Five Detroit Lions players made the trip to the Pro Bowl Games this weekend: tackle Penei Sewell, running back Jahmyr Gibbs, tight end Sam LaPorta, defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Quarterback Jared Goff, center Frank Ragnow, and special teamer Jalen Reeves-Maybin are not there. Even though the amusing photo of Gibbs and Sewell riding the Velocicoaster at Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventure may have already been shared, there is still a ton of news about our Detroit Pro Bowl players to catch up on.
Sewell, who PFF ranks as the league’s top offensive lineman, participated in a one-on-one match between offensive and defensive linemen that YouTuber Deestroying was hosting. The Lions right lineman, who attended the ceremony and was quoted by ESPN’s Eric Woodyard, told YouTuber Deestroying—a former Central Florida kicker Donald De La Haye—that he fully supports head coach Dan Campbell’s leadership and decision-making:
Sewell stated of Campbell, “I’m right next to him if he tells me to jump off a cliff with him.” “I really mean it. We simply need to carry out whatever he orders and says. That’s truly our fault. I like that man.
The Lions’ Pro Bowl players are being covered by team writer Dannie Rogers from Orlando, and the team’s official Twitter account has shared a few quick clips of Sam LaPorta and Aidan Hutchinson doing interviews:
It appears both Hutchinson and LaPorta were asked to wear GoPro cameras (the camera’s harness is visible in Hutchinson’s chat with Rogers above). As a result, expect to see some amazing video of them captured by the Lions media crew over Pro Bowl weekend. In addition, the team uploaded galleries of images from the February 2 and 3 Pro Bowl workouts on the official website. Based on the pictures, the players were interviewed by Rogers on Friday the 2nd and wore GoPros.
At the Pro Bowl Games, though, there were more than just the Lions players present for recognition. Additionally, Dannie Rogers recorded an interview with Shane Fairfield of Muskegon, one of the two winners of the 2023 Don Shula Coach of the Year title. In an article about Fairfield’s achievement, Grand Rapids-based ABC affiliate WZZM 13 stated that the Muskegon Big Reds, with 900 career victories, are the most successful program in Michigan.
The AFC and NFC representatives are chosen by the league from among the high school coaches nominated by the NFL franchises each year. As the NFC choice, Fairfield—the Lions’ 2023 nominee—will attend the Pro Bowl, Super Bowl, and NFL Honors ceremony as an official guest of the league.
Lastly, Supa Hot Fire brought a message regarding the current NFC North Champions to the Pro Bowl. He is the topic of one of the greatest infinite loop meme GIFs ever created, for those who may not know.
Courageous Leader On Friday, Jeremy Reisman was a special guest on Anthony Bellino’s show, X’s and BrO’s. The 17-minute audio clip is available on Spotify.
In his final ranking of the top 15 players for the 2023 season, former NFL quarterback David Carr included two Lions: wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (15th) and quarterback Jared Goff (14th) among all offensive backs and receivers. Sam LaPorta, a tight end, narrowly missed the cut.
Joel Corry of CBS Sports talked on the potential price tag Detroit would face in extending Jared Goff’s contract.
2023 saw a significant advancement for defensive tackle Alim McNeill, per Pro Football Focus:The Lions offensive was one of the most overperforming teams in all of football in 2023, according to NFL.com’s Cynthia Frelund.
Three intriguing insights from Next Gen Stats assist give important background information on how this Detroit offensive functioned. First, the Lions had the top two players in the league in terms of shifts/motions: LaPorta (249 snaps) and St. Brown (220), who were ranked first and second respectively. Second, it was evident that Jared Goff trusted his top target since St. Brown gained 741 yards (tied for third in the NFL) on in-breaking routes.An intriguing footnote to Frelund’s LaPorta statement is that it appears there is statistical evidence to support the claim that LaPorta is one of the key components that enables offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to overwhelm opposition defenders. According to the accompanying StatsBomb_FB graphic, lining up players in unusual positions, or “out of position,” assists the offense more when a team is farther above the line. LaPorta is mostly to blame for the Lions’ nearly entire vertical axis space above the line (a follow-up graphic that does not include tight ends lining up in the slot places the Lions back down on the diagonal line).Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus wrote about projected landing destinations for quarterbacks and wide receivers who are about to become free agents. Josh Reynolds of Detroit, in his opinion, would work well in Washington and Atlanta. Regarding new players, Spielberger believes that Nick Westbrook-Ikhine of Tennessee could be a player that Detroit is considering, but the reasoning for this is a little strange (“vertical field stretcher,” yet Westbrook-Ikhine isn’t very fast).
A few Lions players (along with one non-Lion Detroit resident) turned up to cheer on their neighborhood NBA club from the stands:
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