Post by D6 on Aug 13, 2021 17:57:29 GMT -5
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Thoughts in Stars:
www.mlive.com/lions/2021/08/instant-observations-detroit-lions-cough-up-late-lead-in-preseason-loss-to-bills.html
Instant observations: Jared Goff, Penei Sewell bounce back after tough starts in Lions loss
Updated Aug 13, 11:03 PM; Posted Aug 13, 10:13 PM
Detroit Lions vs. Buffalo Bills – August 13, 2021
By Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
DETROIT -- Jared Goff was nearly picked off on his first pass, Penei Sewell allowed a sack on his second pass block and the Lions were held out of the end zone until someone named Craig Reynolds -- signed to the team about 30 hours ago -- weaved through a bunch of guys about to get cut for a fourth-quarter score.
The Lions still managed to surge ahead on a late field goal by Randy Bullock, only to watch Buffalo drive the other way for a 44-yard field goal with 19 seconds left that finally put away Detroit 16-15 in the preseason opener for both teams. Needless to say, it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing in Dan Campbell’s coaching debut -- which ended with the sort of late-game collapse that so defined the man he was hired to replace.
But it certainly wasn’t all bad either -- not even for Goff and Sewell, both of whom bounced back nicely before hitting the showers. Here are some instant observations from the loss:
**** The Lions Offense bouncing back with an 18 play drive, after the horrific 3 and out on the first drive, is a major positive. That much more with Jared Goff and Penei Sewell stepping up after the first Lions set of downs. ****
-- There was so much anticipation for Jared Goff’s debut in Detroit, though it nearly began in disaster. The new Lions quarterback -- acquired in the trade that sent Matthew Stafford to Los Angeles -- strapped on the Honolulu blue for the first time on Friday night and then nearly threw an interception on his very first pass, a short throw up the seam that gave Tyrell Williams no chance.
Running back Jamaal Williams was dropped for no gain on second down, before Goff was sacked for an 11-yard loss to set up a fourth-and-11. Just like that, about 2 minutes into the preseason, the first boos of the season echoed throughout Ford Field. A tradition unlike any other.
But Goff bounced back on the following series, an 18-play grindfest that ate up nearly 10 minutes of clock. Goff completed his first seven passes on the drive for 56 yards, and that doesn’t even include a 13-yarder to Amon-Ra St. Brown that was wiped out by a Frank Ragnow holding penalty. But Goff kept the drive going with another pass to St. Brown -- this one 9 yards -- and a 20-yarder to Tyrell Williams.
**** The holding penalty by Frank Ragnow occured after 'Big V' was beaten on the play. More is needed by # 72 as a pass blocker, as he also contributed to the 3rd Down sack on the Lions first series of downs in the game.
Amon-Ra St. doesn't look like a rookie. His route running, hands, and awareness were all on display multiple times against the Bills.
The 20 yard throw and catch play by Jared Goff, Tyrell Williams, was impressive. Including, the protection. This play was one of the most significant plays in the game for the Lions. Goff is good enough to win with when his supporting cast if he has ample support. ****
Goff took one shot at the end zone, in a nice set that got Williams into space against a cornerback who was 4 inches shorter than him. But the ball sailed just a couple inches on Goff, and the Lions settled for a 28-yard field goal from Randy Bullock.
****A holding penalty should have been called against CB Levi Wallace, who clearly held Tyrell Williams.****
With that, after 21 plays, the first-team offense’s night was over. Goff was solid in his Lions debut, if unremarkable. His final line: 7 of 9 passing for 56 yards and three points on two drives.
**** Definitely a performance Goff and the Lions first string Offense can build on. For a first pre-season game in a new system, the Lions # 1 Offense exceeded my expectations on the 18 play drive. That much more with T.J. Hockenson and D'Andre Swift being kept out of the game. ****
-- Like Goff, Penei Sewell got off to a rough start in his highly anticipated Lions debut. Sewell -- Detroit’s highest-drafted offensive lineman since Lomas Brown in 1985 -- allowed fellow rookie Greg Rousseau to beat him for a sack on just the third play of the game, setting up that ugly fourth-and-21.
There’s no reason for concern this early, of course. Just look at Taylor Decker. He allowed a sack, plus was called for holding, on the first preseason drive of his career in Pittsburgh. It was a bad debut for him, no doubt about it. Then he went on to have a nice rookie season, and now he’s one of the best left tackles in the game.
