Knowing plays ‘common’ in NFL
Lions were simply ‘out-executed,’ says coach Patricia
In strategic places throughout their Allen Park practice facility, the Detroit Lions have TV monitors hanging from the wall that remind players of some of the coaches they’ll face in their upcoming National Football League game.
Last week, for instance, every time players passed the team meeting room they were greeted by a screen that listed Todd Bowles, Jeremy Bates and Kacy Rodgers as the New York Jets’ head coach, offensive co-ordinator and defensive co-ordinator, respectively.
First-year Lions coach Matt Patricia started the practice this summer as a way to emphasize information in the team’s detailed scouting reports.
Rogers is known for his aggressive defensive fronts and mixing personnel groupings, while Bates and new Jets running game coordinator Rick Dennison favour outside zone running plays.
Scouting reports are so nuanced that little slips through the cracks, which is why Patricia downplayed the advantage several Jets players said they had in Monday’s 48-17 opening-game route by knowing some of the plays Matthew Stafford and the Lions offence were about to run.
“I would say that was very much, on the flip side, a Dennison run game, it was a base offensive pass game. It was a Todd Bowles and Kacy defence,” Patricia said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday. “So I think on both sides of the ball we knew exactly what everybody was trying to do.”
The difference, Patricia said, is that the Jets were able to execute “a lot better” than the Lions, which is why they were able to force four Stafford interceptions and score 31 unanswered points in the third quarter.
“I think we’re talking about something that’s pretty common to when you have to face an opponent, there’s going to be things there that you’re very familiar with,” Patricia said. “Obviously, I would say, on both sides of the ball, there’s some high familiarity with some of the things that they do that we worked (in practice). They just obviously out-executed us and that was the biggest problem.”
Jets linebacker Darron Lee said he was alerted by teammates to a pick play the Lions ran on a key third-and-one conversion attempt Monday.
Lee jumped the pass to Theo Riddick and returned it 36 yards for a momentum-shifting touchdown.
“There’s certainly very simplistic things that are used in the course of a game where guys do a good job of hearing things or studying things and seeing stuff at that standpoint,” Patricia said.
“We certainly have the same situation for our side. We study opponents the same as everybody else does, and you kind of group, I would say, things into categories based on schemes and systems and that’s really important to understand. When you can do that, sometimes that’s helpful and sometimes it’s not.”
As the Lions started their game-week preparation for the San Francisco 49ers this week, Patricia addressed suggestions that his players quit in that avalanche of a third quarter, when they allowed touchdowns rushing, receiving and in the return game, in addition to Lee’s defensive score.
“I think our guys fight hard every time,” Patricia said. “I think they really try to do everything they can to win. We have competitive guys.”
Patricia said he believes Lions players have fully bought into his demanding, hands-on coaching style, and he said there’s a good exchange of ideas between players and coaches that should help as the Lions try to dig out of their 0-1 start.
“These guys work really hard every single day,” he said. “I give them a lot of credit for everything they try to do and they come in, they try to do it the right way and we’re obviously pushing forward and trying to learn and grow and get better at everything we’re doing right now so I don’t see any issue there whatsoever.”