The Lions Report

[firedup24]

We are excited to introduce "The Lions Report", a new weekly series that will have news, exclusive interviews, stats and anything else PX1 VIP Lions. We do not work for the Lions so we will give you honest, unbiased news from a fan's point of view.

The Lions finished the preseason 4-0 but let's be honest, this was mostly just backups vs backups with teams trying different things and evaluating their talent for the upcoming season. For the Lions, the only position battle this preseason was for the quarterback spot between veteran Jimmy Garropollo and rookie Josh Rosen. In surprising news, The Lions recently announced that Rosen will be the week 1 starter. This news is surprising to us mostly because of what we watched on the field this preseason. Rosen was inaccurate at times and oftentimes forced the ball which led to six interceptions in the 12 quarters he played in. With that being said, we also have to remember that he has never been on the field with the likes of Hurns, Tate and Ebron to name a few. Going into the preseason, we all thought of Rosen as the long-shot underdog which is a role Josh has become very accustomed to lately. Heading into the draft, all the talk was around names like Jackson and Trubisky with Rosen kinda the forgotten man. When asked about this, Rosen said "rankings and draft position don't mean anything at this point, I have to work hard, learn the offense and do whatever I can to help my team win. I am just honored to get this opportunity and can't wait to get on the field again". We asked Coach Caldwell how they came to the decision to go with Rosen this soon in his career. "We like how Josh has handled himself on the field. He is doing a good job with the playbook and is a natural leader. He gets to practice early, leaves late and watches film constantly. It was a close battle but we just feel that Josh is our guy moving forward". We here at The Lions Report are excited to see how Rosen does but we would be lying if we didn't admit that we are a little nervous to say the least.

 

[firedup24]

And just like that, week one of the PX1 VIP Season 14 is over for the Lions and for the 3rd time in a row, they came out on the losing end vs the Vikings 35-21. The Vikings were in complete control throughout while playing mistake free football just as we would expect last year's North division champs to do. We were not even really surprised by Rosen struggling at times in his first NFL start vs one of the league's better defenses. It was definitely a tough first start for Rosen and while the struggles were glaring at times, he also oftentimes showed signs of his great potential. He finished the game 23 of 36 for 339 yds with 1 TD and 3 INTs. The Lions don't want to see him have to throw the ball 36 times every game but with the offensive line being pushed around in the running game, they had no choice in this one. The Lions' backs combined for 28 yds on 20 carries which is certainly not ideal for a rookie QB. The Vikes on the other-hand rushed for 184 yds on 29 carries. With the additions of Floyd and Ogletree, this is disturbing to say the least and will obviously need to be corrected for the Lions to be successful moving forward. Ultimately, this game came down to turnovers. The first interception was deep in Lions territory and led to a quick Viking TD and the other was on a horrible pass in the end zone which killed a great scoring opportunity. If these picks don't happen, this game has a totally different feel to it. Hopefully, Rosen learned a lot from this game and can get things cleaned up moving forward. The Lions welcome the Jets to town next week so we will have to wait until then to see if they can get some things fixed.

Here are a few quotes from the post game:

Coach Caldwell -

When asked about the lack of a running game: "Our guys were just beat. They were beat from the snap, pushed around and were never able to open any running lanes. We will watch film, practice hard and get back to running the ball."

When asked about the turnovers: "Two were on balls tipped in the air with Josh trying to squeeze the ball into tight windows. He pressed and had a hard lesson in NFL speed. The pick in the end zone was just a bad read, he got outsmarted by one of the best safeties in the game, it happens to the best".

QB Josh Rosen -

When asked how he moves forward from a mistake heavy first game: "I have already watched the film several times. This game was on me and I accept the responsibility for the loss. I need to make better reads and continue to make better decisions. I worked with the receivers this morning on improving my timing and chemistry with them. We did some good things this morning and I really appreciate how this team has went straight to working hard to get ready for next week. We can't dwell on it, gotta be ready for the next game and that's what we are all doing."

When asked about the struggles in the running game: "If I play the way I should and know I'm capable of, the running game will fix itself. We have a great O-line and I know the running game will be fine."

