Detroit Lions Mailbag: The recipe to beat the Baltimore Ravens
Man, do I love Detroit Lions fans. I asked for mailbag questions this week and I got a ton of them from the fanbase. I can't just choose a few here and there. We're going for a jumbo mailbag today! Let's waste no more time and jump right into it. This Ravens team is pretty […]
Man, do I love Detroit Lions fans. I asked for mailbag questions this week and I got a ton of them from the fanbase. I can't just choose a few here and there. We're going for a jumbo mailbag today! Let's waste no more time and jump right into it.
This Ravens team is pretty scary at first glance. They're 10th in offensive DVOA and second in defensive DVOA. They're able to score points and they're able to keep opponents from scoring points. That's what you look for in a good team.
A.J. is right. You need to keep Lamar Jackson contained within the pocket and make him beat you with his arm. The Ravens are 10th in total offensive yards this season. When you break that apart, you see that the Ravens are fourth in the NFL in rushing yards and 19th in passing yards. Lucky for the Lions, there's no team in the league that's better at stopping the run than them right now.
Can they stop a mobile quarterback? So far the Lions have allowed 388 total rushing yards this season. 76 of those yards have come from quarterbacks using their feet. They had allowed 166 by this time last year.
I had multiple questions like this. I think the only answer is everyone. This is a team in every sense of the word. They don't have a handful of superstars that are working together to will this happening, they're very deep and everyone is just playing their role ight now and playing it well. That's why it's really hard to see a drop off right now. This team has also constantly reminded itself every week that they can't lose this edge. I think they saw against Seattle what could happen if they do.
Yes, his pass rush grade is bad, but his run defense grade is one of the highest in the league right now at 82.7. That's why he's at where he's at right now. That and the fact that Alex Anzalone and Derrick Barnes are playing so well. Campbell might be the best run stopper on this team though. They'll need him to show up in that department on Sunday for sure. He also has a tackling grade of 86.1. The guy rarely misses. I think the pass rushing grade is bad because they rarely ever send him to get pressure. He's mostly there for the run.
I think they keep ramping that up as the weeks go on. Remember he wasn't even supposed to be here until this week. So he kind of shoved his way into the game plan ahead of schedule. I think you'll see a lot of him on Sunday and they'll just keep moving up form there.
Jahmyr Gibbs is on the right track according to Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell. My guess is that he returns on Wednesday and is a go for Sunday and beyond. Backing him up should be Craig Reynolds. It's the RB3 spot that has questions. The team just brought back Mohamed Ibrahim. They liked what they saw from him at camp. I wouldn't be shocked to see him get a shot in the coming weeks. I'd expect Devine Ozigbo again this Sunday though.
That would be a good spot for him with Herbert and Ekeler. I don't know if they move on from Staley though. He has repeatedly got this team to the playoffs and they've been a bad beat or two away from moving to the next round.
If I had to guess right now, I think the teams that are all in on him next year are the Bears, the Cardinals, maybe the Panthers again or possibly the Patriots if they ever decide to just break up with Belichick. The Bears are probably going to come after him hard. With potentially the top two draft picks, that's a hard gig to turn down.
Speaking of draft picks, it's weird to not be discussing them in depth every week at this point of the season. As it stands right now, the Lions have the 28th pick in next years draft. Florida State receiver Keon Coleman is my personal favorite right now, but the likelihood is that the Lions go defensive back and draft a guy like Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins.
I've been wondering about this all year. I came up with two things here. The first one is that the Lions are being smart and they don't want to show all their cards just yet. I mean I think they have two different offenses. The first half of the season and the then the second half. Just when everyone fids out the answers, they change the questions.
The other thing is that I think the Lions view each guy as a weapon that they can utilize in different ways as opposed to a weapon they drafted high or paid a lot of money and therefore they just have to give them a lot of targets. Everyone has a job to do and because there's no diva's in this room, they're able to do a bunch of different things.
Not currently, but I will take this time for a cheap plug. I host a historian NBA podcast with my co-host Keith Black Trudeau every week on Thursday wherever you get your podcasts at. I recommend listening to the episodes that we had Isaih Thomas and Grant Hill on for. This week we're covering Pistons legend and former Detroit Mayor Dave Bing.
Lions Power Ranking Roundup: Hello elite tier
The Lions are 5-1 and are tied for the best record in the NFL. Wow! that's a real thing that I got to type just there. It had to feel pretty good to read it. It felt pretty good to type it. I just have one question. Is the the sports world ready to put […]
