In this episode we preview the Detroit Lions week 16 match-up with the Minnesota Vikings. And there is a lot more on the line now this week as Detroit hits the road to Minnesota. A win by the Lions would result in their first division championship since 1993 and first time ever for the NFC North. In this episode we’ll hear from Jack Wallace, who follows the Vikings regularly. Then we discuss the re-calibration of the Lions expectations and what to expect going into the Vikings game. Let’s get to it Lions fans!
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Hey everybody this is Matthew salc and you’re listening to not the same old Lions podcast using my sports casting background I speak with a variety of guests and interview key players to gain more insight on what makes this team go as the Detroit Lions enter a new gritty
Era we’ll look Beyond just the kneecaps when it comes to the analysis welcome to another episode in this episode we preview the Detroit Lions week 16 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings and there’s a lot more on the line now this week as Detroit hits the road to Minnesota a win by the
Lions would result in their first division championship since 1993 and the first time ever for the NFC North in this episode we’ll hear from a reporter who follows the Vikings regularly then we’ll get to the rest of the Detroit Lions preview let’s get to it Lions fans hi this is Billy Sims and
You listening to not the same old Lions podcast in this episode we preview the Detroit Lions week 16 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings and there’s a lot more on the line this week folks we’re going to first hear from someone who covers the Vikings regularly I’m joined by Jack
Wallace he’s a weekend Sports Anor for the NBC and CBS affiliate KV LTV Valley News he covers the Vikings regularly in Minnesota Viking country Jack thanks for joining the show today of course happy to be here again I know it’s been a minute given the fact that
It’s uh strangely last three weeks of the Season squeezing in both these games but uh good to get them in just right as we wrap up the year yeah we talked about that before the season even started what a weird scheduling whatever it was I know they wanted division meaningful
Games late and they’re going to get one in this very next week but it just it seems strange scheduling two teams that play each other twice so close next to each other well Jack the Vikings have had a very strange Journey this year the last time we spoke I I think they’re
Kind of right where you thought they were going to be I just don’t think they’ve gotten to where they are how you thought they would I mean they started the season one and four then they reeled off five straight wins and most recently they have lost three out of four games
And all of those games have been decided by three points or less and and and within that storyline of those wins you got to look at the quarterback situation they had pulled up to 500 before Kurt Cousins went down and it felt like the Vikings were getting to be real
Dangerous right at that point and then Josh dos comes in and you’ve had jiren Hall and Nick Mullins and they’ve all had their own flavors and influences so I guess tell me where does the quarterback situation stand right now with the Vikings well it was a funny day
For Nick Mullin who’s been a long time uh backup quarterback at least primarily backup of course uh Josh dos getting moved down to I I think almost emergency status at this point because I know that jiren Hall the new rookie from BYU has been on and off with injury hasn’t
Really done really anything this year mostly because of either not needing him or mainly because he even when they could have needed him he’s been injured but I mean Nick mowen overall played a pretty decent game mean over 300 yards passing a pretty high completion percentage did have two interceptions
But two touchdowns with that and of course Tai Chandler on the ground with a phenomenal day 132 yards we haven’t seen that out of a Minnesota running back in a minute so so Jack the the quarterback’s position has been been in flux and there’s no doubt there has been
A big drop off from cousins and that’s caused the team to make some adjustments now Alexander Madison was given the keys to the job and he’s average about four yards a carry but you brought it up Tai Chandler emerged with some solid numbers in this most recent game and so do you
Think the ground round game is something the Vikings are going to try to use more for the rest of the season I think they really could because I think Madison kind of pulled the Joshua Kelly in the sense of a very good running back in a
Very specific role of being a good kind of backup emergency can be good in short situations but when you just say go do it it didn’t really work out too well Kelly hasn’t really looked too good in La Madison had really look too efficient in Minnesota and giving a younger guy
Like Tai Chandler really saying okay you go and yes part of that was due to injury it’s been impressive to see what he’s been able to do and what the o line has been able to give him as well because they’ve been giving him a lot of
Help it has been good to see that for his sake I I obviously the game was a little bit different with Josh do being a much more mobile quarterback that’s going to run it a lot so it is a little bit different with with Tai now having a
Little bit more room to go but I think they really could see it a lot I know that um of course as you know very fully well it’s a pretty scary front seven with those Detroit Lions what they’re going to face in two of these next three
Games and running against them is going to be a pretty tall task all three of these final games to make a playoff push that Minnesota is very much still in the running for especially with two games against the top seated Detroit Lions it’s it’s they’re gonna have to really
Get moving especially on that side of it given the fact that Mullen as well as he did play and to give him the credit for it that’s going to be tough to trust him to pull off numbers like that and the defense helping more the next three
