Tag: Alim McNeill

Lions process fact that their season is over so abruptly after divisional loss

ALLEN PARK — Less than 24 hours after the heart-breaking, divisional round loss, 45-31, to the Commanders, the Lions were cleaning out their lockers and saying goodbye on Sunday. Lots of hugs. A few questions.

As the No. 1 seed the Lions expected to at least make it to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. Now they are going home, garbage bags of locker goodies thrown over their shoulders, like Santa.

Center Frank Ragnow said the process of dealing with the finality of it starts now.

“Try to channel it, use it whether it’s anger, sadness, whatever it is, try to use that as motivation into the offseason,’’ Ragnow said on Sunday.

He said coach Dan Campbell’s message to the team was along those lines. “Never forgetting that feeling of watching them celebrate across the field and listening to them in the locker room, just never forgetting that,” Ragnow said.

Defensive tackle Alim McNeill was hobbling through the locker room on crutches. He tore his ACL in the loss to the Bills on Dec. 15 and is recovering from surgery. He said he’s on pace but does not have any type of timeline for returning. He watched the game from home.

“It’s tough, definitely tough. Not what anybody expected this year. We put in a lot of work, we had a goal set for this year, things took a different turn and we’re kind of here and now,’’ McNeill said. “It happens, it’s definitely tough, kind of hard to swallow, nobody knows what to think about it really. It’s definitely tough.’’

It was a team loss with the defense unable to stop Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels and the offense unable to hold onto the ball. Teams with five turnovers rarely win a game.

Quarterback Jared Goff had a rough night throwing three interceptions. He was having trouble processing it immediately after the game.

“I think we all look within and that’s part of it, if you get to this level you’re always going to be looking at yourself before you’re pointing fingers and that’s what makes us as good as who we are,’’ Ragnow said. “That’s what makes (Goff) great. He’s going to feel it, it’s going to burn. But we all know everybody on this team had a hand in last night. We as a team just didn’t play well enough to win.’’

It’s all new to rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a sense of shock, it’s a sense of that team they outplayed us that night you have to get back to it and the only way to ease the pain is to get back to the drawing board,’’ Arnold said. “There’s always somebody who’s dealing with something way worse than a lost football game. I love the game of football, I put my life into it, I know my teammates do and I know we’ll be back.’’

No question the current locker room is loaded with young talent, but in the NFL rosters are fluid which may have made Saturday’s loss even harder.

“I would say the hardest part is just knowing the room will be different. Even in the locker room after the game we took time to say, ‘Guys really cherish this  moment in the locker room because it’s going to be different,’’’ Arnold said. “That’s been the hardest thing of being in the NFL, normally in college you go back and see everybody. But the NFL is a business, people get better opportunities which I know they’ll take those, I’m happy they’ll take those. It’s hard because you get close to a person and then they leave.’’

Ragnow, who just finished his seventh season with the Lions, sees a bright future.

“One hundred percent. There’s so many talented dudes in this room, not only talented but the right mindset. Just the right wired guys that are willing to do whatever it takes for their teammates and put it on the line,’’ Ragnow said. “Again, I’m just so grateful to be a part of this locker room because there’s a lot of special dudes.’’

AND THIS: When cornerback Amik Robertson broke his arm early in Saturday’s game, teammate Terrion Arnold was right there on the field. “I thought it was kind of cool that when I was praying over him, Jayden (Daniels) came right there and we prayed over him together,” Arnold said. “It’s one of those things, it’s bigger than football.” Robertson was scheduled to have surgery on Sunday.

Lions defense comes together with doses of belief, respect and opportunity

ALLEN PARK — At least two intertwining truths are evident this week as the Lions prepare to face the Buffalo Bills on Sunday:

One: Bills quarterback Josh Allen is a freak, in a good way of course. Coach Dan Campbell said it, so did Kelvin Sheppard, linebackers coach. Everyone thinks and knows the mobile quarterback will be a handful.

Two: Detroit’s defense, which featured new faces in different places last week, is expected to improve this week. Plus, they might get a few injured players back.

It all seems good.

The Lions, coming off a win over the Packers, will have a similar plan against Buffalo. Keep the offense on the field since Allen is a freak and the defensive personnel are still learning to play together.

“Certainly we need offensive output that goes without saying. This team, even when you play good it’s going to be hard to completely shut this offense down,’’ Campbell said.

“But yet, there again, the guys we do have that have only been here for a short period of time I expect them to be better than last week. All of these guys are football players, it’s not like these guys can’t play football. I expect us to be better in that area. We’ll have a good gameplan. I see us playing better defensively. I think we’re going to show up and do some things. Offense has got to certainly score points preferably touchdowns not field goals and we need something out of (special) teams. Field position will be huge in this game.’’

With 13 defensive players on injured reserve, the Lions have run a master class on “next man up” and coaching up the new veterans who are unfamiliar with the system. The 11-game win streak is proof.

“Something came up in the (linebackers) room today where I was moving fast — now I’m trying to teach training camp stuff and at the same time prepare these guys to go against one of the most prolific offenses in the league this week,’’ Sheppard said. He gets help from veteran players like Jack Campbell and even Alex Anzalone who is in the meeting room even though he’s on injured reserve.

And he’s building off the mostly successful game against the Packers who were held to 31 points total and just 7 in the first half.

Sheppard explained that success is built on belief and respect.

“I think it’s a trickle down when the players see the belief we have in A.G. (Aaron Glenn, defensive coordinator) and no matter who it is, what the call is, we expect a certain standard,’’ Sheppard said. “We actually live and breathe that. Because I’ve had guys tell me, guys talk about this but the way you all practice here, the way we prepare this is different. When they see the belief, when they see us living these things, I think it’s a trickle down and these guys buy in. It’s almost like without knowing, they’re doing anything you tell them.’’

