Tag: David Montgomery

Five things to watch as Lions face Texans; plus injury reports, prediction

While much has been made of the Detroit Lions’ red-hot offense over eight games, the defense has overcome the loss of eight significant players to injury.

And yet, they keep on fighting and winning key battles.

The next test comes in the nationally televised game on Sunday night when the Lions (7-1) face the Texans (6-3) at Houston.  The Texans coming off a loss to N.J. Jets while Lions rolled over the Packers, 24-14, at Green Bay.

Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn doesn’t usually get much screen time, but in the pouring rain at Green Bay, he just stood and called plays as if it was a sunny day while his glasses were covered in rain drops.

“At one point, and I don’t know – we were in the heat of battle there and I just remember – I said something, ‘AG, we got to be ready for this and wipe your glasses off.’ He’s like, ‘I got you.’ Yeah, that was pretty good. He doesn’t need eyes to coach,’’ Campbell said.

Glenn was just thinking of the next play call and how to put the guys in position to be successful.

“He doesn’t have bad days, he’s not one of these guys. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t get – he can get pissed off, believe me, he’s a fiery guy, but he just doesn’t live like that. Everything is, ‘Hey, you tell me what it is, you tell me what we’ve got and we’re going to make it work and we’re going to make the most of it and we’ll be good,’’’ Campbell said. “And it’s – he’s just positive, upbeat, grinder. I can’t say enough great words about him. Everybody respects him and those guys play – they play hard for him.”

Five things to watch:

ONE: Once again, Jared Goff and offense face another tough defense in the Texans who have the NFL’s second-rated defense. Goff has gone five games without throwing a touchdown and obviously the Lions have won all of them. He’s on a roll that shows no sign of slowing down. He said he does have to filter out some of the noise. “You’re just trying to find a way to stack Ws and I think you get caught up in sometimes not only the bad stuff but the good stuff at times. It can be dangerous,’’ Goff said. “So yeah, you just try to keep stacking wins, people are going to keep telling us how good we are now and then if something were to go wrong, they tell us how bad we are. So, it’s how it goes and just try to keep doing the work, put your head down and go in a hole and keep stacking Ws.”

TWO: Running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs could likely each be a starter on any other team. Halfway through the season and they haven’t  had a bad game yet. It could be because they don’t get tired.”It’’s so hard for a defense when you get a fresh one of them, it seems, every other drive. A lot of these guys that are carrying the ball 25, 30 times, they aren’t fresh the whole game,’’ Goff said. “These guys are coming in the third quarter and they’re fresh. It’s Gibbs then it’s Montgomery, then it’s Gibbs and then it’s back and forth and it’s tough. It’s tough for a defense and I think they kind of get pigeonholed at times like, ‘Gibbs is the fast one, D-Mo is the tough one.’ It’s like no, they both kind of do it all. They both can run away from you, they both can catch the ball, they both can run you over and that’s really hard for any defense.”

THREE: Houston’s C.J. Stroud hasn’t thrown an interception in three straight games but he hasn’t faced the Lions secondary. Safety Kerby Joseph returned an interception for a touchdown in Green Bay, it was his sixth pick of the season. Brian Branch has four. Stroud will present a challenge. “ He’s a big man, he has quick release, he’s effective when he gets outside the pocket of making plays. He’s not a true runner per se, but he can run to create plays,” Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said. “So, the thing that we’ve got to be careful of is, man, these receivers that he has and the running backs that he has, of not allowing him to be able to just dice us up, getting the ball out to these guys, because they can really make some plays..”

FOUR: Za’Darius Smith, who paid Broc Wright to give up No. 99,  could ease his way onto his new team. He’s 32, an NFL veteran, so making a transition shouldn’t be too tough. He’s not a replacement for Aidan Hutchinson but will help against the run and can pass rush. Campbell is confident he will be a good fit. “We’ve got enough people that speak highly of him that I know, players and coaches, and they all say the same thing about him. Team guy, hard worker, tough, loves the game, and then you watch the film, and it backs it up,’’ Campbell said. “So, I can’t imagine that all of those guys would lie to me.”

FIVE:  The Lions have proven themselves to be road warriors by winning all their games away from Ford Field so far. Their only loss was to the Bucs at home. Oddly enough, wining on the road is what could lead to more home playoff games. “If you want to make that happen then you have to win a lot of games and we’re only about halfway there but we’ve done a good job to this point and if we want to find a way to have it come through Detroit, we have to keep winning,’’ Goff said.

