Pride of Detroit
Breaking down every passing opportunity from Hendon Hooker in the Lions’ preseason opener.
One of the biggest storylines from the Detroit Lions’ preseason opener was the disappointing play from the backup quarterbacks. When it comes to third-year passer Hendon Hooker, there was an expectation—based on gained experience and training camp hype—that he would have looked far more polished. Instead, Hooker went just 3-of-6 for 18 yards, two sacks, and an interception.
And while coach Dan Campbell offered some praise for Hooker, most of that came in the form of his pre-snap work, getting the team into proper protections against the Chargers defense.
That is a sign of progress, for sure, but the post-snap work was undoubtedly concerning. So I went back and watched all the all-22 film of Hooker’s 11 dropbacks to see what went wrong for the former third-round pick.
Result: Scramble for 2 yards
(Note: This play was oddly missing from the all-22 film, so I had to rely on the broadcast angle)
On a play-action rollout, Hooker immediately has a blitzing defender in his face. While Lovett is open, Hooker doesn’t really have the opportunity to throw it over the charging defender, so he makes a nice spin move to make the linebacker miss, picks up a couple yards... and SLIDES! Progress!
Result: Incomplete
Hooker’s first throw of the game came on a very unfavorable down and distance. Still, you’d like to see a better throw here. There may have been a miscommunication between him and receiver Dominic Lovett—Lovett sat down in an open spot of the zone when there was likely some room to continue his route before the safety was a problem—but it doesn’t really excuse an undeniably high, inaccurate throw.
Result: Complete pass to Dominic Lovett for 7 yards, first down
Hooker immediately sees that the corner opposite Lovett is in zone, giving him complete inside leverage. Hooker wastes no time delivering a throw, but it, too, is high. Lovett has to leave his feet to catch it, and does a good job of spinning away from contact to fall forward for the first down.
After three straight runs, Hooker again makes a quick, decisive read. After looking off tight end Zach Horton in the flats—drawing the playside corner outside—he finds Jackson Meeks for an easy 5-yard pickup. Nothing fancy here, but it’s the right progression of reads, and an accurately delivered ball. When Dan Campbell talked about wanting his quarterbacks to just take what the defenses are giving them, this is what he’s talking about.
Play result: Incomplete deep pass to Jakobie Keeney-James
In a max-protect look, Hooker immediately looks to Keeney-James’ side of the field, where he’s the only receiver. With the single-high safety cheating to the other side of the field, he has Keeney-James essentially in a one-on-one look. The receiver...
