Things You Would Like To See In 2024

[Just Want A Title]

Now that the draft is done and most of our major roster moves are completed I started thinking about some of the things I am hoping to see from the Lions in 2024:

Dan Campbell--It is hard to argue with the results that he has gotten.  For me, one of the things he could do to get even better as a HC is to keep himself on a more even keel.  This is nit-picking a little bit but it should help him improve in other areas (time management, risk-taking ect).  The other thing is that he need to stop being content to play games close in quarters 1-3 and win them in the 4th quarter.  That made sense when the Lions were less talented but know they are going to be hunted every week.  If you can put a team away by the end of the 3rd quarter, do so.

Ben Johnson--Two things stand out:  Improve his "killer instinct" and Jamo Integration.  As good as the Lions offense was in 2024, it was maddening to watch at times.  Too many scoreless 3rd quarters and too many instances of "taking the foot off the gas".  The Lions clearly know how to win games in the 4th quarter but they need to do more to win them in the 2nd and 3rd quarters to keep them out of close games.  With respect to Jameson Williams, he needs to stop playing him like he is ARSB.  It is good that he can run those routes but Jamo has insane speed to go along with some madden-like start-stop characteristics.  In order to unlock his explosiveness Jamo needs to be used more like Tyreek Hill in certain situations.  We can have Jamo disappear for two quarters any more.

Aaron Glenn--AG needs to get better at using his personnel.  That starts with his new assistant coaches.  Terrell Williams and Deshea Townsend are big coaching upgrades with proven track records of success.  He needs to listen to them so that our pass-rush and coverage units can finally live up to their potential.  That applies to the players as well.  Even very talented players like Hutch and Alim McNeill under-performed for stretches of last season.  We have a ton of young talent on defense.  AG needs to unlock their potential.

Dave Fipp--He finally added a pass-based fake punt to go along with the run-based fake punt.  I am hoping he gets more creative with his formations and makes kickoffs fun to watch again

Terrell Williams--I hope Terrell Williams can craft a truly dominant D-Line.  Hutch, Reader and McNeill give him some top-shelf talent to work with.  He also has some developmental players like Josh Pascal, James Houston and Brodric Martin who have the talent to take some steps forward and make an impact.

Jared Goff--The biggest improvement Jared Goff can make would be with his mobility.  There were times when he had huge running lanes.  If he gets better at sliding around the pocket as well as taking opportunities to make positive gains while playing smartly and within himself, it will make our offense even more dangerous.  He doesn't have to run a lot--just enough to make opposing DCs respect his mobility.

Jameson Williams--His number of snaps increased quite a bit last year even if his numbers didn't reflect it.  He really started to come on at the end of the season though.  The biggest improvement he needs to make is his ball-tracking on back-shoulder throws.  Every other part of his game is coming together.  If he gets this down, he and the rest of the Lions offense is going to be a lot of fun to watch.

Sam LaPorta--I worry that Sam LaPorta was used too heavily as a rookie.  He is a great TE but we need to keep him healthy and fresh for any late-season runs.  Sometimes less is more.  Better workload management might make him a more impactful player over the course of a season.

ARSB--He is a very crafty route-runner but if he smooths out his double-move he could be even more difficult to cover

Aidan Hutchinson--He really needs to improve his pass-rush plan and counters.  He wasn't great at that last year and his low win-rate reflected that.  Terrell Williams should be able to fix that

Ifeatu Melifonwu--Assuming he stays healthy, he just needs to keep doing more of what he was doing last year--be a menace on blitzes while using his size, length and athleticism to disrupt opposing passing games.  The one thing I noticed with him is that he needs to do a better job of using the boundaries as a 2nd defender.  That was especially true in the RZ where he needs to put his frame and his arms in-front of the WR so he can attack the football and disrupt the passing lanes.

Alim McNeill--He was a top-10 DT last year but was still hard to notice at times.  I am hoping Terrell Williams will teach him how to track the QB a little better and be more of a "wrecking ball"

Brodric Martin--Despite the fact that his position coach wasn't very good he actually showed a bit of improvement in his limited snaps late last year.  He has had a full off-season to work on his strength and conditioning.  He will have Terrell Williams as his coach and DJ Reader as a mentor.  I want to see him carve out a role at the #3 DT and get significant snaps while allowing DJ Reader and Alim McNeill to keep their workload reasonable.  It seems like he is capable of taking that step forward

What is everyone else looking for?  Thoughts?

