Detroit, MI
Detroit Lions coach Hank Fraley on what went wrong on key screen vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Get in Dan Campbell’s head in this Detroit Lions-themed corn maze
A corn maze tribute to Detroit Lions and head coach Dan Campbell is set to open at a local farm.
Hank Fraley blocked for enough screen passes in his playing career to know “there’s an art to it,” which is why as Detroit Lions offensive line coach now, he can empathize with the error veteran center Frank Ragnow made blocking on a late-game screen in Sunday’s 20-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“When you do a screen game, it’s all sorting on the run,” Fraley said Wednesday. “You have timing to get out there, you have all that and you have to lose your guy first, then you got to find who’s in pursuit. And unfortunately we just kind of went to the same guy and we didn’t peel up for the next guy. So that’s one play of many out there that we could have got the job done.”
The Lions had third-and-9 at the Tampa Bay 12-yard line when Jared Goff threw a screen to Jahmyr Gibbs with 1:08 to play that nearly went for the go-ahead touchdown.
Gibbs caught the ball in the left flat with three blockers and two defenders in front of him. He ran past a diving tackle by one defensive lineman, but was tackled from the inside by linebacker SirVocea Dennis when Ragnow and left guard Graham Glasgow both went to block the same man.
Had one of Ragnow or Glasgow pivoted to block Dennis, Gibbs likely would have reached the end zone as receiver Jameson Williams was blocking the free defender near the goal line.
DAVE BIRKETT’S FILM REVIEW: Why the Lions struggled in red zone in loss to Buccaneers
On screen plays, the first lineman out typically blocks the first defensive player, while the second lineman takes the next defender in his progression.
“You’re sorting things out on the run and sometimes you can put blinders on and not realize your buddy’s next to you,” Fraley said. “And so you would love to sort that out better. Say Graham’s doing the kick out and (Frank’s) climbing, so if he’s out in front, he’ll kick out, Graham’ll climb. So in screen game, there’s a lot of communication on the run and there’s no saying, it’s all sorted out.”
Gibbs gained 1 yard on the screen and the Lions failed to convert on fourth-and-8. Their defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing possession, but the Lions never advanced past the Buccaneers’ 26-yard line on their final possession.
Fraley said the Lions’ usually potent offense was disappointed in its red-zone performance last week, when it converted just one of seven trips inside the 20 into a touchdown. And he said Ragnow, a three-time Pro Bowler, “moved past” his rough day and is ready for this week’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.
“I know he would like to have a few plays back here and there,” Fraley said. “It was a heck of a matchup if you watch that whole game between two really good players (Ragnow and Bucs nose tackle Vita Vea). So as an offensive line, when you do have just one bad play you can ruin your whole day. So he’s back on track. It’s fine. He had a couple of hiccups here and there, but we’re good. We’ve kind of moved past it, he’s moved past it. You take that Sunday, you take it Monday, if it’s still lingering, get rid of it and be ready for this week. And that’s what I think we have.”
Dave Birkett is the author of the new book, “Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline.” Preorder it now from Reedy Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
What questions have Pistons answered this season?
Friend of the pod Laz Jackson walks through what the Detroit Pistons have proved of themselves this year.
CLEVELAND – In just five days, the Detroit Pistons faced the Cleveland Cavaliers twice.
They split the games to finish their season series against the Central Division rivals, but with a potential reunion looming in the second round of the NBA playoffs, the Pistons came away from both games unsatisfied.
On Friday, it was the Pistons needing overtime to overcome a Cavaliers team missing James Harden and Donovan Mitchell at Little Caesars Arena. On Tuesday, March 3, in Cleveland, however – with Harden back in the lineup – the Pistons struggled in the areas they usually thrive, for a 113-109 loss.
The Pistons’ first loss on the road since Jan. 29 didn’t feature their usual fire for much of the night.
“I’m frustrated with the effort level, the attention to detail that we played on that end of the floor,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “The times and opportunities where we did do the right thing, did get stops, we let people outwork us to come up with offensive rebounds. We can’t afford to not play at maximum effort. That’s been our superpower all year long and, tonight, I felt like there were times where we were outworked. If we’re outworked, this isn’t going to be the results that we want.”
The Pistons work at being the league’s most disruptive team via turnovers has given them a top-three defensive rating. They force turnovers on 17.2% of possessions – best in the NBA –and only trail the Houston Rockets in offensive rebounding percentage. They also lead the league in steals and blocks per game. Getting out in transition and capitalizing on second-chance opportunities has created an above-average offense despite struggles on 3-point shooting.
For three quarters against the Cavaliers, little of that materialized – as least until the Pistons grabbed seven steals in the final period (after just two in the first three). Overall, the Pistons were beat on the offensive glass (11-10), mustered just 10 fastbreak points (their lowest total since Jan. 27) and picked up 11 second-chance points (their least since Feb. 6).
It was, in all, a lackadaisical defensive performance, with the Pistons repeatedly losing shooters behind the arc as the Cavs knocked down 17 3-pointers – eight more than the Pistons.
“Obviously they’re a good team, but we haven’t been playing to our standard on that side of the ball,” Pistons wing Javonte Green said. “Coach talked about the effort we need to bring every game. We just need to play harder. We can’t get outworked on offensive rebounds and 50-50 balls, that’s our identity. I feel like we needed to pick up that slack.”
