Romeo Okwara – Lions Lowdown

It’s only June, but Lions’ secondary shows signs of improvement

ALLEN PARK — While it is just June – three months away from the Lions’ season opener – even quarterback Jared Goff has noticed that it’s tougher to find an open wide receiver during mandatory minicamp.

Coach Dan Campbell credits defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and his staff for the improvement so far.

“The additions that we do have — there again it’s early, we’re in spring. There’s a reason why we got Cam Sutton, there’s a reason why we got (Emmanuel) Moseley, there’s a reason why we got C.J. (Gardner-Johnson) because we believe they certainly upgrade us production-wise and they’re also football guys,’’ Campbell said on Wednesday. “They fit everything that we’re about — the way they go about their business, they’re veteran guys, they’ve got skins on the wall, they come from winning programs and they play the game the right way.’’

Campbell feels like the team is way ahead of where it was two years ago and sees the biggest difference in the secondary.

“That’s without Moseley right now being out there. Once we get him back and he’s healthy and obviously getting Tracy (Walker) back that’s a big transformation with depth and competition,’’ Campbell said.

Of the new guys, Gardner-Johnson has been a standout on the field for his talkative style.

Defensive lineman Romeo Okwara said the secondary is noticeably louder.

“I think it’s huge for the guys back there, especially the young guys. (Gardner-Johnson) brings a lot to the table. I think we’ve totally got better in the secondary and the defense of course.’’

Safety Ifeatu Melifonwu, entering his third season, is one of the younger guys picking up on playing with the more experienced additions to the defensive backs room.

“(Gardner-Johnson) is very vocal, very talkative but in a good way though,’’ Melifonwu said. “It comes from a good place. He wants to see all of us be great and push each other so it’s good.

His energy and just the energy of the (defensive backs) room in general rubs off on everyone.’’

Melifonwu made the switch to safety last season, but was limited to 10 games due to injury. He came back and played in the final eight games mostly on special teams but the final three at safety.

“I was just really coming back. It was my first real game reps at safety,’’ Melifonwu said. “I never had played the position before, but I feel that helped coming into this year.’’

He and the other younger defensive backs are benefiting from the more veteran players which could help boost the defense. The new guys have fit in seamlessly.

“We all want to see each other be great and be successful as a team. It all comes from a good place. We have a lot of older guys in the room, so it’s like our meetings might be a lot of people giving different perspectives,’’ Melifonwu said. “The way one guy says something might resonate with a younger guy better than the other one said it. It’s like we have a lot of vets and leaders in the room so everyone listens and, obviously, to the coach, I think it helps.’’

Melifonwu has switched jersey numbers from No. 26 to No. 6. He said he wanted No. 2, but Gardner-Johnson got it. That’s OK with him. “Six is my second-favorite single digit,” Melfionwu explained.

The Lions wrap up the mandatory minicamp on Thursday and finish their OTAs next week.

Lions notes: Jameson Williams unlikely to play Sunday; injury update

ALLEN PARK — While Lions rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams and veteran defensive end Romeo Okwara are back on the practice field, don’t expect either one to play on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Ford Field.

“I don’t want to say it wouldn’t happen, but it would take a lot this week to feel good about bringing them up,’’ coach Dan Campbell said on Monday.

Both have a three-week window to return to action. It started last week when they came off injured reserve. Williams, a Lions first-round pick, tore his ACL in the national championship game in January, while Okwara tore his Achilles in Week 4 of last season.

Because of the quick turnaround for the Thanksgiving game, practice last week was limited to walk-throughs. This week they’ll be able to get Williams — who obviously has never played in an NFL game — more involved.

“We will really give him a look against somebody covering him. We’ll get some one-on-one work with him, he’ll get team work, he’ll run scout cards. So all of that will be good for him,’’ Campbell said.

Williams could add another dimension to the Lions offense using his speed. “He can run,’’ Campbell said.

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Campbell said heading into Sunday, he’s telling the team to focus on the Jaguars and nothing else. The Lions (4-7) were disappointed with a last-minute loss to the Bills on Thanksgiving which snapped a three-game win streak.

Detroit’s reaction this week is big.

“Our mindset has to be —our whole focus has to be on this team that’s right in front of us right now,’’ Campbell said. “Understand what’s walking in here is very much a mirror image of us – they’re starting back over a little, new coach, this is the way they want things done. It’s a hungry team and they’ve got a ton of talent on top of that and they just came away with probably the best win they had all season.’’

On Sunday the Jaguars (4-7) eked out a 28-27 win over the Ravens (7-4).

