maybe if I can see another quality site , saying we were top five in defensive rankings-I’ll believe it…
Some day when I am at my computer and not on my phone I will give a rather long drawn out explanation on rankings.
But cribs notes are this:
How you fair against the top 1/4 is a better way to rank or judge than how you might dominate bottom half.
But where it gets tricky is the 3 phases of the game and who things can get out of balance. See Lions game against Carolina or Tenn I don’t remember which where the Lions scored a ton but had meager offensive stats
We have a great defensive core. Just 2/3 of them were injured.
Top 2 of the DL dead
7 of the top 12 dead
2 of top 4 LB dead (3 of the top 4 dead for most of the year)
6 of 10 DBs dead
For those keep track at home.
Thats 58% of the defense dead. Including 7 starters!
I saw some of the national pundits commenting like the Lions weren’t that injured and they were tired of hearing about it. “only X amount of starters were injured”. But what they didn’t understand was that we didn’t just go into our 2 deep we went into our 3 deep. And its just really hard to compete when you are that injured.
Whats are they talking about.
Starting LDE, DT, CB, NB, SLB all dead.
CB2, NB2, DT2, LDE2, SLB2. All dead.
So they had 5 3rd stringers on defense. And they weren’t scrubs on defense. Virtually all 5 of those initial starters are Pro-bowlers.
Hutch, Mack and CD3 definitely pro bowlers.
Robinson and Barns borderline.
They think they were tired of hearing about it?
I got very tired of hearing, “the lions have no pass rush”, and, “the Lions have to blitz every down to get any pressure, at all.”
I mean, this tracks. We were a top defense. We finally had the horses. And then injuries changed that.
I ate crow regarding Glenn last season. I really did think he did a solid job. Especially considering the injuries.
But I still stand by the notion the defense rarely ever came up big in big moments under Glenn. The Lions win by scoring more than thier opponents. If Goff had a bad, rarely did the Lions win those. A overwhelming majority of the time the offense had to be perfect in those big games.
We need more team speed on defense.
I think this is true. I mean, there’s a few things we need, but speed is up there.
Where to build it?
An absolute flamethrower OLB, weight be damned. But where else? Your Safety pairing is set and I wouldn’t replace Branch or Joseph. Corners have to be what corners are.
Campbell and AA are fixtures. So we’re probably looking at 1 box defender LB/S hybrid type? Plus the aforementioned OLB, and squeeze in another DE with burst.
I don’t know where else you’re going to manufacture speed when like 8 of 11 players are already established.
I would like to play with 2 traditional off ball guys. I’m open minded about that third spot whether it be a tiny blazing fast will, a safety or a fast and physical Nickel.
I think my preference is for a second Branch type of defender. That’s why Kevin Winston is one of my preferred targets in the draft.
By having two elite tacklers back there in Kevin and BB you mitigate being small.
Will be interested in seeing how the depth fills out this year. Part of me still wonders what we have in Strickland. I would absolutely love a fast, rangy guy that can fill those gaps, blitz and cover. Another player to mix with Branch where you’re not sure if they’re the nickel, safety or lb from snap to snap.
Sign me up also for a guy that is on the ball with a legit threat to speed rush, but also A+ in coverage.
For the 2024 season, our defense ranked fifth in DVOA. We were up to third before the injuries. For offense + defense + special teams, we ranked second behind Baltimore.
We gave up more yards and points, but did so at less crucial times. So yeah, we outscored people – DVOA accounts for that.
Believe it!
Do you think we should look at more 4-2-5 sets with the extra safety? I’d love to see somebody who could hold up in the run game opposite branch and let kerby run the back end
That would be my preference. Winston is perfect bc IMO he’s an even better tackler than BB as hard as that is to imagine.
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