The Pistons also were hurt by a poor shooting performance by Cade Cunningham; he finished with 10 points and 14 assists but shot 4-for-16. Cleveland threw multiple defenders at him all night, and he obliged by passing the ball and setting up his teammates. It led to a big second half for Tobias Harris, who scored all 19 of his points in the last two quarters.
But it wasn’t enough.
“On the defensive end we just couldn’t put up a wall, couldn’t get a stand going,” Cunningham said. “Personally, I had a lot of bad closeouts; just off the ball, I didn’t feel sharp. Just gotta clean all that stuff up.”
With 22 games remaining, the Pistons are focused on cleaning up the margins so they’ll be ready for postseason play. These two games against the Cavaliers have given them a list of areas to clean up.
Friday, they needed an extra period to win after rallying from a late nine-point deficit despite losing Cunningham late after he fouled out with just under two minutes left in the fourth quarter. Jalen Duren and Daniss Jenkins stepped up in overtime after Duncan Robinson also fouled out.
Mostly, the Cavaliers have proven they can pounce during soft stretches on defense. Thursday brings another rematch with a contender, as the Pistons wrap up a three-game road trip against the San Antonio Spurs (another opponent from last week).
“We didn’t play our best basketball the other night,” Bickerstaff said of the Cavaliers’ game on Feb. 27. “Give our guys credit because we played 53 minutes and were able to pull it out in some adverse conditions. Cade fouls out, Duncan fouls out, our guys still figure out a way to get it done.
“We need to be better. We need to be better defensively, we need to impose ourselves on the game a little bit more than we did last game. I thought the last two quarters of the Orlando game [on Sunday] were the best quarters we’ve played defensively since New York [on Feb. 19]. I hope, and told our guys, that we can continue to build off that, because that’s where it always starts for us. You can tell the tone by how we are defensively and how we’re getting after it.”
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky and/or X @omarisankofa.
[ MUST WATCH: Make “The Pistons Pulse” your go-to Pistons podcast, listen available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) or watch live on YouTube. ]
Next up: Spurs
Matchup: Pistons (45-15) at San Antonio (44-17).
Tipoff: 8 p.m. Thursday, March 5; Frost Bank Center, San Antonio.
TV/radio: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).
Detroit, MI
Police search for suspect, accomplice after teen injured in shooting outside Detroit school gym
The Detroit Police Department is searching for a suspect and an accomplice in connection with a shooting last week that injured a teen outside a school gym.
The shooting happened in the 3400 block of St. Aubin, the same area where the Detroit Edison Public School Academy’s Early College of Excellence is located. Police say that at about 8:27 p.m. on Feb. 27, there was an altercation inside the gym that continued outside.
Police say the suspect allegedly fired multiple shots at the victim, striking him. The teen was taken to a hospital for treatment. His current condition is unknown.
Police say the accomplice who was with the suspect was also armed.
Anyone with information is asked to call DPD’s seventh precinct at 313-596-5740, Crime Stoppers at 800-Speak Up or DetroitRewards.tv.
Treatment will delay the Royal Oak-born actor’s plans to tour his new film ‘Ernie & Emma’ this summer.
Royal Oak-born movie star and cult hero Bruce Campbell announced on social media on Monday that he has been diagnosed cancer — a type that is “treatable” but not “curable,” he said.
“I apologize if that’s a shock — it was to me too,” the “Evil Dead” star, 67, wrote in a message posted to Instagram.
He went on to say “I’m not gonna go into any more detail,” and he didn’t. He said the public announcement had to do with scaling back appearances on his schedule, including tour dates behind his latest film, “Ernie & Emma.”
Campbell planned to show the movie June 5 at the Redford Theatre; as of Monday night, that date is still on the Redford schedule, but Campbell wrote in his note he plans to get “as well as I possibly can over the summer so that I can tour with my new movie ‘Ernie & Emma’ this fall.”
The movie is written, directed by and stars Campbell as a man who goes on a journey following the death of his wife. Campbell produced the movie alongside his wife, Ida Gearon, and filmed it in Oregon, where he now lives.
Campbell told The News in January he dedicated “Ernie & Emma” to his childhood moviemaking pals, including Scott Spiegel, who died of a heart attack in September 2025.
“It’s a callback to the carefree days of Super 8, where we could do whatever the f–k we wanted to do,” Campbell said of “Ernie & Emma.” “So I thought, ‘All the boys are responsible for this,’ so they’re all in there.”
Campbell got his start making movies around Metro Detroit with his childhood pal, Sam Raimi. Campbell starred in Raimi’s “Evil Dead” trilogy and has since appeared in most of Raimi’s films; Campbell makes a brief appearance in a photograph in the background of an early scene in Raimi’s latest, “Send Help.”
He’s also an author; Campbell’s autobiography “If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor” was published in 2001.
In his post on social media, Campbell thanked fans and said he was not out to elicit sympathy.
“Fear not, I am a tough old son-of-a-bitch and I have great support, so I expect to be around for a while,” he wrote.
agraham@detroitnews.com
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