Post by D6 on Nov 21, 2021 23:55:40 GMT -5
Instant observations: Tim Boyle passes for just 77 yards in another loss for Detroit Lions
Thoughts in ****
Instant observations: Tim Boyle passes for just 77 yards in another loss for Detroit Lions
Updated: Nov. 21, 2021, 6:17 p.m. | Published: Nov. 21, 2021, 4:16 p.m.
By Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
CLEVELAND -- Their defense gave them a chance. But once again, like too often this season, their offense did not.
Tim Boyle passed for just 77 yards in an emergency start for injured quarterback Jared Goff, threw two interceptions and came up empty on the final series of a 13-10 loss on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. Detroit is now 0-9-1, its worst start since the winless season in 2008.
The club still hasn’t won in nearly a calendar year, dating all the way back to last Dec. 6 against the Chicago Bears. Now it has just four days to figure out how to stop the bleeding before facing the Bears again on Thanksgiving at Ford Field.
With issues all over the field and especially at quarterback, the challenge will be a great one.
Boyle earned his first NFL start for Goff, who did not dress against the Browns due to an oblique injury he suffered last week in Pittsburgh. That gave the struggling veteran a badly needed reprieve, although the quarterback play got no better for Detroit. Boyle finished 15 of 23 passing for 77 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions, one of which spoiled Detroit’s only scoring opportunity in another scoreless first half.
The Lions fell behind 13-0, but clawed back into the game thanks to a 57-yard touchdown run by D’Andre Swift in the third quarter, then an interception by rookie A.J. Parker that teed up another scoring opportunity in the fourth quarter. But facing a fourth-and-1, Dan Campbell -- the most aggressive head coach in the league on fourth down -- decided to lay up for a field goal.
That cut the deficit to 13-10, but the Lions touched the ball just once more in the game. And once again, Campbell decided to play it conservatively, including handing off the ball to a banged-up Swift on third-and-14 with 3 minutes left.
Swift was tackled 5 yards downfield, Jack Fox punted away the ball with 2:36 left, and the Lions never touched it again.
Campbell was handling playcalling for the second straight week, and he has come under fire for his conservative approach. He was trying to protect Boyle against one of the league’s best pass rushes, but did so by calling low-percentage plays that didn’t work.
New wide receiver Josh Reynold was supposed to help open up the downfield passing, but he was blanked on three targets in his Lions debut, lost a 50-50 ball that was intercepted, and was flagged for offensive pass interference on a play that would have given Detroit the ball inside Cleveland’s 10-yard line.
In the end, Boyle completed just four passes to his receivers all day, each of them to St. Brown for 18 yards.
Woof.
**** Through 10 games, the Lions Passing game is the worst I can recall from an NFL team this century. It arguably was worse in this game than any of the other 9 games. Tim Boyle continues to look like a bad fit in the Lions Offense. His accuracy on short passes ( and overall in this game ) just isn't good enough. Boyle's decision making and awareness were also problematic in Cleveland. Boyle telegraphs his throws. Why the Lions signed him AND started him today over David Blough is beyond me. Blough has his share of issues but at least he has moxie. I hope Blough starts against the Bears on Thanksgiving Day but I'm not hopeful. This coaching staff clearly doesn't believe in him..****
Here are some more instant observations:
-- Jared Goff has been so bad this season, but clearly benching him is not the answer either. Tim Boyle barely looked downfield all game, and was intercepted on one of the only shots he did take beyond 10 yards, a 50-50 ball to Josh Reynolds over the middle. He was also picked off when he wasn’t on the same page with D’Andre Swift over the middle, killing Detroit’s only scoring opportunity in the first half. In the end, the Lions barely asked him to look down the field, dialing up a steady diet of dump-offs to the tight ends and running backs. And Cleveland played its defense like it, swarming everything near the line of scrimmage. If you’re wondering how Boyle could pass for just 77 yards, one week after Goff passed for 54 in regulation, well, that’s it. And it’s some of the worst, most boring, and least creative football I’ve ever seen.
**** I rather the Lions use the Wildcat as the base Offense than go with Tim Boyle or an injured Jared Goff. Why the Lions haven't used the Wildcat ( if it was used this season, it was no more than once ) is a question I hope someone in the media asks Dan Campbell publicly. ****
With just three days to prepare for the Thanksgiving game, well, things could get worse just in time for the national stage to shine a spotlight on this mess. Yikes.
**** The Lions Defense was on the field far too long in the last two games. It caught up to the Lions on the Browns game sealing drive in which they didn't throw the ball. With another game on Thursday, the Lions are going to need to put together long drives ( even if most result only in FGs ) to help the Lions Defense stay somewhat fresh. ***
-- Dan Campbell said he took over playcalling duties from offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn last week because he wanted more opportunities to talk to Jared Goff during the game and better understand what his quarterback was going through. But with Goff in a parka on the sideline and Tim Boyle under center, Campbell stuck with the playcalling for a second straight week. It really makes you wonder what Lynn’s future is in Detroit, if he has one at all. Don’t expect any kind of midseason move -- not with Detroit so far out of contention anyway -- but at this point it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Campbell go in another direction with the offense in Year 2.
****I expect Dan Campbell to go in another direction in 2022 with the Offensive Coordinator position. A consequence of Campbell becoming the Lions primary playcaller is higher in demand Offensive Coordinators could be much more reluctant to work under Campbell. ****
-- Right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai left the game in the first half with a brain injury, dealing yet another blow to the offense. The running game has been this team’s only hope on that side of the ball, and run blocking is what Vaitai does best. Tommy Kraemer replaced Vaitai and wasn’t nearly as good on the ground, including getting beat on a third-and-1 run up his gap.
