Ben Johnson just gave Lions fans another reason to despise him
After the Detroit Lions lost to the Washington Commanders in last year's playoffs, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson pretty quickly left to become the head coach of the Chicago Bears. With how that loss went, a strong section Lions' fans leaned into the idea Johnson's focus was elsewhere when it shouldn't have been.
Leaving to become the head coach of a division rival adds a significant layer to how Lions fans feel about Johnson. Add in what he said upon arriving at Halas Hall,
The Lions' offense did plenty well enough in that playoff loss to the Commanders, but five turnovers was the ultimate undoing.
One play from the playoff loss to Washington that drew particular ire ire from Lions fans was a trick play where wide receiver Jameson Williams threw a pass.
A costly interception followed, when the Lions were trailing by 10 and in striking distance.
Johnson’s creativity as a play caller is generally appreciated. But occasionally straying from simple things, and instead digging into his creative bag, was a point of critique at times when he was the Lions’ offensive coordinator.
Ben Johnson invites more ire from Lions’ fans
Johnson’s Bears are taking on the Commanders in Week 6. So the last time he faced them came up during his session with the media
“Yeah, I think when I look back at that game there were, we had a lot of turnovers”, Johnson said.
“I felt like within that setting, that as good as that (Commanders) offense was clicking, you know, you feel a little bit of pressure on offense to go score for score and you don't want to fall behind by two scores against a good team like that," Johnson said. "So, might have been a little bit more aggressive with the play calls and got away from the game plan a little bit based on how that game went.”
“End of the day, you take care of the football, that game maybe goes a different direction.”
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A segment of fans though Johnson wouldn’t leave the Lions until they won a Super Bowl, even if that was never a logical reason for him to continue to brush off head coaching opportunities. Then when he did leave, he went to a division rival.
Now, Johnson has acknowledged mistakes he made in his final game as Lions offensive coordinator. If fans needed any more fuel to their hatred fire, they have it now.
New Celtics free agent addition flashes intriguing potential in Grizzlies win
The Celtics bet on players with untapped upside with many of their offseason moves this summer and saw some encouraging returns out of their gate in their preseason opener Wednesday night. One of the promising highlights in Boston’s 121-103 win over the Grizzlies came from reserve forward Josh Minott. Boston signed the 23-year-old to a two-year deal back in July after he spent the first three years of his career largely buried on the bench in Minnesota. Opportunity in Boston helped Minott land with the Celtics in free agency and he started to show the promise of a potentially increased role on Wednesday night.
Minott stuffed the box score with eight points, seven rebounds, three rebounds, three steals and a block in a team-high 26 minutes off the bench in the 18-point win. He struggled from the 3-point line in the victory (0-of-3) but left his fingerprints all over other aspects of the game with constant energy on the defensive end or hitting the boards.
“He just has a knack for the situation or play on both ends of the floor,” Joe Mazzulla told reporters in Memphis. “Whether it’s getting offensive rebounds, a couple steals, a couple blocks. He has some good versatility, but he has a knack for the ball and a knack for being in the mix. He was able to generate some steals an deflections tonight and obviously some offensive rebounds.”
Minott has never played more than 20 minutes in a regular season game during his three years in Minnesota on a stacked playoff roster so Boston’s wing rotation should open the door for some opportunity for him. Beyond Sam Hause and Jaylen Brown, there’s no one who is a lock for big minutes at the position as the likes of Minott, Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh and Hugo Gonzalez will battle for minutes off the bench. All of those players acquitted themselves well at spots in Wednesday’s win but it was Minott and Gonzalez that stood out from the pack with their defense and motor.
The Celtics gave Minott a two-year deal (with a team option) this summer so this bet has the potential to produce big dividends when Jayson Tatum returns to the fold next season if Minott can establish himself as a rotation player. The Celtics have not had a player that brings his athleticism and energy off the bench for a few years now and it’s evident that uptempo is the style that Joe Mazzulla wants this team to have as its identity. Minott played well into that a reserve in the blowout win.
“At both ends of the floor we played with the right intentions,” Mazzulla told reporters in Memphis. “So we’ve got to continue to do that. Of the 48 minutes, I’d probably say 32 to 34 of them were at the pace we wanted to play with at both ends of the floor. We just have to work to maintain those habits.”
Minott’s role in the rotation will be worth watching on Friday night as Payton Pritchard, Anfernee Simons and Neemias Queta return to the lineup after getting the night off in Memphis. It’s possible other starters are rested for the matchup but Minott did enough on Wednesday night to warrant another long look from the coaching staff.