Weeks in a row well that that makes a lot of sense and that also means you’re going to probably push yourself um to rely on what might be the strength of your offense which has to be the ball catchers I mean Jordan Addison well we can bring up Justin Jefferson first off
Because he’s the name everybody knows he’s been hurt that’s been a big hit but he is back rookie Jordan Addison seems to be playing a pivotal role for the Vikings this year I mean he is the second leading receiver on the team I mean to get that type of production out
Of a rookie has to really help you feel good about the depth of your receiving core and then TJ hackinson just set a career high for receptions in a season by hitting the 91 Mark he’s got nine over 900 yards receiving and five touchdowns oh and by the way you still
Have KJ Osborne who now can maybe function more as a number three receiver tell me a little bit about what you’re seeing out the receiving Corp and what role you see them playing in the success going forward I think one of the most impressive parts of the receiving core
Overall has been the diversity that they’ve been able to handle with Jefferson being out for so long because of course that was the biggest question when he went out of you have the guy that you just go to all the time how is that going to be to kind of mix it up
And the biggest key to that really to me which is T.J hackinson who of course the former lion has been a guy that I mean while technically not a wide receiver of course in the receiver core and has been one of the best tight ends the entire
Season and then of course if you’re Detroit you’re sitting there doing fine because you have Sam leapa who’s been a massive rookie and so you you have a game with two great tight ends and especially for Minnesota you have that option but for Addison to give him such
A big role and then to expand that to even larger when you have him essentially replacing Adam thielen spot that’s sort of a tough spot to be in and I think that it’s been very impressive seeing Addison do what he’s been able to do and seeing how he’s been able to be
So quick how he’s been able to break passes break sorry break tackles very well um especially that long touchdown he had in the game in Cincinnati was very impressive just snatching the ball almost an inch off the grass and getting his way in for six almost 30 yards out
So it’s it’s been impressive and they’re going to have to put up big numbers against the Detroit team that I think can be vulnerable in their secondary of course their defensive strength is more in the line with guys like Hutchinson but it um they’re going to have to get a
Lot through the air and it’s going to be I think a lot more which is you know not a super hot take but seeing more how Mullins can react to that and work with his tools admittedly good tools and seeing how he can sort of handle that
These weeks in a row broke all right well let’s switch over to the defensive side of the ball then the Vikings defense I I’ve got to admit I think they’ve been better than advertised I think they’ve done better than I expected them to coming in considering it seemed like there were more
Departures and additions this off season they’re top five around top five with rushing defense and right around top 15 and passing defense for yards and you know the the the the overarching theme from the outside seems like Brian Flores has had some hands in in the the
Defensive side and then been the key here um has he been the key and or what other elements are really uh should Lions fans be aware of I really think he has and if you look at I mean I’m checking out the schedule right now they
Have not allowed more than 28 points at home all season and they haven’t allowed more than 20 points at home in a win or a loss all the way back near the start of the Year and that was the game against the Chiefs which pretty tough to
Blame him having more than 20 points allowed against the Chiefs so it’s they’re a team that is has really really really gotten down a lot more on giving up points giving up big plays a lot of problems that was the reason why they fell in the games that they did fall in
Last year of course Minnesota was phenomenal in one score games but when they lost it was like a Cowboys game where it would be just a massive blowout disaster they’ve really been able to lock that down a lot more and it’s just it’s it’s one of those years that of
Course the year’s not over you’re still in the playoff race it’s not done but it’s one of the biggest what could have been years in a while for Minnesota where you have a defense that’s really a lot more together you’ve had good running back performances now you’ve had
Addison play well and Phil in the spot of theel and leaving very well and you’re just killing it missing Kurt Cousins and I I mean and give dos credit for getting the wins against Atlanta and New Orleans which are still mindblowing that he pulled those off and Mullen for
Riding the ship when he could and you know getting the win like the Raiders win as silly as it was they’re still keeping a float in the race when by all means they shouldn’t be and so it is still impressive for them to get in and
Do this but to for them to knock off the Lions once I mean twice I think is very hopeful thinking but to do it even once is going to be very difficult and that’s why this weekend kind of is the biggest of them all I mean because if
Minnesota’s able to take the next two games and you know sweep out at home where they play pretty well at home especially the last few weeks if they’re able to get those two in and have set up a meeting with the Lions that’d be massive or you could lose both and then
You’re just playing massive spoiler it’s sort of in between but um it’s exciting to kind of see how the year could end out yeah you know the Lions and Vikings that we’ve talked about they’re going to face each other twice in the next three weeks but with the Minnesota loss on
Saturday and the Lions win that means this December 24th game has added importance immediately and that is if the Lions win they win the NFC North now the Vikings whether they win the NFC North or not are like you said they are in the playoff hunt regardless so every
