Game 13: Detroit Lions (9-3) @ Chicago Bears (4-8)

[Louis Friend]

1 hour ago, Old Guy said:

I did not see that coming at all. 

Sadly, I think most of us did. It should have been a game we took care of. This team has issues. Despite doing very good this year, they have areas of concerns. Like every team. But Campbell & Co don’t seem to acknowledge it and that’s the frustrating part.  Going into this season, I predicted a 11-6 record, home playoff game and win. I’m still on that. But we have expectations now and I don’t think most Lions fans know how to act with that. 

[Sllim Pickens]

The offense definitely let us down yesterday.  The scores in the second half again were on a 58 yard drive, a 29 yard drive and a 20 yard drive meaning the offense left them in bad spots and with all of the three and outs, not enough rest.  I am not sure there is one person to pin it on.  Goff had three turnovers but none I really put on him alone.  The first was on a 4th and long so actually helped us.  The fumble was a double pump by Glasgow.  The last Int was trying to force things because we were down too much and again was on 4th and 24 so helped in the field position game.  But Gibbs dropped an easy ball very similar to week 1 that could have been a huge gain and potentially points.  ARSB dropped a couple I would not have expected him to.  Goff made some bad throws for sure but he was also under pressure a lot.  The health of Frank Ragnow is so vital to this team which is sad and scary.  If Glasgow can be at RG with Frank at C, the whole line is better.  Decker has been bad the last few weeks which I don't typically expect.  Sewell has been solid throughout but had a couple plays even he missed some blocks.  It was truly a team effort of failures on the offense and too bad because this was a game well into the third quarter if we could just stay on the field for more than 3 plays. 

On top of that, the lack of an intentional grounding flag on the sack just before the TD was ridiculous.  Fields had not started to throw until he was going down and obviously was not aiming at anyone.  You have to make that call or at least keep the fumble and review it.  Such a huge call that quickly shifted the momentum the rest of the game.  It was tied at that point, they at most would have gone up 3 if they tried the kick.  But likely would have punted if they were another 7 yards back where the grounding was.  It changed the whole dynamic of the game after that.  

Again the running QB kills us.  We get pressure, force him to make plays and he did that with his feet. We have to finish those and not allow him to break contain.  And if he does break contain, we need to have a spy there.  I still think blitzing is the key.  Another body in there to help collapse the pocket and bring him down helps a ton and will keep him uncomfortable.  It also allows us to play zone more which tends to help negate scrambling QBs but you have to get pressure.  I am not mad at the way the D played, but the screw up on the 4th and long with the free play killed us but again that shouldn't have happened.  

Campbell again missed a challenge.  He is now 0 for whatever in his career with challenges.  It was really close but he was quick to challenge and in a tight game, those time outs are important.  That was my only real knock on him.  The 4th downs were necessary when he called them but we were not in good position with Goff taking sacks and penalties.  

Overall it was super disappointing but not shocking.  Goff is bad in cold weather games. We fortunately don't have any more of those but do have some tough games ahead of us.  We are still 9-4 and in control of our destiny so we just need to regroup.  We still haven't lost two games in a row on the season and the 49ers lost 3 in a row and Philly is now on a 2 game slide.  All teams go through rough games so I am not going to panic, but definitely need to see them clean some stuff up.  Another short week this week with a Saturday night game but the same can be said for Denver.  Time to get tough and grind out the last few games. 

 

[Jameson_Neat]

Decker was a liability yesterday. PFF credited him with giving up all four sacks.

Where'd the deep ball go? Back shoulder throws have disappeared as well. And I'm just not a fan of the rotating backfield. Seems like the offense never truly gets into a rhythm. Lot of shiny puzzle pieces that Johnson is having trouble fitting together right now IMO. Feels entirely disjointed. 

If they don't run the ball 40+ times against the Broncos then they are just asking for trouble. 

[Sllim Pickens]

1 hour ago, Jameson_Neat said:

Decker was a liability yesterday. PFF credited him with giving up all four sacks.

Where'd the deep ball go? Back shoulder throws have disappeared as well. And I'm just not a fan of the rotating backfield. Seems like the offense never truly gets into a rhythm. Lot of shiny puzzle pieces that Johnson is having trouble fitting together right now IMO. Feels entirely disjointed. 

If they don't run the ball 40+ times against the Broncos then they are just asking for trouble. 

I agree.  And the deep ball he took a shot to Jamo but he never saw it and it was vastly underthrown.  Goff doesn't have a deep ball and is his biggest weakness but we do need to take some more shots.  I think he is just bad in cold and with the gloves on so he never was confident in his throws.  

And I agree on the split backfield to some extent.  Gibbs got into a grove when Monty wasn't out there, similarly Monty was in a grove before Gibbs got regular touches.  Now it feels like both are suffering and being less impactful.  However Gibbs big drop on that screen killed the drive, but maybe if he is in the whole game, he is more ready for that ball.  

[General Tso]

So I didn't really pay attention to this, but it seems Jacobs got benched for Kindle Vildor after the 4th and 13.

Also Walker was benched for Iffy all game.

[Karnage84]

5 minutes ago, General Tso said:

So I didn't really pay attention to this, but it seems Jacobs got benched for Kindle Vildor after the 4th and 13.

Also Walker was benched for Iffy all game.

This was something I was identifying as a likely move in 2024. 

Same deal goes for Decker. 

