Tag: Ben Johnson

Five things to watch as Lions face Cowboys; injury update, prediction

At Dallas on Dec. 30,  Jared Goff engineered a 75-yard touchdown drive late to give Detroit a chance and offensive lineman Dan Skipper became a cult hero. However, the Lions dropped the game, 20-19. It has not been forgotten.

The Lions (3-1) and the Cowboys (3-2) meet again at 4:25 p.m. on Sunday in Dallas. The Lions are coming off a bye week after beating the Seahawks in a Monday night game. The Cowboys (3-2) have won two straight after starting the season 1-2. They have yet to win at home.

“I’m excited for this one. And really, look, it’s the next one in front of us and it’s a conference opponent and they’ve had our number for a while and I grew up down there, so I have a lot of people there,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “I think it’ll be a special game. National television, four o’clock, which, that’s awesome.’’

While the Lions can’t let too much emotion carry them, Campbell understands they have not forgotten the December debacle.

“You’ve got to keep your head about you no matter what it is, and I think each game – look, you can always find something. To me, you always find a nugget, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing. There are reasons behind why you want to win them, and you find what those are and they’re different every week,’’ Campbell said. “But you’ve got to play a clean game, you’ve got to keep your head about you, we’ve got to be disciplined, we’ve got to play fundamental football, we’ve got to have a good gameplan, we’ve got to execute it, take care of the football, we need to get some takeaways, it’s the same song and dance it always is.”

After that loss, the Lions wrapped up the regular season with a win over the Vikings, then beat the Rams in a wild card game and downed the Bucs in divisional playoffs.

Quarterback Jared Goff said they all know what happened at the end in the confusion of whether Dan Skipper or Taylor Decker reported eligible for the 2-point conversion.

“It  was unfortunate the way it worked, but yeah, we’ll be ready this week,’’ Goff said. ”… I think it was just a mistake that the officials made, and it happens. That type of stuff happens, and you move on but no, I don’t think we take it personally.’’

Campbell was asked if Skipper will report eligible on the first play on Sunday. He said the game plan was incomplete at that point.

Five things to watch:

ONE: The Cowboys with Dak Prescott  have the second best NFL passing offense while the Lions are ranked 27th in pass defense. Something’s got to give. Prescott, who has completed 65.4 percent of his passes, has a favorite target in CeeDee Lamb who has 378 receiving yards and a pair of touchdown catches. Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said his corners are ready for it. 

“This quarterback is pretty good now. He’s pretty good, (Lamb’s) pretty good. Listen, I think they’ve done a good job with the personnel that they’ve had, and they’ve lost some guys too,’’ Glenn said. “So, again – and I’m sure they feel the same way I do – no excuses, just go out there and execute. But we know that we have to pay close attention to the tight end, also, (Jake) Ferguson, I think he’s doing a really good job and people don’t really talk about that player. I think he’s physical, I think he’s tough. You watch him on these seam balls, he does a good job of contorting his body and going up and catching the ball. So, this is not going to be an easy out, we know that. Every time we play Dallas it’s going to be a dogfight, and we’re ready for it.”

TWO: Jared Goff, aka Mr. Perfect, definitely found his rhythm in the win over Seattle. He now has 19 straight completions (over last two games) with the NFL record at 25.”He downloads the gameplan and looks to go out there and execute it. I mean, shoot, you can look at that Seattle game and there’s some not-so-great play-calls and we’ve got some guys making things right,’’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said. “That was my big point to the until last week before we went on break was, we had a couple explosive plays where I wish I had sent the protection a different direction and cleaned the picture up for them, but he was able to buy some time – I think it was the first catch there to (WR) Tim Patrick was not ideal, but they both made it work and it ended up being a 20-something-yard gain. So, when he’s – he knows exactly what we’re looking for, he knows what the bad looks are too.’’

THREE: The Cowboys’ secondary has improved each week and Campbell said that’s what makes them dangerous. “What you’ve seen in the last two weeks – this is a stingy defense and they play hard, they’re gap sound, everybody plays their responsibilities, it’s a run-and-hit defense …’’ Campbell said. “Then this D-line, I know they’ve been hurt but man, these guys over the last two weeks, just watch them play. And they play hard. So, they’re out working people is what they’re doing. That’s what they’ve been doing the last two weeks.”

FOUR:  The Lions must run the ball early and often against the Cowboys’ 24th ranked rushing defense which should not be an issue with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs off to an explosive start to the season. Campbell said Gibbs is primed for a breakaway run and Ben Johnson agrees. “I think we’ve got him up on a safety a couple of times and I know he always is – if he can’t break that tackle. But our guys are doing a great job up front, O-line, tight ends, of covering guys up and I think what you see with our skill group, I’m talking about our receivers, I don’t know if there’s another group in the NFL that blocks like they do down the field,’’ Johnson said. “And so, it’s probably coach’s confidence not in Gibbs and what he can do, but it’s also what our unit’s been putting on tape so far that, yeah, it’s just a matter of time before he breaks some big ones out.”

