#8 Dallas Cowboys & Detroit Lions Game Day Tradition | Top 10 Thanksgiving Day Moments | NFL Films
Thursday Nov 24, 2016 9:30 AM PST
2016/11/24 09:30
While you wait for the turkey to finish cooking, its time for some football. First up today is the Minnesota Vikings versus the Detroit Lions. So discuss the game, explainwhy you hate football, telleveryone whats on your menu today, or talk about whatever else youd like because this is an open thread!
Detroit Lions @ Indianapolis Colts WK 1 2016 Lions Win 39-35 In A Shootout
Is new Lions general manager Bob Quinn showing quarterback Matthew Stafford the way to the Super Bowl? Lions fans certainly hope so.(Photo: Rick Osentoski, Associated Press)
Every week during the Lions season well do a Twitter mailbag. Use the social media site to send your questions to Lions beat writer Dave Birkett at @davebirkett.
Q. How do the number of roster transactions under BQ compare to Mayhew era? BQ seems to churn more which seems good @jeffreyharley
A. It may seem like Bob Quinn is turning over the Detroit Lions roster more than his predecessor, Martin Mayhew, but the fact is all general managers use the bottom of the roster as a taxi squad, shuffling players in and out of the organization based on injuries, practice needs and other factors.
Looking at an arbitrary three-month period from June 1 the heart of OTAs to the start of the regular season, Quinn has made a handful more moves this year than Mayhew did last year, but the numbers arent that different. Quinn has made 21 additions to the roster (including since-waived linebacker Dominique Tovell twice) through free agency, the waiver wire or by trade.
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Mayhew made 14 additions over the same period of time, but he made two more trades that didnt involve players coming back and he didnt have as many injury-related signings during training camp.
Regardless of the numbers, Quinn tried to stretch his 90-man preseason roster as much as possible, and thats the wise thing for an GM to do.
Q. 25.5 sacks between Ziggy and Devon ...over or under. @polkerman
A. Ill take the under on that one as 25.5 sacks is a huge number that just one set of teammates reached last year (the Houston Texans J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus).
Ziggy Ansah is a good bet for another double-digit sack season, though my crystal ball has him finishing with 12 sacks and missing out on Robert Porchers team record for the second straight year.
Devin Taylor is a different story. Hes not as dominant an edge rusher as Ansah and has just 10.5 sacks in his first three NFL seasons. Taylor strikes me as a solid six- or seven-sack left end. Thats a good season, but it wont put the Lions in the 25-sack range.
Q. do you think the Lions be over the U.K. again anytime? Nothing like seeing them live compared to a screen @DrJones1206
A. The way the NFLs International Series has evolved, you can count on just about every team playing overseas in the next five to seven years. Just from the basic math of it, there are four international games a year three in Europe and one in Mexico which means eight teams leave the country to play football every season.
The equitable way to handle the travel is to make each of the NFLs 32 teams play abroad every four years. Theres no need to force that issue now with teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams (while they await their new home) more receptive to playing overseas, but I see more not less international games in the future.
Already, the NFL is looking to expand the series and play games in China and maybe Germany, and theres been speculation that the league will expand to four, then six, then eight games in the U.K., essentially give fans there a seasons worth of home games.
I think thats probably a ways off maybe the NFL goes to a 17-game regular season with one international game per team in the next CBA but I dont doubt the Lions will be playing overseas again.
Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
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The starting quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers spoke with reporters prior to the team"s Week 16 road game against the Detroit Lions.
After converting on 2-of-14 third downs last week versus the Cincinnati Bengals, Blaine Gabbert discussed how the offense can improve moving forward. The signal-caller also touched on the play of Joe Staley, Trent Brown and Shaun Draughn.
What stood out to you in terms of the struggles on third down against the Bengals?
"Its what the defense is playing. They know what were trying to do on 3rd-and-15. Were trying to get to the sticks. So thats the coverage that theyre going to play. Theyre going to drop everybody right there at the marker and like I said, make you throw underneath so then they can rally and make a tackle.
So my job on 3rd-and-long is to find some type of completion. Whether it be past the sticks or underneath the sticks, just get the ball in our guys hands and let them make a play."
You don"t want to force anything and make a dramatic error?
"Yeah, its all predicated on what the defense does. Were not hitting check downs because we want to... Youve seen guys hit check downs that go for 25-yards. I love using the example when Joe Flacco hit Ray Rice, I think it was 4th-and-25 in the playoffs and he got 26 yards and they go on to win the Super Bowl. Our guys have the ability to do that. Its just my job to give them the football.
How well has Staley played at left tackle for you this season?
"Joes done a tremendous job. The consistency that he brings day in and day out, and the work ethic that he brings to the practice field is second-to-none. So when you have a guy leading like that on the offensive line, it shows the young guys how to approach daily work. Hes done a great job.
Our entire offensive line had a tough task last week and they played tremendous. Those guys fought their tails off and gave me plenty of time to do my job.
