Lions game film review: Breaking down Detroit defensive players vs the Chargers

USA Today

4 days ago

Film review sessions are always tougher after a loss, even in the preseason. Though the final score of Thursday night's Hall of Fame game against the Los Angeles Chargers doesn't matter whatsoever, the path to the Lions' 34-7 loss does.
The game left me with a few questions about certain players and decisions when watching in real-time, and my focus in poring over the All-22 was in finding answers to those questions. As such, this film notebook takes on a different format than normal. The focus is on players who made strong initial impressions during the game and ascertaining if those snap judgments hold up under deeper scrutiny.
We'll split these between the offense and defense, with the defenders up first.
Ennis Rakestraw
The second-year CB stood out in real-time for getting torched on a deeper route where he couldn't turn and run with Chargers rookie KeAndre Lambert-Smith. A deeper look shows Rakestraw was riding the struggle bus well before that.
First drive: Rakestraw is the LCB. Chargers motion the TE pre-snap, leaving him at end with no receivers. Rakestraw makes the right read and shoots the B-gap on a handoff and has a chance for a TFL, but his half-hearted tackle attempt fails. Didn't use his arms, didn't control his momentum. After the play, it's clear his recent chest injury (a contusion from the Lions first practice) is bothering him.
The Chargers flash the same basic set a couple of plays later and Rakestraw again makes the proper read but doesn't get to the point of attack until after Grant Stuard has swallowed the ball carrier in the backfield.
Now, the coverage loss...
No. 9 is in press-man coverage, but he fails to use his arms at all at the line. This allows Lambert-Smith, a fifth-round rookie, to get outside leverage. Note that Rakestraw's safety help is high and inside, meaning that Rakestraw (likely--we don't know the call) was supposed to use outside leverage and steer the route inside to his help. We see this concept in practice quite a bit. Rakestraw loses two steps in the ensuing footrace in under 10 yards and gets somewhat bailed out by Trey Lance's looping throw, allowing safety Loren Strickland to finally get there. Add in a later penalty for illegal hands to the face, and it was a very rough night for No. 9.
Rock Ya-Sin
Rakestraw's presumptive primary competition for the No. 3 outside CB role was, by contrast, arguably the Lions' best player in the game. Two great, solo open-field tackles, the first of which prevented a touchdown (for one play). Lance didn't try to throw at No. 23 in part because Ya-Sin properly used his physicality at the line and controlled his leverage and assignment proactively. He looked very much like a veteran playing against unsavvy younger players.
Throughout his NFL career, Ya-Sin has struggled with penalties. He's done a better job throughout training camp of knowing when to let go, and that translated to the field against the Chargers. The only flaw was a poor outside contain block on the second kick return. Stock way up on Ya-Sin.
Zach Cunningham
The veteran LB has had a great training camp, but that did not show against the Chargers. From the opening drive, when No. 52 ran past two would-be tackles, it was a rough go for Cunningham. On the play before the Chargers missed field goal, even after Lance gets flushed to the right side, Cunningham remains too deep and stuck in the middle in no-man's land in coverage (this was Rakestraw's best play of the night, effectively covering two receivers at once because Cunningham and safety Loren Strickland aren't where they're supposed to be).
As was the case with nearly all of the LBs (Grant Stuard being the notable exception), Cunningham was a step slower in game action than we've seen on the practice field. Whether it was holding inside a count too long before attacking an edge run, or being a half-step tentative in picking up a tight end releasing from the line, Cunningham and the rest of the LBs struggled more than expected. That was especially true of the next player...
Anthony Pittman
Pittman is entering his seventh NFL season in Detroit (and a brief interlude in Jacksonville). He's been a longtime special teams contributor, but his work as an off-ball LB has been hit-and-miss throughout his preseasons and brief (under 200 snaps) regular-season defensive appearances. So it's frustrating when No. 41 remains almost completely devoid of instincts, and that's what we saw on Thursday night.
I counted five different run defense reps where Pittman guessed wrong. Wrong gap, wrong angle, wrong containment lane, it was a little bit of everything. Just for good measure, he also missed a tackle opportunity on Jack Fox's first punt.
Trevor Nowaske
Another linebacker who didn't have a great night, Nowaske's struggles were most evident in coverage. The first play of the Chargers' second drive is a great example. Nowaske does a nice job of initially identifying his responsibility on the play, which was RB Jaret Patterson leaking out to his side. But Nowaske inexplicably drops away and leaves plenty of room for Lance to find Patterson in the flat.