LIONS INJURY REPORT: LT Taylor Decker (shoulder), DL Brodric Martin (knee), LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin (neck), S Ifeatu Melifonwu (ankle), CB Emmanuel Moseley (pectoral) and LB Malcolm Rodriguez (ankle) are out; Za’Darius Smith is questionable.

TEXANS INJURY REPORT: DE Will Anderson (ankle) and RB Dameon Pierce (groin) are out; WR Nico Collins (hamstring). WR Tank Dell (back), DT Folorunso Fatukasi (groin/shoulder), LB Jake Hansen (ankle), DE Jerry Hughes (hip) and CB Jeff Okudah (quad) are questionable.

PREDICTION: Lions 35, Texans 28

Lions continue to roll, knocking off division-rival Packers, 24-14

Five reasons Detroit won its sixth straight game

Throw the Lions a challenge – like pouring rain, wind and a slippery field — and they do not flinch. They march forward because that’s what they do.

The conditions were nasty at Lambeau Field on Sunday where the Lions played their first outdoor game of the season. No problem. 

Detroit dominated the Green Bay Packers, 24-14, in a key NFC North battle.

“I’m not shocked one bit that we came out here and played pretty good football out in the elements,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “We’re built for this. Just because we play indoors it doesn’t matter. We can play anywhere — we can play in the snow, play in the rain, play in the mud, that’s just us. We’re built to win, man.’’

 The Lions remain atop the NFC North and are 2-0 in division games. It was their third straight road win at Lambeau, the first time that happened since 1986-88.

Detroit  took a 17-3 lead at the half after a pick six by Kerby Joseph and never looked back.
“You can’t brush over the things you’re not doing well. Just because you got a win you’ve got to make sure we’re identifying those things we have to get cleaned up because we’ll get exposed,’’ Campbell said. “There are things all over this tape, there are things we have to clean up in a hurry across the board and we will.’’

Five reasons the Lions won:

ONE: Jared Goff was his normal, calm, amazing self despite the wind and rain that pelted the field at Lambeau. He finished 18 of 22 for 145 yards, 1 touchdown and a 109.3 rating. It was his fifth straight game without throwing an interception. “I’ve just grown so much mentally and physically, as you get older you learn when to take the chances and when not to,’’ goff said. “I know I’ve said this before but I just feel like I’m playing pretty disciplined and trying to take care of the ball and get in our playmakers hands. There’s a couple I’d like back today.

TWO: Running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs continued their dominance with a combined 138 rushing yards. A slick field? Not a problem for these guys. It was Gibbs’ third straight game with a touchdown and his fourth in the last three games. 

THREE: The defense could have dropped their shoulders and  packed it in after safety Brian Branch was kicked out of the game in the second quarter for a helmet-to-helmet hit. They did not. Safety Kerby Joseph had a pick six and Packers QB Jordan Love moved the ball (411 total yards) but couldn’t score going one of four in the red zone. With 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter when it looked like the Packers might get into the endzone, Detroit’s defense made a fourth-down stand and got the ball back.

FOUR: Red zone dominance. The Lions were two of four in the red zone which is a dropoff from their two previous wins but still good enough to win. The  Lions were 5 of 5 in the red zone against the Titans and 1-0 against the Vikings.

FIVE: Green Bay’s mistakes were so costly. That includes 10 penalties costing 67 yards compared to just five for Detroit. Brandon McManus missed a 46-yard field goal. Love has thrown at least one interception in each game this season. The Packers fumbled three times but were able to recover them.  Early in the week Dan Campbell said he thought the game would come down to a key mistake late in the game. Instead it was the Packers’ mistakes throughout.

UP NEXT: Lions (7-1) at Houston Texans (6-3), 8:20 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10. The next matchup for the Lions and Packers is at Ford Field, 8:20 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 5.

Aside from grass stains, 5 things to watch as Lions face Packers at Lambeau

Lions coach Dan Campbell can’t wait to get to Lambeau Field on Sunday for a big divisional game with the Green Bay Packers (5-2) who have won four straight and his Lions (6-1) who have won five in a row.

“How exciting this is, to be able to play these types of games, these big-time games, environment, division game on the road, at a place that’s – it’s one of those things that God created, it’s where football began a little bit,’’ Campbell said.

