Lions Film Study: The hidden plays that could decide Detroit’s final roster spots
Tay Martin, Trevor Nowaske, Troy Reeder, Jackson Meeks and Erick Hunter all made the kind of special-teams plays that can quietly win a job at cutdown time.
It’s really easy to watch Detroit Lions football, or really any other team, during training camp and the preseason and get locked into simply what happens on offense and defense.
You see a guy make a catch on offense in the fourth quarter, and you think, “that’s going to give him a shot to make the 53.” Then you watch that same guy not make the final roster, and some guy who seemingly didn’t have any catches or big plays on offense make. That’s because when you get down to the fourth, fifth, or sixth guy in that room, it doesn’t matter what he does on offense or defense. It matters what he does on special teams.
So I wanted to put together a Lions Film study of the guys that don’t seem to show up a ton at their natural position, but show up a ton on special teams. They could very well make this roster because of it.
Tay Martin draws a penalty the Dan Campbell way
Lions head coach Dan Campbell talked about how wide receiver Tay Martin was able to create a penalty on special teams, and you could see it on the film. The guy going up against Martin wrapped his arms around his waist, and Martin went slightly James Harden, Jalen Brunson with it, rolling out of the contact and catching the official’s eye. It worked. This is the kind of thing that helps special teams guys make the roster. It’s a play. It’s not a big catch, it’s not the kind of play you’re used to seeing a receiver make, but it’s a play. For a guy on the bubble, that matters.
Trevor Nowaske is flying to the ball
I’ve been kind of on the fence with Trevor Nowaske, but look at him fly. He’s the first man there on punt coverage. It wound up being a fair catch, so no tackle was made, but that’s good for a couple of reasons. One, it’s a fair catch. Washington has to start where the catch is made with zero return. Two, if you get into a game situation where a punt returner thinks he can make something happen, there’s a pretty good chance Nowaske just hits him, just blows him up. Those are the moments where you get fumbles on punt returns. That kind of speed to the ball is exactly what you want.
Troy Reeder shows up just like Dave Fipp said he would
Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said earlier this week that linebacker Troy Reeder, No. 51, has been showing up. The film backed that up. Reeder got past his guy and was flying downfield. He’s not the fastest guy in the world, but he made a shoestring tackle that set the Commanders up in the shadow of their own end zone. On top of that, Washington committed a block in the back penalty, pushing them even deeper. That is good special teams play. It’s the type of thing that can get you a spot on this roster. It’s not all about what you do on defense and offense. When you can make a play like that and then stack a penalty on top of it, it kills the opposing team’s ensuing drive because now they have to start in no man’s land.
Jackson Meeks and Erick Hunter stack plays and force a fumble
Two guys who showed up repeatedly on special teams film were No. 13, Jackson Meeks, and No. 48, Erick Hunter. On one play, Meeks just pushed his man back like he was nothing and set the tackle. That’s the kind of thing that gets Meeks a spot on this roster. We’ve been talking about how he’s gotten so much bigger, how he’s put some strength on, and how he needs to get better at blocking. You see a rep like that and it makes you think this kid might be able to start blocking here pretty soon. Then look at Hunter, just to the left of Meeks. He went around his man, participated in the tackle, and it wound up being basically no return. Washington got called for illegal formation and lost another 5 yards. Stacking plays, stacking penalties. That’s what you want.
The last clip told the whole story. Meeks came down, beat his man, and forced the fumble. Huge play. Hunter picked it up. This was what ended the game. Washington, if they had kept possession, might have been able to go down and tie it up. Instead, Meeks made a play, Detroit got a first down, kneeled it a couple of times, and that was game. It wasn’t the classic hit-him-so-hard-the-ball-came-out fumble. Meeks jarred the returner just right to where he ran into his own player and the ball spat out. That’s all that matters. That’s a forced fumble, and it was beautiful.
The Lions have tough decisions coming at the end of the preseason, but players like Martin, Nowaske, Reeder, Meeks, and Hunter are doing everything they can to make those decisions easier. Special teams plays are what coaches remember when the roster gets trimmed to 53.
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