Tag: Ben Johnson

Five things to watch as the Lions face the Panthers; plus prediction

When the stakes go higher for the Lions — like they will against the Carolina Panthers on Saturday — the team’s temperature must go down. That’s the way coach Dan Campbell sees it and he’s guided this team to six wins in the last seven games to make a playoff berth a possibility.

The Panthers (5-9) still have a shot at the playoffs so the Lions (7-7) can’t take them lightly. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Give Campbell credit for keeping the focus on each day and each game instead of the big overall playoff picture. So far they have kept marching forward, keeping the outside noise on the outside.

“I kind of feel like – if it was going to happen, it would’ve happened last week because I felt like all of sudden there was this big – all this attention and everybody wants a piece of the players and coaches,’’ Campbell said. “And so, if it was going to happen, it was then. I think because that was a big swing, we were in the sewer before that and then all of a sudden, we’re – life’s great. So, I feel like, alright, we’re through it. 

“Now, to me it’s – man, the emphasis is on – there again, you can never lose sight. You’ve got to respect the opponent and what they’re capable of. They’ve got a chance to win this division, they’re very much in the hunt. So, we understand that. We identify that. We know it’s a physical unit, but the other thing is, man, you don’t know. This is a – we’ve got an opportunity and you just don’t know when these opportunities are always going to be there, and so we can’t let this slip through our fingers,’’ the coach added.

Five things to watch:

1. The defensive game plan will be similar to last week which resulted in a win over the Jets. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said first- and second- down efficiency will be key. “That has got to be on point because what you don’t want with this team, you don’t want to get them in a third-and-short because when they get into a third-and-short, I guess third-and-5 or less, man, it’s really first and second down for them because they will still run the ball in those situations,’’ Glenn said. “So, now you can’t really anticipate what they’re going to do. So, as far as framing this game, we have to do everything we can to be really, really stout.”

2. The offensive line probably doesn’t get enough credit for keeping Jared Goff safe. All they have to do is keep it up. Goff hasn’t thrown an interception in six straight games and hasn’t been sacked in the last two games. In the last seven games since the 6 of 7 win streak started he’s been sacked 6 times. In the previous 7 games when the Lions started 1-6 he was sacked 13 times. Carolina’s Brian Burns has 10.5 sacks so far this season. “It’s a catch 22 for me as I’m calling it because I mean, they come to the sideline and they ask for more runs. But yet, when they’re protecting that well, let’s throw it a little bit more, good things are happening. But no I joke around with them about that, but no they’ve done a great job,’’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said. “It’s them doing a phenomenal job with their technique and fundamentals in pass protection, but it’s also a testament to our route runners being disciplined, playing fast, being at the right depth and our quarterback’s playing with timing and anticipation.’’

3. Emphasis has been to improve the run game in recent weeks. They’ve had 100 yards rushing or more in the last three games – all wins. Johnson said he’d love to run the ball more but the negative runs really hurt. “We need to be efficient, and we need to get going, stay on schedule and ahead of the sticks. We were in too many second-and-longs last week, and it made our lives difficult, so yeah no, I think they certainly recognize it’s something that we’ll continue to address as the week goes on too,’’ Johnson said. ” And that’s kind of been the story of our season: fires pop up. We’re just in a race to try to put them away, and sure enough, another week comes by, and other fires pop up, so it’s our cycle right now.”

4. It’s been a slow roll-out for rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams. In his first three games he has one catch – a 41-yarder for a touchdown.The Panthers’ defense will have to keep an eye on him when he’s on the field. He and Jared Goff are building chemistry during practice. “It’s a weekly process, and I think it is coming along. We try to push Jamo a little bit more every week in terms of the routes we’re asking him to run, not just for the game, but also for his development and for Jared’s chemistry with him,’’ Johnson said. “We’re trying to see what he’s capable of, and what he’s comfortable with at this point coming off that injury. So, I think we’ll continue to see a growing connection between those two. It’s just time on task.”

5. Don’t play not to fail. This is a young team finding its swagger and learning to win. As the stakes get higher, Campbell has to make sure they don’t get too tight. The coach talked to them at halftime of the Jets win and it worked and he doesn’t think it will be an issue moving forward. “They know that. I don’t feel like I need to beat that one over the head. They get it, and it’s been acknowledged, and now it’s – listen, I think we have a pretty good idea of who we are, where we’re at, and I think more than anything, it’s about – look, we’ve got some guys in this locker room that have won now. I mean we do,’’ Campbell said. “Alex (Anzalone) has won. Jamaal (Williams) has won. (Michael) Brockers has won. Shoot, (Kalif Raymond) Leaf’s won, and then we’ve got a whole slew of young guys that don’t really know. They don’t know any better, and that’s kind of a good thing, honestly.’’