Growing pains are a part of life in the NFL, and especially in the trenches, where everyone is bigger, stronger, faster, and operating in a more complex scheme than anything you ever saw in college. It takes time to adjust for everyone, and Sewell is acclimating to a new position on top of all of that.
“I think the big thing as a young player is not letting the name on the back of the jersey beat you,” Decker said earlier in camp. “Whoever you’re playing against, don’t let the name on the back of the jersey beat you because you still have to go out there and they still have to beat you. So you do you. I’m going to do my (stuff), what I’m good at, and that player has to beat me.”
The good news is Sewell was terrific in the run game against Buffalo, and seemed to bounce back in pass protection too, though the film will tell a better story. He’ll learn, and that’s what the preseason is for -- to learn those hard lessons before the bullets really start flying at Jared Goff’s head next month.
**** Penei Sewell got off to a bad start as a run blocker and on the sack. But to his credit, he performed well on the next Lions drive. It's good to see Sewell not let the mistakes he made carry over go the Lions next possession.****
-- It’s worth noting Goff was playing without some notable pieces of his supporting cast too, including top running back D’Andre Swift, Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson and projected starting receiver Breshad Perriman. Swift has battled a sore groin throughout camp and been held out of most team stuff in recent days, while Perriman is still trying to shake off a hip injury he suffered a week ago. Hockenson was nicked up a bit this week too, though his scratch probably was just a matter of keeping a really good player healthy more than anything. Nothing to be concerned about there.
**** One thing in particular the Lions missed having with Breshad Perriman is he's a much more capable run blocker than the small Kalif Raymond. The latter seemed overmatched as a run blocker in this game. ****
Other players who did not participate in the opener: Cornerback Corn Elder, offensive lineman Tyrell Crosby, receiver Chad Hansen, receiver Quintez Cephus, defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand and defensive tackle John Penisini.
****Considering the horrific play of backup Tackles Dan Skipper and UDRFA Darrin Paulo ( Matt Nelson was exclusively used at RG ). Tyrell Crosby was missed. ****
The starting offense: LT Taylor Decker, LG Jonah Jackson, C Frank Ragnow, RG Halapoulivaati Vaitai, RT Penei Sewell, QB Jared Goff, TE Darren Fells, RB Jamaal Williams, WR Tyrell Williams, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and WR Kalif Raymond.
-- The Lions rolled most of their starters out on defense too, with one interesting surprise. A.J. Parker earned the start at slot cornerback, over Mike Ford and Nickell Robey-Coleman. That probably had a lot to do with Ford playing more outside lately and Robey-Coleman just arriving in camp a few days ago, not to mention the injury that continues to haunt Corn Elder. But it’s also a sign of how much Parker has already earned the coach’s trust, and he’s a name worth monitoring going forward.
****AJ. Parker had a mixed results game. But what jumped out is he saw action at times throughout the game. He is definitely in the mix to be on the Lions 53 man roster when the regular season begins. For a first pre-season game as a rookie, Parker is way ahead of what anyone realistically could have hoped for going into training camp****
-- The defense, by the way, has looked much improved in camp. The first team got two series against Buffalo and continued to do their thing, holding the Bills -- without Josh Allen and many other starters -- to 49 yards on 12 plays. One player who looked strong for Detroit: Kevin, well, Strong. He got the start on the defensive line with tackles like Michael Brockers, Da’Shawn Hand and John Penisini all banged up, then dropped running back Devin Singletary for a 3-yard loss on the defense’s first drive. On the very next series, Strong stoned Matt Breida on third-and-short to force a punt.
**** This performance is why I continue to talk up Kevin Strong as a player who has plenty of upside potential and someone who I believe belongs on an NFL 53 man roster. His 4th and 1 stop to seal the win at Chicago last December was a big time play in crunch.
Because of the Lions being down 3 interior Defensive Lineman, Kevin Strong saw some action in the 2nd half ad well. ****
Negative plays generated by the defensive tackles? Stops on third-and-short? Man, this is the kind of stuff we just haven’t seen much of in recent years. But the defense has looked so much better in training camp, and that’s especially true up front. There was more to like in this game too.
****Jashon Cornell, who started in the Defensive Interior, also caught my attention positively, against the run. It's easy to see why his training camp play has been praised. ****
-- The second-team defense, not so much. That’s especially true for Jahlani Taivai. The former second-round pick dropped a bunch of weight this offseason in an effort to carve out a role in the new defense -- which is prioritizing speed over size -- but he continues to struggle in pass coverage. He appeared to be the man at fault when Buffalo flowed a play to the right side of the field, and nobody decided to cover Devin Singletary in the end zone. Singletary caught the 6-yard touchdown pass uncontested, with Tavai appearing to be out of position.