“So anyway, we’re looking forward to this. We’ll be in the elements, which is great. This is like one of those – you hope for this. I think we’ll be all-white, so we’ll have the grass stains and everything rolling, man, it’s going to be good old football, the way it’s meant to be played. So, excited, great opponent, but our guys are fired up, man, they’re looking forward to this,’’ the coach added.

Rain is in the forecast for Green Bay which could add a little mud to the grass stains.

“ I think (rain) evens the playing ground across the board, really. It can neutralize rushers, it can neutralize speed, change of direction, but at the end of the day, here’s what you do know, whoever can get their feet in the ground and don’t slip, those are going to be your best players on Sunday in the elements, and we have some of those guys, a lot of them,’’ Campbell said. “So, we’re looking forward to it. Look, they play on that grass, they understand what it is, and it won’t be new to them either and they’ve got plenty of good players. So, I just think it’s great, it’s a throwback to football and it’s good.”

Five things to watch: 

ONE: Packers quarterback Jordan Love is officially questionable with a groin injury that limited him in practice this week after injuring it last Sunday. He could be a gametime decision. Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said he’s prepared whether Love plays or if Malik Willis gets his third start. “ We don’t know who’s going to play, but we will have a plan for both of those guys. And the offense is not just totally different offense for those guys, we just know what they both bring to the table,’’ Glenn said. “The only thing that you will see is probably more run oriented with Malik than Jordan, and we’ll have a plan for that.”  Love is more interception prone — he has nine against 15 touchdowns — and has been picked off at least once in every game. Willis in a limited role has thrown three touchdowns and zero interceptions.

TWO: The Lions have given up an average of 148.5 rushing yards in each of the last two weeks. It doesn’t get easier trying to stop Packers RB Josh Jacobs. “lThere’s a tick-up on how they’re operating as far as the violence and the physical nature of the game because of who they have running the ball,’’ Glenn said. “So, it’s going to be a challenge for us and we have to do everything we can to make sure we stop that because if you let that happen, that’s not good for a defense to allow a team to run the ball and then be able to have the play-action passes that they have with these receivers that they have. So, we have to do a good job in that aspect.” Jacobs has been limited this week with an ankle injury.

THREE: Campbell said the game could come down to one mistake. The turnover battle will be key and the Lions and Packers are the top two NFL teams in takeaways. The Lions have 15 (four of them in the 52-14 win over the Titans), the Packers have 19. Detroit has the advantage in giveaways with only five on the season which is tied for fourth in the NFL. Goff has gone four straight games without an interception. The Packers have a dozen giveaways. Jordan Love has thrown nine interceptions with at least one in each game. Willis, in a limited role, has thrown three touchdowns and zero interceptions.

FOUR: The Lions have averaged an insane 43 points in the last four games. Can the offense be stopped? Bill Belichick doesn’t see that happening. He explained it to Jared Goff on the SiriusXM show “Let’s Go” this week.  “Honestly it’s impossible, I think, for a defense to really stop your offense, there are too many weapons. The offensive line’s too good. Blitzing is not the answer. Not blitzing is not the answer. In playing you guys, to me it would just be hang on and try to create as many long drives and as many long situations as possible. But that’s hard because you have so many explosive players and you do such a good job at distributing the ball.” Jared Goff joined Belichick and Jim Gray on their Sirius XM show, “Let’s Go” this week.

FIVE: Resilience must be a part of the Lions’ GRIT equation. It’s a trait they seem to have in abundance. Aidan Hutchinson lost for the season? The defense finds a way to win and moves forward. Jameson Williams suspended again? The team scores seven touchdowns without him. Hutchinson is not the only key guy to be sidelined with injuries, there are plenty and the Lions keep winning. “I haven’t been a part of a team built this tough from top to bottom,’’ said Scottie Montgomery, assistant head coach/running backs.

LIONS INJURY UPDATE: DL Josh Paschal (illness), LB Malcolm Rodriguz (ankle) and DT Brodric Martin (knee) are out; DL Mekhi Wingo (ankle) and RB Sione Vaki (knee) are doubtful. Note: WR Jameson Williams is suspended for this game.

PACKERS INJURY UPDATE: S Evan Williams (hamstring) is out; C/G Josh Myers (wrist) is doubtful; QB Jordan Love (groin), RB Josh Jacobs (ankle) and CB Jaire Alexander (knee) are questionable.

PREDICTION: Lions 45, Packers 35