Just Want A Title Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 There was a whole lot of drama over the Lions draft early in the year. Now, PFF has three Lions on its all rookie team, including Jack Campbell. Awesome! https://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/articles/three_lions_selected_to_pffs_all_rookie_team/s1_13132_39800350 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Tso Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 The draft criticism was that we didn't draft premium positions. The after effects of this won't be felt until these players are up for a 2nd contract, then you really consider "do I resign a RB in today's NFL?" But for the time being, these guys are really good already and if we win a SB, I don't care. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Want A Title Posted January 12 Author Share Posted January 12 35 minutes ago, General Tso said: The draft criticism was that we didn't draft premium positions. The after effects of this won't be felt until these players are up for a 2nd contract, then you really consider "do I resign a RB in today's NFL?" But for the time being, these guys are really good already and if we win a SB, I don't care. A lot of folks thought Jack Campbell was a major reach at #18. If you look at the players selected after Jack Campbell, the only player that had a more significant impact was Zay Flowers. That is pretty significant considering Jack Campbell has been brought along a little more slowly than the other rookies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idoubtit Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Jack Campbell is underrated around the NFL because of his slow start. He's really playing well. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Want A Title Posted January 12 Author Share Posted January 12 Jack Campbell is definitely playing at a much higher level now than he was at the beginning of the year. Lets hope that growth continues during the playoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karnage84 Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 3 hours ago, Just Want A Title said: Jack Campbell is definitely playing at a much higher level now than he was at the beginning of the year. Lets hope that growth continues during the playoffs. I feel like a part of that is because he is being asked to play out of position. He should be in the Anzalone role but AA is there and has been playing really well. Then Barnes took a step forward and they had to be like "what do we do with Jack?". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Want A Title Posted January 12 Author Share Posted January 12 55 minutes ago, Karnage84 said: I feel like a part of that is because he is being asked to play out of position. He should be in the Anzalone role but AA is there and has been playing really well. Then Barnes took a step forward and they had to be like "what do we do with Jack?". AG has done a lot of things right this year but I think there not using players the right way is one thing he and his staff really didn't do well for a good chunk of the year. Jack Campbell was getting some pass-rush reps from the SAM even though he had always been an off-the-ball LB. Meanwhile, Derrick Barnes, who was a pass-rusher in college in his final season wasn't getting any reps as a pass-rusher. Not using defensive players according to their strengths was really evident with the D-Line. The D-Line was schemed up to simply tie-up blockers for most of the year despite having Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill. And why was Ifeatu Melifonwu on the bench with zero reps for so long after playing fairly well during Kerby Joseph's injury absence? Still, AG has made some obvious and effective changes over the last few weeks. THe D-Line is a lot more aggressive and disruptive, Iffy is getting more reps and making plays all over the field, and Jack Campbell is quietly starting to make his presence felt. All of these thing bode well for the game against the rams and next season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sllim Pickens Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 46 minutes ago, Karnage84 said: I feel like a part of that is because he is being asked to play out of position. He should be in the Anzalone role but AA is there and has been playing really well. Then Barnes took a step forward and they had to be like "what do we do with Jack?". The growth of Barnes really helped the team but also slowed the production for Jack. It was nice because it gave Jack time to adjust and it seems to be working out. Side note due to Barnes improvement - Getting production out of Barnes and Iffy makes that first Holmes class look so amazing. Sewell, Onwuzurike, McNeil, Iffy, ARSB, Barnes, and Jermar Jefferson. JJ is off the team but the rest are still on the roster and all but Levi are productive. ARSB and Sewell are now 1st team All Pro players and McNeil is the 6th highest graded DT on PFF for 2023. Iffy obviously didn't play much until the last 4 games but he is the 9th highest rated S per PFF. Add in Barnes who is a solid starting LB and a great rotational LB and that may be one of the best draft classes ever. Lets hope guys like Brodric Martin, Paschal, James Mitchell, Sorsdal and Rodrigo etc have similar growth. Even last year having Hutch, Jamo who is coming on finally, Paschal, Kerby, Mitchell, Rodrigo, Houston, Chase Lucas is another great class. Not as great as year 1 or 3 top to bottom but could get there with further growth from the later picks. Its pretty wild that Holmes has been here for three drafts and of those three drafts, there are 2 players out of 24 picks who are not on the roster currently (Jefferson, Lucas) and Lucas was just recently cut but was re-signed to the practice squad as was Jefferson. So technically all of his picks for the three years he has drafted are still in the organization and 22 of 24 are officially on the roster (although Martin and Green don't dress much). And that doesn't include UDFA's like Brock Wright, Jerry Jacobs, Steven Gilmore, Trevor Nowaske, Mohamed Ibrahim, Brandon Joseph, Connor Galvin, and Kayode Awosika who have all helped either in the regular season or on the practice squad. So impressive what Holmes and company have done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Friend Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 6 minutes ago, Just Want A Title said: AG has done a lot of things right this year but I think there not using players the right way is one thing he and his staff really didn't do well for a good chunk of the year. Jack Campbell was getting some pass-rush reps from the SAM even though he had always been an off-the-ball LB. Meanwhile, Derrick Barnes, who was a pass-rusher in college in his final season wasn't getting any reps as a pass-rusher. Not using defensive players according to their strengths was really evident with the D-Line. The D-Line was schemed up to simply tie-up blockers for most of the year despite having Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill. And why was Ifeatu Melifonwu on the bench with zero reps for so long after playing fairly well during Kerby Joseph's injury absence? Still, AG has made some obvious and effective changes over the last few weeks. THe D-Line is a lot more aggressive and disruptive, Iffy is getting more reps and making plays all over the field, and Jack Campbell is quietly starting to make his presence felt. All of these thing bode well for the game against the rams and next season. Don’t forget put James Houston back into coverage LB. A total mismanagement of talent. I agree with Sllim that the defense still needs a heavy injection of talent. But AG is also to blame for not using the talent he does have correctly. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sllim Pickens Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 20 minutes ago, Louis Friend said: Don’t forget put James Houston back into coverage LB. A total mismanagement of talent. I agree with Sllim that the defense still needs a heavy injection of talent. But AG is also to blame for not using the talent he does have correctly. I still feel like the misplaying people is somewhat due to overall lack of talent. Houston was a LB at Florida so he had the ability in him, and at the time our OLB spot was pretty bleak. Still is. But also if Houston can drop back and not be a liability, it really helps disguise blitz's. Plus we thought out edge was deeper with Harris and the Okwara's but none of them really stepped up. Last year Houston played sparingly down the stretch but was good when in as a pass rusher. They just were trying to get him on the field more. Same with Campbell, he was out of position because AA was still playing well and they tried to have them both out there at once. But also he was a rookie, so its expected to take some time to adapt. And turns out AA was the better player to adjust positions on and both are excelling. I think he has done a great job of moving around CBs to find what works best. Putting Branch at nickel was a great move. Iffy was struggling to find his role and what he was best suited for and turns out it is more of the Tracy Walker roll of playing around the line and man coverage on the back end. We still lack talent at CB, DE, and DT. So playing with guys at different positions is still needed and we won't always get it right but some of the credit for growth of guys like Iffy, Barnes, McNeil, Campbell etc shoudl go to AG. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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