Lions vs Rams in-stadium postgame report
Lions lose but at least a pretty healthy game overall
The Lions put up a fight for a half but succumbed to the Rams 34-41 in large part due to getting dominated on both sides of the run game. Here are my quick thoughts from my vantage point in the stadium. I haven’t had a chance to watch the TV copy yet.
The LA stadium
The stadium (aka Sofi) is by far the nicest of any I’ve been to in the past few years. This was my 2nd trip there - last time was 2 years ago vs the Chargers.
While the interior and exterior architecture are spectacular, the biggest difference compared to other stadiums is the concourses which are not your typical concrete jungle. They are more like a fancy shopping mall or hotel, and you don’t even see concrete anywhere.
Escalators are everywhere segmenting the concourses, with most segments limited to only seat holders in that area. The segmentation seems to help keep the crowding down and makes walking around pleasant.
Graham Glasgow
Late in the 2nd quarter after an extra point, Glasgow limped off. He still played 100% of snaps. This guy has been battered and bruised over the past 2 seasons. While none of the injuries have been major, the accumulation could be having an effect.
Amik Robertson
Midway through the game, Robertson limped off with a possible left leg injury but seemed fine on the sideline. He was able to continue playing.
Late in the game, he went down nursing a left hand or wrist injury. He was officially listed with a hand. The good news with any hand injury for a defensive back is there is a chance to play through with a splint/cast/club.
On Monday, Dan Campbell said he was “hopeful that he’ll be able to go… He had an MRI. It could affect him a little bit.”
It’s good news that this won’t be anything long-term. The Lions certainly can’t afford to lose any more secondary players with Kerby Joseph, Brian Branch, and Terrion Arnold out.
Aidan Hutchinson
Hutchinson pulled himself out at least a couple times and appeared to be dealing with a sore back on the sideline. It’s also possible that he was just gassed after his early interception return.
For the game, he only played 79% of snaps which is a significant drop from his usual >90%.
Regardless of the reason for the snap count decrease, I fully support keeping him in the 70-80% range for injury risk reduction as well as freshness. Almost all other edge rushers (except Maxx Crosby) are well below 90%. Maybe his sack production and quick pressures would increase with a lowered snap count.
Jake Bates
Bates was off in pregame warmups both to the left and right. He immediately went out and missed the first kick of the game. While technically the stadium is open-air, there was no wind to blame.
As observed by many, Bates has been hit hard way too many times this season. Even a minor ache could be enough to throw off the kicking mechanics.
From an analytics standpoint, I wonder if teams track the kicker’s success rate in warmups to help guide 4th-down decisions. If a kicker is erratic in warmups, maybe a team should lean towards going for it. The Lions were in that analytics gray area with that first 4th-down decision, and maybe the knowledge of Bates’ pregame struggles would have changed the call.
Punt return trick play?
On a punt return in the 2nd half, the Lions sent back Tom Kennedy and Kalif Raymond. There was a time-out on the field which delayed the play, so during that time, Kennedy surreptitiously stood near the sideline appearing to try to hide himself.
It makes you wonder if there was a potential trick play brewing depending on the direction of the kick. The kick ended up being down the middle and the 2 returners collided… almost ending in a disaster.
Left guard rotation
Trystan Colon appeared to have some glaring misses from what I saw. He played 80% of snaps while Miles Frazier got 20%. I don’t know if Frazier is any better, but it might be worth giving him more work - if for nothing else getting him ready for potentially starting next season.
Secondary rotation
The Lions continue to rotate their CB’s which is something I started noticing 3 games ago when Terrion Arnold and DJ Reed were working back from injuries.
I generally love the rotation philosophy for load management, injury risk reduction, and in-game freshness. However, I suspect that the Lions are doing it because none of the CB’s are playing to the desired level.
Here were the final CB snap percentages:
Rock Ya-Sin 89%
DJ Reed 72%
Amik Robertson 61%
Dorsey 1%
Ya-Sin playing the most does fit what I’ve seen with my eyes - that he’s played the best of all the CB’s this season.