Tag: Kelvin Sheppard

Five things to watch as the Lions face the Bucs; plus injury updates, prediction

Under coach Dan Campbell the Lions have piled up amazing statistics on their way to two straight NFC North titles.

One stat seems to stand out. The Lions have not lost back-to-back games since October 2022 when they fell to Miami and Dallas.

That streak gets tested on Monday night when the Lions (4-2) host the Tampa Bay Bucs (5-1). Detroit is coming off a 30-17 loss at Kansas City. The bounce-back stat is on the line. If it was easy to accomplish this season after season, more teams would do it.

“It’s our players, we have a good group of guys that are competitive, they’re a resilient group, they know how to overcome adversity,’’ Campbell said. “They don’t like losing. And they go back to work to fix the things that need to be fixed. We have a couple things to clean up and we’re going to clean them up this week. So it’s our players man, coaches do a helluva job too.’’

The Lions lost just two regular season games in 2024 and one of them was to the Bucs in Week 2. They bounced back after that with 11 straight wins.

“We’ve gotten each other, I don’t know, four or five times now in the last handful of years. And it feels like we’ve given them a good punch and they’ve given us a good punch. We’ve kind of gone back and forth in that way,’’ quarterback Jared Goff said. “And I think a lot of who they are is a lot of who we want to be too. And again, I’d hope they’d say the same thing about the respect they have for us, the respect we have for their team, how hard they play, how well they’re coached, the whole thing. It’s great. It’s a good, fun I guess rivalry, if you want to call it that and I think they’re a good team.”

Five things to watch:

ONE: Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield is a challenge even with a fully healthy secondary which the Lions do not have.  “Baker makes that offense go, and it’s been that way no matter who the play-caller has been over the last couple season. … He’s a tough guy. He’s a tough guy to deal with because when it seems like there’s nothing there, he finds a way to pull his team through,’’ Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said. “So, he makes that thing go. The coordinators are smart because they don’t try to change much, they understand what works for him and they carried over. There’s some nuances that changed motion-wise, schematically, but for the most part it’s Baker’s show.” In the Bucs 20-16 win over the Lions last year Mayfield scored on passing and running touchdowns. The Lions secondary will be without Terrion Arnold, Brian Branch, Kerby Joseph and Avonte Maddox.

TWO: It’s an understatement to say DL Alim McNeill has been missed since he tore up his knee late last season. He will be back in action on Monday. “I expect Alim to come in and show what he’s shown the last two weeks on the practice field. Like I said, it’s like he didn’t miss a beat,’’ Sheppard said. “Now, obviously you’re not taking hard-core doubles and true pounding and – you know that live in-game you may find yourself in kind of an eight-play sequence there that you can’t simulate on the field. So, it’s all that stuff – getting his legs back up under him. But I mean I expect this player to play at a high level and more importantly help our defense in a tremendous way.”

THREE: The Lions offensive line is coming together despite playing without LT Taylor Decker for two games. Decker could possibly return against the Bucs which would be huge since they’ll be facing nose tackle Vita Vea (6-foot-4, 347 pounds) who has 2.5 sacks to start the season.  “The size is one thing but (Vea’s) quickness to get off the ball. He’s got explosiveness and he’s got really good feet. When you’re (facing) a man that big and can move like he moves you have to do everything right and you’ve got to play with leverage,’’ Campbell said. “You have to get off of your life. We have double teams, we have to fit the double teams together. You’re off just a little bit he’ll spit you, he’ll crease you, he’ll get an edge. He’ll do that in the pass game too. He’ll swim sometimes and so if you’re not locked in and you’re not perfect fundamentally he’ll get on you. We have to be locked in on every stinking play and we have to play together.’

FOUR: All the talk about the change in offensive coordinators came to an end quickly. One main reason is the play of Jared Goff who leads the NFL in passing TDs (14) and passing percentage (75.9). “I mean, he’s the CEO of this place. So, when you’ve got a veteran guy like that, we’re always talking, ‘Hey I want this, I want that. I’d like to have this.’ It’s awesome. When you have that dialogue with the quarterback, it just makes it so much easier for me and everybody,’’ offensive coordinator John Morton said. “Everybody sees how much confidence he has to do things, and it’s paid off for us. So yeah, it’s big time.” Goff said he’s always tried to keep the ball in his teammates’ hands and avoid sacks. “Those two things, completion percentage and low sack numbers, is something I work on and something we’ve done a good job with up to this point,’’ said Goff who has been sacked nine times this season with four of those in the opening loss.

FIVE:  Tampa Bay’s coach Todd Bowles is known for switching things up which creates headaches for guys like Morton. “Listen, we have to prepare for everything. Protection-wise, that’s the biggest thing. You give them all the looks that you can give, especially the things that they’re doing this year,’’ Morton said. “You’ve already played them three times, you go back there, and you look at those games. You look at games of other teams that are similar to us, similar to the quarterback. … But the biggest thing is, we try to make sure (Goff is) protected. Because when he’s protected, he’s deadly.’’ 

LIONS INJURIES:  OUT: CB Terrion Arnold (shoulder), Kerby Joseph (knee), DB Avonte Maddox (hamstring) and RB Sione Vaki (groin). QUESTIONABLE: LT Taylor Decker (shoulder), DT D.J. Reader (back) and DT Alim McNeill (knee).