Those are spots I don't think we, as Lions fans, would have projected earlier on in the year as being replacement targets. It looks like that's more than likely going to be the case if we want to make the jump. 

[Karnage84]

VS CHICAGO

LT - Decker 55.6 OVR - 5 Pressures - 1 Hit; 4 Sacks

LG - Jackson 56.7 OVR - 1 Pressure - 1 Hit

OC - Glasgow 64.6 OVR - 3 Pressures - 2 Hurries, 1 Sack

RG - Awosika 69.9 OVR - 2 Pressures - 2 Hurries

RT - Sewell - 78.6 OVR -  2 Pressures - 2 Hurries

It is continuing to be evident that Taylor Decker is a problem for the Lions on the field. We probably don't have anyone else to replace him with right now and we're still trying to address things when Ragnow is absent. 

OT and CB are becoming our two most pressing needs IMO. 

[Just Want A Title]

To be honest, there have been problems with the play of our safeties no matter who has been playing.  Kerby Joseph hasn't really taken a step forward from his rookie year and at times has played worse than he did last year.  Tracy Walker is better in the box he is in coverage and I suspect the same can be said for Ifeatu Melifonwu.  The Lions are trying to make their safeties interchangeable but they are very different players.  They need to adjust the scheme to the players that they have not try to pound a square peg into a round hole.

Kindle Vildor didn't make any huge gaffes so he should be in line for additional snaps.  Right now, steady and consistent CB play would be a step forward.

Edited December 12, 2023 by Just Want A Title

[Just Want A Title]

21 hours ago, Karnage84 said:

This was something I was identifying as a likely move in 2024. 

Same deal goes for Decker. 

Those are spots I don't think we, as Lions fans, would have projected earlier on in the year as being replacement targets. It looks like that's more than likely going to be the case if we want to make the jump. 

One thing that is concerning is Frank Ragnow's growing list of injuries.  He is going through a lot just to get on the field to the degree that he has this season.  He is still a very good C and unbelievably tough but it is hard to see him playing after the end of his current contract ends.  

[Karnage84]

35 minutes ago, Just Want A Title said:

One thing that is concerning is Frank Ragnow's growing list of injuries.  He is going through a lot just to get on the field to the degree that he has this season.  He is still a very good C and unbelievably tough but it is hard to see him playing after the end of his current contract ends.  

Yeah - we need to be on the fast track to replace Ragnow and Decker.

Jonah Jackson is also a big question mark. 

Glasgow has probably done enough to warrant a spot at RG for the time being. He's played pretty well there. It's the revolving door at RG/LG that has been a problem. 

[LionArkie]

22 hours ago, Karnage84 said:

This was something I was identifying as a likely move in 2024. 

Same deal goes for Decker. 

Those are spots I don't think we, as Lions fans, would have projected earlier on in the year as being replacement targets. It looks like that's more than likely going to be the case if we want to make the jump. 

I've been saying we need to target Decker's replacement for a while now... or draft someone and trade Decker while his stock was high. I wanted to do this because I knew when we would be ready to make our run our (arguably) most valuable position on the team (LT) would be aged out for that run. Get a return on him and keep moving forward.

When your offense and team (read that as number of wins) is dictated by a position group, you best make sure the group is constantly stocked and put in a position to succeed. Waiting until someone is no longer as valuable due to their performance doesn't seem like the best way to go about business.

Goff is good when his OL performs. The running game is good when the OL performs. The defense is better when the offense performs. It all points back to the OL. Keep your strength, your strength.

[Just Want A Title]

2 hours ago, LionArkie said:

I've been saying we need to target Decker's replacement for a while now... or draft someone and trade Decker while his stock was high. I wanted to do this because I knew when we would be ready to make our run our (arguably) most valuable position on the team (LT) would be aged out for that run. Get a return on him and keep moving forward.

When your offense and team (read that as number of wins) is dictated by a position group, you best make sure the group is constantly stocked and put in a position to succeed. Waiting until someone is no longer as valuable due to their performance doesn't seem like the best way to go about business.

Goff is good when his OL performs. The running game is good when the OL performs. The defense is better when the offense performs. It all points back to the OL. Keep your strength, your strength.

One thing we tend to not think about is that the Lions had a huge amount of roster holes when Brad Holmes took over.  To his credit, he has plugged a remarkable number of holes is a fairly short time.  He hasn't taken any huge swings in free agency which I think is the smart approach.  He might be inclined to take one this year though.  If you look at the 49rs, Cowboys and Eagles compared to the Lions, they have had a longer runway to get to the point of being legit Super Bowl contenders.  Even the Eagles, who have signed some big free agents, wouldn't be where they are without drafting well.

The good news is that this draft seems to be very deep at OT and EDGE.  It is a pretty solid class at OG also.  Jackson Powers-Johnson, Sedrick Van Pan and Zack Frazier are all pretty solid C prospects that should go in Rounds 2 and 3. 

The draft seems to shaping up perfectly for the Lions in that there will probably be a large number of impact players at OT, EDGE, CB, OG and OC available from late Round 1 to late Round 3.  This isn't a great DT class but there are a lot of rotational 3-techinque DT available as well.  I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the Lions trade back to stockpile picks in rounds 2 and 3.

Edited December 12, 2023 by Just Want A Title

[General Tso]

 

Just everything that went wrong on offense, went wrong. Penalties, bad throws, bad protections, bad playcalls/route concepts.