Anybody notice that Detroit’s front 7 were better the two games Jarrad Davis was out and Jahlani Tavai was at the helm in Davis’s spot?
I say Detroit parts ways with Davis, throw Tavai in the spot and get something in return for Davis.
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I’ve been a pretty firm supporter of this guy. But I can’t watch anymore of him either missing a tackle-sack, run right past the play, or get eliminated from the play. Unfortunately I also believe it’s time to end this experiment
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He needs to be used differently in my mind. Have him blitzing when we do and i think he can be productive.
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I felt like he came on strong late last season. Felt like he fell off, with the injury. When the DL is healthy, all LBs will be better. I’m a fan of Davis on the outside. I think Jones is the weak link. Kenard was doing well, when they were using him as a rusher. I was thinking JRM would take Jones’s spot, when Davis came back. JRM has improved a lot. I still think Davis is a freak athlete that would benefit from moving to the outside.
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You’re right, Davis is a freak athlete and when he doesn’t fly past an RB, the hit is felt. He should be the blitz guy on the outside and move Tavai into Davis’s current role. Otherwise, he and Lions management are just wasting each other’s time.
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I agree with this. Surely you would think if we as fans can recognize this that the coaching staff surely has to understand?? I can only presume that they simply aren’t ready to turn over the play calling responsibilities to Tavai? I definitely don’t understand it
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I think they’re keeping Davis put because of his motivational and leadership qualities. However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tavai on the MIKE next season.
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He’s very useful at blitzing and covering mobile QBs.
Not so good at tackling and sometimes unnecessarily hits his own teammates. He has a lot of borderline late hits too. His coverage skills is average but has the speed to make up for some of it.
I think he has a place on the team, maybe at WLB, but I also wouldn’t be disappointed if he left for another team. I want bigger linebackers that are not going to get pushed back.
Jones the weak link? How can that be, we just extended him??
I had similar thoughts when we drafted Tavai
I’m guessing they did too
I’m also thought we won’t really see that until next season
Like Ragnow
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Exactly
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Davis was a 1st rounder, right? You gotta be better than this if you go in the 1st. We can discuss this more fully in the off-season, but Quinn isn’t getting the BPA. He’s drafting more on need, we need this guy or that guy instead of who is has the most talent. IMHO, you end up with a team with less talent on it, which doesn’t get you a Lombardi trophy unless maybe you are Bill Belichick.
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Correct. I would take Devin Bush with a broken leg over what ever it is people think Davis does. Davis, Jones and Tavai wouldn’t make the practice squad of a good team, yet our genius GM thought it was a good idea to lock up Jones to an extension before we lose him. 
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You said it right before I was going to. Davis is just too small to play in the middle. And, since we’re out of it,why not let Tavai take over now.
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Christian Jones fits the bigger linebacker mold, has versatility, doesn’t get pushed back, and has special teams value. He’s in his prime years so I’m fine with the 2-year extension. He also stays relatively healthy.
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Out of 90 qualifying players
88th in Run Defense
86th in Pass Coverage
81st in Tackling
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Davis is strange in that I’ve never seen a player who loves football, and is an energetic and impressive to listen to, just flat out not understand what he is supposed to be doing out there. Its clear he has a leader’s mind set, but he just can’t stop making mistakes whether it be missed tackles or late reads.
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Add to that how on some snaps he’s physically reacting to the snap of the ball before it’s even off the turf. Just another trait of the enigmatic Jarrad Davis.
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Jarrad Davis
LB #40
2019 PLAYER GRADES
EDGE
OVERALL
29.4
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