FIVE: In the win over the Seahawks two weeks ago, the Lions were whistled for a dozen penalties costing them 101 yards. That’s a lot. Over the first four games they amassed 31 penalties for 307 yards while their opponents had 22 for 185. It hasn’t been a big issue for wins and losses but it’s an issue. The defense has been working on avoiding penalties. “I don’t know how other teams practice, but we still do one-on-ones in practice, receivers and DBs, D-line and O-line, linebackers, tight ends and running backs. And when you’re in those situations, and you’re in a tussle match, where are your hands at?’’ defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said. “There’s a lot of things that we have to – and a lot of that comes from guys in college, because you’re able to do that when you’re in college, so that’s one of the things that TA (Terrion Arnold) is doing a really good job of, of trying to work on those things.”

LIONS INJURY UPDATE: G Christian Mahogany (illness) is out.

COWBOYS INJURY UPDATE: LB Erick Kendricks (calf/shoulder) and DE Micah Parsons (ankle) are out; CB Daron Bland (foot), CB Caelen Carson (shoulder) and LB Nick Vigil (foot) are questionable.

PREDICTION: Lions 27, Cowboys 24.

Five things to watch as Lions try to bounce back against Cardinals; plus injury update and prediction

The Lions haven’t lost back-to-back games since late October 2022. It’s definitely a streak they want to keep alive heading to Arizona for Sunday’s matchup with the Cardinals.

“That’s kind of what we’re built for, is responding, and we’ve got another really good team we’re playing again this week with Arizona,’’ quarterback Jared Goff said. “On the road, it’ll be a tough environment, it’ll be a tough game to win, but we’ll be geared up and ready.”

The Lions (1-1)  are coming off a 20-16 loss to the Buccaneers at Ford Field while the Cardinals (1-1) upset the Rams 41-10 last Sunday.

Coach Dan Campbell has a team that will look adversity in the eye and spit in it.

“As much as we want rainbows and sunshine all the time, this happens. It’s not always going to be smooth sailing. Shoot, the last couple years I think of the New England game and the Dallas game early in the season where we didn’t get it rolling a couple years ago, and then last year we had some bumps in the road as well,’’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said. “So those things happen, we want to minimize those as much as possible, and I think that’s the mark of a good/great team is, each week we find a way to put enough points on the board to get us down to win the game at the end of it.’’

 Kickoff is Sunday at 4:25 p.m.

Five things to watch as Lions play at Cardinals:

ONE: Don’t let Arizona’s offense get off to a fast start. In the first two games they scored on each of the first three drives. Kyler Murray had a perfect quarterback rating – 17 of 21 for 266 yards and three touchdowns last week. He also carried the ball five times for 59 yards, including a 26-yard scamper. “I think this coordinator does a really, really good job because in passing situations he does a really good job of continuing to run the ball, so you have to really play true,’’ Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said. “That’s what I talk to our defensive guys about. This is not a team where you can just say, ‘OK, we’re putting in our pass defense.’ And then they’ll gut you by running the ball on those situations because they really feel good about their run game.’’

TWO: It will not be the Jared Goff vs. Budda Baker Show, but Baker, who defends well against the run and the pass, is “a football playing dude” in the words of Campbell. “He’s one of the top safeties in the League and a guy that I’ve played since college and have a ton of respect for,’’ Goff said.  “I’ve seen him flying around the field for almost 10 years now and he’s a hell of a player and a guy that will be out there that we will be aware of.

THREE: The offense moved the ball last week better than Week 1 but not when it mattered the most. “We actually had more winning grades as individuals than we had the week prior, so, just like coach is saying, our focus is on getting better. Individually that certainly happened as an offense. We moved the ball better, we didn’t have the three-and-outs that we had Week 1, but clearly, we didn’t finish the drives like we needed to,’’ Johnson said.  “A thing that’s kind of popped up for two weeks in a row now is not playing complementary football. The three-and-outs Week 1 kind of put unneeded stress on our defense, and then last week special teams comes through to extend a drive and we don’t end up with points, then our defense is coming through with – in the fourth quarter with multiple stops, and we don’t come up with points for us, so we’ve got to do a better job complementing the rest of the team, they’re doing a phenomenal job right now.’’

