I like Jack. I was one saying “an allpro doesn’t forget how to play” when blaming shep. But Shep has been improving. The defense has been improving. Jack has had some moments of improvement but the packers game was not one of them. He was slow the react and it appeared like he was confused a lot presnap. I have heard whispers that he is deserving of criticism. He is not living up to his “ALLPRO” status. I have heard one source say “it’s baffling, it is so baffling that it’s logical for fans to blame shep and the scheme, because that’s what makes sense. But it’s not that, there is more, Jack isn’t playing well period.”
Wanted to pass along my obersvations, my revisions to the topic of Jack over the last 6 weeks and little things I’ve heard.
While I agree that Jack hasnt played up to the bar he set last season, unless he was struggling with relaying the calls or getting the D in the right spot his failings arent the reason our CBs were getting torched earlier in the season.
I believe he improves alongside the rest of the defense and likely what we have been watching was the backend being uncertain in the scheme which led to them trying to play outside of it and cover for deficiencies around them.
Say all the above to reiterate that it seems to have improved lately and that could start a trend in the right direction especially as Branch and maybe even Kerby return.
He’s definitely not playing well, but I just assumed he had too much on his plate. Even his college tape, the reason most people had him ranked as a late-1st/2nd round guy was due to some pretty clear holes in his game that are showing up right now.
That said, I haven’t noticed him missing assignments or getting the play calls wrong, and if that’s happening, then there is some cause for concern. Maybe he’s not as mentally tough as we thought, or maybe LaPorta’s situation is affecting him. We know that’s one of his best friends. Or hell maybe his married life sucks, who knows?
We are stopping the run pretty well. At least we did in 4 of the 6 games. Jack is a big part of that. But on some on these 3rd and medium and 3rd and longs I honestly think taking him off the field might be a good idea. Just getting lit up in coverage. Then again who do you replace him with that can cover? That’s the issue.
That’s said it best. It’s processing. Too much on his plate. Jack struggling is separate from the secondary. He isn’t playing fluid. He is a step or two slow, not reacting, in the wrong spot in coverage. For him, losing Anzalone was bigger then anticipated. It was the correct move, but the transition for shouldn’t have had to be this rough for him.
He’ll never be great in coverage, just doesn’t have the best change of direction. That was one of the biggest concerns when he came out.
BUT he is being asked to do more coverage stuff because we just don’t have a lot of options. Or we didn’t, hopefully that’s changing now, as you say. I think they probably also hoped that with experience his coverage would improve, but what seems to be happening instead is he’s getting in his own head about it.
I don’t think that this defense is as bad as it is just because of Jack. There’s a lot of guys failing right now which falls on Shep more than any one player.
The Lions drafted Campbell for what he is. The Lions paid Campbell for what he is. Campbell was an All Pro and received the Butkus award in 2025 for what he is.
If Campbell is now being used and is expected to perform in a manner that he didn’t get drafted for, wasn’t extended for, and didn’t receive 2025 accolades for, then that’s on the coaching staff.
I don’t think this defense is failing because of Jack. Think its on the rebound. The injuries are the biggest culprit to key players. Losing Anzalone, the correct move, but changed the responsibilities for jack. Just alot of moving parts all at once. An adjustment period. I hope
Jack definitely needs to improve his play. With that said, with his character and work ethic, I have no doubts that will happen and I believe it has already started happening the past two games. While he did struggle in pass defense again against the Packers, he was excellent against the run. Cardinals game he was good all around.
There is a caveat to Jack’s play that actually does impact Safeties. The safeties do in fact read and react to what Jack is doing. So if Jack is lost in coverage that only makes the safeties job 10x harder.
