8 biggest takeaways from the Lions’ preseason game against the Dolphins, one battle is still unsolved, but two other batttles are
The Detroit Lions had a back-and-forth battle with the Miami Dolphins on Saturday The QB2 battle is completely over Kyle Allen balled out again, going 14-17 for 124 yards and two touchdowns. After most of training camp and three solid preseason performances from Allen, I found myself wondering what Hendon Hooker would have to do […]
The Detroit Lions had a back-and-forth battle with the Miami Dolphins on Saturday
The QB2 battle is completely over
Kyle Allen balled out again, going 14-17 for 124 yards and two touchdowns. After most of training camp and three solid preseason performances from Allen, I found myself wondering what Hendon Hooker would have to do in the second half of this game to at least get back into this thing. Going six-of-13 for 61 yards and an interception was not on the list of things that could have brought him back. At this point, it’s over. There’s no other way around it.
It’s not over in the sense that Hooker isn’t ready, and he needs one more season. It’s over in the sense that he has struggled to play the entire time he’s been in Detroit, and he turns 28 this year. The Lions can’t wait anymore.
Jackson Meeks might be that guy
I’ve been going back and forth all summer about who could be the Lions’ sixth receiver. At first it was Jackson Meeks, then it was Dominic Lovett, then for a minute it was Ronnie Bell, and now it’s Meeks again. Maybe my pre-camp guess was the right one all along.
Meeks had a big showing on Saturday with seven catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. Lovett and Bell struggled and didn’t put much good film out there. Meeks keeps showing up over and over again, and Allen seems to trust him.
Just call him Isaac First Down
This is what the Lions have been wanting from their WR3 all along. A guy who could be counted on to move the sticks and reset the downs basically every time he’s on the field. This is what Isaac TeSlaa does. He’s either catching a ball to convert a first down or scoring a touchdown off a beautiful contested catch. I look forward to seeing what he can do with the first team during the season. The blocking shows up, too.
Killer penalties
The theme of the game early was that the Lions would do something good, and then it would immediately get wiped out by a flag. Isaac Ukwu had a sack, and then Grant Stuard got called for a facemask. Craig Reynolds had a 32-yard carry, and then a holding call brought it back. These weren’t the only two instances. Little stuff like this is how you lose football games. Self-inflicted wounds. You have to hope this is just a preseason thing.
This was a beautifully drawn up play
Just wanted to highlight this fourth-down call from Morton. You can see Meeks and Zylstra look like they’re both going to slant inside, and then Meeks goes outside while Zylstra gets both DBs to bite on him, and Meeks leaks out and is wide open for the touchdown. If this is any indication of the kind of stuff you can expect from Morton, then you should feel good about his creativity and misdirection.
This edge rusher battle gets harder to predict every week
All summer long, we’ve been watching Nate Lynn, Keith Cooper Jr., and Ukwu battling it out for this final edge rusher spot in the rotation. Every week, it seems another guy pulls ahead. This weekend it was Ukwu. He had a big fourth-down sack on Zach Wilson that got the Lions the ball back to set up a two-minute drill touchdown to end the half. He also had that other sack earlier in the game. The one where it got called back for a facemask.
As for Cooper Jr., he had a nice tackle for a loss in the first quarter. Can’t say I remember anything else from him. Lynn had a nice tackle for a loss in the third quarter that set up a Dolphins punt.
UFL Battle
This is one I was really paying attention to on Saturday. The UFL running back battle between Jacob Saylors and Deon Jackson. The advantage goes to Saylors, who had some nice runs in this game. It helps that Dan Campbell gave him some nice props on Thursday, too.
“…I thought what Saylors did the other day was pretty headsy and he’s kind of a crafty back and there’s something to be said about that,” Campbell said. “Smart guy, understands ball, really got a crash course on what we were doing, and really didn’t have any MAs (missed assignments), which is pretty impressive. I’m always impressed with those guys that step right in the door and know what to do; that’s hard, and that tells you something. So, you want to get noticed, do that…”
Saylors ran for 39 yards and showed some good stuff on kick returns, too. Jackson had a nice 20 yards, but that was all.
Nearly is not getting it done
The Lions had four near turnovers in the first half of the game. Sione Vaki forced a fumble, and the Dolphins recovered. Stuard forced a fumble, and the Dolphins recovered it. Then, Allen George dropped what should have been a pick, and another interception was dropped later. It seems we hear Campbell talk about wanting to get turnovers every week. They’re just not really coming. They did get one off a muffed punt, but it was more a Dolphins mistake than the Lions making a play.
Detroit Lions News
There’s a secret war happening at Detroit Lions training camp
Training camp is heading towards its climax for the Detroit Lions. There’s just a bit more than a few weeks left and two preseason games. Most of the position battles that we were all paying attention to have reached their climax. It feels safe to say that Kyle Allen has won the QB2 job, and […]