Win Every Game does matter there’s only three left for for them if the Vikings are going to win this game against the Lions what does Minnesota need to do I mean it might sound cliche but they got to control the line of scrimmage as best they can that’s the bread and butter of
What the Lions have been able to do in a lot of their wins and a lot of their dominance this season but if they can shut down a lot of the Lions rushing attack and funnel them a lot through the air and be able to get in runs
Themselves and be able to control both their own dline and their own o line I think that can be a really big key to turning this game if Minnesota really wants to be able to pull off what will be a big time upset they need to be able
To to get those big plays in because playing at home is big an advantageous especially for the Vikings they played very well at home the last few years it is difficult for teams to go in there and win and most of the time when teams
Do it it’s one score it’s going to be tight no matter what it’s been well over a year since someone has gone into US Bank and beaten this team by any more than seven so I I do believe it’ll be close no matter what even if Minnesota’s
A little off but that line of scrimmage thing has to be the focal point of this team to really be able to stifle an excellent dline all right well it is the NFL and so really whatever happens last week doesn’t really matter next week and
You said you know it’d be a big upset for the Vikings but you’ve already said the Vikings have a pretty good HomeField advantage and they held the Raiders to zero points and then the following week the Raiders put up 63 points so I don’t think anybody is going to take the
Vikings for granted I mean we saw the Lions lose to the Bears and lose to the Packers so if the lions are going to win this game on the road what does Detroit need to do to make that happen the biggest thing they need to do to make sure they
Can get the game separated early is to do what no one’s been able to really do there and to put up a lot of points quickly on Minnesota and create that separation to put them behind the eightball early and ahead because if you have to all force it to Mullins and say
You now go win the game when you’re down against that good defense and if it’s down big that’s a really tall thing to ask especially after last week and you have guys like Alan rossan Brown you have guys like Sam leapa you have guys like Jameson Williams jir Gibbs if they
Can really get that those big plays through the air and really establish a lot of dominance like Jared G did this week if he can really get on that again like we’ve seen him do a lot that can get that early separation to sort of put Minnesota away a team that tends to
Stick around late that can tend to hold leads and kind of cut into it but for a team like Minnesota to really come back in a big way that’s been a tough thing for them to do and hasn’t really happened a lot this year uh Jack before
We get out of here anything else Lions fans should know about the Vikings coming into this game that you think is kind of pertinent uh biggest thing to know about them is that Minnesota loves blitzes they love sending guys in they love establishing a lot of pressure of
That early and so if Detroit really wants to be able to get that big scoring early and get going early the O Line’s got to be extra watching out the pass rush has to really be watching because Minnesota is going to really gun for that and so with guys like that in that
Middle of the field a little more opened up with the linebackers coming in I could see guys like Sam lorta continuing his big play if he gets some you know routes over the middle get some more plays with a little bit I don’t want to say dump offs but just a little bit
Easier passes that aren’t necessarily just sort of Chunk plays I think that uh Minnesota’s going to be very aggressive towards Detroit and going to try to get out early like they were able to do against Cincinnati they’ve been able to do a lot of these games is get this
Early lead as they’ve done a lot this year and so I I see them trying to establish that early by sort of getting out in front um as they’ve been able to do so I think that that’s a big thing to watch out for that’s a very Brian flest
Thing that he’s done with this defense this year and for the most part has worked well mostly and uh we’ll see how they do against a Detroit team that has a lot of weapons to them awesome everybody that’s Jack Wallace weekend Sports Anchor for the NBC and CBS
Affiliate KVLY TV Valley News Live Jack thanks again for joining the show it’s always a pleasure to talk football NFC North stuff with you of course great I’m happy to be here and I I hope I can catch you again for the last week of the year which I assume at least I’m
Figuring is going to have pretty massive playoff implications even more than this week so it’ll be exciting it will be yeah we one week at a time as the coaches say and uh we we’ll see how things play out from there but thanks again for joining the show of course
Yeah thank you and now to the rest of the preview we discussed the re-calibration of the Detroit Lions as they prepare for their matchup with the Minnesota Vikings and what it will take for a Detroit Lions victory this is Cory Slinger and you are listening to not the
Same old Lions podcast I’m joined by Coach Jerry angers n Michigan High School coach of the year as well as coach of the week by the Detroit Lions he’s also mentored numerous players at the college level and some all the way to the NFL as usual it’s good to have
You here coach as usual love being here talk about the Lions every day and as we continue just another reminder to the listeners please hit that subscribe subcribe or that like button tell your friends about us it’s helping us re-calibrate if you will our momentum now coach let let’s talk about this
Recalibrating word I bring up and and I say it somewhat you know in a laughable way because well so many people have been crying that the sky is falling around these Lions recently before this Denver Bronco game and now some of that has slowed and and the hype is is
