Preseason Game One Preview | Detroit Lions Podcast

hey everyone this is Jeff risen from the Detroit Lions podcast in Lions wire coming at you with a little bit of a preview for who I'm going to be watching when the Lions play the New York Giants preseason game on Thursday [Music] night finally got some football coming very excited about preseason action probably not going to see a lot of the lions that many of you know and love and uh want to see and will be important Dan G will basically rule that out in his press conference on Tuesday jarro Go's not going to play not going to see Taylor Decker probably not going to see pan Su Aiden Hinson Aman ra St Brown basically anybody who's critical to the success of the team in 2024 you're not going to see him if you do it might be for a play or two um and after the way that the two teams fought repeatedly in practices this week in New York I think they're playing at all so this this week is going to be all about guys fighting for Reserve jobs and trying to prove that they actually have earned those jobs so with that in mind first guy I'm watching probably the first guy that most of you are watching and you probably expect me to say this is hon hooker he might play the entire game this is the first time we get to see hen hooker play against another team in live reps and I'm fascinated to see how it goes because I have seen a lot offt man I've seen some bad fer this this offseason training camp OTAs I just want to see him get into a game and show what he's got or what he doesn't have it's more about I just want to know you know I generally feel pretty good about hooker but there's things you know that I want I want to see I want to see what happens when he gets a blitz that he hasn't seen before when he's throwing against defensive backs that he doesn't know necessarily their Tendencies all that well I like you do one of the things that happens in training camp is that you're throwing against the same guys all the time you're throwing to the same guys all the time well they sort of learn your Tendencies and you sort of learn theirs and that that's one of the reasons why joint practice s of so great and why the preseason is so valuable because you're finally getting a chance to go against other dudes and uh for hooker it's reading a different style of Defense it's understanding that different quarterbacks might have different traits uh their safeties are different than our safeties means that they might be more prone to breaking on a ball and you might be able to catch them um how much can you manipulate them with your eyes that sort of thing I also want to see if he's going to be fine on running taking off on running and what happens at the end of a run cuz uh he hasn't been allowed to be hit yet he's a very talented Runner we've seen seen him take off in practice we've seen him throw off platform on the run in practice and it's looked pretty good quite frankly but there's something different when the defense can come up and and pop you at the end of your run so I I'm curious if that scenario comes up what happens with him overall I I expect him to show a little bit of rust a little bit of greenness but overall I think he's going to do pretty well um that's my expectation anyways and maybe it's faulty to have expectations going into the preseason game but there's a lot writing on him quite frankly if uh you know if he can't answer the bell in these preseason games it's going to be very disappointing let's put it that way next up on the list who I'm looking at but let's stick on the offensive backfield says a Do or Die time for a couple of running backs but specifically jar Jefferson his fourth season hasn't played yet in the regular season you know appreciable time at all he's in a real fight to make this roster it's a very uphill battle he now he he's certainly not ahead obviously Jamar Kips David Montgomery out very highly we see either of them in any capacity in this game Craig Reynolds has put a strangle hold on the number three running back spot he's been fantastic this summer I don't think we've talked enough about him uh he's he's earned it he has seen the challenge to his I don't know Carry's position by son vaki vaki is making the team he's the number four running back uh he will see him a lot on special teams you'll see him in the back field on this game as well um and uh watch for who a receiver back to Jamar I just need to see him show something that makes him worth keeping even on the practice squad look he's been great in training camp he's having his best training camp in my opinion he's picked up some semblance of pass protection which he's never had before he's done fairly well on special scams which he never really done before this is a year though we like if he doesn't make the the the active 53 and it's doubtful that he does do he even keep him on the practice squad is he going to be like you know what I kind of want to try somewhere else well this is sort of him auditioning for that you know the Giants don't have a great deal of running back depth maybe he can stick there um as they as they're number five on the practice squad instead of being that in Detroit where he knows that he can't necessarily climb that Hill ever so I want to see how he responds to that and I also want to see him how how he plays against other Defenders because uh the Lions defense this this is where it hurts when you've been there for a long time and haven't really progressed all that much do they know what you're doing they know they understand that he's going to try to bounce that cut to the right all the time that's just what he does uh they understand that if you get into his pad on a pass protection he's going to give away like that so this is a chance for him to sort of you know show that he belongs in the NFL if not in Detroit then somewhere and that's pretty powerful incentive for a guy that's uh been around for a little bit obviously the tight end battle um after Brock Wright and Sam leaport leaport is clearly not going to play um I am not in New York I'm actually at a park in Grand Rapids right now I'm sorry about the lawn mowing I'm near a baseball field um this is the only time in place that I could squeeze getting a video in here um the indication are from New York and I talked to a couple people who are actually there and uh have have seen lorta that he's going to be fine just just a minor minor hamstring tweak that he did last Friday it's not a big deal uh he would play if it was a regular season game but obviously you don't need to do that now so this is a huge game for James Mitchell he has fallen on the depth chart he is no higher than fifth on the depth chart I think Parker hassie uh and Shane zra have passed him and he's got to show something this is his we're getting to the point now where