SUSPENDED: DB Brian Branch

BUCS INJURIES: OUT: WR Chris Godwin Jr. (fibula), G Luke Haggard (shoulder), RB Bucky Irving (foot/shoulder); QUESTIONABLE: WR Mike Evans (hamstring), WR Emeka Egbuka (hamstring), LB Lavonte David (knee/rib), QB Teddy Bridgewater (illness).

PREDICTION: Lions 28, Bucs 27

Five things to watch as the Lions face the Browns and their top-rated defense

Coach Dan Campbell thinks the Cleveland Browns’ defense is the best the Lions have faced so far this season.

The Browns (1-2) are coming off a big comeback win against the Packers, while the Lions (2-1) decidedly beat the Ravens on Monday night. The two teams meet at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Ford Field.

Both must guard against a letdown after big wins.

“What we talk about is our standards. We have to play to what we – the way we practice, the way we prepare, the way we play, it’s about our standards. Nothing else matters,’’ Campbell said.”And we’re very aware of what’s coming in here. That’s a big win those guys got. They had to fight their way back to get that W and they did everything right at the end of the game to get it done. And they willed that to happen, so they’ve got the fight in them.’’

The Browns overall defense and rushing defense are both rated tops in the NFL.

“This defense, I’ve already mentioned, I think is the best that we will have faced. Green Bay was damn good, but this defense is really good,’’ Campbell said. “So, we’ve got our hands full over there. And offensively, they’re going to ball control, (AB Joe) Flacco’s seen every look you could see, they’re going to lean on (RB Quinshon Judkins) the rookie. And so, we know what’s coming in here.”

Five things to watch:

ONE: Cutting through DE Myles Garrett and the Browns defense has allowed just 290 yards per game. Cleveland is also top ranked in rushing defense giving up just 57.3 yards per game. Impressive numbers but something will have to give since the Lions have the League’s third-best total offense with 394.3 yards per game and tied for second with 34.3 points per game. Detroit’s numbers might be higher if they had issues in  the opening loss at Green Bay. “They’re sound, they play hard, they rush hard. Obviously Myles (Garrett) is a big part of that,’’ Goff said about the Browns defense. “They’re good in the backend too, they’re really good in the backend. They’re good at every spot and that’s what these good defenses typically are. And they’re no different.”

TWO: As always, winning in the trenches will be key. Detroit’s offensive line has improved each week with rookie right guard Tate Ratledge coming on strong. “Yeah, it’s been great. And it’s just reps, it really is. For any of these young guys, it’s just more reps he gets, the better he’s going to be. And I think he’s played great,’’ Goff said of Ratledge. Last week the defense sacked Lamar Jackson seven times. Seven. Something for Joe Flacco and the Browns’ offensive line to think about.

THREE:  The Lions offensive versatility can’t be underrated. “With the personnel that we have we can pretty much do anything we want. There’s a lot of weapons, you saw the different personnel grouping and all the different formations,’’ offensive coordinator John Morton said. “We’re all trying to create mismatches, that’s the way I was taught.’’

FOUR: Look for Amik Robertson to take more snaps at corner instead of Terrion Arnold. Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said he’s not down on Arnold, calling him a very young player (he’s 22) who is going through growing pains. “Amik has always earned his keep with me,’’ defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said. Joe Flacco has thrown just two touchdowns against four interceptions. 

FIVE: Good starts are key on both sides of the ball. The Lions scored on their opening drive in Baltimore but the defense gave up a touchdown on the Ravens’ opening drive. That’s not good enough for Sheppard. “I want to start the game with a 3-and-out,’’ he said.

PREDICTION: Lions 27, Browns 17

UP NEXT: Lions at Cincinnati Bengals, 4:25 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 5.

Lions versatile safety Brian Branch one of defensive standouts in win over Bears

ALLEN PARK — When Dan Campbell listed the outstanding defensive players from the 52-21 win over the Bears, safety Brian Branch was at the top of the list.

Branch had a standout game with a pretty nice stat line — he forced a fumble, had a sack and made six tackles.

On Monday, Campbell said Branch makes life much easier on the pages because of his versatility. 

“We bring it up all the time, he’s a safety that has cover ability like a corner, he can blitz like a linebacker and tackling and fill in the run gaps,’’ Campbell said. “There’s so many different things he can do. The guy is a major asset for us.’’

After Sunday’s game the Lions are 1-1, the Bears 0-2.

It was a huge bounceback for Detroit after a lackluster loss at Green Bay in Week 1.

“It showed us what we’re capable of doing. We know how good we are when we execute what coach Shep (DC Kelvin Sheppard) calls,’’ Branch said. “Coach Shep called a great ball game … Just moving forward we re-established our brand of football 

Facing Ben Johnson, Bears head coach and former Lions offensive coordinator, was down-played leading up to Sunday, afterward Branch wasn’t afraid to share his feelings.

“Really, all these games are personal, but this one we felt like we’d been betrayed from the staff to players,’’ Branch said. “And we love Ben, we still love Ben. He’s a great coach. He’s a great mastermind but, yeah, it was time to get after him.”

Branch explained they felt betrayed because Johnson went to an NFC North opponent.

The Lions won’t face the Bears again until the final game of the regular season. Date to be determined but likely Jan 3 or 4. 

INJURIES: Marcus Davenport left the game early with a shoulder injury. Campbell doesn’t have all the test results in yet, but he’s hoping he won’t be out too long.

UP NEXT: Lions (1-1) at Baltimore Ravens (1-1), 8:15 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 22.