Detroit, MI

Detroit Lions defense, ‘built off so much adversity’, embrace chase of everyday perfection

Published

1 month ago

November 27, 2024

Press Room

Detroit Lions defense, ‘built off so much adversity’, embrace chase of everyday perfection

There is a palpable swagger among the Detroit Lions defenders entering the final stretch of the season.

After being an Achilles heel at times over the last three seasons, Detroit’s defense has become not only a plus to pair with the best offense in the NFL but also a group that has been historically good in its own right.

The Lions defense has now played 10 straight quarters without giving up a touchdown to an opposing offense for the first time since 1983, including three straight second-half shutouts for the first time since 1980 after promptly handling Anthony Richardson and the Colts, 24-6 on Sunday.

“I don’t feel like it’s (improved) confidence, I just feel like it is our identity,” safety Kerby Joseph told the Free Press last week. “Every single week, we go out and show who we are.”

After 11 games, the Lions have the second-best scoring defense in the NFL at 16.6 points allowed per game, the second-best red-zone efficiency (60% of opponent’s red zone drives end in no points or a field goal) and have generated 19 turnovers, sixth-best in the NFL. Over the last five games, the defense has held teams to 12.6 points per game with eight turnovers forced despite losing four projected starters in the front seven (Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, Derrick Barnes, Alex Anzalone) for extended periods because of serious injuries.

“We talked about this in training camp — it is going to take every single one of us to win a game,” Joseph said. “Injuries happen in this game, people are going to go down, that’s what football is. But this team is built off adversity.

“That’s one of the things I love most about this team, how we handle it. We built off so much adversity the past years, now we understand when guys go down, it’s the next man up.”

The Lions heavily invested in that side of the ball in the offseason after coming up a game short of the Super Bowl in 2023, and the fruits of that effort have come to bear through 11 games. The investment paired with substantial gains made by young contributors on all three levels has elevated the group to improve despite the losses of what were expected to be key contributors during training camp.

Young players like Joseph, fellow safety Brian Branch, linebacker Jack Campbell and defensive tackle Alim McNeill have all taken a step forward with their games with another year in Glenn’s system. And the additions like defensive tackle D.J. Reader and nickel cornerback Amik Robertson have allowed the young players to move around the field and turn into better playmakers, which is also a credit to the coordinator for putting guys in the right spots.

“He tells us all the time, he calls the plays but the play is only going to work because of the players,” Robertson told the Free Press. “He got those guys and he knows what guy he needs in this spot or this spot to make all of this work. And we just got the pieces and we play as a whole.”

Dan Campbell said Monday the improvements are the evidence of the players’ work and Glenn’s efforts in putting everything in order.

“He puts in the work and he’s creative,” Dan Campbell said. “He does a good job of understanding what our players do well and putting them in positions to have success and where we feel like we can have the biggest advantage on our opponent.”

Playing for each other

Amon-Ra St. Brown said last week this is the best secondary he has been around in his four years in the NFL, in part because of how close the group is and how they push each other daily.

“They don’t blink every week,” St. Brown said. “They play for each other. I think they’re tighter. For me, I’ve been here four years, the defense looks tighter than they ever have before, just friendship-wise being together.”

The secondary, one of the groups overhauled with the addition of two rookie cornerbacks, a free agent cornerback and trading for a cornerback, challenge each other every day in practice and games for better performances. One of the ways they push each other is by getting together on Thursdays of a game week to watch film and that week’s Thursday Night Football game.

“Like on Thursdays, when they’re at one person’s place and they’re watching tape, man, as a coach, you can’t ask for anything more than that,” Glenn said. “You give them the concept, ‘Here’s what we’re trying to do.’

“You make sure they understand the vision of where you’re trying to go, and then you let those guys run with it and then they start to ask questions on how we’re going to do things, and I think it’s a beautiful thing.”

The challenges, such as Branch telling Joseph he wouldn’t let a receiver catch a pass during practice, are ways for players to push the overall standard on defense higher to get more out of their teammates.

“Most of the time, we are challenging ourselves,” Joseph said. “I should want it more than he should. You should want it more for yourself more than I want it for you.

“We keep the accountability in the room. If you know you are not going 110%, you know you will stand out on film and we will call you out because that’s not how we play defense.”The approach has led to improved play from the entire secondary. Despite sitting in the bottom third in passing yards allowed, Detroit has caused havoc with 14 interceptions and has been able to clamp down in the red zone. Joseph leads the NFL with seven interceptions, Branch has created five turnovers himself and Arnold and Davis lead the NFL in man coverage snaps.

