I’m trying not to maintain perspective. When Ryan was talking to McAfee, he made a comment about things being much easier for him when the defense doesn’t know every play/route. It only makes sense his “best day” would occur in that situation.
I agree with this. As much as im excited, I expect this team to be good offensively but will only go as far as our D can take it. If they perform well we will be a 8-10 win team. If not, 5-7 wins.
I think we will emphasize QB, WR, and all Defense next year and following year.
Im thinking with the right draft picks this could be a really good football team next year and more so in year 4.
Oruwariye stinks. Always has. I don’t get everyone defending him when he can’t defend anyone at all
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We don’t have NFL starting talent on the backend. Tracy Walker would probably start on about 15 teams… And that’s it. Our corners would be 3rd or 4th on the depth chart of most teams. And compared to a real good defense like the Packers, Im not sure we’d have 1 of our guys on the whole defense start over theirs. Maybe Romeo, but he’s probably not going to play this year… and he may not be the same. Hutch would probably rotate in as a rookie. Sure, with our O-line and improved options, our offense should improve… but our defense has not made any real improvement in the last 2 years, and Holmes has used a bunch of resources.
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You can try and be predictive as you’d like regarding defensive performance but you will always really struggle to forecast turnovers and when it comes to scoring D, turnovers can make a significant impact.
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When it comes to turnovers… there are always a certain amount of unforced errors. But most turnovers are forced… even when it doesn’t look like it. The better a defense is, and the more challenges it presents, the more offenses “press” to make plays. The more they “press” outside their comfort zone, the more turnovers happen. If a wr has to constantly do extra to get open, they will drop the ball more, fumble more, etc. If a running back is constantly having to make people miss in the backfield, the more he is going to be focused on immediately finding where to run vs ball security. The faster a QBs internal clock is going, the more likely he makes a mistake. We don’t have much pass rush talent, and we aren’t that great on the outside either. And we all saw our run defense last year. Now, with our schedule and playing against fewer high end qbs, maybe our turnovers compared to last year have a slight uptick from pure accidents by the other team… but I don’t expect us to force much at all. I hope im wrong… but I just don’t see us putting much internal pressure (mental or physical) on opposing offenses.
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Yeah okay 
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So we all know football is a game of matchups. The articles I read regarding this has our first team O doing fine against their first team D. Considering our O is a little further along then our D this shouldn’t be a big surprise.
Their first team O was hitting us in the mouth. But I also read that our front 7 was playing hell with their running game by filling in the gaps nicely. This leads me to believe a team that can pass protect solidly will give us trouble this year. It makes me believe our secondary is not ready for prime time yet and we will need to feast against teams with weak offensive lines or shoot out with teams that can pass block.
I do feel like Capt’ Obvious here but none of this should be shocking at all. I am just glad that the run defense handled JT far better than I expected. I also believe that the Colts are a strong playoff team.
This is very true. Turnovers are the great wild card with a defense. A defensive unit that creates them, and is opportunistic, can outperform their talent. And it’s seemingly more random than anyone would like to admit.
With that said… the Lions aren’t exactly full of ball hawks. Amani had some picks last year, which is encouraging. Hopefully the increased pass rush can force a couple additional TOs. But really who else on this team strikes you as someone who’s got a reputation and background for that? I personally think it’s just as simple as the D is one year away from being able to truly compete from a talent perspective.
They were doing 7 on 7. Matt Ryan better have a great day when he doesn’t have to deal with a pass rush. Reports were that the teams were much more even during 11 on 11.
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Yeah. I think it’s unrealistic to expect that we’d suddenly be top of the league. And I also can’t discount the possibility that we create less takeaways. I was just pointing out that defensive outcomes are so much harder to prognosticate then the other side of the ball.
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Joseph and Lucas are ball hawks… 2 rookies that may not be ready to start but definitely have a nose for the football in the air.
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And just last year the Packers lost to the Saints on opening day 38-3, then went 13-3 the rest of the way…until the playoffs.
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Jeez guys, one poor practice and there is suddenly lots of room on the bandwagon and plenty of kool-aid remaining. I agree to pump the brakes on the positivity but let’s stop just riding the brake as well.
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I take heart in Campbell saying we belong with teams like the Colts.
They were not outclassed to where they didn’t belong on the same field.
Does that mean we are ready to beat them week in week out? No, but like Dan said, we can compete and get better. And he is talking about a strong SB contender in the Colts.
Much better than belonging to the 0-16 club, top of the draft bunch annually.
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I heard Friday morning on the radio the Lions D kept the Colts out of the endzone in red zone drills. The Colts were 0-12 in the red zone.
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Yea I read the same, including multiple stops at the goal line. Most reports were that the Colts worked on their run game. The DL has clearly improved for the Lions. No doubt. But the back 7 is going to get tested this year.
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It’s going to get tested early and often in week 1 vs the #1 rushing offense in the NFL last season! Hope we can hold up.
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Im most worried about our LB’s. I think secondary will be ok with injured players returning and a better pass rush
Walker would start for 25 NFL teams.
AO would be a #2 corner for 25 teams.
Hutch would start for GB, Walker would start too.
I’ve heard nothing that would indicate Romeo will miss the season. So not sure where you’re getting that. Been 49 weeks since he blew out his Achilles.He should be playing by week 6 at the latest.
Granted, we are still short on premium defensive talent. We have some pieces, are waiting for a few others to show or go, and need a couple more blue chips on that side of the ball to truly compete. DT, CB, LB.