Just Want A Title Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 Overview: I had to take some time to get my head around this huge win for the Lions. It wasn't perfect by any stretch. Especially on defense. This team got a number of monkeys off their back with this win. That said: Dan Campbell: He did just about everything right today. The most important thing he had to show was if he could keep his emotions in check and not allow a big game to be too big for him. He checked that box with this win. You really couldn't ask much more of him today. Ben Johnson: This is a tale of two halves. The first half went about as well as you could expect. I know the Rams made some adjustments at half time but the offense was stymied for most of the second half. One thing that sticks out to me is not being able to get Jameson Williams going even when other options weren't working. This offense could use a consistent vertical threat and may need it if they want to go much further. Aaron Glenn: I have no idea what to think about this game. The defense is a "bend like Gumby but don't break defense". Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill we able to get solid pressure but they aren't getting much help which is an improvement. I don't know who thinks these shoulder-block tackles are a good thing because it seems like it is leading to a fair amount of missed tackles. However, they made plays at key situations and stood on their heads in the Redzone. The Rams were held to 6-points in the second half. Today it was enough to get the win. Brad Holmes: Gibbs, Branch and LaPorta were huge. Jack Campbell quietly had a solid game as well. The rookies made essential contributions in a high-pressure game. That is a very rare feat. Offense: Jared Goff--He was the quintessential Jared Goff. He was fitting balls into some really small windows while being very good on short and intermediate throws. He got a little crazy with his attempted shovel pass but more than made up for that. He played really well. It was great to see him make some critical throws on the last drive to ice the game. I don't think he will say it but I am glad he got the chance to give Sean McVay the boot in the playoffs. Davis Montgomery/Jahmyr Gibbs--They didn't rack up huge numbers in the running game but were pretty effective in the passing game. David Montgomery had a rough patch with drops but made a solid catch when it mattered at the end of the game. I am not sure why David Montgomery wasn't used for such a long stretch after the first quarter though. Sam LaPorta--He deserves a ton of credit for being a factor in both the passing game and blocking despite his recent knee injury. Hopefully, his knee will be in as good or better shape next week. ARSB--He isn't big. He doesn't have blazing speed. He is still one of the best receivers in the NFL. He was huge today. There isn't much more to say that hasn't already been said. O-LIne--They did a nice job of keeping Jared Goff clean for the most part. They lost their mojo with the running game in the second half though. Still, they kept Aaron Donald and Kobie Turner in-check for most of the game. They had a very good game collectively. Defense Aidan Hutchinson--He continues to be the only consistent pass-rush threat. He did a really good job of not getting too far upfield and giving himself a chance to stay in the play to affect the QB. That late holding penalty would not have happened without him staying disciplined on his rush. Alim McNeill--The stat line doesn't show it but he had a pretty good game. He laid some wicked shots on Stafford. He was also a big reason that Rams, whose running game had been really strong, only rushed for 68 yards. Alex Anzalone, Derrick Barnes and Jack Campbell--They had a pretty good game. They helped keep the Rams running game in-check. They were solid in coverage also. These "shoulder-block tackles" are killing me though. That continuing to cause more missed tackles than we saw early in the season Kerby Joseph--He continues to be an up and down player. His penalty for pulling the a guy off the pile was a real bonehead penalty. He made some solid tackles during the game but also got cooked on a crossing route by Puka Nacua. His play at the end of the game was pretty good but I don't know if the lack of PI calls is something we can plan for every game. Ceedy Duce--His return to the lineup hasn't been as impactful as anticipated. He made some solid plays in the running game and had some really good coverage on Cooper Cup in the Redzone. Hopefully, our secondary can settle down as he settle back in. Ifeatu Melifonwu--He had a quiet game. That might be a good thing considering how the secondary got torched. His usage as a blitzer has gone down the last two weeks. That is a real head-scratcher. Brian Branch--He had a really good game despite the early PI call. He didn't get any turnovers but he made some good tackles and had some key PBUs. It will be interesting to see how much better he can get Cam Sutton--He had a rough game for the most part. He got cooked by Puka Nacua on a vertical route. Still, he had a solid PBU late when we needed it the most. Kindle Vildor--He got burned for some long plays but showed a lot of mental toughness by battling the entire game. He almost caused another fumble while defending the run. He isn't perfect but he doesn't back down at all. Plus, he has a name that should be used as the next Bond-Villain. Special Teams Michael Badgley--Kudos to him for nailing a 54-yard FG. He was accurate and and distance to spare. I don't know if we should make that a part of our regular game plan but if he can be reliable from 52 yards or less that would be a huge unexpected bonus in the playoffs. Summary: This was a game where so many individuals and the team as a whole exercised a lot of demons. Jared Goff played really well and beat Sean McVay. Josh Reynolds had a big game against his former team. Dan Campbell drove the final nail in "Dan Campbell is a meathead" narrative. The Lions organization shook off decades of mediocrity and being viewed as the laughing-stock of the NFL to prove that they belong. This was a huge win for just about everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sllim Pickens Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/lions-wide-receivers-pff-grades-rams Per PFF, Laporta actually had a rougher game as did Ragnow and Jonah Jackson which makes sense going against Turner and Donald. ARSB, Goff, and Reynolds were the top offensive players along with Glasgow which is big for the same