The Lions run defense was excellent all season long. With or without Alim.
But pass defense? Started out shaky, got worse then fell apart. Sutton was REALLY good early then HORRIFIC late. What Jefferson, Lamb and Paku did to our defense was beyond embarrassing. In those four games alone Jefferson, Lamb and Puka put up around 700 receiving yards alone. Jefferson in two games of course. It is impossible to do worse.
I had to believe injury was the reason. How could Sutton go from credible to a joke so quickly if not for injury? Well, we now have another narrative. Did Sutton lose his mind literally? He was a shell of himself.
AND…it sure as hell seems like CB Amik Roberson is a HUGE step up from an unfocused and lost Sutton, right? The Can Sutton was saw late was clearly going to be the Cam Sutton we were going to get in 2024.
If the Lions draft a CB in April I think CB can be a really solid position group still even without Cam Sutton. What an awful situation.
AG switched mid season to more man. Sutton is and was a zone scheme corner. He was never a lock down corner. It was his worst skill in pittsburgh. Sutton’s dramatic decline coincided w the switch and a little later his toe injury and he was cooked…a corner bad at man coverage w a toe injury.
Everything that QBHater mentioned but additionally if there was a split and custody fight I could see that weighing on him. In his signing press tour he talked a ton about family, paying it forward, etc. So while I do think there were actual physical/schematic reasons I also think there likely is some there, there in terms of external influences.
Agreed. Im always hesitant to talk mental health bc of the misunderstanding and we dont have answers to alot of questions right now. But in a hypothetical scenario where an ex is trying to bleed him dry while also keeping his child from him…a man can act in very bizzare and erratic ways that to the world make no sense at all. Its a different kind of agony when your talking about custody.
Yeah. Agreed about family speculation not being an ideal rabbit hole to go down. I’m mostly just reacting to some sports talk chatter etc. hosts, not call in lunatics
Glenn started running a blitz heavy scheme that isolated the corners because the Front 4 wasn’t generating enough. Sutton was billed as more of a zone corner so he struggled when on an island.
The change in defense was designed to make big plays even if it meant giving up more big plays. It seemed to, somewhat, work but it made the corners look bad when the QB did get the ball to his spots.
I’ll buy that to a degree but Sutton was terrible late. Beyond “he isn’t good at man” bad.
But further…if Sutton was simply just bad at man but pretty good at zone Holmes is signing CBs with a totally different standard than DL guys who gave to be great run AND pass defenders. Did Holmes really sign an ONLY zone CB to a long contract of that size? That seems like a really shit decision by Holmes if that is the case. Sutton likely did Holmes a favor (not to make light of an awful situation…I am looking at who Sutton was when Holmes signed him in 2023) as he is a one trick pony.
As in life the truth is likely somewhere in the middle. All things being equal I wish none of this awful Sutton stuff ever happened.
It sure as hell seems like true man CBs are harder to find? The Lions paid more for Carlton Davis than the Titans paid for Sneed…can we assume Davis is a better man cover CB OR did the Chiefs outplay their hand like the Bears did with Fields?
Lots of stuff to think about with Sutton gone and Sneed traded.
“Narrative” is right.
I think @QBHATER90 comments can be accepted as pretty informed and reasonable. Accept it and move on. Dude is struggling for sure. Shit, we’re all struggling. I have a hard enough time figuring out why I do the things I do, let alone trying to get into Sutton’s head.
I feel bad for the dude, but I’ve muted the Sutton threads because, whatever it is, it’s at the “none of my business” level right now. It’s not my family, it’s not even Lions family at this point. Wishing him the best, but moving on, along with muting another Sutton thread.
Also a man can act erratic and bizarre which causes an ex to withhold the child and get nasty etc. It’s sometimes a chicken vs egg thing. I know I’ve seen it go both ways and it can end up snowballing quickly
I wonder which teammate/s were privy to his most private details and how much spread to the rest of the defense as the season was winding down. I remember a game last year where Glenn went absolutely off on Sutton just like he did with Okudah right before that Achilles injury. Wish I could review that.
