Tag: Matthew Stafford

Five things to watch as Detroit Lions face Chicago Bears

All eyes will be on Lions interim coach Darrell Bevell in his first game in charge. He’s beyond excited for the opportunity.

The Lions’ last two losses were the final straw and cost Matt Patricia and GM Bob Quinn their jobs.

At 4-7 the Lions will face the reeling Chicago Bears (5-6) who have lost five straight after a 5-1 start.

It’s perfect that Bevell gets his first chance with an NFC North battle. After All he’s spent much of his NFL career in the division with stops in Green Bay (2000-2005) and Minnesota (2006-2010).

“This division means a lot to me. I’ve kind of joked (that) I feel like it’s my division. I’ve been in it for the entirety of my career for the most part. Just great football – all of the black and blue days, even when it was not the North, and it was different names,’’ Bevell said. “The rivalries that are here, I guess the history of football – some of the greatest places and organizations that are in football, and with some of the greatest people.’’

The Lions and Bears opened the season at Ford Field. The Lions held a 23-6 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter. Detroit’s defense collapsed, allowing Mitchell Trubisky to throw three late touchdown passes for the 27-23 win. It was definitely a sign of things to come for the next 10 weeks.

Now change is in the air for the Lions. 

“I’m asking the guys to come in with a refreshed attitude, ready to work, No. 1, but ready to have a good time and let them play with their hair on fire. Let them play fast; let them play free,’’ Bevell said. “We’ll worry about the end result at the end, but we’re going to take it one game at a time. Hopefully we like what happens at the end.”

Five things to watch:

1. Bevell will still make the offensive calls, but he’ll be on his own with no guidance from Patricia. Expect to see him open up the offense and unleash Matthew Stafford more than usual. “In the last game, we did have a little fun. We were able to hit the one, the reverse, triple hand-back to Matthew (Stafford); we threw it back to Matthew on another one,’’ Bevell said. “So we’re going to continue to try to do that, like I said, it’s fun winning. It’s fun moving the ball down the field. We have playmakers, we just have to get it in their hands,’’ Bevell said.

2. Wide receiver Kenny Golladay (hip) will be out again and running back D’Andre Swift is questionable. Still the offense should be able to move against the Bears’ defense which gave up 393 yards to the Packers last week including 182 rushing yards. “We have talented players. We haven’t had all those players all year, but like I said, the game doesn’t care,’’ Bevell said. “So we have to do the best that we can with all the things we have available to us. But I want us to play more consistent. I want us to continue to find those explosive plays that we haven’t been as consistent as we’d like to be in finding those.’’

3. Cory Undlin remains the defensive coordinator. While Bevell has  always worked on the offensive side of the ball, certainly he and Undlin have talked philosophy. “The mindsets of defensive players and offensive players are different. So, it’s fun to be in (the meetings). I have a lot of respect for Cory. From the day that he walked in here, I felt like we almost had an immediate kinship anyway, so our conversations have been great, they’ve been easy, they’ve been free flowing,’’ Bevell said. “So, we were just down there before I came up here talking about the game plan and what he’s talking about doing. I would definitely be informed, but like I said, I want him to feel free to do what he thinks is best for our players to put them in the best situations to be successful because he knows those guys inside and out right now.”

4. Trubisky will get the start again.This is bad news for the Lions since Trubisky seems to play his best football against Detroit. In six career starts against Detroit, Trubisky has thrown for 1,601 yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions (106.0 quarterback rating) — including four consecutive games with at least three touchdowns and a passer rating over 100.0, per ESPN.com.

5. Bevell’s message to the team is to look forward, first to the Bears and then the final four games. He was first allowed (due to COVID-19 restrictions) to meet with the team in person on Wednesday. “ I was happy to see them face-to-face. I could feel energy. There was excitement in the room. Hopefully I did a good job speaking to them, but really my message to them was about perspective and changing our perspective and turning that thing forward.,’’ Bevell said. “There’s no rearview mirror. We’re looking forward, moving ahead, and we’re straight dialed in on Chicago. So, that was my message.”

Prediction: Lions 27, Bears 24

Lions Matthew Stafford likes excitement that interim coach Darrell Bevell brings

Of all the Lions, quarterback Matthew Stafford probably knows interim coach Darrell Bevell best. The two have worked together closely since Bevell started as offensive coordinator before the 2019 season..

Bevell was named to replace Matt Patricia on Saturday after the coach and general manager Bob Quinn were fired.

Bevell said he’s jacked up and ready to go during a media Zoom call on Monday.

“I’m asking the guys to come in with a refreshed attitude, ready to work No. 1, but ready to have a good time and let them play with their hair on fire. Let them play fast, let them play free,’’ Bevell said.

He mentioned the word fun repeatedly. And, like Stafford, neither of them would not disparage the past regime. Both are only looking forward.

However, a close look between the lines shows clearly not enough fun was being had by the Lions probably for the last three seasons. Winning leads to fun and there wasn’t much of that under Patricia.