Starting to build again now yes it’s true the Lions offense has been inconsistent in recent games putting the defense in some bad situations the defense hasn’t been perfect and turnovers have been a big issue so I hear that part but as excitement pops back up again after this win over Denver
And a lot of people’s opinions are now changing after that win coach I know your opinion today is the same it was a week ago and the same it was two weeks ago so tell the listeners what is it that you see in this team that hasn’t
Had you up and down like a a roller coaster fair weather fan well I I think the victories that we’ve had when we played bad or the or the losses and things like that things that we just continue to bounce back from we haven’t put together two losses in a row knock
On wood we we lose we win we win we lose I mean we go back and forth uh we we got the best record we’ve had in years starting out uh We’ve run the table since uh uh that 8-2 start last last year and so and and just the bodies and
The Personnel that we have drafted and how they have turned out when the negativity is Arisen yet the Lions keep pushing it and that’s all we have to go with so during this game we just saw a big difference in that Denver game the most recent game the Lions played and I
You know turnovers were probably a a big factor because that’s something Campbell has harped on quite a bit but there was a lot of pressure by that defense is there anything you saw that you could credit as a difference in what we saw well I think that’s the big thing on
That is is the pressure that we had the the people making plays Pascal from you know the Kentucky boy three-year uh Captain the guy that we drafted that nobody knew about made a big play you know K kamensky makes a big play you know in in and out uh our our safety I’m
Not gonna try to pronounce his name ifat malanu aatu malaan thank you uh the plays that’s he made um you know our Corners stepping up in different situations uh and and and you know the defensive line linebackers making plays when other people aren’t around or aren’t you know without anzalone a
Couple weeks ago Campbell’s stepping up again let you know letting the process um you know work its thing letting the age the young guys learning from the older guys uh do what they do best you know it is it’s a learning process it’s it’s guys with you know one two three
Years four War years in the league starting to make plays and not making mistakes twice in a row you know you’ve heard Campbell say that you know uh they make a mistake they learn from it move on we make a mistake we learn from it
Move on that’s what we as fans need to do uh whether it’s a win or loss uh bask in the glory that they’re having and enjoy what’s going on daily with this team those are some great points and I think again we kind of go back to the
Offense not having those turnovers has prevented the defense from getting into bad situations which has then made things more difficult and and people have been criticizing Aaron Glenn for quite a bit I know you’re a big proponent a big defender of Glenn I think this game was perfect in the fact
That we saw they’re not just resting on their Laurels that’s something I think we said in the last show and they’re they’re trying different things we saw adjustments in the secondary we saw a different safety plane we saw two different guys getting reps at defensive back and so trying different things and
Not having those turnover really help make the difference because as we’ve talked about for a while if the Lions cannot start out in a hole then it doesn’t throw the playbook out and it doesn’t force you to change from what you want to do on offense and we know
That’s run the ball oh for sure and you know you look into that you know touch and base on the on the defensive side real quick going back to the offense but you know like you said he’s doing packages right now you know anzalone is a pretty good cover linebacker but I’m
Seeing anzalone go on the sidelines and Maven coming in you know and I think that’s the thing is we’re you know we’re turning turning the uh um uh possession um arrow in our favor and I think that’s what’s helping our offense which gives us the opportunity to run the football
Um and and and do what we do best staying on schedule you know staying ahead of the chains and not getting the situation oh my God we’re down two touchdowns um we have to throw the ball more because we have to catch up and I think that’s one of the things you’re
Starting to see you saw that in the Denver game hopefully that carries over into the the Minnesota game well and the offense getting things right again takes the pressure off the defense and I want to back up a minute to the draft I know it seems like forever ago but we have to
Do that because we have two rookies well we have multiple rookies from this year’s draft playing big roles but there’s two guys who really stuck out in this most recent game you know jir Gibbs and Sam leaport early picks at positions a lot of people questioned and I just I
Loved it cuz Dan Campbell brought this up without even being asked about it I’m just going to bring it back to Brad Holmes it’s a hell of a job by him once again you know took a lot of criticism for those two picks but they look like
They’re okay so um I’m glad we got them they’re okay I mean I love that by Campbell I mean you and I were both fans of these picks from the beginning even when criticism was being flung left and right and I even said multiple places
This draft is going to age well and some people know drafts don’t age this is just the way they are but can you remind the listeners why and tell them you know why we like this and tell them what it is you saw out of these players this
Year well I think the big thing is is is Campbell and um and Brad Holmes are drafting guys that fit into our system and and I think that’s the biggest thing as they’re fitting into our system they’re going to do what we need to do on offense they’re going to do what we
Need to do on defense and they’re going to grow young they’re individuals that are uh got great work ethics you know that’s one thing that Dan Campbell had said the other day if you can find guys like ragnell who who had knee surgery and is back two weeks later um if you