**** I'm not sure who was responsible on that play for the mistake that led to the easy TD reception for the Bills. Taking that play out of the equation, I thought Jahlani Tavai had a mixed bag performance.
Of the Lions Inside LBs, I thought Derrick Barnes, who played in the 3rd QTR, had the best performance ( relative to the competition he faced ). Barnes caused an incompletion on a zone blitz call by Aaron Glenn. All around strong Defensive performance by Barnes, who wasn't even cleared to practice until early in the week.
The overall Inside LB play by the Lions needs to be better. ****
-- Speaking of the linebackers, Jalen Reeves-Maybin ahs practiced only three days -- and just once in pads -- because of a stint on the COVID list. Yet he delivered a couple really nice special teams plays, including racing down the field on a 66-yard punt from Jack Fox and dropping the returner after a gain of just 3. I don’t know what his future holds at linebacker, where he played on the third team, but I’ll be damned if he isn’t one of Detroit’s top special teams players, even while he’s still knocking off the rust.
****JRM helped his cause greatly on Special Teams in this game. I think he's going to make the opening day 53 man roster. ****
Jack Fox, by the way: Still entirely preposterous. All hail the Punt God.
-- The Lions announced the signing of running back Craig Reynolds at 11:04 a.m. Thursday. About 34 hours later, he was standing in the end zone with Detroit’s first (unofficial) touchdown of the season. For those scoring at home, he now has more touchdowns (one) than practices (zero) with the Lions. Not bad!
Reynolds scored the 24-yard touchdown to pull Detroit within 13-12 with 7:45 left in the game. And Dan Campbell, bless his heart, wasn’t playing for the tie in the preseason. Blough’s 2-point conversion pass fell incomplete, but the Lions put together another long drive late in the game and Randy Bullock sent home the go-ahead score from 28 yards with 1:38 left.
**** Thankfully, the NFL did away with Pre-Season OT, this past off-season.
Craig Reynolds went from being a player who I thought was a training camp body to someone who at the very least warrants serious consideration for a Practice Squad spot, if he even comes close to his performance in the 4th QTR against the Bills ****
Of course, the Lions couldn’t get a stop coming back the other way and still lost the game, although with the field littered with third-teamers, there’s not much to fret about.
****Julian Okwara, who was very impressive as an edge rusher in this game, came close to a 3rd Down strip sack. Okwara, Austin Bryant, and Robert McCray all made their presence felt on multiple occasions as pass rushers. McCray easily could get caught in a numbers game but at the very least he should be a Practice Squad priority if he's cut & clears waivers. ****
-- Bullock, by the way, made all three of his field-goal attempts to account for nine of Detroit’s 15 points. That’s a nice step in the right direction for a guy who has struggled enough that the Lions went out and signed Zane Gonzalez this week to push him for the starting job. Then again, Bullock’s attempts came from 27, 28 and 28 yards, and his struggles have come from deep.
Still a lot to learn on that front before the Lions have a starting kicker to replace Matt Prater.
**** The fact that Randy Bullock was used on all 3 FG attempts very likely indicates that he's the clear front runner for the Lions Kicker job.
-- Receiver Victor Bolden has played well enough in camp to get some first-team reps due to injuries. But he didn’t play well on Friday night, dropping two early passes before muffing a late punt. Luckily for him, rookie Ifeatu Melifonwu jumped on the ball to secure possession and avoid a disaster late in the game.
**** Though both passes were catchable, Tim Boyle's accuracy could have been better. His timing was also an issue on short passes on multiple other passes. I think David Blough was the better QB of the two in this game. In fairness to Boyle, no gadget plays were called. Those are the type of plays Boyle might have an advantage with. And along with the guaranteed money factor, why Boyle probably would be the Lions # 2 QB, if the cutdown to 53 was today.****
-- The announced crowd: 47,048.
**** It didn't look like there was remotely close to 47,000 + people at the game. ****
.....
This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:
Lions vs. Bills preview: Pre-Season Game # 1 ( 2021 )
detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/1126/lions-bills-preview-season-game
My plan is to provide my thoughts about the game early Sunday. I will start a game thread in case anyone would like to offer thoughts about the game before then.
