--We may have a lot of injuries but our down-field passing attack has disappeared.

--Brock Wright, Shane Zylstra and James Mitchell provided solid production from the TE position.  It seems like more 2-TE sets would help our offense.  The late holding penalty by Brock Wright wasn't great though

--I love to see Amon Ra St Brown battling but until there is someone else that defenses have to consistently respect and scheme to stop his numbers won't be great.

--The O-Line continues to be rock-solid.  I hope we keep that going

Defense:

--Clearly, the coaching change made a big difference in the play of the secondary.  

--Today was a real coming-out party for Kerby Joseph.  His two previous games were really solid but he was playing lights out until he got rocked late in the 4th quarter.  

--Jerry Jacobs may not be flashy but he is a pretty good CB.  You can tell he is still shaking off some rust but his needle is moving the right way.

--Derrick Barnes had a pretty solid game.  Granted, he was being credited with a tip when the ball simply hit him in the head but still.  He got a sack and made a big stop near the goal line.  It is nice to see signs of progress from him.

--I know this is basically Jeff Okudah's rookie year but he had kind of a rough game.  He gave up a couple of long incompletions and was a little out of control towards the end of the game.  I know he was playing hard but Knocking Kirby Joseph out of the game was a bad mistake.  It makes you wonder if his mental mastery of playing CB will catch up to his physical tools.  

--The Lions may have only gotten one sack but Aaron Rodgers was under pressure all afternoon.  They didn't do a great job of containing Aaron Rodgers late in the game allowing him to make drive-extending plays.

--Isaiah Buggs and Benito Jones are providing some pretty solid interior DT play.  They may not be flashy but they did a pretty good job today

--Aidan Hutchinson made a great play early with his INT but he got out of control on a number of plays and basically took himself out on some crucial plays late in the game.   

--I like Alim McNeil and he had another solid game but he looks like he is carrying too much weight.  That excess weight could be the difference between being a solid DT and game-wrecker

--Romeo Okwara played well in limited snaps.  I hope he continues to improve

Coaching:

--Dan Campbell needs to learn how to use Jack Fox as a weapon.  He is a very good punter.  It seems like he should have trusted Jack Fox enough to give him a chance to pin the packers deep rather then going for it on 4 and 3 late in the game

--Aaron Glenn did a really good job with this game.  He schemed up consistent pressure.  Having Aidan Hutchinson drop back into pass coverage early was very disruptive.  Having Cominsky, Pascal and Romeo Okwara back really helped out a lot.

--Dan Campbell is making good progress as a head coach.  I think he realized that he needs to be a better disciplinarian and it showed up today.  Still, I think adding an assistant head coach who has had some success as a head coach would help him out a lot.  Still, he know his team has talent issues but this team has a lot of grit/moxie

 

What did other folks think of this game?  Thoughts?

 

 

Edited November 7, 2022 by Just Want A Title
Typo

[Louis Friend]

His name is Kerby. 

[Nnivolcm]

 

[LionArkie]

Whether people think they can do it or not, it's hard to not root for these coaches.

[Karnage84]

Goff probably isn't the QBOTF but look at his receiving group today

• ARSB
• Swift (banged up)
• Kalif Raymond
• Tom Kennedy
• James Mitchell
• Shane Zylstra
• Brock Wright

Missing

• DJ Chark
• Josh Reynolds
• Jameson Williams
• TJ Hockenson

Our receiving corp was already missing pieces and needed at least another guy coming into the year. Most of the big time QB's (Rodgers included) tend to get a pass when the receiving group is bad. 

[Just Want A Title]

1 hour ago, Karnage84 said:

Goff probably isn't the QBOTF but look at his receiving group today

• ARSB
• Swift (banged up)
• Kalif Raymond
• Tom Kennedy
• James Mitchell
• Shane Zylstra
• Brock Wright

Missing

• DJ Chark
• Josh Reynolds
• Jameson Williams
• TJ Hockenson

Our receiving corp was already missing pieces and needed at least another guy coming into the year. Most of the big time QB's (Rodgers included) tend to get a pass when the receiving group is bad. 

Our receiver group is basically where it was last year.  The Lions offense is under pressure because they have no deep threat.  I don't see that changing until Jameson Williams starts gets meaningful playing time.

[Lions017]

It was good to get a win. Goff is what he is - he plays to the talent surrounding him. He was missing a bunch of playmakers yesterday so he was back to being mediocre. When he gets his weapons back he will probably improve. Either way, it's clear that he's not the long-term answer there. 

It was nice to see some of the younger guys on defense play well. That was a great game by Kerby Joseph. If he can become a decent safety for us that would be massive, especially if Walker is able to come back next year. 

[Sllim Pickens]

1 hour ago, Just Want A Title said:

Our receiver group is basically where it was last year.  The Lions offense is under pressure because they have no deep threat.  I don't see that changing until Jameson Williams starts gets meaningful playing time.

Or Chark, or Reynolds, or Cephus. Not to mention ARSB still seems somewhat slowed but also defenses can focus on taking him out with no other weapons. Getting Jameson in will be super helpful, just hope they dont rush him at this point and make sure he is good so we dont have a situation like Dobbins and have him miss another offseason or be slowed in the offseason and not develop.  

[Just Want A Title]

10 minutes ago, Sllim Pickens said:

Or Chark, or Reynolds, or Cephus. Not to mention ARSB still seems somewhat slowed but also defenses can focus on taking him out with no other weapons. Getting Jameson in will be super helpful, just hope they dont rush him at this point and make sure he is good so we dont have a situation like Dobbins and have him miss another offseason or be slowed in the offseason and not develop.  

I am not really big on any of the receivers above.  Chark never really found a groove but some of that could be due to Jared Goff.  Cephus can't stay healthy and is more of a jump-ball specialist than a speed WR.  Josh Reynolds is WR#3 at best and isn't going force DCs to scheme to stop him.  

Realistically, James Mitchell is our best chance to add a legitimate offensive weapon.  It seems like the Lions would benefit from running a two TE set with one blocking TE, Brock Wright, and one receiving TE, Mitchell/Zylstra.

[Sllim Pickens]

2 hours ago, Just Want A Title said:

I am not really big on any of the receivers above.  Chark never really found a groove but some of that could be due to Jared Goff.  Cephus can't stay healthy and is more of a jump-ball specialist than a speed WR.  Josh Reynolds is WR#3 at best and isn't going force DCs to scheme to stop him.  

Realistically, James Mitchell is our best chance to add a legitimate offensive weapon.  It seems like the Lions would benefit from running a two TE set with one blocking TE, Brock Wright, and one receiving TE, Mitchell/Zylstra.

I'm not at all high on them, but they would help was my point.  Its so bad right now that those guys at least attract defenses.  Chark never put up numbers but ARSB did when he was out there.  Same with Reynolds, he isnt a #1 but he even put up solid numbers as a #2 or 3.  Its just about having people that can take advantage of mismatches and help create some mismatches.  

As for the TEs, Mitchell for sure has more upside receiving but still has a ways to go to catch up after his injury. Would be nice if he can be a solid TE for us and allow us to save cap and higher draft capital at the position. 

I think getting Swift back healthy is key, and if it means sitting him another week or two, do it.  If he isnt going to get healthier in the relatively short term, then play him until he cant and let him heal up in the offseason.  The limited snap count is ridiculous IMO as it doesnt provide enough extra to put us over the top but still causes wear and tear on him.