 

[Nnivolcm]

[Just Want A Title]

1 hour ago, Nnivolcm said:

I think everyone wants to see that.  What do you want to see from the coaches and players so that we can climb that mountain?

[Sllim Pickens]

@Nnivolcm hit the nail on the head but I will elaborate a little on that. 

Dan Campbell - Clock management is still the only thing I don't like.  He doesn't show urgency when we need it and doesn't burn clock when we should.  Using his challenges better as well would help and being smart knowing we may need time outs.  In general he has led a great group of players and coaches and we have watched players and coaches improve.  More of the same with some slight tweaks would be ideal. 

Ben Johnson - Figure out the third quarter.  It was obviously our weak point on offense and we need to find ways to not put the defense at a disadvantage early in the second half every game.  Get consistent and have a plan to keep drives alive if the big shots don't work. 

Aaron Glenn - Put it all together.  He has had three years and although the D has improved each year, we have got better talent every year. I want to see the team outperform their talent and fix the pass D while keeping the run D strong.  

Gibbs - I want to see him more involved in the passing game.  He can be that extra WR we need after losing Reynolds but he can't drop easy balls by running before securing the catch. 

Jack Campbell - I want to see him take significant steps forward in coverage and play recognition.  If he can be the elite LB expected of LB's drafted in the first round, our D will take a huge step forward.  I think he is the best option for significant growth/impact with returning players.  

Jared Goff - He played very good last year other than a couple game stretch and the main factor in those games is we were playing outside in cooler weather.  He has to figure out how to play in colder weather so we don't blow games late and ruin our chances for more home games.  

Everyone Else - Just make incremental improvements.  Hopefully we don't see declines but more importantly I want to see guys get better with more familiarity and better talent around them.  Small improvements from everyone will put us over the hump.  

[Nnivolcm]

11 minutes ago, Just Want A Title said:

I think everyone wants to see that.  What do you want to see from the coaches and players so that we can climb that mountain?

MCDC - We have very different takes on MCDC. His speeches are very emotional, but during a game he is very "even keel". He is one of the more analytical coaches in the game, yet seems to have a knack for catching other coaches off guard with gambles (outside of 2nd GB game). He has drastically improved his time management from his 1st year, and I would like him to continue to work on that. Biggest area of concern that immediately comes to mind is challenges, as @Sllim Pickens said.

Ben Johnson - Once again as Sllim said, get better in the 3rd quarter. Help Goff and Jamo get on the same page.

AG - He has some talent now. Put them in a position to succeed. Kinda vague but I don't really want to see James Houston in coverage a bunch again.

David Fipp - I kinda expect Fipp and MCDC to have a couple game breaking ideas with the new kickoffs. Should be fun to watch. 

[idoubtit]

I completely disagree on the time management. A lot of people want the Lions to play faster but that either leads to scoring too early or compressing the field so much it limits the play calling, which increases predictability, which points the onus all on individuals Rather than the team. 

On the other side, when we try to burn clock and it fails people complain that we took our foot off the gas. Dan understands that unpredictability is one of our greatest strengths so I expect that he will continue to throw the ball every now and then when us fans want him to just run the ball.

[Sllim Pickens]

1 hour ago, idoubtit said:

I completely disagree on the time management. A lot of people want the Lions to play faster but that either leads to scoring too early or compressing the field so much it limits the play calling, which increases predictability, which points the onus all on individuals Rather than the team. 

On the other side, when we try to burn clock and it fails people complain that we took our foot off the gas. Dan understands that unpredictability is one of our greatest strengths so I expect that he will continue to throw the ball every now and then when us fans want him to just run the ball.

We lost the last game because we ran the ball when we didn't have timeouts to get the ball back. Then we depended on an onsides kick to win the game. 

We have lost other games because we are not playing with urgency when the clock is running out and we need points.  We play aggressive on 4th down but not when there is 4 minutes left in a game.  

