30/04/2022
🚨Coach Deane post alert🚨
I am seeing a lot of Lions fans upset over these first two days. Football is won and lost by the quality of your offense and defense line play controlling the line of scrimmage. You can have Tom Brady, Calvin Johnson, Barry Sanders and Tyreek Hill in their primes on the same offense, but if your O-line can’t move people off the ball and protect Brady for more than two seconds, your offensive production is limited solely on the plays you can call and a defense can plan accordingly.
Same goes for defense. If you got Deon Sanders, Ed Reed, Ray Lewis and Charles Woodson in your back half of your defense, but your D-line play doesn’t keep lineman off your linebackers in the run game and not get to the QB in passing situations giving them five to ten seconds to throw the ball, you’re going to lose a lot of football games. Period.
The Lions in particular have been last or close to last on defense in stopping the run and rushing the passer for the past few seasons. Holmes and Campbell understand this and will not allow that to continue: hence the additions of Aidan Hutchinson(pass rush is his best attribute) and DL Josh Paschal from Kentucky(stopping the run is his strength) to our defensive front. If you fix your d-line, your entire defense improves immediately: linebackers are unblocked to make tackles, and the secondary only has to defend for four seconds every down allowing for less explosive plays and more opportunities for turnovers. Remember when we had a top three defense in the NFL in 2014? Remember why? We had Suh/Nick Fairley stuffing the inside rush lanes and pushing the pocket on pass plays with serviceable defensive ends to get after the QB. We were 11-5 that year.
On paper, the offense the Lions have this year with our o-line, Swift, Chark, Williams, Reynolds, St Brown and Hockenson, we should be averaging close to 21 points a game. The X factor? Jared Goff. We will find out if he can return to his Rams form when he led them to the Super Bowl.
In my opinion, the days of elite defenses are gone in this day in age of the NFL, but you need a defense and players to make the game winning play to lock up victories. Most recent example, DT, Aaron Donald with the sack on 4th down to win last years super bowl for the Rams. Big time players make big time plays.
I expect 7 to 8 wins this year and the answer of Goff being our future franchise QB. 2023 is the year I expect us to push for a wildcard spot. A lot to still be unfolded with this team, but I am all about how Holmes and Campbell are building this team.