it's crapper get off the pot with him um he's obviously got athletic potential he's got blocking potential and there are times where we see it but there are far too many times where we don't see enough of it where it just doesn't manifest into football talent and uh for me personally it's a little disappointing because I liked him coming out of Virginia Tech I think that knee injury that he had as a senior at at or his last year at H I don't know if he was underclass or he he's just never recovered the confidence in the strength of his leg from that that that's my speculative opinion in watching him because he has changed um he is not the same player that he was at Virginia Tech and I know I know he gets that he did very well in the RAS testing um that that math bomb does so well but it doesn't translate on the field all that often and it's frustrating because you do see it from time to time but not enough and this is a chance again he's in the same boat as Jefferson where if he's not making the Lions and there's a decent chance he doesn't he's trying to audition for his next team and why not the Giants will one of the reason why not the Giants because they have like eight tight ends in Camp they're having a battle of their own so um they also have a lot of linebacker um uncertainty in New York and this is a game where he can maybe get get over on some linebackers that are trying a little too hard um and you know punching a little bit above their weight class so uh big game for James Mitchell just let's just you know we'll just go position by position wide receiver everybody's favorite guy that they've never heard of before is Doris Fountain um reys has had a great Camp he has gotten first team reps he's earned them he's wide receiver three right now in my eyes and I think the team SE SE him that way too um they certainly did last week he needs to show it in a game he's been around a long time this is guy who's fought through a lot of injuries um an injury quite frankly that that he didn't recover from all that well uh an ankle injury back in the day uh that that styed his Colts career he's healthy he looks great he's a big dude he can make catches away from his body frame he transitions well from receiver to Runner he's ahead of donov of people's jobs he's certainly ah head of anwan green I want to see him prove it in a game and solidify the fact that he belongs on the 53 man roster and those guys don't uh big time for Doris Fountain to do that now the Giants have a pretty good secondary you know in general we as lions fans tend to crap on the Giants from from where they've been they got some people in that secondary they can play and their defensive Line's pretty solid too like they're they're not a defense that's going to give things away they do have some visual dep faity so it's not going to be easy for him I expect him to be the featured receiver if you're one of those degenerates who plays fantasy football in the preseason I would put a lot of your shares in Doris Fountain I think he's going to think re is going to going to have a big game or the potential for a big game I should say I want to see him do it though also Kaden Davis I'm watching you watching you do well please um Jaylen callon too um there's a lot of wide receivers to watching this game but specifically Fountain because I think this is going to be his best chance to shine against fairly legitimate NFL competition I don't believe the Giants are playing much of their starting lineup either you're probably not going to see Deontay Banks out there probably not going to see you know any Giants that you've heard of you're probably not going to see it either so um that's the offensive side of the ball oops I forgot the offensive line sorry I got distracted there was a really pretty woman walking with a very cute dog um that took my mind off the offensive line I'm back now little moment of bliss there um gvan Manu of course is who we're going to be watching we all want to see what happens with him he has struggled this off season that's kind of being kind he does not look like he's played an appreciable amount of football and obviously the athletic potential is guys it's ridiculous how good he looks as an athlete as a football player Hank fre the offensive line coach has a lot of work to do we get to see the fruits of that labor early on uh he's going to play a lot in this game I would suspect uh there's there's actually quite a few offensive linemen to watch U Michael nce is going to be the center he in my opinion has taken over the the job as the backup center and also the top interior offensive line Reserve he saw that a little bit on Tuesday where uh he played first team team right Right Guard with Kevin zler out and uh he's had a very good camp not enough people are talking about Michael ni I think he's a guy that's G to prove himself but uh Manu I just want to see him look like he's capable enough to to be on an active roster without the Lions being laughed at for it um and and that I know that sounds harsh but it's been it's been rough man um like we know he's a we know he's a developmental project there's nothing wrong with that that they they didn't need a a guy in that Spa right now Kobe Sorel has taken over as the uh as the top swing tackle Dan Skipper's still around like we're good there like I understand the plan I'm I'm good with the plan but I think even the Lions themselves have been taken a back at just how far away Manu is and this is a chance for him to show that he's learning and growing from what everything that he's being taught in practice I mean literally he did not know the difference between a run set and a pass Set uh in rookie mini camp like they were ha fry was out there teaching him the proper footwork like oh oh I got to do it this way um like it complete complete naif in uh in football terms so just building him up and tapping into the incredible amount of athletic potential that he's got this is his first chance to field test that against uh a Giants team that is trying very hard to sort out their pass rush situation behind their starters so he's going to see a lot of action I would suspect probably at right tackle and uh you know those giants guys are going to be hungry they they do Blitz some you're going to see some blitzing from that so let's see if he picks those things up see how well he communicates with the the guard to his inside shoulder whether that's somebody that he's familiar with or not and whether that changes or not throughout the game just a little nuances of things I want him to look comfortable playing football um that's that's a pretty low bar but I think that's what that's that's what I want to see from Manu so uh big number 59 out there fingers are crossed he shows okay uh because it sounds like from the report out of New