Tag: philadelphia eagles

Five thoughts from Lions WR Jameson Williams on his role, his TD at the Eagles and the celebration

ALLEN PARK — Since the win over Tampa Bay a month ago when Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams finished with zero catches on two targets, he’s been more involved in the offense.

Always a deep threat due to his speed, in recent weeks he’s also been targeted in intermediate and crossing routes with success.

Five thoughts from Wlliams when he met with the media on Thursday:

ONE: He does notice a difference on game days. “I feel more involved, but I’m just thinking it’s part of the progression and you know it’s part of plays, we’ve been running the same plays no different, switching it up a little bit and it’s been coming my way,’’ Williams said. “That’s the thing, it’s part of the progression.’’

TWO: He scored a touchdown in the loss to the Eagles on Sunday night beating out cornerback Adoree Jackson with his speed. “I feel when I get a ball and it’s a little bit of space I can make something happen. Every time I catch the ball I’m trying to score,’’ Williams said. “ I’ve got the mindset to break a tackle and try to get more than what I got at the catch point.’’ He caught that ball at the Eagles’ 25-yard line and ran it in from there for the score on Sunday. The 40-yard pass play was one of Williams’ four receptions.

THREE: His touchdown celebration, where he jumped up and bear hugged the goalpost, may have gotten more attention than the score. “I didn’t know it was a penalty til I sat down on the bench and saw the field goal team going out,’’ Williams said. “I apologized to Jake (Bates), I apologized to Jack (Fox), I apologized to coach, everybody. They told me it wasn’t my fault but I felt like it was my fault in the moment. We’ve just got to make plays and be smarter.’’ He was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct which pushed the extra point back 15 yards. Bates missed it wide right. Williams said that coach Dan Campbell told him not to do it again.

FOUR: Williams said he doesn’t think they played bad at all. He praised the defense and said the offense has to learn and move on. “Wherever anybody wants to rank us, that’s up to them. I don’t really care where we’re at, we know what we play like, we know what type of team we (are),’’ Williams said. “We’re going to get it together and down the line it’s going to be big for us, games like that are going to help us down the line. We know where we went wrong, we corrected it, we just have to move forward.’’ The Lions are 6-4 at this point and out of the playoffs with seven games remaining.

FIVE: Detroit is a hefty 10-point favorite over the Giants on Sunday. “I think I see a lot of ways we could attack them, it looks good on our end,’’ Williams said. “We’ve got a lot of different ways we can attack them and make plays and execute. We’re just trying to get back on the winning track, that’s the main thing going into this game.’’

UP NEXT: Lions (6-4) face the N.Y. Giants (2-9) at 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23, at Ford Field. It’s the first of three home games in 12 days for Detroit.

Lions Dan Campbell remains optimistic about offense after coming up short against Eagles

After a rough outing in the 16-9 loss at the Eagles, Lions coach Dan Campbell still believes in his offense and, in particular, the offensive line.

“I believe in these guys, I do. I just think the more they play together and they mesh and we do things we do well,’’ Campbell said on Monday.

The Lions averaged just 3.5 yards per carry in the run game. “That’s not enough for us, that’s everybody that’s all inclusive,’’ Campbell said.

The Lions were 3-of-13 on third downs and 0-of 5 on fourth downs – not exactly a winning formula. Although due to the weather conditions, a field goal was not viable on three of those. And on one of them they ran a fake punt and Grant Stuard failed to advance. 

“It was really a combination of missed throws, we had some pressures, tipped balls, a couple of drops and there was a couple of bad calls by me,’’ said Campbell who made the offensive playcalls for the second straight game. “There’s some calls I want back, bad.’’

The Lions dropped to 6-4 and third place in the NFC North, but there are seven games left and neither the Packers, Bears or Vikings are a lock to win the division.

Against the Eagles’ defense, Jared Goff was 14-of-37 for 255 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He targeted Amon-Ra St. Brown a dozen times but he only caught two of them. 

