Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images From the worst offensive performance in years, to some DVOA/PFF hate, here are the 7 top quotes from Detroit Lions coordinators this week. Time to recap the Detroit Lions coordinator press conferences again this week as the team prepares for the Jacksonville Jaguars. This week’s topics vary from offensive struggles vs. the Texans, to a big, long rant about PFF grades and the DVOA metric. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson On the Lions defense: “It’s year 13, I say this all the time, best defense I’ve ever been around. It is a comforting thought knowing that we are putting them in some tough spots at times and they’re just powering through. They don’t blink an eye. Turnover, poor field position, a three-and-out by us, they go out there they just get us the ball right back right away. It’s a very comforting thought and the challenge for us as an offense right now is to pull our weight because we feel like those two other units are doing it on their side of the ball right now.” It’s become a running gag over the last three weeks that Johnson has opened his press conference with, “How about that…” filling in the blank with either the defense, special teams, or in the case this week, both. But Johnson went above and beyond talking about the Lions defense this week, which makes sense considering their excellent performance last week—and, really, all season. On offense’s performance vs. Texans: “The first half was some of the poorest football we’ve probably played in the last two-and-a-half years and fortunately at halftime we got our act together. I know we still had a couple of turnovers there in the second half, but our guys are playing harder and certainly, in the fourth quarter we did what we needed to do to win that football game. That was good to see, it was a different type of game. We hadn’t seen that from the 2024 Detroit Lions yet—that much adversity, particularly early in a game, and to be able to overcome that was pretty promising for what could unfold down the road here.” Johnson didn’t pull any punches about how bad the Lions came out of the game against the Texans. He gave credit to Houston later, noting that they came out, as anticipated, with passion and aggression, but he wasn’t happy with how they initially responded. That said, his overall takeaway is notable—that if Detroit can withstand that, they may be capable of anything. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn On why Jared Goff impressed him vs. Texans “The one guy that stood out more to me than anybody, and this is going to sound a little funny with me saying this, is our quarterback. For him to go through what he did and to be able to take this team under his wing and drive the ball and score the touchdown that we needed and make the critical plays that we needed to give us a chance to win that game was outstanding. He didn’t blink and that’s the one thing that showed up more than anything is the leadership, the toughness, the ability to take a team on his back and go win a game was outstanding to see.” It’s interesting to see how much praise Goff is getting after his five interception performance against the Texans. Coach Dan Campbell absolved him of most the blame for each interception, and there is likely some significant truth to that. There is undeniable truth in what Glenn says here, as Goff has been long praised for his ability to stay level and calm in the face of adversity, and the Texans game was a perfect example of that. On Josh Paschal’s growth: “What he’s done, he’s starting to understand, ‘This is who I am. I’m not Aidan (Hutchinson), I’m not (Marcus) Davenport, I’m Paschal and here’s what my strong points are.’ And that’s a beautiful thing to see when a player starts to recognize, ‘Here’s who I am and here’s what I’m good at and I’m going to do that the best I can be and I’m continuing to learn the other things that I want to continue to improve on.’ He’s starting to do that.” Unprompted, Glenn said that Paschal’s performance was “outstanding.” The above quote is what Glenn said when asked to dive more into his overall development now that he’s getting on the field more. Detroit will lean heavily on Paschal down the stretch, so to hear of his progress is very encouraging. On James Houston vs. the Texans: “I don’t want to say turned the corner, but I will say that you saw the improvement and I think he got the message of what the expectations of him needs to be and that has to be on a week-to-week basis. And again, like I said, the pass rush, I knew that was going to be there. The way he played the run in this game, that’s what I was excited about for that player because now it’s just going to give him the confidence to go out and do all the things that we know he can do at a better rate.” Glenn is often reserved in his praise of his own players, hoping they don’t get complacent. That is certainly the case with Houston here, as he was clearly happy with how Houston played, but he needs to see it on a more consistent basis. Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp On Jake Bates: “I mean the performance was obviously big time, it was incredible, it was fun to watch. I feel the exact same way about him as I have, really, from the beginning. I mean, he’s still a developing player and he’s going to continue to get better and he’s still got things to work on. We wanted those balls right down the middle, not on the edge of the uprights.” “He’s going to have some ups

Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images The Detroit Lions (8-1) will take on the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-8) in Week 11 inside Ford Field in downtown Detroit. This is the third season in the Jaguars organization for head coach Doug Pederson and offensive coordinator Press Taylor, but Jacksonville moved on from defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell this offseason and hired Ryan Nielsen to replace him in 2024. Let’s take a look at the Jaguars’ coaching staff and how their offensive and defensive schemes operate. Jaguars head coach: Doug Pederson A former NFL quarterback, Pederson played for five different teams over his 14-year career. During his first stint in Green Bay, Pederson spent two seasons learning under Andy Reid (his quarterback’s coach) and when Reid accepted the head coaching job in Philadelphia, he brought Pederson along with him to be his starting quarterback. It wouldn’t last, but over his career, Pederson played in 100 games, including making 17 starts. After retiring from the NFL, Pederson made an immediate move to start coaching and eventually joined Reid on the Eagles coaching staff in 2009. After four years of working his way up the ladder in Philadelphia, Pederson followed Reid to Kansas City, where he worked as the Chiefs offensive coordinator. In 2016, Pederson headed back to Philadelphia, this time as the Eagles head coach (replacing Chip Kelly), and would go on to win a Super Bowl during the 2017-18 season. Pederson’s time with the Eagles would only last three more seasons before he was fired. After taking a year away from coaching, Pederson was hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars, with the hopes that he could pick up the pieces from the Urban Meyer disaster. Offensive coordinator: Press Taylor Taylor, also a former college quarterback, joined the Eagles coaching staff under Chip Kelly and was retained by Pederson when he took over. He would spend the next five seasons coaching quarterbacks under Pederson and was largely credited with installing the “Philly Special” trick play in the Super Bowl. While Taylor briefly joined Frank Reich (former Eagles OC) and the Colts during Pederson’s gap year in 2021, Taylor re-joined Pederson in Jacksonville in 2022, this time as his offensive coordinator. Pederson/Taylor’s West Coast offensive scheme With both Pederson and Taylor coming from the same coaching tree, we see a similar philosophical approach to offense, stemming from Andy Reid’s West Coast scheme he used with the Eagles. That commonality has spilled over into play-calling duties, with Pederson and Taylor splitting play-calling duties in 2022, Taylor taking them solo in 2023, and then this season, they have deflected questions about who is actually calling plays, which is a tad… unusual. In 2022-23, Pederson was credited with bringing a “modern-day offense” to Jacksonville, and we saw the usual staples of a West Coast scheme, including heavy 11 personnel usage, bunch formations, pre-snap motion, play-action, etc. While the offense started out amongst the top in the NFL following Pederson’s arrival, it has been in a steady decline, and closer examination shows an abandonment of key principles. The 2024 Jaguars offense lacks an identity. There is no firm foundation that they can hang their hats on, or go to when things are tough. The roster is very talented, but they are underperforming, leaving players in the locker room suggesting that they’re not working hard enough to overcome their obstacles. Analysts have shifted the blame off the players and onto the coaching staff. Pre-snap motion has almost entirely disappeared, and play-action is sporadic (24.4%, 15th) and inconsistent. Players are not being used in a way that highlights their strengths, while coaches are failing to adjust to game flow once they move away from early game scripted plays. Critical situations have been consistently mismanaged, and the play calling has become predictable. Look no further than their loss to the Eagles two weeks ago to see an example of the coaching staff’s struggles. Through behind-the-scenes film, we can see that second-year linebacker Nakobe Dean was anticipating a running back stutter and go route in the red zone—something the Jaguars have shown they like to run. And sure enough, when presented with the situation at the end of the game, Dean sits on the play, runs the route for the running back, and makes a game-sealing interception. With quarterback Trevor Lawrence under center, many games have been close (six of their eight losses were by one score), but they have not been able to overcome their shortfalls this season. Currently, this offense ranks in the bottom third of the league in most offensive categories, most notably: Points scored per game: 20.2 (21st in NFL) Total yards gained: 302.9 (25th) 3rd down conversion rate: 33% (29th) Turnovers: 1.5 (25th) Pressures allowed: 97 (29th, per Next Gen Stats) Yards after catch: 992 (22nd) Yards after catch over expectations: 23 (31st) “Power” runs (got-to-have-it situations): DVOA 31st Time of possession: 44% offensive possession (31st) Essentially, the Jaguars are struggling with execution and are unable to convert when they need to, which leads to a failure to sustain drives, fewer opportunities with the ball, and fewer points scored. To make matters worse, Lawrence is injured and has already been ruled out for this game, meaning the Jaguars will again turn to Mac Jones to lead the offense. For comparison’s sake, Lawrence’s quarterback rating is 87.9 and he is averaging 7.3 yards per passing attempt, while Jones has a 47.6 quarterback rating and is averaging 4.5 yards per passing attempt. Under Jones last week, the Jaguars scored just seven points and there was a clear drop-off when Jones and the coaches were forced to adapt beyond the scripted plays. This is also likely why, despite being in so many close games, the betting line for this week’s matchup with the Lions is nearly two touchdowns long. Defensive coordinator: Ryan Nielsen A defensive tackle at USC in the early 2000s, Nielsen’s NFL playing career never got off the ground and he entered coaching. After coaching at the college level for a

Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images How are you feeling about this matchup? Here’s something I’m not sure I’ve ever said before: the Washington Commanders deserve your respect. They’re a very legitimate team. The Commanders rank seventh in DVOA, one spot ahead of the Eagles. The Commanders rank third in point differential, one spot (and one point) ahead of the Eagles. Jayden Daniels is the real deal. He’s going to test a Vic Fangio defense that’s been excellent since Philly’s Week 5 bye. Daniels will not beat himself with rookie mistakes; the Eagles must force the issue. There’s reason to believe they can do just that. The Eagles’ defense has been pretty great in coverage. This unit could present some of the biggest challenges that Daniels has faced to date. While Terry McLaurin is playing with the best quarterback he’s ever had against the Eagles, he’s also arguably facing his steepest competition. Quinyon Mitchell has been a lockdown corner thus far and he’ll be making McLaurin work for his production tonight. While the Commanders’ defense under Dan Quinn has been respectable, it should not be able to rise to the level of shutting down the Eagles’ offense. Only three teams are allowing more yards per rushing attempt this season, so, it could another great opportunity to hand the ball to Saquon Barkley over and over until the Commanders prove they can stop it. Washington also doesn’t have the horses to consistently lock down A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. The feeling here is that the Eagles have great vibes going on right now. Then again, the Commanders are also having a special kind of season relative to low expectations. I’m wary of betting against that and Daniels. I think it’s going to be a really competitive game that comes down to the wire. Ultimately, I like the Commanders to just barely cover but the Eagles to win on a last-second Jake Elliott field goal. Really, the Birds must win this one. With a loss, there’s no guarantee they can catch the Commanders down the stretch. A win puts the Eagles in the driver’s seat for the NFC East crown. For more, check out BGN’s weekly NFL game predictions and NFL picks against the spread. Suggested format: Score prediction: Bold prediction: My predictions: Score prediction: 30 to 27, Eagles win. Bold prediction: Jahan Dotson scores his first touchdown as an Eagle against his former team AND Zach Ertz scores the first touchdown the Eagles have allowed to a tight end this season. Your predictions: Scroll down and leave your own score predictions in the comments!

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images Cheers to the Super Bowl winning defensive end and his impressive 10-year NFL career. There are plenty of storylines for the Eagles heading into their Thursday night matchup against the Commanders, but notably, the team announced that former draft pick Vinny Curry will officially retire from the NFL and serve as the team’s honorary captain. The defensive end was drafted by the Eagles in 2012 and went on to play six seasons in Philly before playing elsewhere. Curry was one of the salary cap victims coming off the Super Bowl victory, and ended up in Tampa Bay for one season before an emotional reunion with the Eagles in 2019. The team re-signed him in 2020, with Curry later explaining one of the reasons he returned to Philly was due to the loss of his brother from COVID, Vinny wanted to play somewhere that felt like family. He went on to sign with the Jets in 2021, but never actually saw the field that season. During his medical exam with the team, they discovered the DE had a rare blood disorder that required treatment and for his spleen to be removed. Curry made a full recovery and was back on the field in Week 6 of the 2022 season for the Jets. That ended up being the final year of his NFL career, and the former Eagles draft pick finished with 209 total tackles, 93 QB hits, 32.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries. Curry grew up an Eagles fan, and getting drafted by, and now retiring from, the organization is really special. Finishing it where it all started Vinny Curry is your @microsoftteams Legend of the Week ahead of his retirement as an Eagle at tomorrow’s game! pic.twitter.com/Qrt4Pm8NzY — Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 13, 2024 The Eagles have been on the road a lot so far this season, but when they have played at Lincoln Financial Field, they’ve definitely found ways to make it a celebration. The DE is the second Philly legend from the Super Bowl-winning team to retire this season, the first being Nick Foles — not to mention the team inducting LeSean McCoy into the Eagles’ Hall of Fame. Cheers to Vinny Curry and his impactful 10-year NFL career.

Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images Predicting the winners of this week’s football matchups. Our Week 11 picks for the 2024 NFL season are in! Bleeding Green Nation staff members are here to predict the winners of every game on the schedule. We’ll tally the results along the way and see who comes out on top at the end of the season. Feel free to post your own predictions or discuss the writer predictions in the comments. You, the reader, can also join in on the fun by voting for who you think will win the games (scroll down for polls). I’ll tally those results in a “BGN Community” section under our picks table generated by Tallysight. After Week 10, the BGN Community remains in the top spot. Tyler Jackson leads all staff members but it’s a close competition. When it comes to this week’s Philadelphia Eagles game against the Washington Commanders, the BGN staff is feeling unanimously confident in the Birds. The Eagles opened as 3.5-point home favorites and the line remains unchanged, according to FanDuel. MAKE YOUR PICKS Vote for your picks below. (If you can’t see the polls, click here and try opening this article from BGN’s front page.)