FOUR: Linebacker Alex Anzalone, who suffered a concussion against the Bucs, is questionable to play but Glenn said he is confident in Jack Campbell and Malcolm Rodriguez to step in if Anzalone is sidelined. “I have plenty of trust in that linebacker room. Jack has done a good job for us, going from OTAs and training camp, of backing Alex up and being able to make the calls and stand in front of that huddle, so I have no issue with that. Rigo was a starter for us for quite some time, so I am very comfortable with him coming in and getting those reps too,’’ Glenn said. “So that’s a room that I have the utmost confidence in regardless of who plays, even if (Jalen Reeves-Maybin) Germ has to play, I expect him to go out there and play up to the same level as every other linebacker that we have. So, I’m confident in those guys.”

FIVE: In a surprise to no one, Cardinals rookie WR Marvin Harrison Jr., has easily made the transition to the NFL. He scored Arizona’s first two touchdowns last week on 23-yard and 60-yard pass plays. There may not be much NFL film on him but he’s the same guy who played lights out at Ohio State. “I know this, he’s improved every week. He’s a talented athlete, he’s long, he’s got good ball skills, and he really kind of did a little bit of everything last week,’’ Campbell said. “ … He’s growing as he goes, and I think you just study what you see on tape, and we know what he is and, look, we’ve got – (Carlton Davis III) CD’s an experienced corner. He’s long, he can run, so I like the matchup and I like (CB Terrion Arnold) TA too. So, he’s getting better and hopefully he doesn’t catch fire against us.”

LIONS INJURY UPDATE: S Ifeatu Melifonwu (ankle) and CB Ennis Rakestraw (hamstring) are out. LB Alex Anzalone (concussion), CB Terrion Arnold (illness), G Graham Glasgow (knee) and WR Isaiah Williams (abdomen) are questionable.

FEARLESS PREDICTION: Lions 31, Cardinals 27.

Detroit Lions OC Ben Johnson explains why he remains in Detroit despite chances to move up

ALLEN PARK — Ben Johnson, the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator, loves to answer football questions. That had to wait on Thursday, the first chance the media had to delve into why he didn’t move on to take an NFL head coaching position in the offseason.

He was the NFL coaching candidate darling — or at least one of them — but instead chose ro return to Detroit for his sixth season, his third as coordinator.

It’s been a voyage and it started in the Arctic, well treacherous waters resembling it.

While on the plane, after the loss to the 49ers in the NFC Championship game in January, Johnson said he was thinking about something coach Dan Campbell had said about the team.

“So 2021, and early part of 2022 he had made this analogy to the team about how we were sailing down the ocean and at that moment we were in the Arctic, we were hitting the ice bergs, we had the storms going on. Those were dark days,’’ Johnson said on Thursday.

“He had the foresight, he had the vision of where we were going and where we were heading. He assured us. ‘Guys I see it, I see where we are going. The results haven’t been there yet but the Caribbean is on the horizon. It’s coming up,’’’ he continued.

Johnson, 38, said the story of his career has found him spending a lot of time living in the Arctic. It was the second time he’d been to the playoffs, the first time he’d experienced winning playoff games.

“When it boils down to it, I wanted the sunshine a little bit longer. That’s really what it comes down to. I like the sunshine, I like what we’ve built here starting with the ownership, the head coach, the GM, on down,’’ Johnson said. “We have a great group of guys in the locker room. I want to reap the rewards with them a little longer.”

When he had the opportunity to take the reins of his own team, he didn’t view it as a must at this time. He has no doubt he’s ready but he’s looking long-term. Of the eight head coaching openings this offseason he said there’s a good chance five of them are out of jobs in three years.

“When I look at it from that perspective, if I get the opportunity to go down that road, it’s about how do I get to that second contract? How do I set myself up so that the stars need to align? I’m not going to do it just to do it,’’ Johnson said.

“I love what I’m doing right now. Love it. I love where I’m at, my family loves where we’re at, love the people we’re doing it with and so I’m not willing to go down the other path yet unless I feel really good about how it’s going to unfold,’’ Johnson said.

Campbell said he wasn’t surprised that Johnson chose to stay in Detroit, but he wouldn’t have been shocked if he had left either.

“I think he feels like it’s a good opportunity here and he wants to make the most of it and if something else becomes available it needs to be right, everything needs to be right. I appreciate that about him, not everybody can do that,’’ Campbell said.

“I think it’s a little bit of living in the moment too. I mean I think he enjoys it here, the family enjoys it here with a group of guys he respects and loves to be around — coaches, players — it’s a good vibe right now. Why not live it to the fullest, then the next thing will be the next thing,’’ Campbell added.

Continuity with the coaching staff is key if the Lions are going to continue to find success and they have it with Johnson, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and special teams coordinator Dave Fipp.

“It’s important I put a lot of stock in that, there’s a lot of value. Without my coaches, without my coordinator, none of this thing works,’’ Campbell said on Thursday, prior to the start of the OTA session.