Despite having a new defensive scheme, will the Detroit Lions lack of pass rush be their fatal flaw for the upcoming regular season?
Last season, the Detroit Lions pass rush racked up a total of 35.0 sacks, ranking the Motor City 20th in the NFL in that category. The majority of those sacks came from defensive end Ziggy Ansah, who racked up 12.0 himself.
But 9.0 of those sacks came in three games for Ansah, as the 29-year old struggled to provide a consistent pass rush as injuries continue to plague the one-time Pro Bowler. This offseason, Detroit used their franchise tag to retain Ziggy, costing the team a whopping a $17.1 million this season to do so.
Beyond Ansah, the Lions primary pass rushers figure to be defensive ends Kerry Hyder and Anthony Zettel.
Hyder led the Lions with 8.0 sacks in 2016. But the 27-year defender suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in the team’s first preseason game of last year. Hyder has been a full participant throughout OTA’s and minicamp so far this offseason, but it’s unclear if the injury will hinder his overall performance.
As for Zettel, the sixth round selection out of Penn State in 2016 exploded for 6.5 sacks last season, playing in place of the injured Hyder. That was after posting just just a single sack his rookie year.
With concerns surrounding the age of Ansah, the injury of Hyder and the experience of Zettel; the Lions’ pass rush could be a fatal flaw for the Motor City in 2018. At least one football writer believes so.
"“Given the personnel, there’s exactly zero reason for opposing offenses not to double [Ziggy] Ansah on every single play,” wrote Gary Davenport for Bleacher Report. “No one here is a sure bet to take pressure off Detroit’s best pass-rusher. Darius Slay and the Detroit secondary are going to have to maintain coverage discipline a lot in 2018.”"
Much of the Lions expected defensive success comes from the confidence in new head coach Matt Patricia. The former New England Patroits defensive coordinator is considered a genius when it comes to scheming for opposing offenses.
Last year, the Pats racked up 42.0 total sacks which tied for seventh most in the NFL. And New England did so using a pass rush-by-committee, with no single defender recording more than 6.5 sacks individually.
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The Detroit Lions paid the price to secure their premier pass rusher in Ziggy Ansah for this season. The return of Kerry Hyder and the rise Anthony Zettel should see the Motor City’s pass rushing performance as a unit be somewhat improved over last year. But the onus of the defense’s success in 2018 is squarely on the shoulders of Matt Patricia and his much acclaimed defensive schemes.