Who is the breakout Lions player in the second half of the season?
By Jack Ozark
This season the Detroit Lions were blessed with a bye week just after the mid-point of the season. After feeling like the bye was coming either way too early or so late that the season was already lost, it’s nice to have it at a point where the team can regroup and really push towards the playoffs. This season the narrative of the team is “You have no idea what we are going to do next.” It’s been a wild and fun first half, and I fully expect more of the same when the team goes back out there against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 20.
I could write about who broke out in the first half of the season, but I think it’s quite obvious that it was Matt Stafford and his MVP conversation play. Remember when Jake Ruddock was actually creating buzz because some thought he should be the quarterback of the future? Well just a friendly tip, go delete those tweets now because somebody will take the time to bring those up again.
So after seeing what this team has done so far, I’ve decided to look at some of the options that should, and almost need to breakout, in the second half if this team wants to continue winning.
DeAndre Levy
This one is almost too obvious. The Lions star linebacker hasn’t played a snap since week one after missing almost all of last season with an injury as well. Early in the year, there were talks that this would be the week he comes back, or maybe the next week. Now after he has had time to heal it seems like he’s really going to return after the bye, and hopefully help this defense out. I don’t expect him to be 2014 Levy, that’s just not being reasonable. Still, I think his return helps with tight end coverage, along with keeping this team from constant mental lapses. With Levy back, this defense will go from horrid to reasonable.
Eric Ebron
One of, if not the most for or against player on this team. Some are beginning to realize Ebron is becoming a top tight end in this league. Others still can’t get over the fact that Detroit didn’t draft Odell Beckham Jr. or Aaron Donald. Last week in Minnesota, Ebron was the leading receiver, and that should be a theme in the coming weeks. His size and speed combo are tough for defenses to match up with. He’s back in the role that Anquan Boldin was filling, and doing it a lot better. Where Boldin doesn’t have speed due to his age, Ebron still does. If he stays healthy in the second half, I think a lot of the negativity around him dissipates.
Ziggy Ansah
Coming into the season everybody considered Ziggy to be the standout stud on this unproven defensive line. Unfortunately, an early injury left him hobbled and out of plenty of games. Once he came back we all expected him to have the same impact he had last season. That isn’t the case. I’m not sure if teams have just started to focus on him more now that he’s a proven player, or if the injury still bothers him. It also could just be a rust situation. Maybe these few games were a rehab situation and he comes back after the bye at 100%. If he can get back to pressuring quarterbacks consistently, teams are going to struggle to create big plays.
Golden Tate and Marvin Jones
The reason I put these two together is because we’ve seen them both play well, just not at the same time. Early in the year, Tate was invisible, while Jones was leading the league. Now this seems to have flipped. Over the last few weeks, Tate has looked like we expected and Jones has fizzled. I get that there’s only one ball, but getting these guys going at once will make Stafford look even better. (Yes, that’s actually possible.)
So who do you think breakouts in the second half? Let me know in the comments or shoot me a tweet @J_zark and we can talk about it.