Post by D6 on Dec 27, 2021 2:34:13 GMT -5
Thoughts in ****
Instant observations: Late Tim Boyle interception dooms Detroit Lions’ valiant comeback in Atlanta
Instant observations: Late Tim Boyle interception dooms Detroit Lions’ valiant comeback in Atlanta
Updated: Dec. 26, 2021, 6:31 p.m. | Published: Dec. 26, 2021, 3:56 p.m.
By Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
ATLANTA -- Dan Campbell, now officially the most aggressive head coach on fourth down in the history of the NFL, went for it three more times against Atlanta. But facing a fourth-and-5 while on the doorstep of the end zone and trailing by seven points in the final minutes, the first-year boss opted to settle for a field goal and put the game in the hands of his defense.
**** It felt like a 50-50 situation whether the Lions should have gone for the 1st Down in the 4th and 5 from the Falcons 8 situation. With a significantly better QB who is much more accurate than Tim Boyle, going for the 1st Down would have very likely been the way I would have preferred to go. ****
They delivered once again -- seriously, how big has Aaron Glenn been? -- this time forcing a fumble in Atlanta territory near the 2-minute warning.
****Tremendous play, including the hustle aspect, by Jalen Reeves-Maybin! I thought JRM was the Lions best run Defender in this game. He also had another deflected pass on a blitz, after 3 vs. Arizona. Thankfully, Jamie Collins in essence quit on the Lions in Green Bay, back in Game # 2. That opened the door for JRM to get his best opportunity at LB since coming to the Lions in 2017. JRM should be a priority to re-sign. ****
But Tim Boyle, starting at quarterback for Jared Goff (COVID), threw a pick near Atlanta’s goal line in the final seconds to seal a heart-breaking 20-16 loss on Sunday against the Falcons. Detroit falls to 2-12-1 on the season, with games left in Seattle and back home against the Green Bay Packers in the finale.
**** Last week, I was pleasantly surprised at how inaccurate my prediction for the Cardinals game was. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for the Falcons game. It's not surprising in the least that the QB position was the difference in the Falcons winning the game. There's no justification of Tim Boyle being ahead of David Blough on the Lions Depth Chart at QB. Blough's lack of accuracy on a high % of throws are the number 1 issue with him as an NFL QB. His bad decision that resulted in a game sealing interception is something Boyle can learn from. But I doubt he will ever be even adequate regarding short end medium accuracy. There's no question the Lions need to move on from Boyle in the upcoming off-season. ****
The Lions still hold the No. 2 overall draft pick after the league-worst Jaguars (2-13) fell to the Jets in New York, and would lock in a top-two pick with a loss next week against the Seahawks. But if it wasn’t clear before, it certainly is now: The Lions aren’t going to play dead for anyone, draft position to damned.
**** A solid case can be made that losing to the Falcons benefits the Lions more than a win. And a solid case can be made that a Lions win would have benefited the Lions more. After Seattle blew another double-digit lead at home, this time to the reeling Bears, who were down to 3rd string QB Nick Foles as their starter, the Lions have a very realistic chance of winning in Seattle next week, if Jared Goff is back at QB (with a full week of practice). If the Packers wrap up the # 1 seed in the NFC next Sunday Night against the Vikings, Aaron Rodgers will almost certainly be kept of the regular season finale in Detroit. I want Rodgers playing in that game, as the Lions would benefit much more playing against Rodgers, win, lose, or tie, than if he doesn't play. The dilemma is that it might take a Dallas win over Arizona for the Packers NOT to wrap up the # 1 seed. ****
They won two of their last three games, then came within 9 yards of doing it again in Atlanta. Trailing 20-13 late in the fourth quarter, they went for it on fourth down twice in a row and matched the NFL record for fourth-down attempts in a season (35). But facing a fourth-and-5 inside the 10-yard line, Campbell elected to settle for the field goal instead and turn over the game to his defense.
It was a gamble, and a rare flare of conservatism from the first-year head coach, although it is easy to understand the decision as well as well. Not only were the Lions without their starting quarterback on offense, but their defense has been lights out in recent weeks. They were terrific again for most of Sunday as well, and Jalen Reeves-Maybin needed just three plays to deliver once again.