****Tommy Kraemer was the weak link in on the Offensive Line in the running game in this game. The Lions need a better option than what Kraemer gave the Lions today. On the other hand, Evan Brown has improved noticeably as a run blocker. Brown will never be Frank Ragnow but he's become an overall asset at Center. Evan McCollum replaced Brown briefly today, when Brown looked like he got a neck stinger. McCollum did a great overall job and was a key part of D'Andre Swift's 57 yard TD run. McCollum might be a better option at RG than Kraemer.****
-- Josh Reynolds’ highly-anticipated debut was a dud. He dropped the first ball thrown his way, was later whistled for offensive pass interference to wipe out a catch-and-run by Amon-Ra St. Brown that would have given Detroit the ball inside Cleveland’s 10-yard line -- spoiling Detroit’s best scoring opportunity of the half -- and barely made an effort on a deep 50-50 ball in the second half. Denzel Ward did make an effort, and intercepted the football. There was so much buzz about Reynolds’ arrival because of his connection to Brad Holmes and Jared Goff in Los Angeles, but he didn’t make much of a difference, finishing with no catches on three targets.
**** The blocking timing on the play that drew Offensive Pass Interference was a little off by Josh Reynolds. This might be because he's new to the Lions Offense. A greater concern was he didn't do enough on the pass that resulted in an Interception by Denzel Ward. Reynolds also should have secured the first throw that came mind. It was a little high but he needed to make the catch without the CB knocking the ball out. Reynolds has to step up moving forward if he wants a contract with the Lions beyond this season. ****
-- I’ve covered every Lions game since 2013, which means I’ve seen some dumb stuff in my day. But I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything dumber than Detroit getting flagged 15 yards for a personal foul between quarters. Guard Jonah Jackson drew the penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct during the commercial break between the third and fourth quarters, and it was a big one. The Lions had just pulled within 13-7, but suddenly were behind the sticks. They couldn’t make it back up on second- and third-and-long -- no surprise there, given the way this offense is playing -- and they had to punt away the ball. It’ll be interesting to hear what Dan Campbell says about that one, because that’s unconscionable.
****It was a bonehead play that is very disturbing. The Lions had all of the momentum. Jonah Jackson owes his coaches and teammates an apology. ****
-- But it was far from Detroit’s only miscue. Reynolds was flagged for offensive pass interference on a play where Amon-Ra St. Brown would have given Detroit the ball inside Cleveland’s 10-yard line in the first half. Cornerback A.J. Parker was flagged for pass interference on third-and-9 (while Austin Bryant jumped offside on the play for good measure). Cornerback Amani Oruwariye was flagged for illegal use of his hands on fourth-and-2, before getting flagged for pass interference on third-and-5, both of which would have been stops on the same drive. Instead, Cleveland scored another touchdown to make it 13-0. And that was just the first half. The talent on the roster is so bad right now that Detroit has no room for error, yet it’s making a comedy of them.
**** As much as technique, timing, concentration need to be improved compared to what occurred on these plays, an Unsportsmanlike Like Conduct penalty that's a legit call is much worse. That's a classic example of self destruction as a player and as a consequence, self destruction as a team. ****
-- D’Andre Swift remained the rare bright spot for a Lions offense that looks like it might have some trouble competing in the CFL. Swift rushed with a career-high 136 yards on 14 carries, 57 of which came on a touchdown run that finally go Detroit on the board late in the third quarter. That was the longest touchdown run by any Lions player on the road since some guy named Barry Sanders had an 82-yarder in Tampa back in 1997. Swift has now gone over 100 yards in back-to-back games, both of which came on the road, the first Lions player to do that since Kevin Jones in 2004.
****D'Andre Swift was terrific in the 2nd half. He's clearly gaining confidence. ****
-- Having said that, can we get a moratorium on D’Andre Swift runs and screens on third-and-10 or longer? The Lions must lead the league in runs on third-and-10 or longer, which is not only an indictment of the playcalling, but the lack of respect for their own quarterbacks.
**** It's a lack of confidence in the QBs, WRs, and the pass blocking. ****
-- The Lions finally broke one of the NFL’s longest sack droughts when Austin Bryant and Will Harris tag-teamed Baker Mayfield in the third quarter. It was Detroit’s first sack in nearly a month, dating to the Oct. 24 game in Los Angeles against the Rams. They entered the weekend dead-last in the league in sacks, as you might expect.
**** Despite the Lions Defense being unable to stop the Browns from getting 1st Downs to run out the clock on what became the final drive of the game, the Lions Defense gave the Lions a chance to be in position to win the game. The Lions Defense is far from a stellar unit or even from one of the better Defensive Units in the NFL. But the unit's level of play should have been good enough for the Lions to have won the last two games. ****
-- Jack Fox reached 100 career punts in Cleveland. He’s averaged 49.0 gross yards and 43.9 net yards per attempt, both of which are NFL records through 100 attempts. How is it possible the Lions can be so bad for so long, while having some of the best specialists for so long?
**** Jack Fox would have pinned the Browns at their only 1 yard line if Bobby Price would have re-established himself outside the End Zone, in the field of play. KhaDarel Hodge made a great play preventing the punted ball from going into the end zone. Price didn't execute immediately after that, resulting in a touchback. ****
......
This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:
Lions at Browns preview: Game # 10 ( 2021 )
detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/1259/lions-browns-preview-game-2021