Would be a you you you would have a great job to be able to discover who these guys are and that’s what Brad Holmes and the lions are discovering they’re discovering guys are going to fit into our system they’re discovering guys that are going to play uh within
The team concept they’re guys that don’t care uh you know what their stats look like but how they can make the Detroit Lions a better team that’s what they’re finding with these guys we have to leave it alone and Trust the process trust what these guys are coming up with in
Day in and day out and that’s what these guys are doing they’re filling a role that’s G to make this a great team they’re filling a role that is going to make this a great team and how their numbers stack up well we know how they’re stacking up right now
Offensively and defensively so uh trust the process trust the guys that are in command the guys that are watching the film work and the guys that are making the picks and and it seems to be working pretty well right now knock on wood well and I understand the second guessing
From people if you look at the history of the franchise and and decisions that have been made and and outcomes that have happened but you know and I’ve said from the beginning I understand there’s a positional value and people say you don’t take a running back this early I
Say sure but look at a team that has a great running game and how much that changes everything plus Sam laapa has literally Rewritten Detroit Lions history books and he’s threatening to rewrite the NFL history books for a rookie tight end this has been great return on value very quickly for these
Guys and these guys are different makers in this offense and they’re a big part of the reason the lions are where they are now coach it’s a season every season’s long especially one more game now so I got to believe it’s natural for a team to have ups and downs through a
Season I know Campbell says you want to just constantly climb a little bit but with the ups and downs I’m wondering could the Lions actually benefit from this this down if you will I’m goingon to call it a down they went two and two in four games but it brought the
Division a little bit closer you know it’s got fans rechecking things but but from a team concept from a coach concept or perspective does the fact that you’re just not dominating straight through and you’ve got a you know you’ve got some losses you didn’t expect and you have to
Come back does that help your team or is that not a really a big factor that’s a huge Factor we talked about that few weeks ago about losses how how important losses are how much you learn from A Loss it’s the same thing when you play a
Close game it’s the same thing when you when you get dominated in the game and you feel you’re going to the game that you’re going to win it’s all learning curve especially for the younger guys again we talked about it whether you’re in the college level the high school
Level excuse me the pro level you’re going to learn from those mistakes you’re going to learn from those things that that aren’t hunky dory I did pull a out of honky Dory things that are just perfect and it also is going to help you when you get into the playoffs when
Things go bad you can say hey remember how we change that remember how we we we had the same concern uh you know week 14 and and you know we had the same mistake week 14 and I think those are things that you learn from it everybody’s going
To learn it’s it’s all about the again we’re going to go back it’s all about the process it’s about us being able to distinguish between the good and the bad and it’s always hey we’ve had this bad before let’s not have it again and and that’s what you’re seeing from these
Guys we seem we’re getting better offensively we’re getting better defensively and we’re getting some guys back so I think those are all things and we went through uh through a stretch um that we were two and two in and and again but again we’ve we win and if we
Lose we win again and let’s see if we can string some of those W’s together well you and I have talked about what is an area that is often unsung on many football teams but does get a little talk from the Detroit Lions and that’s our offensive line and and I think if
You were to look at the overall picture I know you know you and I were texting about some of this and we got some eye popping stats here but the the Lions go as the offensive line goes for the Detroit Lions I I think we’ve seen enough games to know that if the
Offensive line is getting the job done everything else is there and it talks about the health and so uh we’ve got some major stats to throw out did you want to talk about some of these first or do you want to just talk about the
The grit and the the hard work of all these offensive linemen well I I I think the offensive linemen uh you know we mentioned Ragnar a little bit let’s go back trust you know whether you’re the quarterback or the running back or or a wide receiver you’re always have trust
In the person that’s in front of you you always have trust as a quarterback and the receiver running the routes how many times do we hear that and when you start missing bodies and situation on the offensive line the trust the trust Factor Falls a little bit because it’s
Not your guy and I think you’re right about that I think and and you know those eye popping stats you know you can rip them off was it four games five games what we’ve done which you know do you have those in front of you it’d be
Great if you talked about those right now Matt yeah I’ve got them will burfield from 97 won the ticket put this together and with these five offensive linemen the starters the lions are 5-0 with this group on the field they average 38.4 points a game with this group
That’s an average of 421 yards a game 179.2 rushing yards per game five and a half yards a carry and jarro G has a pass rating of this group is there that is just incredible and that just goes to show how important ragau Decker Jackson Glasgow and Su all are for the entire
Team oh for sure you know and you and you look at and again that’s that trust Factor that’s that feeling confident factor it’s not that they don’t trust the guy the backups but it’s when you have your when you have your guys when you’re your boys your dudes your men