**** The Lions QB situation and the way the Lions Defense played the against the run both probably factored heavily in Dan Campbell's decision to settle for a short FG attempt. ****
The linebacker has experienced a career rebirth under the new staff, after the last one demoted him off the defense completely, and stripped out the football on a do-or-die third down. Safety Dean Marlowe pounced on the ball at Atlanta’s 37-yard line, giving Detroit new life with outstanding field position around the 2-minute warning.
**** Good hustle by Dean Marlowe as well. ****
Boyle marched Detroit all the way to Atlanta’s 9-yard line, where the Lions had a first-and-goal with 39 seconds left. Plenty of time for a few shots at the end zone. But after avoiding turning over the football all day, Boyle -- thinking he was looking at a man defense -- didn’t see linebacker Foyesade Oluokun lurking over the middle of the field in a zone. Oluokun intercepted the pass near the goal line, ending Detroit’s chances in the shadows of the end zone.
**** For a long time, I have been of the opinion that Foyesade Oluokun is one of the most underrated players in the NFL. The Falcons have many position units they need to upgrade. But there off the ball LBs. (Deion Jones is their other starter ) are amongst the best in the NFL. Mykal Walker impressed me in this game as well.
Getting back to the interception, very good plays by Oluokun. Yet, it clearly was a situation in which Tim Boyle should have thrown the ball well over Craig Reynolds' head, which would have resulted in an incomplete pass, and 2nd and Goal from the 9.****
The mistake spoiled an otherwise promising second start from Boyle. He threw for just 77 yards when an oblique injury sidelined Goff for the Cleveland game, and had the worst-rated afternoon by a Lions starting quarterback since 2009. But he was also just coming off a broken thumb that kept him from throwing for about 11 weeks. Tough conditions under which to make your first NFL start, and there was hope in Allen Park he would fare better this week after Goff was sidelined by a COVID infection.
Boyle delivered on that hope, completing his first six passes during a long, 7-minute drive to open the game. He later fit a 20-yard touchdown pass through a tight window to Amon-Ra St. Brown, which helped Detroit stay level at 10-all heading into halftime.
Boyle finished 24 of 34 passing for 187 yards, one touchdown and one pick overall -- not great, but not bad, and especially not bad considering he was without his top center and running back, then lost his fullback and every tight end not named Brock Wright in the game.
**** The Lions receivers bailed out Boyle on many throws. Yet, there were some throws that no one was capable of bailing out Boyle. With Exception t0 the first play from scrimmage and one other pass, Boyle didn't seem in sync with Josh Reynolds. ****
For a team that is without so many key pieces on both sides of the ball right now, including at quarterback, Detroit continues to play valiantly all the way to the end of a tough year that has been defined by major upheaval at all levels of the organization. The strong finish from a team that was left for dead weeks ago is offering hope the Lions could be on the right track under a new head coach who continues to squeeze the very most out of his nearly-unrecognizable roster.
**** I believe Lions are making major strides. But the Lions can't go into another season without a better option as the # 2 QB. The coaches clearly don't believe in David Blough. Tim Boyle is not an NFL caliber # 2 QB. ****
Let’s get to some observations:
-- Dan Campbell is now the most aggressive head coach in the history of the league on fourth down. He entered the weekend having gone for it 32 times, just three off the Eagles’ all-time record of 35. He matched that record with two more attempts in the final minutes against Atlanta. And he would have set the record had Jonah Jackson not jumped early on a fourth-and-1 late in the first half.
**** Other than the QB play, the False Starts (there were 6 or 7 by the Lions in a stadium that wasn't loud) were the most problematic aspect of this game. ****
But Campbell was undeterred. On fourth-and-6, he dialed up his third fake punt of the season, this time ordering punter Jack Fox to throw a pass to gunner KhaDarel Hodge on a comeback route up the right sideline. And Fox, a former high school quarterback, didn’t just fire a pass that was good for a punter. It was a good pass, you guys. Like, on-a-line-23-yards-up-the-sideline-good. And three plays later, Boyle connected with Amon-Ra St. Brown on a 20-yard touchdown pass that gave Detroit a 10-7 lead.