Thoughts in Stars:
www.mlive.com/lions/2021/08/instant-observations-detroit-lions-cough-up-late-lead-in-preseason-loss-to-bills.html
Instant observations: Jared Goff, Penei Sewell bounce back after tough starts in Lions loss
Updated Aug 13, 11:03 PM; Posted Aug 13, 10:13 PM
Detroit Lions vs. Buffalo Bills – August 13, 2021
By Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
DETROIT -- Jared Goff was nearly picked off on his first pass, Penei Sewell allowed a sack on his second pass block and the Lions were held out of the end zone until someone named Craig Reynolds -- signed to the team about 30 hours ago -- weaved through a bunch of guys about to get cut for a fourth-quarter score.
The Lions still managed to surge ahead on a late field goal by Randy Bullock, only to watch Buffalo drive the other way for a 44-yard field goal with 19 seconds left that finally put away Detroit 16-15 in the preseason opener for both teams. Needless to say, it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing in Dan Campbell’s coaching debut -- which ended with the sort of late-game collapse that so defined the man he was hired to replace.
But it certainly wasn’t all bad either -- not even for Goff and Sewell, both of whom bounced back nicely before hitting the showers. Here are some instant observations from the loss:
**** The Lions Offense bouncing back with an 18 play drive, after the horrific 3 and out on the first drive, is a major positive. That much more with Jared Goff and Penei Sewell stepping up after the first Lions set of downs. ****
-- There was so much anticipation for Jared Goff’s debut in Detroit, though it nearly began in disaster. The new Lions quarterback -- acquired in the trade that sent Matthew Stafford to Los Angeles -- strapped on the Honolulu blue for the first time on Friday night and then nearly threw an interception on his very first pass, a short throw up the seam that gave Tyrell Williams no chance.
Running back Jamaal Williams was dropped for no gain on second down, before Goff was sacked for an 11-yard loss to set up a fourth-and-11. Just like that, about 2 minutes into the preseason, the first boos of the season echoed throughout Ford Field. A tradition unlike any other.
But Goff bounced back on the following series, an 18-play grindfest that ate up nearly 10 minutes of clock. Goff completed his first seven passes on the drive for 56 yards, and that doesn’t even include a 13-yarder to Amon-Ra St. Brown that was wiped out by a Frank Ragnow holding penalty. But Goff kept the drive going with another pass to St. Brown -- this one 9 yards -- and a 20-yarder to Tyrell Williams.
**** The holding penalty by Frank Ragnow occured after 'Big V' was beaten on the play. More is needed by # 72 as a pass blocker, as he also contributed to the 3rd Down sack on the Lions first series of downs in the game.
Amon-Ra St. doesn't look like a rookie. His route running, hands, and awareness were all on display multiple times against the Bills.
The 20 yard throw and catch play by Jared Goff, Tyrell Williams, was impressive. Including, the protection. This play was one of the most significant plays in the game for the Lions. Goff is good enough to win with when his supporting cast if he has ample support. ****
Goff took one shot at the end zone, in a nice set that got Williams into space against a cornerback who was 4 inches shorter than him. But the ball sailed just a couple inches on Goff, and the Lions settled for a 28-yard field goal from Randy Bullock.
****A holding penalty should have been called against CB Levi Wallace, who clearly held Tyrell Williams.****
With that, after 21 plays, the first-team offense’s night was over. Goff was solid in his Lions debut, if unremarkable. His final line: 7 of 9 passing for 56 yards and three points on two drives.
**** Definitely a performance Goff and the Lions first string Offense can build on. For a first pre-season game in a new system, the Lions # 1 Offense exceeded my expectations on the 18 play drive. That much more with T.J. Hockenson and D'Andre Swift being kept out of the game. ****
-- Like Goff, Penei Sewell got off to a rough start in his highly anticipated Lions debut. Sewell -- Detroit’s highest-drafted offensive lineman since Lomas Brown in 1985 -- allowed fellow rookie Greg Rousseau to beat him for a sack on just the third play of the game, setting up that ugly fourth-and-21.
There’s no reason for concern this early, of course. Just look at Taylor Decker. He allowed a sack, plus was called for holding, on the first preseason drive of his career in Pittsburgh. It was a bad debut for him, no doubt about it. Then he went on to have a nice rookie season, and now he’s one of the best left tackles in the game.
