Dan Campbell Might Have to Go Back on David Montgomery Promise
After the Detroit Lions' loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6, head coach Dan Campbell said he would like to "balance the backfield out" by giving more touches to David Montgomery. This was understandable following the second-worst rushing output of the season by the Lions. Montgomery had only four carries, while Jahmyr Gibbs had 17 in comparison. Knuckles did more with his touches, averaging six yards per carry, while Gibbs only averaged 3.8.
Fast forward a week, and Campbell may have to go back on his promise to get Montgomery more touches. The Lions did, in fact, balance out the backfield by increasing Montgomery's carries to 13 while Gibbs' stayed the same at 17. But Sonic had the best game of his career, looking completely unstoppable against the Bucs' defense. Gibbs not only averaged eight yards per carry, but he also added 82 receiving yards for a career-best 218 total yards from scrimmage, the most by a Lions player since Calvin Johnson in 2013, per ESPN Research.
Campbell May Not Be Able to Give Montgomery the Touches He Wants
While Campbell's desire to get Montgomery more involved and keep Gibbs fresh by not putting too much on him is understandable, he will likely find it harder now to split touches between them evenly. Last season, there was a similar effort, with Gibbs averaging 14.7 rushing attempts per game and Montgomery averaging 13.2. Even though Gibbs was significantly more effective and was arguably the best RB in the league, Campbell continued to feature Montgomery heavily throughout the season.
Montgomery's carries have declined to 11.1 per game, and Gibbs' have largely stayed the same. The 23-year-old, however, has once again been more impactful, averaging 5.1 yards per carry, compared to Montgomery's 4.6.
The two players obviously bring two different elements to the game. Gibbs has the speed and quickness, while Montgomery relies more on brute force and power to go downhill. There are certainly times when using Montgomery's size and strength makes more sense. His hard-running style and ability to break tackles and gain yards after contact are key for the Lions to move the ball. Montgomery's hard-to-tackle, physical style makes things easier for Gibbs when he has the ball on the next possession.
Yet, the Lions need to stop treating the two rushers as if they are the same caliber of players. Having Montgomery is a big luxury, and he is a big part of this offense. This doesn't mean, however, that he should get the same number of touches as the best running back in the league. After Monday night's performance, Dan Campbell will likely start feeling similarly.
Watt’s Status in Doubt as Steelers Prep for Packers on Prime Time
The Pittsburgh Steelers surprisingly included center Zach Frazier on their injury report to begin this week. But more bad news arrived for the Steelers with T.J. Watt on Thursday.
The team added the All-Pro edge rusher to the injury report. Watt was limited in practice Thursday.
Watt didn’t practice at all Wednesday, but the Steelers had the edge rusher listed as out because of a veteran rest day. According to the team’s Thursday injury report, Watt is dealing with a hip issue.
There isn’t a lot of other information on Watt’s injury.
“It’s not clear when the injury occurred or how it might impact his status for Sunday’s Week 8 home game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football,” wrote Steelers Now’s Alan Saunders. “Head coach Mike Tomlin did not mention him in his rundown of Steelers injuries on Tuesday.
“Watt usually speaks with the media on Fridays before Sunday games.”
There should be more details on Watt’s injury Friday. Not only will he likely speak to the media, the Steelers will update his game status for Week 8.
The Steelers will host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football.
Steelers’ T.J. Watt Dealing With Hip Injury
The Steelers haven’t been able to find a lot of consistency on defense this season. The unit appeared to be getting better before Week 7. But then last Thursday, the Steelers gave up 33 points and 470 yards to the Cincinnati Bengals.
The last thing the Steelers need is one of their defensive captains and All-Pro edge rushers to be less than 100%.
Watt’s hip, though, could explain why he isn’t off to a better start this season. The four-time first-team All-Pro has 25 combined tackles, including five tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hits, four pass defenses. Watt also has an interception and forced fumble.
Those are good numbers. However, he only had four sacks in six games.
Again, to be clear, it’s not for certain that Watt has been dealing with his hip problem since the beginning of the season. Before Thursday, the edge rusher had not been on the injury report other than for rest days.
Watt led the NFL with 19 sacks two years ago. Last season, he had 11.5 sacks and led the league with six forced fumbles.
Steelers Have Edge Rushing Depth to Overcome Loss of Watt
In years past, losing Watt has been devastating for the Steelers. Not that the franchise would be alright losing the All-Pro, but the team is probably better equipped now than ever to replace him.
In addition to Watt, the Steelers have Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig in their edge rushing room. Highsmith and Herbig have six combined sacks.
Herbig leads the team with 4.5 sacks.
The Steelers received criticism for not playing Herbig a lot against the Bengals. He could see more playing time in Week 8 even if Watt is active.
Herbig also leads the Steelers with six tackles for loss and 13 quarterback hits. He has two pass defenses, a forced fumble and interception as well.