****Jack Fox looks like a better thrower than Tim Boyle.
Very gutsy call by Dan Campbell. Great execution by Fox and KhaDarel Hodge, who got close to 10 yards after the catch, breaking tackles.****
The fourth-down aggression hasn’t always worked this season -- that’ll happen with an offense as talent-deficient as this one -- but it’s now helped Detroit stay in several games, most notably in Los Angeles and again in Atlanta. And it makes me really curious to see what will happen when the Lions actually have the personnel in place to pull off some of Campbell’s most daring strategems.
**** If the Lions have that pleasant situation, it will be interesting to see if Dan Campbell believes it will be in the Lions best interest to be as aggressive on 4th Downs.****
-- So, we got to talk about the penalties. The Lions have cleaned up their act in recent weeks, but this game was definitely a step in the wrong direction. And I’m looking directly at the offense, and specifically the offensive line, which jumped early six times. Yes, six. That’s not a typo. That’s not an exaggeration. Six. Including two in a row after Detroit had first-and-10 from Atlanta’s 13-yard line late in the third quarter. Left tackle Taylor Decker jumped first, then blocking tight end Brock Wright followed his lead, backing Detroit into a second-and-18. With a backup quarterback trying to operate in the compressed areas of the red zone, that’s a drive-killer. Chris Spielman knew it, too. The former Lions great and current special advisor was shown on the Fox broadcast holding up five fingers in disgust after Wright’s penalty -- one for each false start to that point. And those two were particularly costly, forcing the Lions to settle for a field goal that tied up the game 13-all.
****Those two False Starts in particular, that forced the Lions to settle for a FG, were indeed very costly. ****
-- So, we also got to talk about Amon-Ra St. Brown. He caught another nine passes for 91 yards on Sunday, plus scored on that 20-yard catch-and-run in the first half, his third score in four weeks. He has 35 catches in the last month alone, and now has more of them on the season than every rookie wideout in the league except Jaylen Waddle, the No. 6 overall pick in the entire draft. St. Brown went two days after that -- and now he’s producing better than 15 of the 16 wideouts taken before him. Not bad. Last week, he broke Jahvid Best’s club record for catches by a rookie in a season. This week, he became the first Lions rookie ever to have 70 receiving yards in four straight games. This team is a mess at receiver, but St. Brown looks like he could go down as one of the best draft-day steals in the league.
**** On top of this, Amon-Ra St. Brown bailed out the inaccurate Tim Boyle and was also an asset as a blocker again. ****
-- Fullback Jason Cabinda returned to the locker room after suffering a knee injury in the first quarter. That’s a tough break for a guy who has really flourished this season. Cabinda originally signed with Detroit in 2019 as a hard-hitting linebacker before moving to scout-team defensive end and terrorizing the first-team offense, including former offensive tackle Rick Wagner. These days, he’s a fullback. And a damn good one at that. Talk to Dan Campbell sometime about this roster, and you won’t have to listen that hard or even that long to figure out Cabinda is one of his favorites for his big hits, tough blocks and all-out attitude. Cabinda has really come into his own on offense since Campbell took over the playcalling too, including scoring his first career touchdown just last week against Arizona, then catching two early passes on Sunday against Atlanta, the first time he’s ever touched the football twice in a game. But he injured his knee on that second catch, headed up the tunnel and was never seen again. Another tough blow for this banged-up team in the home stretch of the season.
**** Hopefully, the knee injury Jason Cabinda suffered doesn't require surgery. Cabinda's value on Offense and Special Teams is high.****
-- Tight end Shane Zylstra was carted off the field in the third quarter, leaving Detroit perilously thin at tight end. Pro Bowler T.J. Hockenson went on injured reserve a few weeks ago, while Darren Fells asked to be released, Josh Hill retired, Hunter Bryant was lost to a non-football injury and Charlie Thaumoepeau was seriously injured in a car accident. That’s a lot of attrition, which is why Detroit has been forced to turn to Brock Wright, who opened the season on the practice squad, and Zylstra, currently on the practice squad, in recent weeks. Then they lost Zylstra on Sunday, along with Cabinda -- the fullback who has played a lot of emergency tight end this season -- and didn’t even have extra swing tackle Matt Nelson because of COVID. Yikes.