Growing pains are a part of life in the NFL, and especially in the trenches, where everyone is bigger, stronger, faster, and operating in a more complex scheme than anything you ever saw in college. It takes time to adjust for everyone, and Sewell is acclimating to a new position on top of all of that.
“I think the big thing as a young player is not letting the name on the back of the jersey beat you,” Decker said earlier in camp. “Whoever you’re playing against, don’t let the name on the back of the jersey beat you because you still have to go out there and they still have to beat you. So you do you. I’m going to do my (stuff), what I’m good at, and that player has to beat me.”
The good news is Sewell was terrific in the run game against Buffalo, and seemed to bounce back in pass protection too, though the film will tell a better story. He’ll learn, and that’s what the preseason is for -- to learn those hard lessons before the bullets really start flying at Jared Goff’s head next month.
**** Penei Sewell got off to a bad start as a run blocker and on the sack. But to his credit, he performed well on the next Lions drive. It's good to see Sewell not let the mistakes he made carry over go the Lions next possession.****
-- It’s worth noting Goff was playing without some notable pieces of his supporting cast too, including top running back D’Andre Swift, Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson and projected starting receiver Breshad Perriman. Swift has battled a sore groin throughout camp and been held out of most team stuff in recent days, while Perriman is still trying to shake off a hip injury he suffered a week ago. Hockenson was nicked up a bit this week too, though his scratch probably was just a matter of keeping a really good player healthy more than anything. Nothing to be concerned about there.
**** One thing in particular the Lions missed having with Breshad Perriman is he's a much more capable run blocker than the small Kalif Raymond. The latter seemed overmatched as a run blocker in this game. ****
Other players who did not participate in the opener: Cornerback Corn Elder, offensive lineman Tyrell Crosby, receiver Chad Hansen, receiver Quintez Cephus, defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand and defensive tackle John Penisini.
****Considering the horrific play of backup Tackles Dan Skipper and UDRFA Darrin Paulo ( Matt Nelson was exclusively used at RG ). Tyrell Crosby was missed. ****
The starting offense: LT Taylor Decker, LG Jonah Jackson, C Frank Ragnow, RG Halapoulivaati Vaitai, RT Penei Sewell, QB Jared Goff, TE Darren Fells, RB Jamaal Williams, WR Tyrell Williams, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and WR Kalif Raymond.
-- The Lions rolled most of their starters out on defense too, with one interesting surprise. A.J. Parker earned the start at slot cornerback, over Mike Ford and Nickell Robey-Coleman. That probably had a lot to do with Ford playing more outside lately and Robey-Coleman just arriving in camp a few days ago, not to mention the injury that continues to haunt Corn Elder. But it’s also a sign of how much Parker has already earned the coach’s trust, and he’s a name worth monitoring going forward.
****AJ. Parker had a mixed results game. But what jumped out is he saw action at times throughout the game. He is definitely in the mix to be on the Lions 53 man roster when the regular season begins. For a first pre-season game as a rookie, Parker is way ahead of what anyone realistically could have hoped for going into training camp****
-- The defense, by the way, has looked much improved in camp. The first team got two series against Buffalo and continued to do their thing, holding the Bills -- without Josh Allen and many other starters -- to 49 yards on 12 plays. One player who looked strong for Detroit: Kevin, well, Strong. He got the start on the defensive line with tackles like Michael Brockers, Da’Shawn Hand and John Penisini all banged up, then dropped running back Devin Singletary for a 3-yard loss on the defense’s first drive. On the very next series, Strong stoned Matt Breida on third-and-short to force a punt.
**** This performance is why I continue to talk up Kevin Strong as a player who has plenty of upside potential and someone who I believe belongs on an NFL 53 man roster. His 4th and 1 stop to seal the win at Chicago last December was a big time play in crunch.
Because of the Lions being down 3 interior Defensive Lineman, Kevin Strong saw some action in the 2nd half ad well. ****
Negative plays generated by the defensive tackles? Stops on third-and-short? Man, this is the kind of stuff we just haven’t seen much of in recent years. But the defense has looked so much better in training camp, and that’s especially true up front. There was more to like in this game too.
****Jashon Cornell, who started in the Defensive Interior, also caught my attention positively, against the run. It's easy to see why his training camp play has been praised. ****
-- The second-team defense, not so much. That’s especially true for Jahlani Taivai. The former second-round pick dropped a bunch of weight this offseason in an effort to carve out a role in the new defense -- which is prioritizing speed over size -- but he continues to struggle in pass coverage. He appeared to be the man at fault when Buffalo flowed a play to the right side of the field, and nobody decided to cover Devin Singletary in the end zone. Singletary caught the 6-yard touchdown pass uncontested, with Tavai appearing to be out of position.