And the striving for self-improvement extends to all levels of defense, according to Jack Campbell.

“At the end of the day as a defense, we are all grown men,” Jack Campbell said. “Each individual has a choice to make. If they want to come in here and half-ass things, it’s their choice. But I feel like we have a great group of guys coming in here always wanting to improve and get better. … It starts with Dan and Brad finding the right guys to fit the culture and their vision. Usually, when you get the right guys, you don’t have to teach them all that stuff.”

Peaking late

The Lions’ defense wants to age like wine as the long NFL season progresses by marginally improving by the day. The goal, Glenn said, is to find their highest level entering the final stretch.

“Going into the end of November, going into December, man, we want to be at peak performance when it comes to how we play, so we’re trying to pair our run defense and our pass defense together and make sure we’re doing a good job of that,” Glenn said.

It’s hard to improve on what the defense did the last three games, but Robertson believes they have the margin to elevate their play.

“Working on the little things, man,” Robertson said. “The details, being able to play fast. But, I gotta say, it’s a lot of things that go into being a great defense.

“It’s about perfection and no one knows how perfection looks. That’s why, as a defense, we try to chase that each and every day.”

Jared Ramsey is a sports reporter for the Detroit Free Press. Follow Jared on X @jared_ramsey22, and email him at jramsey@freepress.com.

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Detroit, MI

When do the Detroit Lions play today? NFL Week 17 game schedule

Published

5 hours ago

December 29, 2024

Press Room

When do the Detroit Lions play today?

Short answer: they don’t!

Welcome to Week 17 of the 2024 NFL season, which began Wednesday this week with two Christmas Day games between the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers and then continued with an afternoon matchup of the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans. T

This is the most sprawled out week of NFL action perhaps ever, with games on Wednesday (Ravens vs. Texans, Chiefs vs. Steelers), Thursday (Bears vs. Seahawks), Saturday (Chargers vs. Patriots, Broncos vs. Bengals, Cardinals vs. Rams), Sunday and last but not least, Monday.

The Lions do not play on Sunday, playing in the last game of the week on the road against the San Francisco 49ers in a rematch of last year’s NFC championship.

Here’s a quick look at the Lions in Week 17.

Do the Lions play today?

No. The Lions do not play on Sunday, but will be in action on Monday for Monday Night Football on ABC & ESPN against the 49ers. Before the season, a lot of people circled their calendars for the Week 17 NFC championship rematch between the Lions and 49ers as one of the games of the year. While the stakes remain high, it certainly won’t be one of the biggest games of the year anymore. Pretty much everything that could go wrong for the 49ers this year has, and Kyle Shanahan’s team has already been eliminated from the playoffs but will be trying to play spoiler. The Lions have already locked up their spot in the postseason, but depending on what the Vikings do in their matchup with the Packers, the Lions could potentially lock up the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a win.

Watch Lions-49ers on ESPN+

The Lions played on Monday Night Football earlier this year, beating the Seattle Seahawks, 42-29, in a shootout at Ford Field. The Lions are 7-8 on Mondays since 1999 and 2-1 under Dan Campbell.

The extra day of rest this week will be given back heading into Week 18, as the Lions prepare for a potentially huge game in the final week of the season against the Vikings.

Week 17 schedule NFL

Follow live NFL Week 17 scores at https://sportsdata.usatoday.com.

Matchup	Day	Time	Channel
Kansas City Chiefs 29, Pittsburgh Steelers 10 (Box score)	Wed	1 p.m.	Netflix
Baltimore Ravens 31, Houston Texans 2 (Box score)	Wed	4:30 p.m.	Netflix
Seattle Seahawks 6, Chicago Bears 3 (Box score)	Thu	8:15 p.m.	Amazon
Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots (Box score)	Sat	1 p.m.	NFLN
Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals (Box score)	Sat	4:30 p.m.	NFLN
Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams (Box score)	Sat	8:10 p.m.	NFLN
New York Jets at Buffalo Bills (Box score)	Sun	1 p.m.	CBS
Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars (Box score)	Sun	1 p.m.	CBS
Las Vegas Raiders at New Orleans Saints (Box score)	Sun	1 p.m.	Fox
Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Box score)	Sun	1 p.m.	CBS
Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles (Box score)	Sun	1 p.m.	Fox
Indianapolis Colts at New York Giants (Box score)	Sun	1 p.m.	Fox
Miami Dolphins at Cleveland Browns (Box score)	Sun	1 p.m.	CBS
Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings (Box score)	Sun	4:25 p.m.	Fox
Atlanta Falcons at Washington Commanders (Box score)	Sun	8:20 p.m.	NBC
Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers (Box score)	Mon	8:15 p.m.	ESPN/ABC

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Detroit, MI

NFL less understanding of Jameson Williams than his Detroit Lions coach

Published

13 hours ago

December 28, 2024

Press Room

NFL less understanding of Jameson Williams than his Detroit Lions coach

Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams got a 15-yard penalty for taunting Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson for the second time this season on Sunday. The former Alabama All-American got the first during the Lions’ 23-20 victory over the Bears on Nov. 28, then picked up another in a 34-17 win on Sunday.