reasons its understandable that the other interior lineman struggled. On defense, Campbell had an awful game according to PFF along with Barnes, Vildor, and CJGJ. I didn't notice Campbell a lot but wonder what was so bad to earn him a 28.7 this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Want A Title Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 28 minutes ago, Sllim Pickens said: https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/lions-wide-receivers-pff-grades-rams Per PFF, Laporta actually had a rougher game as did Ragnow and Jonah Jackson which makes sense going against Turner and Donald. ARSB, Goff, and Reynolds were the top offensive players along with Glasgow which is big for the same reasons its understandable that the other interior lineman struggled. On defense, Campbell had an awful game according to PFF along with Barnes, Vildor, and CJGJ. I didn't notice Campbell a lot but wonder what was so bad to earn him a 28.7 this week. One thing I notice with Jack Campbell is that his aggressiveness creates a feast or famine situation. He is either hitting someone in the hole or behind the the LOS or he is 6-10 yards downfield. It gets a little better each game but he needs be consistently make good reads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Want A Title Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 My favorite post game quote was from Penei Sewell. He was talking about the team getting its first playoff win. His statement: "Now we got our foot in the door. We need to kick the b#*$h down". I hope the whole team embraces that mentality. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karnage84 Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 https://brobible.com/sports/article/kelly-stafford-accused-manufacutring-outrage-over-kids-booed/ Quote On Instagram Stories, Kelly Stafford wrote “It’s sports. The city wants to win. Everything is fair game. Except for the fans that booed my children.” She went on to say more but the part about her children was intended to strike a nerve with many, as the children of athletes should 100% be off-limits from the jeers of opposing fans. In a post from X, one user showed Kelly’s IG story along with the video below where Kelly Stafford says “and I know that my girls are not getting booed, I am.” She knows this. For what it's worth, this non-story that became a story, seems to be debunked. Unfortunately, there's 7-8 stories on the Google search page suggesting that it happened. It would be unfortunate if it did happen (although one bad apple should not tarnish 65,000 other people even if it did) but she's indicating that it didn't happen at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Friend Posted January 17 Author Share Posted January 17 13 minutes ago, Karnage84 said: https://brobible.com/sports/article/kelly-stafford-accused-manufacutring-outrage-over-kids-booed/ For what it's worth, this non-story that became a story, seems to be debunked. Unfortunately, there's 7-8 stories on the Google search page suggesting that it happened. It would be unfortunate if it did happen (although one bad apple should not tarnish 65,000 other people even if it did) but she's indicating that it didn't happen at all. She flat out made it up, admitted it was fake, and is still repeating it. I cannot stand them anymore. This is why they were booed (Matt & Kelly NOT the kids). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karnage84 Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 (edited) 13 minutes ago, Louis Friend said: She flat out made it up, admitted it was fake, and is still repeating it. I cannot stand them anymore. This is why they were booed (Matt & Kelly NOT the kids). I think a part of the reason that Matt gave Lions fans the cold shoulder at his post-game presser was because he had heard from Kelly after the game about how the fans had booed their children. I wouldn't be thrilled if I was in his situation and my kids were being targetedThen, with time in between, maybe it dawned on her that fans were booing HER and not the kids, leading to her comment on that. It doesn't change the fact that she sold out the people who supported her and her husband for 12 years while he was here and rooted for him while he was on the team that she orchestrated a move to (and he won a SB with). Mainstream media isn't going to follow up on the story because they'll be chasing the next set of storylines (like Baker's resurgence, Todd Bowles fighting for his job, etc.). Edited January 17 by Karnage84 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nagahide13 Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 She's annoying but seems to be a supportive wife. She definitely yaps a lot of crap to the media. I still like Matt. I'm not worried he was salty after losing... We gave him a winning playoff atmosphere and he gave a losing playoff attitude back. There will be room for a nicer return later on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Want A Title Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 How awesome is it to see a quote like this about Ford Field: “They said it was the loudest thing they’ve ever heard,” said Mayfield, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “We’ve got to be completely ready for that. It just comes down to everybody knowing exactly what our game plan is — all the calls to and from, because there could be certain times where they can’t hear certain things.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/nfl-playoffs-former-rams-teammates-gave-baker-mayfield-a-warning-about-lions/ar-AA1ncns2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detfan782004 Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 On 1/17/2024 at 2:27 PM, nagahide13 said: She's annoying but seems to be a supportive wife. She definitely yaps a lot of crap to the media. I still like Matt. I'm not worried he was salty after losing... We gave him a winning playoff atmosphere and he gave a losing playoff attitude back. There will be room for a nicer return later on. I don't know. I get fans giving him hard time but he bled for that team so it makes the fan base look very classless. I understand it as fan but outsiders can easily make an argument of how bad Detroit fans are from this look and that sucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nnivolcm Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Brad Holmes reading Rams fans calling Kerby dirty: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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