Tag: Taylor Decker

Five reasons the Lions topped the Browns for third straight win

The Detroit Lions could have had all the excuses in their pocket – short work week after a Monday night game, coming off a huge win in Baltimore, playing against the NFL’s top defense in the Browns. It was all there. But, if you haven’t noticed, this team is wired differently.

It certainly showed in the 34-10 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at Ford Field. It marked the Lions third straight win. 

“We knew going into this game our defense was going to need to set the tone and special teams. Offensively we’d be smart, find our spots and, for the most part, that’s the way the day went,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “Those three takeaways, (Kalif Raymond) on the punt return (TD) and offensively we were able to turn those three takeaways into 17 points which is huge.’’

Aidan Hutchinson sacked QB Joe Flacco twice, Flacco was intercepted twice and the Browns lost a fumble.

Take away the punt return touchdown and the Lions’ offense scored 27 points against a tough defense, but they had too many penalties and missed opportunities.

“We can be so much better certainly offensively —defense played outstanding. That is a good defense. They present a lot of problems,’’ quarterback Jared Goff said. But he admitted many little things could have been better and pointed the finger at himself on many of them including the two false start penalties.

While Detroit’s defense allowed a touchdown on the Browns’ opening drive, they held them to just a field goal for the remainder of the game.

Five of the reasons the Lions won:

ONE: The Browns’ top-rated rushing defense had not faced a team with a running game like Detroit’s which finished with 109 rushing yards. The longest run the Browns had allowed in the first three games was 11 yards. Jahmyr Gibbs gashed them for a 24-yard scamper early in the second quarter and a 22-yarder late in the third. Gibbs finished with 15 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown, along with 2 catches for six yards. David Montgomery had nine carries for 12 yards.

TWO: Jared Goff was solid under pressure except for his one interception – an underthrown pass intended for Jameson Williams. Goff took the blame for that, saying he made a bad decision. He targeted Williams eight times but they could not connect until there was 11:10 left when Wiliams caught a 27-yard pass on a third-and-9 play. Williams finished with two catches for 40 yards. Once again – you may have heard this before – WR Amon-Ra St. Brown came up big on the biggest plays including a 2-yard receiving touchdown where he was wide open in the end zone and late in the game a 8-yard touchdown catch. He has six touchdowns in the last three games.

THREE: The Lions offensive line stood up against Myles Garrett and Cleveland’s defensive line. Goff was not sacked at all. He was hurried and pressured which may explain why it wasn’t his best game statistically. But he made enough plays when needed. Goff finished 16 of 27, 168 yards, 2 TDs and one interception. Goff said they had a plan facing Garrett and credited tackles  Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell, along with the whole line, for doing the dirty work to protect him. 

FOUR: Flacco was intercepted twice with D.J. Reed and Kerby Joseph ah coming up with the big plays. He was pressured often and sacked three times – two of them by Aidan Hutchinson who has had sacks in three straight games. “Just another big performance by him today. What everybody sees – the quarterback hits, the sacks, the takeaways, all big things that are right in front of your face,’’ Campbell said. “The guy plays the run too. He can do all of that stuff that gets you all the glory but he does all the dirty work. He plays with his hair on fire, he doesn’t take plays off, he’s relentless, he’s aggressive, he’s violent, he’s smart, he’s disciplined. It’s good to see him back playing at a high level. It’s good to have him back period.’’

FIVE: Detroit’s special teams came up big, highlighted by Kalif Raymond’s 65-yard punt return for a touchdown to give them a 27-10 cushion early in the fourth. “He’s amazing. He’s one of those heartbeat guys for us,’’ Goff said. Campbell echoed Goff’s praise. “I don’t know if I can say enough great things about Lif. He’s such a stud,’’ Campbell said. “…He was aggressive, he trusted our guys. He was fearless the whole game.’’

UP NEXT:  Lions (3-1) at Cincinnati Bengals , 4:25 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5.

Bears at Lions: Five things to watch as both seek first win; plus prediction

The NFL schedule makers have already made the Lions’ season interesting and it’s only Week 2. Teams from the NFC North, widely considered the best division, have been pitted against each other early.

The Lions (0-1), coming off a loss to the Packers, hope to get back on track Sunday when they face the Chicago Bears (0-1) in the home opener. Last week the Bears (0-1) lost to the Vikings (1-0) and on Thursday night the Packers jumped out to a 2-0 start, defeating the Commanders.

Lions coach Dan Campbell doesn’t think the early results put extra pressure on his team.

“Anything to where we’re forced to compete is a good thing,’’ Campbell said. “And I love that, man. And we already knew what we were coming into this year with this division. It’s a tough division, man.’’

The Lions’ offense struggled against the Packers while the defense had its moments.

Still, Campbell is concerned about his bunch, not the other three division rivals.

“At some point, every team’s going to hit adversity whether it’s early, it’s in the middle of the season, it’s late. And it’s just about playing your best football by the end of the year,’’ Campbell said. “And so, we can’t worry about the Packers. We can’t worry about Minnesota. We worry about ourselves first, and then Chicago because they’re the next opponent.”

Five things to watch against the Bears:

ONE: Left tackle Taylor Decker did not practice all week with a shoulder injury. On Friday, Campbell couldn’t say whether he will play on Sunday but clarified that Decker wants to play

“He’s got a little bit something here, so we’re just trying to buy him some time here to where he feels better. A lot of it, too, is the luxury of – Decker’s played a lot of football. And so, he’ll be ready as long as it feels right,’’ Campbell said. “But yeah, we feel good right now. And there again, we still have another day here and we’ll see. So, I can’t give you a definitive yes, but that’s where it’s at.”