The Lions have five games remaining, starting at Chicago on Sunday, to finish the year on a somewhat positive note and to show what Bevell can accomplish in his first stint as a head coach.

“When you’re a player and you get that coach that’s excited like that it’s a fun thing. As a player this is a fun game, it’s an exciting game, let’s go have some fun and play with some excitement and passion and I know that Bev brings it in his own way, every person is different,’’ Stafford said. “He’s going to be comfortable with who he is, he’s going to bring his energy that’s authentic and natural to him. It’s on us to make that come to life on the field on Sundays and win games.’’

Stafford is excited for the defensive players to get to know Bevell who has met twice with the players on Zoom. Per the NFL, all team facilities were closed Monday and Tuesday to help try to control the coronavirus spread.

The quarterback said the biggest thing for the players is to respond to what Bevell will bring to the team.

The 50-year-old Bevell started his NFL coaching career in 2000 as assistant quarterbacks coach for the Green Bay Packers. From 2003-05 he was elevated to quarterbacks coach working with Brett Favre.

That connection hasn’t been lost on Stafford who shares a bit of the gunslinger attitude that was typical Favre.

“I think from Day One when I first met (Bevell) he’s always been the same guy. He’s been positive, upbeat. He loves coming to work — he loves the game of football,’’ Stafford said. “He’s lucky early in his career, he got to spend a lot of time around Brett Favre. It’s a similar kind of feel where they just love the game for the game. I know Bev has great appreciation for Brett and it probably rubbed off on him a little bit on how much fun a grown man can have playing a kids game. He brings that kind of youthful joy to the game and always has since I met him.’’

BONUS: Stafford was curious to see the Broncos’ game on Sunday, more for how often his buddy Sam Martin had to punt since all three quarterbacks were quarantined. Denver’s starter was a practice squad wide receiver (Kendall Hinton) who had never taken a snap in practice. 

The Lions would not be in such a dire predicament.

“For us, we actually kind of have a sneaky talented group of throwers,’’ Stafford said. “(Mohamed) Sanu’s passer rating is perfect. (Danny) Amendola throws it good. (Jamal) Agnew dropped a dime on me at Thanksgiving that I dropped. There’s endless possibilities, we’ll keep defenses guessing with that one, but hopefully we don’t have to find out.’’

Five reasons the Lions lost to the Texans

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions’ fourth straight loss on Thanksgiving, could be the end for coach Matt Patricia.

The Lions’ three turnovers told just part of the story in the 41-25 loss to the Houston Texans (4-7) at Ford Field on Thursday.  

“It’s not good enough, we know that, we’ve got to be better,’’ Patricia said.

The coach could finish out this his third season, the Ford family hasn’t had anything to say since a year ago when they said they wanted to see the Lions play meaningful games in December.

Well at 4-7, really there is no meaning at all. The ball is in owner Sheila Ford Hamp’s court. It’s got to be  just a matter of time at this point. In nearly three seasons, Patricia is 13-29-1.

Patricia would not comment on his future with the team. “I focus one day at a time, that doesn’t change,’’ the coach said.

Five reasons the Lions lost:

1. The Lions lost two fumbles — one by Kerryon Johnson and another by Jonathan Williams. Who? Yes, it was the running back’s first carry this season for the Loins and he fumbled the ball. Why was he in the game? Adrian Peterson was getting a breather but Kerryon Johnson was available. A total head-scratcher.

2. Matthew Stafford threw just one interception but it was costly. It was picked off by J.J. Watt (his first interception this season) and returned 20 yards for a touchdown. “Big turnovers at the beginning of the game killed the momentum it made it tough to come back,’’ Stafford said. He credited Watt for making a great play on the interception. Stafford passed for 295 yards and one touchdown. He was also sacked four times. The play-calling was mostly predictable again. Adrian Peterson ran on the first play of three of the Lions’ series. Tight end T.J. Hockenson was the go-to guy with five catches for 89 yards.

3. The Lions’ secondary was dinged up and missing Jeff Okudah, Amani Oruwariye and Mike Ford. Then Desmond Trufant pulled a hamstring and couldn’t finish. Still no excuses. It was a great day for Deshaun Watson who didn’t have much trouble finding wide-open receivers. Wide open. He threw for 318 yards including four touchdown passes and was sacked just twice.

4. Even without D’Andre Swift (concussion) the Lions run game was decent. After a slow start (eight carries for six yards), Adrian Peterson had a good stretch in the second half and finished with 15 carries for 55 yards. Kerryon Johnson stepped up with 11 carries for 46 yards and four catches for 52 yards. Decent is not good enough.

5. Coaching. At the start of the third quarter, the Lions, who were down 23-14, ran on 10 straight plays. That drive ended in a Matt Prater field goal. Eating up the clock when down 9 points? That’s only in the Patricia playbook. Coaching is an issue each week which is why Sheila Ford Hamp has to take a serious look at Patricia’s future. His firing would send a message to the team. It is not going to get them to the playoffs, but this team needs a new message and messenger. So do the fans.

Next up: Lions at Chicago, Dec. 6.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)