They took my advice. LOL I’ve always said that, when you are playing against a Hall of Fame caliber QB and are only one score ahead, you need to play like you are actually behind because those QB’s know how to engineer game winning drives at the end of games. A one score lead isn’t enough to warrant crawling into a shell.
I have to say, I was highly skeptical of Dan Campbell early on, with his talk of biting kneecaps that made him sound like a cartoonish WWE heel, and his constant going for it on 4th down (Campbell the Gamble, one announcer called him). But I’m really getting on board with his ‘throw everything you got at the wall to win’ culture. That turning down the offsides penalty and not just taking the automatic first down? Sheer recklessness, or 4th dimensional chess? I’m still not sure, but it has been real fun to watch. Of course, winning makes everything better.
If the Lions make some smart offseason moves to improve their defense (which improved a lot on its own as the season progressed) they could really be a force to contend with next season.
By making that first down, then making the first down on the 4th down play makes him a genius. Other wise, he’s an idiot.
Yep, just like that fake punt against the Vikings a month ago on 4th and 7 on the Lions’ 26 yard line was sheer genius. But if it had backfired, as it very well could have… 
Announcer: “ya gotta have some onions to do that one, there…” 
I’ve always held the view that the moment you are eliminated from playoff contention - whether it’s with 1 game left to play, or 7 - you should call the wackiest, most aggressive plays you can for the remainder of the season. Fake punts, fake field goals, laterals, Statue of Liberty, a flea flicker every single drive, etc.
Rodgers said he wanted to play as long as there was a chance of winning. Can we get rid of him now.
I hear there’s an opening for the host of Celebrity Wordle.
I’m glad I didn’t stay up to watch the whole thing.
To be clear, my feelings for the Packers (I’m a fan, but a not a HUGE fan) are not the same as my feelings for the current QB.
His off field antics (esp the COVID thing) has soured me to him.
But the team has still won 13 championships (4 Super bowls) and is the only team who I know some of the owners, and will never move.
Brian
Something like this?
They would have been, if the Seahawks hadn’t won earlier in the day.
Besides the times when the aggressive call works, the other facet is what it tells the team about you as a coach. Campbell trusts his players, is willing to take risks, and wants to win. And his players have bought in and are playing harder than they have for any other coach.
Even when his plays fail, it’s still helping the overall attitude within the team, so I can’t really knock the calls that don’t work even in retrospect.
It really is sad when you consider that the Lions had the best record at 5-1 in the NFC North Division, whereas the Vikings were 4-2. Only KC and SF have better division records (6-0) than the Lions. Alas, that is not what gets you into the playoffs.
Chris Collinsworth stated the same thing. He wondered if, had the Lions still been in the playoff hunt and needed the victory to clinch a spot, would they have called that tossback to the RB play on second-and-17? We’ll never know.
No but the Lions are on my list of teams to pay attention to next season. I think they’re on the rise.
It was spectacularly stupid. The rationale they used simply doesn’t hold water. This is precisely the kind of stuff that makes the whole meathead angle a concern. If the defense can’t stop you in that situation, then yeah, all strategies look like good ones. But this was a huge risk for a very negligible reward. Campbell really needs help with his game management.
Detroit is playing pretty well because they have talent. Brad Holmes has been excellent in his short tenure. Campbell and his assistants have built a solid culture, but that tends to be overrated. The vast majority of teams with quality, high-character players have great cultures, it’s not that rare and it starts from the players, not the coaches. I strongly suspect that the Lions will regress badly next season unless this coaching staff (HC, OC and DC) really grows up.
As long as you don’t call a Mcafee
I don’t know about that. My understanding is that the Packers jumped offsides on purpose. Their rationale being, the Lions at 2 and 1 are likely to convert, and burn precious seconds converting before getting the fresh set of downs. The Packers gambled that if they sacrifice the 5 yards and give the Lions the fresh set of downs right away, it will save the Packers a timeout and a few seconds to still get a score (assuming they stop the Lions after the penalty). The Lions said, stuff that, we can convert on 2 and 1 without your help, thanks anyway. Kind of a smart refusal of a minor Trojan Horse, the more I look at it.
I think it was a mistake also.
Yes, it stops the clock, but you get 4 new downs to run the clock down. I only see 2 benefits to doing it; it confuses the defense, and it shows faith in the offense. But those are really wishy-washy reasons when the game is on the line.
I mean, you can also decide to blindfold the kicker on a field goal. And if the kicker makes it, you look like a genius, but more likely you just got really lucky and a stupid decision worked out anyway.
You know the old adage, never interrupt your enemy when they are making a mistake? The Lions missed that lesson.
I’d rather have 2nd & 1 than 1st & 10.
No, it was genius.
If they accept the penalty, it’s first and ten and the Pack still has all three timeouts. By declining the penalty and converting on the next play, it’s first and ten and the Pack has to burn its first timeout. Then when the two-minute warning happened, the Pack was out of timeouts. The Lions were then able to run one play and then run the clock to 1:15. If the Pack still had one timeout, there would have been 1:55 on the clock after that play.
Of course, it became moot when Detroit converted on 4th down.