Football season is among us, which means if you’re a Lions fan, grab your heart medication and keep it close by until December.
The Detroit Lions have seen their share of changes this off-season, the major headlines being the retirement of All-Pro receiver, Calvin Johnson and bringing in new GM, Bob Quinn.
Last season was one to forget for Lion faithful. The team finished 7-9 but had a second half record of 6-2. A piss poor start, along with a bevy of injuries at key positions, along with a “meh” offensive coordinator and offensive line, along with an invisible defensive line ruined the chances of the team entering the playoffs since 2014.
Off-season acquisitions of receivers, Marvin Jones, Anquan Boldin and Andre Cladwell to give quarterback, Matt Stafford more weapons with Johnson retiring. Adding first-round pick Taylor Decker to the mix will help an inconsistent line. While the list of signings won’t knock your socks off, getting better on the o-line and at the wide out position was a top priority.
Like every team in the NFL, there are questions going into the pre-season. Here are my three for the Detroit Lions:
Defensive line. Since Ndamukong Suh left for Miami a few seasons back, Detroit’s defensive line has struggled to find its identity. Outside of Ezekiel Ansah, nobody on Detroit’s d-line is worth mentioning. Replacing a talent like Suh isn’t something that can be accomplished overnight but the talent that runs out every Sunday makes you scratch your head. It’s pretty apparent the front line has taken a few steps back since 2013 when they were one of the more feared defenses in the NFL. Detroit ranked 19th in rushing yards per game and 14th passing yards per game. In a pass heavy league, it’s imperative to have a solid defensive line. Everybody knows games are won in the trenches and if you can’t get pressure on opposing quarterback’s it’s going to be a long day.
This means DT’s Haloti Ngata, Tyrunn Walker, Caraun Reid and company have earn their checks this year. The schemes defensive coordinator, Teryl Austin cooks up can work, it’s just injuries and lack of execution get in the way.
Injury bug. Every team gets bitten by them but for some reason the injury bug bites the Lions the hardest. Without linebacker DeAndre Levy last season, the team at times, looked lost and lacked the leadership presence Levy brings. Tahir Whitehead did a good job but he’s no Levy.
With Levy missing last season, it looks like newly signed linebacker Jon Bostic will miss time with a leg injury. Detroit is thin and not very deep at the linebacker position and will count on Kyle Van Noy and Josh Bynes to step up.
In addition to Bostic, tight end, Eric Ebron could miss some significant time with a leg injury suffered in practice earlier this week. Should Ebron miss a healthy amount of time, Detroit will have to rely on the services of Brandon Pettigrew for the time being.
Staying healthy is a must for Detroit, the team doesn’t have the second unit talent to fill in for starters should they go down for a significant period of time.
Running game. I’ve said this before but Detroit really hasn’t had a good running game since Barry Sanders, unless you want to count the glory years of James Stewart.
If we’re being completely honest, Ameer Abdullah had one good run his very first carry in the league, after that just flashes, nothing consistent. Same goes with Theo Riddick. Granted he was a rookie and the offensive line was, “blah”.
We know Stafford can throw the ball a ton but having a back to hand if off to will go a long way. In his second year under head coach, Jim Caldwell, expectations for Abdullah are high. Abdullah and Riddick are dual threats coming out the backfield, if Detroit can find the proper way to utilize them and they are able to produce, playoffs are a possibility. Although the league is pass heavy, the successful one still have somebody to hand the ball off to at times.
The Corner Three 