**** The knee injury Shane Zylstra suffered looked like a major one that probably will result in surgery and a long rehab. I hope Zylstra makes a full recovery. ****
-- The injuries have hit harder at cornerback than anywhere else, where Amani Oruwariye just joined Jeff Okudah and Jerry Jacobs on injured reserve this past week. That’s Detroit’s projected No. 1 cornerback (Okudah), one of the best undrafted rookies in the league (Jacobs), then a guy who climbed to third in the league in interceptions during a breakout season (Oruwariye). Ouch. The results of these games don’t matter, but the development of young players does, and Detroit is being robbed of that opportunity at cornerback. With all those guys out, rookie cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu and veteran safety Will Harris were forced to start at cornerback, while midseason addition Mark Gilbert -- signed off Pittsburgh’s practice squad -- also rotated in
**** All things considering, the Lions CB play in this game was good enough for the Lions to win this game. The Defensive Coaches are doing a very good job, especially when considering the player losses to injury and with the COVID-19 situation.
-- The Lions did get healthier at running back, where Jamal Williams started in his return from a COVID infection that cost him two games. Williams was a workhorse once again, finishing with 77 yards on 19 carries. Craig Reynolds, the breakout star of the last two weeks, contributed 51 total yards on 14 touches off the bench.
**** Both RBs performed at a winning level.****
-- Rookie defensive tackle Alim McNeil is heating up, recording his second sack in three weeks. For a team that has been out of it for weeks now, seeing late-season surges from young fellas like McNeill, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Craig Reynolds is a really encouraging development that says a lot about this staff as teachers.
****Agreed. In addition to teaching, the coaches are helping get effort from the Lions players on a consist basis. ****
This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:
Lions at Falcons preview: Game # 15 ( 2021 )
detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/1294/lions-falcons-preview-game-2021
Instant observations: Late Tim Boyle interception dooms Detroit Lions’ valiant comeback in Atlanta
Instant observations: Late Tim Boyle interception dooms Detroit Lions’ valiant comeback in Atlanta
Updated: Dec. 26, 2021, 6:31 p.m. | Published: Dec. 26, 2021, 3:56 p.m.
By Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
ATLANTA -- Dan Campbell, now officially the most aggressive head coach on fourth down in the history of the NFL, went for it three more times against Atlanta. But facing a fourth-and-5 while on the doorstep of the end zone and trailing by seven points in the final minutes, the first-year boss opted to settle for a field goal and put the game in the hands of his defense.
**** It felt like a 50-50 situation whether the Lions should have gone for the 1st Down in the 4th and 5 from the Falcons 8 situation. With a significantly better QB who is much more accurate than Tim Boyle, going for the 1st Down would have very likely been the way I would have preferred to go. ****
They delivered once again -- seriously, how big has Aaron Glenn been? -- this time forcing a fumble in Atlanta territory near the 2-minute warning.
****Tremendous play, including the hustle aspect, by Jalen Reeves-Maybin! I thought JRM was the Lions best run Defender in this game. He also had another deflected pass on a blitz, after 3 vs. Arizona. Thankfully, Jamie Collins in essence quit on the Lions in Green Bay, back in Game # 2. That opened the door for JRM to get his best opportunity at LB since coming to the Lions in 2017. JRM should be a priority to re-sign. ****
But Tim Boyle, starting at quarterback for Jared Goff (COVID), threw a pick near Atlanta’s goal line in the final seconds to seal a heart-breaking 20-16 loss on Sunday against the Falcons. Detroit falls to 2-12-1 on the season, with games left in Seattle and back home against the Green Bay Packers in the finale.
