Yep - and I am not saying bench him for good. But send him and the team a message. No one is king here. Everyone has to be about team and do their best. I imagine Russ will work in the offseason if he thinks he has to fight for the starting job. His contract is awful but you won’t pay for it with empty seats.
I would love to know who the other 13 are for comparison sake.
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I noticed that on the sack he was low on the QB again. And it was part how he turns the edge and part because the tackle was pushing him from behind. I can definitely see coaches complaining about it and Houston getting called for it in the future. Fair or not, its coming.
I get the same impression. Knowing our luck, Houston will get called for that in the Super Bowl. 
His “sack” on Cousin was his lowest yet and his minimal impact was maybe 5" above the knee. A Viking guard(?) knocked him over, giving Houston the sack.
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Honestly, what an epically disastrous first season for George Paton. Sold their future for one of the worst QBs in the league. If you’re the owner how do not fire the guy?
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Excerpt:
A master’s level crash course from Decker
Houston spent the first month of the season taking scout-team reps at right defensive end. He mimicked the pass rushers Decker was set to see in games, and he started picking the veteran left tackle’s brain about what worked, what didn’t and what he could do to improve.
Decker dominated Houston early on. He jump-set Houston in one-on-ones, engulfing the smaller defender with his long arms. He toyed with him in team work, sticking his left arm out to trick Houston into burning a move or tightening his alignment on pass checks to dupe Houston into thinking it was a run play.
For the inquisitive Houston, it was a master’s level crash course on the game within the pass-rush game. He felt, in some ways, like a Fortune 500 company hiring a hacker help build its firewalls.
“He’s kinda a quiet guy, but he’ll ask questions about it,” Decker said. “He wants to understand why certain guys do certain things, and it’s awesome. 'Cause if you can bounce ideas off your teammates, hopefully I helped him get better.”
Slowly, and with the help of defensive line coach Todd Wash and defensive line assistant Cam Davis, Houston learned to weaponize his unique skill set. He has exceptional quickness, though, and the elite ability to get low and turn a corner like only a few pass rushers Decker said he has ever faced: guys such as Von Miller, Robert Quinn and Myles Garrett.
“I realized that me, I move way differently than everyone else, and that movement scared them,” Houston said. “That’s kind of what they told me. They didn’t know what was going on, so they had to stop their feet or lunge or whatever, and I think that’s really what you want the linemen to do so you can get around them. So that really was, that was helpful for me so I understood, ‘All right, I’m quicker than these guys, I can move faster, I can move better than these guys, so I got to use that to my advantage.’ I can’t show my hand. They may not respect that.”
It all adds up
Houston always has been the cerebral sort, standing apart from his peers for his smarts as much as his athleticism.
As a fourth-grader, he tested so well in math at Country Iles Elementary in Weston, Florida, that his mother forced him to join the school’s Mathletes team. The team traveled the state’s southeastern coast taking part in math competitions. As reluctant as he was to devote his Saturdays to what felt like schoolwork, Houston’s competitive instincts took over and he found himself, scratch paper by his side, trying to win every match.
In middle school, Houston was so proficient in math he would leave school early to take classes at nearby St. Thomas Aquinas High. By high school, he was taking courses for college credit. He ended up at Jackson State after a disjointed career at Florida, in part so he could get a graduate degree from a Historically Black College and University, like generations of his family.
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Lol. That’s a great quote.
To me he has some Von Miller to his game, but I agree with the idea that he seems a little “different” in the way he moves. This was great to read and its another example of iron sharpening iron. When we pick up players we need to think about who else might benefit from it. A young Larry Warford had to deal with Suh and Fairley in camp and he came out ready to roll as a rookie.
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One thing I like about this staff is that they aren’t afraid to take gadget guys at the depth positions. Guys that have a skillset above average in the NFL and actually game plan to use that advantage.
Houston’s size may prevent him from being a 4 down player (still to be seen). If Hutch is sick today, we may need to see him pick up reps on running downs and that will give us insight into if he is able to hold up.
The early part about Decker engulfing Houston shows that he may not be able to hold up in the run game when his assignment isn’t get to the QB on 3rd and long.
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DC wants to get EVERY player involved as much as possible. If there is something you can do or are good at, the Lions want to take advantage of that, even if only 1 play in a game. Keep everyone engaged. Keep everyone feeling like they are part of team.
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Decker dominated Houston early on.
IDK…. probably should trade Decker while his value his high…
/sarcasm… 
I wonder if @kneecapper still wants to trade Decker???
.
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Yes! Love this. Sean Payton was the same way. Look at the gadget QB/TE in Taysom Hill that he drafted. Sean always seemed to game plan around his players strengths and use what they have. and not have 3 of the same guy but 3 guys with different strengths and play all 3. Big fan of this concept.
If Dobbs is in the game, why not run a red zone 2nd and 4th at the goal line option run if that is what Dobbs is known for. Would catch the Jets off guard. Just an example.
Goff in his freshman or maybe sophomore year split time with a running QB. It was pretty fascinating to watch and worked for a few games until teams were able to game plan.
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I realize this a hypothetical scenario….
but also want to make sure it is stated that Dobbs can’t play unless Goff and Sudfeld are out with injuries…. so we don’t want to see Dobbs play today.
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https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/football/news/lions-joshua-dobbs-elevated-from-practice-squad/amp/
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If we run the table I want to run it back. Chark might be tough but the chemistry we’ve got right now is special. And in my experience exemplary chemistry between employee off any organization is almost always a force multiplier.
And yes that includes Will Harris and Alex Anzalone.
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I’m just saying for 1-2 plays. Not take over. He’s only been on the team 2 weeks so no way he can run the show.
It’s like the Sewell play last week. If you have a lineman with great feet and hands, can you create something new for him and let him contribute in that way every once and a while to keep teams off balance. Yes. If Dobbs has something unique versus Goff/Stud, it’s better to have him run that than have him try to run all the plays Goff has been perfecting with 1st team reps.
But that is my point….
he is the emergency #3 QB and can’t step on the field unless the other 2 QBs are ruled out.
I’m not aware of that rule. I thought you select your 53 and if you don’t have a 3rd QB, then you have to use your punter or RB or someone else but any of the 53 are eligible to play anywhere at any time?
I also thought I read that the Lions backup has an illness so he may not play at all.
Teams can select 45 for active roster on game day…
plus a #3 QB for emergency use only….
making him the 46th man “dressed”.
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To add, if you use #46 at all, the other 2 are done for the day, they are not allowed back on the field.
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