With everything PX1 Lions, we are the Lions Report.

 

[firedup24]

We apologize for the lack of content recently. We have had some technical difficulties lately which has delayed our posting of PX1 Lions news and game recaps. Let's move on to our week 2 match up vs the Jets.

After two games this season, the Lions are 0-2 after a 34-25 loss to the Jets. The struggles thus far can be primarily attributed to the lines on both sides of the ball. The offensive line continues to struggle and this showed with the 41 yards total rushing and four sacks allowed in the game. After going 16 for 41 yards, the Lions now have only 69 yards rushing on 36 carries. That's less than two yards per carry. With a rookie QB, that is just not acceptable. The defensive line has also struggled with hardly any pressure all day. They did finish with one sack but Romo had plenty of time to survey the field almost the entire game.

The game was fairly close through three quarters with the Lions having several opportunities to get back in the game but the Jets played excellent defense in the 2nd half to solidify the victory. After falling behind 24-9 in the 3rd quarter, the Lions had a nice drive to get in the end zone before the end of the 3rd but failed on the 2 point conversion to make the score 24-15. At the start of the 4th the Jets had an impressive drive with several 3rd down conversions to pull ahead 27-15. This is when the Jets defense was just too much for the Lions offense. They were not able to sustain a drive and get another score. The Jets end up with a late TD to finish the scoring at 34-15.

Several players had really nice games for the Lions:
Marvin Jones - 7 for 122
Allen Hurns - 5 for 94
josh Rosen - 19 - 34 284 yds 1 TD 2 INTs

Post game comments:

Coach Caldwell -

When asked about the tough start at 0 - 2:
"It's a long season and I believe in what we are doing. I'm not going to panic and the team has the exact same mindset. We have to keep working and get in the win column and hopefully pick up some momentum."

When asked about the continued struggles running the ball:
"Just like I said last week, we are getting beat off the ball and we're getting pushed around more than we should. We just have to be resilient and keep playing our game. Hopefully we can get it together sooner than later and get some space for our backs to work".

Josh Rosen -

When asked how he feels after two NFL starts:

"I would feel much better if we had won but I know we are close. This is a good football team with a great group of guys that believe in each other. We are close and I believe we are going to get it together."

Marvin Jones -

On his big day and how he feels about the chemistry with Rosen:

"We are really starting to gel and Josh works hard to improve every day. He put the ball in the right spot for me to make plays and I was able to make them. But without a win it just doesn't mean all that much to us. We need to win and win now. Losing is no fun regardless of stats".

Myles Garrett -

"This sucks! We are too good of a team to be losing like this and this has got to stop. Losing sucks and there's not much more to say."

The Lions will have their 3rd home game in a row this week as they welcome division rival Green Bay to town. We will also be bringing highlights but we will now do it on a quarterly basis instead of weekly so look for our next video shortly after the game at New England.

For everything PX1 Lions we are the Lions Report.

 

[firedup24]

After starting the season 0-2, the Lions finally move into the win column week 3 with a hard fought victory against the division rival Packers 24-21. Nothing came easy for the Lions in this one as the Packers pretty much dominated every offensive stat. The Lions defense found their game in this one as they were a big reason the Lions came out with the win. The defense was able to sack Rodgers five times, pick him off once and forced a fumble at the Packers one yard line.

After each team exchanged punts early in the first, the Lions scoring started after an interception at the Packers 33 yard line to set the Lions up with a short field. Two plays later, Marshall ran it in to put the Lions up 7-0. The Packers came back with a field goal to make it 7-3 late in the 1st. In the 2nd, the Packers put together an excellent drive and went up 10-7 with around 4 minutes to go. Rosen led the team back down the field and took the lead 14-10 on an Abdullah run with 1:28 left in the half. Green Bay marched back down the field and moved inside the Lions 10 yard line with 7 seconds left. This is where a controversial play happened on the next play--the Packers player caught the ball and appeared to go out of bounds at the 2 yard line but the officials ruled that his progress stopped in bounds and the final seconds ran off the clock to keep it at 14-10 at the half.