And it’s not like the new guys like Ezekiel Turner, Kwon Alexander and Jamal Adams are just filling space.

At the first practice with Turner several weeks ago, Sheppard said he didn’t even know his last name. But out of the gate he saw his speed and coachability. 

“I learned that he’s not a special teams linebacker and I want that said to the entire league. I believe this is his seventh year. He was almost in tears after the last game just because of the opportunity,’’ Sheppard said. 

Turner came up with a huge tackle of Jordan Love — holding him to a 2-yard gain — on a third-and-goal play from Detroit’s 16 on the Packers’ final possession. It forced the Packers to settle for a field goal.

It was the fifth Lions game for Turner. He had 17 defensive snaps, up from 4 in his first game against the Jaguars. 

Not only are the Lions a bit needy for good healthy bodies, but they run a meritocracy. It does not matter to Lions coaches where the players were drafted or if they were free agents.

“Like I’ve said in those rooms and these narratives, guys go first round, second round, they’re supposed to start. Guys who are free agents are special teams. That’s what it’s been. But that’s not what it is here,’’ Sheppard said. “If you show yourself and you show up in practice and you show we can trust you – that’s a big word.  … These guys haven’t gotten many snaps in this League but some of these guys are veteran players. But they come here and that’s what builds the belief when these guys know if I do these things I’m going to get an opportunity.’’

INJURY UPDATE: Left tackle Taylor Decker (knee), who missed the last two games, practiced Wednesday and expects to play on Sunday … DL D.J. Reader (shoulder) did not practice but Campbell said he may be able to go on Thursday. … Defensive linemen Josh Paschal (knee) and Levi Onwuzurike (hamstring) had limited practice. Both sat out against the Packers. … DL Alim McNeill (concussion) had a full practice. He was injured in the first half in the win over Green Bay.

UP NEXT: Buffalo Bills (10-3) at Detroit Lions (12-1), 4:25 p.m. on Sunday at Ford Field.

Five reasons the Lions roared back in second half to top the Texans, 26-23

Lions kicker Jake Bates answered the bell and kicked two 50-yard plus field goals in the fourth quarter on Sunday night, including the 52-yard game winner.

With his leg, Bates led the Lions to a 26-23 win over the Texans in Houston. The Lions won their seventh straight game and improved to 8-1 while the Texans fell to 6-4.

The Lions were down 23-7 at the half and it wasn’t looking good from the outside. Inside the locker room they made adjustments at halftime, came out and played a gritty second half. It worked.

“Every team gets punched in the mouth and the good ones respond. We responded,’’ said quarterback Jared Goff who threw five interceptions and a pair of touchdowns.

Houston was coming off a loss to the Jets and was fired up in front of their home crowd which included many Detroit fans.

“We had to fight our way back in there. I’m proud of the guys. There are things that obviously we have to clean up, but our guys wouldn’t go away. For our defense to play the way they played, I thought our defense played good early, we just had one play here or one play there that hurt us,’’ Campbell said.

“Second half you come out it’s four punts, two picks and a missed field goal. That’s huge. We talked about it at halftime, we needed to get our takeaways. I knew we’d wake up on offense, it was just a matter of time,’’ the coach added. “Once we were able to pull within one score you felt now we’re starting to find our way.”

Campbell said after nine games he feels really good about his team. “They haven’t done anything that would surprise me negatively,’’ Campbell said.

Five main reasons why the Lions won:

ONE: Jake Bates, a hometown Houston kid, got a well-deserved game ball. Both of his long field goals were good by inches. Hey, they all count the same. Campbell was confident in Bates in part because at the end of practice Thursday they went through an end-of-game drill and Bates hit that field goal outdoors in the wind. “I felt he was going to make it,’’ Campbell said.

TWO: Jared Goff proved once again he has ice flowing through his veins. Despite the five interceptions (he had four in the first eight games), the quarterback hung in there. Credit the Texans’ defense for pressure on Goff. He led the Lions to score 19 unanswered points in the second half. “I honestly didn’t feel like I was playing all that bad, I was seeing things well, I was throwing it well. I had some unfortunate things happen early,’’ Goff said. “I’ve been through a whole lot worse than that. I’ve been to the bottom mentally, some unlucky plays aren’t going to throw me off my game.’’

THREE: It was a sloppy game for both sides. The Lions had five giveaways and just two takeaways. A minus-3 ratio in turnovers doesn’t often lead to wins in the NFL. Carlton Davis III had both of the Lions interceptions, his first career two-interception game. 

FOUR: While WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was double-covered most of the game, he had six catches for 60 yards and a touchdown. The biggest reception was on third-and-6 on the last possession when he caught a 11-yarder for the first down. Three plays later Bates kicked the game-winner. 

FIVE: It was a total team defense. Campbell said he challenged the defensive line during the week to step up and help the secondary which has been playing solid football. They held the quarterback C.J. Stroud and the Texans scoreless in the second half, after allowing 23 points in the first half. Detroit’s defense had seven tackles for loss including two sacks in the first half so they weren’t playing horribly to start, just a few big plays including a 41-yard pass interference penalty hurt them. Alim McNeill, Josh Paschal and Pat O’Connor each sacked C.J. Stroud. Safety Brian Branch finished with two pass defenses, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hit and a team-high 10 tackles.

BONUS: A close, sloppy win like this can pay dividends down the road and perhaps in the playoffs. In the second half, the Lions dug deep and found what kind of team they were. 

NEXT UP: Jacksonville Jaguars (2-8) at Lions (8-1), 1 p.m. on Sunday at Ford Field.