Detroit Lions banking on offense winning championships

The Detroit Lions went into the 2018 NFL Draft focusing hard on the fixing the running game at the expense of beefing up the defense.

In last month’s NFL draft, the Detroit Lions used early round selections on the offense selecting center Frank Ragnow and running back Kerryon Johnson. While many of us thought the defensive front seven would be addressed in the first two days of the draft, the team waiting until the fourth round to trade up and select defensive end Da’Shawn Hand.

The team in Honolulu Blue doubled down on offense by selecting offensive lineman Tyrell Crosby and fullback Nick Bawden on day three of the draft. The only other selection on the defensive side of the ball was safety Tracy Walker in the third round. They say two out of three ain’t bad, and two-thirds of this year’s draft picks should have a direct impact on the running game.

To quote the great John Madden, “Usually the team that scores the most points wins the game.” And that’s what the Lions are going to have to do with this offense – go non-stop trying to out-gun opposing teams.

Yes, it seems obvious. Score more points, win the game. But the Lions draft doesn’t suggest they are worried about stopping other teams. Losing a few key players on defense, like defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, hurt them last year. While they did sign a slew of new players on defense, many expected this draft to yield more players on the defensive side of the ball. Especially given their connection to the New England Patriots and that teams’ drafting history.

Of course, there are legitimate reasons for the heavy focus on the offense:

There were highly touted players available when the Lions made their pick, including defensive tackle Taven Bryan and linebacker/defensive end Harold Landry. The Lions went the other way. Ragnow had to be high up their board and those defensive players way down the board, or some combination thereof. Or, new head coach Matt Patricia thought he had enough defensive players that fit his new system to win football games.

The presumed upgrade to the running game paired with the high-flying passing attack just screams shoot-out games left and right this season. The third-and-one failed attempts should be a thing of the past. Tough-nosed offensive linemen have been added to the roster to win at the point of attack. That should lead to more ball control.

The benefit of ball control: the defense will be getting a lot more rest. A fresh defense that isn’t out of breath could be the difference this team needs.

Next: Detroit Lions: 15 best first-round draft picks of all-time

We don’t know how everything will pull together after the offseason additions, but grinding out the clock in the running game will surely change things in Detroit. Now, if only we knew which running backs will actually be involved in the gameplan for these Detroit Lions…