By Roy J. Akers — www.skyviewsports.net
Detroit, Mich. — The Lions played the turkey. Green Bay solidified their playoff chances and JJ McCarthy gets a vote of confidence.
They Said It… Lions DJ Reed after 27-24 loss to Green Bay
“The playoffs are now, that should be the mindset,” Reed told the Free Press after a 31-24 Thanksgiving loss to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday, Nov. 27. “In a way, yes, we are in a hole. We’re 7-5, so we just got to win.”
They Said it… Lions Coach Dan Campbell
“Like I told the team, it’s frustrating, I know,” Campbell said. “But we’ve got a lot to be thankful for, even after a loss. And, look, we dug ourselves a little bit of a hole. That’s the bottom line. We are in a little bit of a hole. But that’s just what it is.”
They Said It… Justin Jefferson: It’s early for J.J. McCarthy
J.J. McCarthy missed five games with an ankle injury and he hasn’t played well when he’s been on the field, which has led some to question his chances of living up to his status as a top-10 draft pick in 2024. On Wednesday, Jefferson said that his long-term faith in McCarthy has not wavered.
“It’s early,” Jefferson said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. “He’s new to the game. He’s new to the NFL. He’s learning just like everyone else has to learn as a rookie, and he obviously had to go through the mental stage of having to overcome an injury the first year. So just a tough transition for him. But I feel like just him learning these past couple games, and of course learning [during] the stretch of this season, I feel like he’s going to bounce back in a different way than everybody else is going to think so.”
They said It…Brandin Cooks
Other questions remain unanswered. Mainly because they haven’t been asked. Did Cooks know the Bills would sign him when he gave up $2.11 million from the Saints? Did his agent negotiate directly with the Bills before he was released by the Saints?
Receiver Brandin Cooks was willing to give up $2.11 million in current and future guaranteed pay for a shot at free agency. One day after he cleared waivers, Cooks made a beeline for Buffalo and quarterback Josh Allen.
“I mean . . . the opportunity to be able to play with Josh is — I mean, you can’t pass up that opportunity,” Cooks told reporters on Wednesday. “He’s a special player. All you do is hear about this organization from afar being a special place, and how they treat players. It’s all about ball. So I’m thankful to be here, for sure.”
Chip Kelly allegedly did NOT know the playbook
He is now unemployed. Pete Carroll had had enough. “There were times, I was told, where Chip Kelly was repeatedly botching the play calls, where he’s supposed to be, for instance, tagging the motion on a play, so the receiver’s on the left, not the right. He forgets to say it, so Geno Smith is at the line of scrimmage going, ‘This doesn’t look right’ and they’re trying to run a play,” Pelissero told Rich Eisen. “Chip, I was told, on several occasions called a play that was either not in the game plan or not installed at all.”
Kelly has had plenty of success at the college level, but his three NFL jobs — head coach of the Eagles and 49ers, and this year as offensive coordinator of the Raiders — have all ended badly. If he wants to keep coaching, the 62-year-old Kelly will have options in college. But he may have proven himself once and for all a bad fit in the NFL.
