Is the Detroit Lions poor preseason play legitimate cause for concern?
By Robert Jones
The Detroit Lions have not lived up to the much-anticipated hype of their fan base, but should their poor play so far really be a concern?
It’s taken just two exhibition games for the Detroit Lions to create anxiety among their long-suffering fans. Dare I say panic in Detroit?
The combination of general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia had created much excitement among the loyal fan base of the Lions, but after two sloppy preseason games that have left them 0-2 and looking like just one win would be an accomplishment, the concern in Detroit is palpable.
So the legitimate question is; should we be concerned?
Through two preseason games, the highlights have been few, but there have been highlights.
The other side of the coin has been poor play, which has supplied us with an almost unending amount of lowlights.
Let’s start with the obvious; the losses don’t matter.
Like any Lions fan, I would prefer they win whenever they take the field, but the point of emphasis in the preseason is to determine who is good enough make the team and who isn’t. That doesn’t mean poor play is acceptable, but because of giving players an opportunity to either play their way on to or off of the roster, poor play will happen.
The problem has been the poor play of the front line players. Especially on the line.
Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia spent heavy resources on improving the ground game. They used their first-round pick in the draft on guard/center Frank Ragnow, their second pick on running back Kerryon Johnson and their fifth-round pick on tackle Tyrell Crosby.
They also signed a handful of offensive linemen in free agency to help boost the depth along the line in case of another rash of injuries like last season.
The results so far have been mixed.