(Prediction: Lions 31, Panthers 21. It could be a Merry Christmas for the Lions if all three units continue to play solid football.)

Five things to watch as Lions face Jets in crucial game; plus prediction

Meaningful football in December continues for the Lions on Sunday when they play at the N.Y. Jets. “We’re both jockeying for playoff positions, this is critical for both of us,’’ LIons coach Dan Campbell said. “This is a heavyweight fight. I love our O-line and this is a worthy, quality opponent, especially their front. This is going to be pretty fun.’’

The Lions (6-7) have won five of their last six, making them one of the NFL’s hottest teams. However they’re making up for the 1-6 start. A win over the Jets would increase their odds of a postseason berth. 

Meanwhile, the Jets (7-6) have lost three of their last four and are just 3-3 at home. After being benched for three games, Zach Wilson will get the start at quarterback.

Five things to watch:

1. The Jets’ defense is its strength front to back. “This is a defense that makes you earn anything you can get,’’ Campbell said. “Our offense, we have our work cut out for us. It’s the strength of this team. …Top to bottom our receivers are going to have to fight to get off the ball, they’re going to have to fight for separation and our O-line is going to have to finish in the pass game and the run game.’’ The stingy Jets allow just 18.7 points per game which is rated sixth in the NFL. The Lions offense has scored an average of 32 points in the last five games. Something’s got to give.

2. Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, who was benched three weeks ago, will get the start with Mike White’s rib injuries keeping him out. The quarterback decision was announced on Friday. Campbell said it doesn’t make much difference which guy they face. “So, we’re ready. We knew (Wilson) was going in the game anyway, so we figured they were going to play him. So, it’s really – same thing, man, it’s about being disciplined and we know what kind of game this will be, what they’re going to want to do offensively,’’ Campbell said. “So, we’ve got to play our keys, we’ve got to be disciplined. We’ve got to run, we’ve got to hit, all the same things that we know here.”

3. No question Jared Goff is tough too but he’s been protected by an offensive line that is one of the NFL’s best. He’s been sacked just 19 times this season and just four times in the last four games. Goff (22 touchdowns, 7 interceptions) has gone five games without throwing a pick and feels he is playing the best ball of his career. While the offense is rolling up the numbers, the run game needs to be more effective. “I think in the last few weeks, it’s a number of things when you look at the few games, offensive line, it might just be aiming points or angles, targeting is always a big thing. Receivers, at times, just making sure they’re taking care of their force responsibilities and then making sure our running backs are seeing the holes properly,’’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said. “Each play’s got an intent to it, and the more we meet together, and we’re all aligned, I think the vision comes together, so end of the day, we’ve been able to move the ball and score points on offense, so certainly, an area for us to improve though.”

4. One way to beat the Jets’ defense is with speed. Rookie Jameson Williams will play his third game in the NFL and Campbell said the point of emphasis is easy: Speed all the time. Williams scored his first NFL touchdown on his first NFL catch with a 41-yard play early in the win over the Vikings last Sunday. Look for him to get more work at the Jets. “Certainly getting the touchdown with him was good, it was what you would expect. It was better than the week before but he’s got a ways to go like anybody would who hadn’t played a ton of football in this league and he will,’’ Campbell said. “He’s very coachable. … Certainly we like where he’s going, it was better and we expect it to be even better this week.’’

5. It’s key for the Lions to play their game, the way they have in the past six weeks. In that stretch Campbell has done a good job of keeping them focused on the next opponent, not the big picture. The veterans will need to keep the young guys in line and the rookies will have to respect their “elders” to go on the road and get a huge win. They know they can do it – they beat the Giants at MetLife Stadium on Nov. 20 – they just have to prove themselves again.

INS and OUTS: LB Derrick Barnes (ankle) and guard Kayode Awosika (ankle) have been ruled out. Defensive lineman Michael Brockers (illness) is doubtful. Fullback Jason Cabinda (ankle), cornerback Mike Hughes (illness), defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson (illness) and center Frank Ragnow (foot) are all questionable. Everyone else is a go.

PREDICTION: Lions 31, Jets 24.

Five things to watch as Lions look to snap road losing streak at Bears; plus my prediction

Coming off a home win against the Packers, the Lions have a chance to snap that ugly 13-game losing streak on the road when they face the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

Coach Dan Campbell said he might not present it to his team that way.