York that he is progressing some uh there's a lot of progress to be made let's hope that it starts showing some fruition in there but uh Manu would be the guy that I'm looking at on the offensive line now let's go to the defense the side of the ball defensive tackle obviously last year's project last year's version of juvani Manu brri Martin he's looked a lot better in Camp and that that just a cycle that's one of the reasons why I'm not too worried about hanu and where he's at right now because I've seen where brard Martin was at this time a year ago to where he is now the the Lions assistant coaching emphasis on teaching and Player Development did wonders for brri Martin we're going to see some truits of the labor of that hopefully in against New York that does not have a good offensive line and specifically doesn't have any depth at all on the offensive line This is a game where Martin can make some hay I apologize for the construction going hot me here but again this is like the only time that I can get this done so uh you have to bear with it uh for those of you doing the audio only version um I'm out is a beautiful day out here uh in Grand Rapids I'm at a park U and unfortunately when we get beautiful days people interrupts my workflow nonetheless brri Martin um should have a good game playing as a nose tackle I want to see him keep his Pad level down that's something that when when he and when Chris and I talk to him right after he got drafted he talked about his Pad level and how it needed to improve well I've seen better pad level from the summer I want to see it in a game against unfamiliar opponents so he's he's a guy that I'm certainly watching Edge pass rush whatever you want to call it Matthew Betts put up a shut up time he Canadian football star came down looked pretty good in mini camp training Camp's been a different story since the pads came on he has struggled Dan Campbell talked about that they're going to scale back what they were trying to have him do they were trying to teach him the Sam roll just wasn't the crash course just wasn't working for bets so they simplified things for and they scaled back his responsibilities I want to see how that looks again the Giants have a lot of very inexperienced very um uncertain offensive tackle depth so his best chance to shine I'll say this if he doesn't do something in this game he might not make it to the next game uh he might be a guy that the lions are just like you know what between Mitchell agude at James Houston at Derek Barnes taking over that Sam roll and running away with it you know we we've got some guys we we do the heavy end a lot um where you know Levi aloque can slide out there and play some Josh Pascal is is certainly going to be a big part of that equation you know may maybe go find try to clitch on somewhere else um it it really is that that big of a game for bets so uh let's see what what big number 95 can do hopefully something because like I've only had a couple of interactions with him I like the dude I'm rooting for him got to see something in this game uh big big game for Matthew bats linebacker you know what there's not a lot of there's not a lot of questions about what's going to happen with this team uh it doesn't look like Rodrigo's going to play after he sat out the practice um the Lineback cor is essentially set so in this game I'm watching special teams and I'm watching a guy like Daron Gilbert the undrafted rookie from Northern Illinois um by way of Lafayette uh by way of Detroit Brother Rice High School really good story he's had a decent Camp I would say he was better before the Pats came on WE we'll see what he can do um and again this is all about special teams if they're keeping an extra linebacker will be in the Special Teams capacity so let's see what he can do uh in punt coverage and kick return blocking specifically that is we'll jump ahead of the Special Teams real quick the new kickoff return the coverage has actually looked pretty good but I think so that as the fact that the blocking has not been good not today F standards let's put it that way so uh if he can stand out in that that's his shot sticking at least on the breakfast Squad so uh good luck to you donon you're a good guy uh I'm rooting for you as well um not that I'm rooting against anybody but look I'm a fan like there's certain guys that you just like more you know where you connect with them it's Ron gilber for me he's a m guy I'm a ma guy Cloud Ohio Bobcat going to be terrible this year by the way quarterbacks at Indiana running backs I think college football different different showe defensive backs let's get to them get back on course here that that very beautiful woman just walked by again I'm I'm smiting yeah the dog's actually really cute too I turn the camera up but I don't want to completely embarrass myself well cornerbacks Ami Robertson I think I think he's settled in obviously losing em Manuel mostly a massive blow that sucks for Ean like feel bad for the guy I really do cuz he had looked very good in the slot this is in the r draw time to shine he should be better than anybody he's going against from the Giants receiving core I want to see prove that rraw has definitely impressed me all summer with his progress with his uh physicality and coverage with his ball skills with the ball in the air let's go 15 uh you're playing for a bigger role I think you can go out and win it this week so uh this this is a great game to watch Andis rra he's probably going to play a lot situation where if you're a a lions fan waned to get a good look at your rookie class he is the most prominent rookie to look at in this game so number 15 Andis rraw will probably play some in the slot you might see him outside as well um but that's that's where my eyes will be focused there obviously the kicking game Jake Bates not good lately it's been rough uh sounds like he had a very rough day on Tuesday uh it kicking I know he missed at least three kicks uh perhaps four or five depending on your Source uh the Giants interestingly the Giants was a lot more negative tinged towards baates than I expected them to be um just reading their notes uh we as lions fans we're rooting for the guy like he's a Michigan panther he's a great story we've seen him do some interesting things in Camp but he's been barely a 50% kicker the last three times he's kicked live that's not great but this is a chance he hits a 60 yard in this G ball is Forgiven also I want to see if Dan tries to kick the long field goal instead of going for it we're we will learn a little bit about Dan Campbell and whether he's going to trust his kicker in a situation in a meaningless game or not think that's going to be something that a lot of fans and media gadflies are going to be looking at that's your Giants game Go Lions [Music] n [Music]