No NFL team starts out each season in training camp aiming for mediocrity. The motto “go big or go home” rings true for every football player and team who plays this game. For the Detroit Lions this season, “going big” doesn’t necessarily mean the going to the Super Bowl. Sometimes the big wins come in smaller, more realistic ways and the Lions could and should have a stronger 2022 overall record when all is said and done. Lions 2021 season overview The Detroit Lions finished up the 2021 regular season with a disappointing 3-13-1 record. Exasperation was the Lions mantra…
Author: Mike Gambill
The NFL training camp starts winding down and the Detroit Lions have decided to let backup QB Tim Boyle go and keep David Blough as the sole backup to starter Jared Goff. Okay, I said it. Done deal, right? Well, the problem is that head coach Dan Campbell had to pick the “lesser of two evils” in this situation and while I’m not implying that either player is evil, the Lions have little choices on their current roster to fill the QB room this season. The Lions need to take a hard look at their own QB roster. However, today…
Annual NFL training camps are breeding grounds for the continuous rumor mills spinning out of control at the beginning of each season. The Chicago Bears were able to bed to to rest their Roquan Smith-related controversy and get down to the business of trying to post a winning season for a change. Roquan Smith- contract negotiations failed. Georgia Bulldog product LB Roquan Smiths enters the 2022 season on his final year of his rookie contract and felt “unappreciated” by the Bears front office. Smith did not make the Pro Bowl in previous seasons but earned second team All-Pro honors and was…
Quickly enough, two preseason games are in the books for the upcoming 2022 season and the Detroit Lions show flashes of continued improvement on both sides of the ball during Saturday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. Yes, it’s only a preseason game but a 27-26 victory is, well, a victory nevertheless. Player performances from this past Saturday are taken into account to help determine who stays in Detroit and who gets cut from the active roster. With the preseason progressing, the different Lions units deserve a to-date report card. The Lions run game looked effective against the Colts. Grade: B+…
As a retired high school football coach from Oklahoma, I’ve had some opportunities to see some truly special players come through the high school ranks and move up to play college football and make it to the NFL. Detroit Lions rookie LB Malcolm Rodriguez was impressive at Wagoner High School in Wagoner, OK and current Lions fans watching this training camp may not know that he was actually a starting QB in high school as well as playing in the secondary. Undersized but not underworked. Malcolm Rodriguez received light recruitment interest coming out of high school switched over to safety at…
Before you rub your eyes and check to make sure you’re reading the article heading correctly, it’s true that Lions wide receiver Tom Kennedy currently leads all receivers in the NFL for total yardage. OK, we’ve had one preseason game and while nobody wins WR MVP awards for the preseason, Kennedy’s performance in last Friday’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles sets the tone for the Lions offense going into Week 2 against the Cleveland Browns. Tom Kennedy is trying to make a name for himself with the Lions. Tom Kennedy enters his third season with the Lions and between 2019…
Well, another season, another head coach and yet another kicker. Sound familiar? If it does, you have followed the Jacksonville Jaguars long enough. While this year’s training camp under new head coach Doug Pederson is almost nothing compared to the Camp Meyer fiasco, the Jags still have their problems filling important positions including kicker this training camp. Kick the ball through the big yellow uprights, please. New Jaguars special teams coordinator Heath Farwell has his work cut out for him this training camp. First, undrafted free agent kicker Andrew Mevis had to be cut early in camp for being, well,…
Ah, yes, welcome to another season of Detroit Lions football where this franchise has perfected the art of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Well, truth told, it was only the first preseason game, and these games are supposedly meaningless, right? Lions head coach Dan Campbell has to make choices on who’s the Lions QB2 and from what we’ve seen so far in the preseason, that bar is pretty low. Jared Goff remains the starting QB in Detroit-no question. Jared Goff did go to Dan Campbell and demand playing time in the first preseason game last Friday against the…
The drama in NFL training camps brings out the competition for roster spots within most organizations. For the Detroit Lions, one of the interesting stories coming out of their training camp is the fight between Austin Seibert and Riley Patterson for the Lions kicking job this season. Most casual fans miss the nuances here; with the increased roles kickers face in deciding NFL games, Lions head coach Dan Campbell needs to pick the right kicker for the job not only for this season but on a long-term basis. Which kicker has more experience and accuracy? The Detroit Lions have two talented…
I have to be transparent with this article as I graduated from San Diego State. However, my analysis of San Diego State possibly joining the Pac !2 Conference remains as objective as possible. With the impending loss of both USC and UCLA to the Big Ten, the southern California football market again has glaring holes in its allure to college football Adding San Diego State makes sense to the Pac 12 Conference right now. Once USC and UCLA leave the Pac 12, it’s only a matter of time before other programs such as Oregon and Washington consider their options and…
