Detroit Lions: Goal is to improve in 2018, but not too much
With an embarrassing game by the Detroit Lions on Monday night, the question becomes whether this game was an aberration or a sign of things to come?
Being unable to play well for the home crowd on national television truly is a bad sign for the Detroit Lions. The blame for the 48-17 beating at the hands of the New York Jets is plentiful, and can be spread throughout the organization.
The team was in trouble at three levels: ill-prepared (the coaches), unable to execute (the players), lacking talent (the management). Let’s take a look at each.
THE COACHES
This team did not look prepared. Sure, the first play on defense (a pick six by safety Quandre Diggs) was a great start, but everything after that was a complete joke.
Preseason suspicions that the defense would look bad were absolutely confirmed during Monday’s game. Talent deficiencies cannot be ignored, but the defensive issues were also on the coaches.
For the Detroit Lions, it was obvious that big changes were coming on defense this year. New head coach Matt Patricia made his mark as the defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, and he was expected to bring major changes. But the players were not ready to implement those changes, at least not in the first game.
On running plays, no one on the defense could set the edge and keep the running backs from big gains. On passing plays, rookie quarterback Sam Darnold had an inauspicious start (the aforementioned interception for a touchdown), but went on to carve up the defense for the rest of the game.
The question that is left is: will head coach Matt Patricia be able to handle this job? One game is not a fair sample size to assess Patricia. What happens throughout (and by the end of) this season will truly reveal the answer.
This team needs to get better. If there is progress, then Patricia is the man for the job. But, if the Detroit Lions continue to look like this, then the franchise will have to reassess their coaching situation. That could mean the current assistants get fired, or it could mean Patricia himself.
While the latter is unlikely, both coordinators did not have good games. The good thing is that Monday was so bad that improving shouldn’t be a problem. But are the players prepared to put forth a better effort?