That you’re fighting with every day in a huddle every day in practice it makes a huge difference you know and then you add Le pora to the to his blocking schemes man I watched the film the other day Matt about the different things they’re doing with him the play that
Sticks out to me is the one where he sat in his stance didn’t move the other day uh the linebacker had no idea what he was doing and then Goff rolls out of the pocket a little bit and lorta sets The Edge so golf can get out there to make a
Pass play those are just uh time and time again being in The Trenches with each other under knowing that that guy has your back is is second to none I mean it’s just incredible about those guys when they’re together it is and you know when those guys are together I
Think that plays a role in the turnover situation and the Lions they’re six and0 when G doesn’t have a turnover and we saw a long stretch last year where he didn’t have one so we know it can be done it can happen and right now GF again there are people that are just
Critics of GF and they’re going to be no matter what he does but he is third in passing yards in the league and he’s tied for third for most touchdown passes in the league and so he’s got some great stats that there are some other quarterbacks with big names who have
More interceptions than Goff I know he’s had some turnovers but my point is he’s a pretty darn good quarterback when the solid offensive line is there that helps that much more and it doesn’t just help gof it helps Goff because it will set up the play action run because we got to
Talk about these running backs the Detroit Lions are on the verge of doing something ridiculous they could have two running backs with a thousand yards rushing this year in the same season and I mean any Lions fan who’s been a lions fan for more than a hot minute knows the
Lions have had like two 1,000 yard rushers in the last 20 years I think it was 2013 with Reggie Bush Jamal Williams was last year and before that it was James Stewart back in 2002 there was a streak forever where the Lions didn’t even have a 100 yard rusher in a game
And we’re looking at possibly two 1,000 yard rushers on the same team in the same season I I think the Carolina Panthers did it back in 09 this is gamechanging for this offense and defense oh for sure again you know we can run the ball that uh that takes away
The clock that helps us with possessions you know there’s just a ton of things off that running concept and then it turns our play action pass and uh Unstoppable with the with the receivers that we have and the tight end of course and so those are those are you know big
Things again what are you gonna do as a defensive coordinator when they line up and you’re looking and going oh Gibbs is in the back field oh man’s in the backfield oh they’re gonna throw oh they’re gonna we don’t know what they’re gonna do and I think that is just huge
Huge for us knowing that no matter which back and that goes back to the trust Factor again Matt we just talked about Jared G lines up under Center and he he doesn’t care which back is behind him because he knows whichever one it is he’s goingon to get the job done he’s
Going to run the right uh play action pass he’s GNA pick up the block I mean they’re both getting into blocking schemes they can both they can both uh pass block um you know Monty was the better one at the beginning of the year now Gibbs is starting to fall into that
Place and and and back and forth so from a defense C coordinator standpoint there there’s no Tendencies and from a offensive standpoint ours we don’t care who’s back there it was it was great to see them get moving in that second quarter against Denver and how much they
Were able to continue that flow we had not seen that in a while the Lions have 19 wins so far between last year and this year and still got three games left and that is the most wins the Lions have ever had in a two-year span which is
Pretty incredible they’ve had some 12 win seasons in the past but they would follow that up with like a six- win season or it would be preceded by like a five win season so so that right there is is eye popping but then it’s also encouraging and knowing the state of our
Team we’re a young team that is on the rise that is exciting that gives you optimism and so that’s a big storyline coming out and we’ve talked so much about the guys you know Leora Monty Gibbs and and Aman rain Brown we haven’t brought his name up as We Know he is the
Offensive wide receiver everybody wants to stop and shut down but Campbell was just reminding everybody about Josh Reynolds when I was at the game I was talking to his guys in front of me and we’re like yeah Josh Reynolds is an unsung hero that guy just works he does
His job he’s on a he’s on a track to have a career season and you got Jameson Williams who is just looking better by the week the offense is trending up not just because of this one game but because what we’re seeing out of all these players and again that comes back
To the personnel and we have all our number one ones you know with the offensive line you know again you can touch based on that but it’s keep trending up who are you going to stop choose your poison on who you’re G to try to double or whatever and you can’t
There’s nowhere to to do that and and I mean look at people’s Jones had a big catch the other day you know these are just things that continue right these are things that you continue to look at and are you GNA double you’re gonna double St Brown okay then we’ll hit
Leaport underneath you’re gonna you’re gonna oh my God here comes J Mo across and he had a great catch the other day you know again you go back that and then pick your poison cuz we can run two running backs in the back field and put
One out a wide receiver 49ers do it with Debo and and M cavity all the time and so again uh St Browns lined up in the back field leaport is lined up in the backfield who’s not so you know going back and forth that’s I totally agree we
Are trending upward and we will Contin continue to Trend upward because each one of these guys can and play numerous positions line up in numerous spots in the offense and people have to try to figure out how to stop that the other that’s really exciting also is the style
