Pride of Detroit
It’s tough to label a regular season game in September as a statement win, but sometimes you just have to call a spade a spade. The Detroit Lions walked into M&T Bank Stadium on Monday night, and repeatedly punched the Baltimore Ravens in the mouth. Defensively, they controlled the trenches, sacking two-time MVP Lamar Jackson seven times, while also limiting Baltimore running back Derrick Henry’s production on the ground. On offense, it was another clinic put on by Detroit as they amassed 224 rushing yards to go along with four touchdowns on the evening.
For this week’s film study, we are focusing on how the Lions were able to push the Ravens around with their running game, while also taking a look at a couple of big-time throws in key moments from quarterback Jared Goff.
To start things off we begin with just under 12 minutes left in the second quarter, and the Lions in 12 personnel with both tight ends lined up outside of left tackle Taylor Decker. The play is a quick-pitch that is designed to get running back David Montgomery the ball early on, so that he can get up to speed as he approaches the line of scrimmage.
Watch as both Decker and center Graham Glasgow climb to the second level to wall off the linebackers, while guards Christian Mahogany and Tate Ratledge both execute clean reach-blocks. The result is a big crease in the middle of the defense, allowing Montgomery to get upfield in a hurry.
Moving on to a bit later in the same series as the above clip, we have a shining example of the Lions perfectly executing duo. Now if you are wondering what duo actually is as a concept, it is relatively simple. Think of it as, “power without the pullers.” It is a concept that is focused on the double teams, where everyone else along the line is focused on blocking down in an attempt to pin the defense to the backside of the run.
Detroit ran this quite a bit against Baltimore, and for good reason. Just look at the surge the line creates at the snap, and how clean the blocks from Mahogany and Ratledge are once they climb to the linebackers.
In our last play from this series, we jump to a second-and-9 situation with just over eight minutes remaining in the first half. And what do we know? More duo! This time, Lions’ running back Jahmyr Gibbs receives the handoff from Goff, where he runs right off Ratledge’s hip, as he, Glasgow, and Mahogany once again create a giant running lane right through the heart of Baltimore’s defense.
The 18-play drive is eventually capped off with a Montgomery touchdown in what was the first of two series for the Lions that were over 95 yards.
Next up, we have Montgomery’s 72-yard scamper that really opened things up for the Lions. With just under three minutes left in the third quarter, Goff comes out...