**** I'm not sure who was responsible on that play for the mistake that led to the easy TD reception for the Bills. Taking that play out of the equation, I thought Jahlani Tavai had a mixed bag performance.
Of the Lions Inside LBs, I thought Derrick Barnes, who played in the 3rd QTR, had the best performance ( relative to the competition he faced ). Barnes caused an incompletion on a zone blitz call by Aaron Glenn. All around strong Defensive performance by Barnes, who wasn't even cleared to practice until early in the week.
The overall Inside LB play by the Lions needs to be better. ****
-- Speaking of the linebackers, Jalen Reeves-Maybin ahs practiced only three days -- and just once in pads -- because of a stint on the COVID list. Yet he delivered a couple really nice special teams plays, including racing down the field on a 66-yard punt from Jack Fox and dropping the returner after a gain of just 3. I don’t know what his future holds at linebacker, where he played on the third team, but I’ll be damned if he isn’t one of Detroit’s top special teams players, even while he’s still knocking off the rust.
****JRM helped his cause greatly on Special Teams in this game. I think he's going to make the opening day 53 man roster. ****
Jack Fox, by the way: Still entirely preposterous. All hail the Punt God.
-- The Lions announced the signing of running back Craig Reynolds at 11:04 a.m. Thursday. About 34 hours later, he was standing in the end zone with Detroit’s first (unofficial) touchdown of the season. For those scoring at home, he now has more touchdowns (one) than practices (zero) with the Lions. Not bad!
Reynolds scored the 24-yard touchdown to pull Detroit within 13-12 with 7:45 left in the game. And Dan Campbell, bless his heart, wasn’t playing for the tie in the preseason. Blough’s 2-point conversion pass fell incomplete, but the Lions put together another long drive late in the game and Randy Bullock sent home the go-ahead score from 28 yards with 1:38 left.
**** Thankfully, the NFL did away with Pre-Season OT, this past off-season.
Craig Reynolds went from being a player who I thought was a training camp body to someone who at the very least warrants serious consideration for a Practice Squad spot, if he even comes close to his performance in the 4th QTR against the Bills ****
Of course, the Lions couldn’t get a stop coming back the other way and still lost the game, although with the field littered with third-teamers, there’s not much to fret about.
****Julian Okwara, who was very impressive as an edge rusher in this game, came close to a 3rd Down strip sack. Okwara, Austin Bryant, and Robert McCray all made their presence felt on multiple occasions as pass rushers. McCray easily could get caught in a numbers game but at the very least he should be a Practice Squad priority if he's cut & clears waivers. ****
-- Bullock, by the way, made all three of his field-goal attempts to account for nine of Detroit’s 15 points. That’s a nice step in the right direction for a guy who has struggled enough that the Lions went out and signed Zane Gonzalez this week to push him for the starting job. Then again, Bullock’s attempts came from 27, 28 and 28 yards, and his struggles have come from deep.
Still a lot to learn on that front before the Lions have a starting kicker to replace Matt Prater.
**** The fact that Randy Bullock was used on all 3 FG attempts very likely indicates that he's the clear front runner for the Lions Kicker job.
-- Receiver Victor Bolden has played well enough in camp to get some first-team reps due to injuries. But he didn’t play well on Friday night, dropping two early passes before muffing a late punt. Luckily for him, rookie Ifeatu Melifonwu jumped on the ball to secure possession and avoid a disaster late in the game.
**** Though both passes were catchable, Tim Boyle's accuracy could have been better. His timing was also an issue on short passes on multiple other passes. I think David Blough was the better QB of the two in this game. In fairness to Boyle, no gadget plays were called. Those are the type of plays Boyle might have an advantage with. And along with the guaranteed money factor, why Boyle probably would be the Lions # 2 QB, if the cutdown to 53 was today.****
-- The announced crowd: 47,048.
**** It didn't look like there was remotely close to 47,000 + people at the game. ****
.....
This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:
Lions vs. Bills preview: Pre-Season Game # 1 ( 2021 )
detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/1126/lions-bills-preview-season-game
My plan is to provide my thoughts about the game early Sunday. I will start a game thread in case anyone would like to offer thoughts about the game before then.