“We have to understand what’s coming into Ford Field on Sunday, if we don’t then we don’t have a chance,’’ Campbell said. “As long as we do and we continue to improve, I do feel like we’ve improved over the last four weeks, we have to improve again even a little bit more. If we do that then I like our odds.’’

Injury update

Cornerback Jerry Jacobs, who left Thursday’s game early due to an apparent concussion, is out of concussion protocol and ready to go.

Left guard Jonah Jackson and cornerback Jeff Okudah are in phase 3 of concussion protocol. Neither one played in Thursday’s loss to the Bills, but if there are no setbacks both should be able to play on Sunday.

The offensive line struggled at times against the Bills. Dan Skipper filled in at left guard for Jackson while Kayode Awosika played at right guard replacing Evan Brown who was out with an ankle injury.

If Jackson returns, center Frank Ragnow said, “It will be huge for us.”

Five reasons the Detroit Lions beat the Chicago Bears

In Darrell Bevell’s first game as Detroit Lions interim coach, the Lions made a fourth-quarter comeback to remember. Certainly, it will be one sweet memory for Bevell whose head was spinning after the game.

The Lions (5-7) snapped a two-game losing streak with a 34-30 win over the Bears at Chicago on Sunday.

In the locker room afterward quarterback Matthew Stafford presented Bevell with the game ball.

“I think his energy is infectious and guys feed off of it and really appreciate him as a person and just happy to help us get the win today,’’ Stafford said. “Guys went out and played fast and free, it wasn’t perfect you know, there were plays we want back but never quit, never looked at the scoreboard, just kept playing, let it figure itself out and it did.’’

Detroit was down, 23-13, at the half. Bevell had a message for them.

“I just told them to continue to keep playing, don’t measure the game, play until there’s no time left on the clock and to continue to play with joy and enthusiasm we want them to play with and we’ll see what happens at the end,’’ Bevell said. “I think they did exactly that and good things happened.’’

It was the sixth straight loss for the Bears (5-7) who took the lead with their first possession and held on until late in the fourth quarter.

Turns out the Lions defense had a few huge plays left and Stafford did too.

Five reasons the Lions won:

1. Romeo Okwara, likely the Lions’ best defensive player this season, came up huge with a strip sack of Mitchell Trubisky with 1:37 left. He stripped the ball and John Pensini recovered it at the Bears’ 7-yard line. Two plays later Adrian Peterson ran over four Bears on his way to the end zone for what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown. Okwara’s play was obviously key. “To get that big play right there in that moment, it changed the whole momentum of the game. It was a cool play. … Just so happy for him, the defense and how they responded in the second half,’’ Bevell said.

2. The offense appeared to open up a bit under Bevell who still made the play calls as he had as offensive coordinator. Even after Stafford missed on two deep balls, he went back deep to Quinten Cephus for a 49-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. “The game plan was kind of do what we normally do but let Matthew kind of take the game over a little bit,’’ Bevell told WJR. “Receivers, we felt good about that, mixing in the run game. The offensive line protecting him. Matt Nelson has to go in and play right tackle, a converted defensive lineman to go out there and play tackle and block Khalil Mack play in and play out.’’ Stafford finished completing 27 of 42 attempts for 402 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception and a 109.4 rating.

3. Stafford is no stranger to fourth-quarter magic. With 4:33 left, he drove the offense 96 yards down the field in 2:15, ending with a touchdown throw to Marvin Jones Jr. that put the Lions within 3 points of the Bears. Stafford now has 31 fourth-quarter comebacks, the most in the NFL since 2009. He tied with John Elway for the seventh-most in history. His 38 game-winning drives are the second-most in the NFL since 2009 and tie quarterbacks Matt Ryan and Johnny Unitas for the eighth-most in history. He did have one big hiccup. On the Lions’ first possession in the fourth, Stafford threw a side-arm pass and it was intercepted by a Bears’ defensive linemen. They were down 30-20, but obviously the game was not over. And Stafford said he kept his confidence because he felt he’d been in a good rhythm all game.

4. The Lions defense struggled in the first half, giving the Bears a 23-13 lead at the half. The Bears were held scoreless in the third. Chicago did run the ball practically at will finishing with 140 rushing yards but only 34 of those yards came in the second half. Before Sunday, the Bears had two rushing touchdowns in their first 11 games. They had three against the Lions

5. Bevell is a breath of fresh air. The emotion on the sideline was evident throughout the game, even though the Lions were losing for the first 58-plus minutes. In some of the most recent efforts, the sideline was dead. The game at Carolina stands out — the Lions were a team without a pulse. Bevell has injected much needed energy late in the season. So far it’s a winning formula

Next up: Green Bay Packers at Lions, 4:25 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 13.

(Photo courtesy of the Detroit Lions)