“He was great,” Detroit coach Dan Campbell said about his sideline talk with Williams after Sunday’s penalty. “Came over and it’s just, ‘Look, you can’t give them a free ride.’ He knew. It’s just, ‘Get it out of the way and get back on the field.’ And he was good.

“That’s what I love about him. He doesn’t get bent out of shape. He just said, ‘I got it.’ And he goes back in and it doesn’t affect the way he played the rest of the game. He was great. I love where he’s at right now. I really do.”

The NFL was not as understanding. Williams was fined $11,255 for the infraction, the league announced on Saturday. The NFL did not fine Williams for his taunting penalty on Nov. 28.

JAMESON WILLIAMS SCORES LONG-DISTANCE TOUCHDOWN AGAINST CHICAGO BEARS

Williams wasn’t the only former Alabama standout fined by the NFL for taunting during a Week 16 game. Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey, a former Hoover High School star, also was fined $11,255 for taunting. Humphrey was not penalized during the game for the transgression, but the NFL still imposed the fine after the cornerback held out the football behind him toward his pursuers as he returned an interception for a touchdown in a 34-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday.

MARLON HUMPHREY SCORES MILESTONE NFL TOUCHDOWN FOR ALABAMA

Two other players from Alabama high schools and colleges were among the 22 fined by the NFL for Week 16.

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (Alabama) got an $11,255 penalty for a face-mask penalty.

Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Colby Wooden (Auburn) got a $6,150 fine for an unnecessary-roughness penalty.

The NFL uses a collectively bargained schedule of fines to determine the amount of monetary punishment. The NFL’s Schedule of Fines also comes with a list of aggravating and mitigating factors that can affect the size of a fine.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.

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Detroit, MI

Four Detroit Tigers Prospects Most Likely to Earn a Call-Up in 2025

Published

21 hours ago

December 28, 2024

Press Room

Four Detroit Tigers Prospects Most Likely to Earn a Call-Up in 2025

The Detroit Tigers saw an influx of young players push the team into a surprise postseason push. Next year could have even more prospects make their debut,

So far this offseason, the Tigers finally made a signing to address the offense in Gleyber Torres and have added Alex Cobb to the pitching staff.

Signing Alex Bregman is the last major move left to make before season that Detroit is projected to be involved in. After that, it looks like it will be on the farm system to provide any additional upgrades.

Luckily, there are a couple of top prospects that look near ready to make their debuts.

Lee is the highest-rated prospect on this list, as all of his peers above him in the farm are either already in MLB or are further away.

He spent all of 2024 in Double-A and posted a .298/.363/.488 slash line with 12 home runs and 16 RBI in 87 games. There could be a path to playing time for him at shortstop given how poor they have played there in the past. He could also just be a utility infielder at the next level.

Melton mostly lives on his mid-90s fastball. He had a breakout 2023 that saw him post a 2.74 ERA. That number ballooned to 5.10 last year.

He has great control of his pitchers, rarely walking batters, but still needs to generate more misses. He could be a call up to help out in the backend of the rotation at some point, where he can eat some innings if need be.

Bigbie was a 19th-round selection in the 2021 draft and spent all of last year at the Triple-A level.

Like Melton, he had a great 2023 but struggled in 2024. Two seasons ago, Bigbie posted .343/.405/.537 slash line with 19 home runs. Last year, though, his OPS dropped to just .667.

If he can find his swing again, he could become a corner or depth outfielder. His glove isn’t good enough to carry him alone.

Silva was acquired at the last trade deadline in a deal that sent Mark Canha to the San Francisco Giants.

He looks more like a bullpen guy than anything, making his money with breaking balls. He pitches well against both righties and lefties and is coming off of a month that saw batters post just a .120/.185/.120 slash line against him.

The 22-year-old won’t start the year in the Majors, but is a prime mid-season call-up candidate if he can find a bit of consistency.

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