Time management is to know the situations and play accordingly.  Time management is to know you can't challenge an iffy play in the second half and lose a timeout in case the game gets close at the end. Time management is to not lose games from play calls that burn clock when we can't afford it.  It is extremely important and 100% has been Dan Campbell's biggest flaw as a head coach. 

[Just Want A Title]

32 minutes ago, Sllim Pickens said:

We lost the last game because we ran the ball when we didn't have timeouts to get the ball back. Then we depended on an onsides kick to win the game. 

We have lost other games because we are not playing with urgency when the clock is running out and we need points.  We play aggressive on 4th down but not when there is 4 minutes left in a game.  

Time management is to know the situations and play accordingly.  Time management is to know you can't challenge an iffy play in the second half and lose a timeout in case the game gets close at the end. Time management is to not lose games from play calls that burn clock when we can't afford it.  It is extremely important and 100% has been Dan Campbell's biggest flaw as a head coach. 

I think you are using time management to cover a little too much ground.  I agree with you that it may still be a flaw sometimes, he has improved markedly in that area overall.

[Sllim Pickens]

18 minutes ago, Just Want A Title said:

I think you are using time management to cover a little too much ground.  I agree with you that it may still be a flaw sometimes, he has improved markedly in that area overall.

Maybe I should say he should manage time better?  You manage time with time outs, pace of play, play calls, etc.  So not sure how I am covering too much ground.  

[Just Want A Title]

6 minutes ago, Sllim Pickens said:

Maybe I should say he should manage time better?  You manage time with time outs, pace of play, play calls, etc.  So not sure how I am covering too much ground.  

The other thing to consider is that even high-profile coaches like Andy Reid and John Harbaugh make time management mistakes as well.

[Sllim Pickens]

31 minutes ago, Just Want A Title said:

The other thing to consider is that even high-profile coaches like Andy Reid and John Harbaugh make time management mistakes as well.

Sure, no coach is perfect.  But when a coach makes calls that effectively lose them that game or take away the opportunity to have a chance to win that game, its a pretty significant error.  I love DC, but there have been a few times they have shown a disinterest in what the clock says and it has bitten us.  I just hope he improves on that.  

[detfan782004]

First and foremost is Dan Campbell becoming a better HC is what I want to see.  He is a quality HC but his game management and his reckless ways at times that make zero sense is holding him back from next level. 

 

I want to see the offense not let off the gas. Too many times last year play calling got conservative when they were up a little. They need killer instinct. 
 

Need to see more faith in kicking game

Want to see more pressure on QB beyond Hutch. 
 

They need to ensure they continue to let the RBs split reps. Keeping them fresh and less likely to be injured when games count even more.

 

AG needs to adjust better. Too many times he was stubborn and failed to make adjustments when the game plan was failing.

 

All of this will take them To next level 

[idoubtit]

On 5/8/2024 at 8:57 AM, Sllim Pickens said:

We lost the last game because we ran the ball when we didn't have timeouts to get the ball back. Then we depended on an onsides kick to win the game. 

We have lost other games because we are not playing with urgency when the clock is running out and we need points.  We play aggressive on 4th down but not when there is 4 minutes left in a game.  

Time management is to know the situations and play accordingly.  Time management is to know you can't challenge an iffy play in the second half and lose a timeout in case the game gets close at the end. Time management is to not lose games from play calls that burn clock when we can't afford it.  It is extremely important and 100% has been Dan Campbell's biggest flaw as a head coach. 

You are assuming there is a right answer to a given situation when there really isn't. 

"We lost the last game because we ran the ball when we didn't have timeouts to get the ball back." - The defense absolutely believes we are going to pass and NOT run. Both of our RBs have broken long TD runs. More plays against a defense that knows you are going to pass could easily fail too. I am not saying you would be wrong to only pass in those situations but I'm not going to simply condemn him for disregarding the conventional route.

"We have lost games because we are not playing with urgency..." - I already talked about this but the urgency thing is highly overrated imo. We've also won games on the last play of the game and didn't give a our opponent a chance against our miserable defense... especially our pass defense which had a knack for giving up a long completion or PI deep down field.

It would also be frustrating to lose a game due to a missed call that wasn't challenged. And I don't think challenges are always just about a challenge. Sometimes a coach thinks we need a timeout to break the other teams momentum. Why not take it with a challenge where you might get a call and save a TO?