**** Last week, I was pleasantly surprised at how inaccurate my prediction for the Cardinals game was. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for the Falcons game. It's not surprising in the least that the QB position was the difference in the Falcons winning the game. There's no justification of Tim Boyle being ahead of David Blough on the Lions Depth Chart at QB. Blough's lack of accuracy on a high % of throws are the number 1 issue with him as an NFL QB. His bad decision that resulted in a game sealing interception is something Boyle can learn from. But I doubt he will ever be even adequate regarding short end medium accuracy. There's no question the Lions need to move on from Boyle in the upcoming off-season. ****
The Lions still hold the No. 2 overall draft pick after the league-worst Jaguars (2-13) fell to the Jets in New York, and would lock in a top-two pick with a loss next week against the Seahawks. But if it wasn’t clear before, it certainly is now: The Lions aren’t going to play dead for anyone, draft position to damned.
**** A solid case can be made that losing to the Falcons benefits the Lions more than a win. And a solid case can be made that a Lions win would have benefited the Lions more. After Seattle blew another double-digit lead at home, this time to the reeling Bears, who were down to 3rd string QB Nick Foles as their starter, the Lions have a very realistic chance of winning in Seattle next week, if Jared Goff is back at QB (with a full week of practice). If the Packers wrap up the # 1 seed in the NFC next Sunday Night against the Vikings, Aaron Rodgers will almost certainly be kept of the regular season finale in Detroit. I want Rodgers playing in that game, as the Lions would benefit much more playing against Rodgers, win, lose, or tie, than if he doesn't play. The dilemma is that it might take a Dallas win over Arizona for the Packers NOT to wrap up the # 1 seed. ****
They won two of their last three games, then came within 9 yards of doing it again in Atlanta. Trailing 20-13 late in the fourth quarter, they went for it on fourth down twice in a row and matched the NFL record for fourth-down attempts in a season (35). But facing a fourth-and-5 inside the 10-yard line, Campbell elected to settle for the field goal instead and turn over the game to his defense.
It was a gamble, and a rare flare of conservatism from the first-year head coach, although it is easy to understand the decision as well as well. Not only were the Lions without their starting quarterback on offense, but their defense has been lights out in recent weeks. They were terrific again for most of Sunday as well, and Jalen Reeves-Maybin needed just three plays to deliver once again.
**** The Lions QB situation and the way the Lions Defense played the against the run both probably factored heavily in Dan Campbell's decision to settle for a short FG attempt. ****
The linebacker has experienced a career rebirth under the new staff, after the last one demoted him off the defense completely, and stripped out the football on a do-or-die third down. Safety Dean Marlowe pounced on the ball at Atlanta’s 37-yard line, giving Detroit new life with outstanding field position around the 2-minute warning.
**** Good hustle by Dean Marlowe as well. ****
Boyle marched Detroit all the way to Atlanta’s 9-yard line, where the Lions had a first-and-goal with 39 seconds left. Plenty of time for a few shots at the end zone. But after avoiding turning over the football all day, Boyle -- thinking he was looking at a man defense -- didn’t see linebacker Foyesade Oluokun lurking over the middle of the field in a zone. Oluokun intercepted the pass near the goal line, ending Detroit’s chances in the shadows of the end zone.
**** For a long time, I have been of the opinion that Foyesade Oluokun is one of the most underrated players in the NFL. The Falcons have many position units they need to upgrade. But there off the ball LBs. (Deion Jones is their other starter ) are amongst the best in the NFL. Mykal Walker impressed me in this game as well.
Getting back to the interception, very good plays by Oluokun. Yet, it clearly was a situation in which Tim Boyle should have thrown the ball well over Craig Reynolds' head, which would have resulted in an incomplete pass, and 2nd and Goal from the 9.****
The mistake spoiled an otherwise promising second start from Boyle. He threw for just 77 yards when an oblique injury sidelined Goff for the Cleveland game, and had the worst-rated afternoon by a Lions starting quarterback since 2009. But he was also just coming off a broken thumb that kept him from throwing for about 11 weeks. Tough conditions under which to make your first NFL start, and there was hope in Allen Park he would fare better this week after Goff was sidelined by a COVID infection.
Boyle delivered on that hope, completing his first six passes during a long, 7-minute drive to open the game. He later fit a 20-yard touchdown pass through a tight window to Amon-Ra St. Brown, which helped Detroit stay level at 10-all heading into halftime.