“Boy that’s brutal, when you just said that I haven’t thought of it like that. That’s rough, I think we will talk about that now that you’ve – yeah, no look I think it’s this. I don’t think – I think what we talk about is, ‘Hey, man first road win. This is an opportunity to get the first road win,’’ Campbell said. 

The coach said to get success on the road it takes composure and discipline. “You know it’s going to be loud. There will be things that are going to happen, momentum will shift and not to buckle under that pressure is big. And then I think from a coaching standpoint, we’ve got to keep it – we’ve got to have enough ammo, but we’ve got to keep it simple enough to where we don’t put ourselves in a bind. You put in too much stuff, for example offense, man it’s good. You’ve got all these things you want to attack, but yet, man, if it’s a lot of kills and shifts and motions to the extent where it takes away from you getting lined up, and just doing your job playing fast, playing efficiently. That’s where you’ve got to be careful of,’’ Campbell said.

The Lions have not won on the road under Campbell. Their  last road win was on Dec. 6, 2020, at Chicago with a 34-30 mark.

“We both kind of have our backs against the wall a little bit, so there will be that fight and that fight to the bitter end, and you have to prepare for that,’’ quarterback Jared Goff said. “There are some teams that you don’t get that with, but we’re both kind of in the mix of this adversity, trying to pull our ways out of it. It’s going to be a fight. It’ll be a good one, and we’ll be ready.”

Five things to watch as the Lions (2-6) face the Bears (3-6):

1. The Lions defense, which is coming off its best game this season, has had some trouble with mobile quarterbacks like Jalen Hurts and Geno Smith. Facing Bears’ Justin Fields, who had 178 rushing yards against the Dolphins last week, will present another challenge. “I think over the past three weeks, they adjusted on how they operate with this ( Fields) quarterback, and he’s playing at a high level right now. And I would say in the run and really in the pass game when you think about it, man, he’s not getting the yards that you’d want, but he’s being efficient with what he’s doing,’’ defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said. “And I’ll tell you what, these two backs they have, I mean they’re really good now. They’re really, really good, and the thing is they break tackles, they can find the seam, so we really have to be disciplined.’’

2. Continue the improvements the defense made last week. “Really excited about the way the defense played, but I guess more excited of the fact that our defense was on the field at a critical time at the end of the game to put the game away, and that was something that our guys needed because belief starts to stick,’’ Glenn said. “And I’ve said this to you guys before, belief is a powerful drug, so that’s something that we’ve got to continue to do, and I’m proud of the way our guys fought. I’m proud of the energy, the execution, just overall, the sideline, it was outstanding. And this has got to be one of the better games we’ve had since I’ve been here, so I’m looking forward to more games like that. And then just continue to look forward to practice, so we can continue to just get better.”

3. While the defense was on fire the offense played just well enough to win but has seen a lack of explosive plays in the last two weeks. “I want to say just by our metrics there were five explosives two weeks ago and then only four last week, which really we’ve been averaging over eight early in the season there,’’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said. “So, the explosive game hasn’t been there and that’s not just throwing the ball down the field or getting the big runs. It’s also some of these opportunities we have to get the ball in our hands short and making a tackler miss and creating something that way.’’ In their metrics a run is considered explosive at 12 or more yards while it’s 16 or more for a pass.

4. While D’Andre Swift is still not 100 percent, Jamaal Williams has been logging the bulk of the work in the run game. “I think since we got him even a year ago, he’s been the model of consistency for us offensively. He runs hard. It might not be flashy or sexy all the time, but he finds a way to always be falling forward when he’s being tackled,’’ Johnson said. “He’ll find creases. He’s got great vision, and he’s shown the ability to break tackles and potentially have some explosive runs for us too. So, minus the one game, the Dallas game, I mean he has been exactly what we want from a physical, downhill running back.”

5. One of the reasons the LIons’ defense had success last week was rookie safety Kerby Joseph playing his best game. ”Since he started, which has been about four weeks now, he’s just every week gotten a little bit better and I think that’s what it says is that he’s putting in the work and he’s growing,’’ Campbell said. “And that’s – just as far as the players, it continues to trend that way is the whole idea, but that’s a credit to Brad (Holmes) and our scouting staff, to be able to project a player like that and hopefully he continues to trend that way.’’

INS AND OUTS: Wide receiver Josh Reynolds (back) is out after not practicing all week. Tackle Matt Nelson (calf) is doubtful. Four are questionable: Joseph (concussion protocol), safety Ifeatu Melifonwh (ankle), cornerback Chase Lucas (ankle) and LB Malcolm Rodriguez (elbow).

(Prediction: Bears 31, Lions 21)