The last thing I want Campbell to do is stop doing what he believes is the right thing to do. When coaches start listening to fans, pundits, etc. they lose any real reason to exist. Might as well get a coach off the street and pay him a lot less. 

[Sllim Pickens]

5 minutes ago, idoubtit said:

You are assuming there is a right answer to a given situation when there really isn't. 

"We lost the last game because we ran the ball when we didn't have timeouts to get the ball back." - The defense absolutely believes we are going to pass and NOT run. Both of our RBs have broken long TD runs. More plays against a defense that knows you are going to pass could easily fail too. I am not saying you would be wrong to only pass in those situations but I'm not going to simply condemn him for disregarding the conventional route.

"We have lost games because we are not playing with urgency..." - I already talked about this but the urgency thing is highly overrated imo. We've also won games on the last play of the game and didn't give a our opponent a chance against our miserable defense... especially our pass defense which had a knack for giving up a long completion or PI deep down field.

It would also be frustrating to lose a game due to a missed call that wasn't challenged. And I don't think challenges are always just about a challenge. Sometimes a coach thinks we need a timeout to break the other teams momentum. Why not take it with a challenge where you might get a call and save a TO?

The last thing I want Campbell to do is stop doing what he believes is the right thing to do. When coaches start listening to fans, pundits, etc. they lose any real reason to exist. Might as well get a coach off the street and pay him a lot less. 

But there is a right answer.  As far as running the ball on 3rd down with 1 minute to go and 3 timeouts left, you can't do it.  Is it the reason we lost?  no.  Did it kill our chances of having the chance to win? Yes.  I don't mind being aggressive and going for it on fourth down or faking a kick in an area of the field that isn't always smart, but when it comes to time management and having the opportunity to win a gam in the final couple of minutes, you can't do that.  

Having urgency and pace when you need multiple scores is not overrated.  For example, against the Seahawks in week two, we are down multiple scores and we have a 10 play, 5 minute drive with 4 running plays with under 8 minutes to go.  We get the ball back with 1:44 to go and on our second play we get an 11 yard run to the Seahawks 27 and then don't get our next play off for 33 seconds.  We got two more plays in and kicked a game tying field goal and then lost in overtime.  A little more urgency when you get the ball at the 50 with 1:44 to go down by 3 and we win in regulation.  Against the Packers we were down 29 to 14 when we got the ball in the 4th quarter and had a 10 play, 79 yard drive that ended in a turnover on downs that took over 5 minutes.  The next drive we get the ball and go 91 yards in 12 plays and took only 2 minutes off the clock.  However at this point there is only 41 seconds left in the game and we can't get the ball back.  If they showed urgency on the previous drive there is a better chance we could have won or at least tied that game.  We can and have often played with pace and moved the ball, it just often is too late.  If you want a chance to win games, you have to take advantage of the opportunities earlier.  Worry about trying to help the defense after you get the lead because you have no chance to win if you are behind.  

As for challenges, in 2023, Dan Campbell was 0-4 on challenges.  In his career he is 6-9 so before this year he was 6-5 so at least above .500.  I am not saying he shouldn't challenge calls, he just has to be smarter about or have a better system with someone telling him to challenge.  I agree that a single play not being challenged could effect the game but so can losing that time out.  Its a coaching call and often a challenge that is upheld is a momentum swing towards the other team.  So be smart about it.  

I also agree I don't want Dan Campbell to change who he is or how aggressive he coaches the team because the fans and media criticize him.  But that doesn't mean he can't improve.  All coaches have flaws.  All coaches have room for growth.  Dan Campbell has been a great coach and when asking for what someone wants to see improvement on isn't saying he is a bad coach, just that there are areas he could adjust to give the team more opportunities in game.  His in-game management has always been his weakest attribute and although it has greatly improved from year 1, it still has flaws. So I hope he doesn't change because of what I say, I hope he does because he takes an introspective look at himself and wants to improve areas he struggled with.  

[idoubtit]

DB success is what I most want to see.

We really haven't been able to develop young talent and "coach them up." Our ability to scout FAs has also been suspect. Now we've brought in more FAs and used our first two picks on rookies. I'm excited about the DB room but if none of these guys turn out it points to a real problem in our FO and coaching ranks.