Official 2023-2024 Detroit Lions Thread.

[Piff Perkins]

Sounds like most of the Detroit media weren't able to get to NY for the joint practice after delayed/cancelled flights but everything I'm reading says Jamo torched the Giants defense all day. At least two touchdowns in 11 on 11s.

 

[valet]

Can't get a break at CB. Smh

 

[Piff Perkins]

Can't get a break at CB. Smh

If they put him on IR right now he has to miss the entire season. If they wait and put him on IR after making the final roster, he can return later in the year. Which may be the best option. CJGJ had the same injury early last season and came back for the playoffs.

Terrion Arnold may have had a concussion yesterday too. Campbell will confirm or deny it later this morning. Wild how even when we think depth is built well, there's always gonna be bullshyt that happens. I don't give a shyt about Super Bowl talk in July/August, just get me to September with a team as healthy as humanly possible.

 

[Piff Perkins]

Whew we're good to go. Zeitler had a shoulder injury yesterday against the Giants but is good.

 

[djthegreat88]

Kinda concerning if Hooker can’t beat out Sudfield for backup QB spot

 

[Regular_P]

Kinda concerning if Hooker can’t beat out Sudfield for backup QB spot

That is a major red flag.

 

[dh86]

Okay enough Sudfeld

 

[dh86]

Kinda concerning if Hooker can’t beat out Sudfield for backup QB spot

If Hooker can’t beat him out, Holmes MUST send a pick for a real backup qb

 

[valet]

 

[Piff Perkins]

Hooker looked infinitely better than Sudfield despite playing behind a shakier o-line. Quick decisions, some good accurate throws, and ran well although I thought he took too much contact. That concussion probably means he won't play in next week's preseason game and he needs all the reps he can get.

Guys that stood out to me...I thought Rakestraw played well and got a lot of reps. Arnold looked good. Didn't see anything thrown his way but he was pressing and always in good position, there was nowhere to throw on him. Brodric Martin had about 4 plays that looked great, including collapsing the pocket, getting a QB hit and causing a sack. He used a swim move multiple times and got past the o-line. James Houston set a couple edges nicely and got at least 1-2 pressures on the QB.

On offense...Sione Vaki looks really good. Def the best RB on the field tonight. Isiah Williams looked like the best WR out there for us.

 

[Piff Perkins]

Some all 23 footage...

 

[Adebisi_Said]

 

[Piff Perkins]

Detroit Lions planning to scale back James Houston’s work at linebacker​

Lions coach Dan Campbell indicated that James Houston will be transitioning to a more standard defensive end position.

One unheralded Detroit Lions training camp battle has been the backup SAM linebacker position. While Derrick Barnes seems to have the starting position locked down, Detroit has been searching for a trustworthy reserve player to back up the difficult role. At the start of camp, the competition seemed to be between third-year edge defender James Houston and CFL star Mathieu Betts. However, last week, coach Dan Campbell noted that they were scaling back Betts’ work at SAM, and now it seems like they’re doing the same with Houston.

“Houston’s been hurt, we’re going to try to get him back to more defensive end, and let him play that true position to where that’s what he’s in,” Campbell said on Monday. “He’s setting the edge or he’s rushing the passer.”

The SAM linebacker position requires an extremely versatile skillset. A player needs the pass rushing skills of an NFL defensive end, but the athleticism and savviness to drop into coverage like an off-ball linebacker. Barnes is the perfect mix of the two, using his college experience as a defensive end to complement his developing skills as an off-ball linebacker for the past three seasons with the Lions.

Houston has shown he can be a lethal pass rusher. He was an absolute game-changer in that role at Jackson State, and had 8.0 sacks in just seven game appearances in his rookie season with the Lions. But the linebacker role has been elusive to Houston. He struggled to crack the starting lineup when the Florida Gators wanted to play him off the ball, and over the past two years in Detroit, Houston has struggled to develop that aspect of his game.