Campbell remains positive about his team.  He takes his share of the blame but has faith his guys will be ready to get back to work to face the N.Y. Giants on Sunday, the first of three home games in 12 days.

“I just go back to I believe in these guys, I think they’re good enough, they know how to play together, we’ve just got to be a little more consistent in areas,’’ Campbell said. “It takes everybody. We’re so close. We can be so potent. Jamo is taking off, Gibbs is taking off. I’m not worried about the connection with Saint and Goff, that thing’s coming, it’s always there, it was just one of those days yesterday,’’ Campbell said. “We all elevate a little bit, including myself we’re going to be just fine.”

Campbell said they still haven’t quite played their best game in all three phases.

“Once we get there I think there’ll be no looking back,’’ Campbell said.

UP NEXT: N.Y. Giants (2-9) at the Lions (6-4), 1 p.m. on Sunday at Ford Field.

Five reasons for the Lions loss to the Eagles; don’t blame the defense

Campbell said they will learn from it and get better

Coach Dan Campbell loves complementary football and when he sees it from his Lions, they have a good chance of winning. He did not see it on Sunday night in the 16-9 loss at the Philadelphia Eagles.

While Detroit’s defense played their tails off and executed a good game plan, the Eagles’ defense nearly shut down the Lions offense all night long.

The Lions turned the ball over five times on downs. Five times. Detroit was 3-of-13 on third downs. 

“Look, we know the type of team we just faced, a good team. We had our chances but we didn’t get it done,’’ Campbell said. “They made the most of the opportunity, we didn’t. But we’re right there. We understand what it is. We understand we make one or two more plays in certain areas then you’ve got the legit shot to win the game at the end. As bad as it semes, as bad as it is, we’re so freaking close.’’

The Lions drop to 6-4 and third place in the NFC North while the Eagles are now 8-2 and hold down first in the NFC East.

“They made the plays at the critical moments there at the end to win it. That’s what they’e done. I was proud of the way the guys played,’’ Campbell said. “I thought they played their tails off, played hard, I thought we tried to finish plays, I thought we were disciplined for the most part.’’

He credited the defense for playing really, really well and said the offense could never get in a rhythm, taking some of the blame for his play-calling.

“I believe this is the best thing for us. You don’t want to say that, it doesn’t feel good,’’ Campbell said. “We’re going to learn from this, we’re going to get better, we’re going to adjust and we’ll be hitting our stride when other teams start hitting their adversity toward the back end of the season.’’

Five things to think about after the loss:

ONE: None of the blame can be placed on the Lions defense. They were put in horrible field positions and held on. Early the Eagles were on Detroit’s 11-yard line following an interception after a deflection and the defense held them to a field goal. It was like that the whole game. No blame here. Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard drew up a good plan and they executed it.

TWO: The Eagles defense was too much for the Lions offense to handle. The offensive line could not protect Jared Goff. Plus the Eagles defensive line deflected five of Goff’s passes — three by Jordan Davis. The quarterback had no time to get the ball to his intended receivers. The offense just could not find any kind of rhythm.

THREE: Goff was 13-of-37 for 255 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception – just a wretched night. It was not all on him. Some, yes, but not all. He had someone in his face all night. So much pressure that he hurried the passes. Amon St. Brown was targeted 12 times and caught just two for 42 yards. That’s startling when you think about it.

FOUR: Jahmyr Gibbs had a good night, but he could not do it alone. Gibbs ran 12 times for 39 yards and caught five passes for 107 yards. Jameson Williams had 4 catches for 88 yards and a touchdown He was targeted 7 times. Sam LaPorta, who was placed on injured reserve, was missed big-time.

FIVE: This is the kind of game that the Lions have to win if they want to get to the next level. They had to find a way and they could not. It’s not the end of the road but it’s an issue. The Eagles, defending Super Bowl champs, have figured this out.

UP NEXT: N.Y. Giants (2-9) at Lions (6-4), 1 p.m. Sunday at Ford Field.