Information Sourced From: Pro Football Reference, FantasyLife
The Lions put together a very concerning performance on Thursday Night Football, losing to the Buffalo Bills 31 to 41. They came out looking exceptionally unprepared on offense and defense, and just ok on special teams. Thanks to new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing making obvious changes to the game plan after the third drive, the Lions were able to narrow the gap to 10 points. However, the Bills had gathered too much momentum for the Lions to come back completely, especially given the continued failure of the defense. I can understand any Lions fan who threw their hands up, yelled, and freaked out. It was a bad day. However, I believe there are simple, common sense steps that can be taken to improve the Lions chances of success on the season and turn the defense into one that is simply capable. Let’s dig in.
Start By Getting Back to Basics
It’s very apparent the Lions players on defense were trying to do a lot on Thursday night. In fact, I think that is part of the problem. They were trying to do too much. Just watch Jack Campbell’s post game video, and it shows that they were trying their hearts out. However, I think too much was heaped on to their plate too fast. Sounds like a mistake of a young defensive coordinator. Play to what you know best. Get back to four man fronts, calm down the high blitz rate, and adjust the zone/man ratio to your player base. Simplify your coverages, rush from four man fronts. Trust me, with Alim, Tyleik, Aiden, and some combination of Wonnum, O’Neil, and Hassanein on the other side, we will be able to pressure and/or contain the QB.
Rock Ya-Sin, I Was Wrong
Rock Ya-Sin looked very good in the final 8 games of last year. However, Rock has not been able to keep up this season. Could it be the coverages or play calling? Sure, it could. However, you need to give the guy a break. Perhaps that means trying Abney, Whiteside, or Rakestraw in his spot. I am a proponent of trying Abney or Whiteside given Rakestraw’s injury history. However you need to shift some bodies around. Reset these guys, and help them build confidence in themselves again. You could see how dejected the defense was on their face in Thursday night’s game. Let’s give the defensive backfield a chance to come back.
Add Some New Faces
I am good with the talent in our defensive line and linebacker rooms. However, it’s becoming apparent we may have an issue with our talent in our defensive back room. We will get Branch and perhaps Kerby back in week 5. However, you have an opportunity to bring in a couple new faces to help lift this defense up. I dropped a video on available free agent options a week ago which you can find here, which digs into available free agents. There are also rumors coming and going that Joey Porter Jr. may be traded, and the Lions are suitors. Either way. Add in another player or two there to mix things up, and perhaps we can get the backfield looking at least ok.
Continue, and Augment the Offensive Ascension
Week One’s offense and Week Two’s offense looked a lot different. Petzing seemed more comfortable this week. It wasn’t perfect with backup offensive linemen playing. Running was difficult and the running yards were low for one of the best running backs in the league. However, the Lions were able to put up 355 yards of offense, 327 yards of which coming from Jared Goff passing. They also put up 4 touchdowns. Keep going with this trend. Petzing, keep being unafraid to change, this is what makes you immediately better than John Morton and will allow this offense to thrive. Don’t be afraid to carry the team, we may have to this year. Also, can we please be done with the Sione Vaki experiment? Jacob Saylers needs opportunities. We also need to augment the offense and call Kareem Hunt. This will help bring back the punishing running style this team is known for.
We are 1-1 and the World is NOT over
The reality of things is, we are 1 and 1, and the world is not over. Period. It’s okay to be concerned, freaked out, upset, I get it! However, my final note is going to be, these numbers look almost exactly the same as the last time we played the Buffalo Bills. I used AI to spin up comparisons of our last three meetings with the Bills and placed it below, so I’ll let you decide if this correlation means anything worthwhile. As for me, I think we have a good chance to be ok, even if that was a very ugly showing. I remember a Lions team losing to the Ravens in 2023 38-6 in a similar fashion, and they ended that season 12-5. It’s not time to give up yet.
Simplify the defensive approach, and game plan to win the T.O.P.
Eliminate the amount of opportunities for teams to expose our DBs.
Sure...maybe they win 12 games or lose 12 games. This team is not play-off tempered. Look at Seattle's "D". No well paid defensive players except for Williams and Witherspoon. But they have a lot of good players flying under the radar. I am not convinced that our DC is the guy to be running the D. So we likely make the playoffs but then are toast because the "D" is too mushy.