Line of Fire
Not lost is the fact that Quinn is blaming the whole offense, and himself for the results. He clearly believes that there is more to address than just the running back position, though.
While the Lions ranked in the top ten in passing, sixth in the NFL, the line was in a constant state of flux. Eleven combinations of players started along the offensive front during the 2017 season.
Quinn tried throwing money at the problem in free agency. Guard, T.J. Lang, and right tackle, Rick Wagner, signed to man the right side of the line. Wagner is the second highest paid right tackle, and Lang ranks sixth in salary according to Over The Cap.
To say that they achieved mixed results would be generous. Both men had problems staying on the field, as did every lineman except for Graham Glasgow, guard/ center. Glasgow played in every game.
More troubling was Travis Swanson, center and former third round pick, who suffered from a second concussion in his young career. Will he be back?
The picture on the blind side is not much better, as promising left tackle, Taylor Decker, seemed to never get back to being himself after coming back from his summer shoulder injury and surgery. Decker spent the first half of the season on injured-reserve list.
Top backup, Joe Dahl, who is capable of playing both guard and tackle, was not available for the whole season, but looked decent in the few games that he saw action in.
This raises the possibility of everyone returning, or possibly missing Swanson, going into 2018.
Color me pessimistic. A line that surrenders 47 sacks and cannot generate 80 yards per game on the ground has big issues. Injuries or not, making no changes is ludicrous.