That was one of a couple of instances where Nowaske overreacted to the offense and lost his assignment. Had he stuck with the design of the defense, it would have gone much better. There's a fine risk/reward line between going to try and make a play and leaving your post, and Nowaske was on the wrong side of those decisions too much in this game. Earning two encroachment penalties doesn't help Nowaske, either (though he wasn't the only guilty part on the second one).
There were some positives for Nowaske. On the Stuard sack, Nowaske was in perfect coverage on FB Scott Matlock as he drifted over the middle as the outlet receiver. He also had a very nice block on the opening kickoff.
Loren Strickland
In a complex battle for the No. 4 safety, Strickland did not help himself against the Chargers. Much more known for his hitting and box-filling abilities in run defense, the inability to stick with targets in the passing game is to be expected with No. 24, with the tradeoff being that he'll be a big asset against the run.
That didn't happen in Canton. Strickland hit but didn't wrap on a couple of occasions. Most notably, the Chargers' second TD play (right after the first Kyle Allen INT). Strickland (and Cunningham a beat later) filled the proper gap in time to make a stop at the 1-yard line, but he just bounced off with a glancing blow to the side.
Ian Kennelly
The undrafted rookie from Grand Valley State is part of that battle at safety with Strickland, and No. 27 was the best of the combatants, a group that also includes seventh-round rookie Dan Jackson (more on him below) and Morice Norris (a quiet night aside from a missed tackle). Kennelly did miss a tackle, but he delivered the best hit-and-drop of the night for either team. He was very quick to read the offense and showed some anticipation skills in coverage. Kennelly also scored a win on a punt coverage rep, which is vital for depth safeties in Detroit.
Dan Jackson
Like Kennelly, Jackson saw a lot of diverse action in the game. He was at his best playing in the box, where Jackson offered up a couple of very nice seek-and-destroy quick reactions on short passes. His block avoidance radar needs to sharpen, but Jackson did well in trusting his eyes and striking without losing sight of the bigger play around him. Decent debut for No. 28 overall.
Ahmed Hassanein
True to what we've seen every day in practices, Hassanein brings the energy and intensity to every rep. I was excited to see him square off against unfamiliar blockers in his pass rush, and unfortunately the same lack of technical prowess showed against the Chargers that we see in Allen Park. If his initial power move doesn't work, his lack of countermoves are glaring. The enthusiastic rookie DE did score a couple of pas-rush wins with burst off the line and beating the blocker's arms from getting into his chest.
The run defense was very good from No. 61. His ability to anchor and set a hard edge is something the Lions coaches love, and he was able to do that on a few plays against the Chargers. I liked how Hassanein kept his eyes up and working his way to the point of attack without ceding containment. The violence in his movements gets him off blocks, and he proved to Patterson that he can finish his hits.
Dicaprio Bootle
Bootle has not had a very good training camp outside of one drill period last Monday, so it wasn't a surprise to see him struggle against the Chargers. The most obvious example is the touchdown catch-and-run by Lambert-Smith, where Bootle opened up the wrong way with his hips, gave away the inside and helplessly lunged at feet that weren't there anymore.
Chris Smith and Pat O'Connor
I'm lumping the two interior linemen together because that's how they played at their best--together. Smith had a great rep on the Chargers' third series where he saw that O'Connor was pushing his blocker deeper to the inside, so he peeled off to his right and caused chaos in the process. Smith was stout at standing up to the interior run blocking.
O'Connor was more active in the pass rush, using his long arms to give himself space to operate an inside move. I like how No. 95 kept his shoulders clean when shooting the gap. His anchor in run defense wasn't great, but paired with Smith, he definitely held his own. His quickness off the snap outshone fellow DT Raequan Williams, who didn't have a bad night by any means, either.
Nate Lynn
The young defensive end adapted well from what we've seen in practice into the game. His long-arm rush was effective at times, but where Lynn stood out was his ability to mix things up. No. 57 made a very nice display of awareness and hustle on a run play shortly after the Craig Reynolds touchdown. He held the edge against LT Corey Stewart well, then he quickly disengaged and made a nice open-field tackle as the runner cut back his way.
Lynn was the Lions' most effective pass rusher on the night, the only EDGE who could consistently win with a move and then follow it with a strong path to the quarterback. He didn't get any sacks or QB hits, but Lynn did force Lance to move off his mark a couple of times. Stock up for 57.