Do you think Brown could be a legitimate starter in the NFL?
"No question. He has all the physical attributes and being a young guy in the NFL, its kind of that maturation process that the young guys go through. Hes getting better on a daily basis and thats what you look for.
He came in and stepped right up and didnt miss a beat when he was in the game last week. Gave us a little juice up there and definitely think thats something he can build off moving forward.
How big of a loss would it be if Draughn can"t play versus the Lions?
"Yeah, Shauns done a tremendous job but like Ive always said, injuries are a part of the game. You never want them to happen to a friend and a teammate but at the same time, its the next man up mentality. So the running backs in that room are eager to step up and fill that void if he cant go, but I hope he heals quickly and we have him back out there."
ALLEN PARK -- Jason Jones blocked a fourth-quarter field goal that would have given the Minnesota Vikings a four-point lead.
And Joique Bell made sure it didn't go to waste.
The Detroit Lions tailback gained a modest 62 yards on the day, but half of them came on the subsequent series to help set up a 33-yard game-winning field goal from Matt Prater.
Bell isn't lighting the league on fire or anything -- his 726 rushing yards rank 17th -- but he continues to pick up tough yards in crunch time, and prove why he's the Lions' best tailback.
"(Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi) did a great job of sticking with the run," Bell said after the game. "We had a couple explosive runs in there, and we were able to go out there and capitalize on it.
"We went out there and got the job done."
The Lions' offensive line has struggled this season, but Bell continues to produce anyway. He's averaged at least 4.0 yards per carry in five of the past six weeks, and remained the Lions' preferred option at tailback even with the return of Reggie Bush the past two weeks.
It's because of his ability to shed tacklers, and fall forward even as he's going down.
He evaded the first tackler on at least eight of his 15 carries against Minnesota. A classic example was his first carry on that game-winning drive.
Bell took a handoff on the second play of the drive, and cut left when the hole wasn't there. He side-stepped a flying tackle attempt from Xavier Rhodes, then collided with safety Harrison Smith.
He continued to drive forward, pushing through Smith for 5 extra yards until a second defender, cornerback Antone Exum, finally pushed him out of bounds.
The result was a 15-yard gain that advanced Detroit near midfield.
"He can get the dirty runs for you," coach Jim Caldwell said. "His running style is one that he's a grinder. He's a tough runner, he's a gritty runner and he enjoys it down there.
"He enjoys the dirty work."
Caldwell noted Bell was averaging 4.6 yards per carry until he was called upon to drain the clock with three late runs, and also applauded his productivity through the air.
Bell took a flip from Matthew Stafford in the second quarter, spun out of a tackle and turned it into a 17-yard gain. He snagged a third-quarter screen with one hand and turned it into another 17-yard gain.
He finished with four catches for 41 yards overall. And that's not including a 29-yarder at the end of the first quarter that was wiped out by a holding call against Brandon Pettigrew.
"He was plugging it up between the tackles, making big runs for us, catching the ball out of the backfield for us, doing all sorts of stuff," Stafford said.
"We've asked him to do quite a bit, and he's shouldered the load."
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ALLEN PARK -- National Rugby League star, and aspiring NFL player, Jarryd Hayne is closing in on deal with the Detroit Lions, according to a Detroit Free Press report.
The Lions have been linked to Hayne since the 26 year old announced he was leaving rugby to pursuean NFL career in October. The team denied early reportsof interest, but recently attended a workout held for multiple NFLfranchisesin San Diego.
On Monday, Caldwell confirmed the Lions hosted Hayne for a visit last week.
"He was traveling around the country to take a look at different locations in this league and that was one of those visits," Caldwell said.
According to the Free Press report, Hayne is back in Detroit on Monday to take a physical, indicating the 6-foot-2, 225-pounder is on the verge of a contract with the Lions.
When asked about the team's interest in signing Hayne, Caldwell played it coy.
"We take a look at a lot of different people all the time," Caldwell said. "It's a constant sort of exploration for us. We're always trying to look to find ways to improve and we're looking at every option that's out there available to us."
It is unlikely the Lions, a 10-4 club one win away from clinching a spot in the postseason, will add the inexperienced Hayne to the active roster. He would more likely to added to the team's 10-man practice squad.
Hayne's projected position is running back. Detroit's Reggie Bush, a veteran tailback, visited with Hayne during a trip to Australia this summer. Bush offered advice about the NFL, and after watching a highlight tape declared Hayne could excel if given an opportunity.
"I think he'd do pretty well actually," Bush said. "Because he's quick, he's elusive, he's powerful, he's fast, he has great vision and those are all the things you need to play running back in the NFL."
This wouldn't be the first time the Lions have gone outside the box in their search for talent under general manager Martin Mayhew. The team brought in YouTube sensation Harvard Rugland to compete for the placekicking job during training camp last season, despite no previous football experience. Detroit also signed American rugby standout Carlin Isles to the practice squad last season
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