Of play of lorta and Gibbs that Denver game the moves leaport showed on the sideline to shake the dude around Gibbs with his run I mean the only that tackled him was him losing his balance and falling down and sitting on his butt and and then Jameson Williams I don’t
Know how he stayed in bounds and got around that Defender so so that is just so exciting to see the abilities the agilities determination of these guys yards after catch as well or yards after the first few lines of scrimmage so coach big big game Seattle they defeated
Philadelphia little bit of a surprise right there let’s talk a little bit about the playoff scenarios before we get into what we expect going into the Vikings game we know if the Lions win the Divi they are in if they beat Minnesota they win the division the
Other situation is if Seattle or the Rams lose a game the lions are also in they’re in as a playoff team if Seattle or Rams lose if they win against Minnesota they win the division so so that’s kind of where we’re at right there people want to talk about seeding
And I still think we’re a week or two too early for that there’s a lot of variables there they’re technically 1% chance of getting that number one seed I’m not even focused on that the three seeds Okay the two seed would be amazing cuz a lot of people wonder what’s the
Difference between the two and the three that would be if you get the two that means you play a lower uh person a lower ranked team uh a lower seed in the first round of the playoffs and if you win you get a second game at home that’s why
That number two seed would be pretty nice again we’re talking from a fan perspective we’re not looking from the coach perspective because the coaches are one week at a time all they’re focused on is beating Minnesota and winning the division uh but those are the Playoff scenarios and I guess we’ll
Wait to see a talk about who they might play until after they actually clinch a playoff spot is there anything you wanted to add about Playoff scenarios or playoff updates well I think couple things you think about we want to talk fanwise we want to talk coaching wise
Right we don’t want to back into the playoffs we want to make sure that we drive into the playoffs you know and let’s talk about a fan perspective mat I think you and I are going to the last game of the year against the Minnesota Vikings oh my God how awesome would it
Be to be at that game and the Lions win they clench the clench the uh division we don’t want that okay let’s go back into a fan perspective again let’s go as a child or as an adult every Christmas Eve day we have always asked can we open
A present early can we open a present early whether we’re an adult or whether we’re a child well you know what the Lions can give us an early Christmas present beat the Vikings win the division take care of the little things the big things that take care of
Themselves we want to get into the playoffs we want to uh win the division win the division that gets us into the playoffs win the division on Christmas Eve that takes care of our heart and our thing about oh my God I just want this great Christmas present on Christmas Eve
Come on lions as a fan as a fan for all these years Matt you and I want that Victory on Christmas Eve and let’s open that early Christmas present that would be about the best early Christmas present and that would be one uh the best one the Lions would have ever given
Fans on Christmas Eve as far as I can remember in in recent memory and so in order to get that done the lions are traveling to Minnesota they have a shot to win the division win that game they’re in the playoffs by winning the division be the first time since 1993
They’re a division winner it would be the first time they’ve ever won the NFC North and here’s Dan Campbell talking about that task yeah look man we this is about to be a tough environment going on the road at Minnesota um you know they got an outstanding defense um you know they’ve
Changed a couple of things up offensively just watching crossover tape so this is this is no uh this is not going to be easy you know defending North Champs from last year um but man we wouldn’t have it any other way go out there on the road tough environment man
We got a chance to get the next one so man we’re going to be looking forward to it I know I am and I know our will so coach the Vikings have had an up and down season they’ve been all over the place talk about a team that’s had
Adversity to go through and and they keep coming through the other side it’s not perfect but they don’t give up and they’re a pretty darn good home team so as Campbell said it’s going to be a tough environment he says the Lions wouldn’t want it any other way this is
Pretty amazing so what are some of your keys to the game or what do you think the lions are going to do uh in going into this game well a couple things uh you know let’s talk defensively it they got their fourth they’re on to their fourth
Quarterback okay so that’s a big thing they have some pretty good receivers over there you know he’s uh the nice thing with Mullins is uh you know he had a pretty good game the other day I think he had 303 yards passing uh his completion race pretty good uh he did
Have two turnovers I think those are things that we’re gonna try to get after the good thing is he’s not a Scrambler good thing is he’s a pocket passer uh and so that’s GNA help our defense keeping him in the pocket and hopefully forcing him to to create some more of
Those bad turnovers that he has and keep it out those other other guys hands you know I think that’s one of the things uh our offense against their defense they got a pretty good defense uh I mean that Hunter would has 15 and a half sacks wow
Yeah 15 and a half sacks Flores is just a great uh decord I was listening to some things on him you know he’s he he teaches that you know play Within the scheme don’t get too high don’t get too low but play together as a unit so I
Think that’s another thing that we have to get to if they have a bad play that goes against their defense you know where an offense doesn’t makes a big play they wash it push it away get away with it and move on to the next play so