Boyle finished 24 of 34 passing for 187 yards, one touchdown and one pick overall -- not great, but not bad, and especially not bad considering he was without his top center and running back, then lost his fullback and every tight end not named Brock Wright in the game.
**** The Lions receivers bailed out Boyle on many throws. Yet, there were some throws that no one was capable of bailing out Boyle. With Exception t0 the first play from scrimmage and one other pass, Boyle didn't seem in sync with Josh Reynolds. ****
For a team that is without so many key pieces on both sides of the ball right now, including at quarterback, Detroit continues to play valiantly all the way to the end of a tough year that has been defined by major upheaval at all levels of the organization. The strong finish from a team that was left for dead weeks ago is offering hope the Lions could be on the right track under a new head coach who continues to squeeze the very most out of his nearly-unrecognizable roster.
**** I believe Lions are making major strides. But the Lions can't go into another season without a better option as the # 2 QB. The coaches clearly don't believe in David Blough. Tim Boyle is not an NFL caliber # 2 QB. ****
Let’s get to some observations:
-- Dan Campbell is now the most aggressive head coach in the history of the league on fourth down. He entered the weekend having gone for it 32 times, just three off the Eagles’ all-time record of 35. He matched that record with two more attempts in the final minutes against Atlanta. And he would have set the record had Jonah Jackson not jumped early on a fourth-and-1 late in the first half.
**** Other than the QB play, the False Starts (there were 6 or 7 by the Lions in a stadium that wasn't loud) were the most problematic aspect of this game. ****
But Campbell was undeterred. On fourth-and-6, he dialed up his third fake punt of the season, this time ordering punter Jack Fox to throw a pass to gunner KhaDarel Hodge on a comeback route up the right sideline. And Fox, a former high school quarterback, didn’t just fire a pass that was good for a punter. It was a good pass, you guys. Like, on-a-line-23-yards-up-the-sideline-good. And three plays later, Boyle connected with Amon-Ra St. Brown on a 20-yard touchdown pass that gave Detroit a 10-7 lead.
****Jack Fox looks like a better thrower than Tim Boyle.
Very gutsy call by Dan Campbell. Great execution by Fox and KhaDarel Hodge, who got close to 10 yards after the catch, breaking tackles.****
The fourth-down aggression hasn’t always worked this season -- that’ll happen with an offense as talent-deficient as this one -- but it’s now helped Detroit stay in several games, most notably in Los Angeles and again in Atlanta. And it makes me really curious to see what will happen when the Lions actually have the personnel in place to pull off some of Campbell’s most daring strategems.
**** If the Lions have that pleasant situation, it will be interesting to see if Dan Campbell believes it will be in the Lions best interest to be as aggressive on 4th Downs.****
-- So, we got to talk about the penalties. The Lions have cleaned up their act in recent weeks, but this game was definitely a step in the wrong direction. And I’m looking directly at the offense, and specifically the offensive line, which jumped early six times. Yes, six. That’s not a typo. That’s not an exaggeration. Six. Including two in a row after Detroit had first-and-10 from Atlanta’s 13-yard line late in the third quarter. Left tackle Taylor Decker jumped first, then blocking tight end Brock Wright followed his lead, backing Detroit into a second-and-18. With a backup quarterback trying to operate in the compressed areas of the red zone, that’s a drive-killer. Chris Spielman knew it, too. The former Lions great and current special advisor was shown on the Fox broadcast holding up five fingers in disgust after Wright’s penalty -- one for each false start to that point. And those two were particularly costly, forcing the Lions to settle for a field goal that tied up the game 13-all.
****Those two False Starts in particular, that forced the Lions to settle for a FG, were indeed very costly. ****
-- So, we also got to talk about Amon-Ra St. Brown. He caught another nine passes for 91 yards on Sunday, plus scored on that 20-yard catch-and-run in the first half, his third score in four weeks. He has 35 catches in the last month alone, and now has more of them on the season than every rookie wideout in the league except Jaylen Waddle, the No. 6 overall pick in the entire draft. St. Brown went two days after that -- and now he’s producing better than 15 of the 16 wideouts taken before him. Not bad. Last week, he broke Jahvid Best’s club record for catches by a rookie in a season. This week, he became the first Lions rookie ever to have 70 receiving yards in four straight games. This team is a mess at receiver, but St. Brown looks like he could go down as one of the best draft-day steals in the league.