With 4:34 left in the 3rd, still at 14-10, LB Whitehead sacked Rodgers and Garrett was able to recover the ball at the Packers one yard line. This led to a Rosen sneak to make it 21-10. For the next quarter or so, the game was completely controlled by the Packers who ended up scoring the next 11 points to tie the game at 21 with around 6 minutes to go. Both teams were not able to get their offense going and the Lions got the ball back with 4 minutes remaining. Rosen once again put together another good drive and the Lions kicked the field goal with 1:28 to take the 3 point lead. The Packers were able to move the ball down the field but eventually had to watch the clock expire after getting a completion in the middle of the field inside the Lions 20. So the Lions finally get a win at 24-21 and move to 1-2 on the season.

The Lions will have their first road game week four as they travel to New England to take on the Patriots.

As always, for everything PX1 Lions, we are the Lions Report.

 

[firedup24]

Week 4 had the Lions traveling to New England to face the Patriots. This was a matchup of two teams that have been struggling, (Lions 1-2, Pats 0-3) and the offenses for both continued to do the same. This game was all about defense. First the bad side of things. The Lions had only 138 yards passing and gave up a whopping 7 sacks. The running game improved a little as Abdullah and Marshall combined for 123 yards and 2 TDs. Rosen didn't put up huge numbers but was efficient at 19-23 with 190 yards for 1 TD and a pick. The key to this game was the Lions defense which held the Pats to 152 total yards while picking off Brissett 5 times. Slay had a career best 3 interceptions in the game. Here is a summary of the game:

The 1st quarter came and went with no scoring from either team. Both teams struggled finding a rhythm on offense. Early in the 2nd, Rosen threw an interception which led to a FG from the Pats who scored first to go up 3-0. On the next drive, just before the half the Lions put together a drive and tied the game at 3 going into the half. On the Lions 2nd possession of the 3rd quarter, Golden Tate was injured and will miss the next 5 weeks with a dislocated elbow. Around the middle of the 3rd, the scoring started to open up a bit. The Pats kicked a FG to go up 6-3. On the next drive, the Lions scored the game's first TD with a 53 yard Abdullah run to take a 10-6 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, the Pats returned the kickoff 99 yards to go back in the lead 13-10. The Lions moved the ball well late in the 3rd and Josh Malone caught his first NFL TD on the first play of the 4th quarter. The Lions went up 17-13 and never relinquished the lead from this point on. Marshall had a 47 yard TD to make it 24-13 and the scoring was wrapped up with a Myles Garrett sack for a safety late in the game. The Lions are now 2-2 and will travel to Chicago next to face the red-hot rival Bears.

As always, for everything PX1 Lions, we are the Lions Report.

 

[firedup24]

Through the first quarter of the VIP season 14, we saw the Lions go through some early struggles with their new QB and new faces on defense. After starting 0-2 the Lions bounced back by winning the next two heading to their division matchup with the Bears. They lost to their former QB Matt Stafford but showed signs of a team that never gives up. They trailed early and never held the lead but with Rosen having his best game as a pro, the team fought back and eventually lost by seven 38-31. In this game Rosen was 21-38 331 yards and 3 TDs with 1 INT. Hurns, Jones and Ebron all had TDs with Abdullah also breaking a 68 yarder for his long to that point. The defense played well at times, especially late as they sacked Stafford four times and picked him once. The dynamic duo Ansah and Garrett both had two sacks each.

So heading into week 6 at 2-3, the Lions were definitely feeling like their game against the 4-1 Panthers was a must win and it showed by the way they performed. They were on all cylinders on both sides of the ball and finished with a surprising upset 43-28. Rosen was 23-32 352 yds 1 TD 1 INT, Abdullah was 14-113 with a 49 yard TD and Marshall also had a long TD run of 59 yards. The defense sacked Newton 5 times, once again all from the dynamic duo Ansah 3 and Garrett with 2. Slay and Conley combined to pick Newton off three times in the game with Conley having his first multiple-INT game of his young career. Two side notes, Rosen picked up his 2nd ROTW honor after this game and unfortunately Hurns was injured and will miss the next 6 weeks.

