Detroit Lions Stock Report: Week 7

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Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Stock Down: Teryl Austin

There was no bigger fan of the hiring of Teryl Austin than I have been. That said, you may notice that the header to this page says Stock Down, not stock up. This was the second worst called game defensively of Teryl Austin’s pro career (New England 2014 was the first by a margin). It all started last week when Austin inexplicably decided to cover Alshon Jeffery with Josh Wilson, and it continued with a whole lot of suck this week.

Teryl Austin had his moments, as he often does, but they were sadly limited to only run plays and some masterful red zone play calling. The problem? The other 80 yards and any time a QB went back to pass. There were a few schemed moments of pressure that were truly impressive, but most of the damage being done to Teddy Bridgewater was on the count of defensive linemen having a day of it, and not because Austin was calling a great game.

The worst part about watching his gameplan was the third down playcalling. Austin couldn’t stop the Vikings from having their way no matter what they did on third down. It looked even worse because Rashean Mathis and James Ihedigbo decided to wear their suck caps, but the play calling wasn’t good form the second year defensive coordinator. Hopefully it’s just a bump, but with everyone’s job on the line you can’t be calling games that look like this one did.

Next: Gettin' Ziggy With It

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