We’re gonna have to try to string some great offensive plays together so that that bad play just keeps coming back into their mind going oh my God the Lions just went for eight oh my God the Lions just got a first down oh my God the Lions just got another first down oh
My God the Lions just scored and we want to put that doubt in their minds that it it’s just going to continue continue continue and after after that going on and on for a quarter two quarters or three quarters then the doubt is in your
Mind there’s no way we can win this game so we have to put the doubt in the mind of the quarterbacks um mullins’s had that he can’t throw the ball against us and he can’t sit in the pocket and we have to uh string a bunch of plays
Together and hopefully keep Hunter away from adding to that sack total I I agree the offensive line providing Jerry gof the protection the time keeping our running game going because it goes back to what you talked about and what we’ve talked about for a while is one of the
Best friends of this team is winning time of possession because then the defense doesn’t get Overexposed I am hoping the defense will keep up the pressure that we saw last week and and you talked about it with Mullins being the type of quarterback that he is that
Should play into our favor but want get that running game going and so that’s going to be big for us to win the game I think is the running game and getting points up because then again if we get points early that’s going to help the Lions control the narrative as you said
And that’s going to affect the way the Vikings can play the game now coach got got some uh roster moves to talk about we’ve got some things that are happening some that were expecting soon one that’s happening right now um so things we’re looking at is the Lions have got some
Reinforcement is coming back right CD Duce is going to be coming back formerly known as CJ Gardner Johnson um Jason cabinda those are some guys henden hooker is the guy that the lions are looking to activate we know those guys are coming back so it’ll be interesting
To see when they’re available and what’s going to happen with them uh we do have one thing that is uh that is a known thing and that is henden hooker is being activated and in order to do that the Lions released or cut Riley Patterson and so probably not something we saw
Coming two weeks ago three weeks ago but after missing those extra points Mike Badgley got elevated I think the Lions liked the consistency they saw him all of last year again I was a little surprised the way things went with Patterson I thought it would work out a
Little bit better I still feel very comfortable with Badgley he’s got a little bit stronger leg as well and they’re they’re elevating henden hooker because they want to work with the guy can you can you talk to you know the listeners um from a coach’s perspective there’s only four weeks left why why
Elevate hooker he’s probably not seeing the field but but I think there’s some very valuable time here well yeah he’s you know they definitely want to work with him you you you want to you know he has to sit all year but the these are valuable times especially with him being
Able to to run a scout team especially with him being able to get in in and within our offense you know it’s again we talked about this earlier and that’s taking these younger guys and teaching them you know the the right techniques and and the and the offense and the
Defense and things like that so you want to get him into that situation it there won’t be any pressure cooker situations for him because he won’t be getting ready for games but there’ll be pressure cooker situations for him to get in practice and that’s only going to carry
Over into the next year uh you know with with Goff and his contract and of course uh Teddy will be retiring we have already read that Teddy will be retiring after this year and I think he wants to go and Coach High School football God bless him on that one maybe we should
Have teddy call call you up and get get some insights on what it takes yeah I would love to I would I’ll definitely sit down and talk with them about that that would be a lot of fun on that man uh so I think those are situations that
You’re looking at and that’s only gonna uh uh benefit the team in the future uh no matter what we’re going to do with the quarterback situation I I agree it’s one of those things where this is four or five weeks where like you said you can be doing more in practice they can
Work with him it’s a time for him to grow before the off season so that when he comes back the team comes back next spring he’s further along than he would have been otherwise and so it makes a lot of sense and and you don’t need to
Keep two kickers I mean teams just don’t do that you know again people are probably a little surprised by the changes but uh it is what it is and we’re riding with badsley and Lake Campell said they’ve been evaluating and battling it out for weeks um behind the
Scenes and and this is where the lions are comfortable going coach we got a big game here this week it’s on Christmas Eve we’re looking for that Christmas president any final thoughts before we get out of here that’s I think you’re right I think it’s Let’s uh let’s drive
Into the uh into the playoffs let’s drive into winning that crown and uh let’s go on the road and do it in a hostile environment and uh man I wish I was there oh as do I and I I love that drive into it don’t back into it and
That’s what we want to do with the playoffs that Denver game may have been our Get Right game let’s see if this can continue on the road is never an easy place to win I’m looking forward to Sunday and Christmas Eve and seeing what the Lions can do coach thanks for
Joining us as always all right Matt thanks for uh sharing your time with me I appreciate it and have a merry Christmas you also and all the lions fans out there go lions for sure thank you so much for tuning in folks you can find all the episodes at not the same
Old lions.com if you’re listening on YouTube please hit that like button while you’re at it tell your friends about the show Please Subscribe regardless of your listening platform and until next time stay gritty my friends