Week 7 welcomed another tough matchup in Dallas against the 4-2 Cowboys. Without Hurns and Tate, this felt like a tall task and the team knew they would need a great day from the defense to get the job done. And man, did they deliver. The defense held the Cowboys to 223 yards of total offense with only 41 yards on the ground. They held the NFL's leading rusher Elliot to only 29 yards on 15 attempts while also sacking Prescott 5 times. Rosen was not asked to do a lot in this one as he was only 15-22 154 yards 1 TD and 1 INT. Abdullah was the star of this one with his 2nd consecutive 100 yard game as he went for 148 yards on 12 carries with a 70 yard TD. The Lions ended up getting the win 23-13 to move to 4-3.

Week 8 once again welcomed another difficult matchup against the 4-2 49ers. This game was probably the best game of the year as it came down to a last second INT from former 49er Ogletree to seal the game with only seconds remaining. Rosen was extremely efficient as he went 16-20 223 yards 1 TD and 1 INT. Abdullah completed his 3rd staright 100 yard game going for 109 yards on 10 carries with another long TD, this time from 75 yards. Garrett had a 2 sack game for the 4th game in a row. This guy is becoming a cheat code and is truly reaching the potential the Lions saw when they drafted him 6th overall last year. With a 20-16 win, the Lions enter the bye week at 5-3. They face off against division rival Packers for their final matchup this year.

Some news and notes thus far in the season:

Darius Slay leads the NFL with 6 interceptions.
Ansah has 10 sacks and Garrett has 9.
The Lions three losses have come at the hands of three of the leagues best. These opponents sit with a combined record of 21-4. Also note that the Lions have only played two games against teams with a losing record.

As always, for everything PX1 Lions, we are the Lions Report.

 

[firedup24]

PX1 Season 14 Recap:

Season 14 was certainly filled with many ups and downs. At the 8-3 mark of the season, many believed the Lions were poised to make a playoff run but, similar to season 13, they struggled down the stretch and fell short of the goal. They went on to lose 4 of the last 5 to finish up 9-7. Of course, being in the same division with the Vikings and Bears made the playoffs an even more difficult goal with the two teams going 15-1 and 13-3 respectively. All in all, five of the seven losses this year came at the hands of playoff teams in the difficult NFC. You know it's a tall task when the two wildcard teams both end the season 13-3. With all that being said, the Lions are still disappointed to once again miss the post season. There were certainly bright spots along the way that we will discuss next.

Josh Rosen ended the season 285 for 456 with 3950 yds with 22 TDs and 19 INTs and an NFC rookie of the year trophy to put on his mantle. When asked about his overall performance, he said "the goal is to make the post-season every year and we didn't get it done so it's time to move on, get better and be ready for the next season".

Ameer Abdullah had his best season as a pro as he ran for 1112 yds with 9 TDs and a 5.2 ypc average. The bad news here is that his contract is up and all signs point to him testing free agency. The sides are reportedly not close on reaching a new deal.

Eric Ebron just signed a new contract this year and certainly didn't disappoint as he finished with 53 receptions for 1024 yds and 9 TDs.

The Lions expected big things from their big off-season acquisition Allen Hurns. He was on his way to put up huge numbers before an injury cost him five games. Considering he only played in 11 games, his numbers were quite impressive as he finished with 55 receptions for 914 yds and 5 TDs.

On the defensive side of the ball there were several stars that shined throughout the season. The Lions defense finished the season with the 5th best rush defense at 70 yards per game allowed. Here are some key stats:

Ansah - 17 sacks
Garrett - 13 sacks
Floyd - 9 sacks

Slay finished the season with 7 INTs and the NFC DB of the year award. He won defensive player of the week in week 7 with 3 INTS in the single game, one for a TD.
Conley and Diggs finished up with 4 INTs each.

It also appears that the Lions will not be able to reach a deal with Golden Tate and he will be a free agent in the coming weeks.

As we wind down season 14, we look forward to seeing how the off-season plays out in the coming weeks. We don't look for the Lions to make any big splashes in free agency this year like they did last season as they pretty much have their core still intact.

Look for our free agency and draft recap in our next episode. As always, for everything PX1 Lions, we are the Lions Report.