TWO: Decker’s absence would be especially tough because the offensive line had communication issues last week which was part of the reason the run game averaged a lousy 2.1 yards per carry. When the Lions can’t run the ball, the offense struggles to move the ball. If he’s out, Giovanni Manu would get the call at tackle. Manu has not started an NFL game. 

THREE: Look for rookie WR Isaac TeSlaa get more involved. He made a beauty of a catch late in the Packers’ loss. He took just 3 offensive snaps because he had missed a day of practice leading up to the game. He has practiced each day this week. “I think his catching ability is big time, I’ve said that before, but he’s smart and he’s tough,’’ offensive coordinator John Morton said. “He didn’t have a lot of plays in the game but he came in, that was an unbelievable catch. So, his role will be expanded. He will help us.”

FOUR: While much is made of Ben Johnson’s move to Chicago as head coach, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen is a powerhouse. “Somebody asked me this the other day. They play hard, they’re smart, they’re disciplined, they’re aggressive, they’re tough. I mean, I think I stated it all,’’ Campbell said. “He’s an outstanding coach, man. He does it right, he knows how to teach, he knows how to communicate, and he knows how to put those players in position to have success, man. He finds one-on-ones.”

FIVE: The Lions’ pass rush needs to improve. They did not sack Jordan Love at all. “They were nudging, chipping all day and getting the ball out. They weren’t going to allow it. Go back with your stopwatch and turn on the pass plays, they weren’t going to allow it. But more importantly I thought – I want to give credit to our guys for not letting this guy out of the pocket,’’ defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said. “That’s things that we’ve struggled with in years past. Jordan Love has burned us in years past with his legs. He had one run, I think, for four yards. So, I want to look at the positives in that. Yeah, we could’ve done things and things like that, but we had a specific gameplan and for the most part, the guys went out and executed the gameplan. And I just gave you the stats. That should’ve been a dominant outing on Sunday, and it will be moving forward.” Bears’ QB Caleb Johnson’s mobility will provide a different type of challenge.

PREDICTION: Lions 27, Bears 24

UP NEXT: Lions at Ravens, 8:15 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 22.

Lions training camp: Five thoughts from Taylor Decker

ALLEN PARK — Taylor Decker’s leadership shows through even when he’s sidelined at training camp following shoulder surgery. The veteran Lions left tackle is expected back on the field in a few weeks.

Decker, who is entering his tenth season, shared a few thoughts on Monday, the second day of camp. Five highlights:

ONE — On the retirement of Frank Ragnow: “I mean he’s as close to an irreplaceable guy as you can get. Side note, I’m happy for him. Over the last couple years, him going through what he’s been going through mentally and physically, it could have happened sooner and I think he stuck it out for us. First and foremost, I’m happy for Frank. When he called me I was sad for myself because he’s my best friend and I’ve only played one full season without him so it’s going to be different . For him, I’m relieved for you. I went to see him a couple days after and it was the right decision. That’s what I was expecting. I’m just happy he was able to arrive at that decision and be at peace with it. … The guy had a phenomenal career, for my money, he should be in the Hall of Fame. He was incredible.’’

TWO — On new offensive coordinator John Morton: “No. 1 he’s been here before so we have a little familiarity with him. He’s bringing his own flavor to things, but also he’s not trying to change everything we’re good at. Maybe we’re going to do (things) a little differently here and there, we’ll tweak it here, a new formation, maybe there’s some things he’s talking to Jared about. There’s going to be new concepts and stuff like that. … With every year there’s going to be new guys playing so you might have to play to their strengths a little bit. Maybe we’ll be a little more heavy in a certain run concept or a certain pass concept, maybe there’s some things we did last year based on self-scouting that we’ll do differently or do less of.’’

THREE — On his leadership role: “The standard is the standard. we’re expected to be one of the top offensive lines in the league. You lose big pieces, but we’ve put those expectations on ourselves and put ourselves in a position where we’re expected to perform a certain way and it doesn’t matter. Maybe a guy’s out and a backup is in, maybe there’s a guy who’s never started games before and he’s playing. The expectation is the expectation and that’s really not going to change. For me personally, especially as I’m getting older I can’t let myself waiver from the expectations, especially in practice. Right now I’m not practicing but when I am back out there I need to do things the right way because if I don’t do things the right way that’s setting a bad example for guys who haven’t gotten to play and I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in if I didn’t handle things as a professional.’’

FOUR — On the mindset of the team after the playoff upset to end last season: “It’s going to sound boring, we just have to get back to work especially with our schedule this year. We earned the right to play in all these games against these really good teams but now we have to show up, now we have to put the work in, you don’t want to go out there and lay an egg. A couple of years ago nobody wanted to watch the Lions, now everybody wants to watch the Lions. Guys want to play here. That’s a testament to the work we put in when not as many people cared. You can’t lose sight of that you have to keep the main thing the main thing.’’

FIVE — On development of second-year offensive lineman Giovanni Manu who didn’t see action as a rookie. “I think he’s starting to get confidence in himself. He’s obviously incredibly physically gifted. It’s been a step up obviously coming from college not only if you come from college in the United States to the NFL but from Canada (University of British Columbia). It’s a step up in competition, having to learn the playbook against really good competition. It just took a little bit. He’s starting to gain some confidence in that. He was out at my gym in Arizona in the offseason. I think all he needs is reps and he’s going to get a lot of reps. I think he’s going to continue to improve. I’m excited to see him get more opportunities in the preseason.’’

(UP NEXT: Day 3 of training camp is Tuesday. The first preseason game is July 31 against the Los Angeles Rams at the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio.)