**** On top of this, Amon-Ra St. Brown bailed out the inaccurate Tim Boyle and was also an asset as a blocker again. ****
-- Fullback Jason Cabinda returned to the locker room after suffering a knee injury in the first quarter. That’s a tough break for a guy who has really flourished this season. Cabinda originally signed with Detroit in 2019 as a hard-hitting linebacker before moving to scout-team defensive end and terrorizing the first-team offense, including former offensive tackle Rick Wagner. These days, he’s a fullback. And a damn good one at that. Talk to Dan Campbell sometime about this roster, and you won’t have to listen that hard or even that long to figure out Cabinda is one of his favorites for his big hits, tough blocks and all-out attitude. Cabinda has really come into his own on offense since Campbell took over the playcalling too, including scoring his first career touchdown just last week against Arizona, then catching two early passes on Sunday against Atlanta, the first time he’s ever touched the football twice in a game. But he injured his knee on that second catch, headed up the tunnel and was never seen again. Another tough blow for this banged-up team in the home stretch of the season.
**** Hopefully, the knee injury Jason Cabinda suffered doesn't require surgery. Cabinda's value on Offense and Special Teams is high.****
-- Tight end Shane Zylstra was carted off the field in the third quarter, leaving Detroit perilously thin at tight end. Pro Bowler T.J. Hockenson went on injured reserve a few weeks ago, while Darren Fells asked to be released, Josh Hill retired, Hunter Bryant was lost to a non-football injury and Charlie Thaumoepeau was seriously injured in a car accident. That’s a lot of attrition, which is why Detroit has been forced to turn to Brock Wright, who opened the season on the practice squad, and Zylstra, currently on the practice squad, in recent weeks. Then they lost Zylstra on Sunday, along with Cabinda -- the fullback who has played a lot of emergency tight end this season -- and didn’t even have extra swing tackle Matt Nelson because of COVID. Yikes.
**** The knee injury Shane Zylstra suffered looked like a major one that probably will result in surgery and a long rehab. I hope Zylstra makes a full recovery. ****
-- The injuries have hit harder at cornerback than anywhere else, where Amani Oruwariye just joined Jeff Okudah and Jerry Jacobs on injured reserve this past week. That’s Detroit’s projected No. 1 cornerback (Okudah), one of the best undrafted rookies in the league (Jacobs), then a guy who climbed to third in the league in interceptions during a breakout season (Oruwariye). Ouch. The results of these games don’t matter, but the development of young players does, and Detroit is being robbed of that opportunity at cornerback. With all those guys out, rookie cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu and veteran safety Will Harris were forced to start at cornerback, while midseason addition Mark Gilbert -- signed off Pittsburgh’s practice squad -- also rotated in
**** All things considering, the Lions CB play in this game was good enough for the Lions to win this game. The Defensive Coaches are doing a very good job, especially when considering the player losses to injury and with the COVID-19 situation.
-- The Lions did get healthier at running back, where Jamal Williams started in his return from a COVID infection that cost him two games. Williams was a workhorse once again, finishing with 77 yards on 19 carries. Craig Reynolds, the breakout star of the last two weeks, contributed 51 total yards on 14 touches off the bench.
**** Both RBs performed at a winning level.****
-- Rookie defensive tackle Alim McNeil is heating up, recording his second sack in three weeks. For a team that has been out of it for weeks now, seeing late-season surges from young fellas like McNeill, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Craig Reynolds is a really encouraging development that says a lot about this staff as teachers.
****Agreed. In addition to teaching, the coaches are helping get effort from the Lions players on a consist basis. ****
This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:
Lions at Falcons preview: Game # 15 ( 2021 )
detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/1294/lions-falcons-preview-game-2021