Tag: Isaiah Buggs

Lions: Alim McNeill’s 4-week absence opens door for others to step up

Onwuzurike, Buggs, Martin and Bohanna could see more action

ALLEN PARK — Lions coach Dan Campbell admits that losing defensive tackle Alim McNeill for four weeks is going to be tough, but the train moves on.

McNeill was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury on Tuesday. He is expected to return to the active roster in time for the playoffs.

The Lions have depth at the position, but not the experience or talent that McNeill brings to the field. He’s second to Aidan Hutchinson (5.5) in sacks with five and tied with Alex Anzalone with nine quarterback hits. Hutchinson has 16.

Levi Onwuzurike, Isaiah Buggs, rookie Brodric Martin and Quinton Bohanna are candidates to see more playing time.

“It’s a great opportunity for those guys, that’s all you can ask for. If you’re one of them you’re excited,’’ Campbell said on Wednesday. “(Mac) has been a reliable, steady, productive player for us, he’s really come into his own this year. He’s grown every year but this year he was big, he was a force for us. The guys have a lot of respect for him.’’

Campbell said it hurts but it’s the nature of the game to lose key players.

Onwuzurike has played in six games, but has been inactive for six including Sunday at New Orleans. Still Campbell said they are not disappointed in him. He missed the 2022 season with a back injury that required surgery, after playing all 16 games as a rookie in 2021.

“It’s been reps, some of these come down to the position itself between the bigs in the middle to OLB to hybrid. (John) Cominsky is kind of a hybrid. Romeo (Okwara) is a little bit in that nature. So we can’t overload in one position or another,’’ Campbell said.

 “(Levi has) been the odd guy out, but he works his rear off and it’s really time on task. The more reps he gets the better he’s going to be. And he continues to grow. We’re not disappointed with him. We’re excited that he’s healthy and able to work and he is growing, he is getting better,’’ Campbell said.

Buggs, who has played in six games this season, is another who could step up. Campbell said he needs to be reliable, dependable, do his job and be consistent. He’s been inactive for three straight contests.

Quinton Bohanna has started the last two games and could see his snap counts increase.

Martin, a third-round draft pick, has played in just one game so far.

Veteran Ndamukong Suh remains unsigned, but it doesn’t appear he’s headed back to Detroit.

“Listen Brad (Holmes) has looked at all of it. We haven’t overlooked anybody. We’ve looked at everybody,’’ Campbell said. “At this moment we made the decision we felt was best for us.’’

The Lions signed 36-year-old nose tackle Tyson Alualu to the practice squad on Tuesday, but the coach said  it will take a few weeks to see if he can contribute.

UP NEXT: Lions (9-3) at Bears (4-8), 1 p.m. on Sunday on Fox. The Lions beat the Bears, 31-26, in their first meeting, but Detroit had to make a huge fourth-quarter comeback to grab the W.

After the Lions bye, Campbell eyes changes in practice; injury update

ALLEN PARK — Coach Dan Campbell had a good chance during the bye week to take a deep dive into what he can do to turn around his 1-4 Lions.

Detroit plays at Dallas (4-2)  on Sunday.

“I feel pretty good about it, I feel like once you get away from it and look you realize how close you really are, but we can’t just say that, we can’t just say we’re close, we can’t just be close,’’ Campbell said on Monday.

The coach is looking at every detail in preparation each week.

 “I think that’s why everything goes back to. We have to hone in on all the little things that we do in walk-through, the urgency in walk-through and practice has to be on point,’’ Campbell said. “There has to be a focus on that day. Quit worrying about two days from now, Sunday, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is the work you put in on that day.’’

Campbell changing up practices, adding more one-on-one drills and putting on pads occasionally. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said he looks forward to the changes.

“He tweaked a couple things for practice which I’m all for, I love one-on-ones. That’s going to be at practice on Wednesdays and Thursdays now for us,’’ wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said. “I’m excited. You can work on your craft, get better, compete and that’s what I’m going to (do).’’

Along with practice, the defensive scheme will change too.

“We’re going to give them a plan they can digest, they can play fast, very much like – for example the defense what we did in New England. We calmed some things down and let them go. So that’ll still be what we do there but we won’t be totally vanilla, we’re not going to be sitting ducks,’’ Campbell said.

While the offense struggled against the Patriots in the 29-0 loss, that side of the ball is not a huge issue. It’s the defense which ranks 30th in the NFL — dead last — in allowing 30.0 points per game.

Campbell said he sat down with defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and his staff to talk about the front, the back end, the scheme — everything.

“Basically like the coach said we find the problem and we fix it, we work on that, we’ve got to  come together as a team and buy in,’’ defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs said. “We can get better in every aspect of the game from the front end to the back end, we all need improvement, so there’s not one single person or a single group, it’s everybody. That’s why we had this bye week to reassess ourselves and get ready to go to work.’’

Defensive changes will be made for Sunday’s game against the Cowboys, but Campbell will keep them under wraps until then.

“Look, I’m not discouraged, I’m not happy with where we’re at, I don’t think anybody is, but when you really look at it you’re one or two plays away and all of a sudden you’re sitting with three wins, but the reality is we only have one. That’s where we’re at,’’ Campbell said.

NOTES: Campbell announced that defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike had back surgery last week and is out for the season. He called surgery a last resort and said losing him is a gut-punch. … The news is better for defensive linemen John Cominsky and Jerry Paschal, along with cornerback Jerry Jacobs. Campbell said all three are trending in the right direction. Cominsky hasn’t played since Week 2 after undergoing hand surgery. Paschal and Jacobs have yet to play this season. … Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said his ankle feels better than a week ago. High ankle sprains can sometimes linger. … Cornerback Amani Oruwariye, who was benched for the New England game, is going to get a chance to compete to get back in the lineup this week according to Campbell.