Detroit Lions: Will OTA’s shed a little light on Matt Patricia’s defense?

There has been quite a bit of speculation about the defense, but it hasn’t seemed to garner the same intrigue as the offense.

Most fans have been pacified by the fact that the offense should be able to run the ball and therefore be better overall. Which means everything is fixed and ready for a championship run as far as they’re concerned.

However, the Lions aren’t running towards any championships unless they can play good enough defense to stop what appears to be two very good offenses in their own division, let alone the other teams they will see on their schedule.

The Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers both appear to be ready to score points this year and the only way to combat good offenses is by playing good defense. Not by just trying to outscore everybody.

So these OTA’s represent the first opportunity for Matt Patricia to lay the groundwork for his every changing defense which will incorporate both 3-4 and 4-3 fronts.

The new breed of Lions in the front seven are bigger than the past. This is generally reminiscent of how teams assemble their personnel for a 3-4 defense, but Matt Patricia has adamantly maintained that they have no ‘base’ defense.

This will be a match-up defense that will game plan each week with the specific idea of getting the best match-ups possible against each opponent and attempt to take away whatever each team does best.

Oh yes, and those game plans aren’t set in stone.

Depending on the success or lack of success the defense displays each week, the game plan will always be subject to change. Whether it be at halftime, one quarter into the game or even one series into the game.

The only constant this defense will offer is that there is no constant. Only the never ending search for success against each opponent, each week throughout the course of the season and hopefully the playoffs.