2022 Surprise (Defense)

When I see takes like this I usually wonder where they come from. Top 12? How is this even measured?

FWIW I clicked around to see how talking heads rate things. I see Walker at 26 on one list of top 30. Not present on another. Neither guy on the CBS, NBC, PFF lists which are each shorter, nor present on other lists of top 10-15 safeties.

The consensus is that the Lions will not have a top 12 or top 20 safety pair.

to me, 20 is exciting. Look at that improvement.
Also, our coaches will make those units look better than they are. Coaching is SO important. I do agree w/your rankings, if purely just looking at talent/lack of…

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Six Deuce!

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That would be a huge improvement. Sure hope you’re right. I’m still not convinced we can stop the run though.

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Koolaid time for Agnew. Hutch is a beast.

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Talking heads rating previous play? Your good when you call it before it happens. :sweat_smile:

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No, 2022 ratings

Top 15 sounds overly optimistic but that’d be awesome
I’ll say top 20 and will be happy if that happens
Top 15 and AG is gone next year — may be gone anyway

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Fixed it for you :+1:

Please don’t quote me if you are going to change my words.

I wasn’t posting with malice at all.

Maybe you can justify your claim that the safeties will be top 12 when no one else agrees. If you can even find a quote from Pleasant or MC or AG claiming they will be among the best in the league, that will do.

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This defense does not give me confidence (right now). Too many guys are injured or had limited reps in training camp.

Aiden is gonna be great, but let’s not forget that it took Sewell about 1/2 a season before the training wheels fully fell off. Aiden is still a rookie, but I expect around mid-season is when he really starts to show the #2 overall skills.

Romeo (out), Levi (ghost), J.Okwara (limited), Paschal (out/rookie). Can McNeil hold down the middle as a 2nd year player in this league? How confident is everyone else with Brockers, Buggs, Taylor, B.Jones, Cominsky??? Do those guys really scare any O-line in the NFL? Coach of the Year locked up for MC/DC and a head coaching job for Glenn if this interior out-performs MY expectations for them. Brockers is the only guy that’s produced in this league, every other guy has everything still to prove.

Linebackers? Does Alex Anzalone strike fear into the Offense? Malcolm in the middle is a nice story but…he’s yet to take a real NFL snap. I think he could be a good LB, but he is still a rookie…and still has to produce when the real lights come on. What would Bill Bellichick do to attack Rodriguez? Teams will attack his size, he’s gonna get tested real quick by NFL coordinators. Barnes has potential…but I think us Lion fans are sick of ‘potential’ and want to see production. Get on the field and make plays.

Secondary? Okudah has yet to show much of anything on an NFL Sunday. Kid has had plenty of hurdles to jump entering his career, but we need to see you stay healthy and produce over an entire NFL season. We all hope this season, he fills in all the blanks. Oruwariye is a bright spot. Tracy Walker has showed consistency but we need difference makers. Can Walker take a step forward this season? D.Elliott looks like a physical safety that comes up and smacks people, but can he stay on the field for a whole season? Best ability is availability.

I have hopeful optimism about this team (like I do almost every season). And this offense could be special. Goff has put up huge numbers when he had a bunch of talent around him (Rams). Can he do it again in Detroit?..because he has a stable of WR’s, Hock, Swift, and the Grubbers upfront.

…but this Defense? Aaron Glenn has a lot on his plate this season. You want to be a Head Coach AG? Well, you need to turn some water into wine with this unit in 2022. We get some guys back healthy, and maybe by mid-season we see a defensive unit that can keep us in some ball games.

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I look forward to that. It helps us if they do…playing right into our strength. Bring it, MF’rz

I agree w/your synopsis of the overall squad. Coaching factors in and gives them a nice boost, as well as depth at DB and Edge/DE.
Outside of that, we’ve got some things that get to be shored up.

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I’ve been looking at the teams in our conference and they’re all strong on defense, so I think you’re right about the offense. But I disagree about the defense. We have the weakest talent in our division. So unfortunately, we’ll rank in the low 20s - which is still marked improvement for us.

I know this is stupid but I think I’ll wait until after the first couple games to try and put my finger on what we have.

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People can sleep on this defense all they want, but I expect big things this year. It may sound bold but I think years from now people are going to remember the 2022 Detroit Lions as one of the defenses to have ever played in the NFL. And noone will be able to deny it.

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Indisputable - no doubt!

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When a 6th round pick comes in and starts right away, you know you’ve got a problem.

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Our Linebacking situation has been terrible for so long that I wouldn’t even know what a starting quality linebacker would look like at this point

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hes a stud

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I agree. He was fantastic in the preseason.

I still wish at least one or two of the guys on the roster were good enough to be at a higher level.

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