Detroit Lions planning to scale back James Houston’s work at linebacker

Lions coach Dan Campbell indicated that James Houston will be transitioning to a more standard defensive end position.

www.prideofdetroit.com

I like this coaching staff a lot but if there's one thing that pisses me off it's the obsession with versatility. Sometimes you gotta just let a guy be who he is and ball out, VS forcing him to do shyt he literally cannot do. Houston displayed borderline elite pass rush ability as a rookie. Instead of developing that last season, the Lions forced him into a linebacker position and then he got hurt within a couple games of the season starting. This offseason they wasted damn near all training camp forcing him into SAM linebacker again, only to finally give up weeks before the season starts. I don't get it.

This team has so many guys on the roster who are subpar on defense but play special teams, yet we can't let one guy be a (potentially elite) one trick pony? I felt the same way about Patricia, I feel the same about Campbell....it's like these guys don't give a shyt about pressuring the QB. Caldwell was similar too. Our defense can't just be Hutch playing 99% of snaps getting double teamed because we're not properly rushing from the other side. If Davenport can stay healthy I think things will be fine, and Houston will help too. But man...it's weird as fukk we can't just let a pass rusher be a pass rusher. Even the Canadian guy we signed, Mathieu Betts....why the fukk do you sign the best pass rusher in Canadian football and try to make him a SAM linebacker? What is wrong with these coaches man.

 

[IrateMastermind]

Detroit Lions planning to scale back James Houston’s work at linebacker​

Lions coach Dan Campbell indicated that James Houston will be transitioning to a more standard defensive end position.

Detroit Lions planning to scale back James Houston’s work at linebacker

Lions coach Dan Campbell indicated that James Houston will be transitioning to a more standard defensive end position.

www.prideofdetroit.com

I like this coaching staff a lot but if there's one thing that pisses me off it's the obsession with versatility. Sometimes you gotta just let a guy be who he is and ball out, VS forcing him to do shyt he literally cannot do. Houston displayed borderline elite pass rush ability as a rookie. Instead of developing that last season, the Lions forced him into a linebacker position and then he got hurt within a couple games of the season starting. This offseason they wasted damn near all training camp forcing him into SAM linebacker again, only to finally give up weeks before the season starts. I don't get it.

This team has so many guys on the roster who are subpar on defense but play special teams, yet we can't let one guy be a (potentially elite) one trick pony? I felt the same way about Patricia, I feel the same about Campbell....it's like these guys don't give a shyt about pressuring the QB. Caldwell was similar too. Our defense can't just be Hutch playing 99% of snaps getting double teamed because we're not properly rushing from the other side. If Davenport can stay healthy I think things will be fine, and Houston will help too. But man...it's weird as fukk we can't just let a pass rusher be a pass rusher. Even the Canadian guy we signed, Mathieu Betts....why the fukk do you sign the best pass rusher in Canadian football and try to make him a SAM linebacker? What is wrong with these coaches man.

Spin: what’s the harm in trying to improve a player. They saw something in him and it didn’t work out. Unlike other regimes, they recognized he is what he is and will utilize him in the way he’s best suited. Other regimes would cut bait at this point.

This staff should get credit for admitting a mistake and moving on from it.

FYI: I get your point but I don’t see anything wrong with player improvement.

 

[Piff Perkins]

Spin: what’s the harm in trying to improve a player. They saw something in him and it didn’t work out. Unlike other regimes, they recognized he is what he is and will utilize him in the way he’s best suited. Other regimes would cut bait at this point.

This staff should get credit for admitting a mistake and moving on from it.

FYI: I get your point but I don’t see anything wrong with player improvement.

That's a fair point but at the same time a lot of of versatility boils down to traits and past experience. Iffy got moved from CB to safety because had better safety traits than CB traits, and it worked. Branch was a borderline elite nickel CB last year but will play safety which year, which he also played in college at a high level. Houston was bad at Florida as an LB, transferred to Jackson St and Deion Sanders told him the only way you're going to the NFL is as a pass rusher...so that's what he did. He doesn't have the body for SAM linebacker. I get trying to train him but they spent way too much time on it IMO, across two seasons, while seemingly having him in the dog house.

It reminds me of when we drafted Kyle Van Noy and Caldwell kept trying to make him a coverage linebacker instead of letting him do what he did best: rush the passer. Then he went to NE and Baltimore and balled out.