With the bye this weekend, Paul Pasqualoni made a point of saying that they would be spending extra time searching for answers to their defensive woes against the run. Which in all honesty is the real key to whether the Lions become playoff contenders or pretenders per usual.
The offense continues to evolve as they have improved at running the ball themselves and the passing game continues to be a strength they can always rely on. It’s just a matter becoming good enough on defense to really be able to compete.
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The front seven will most certainly get an infusion of talent this next offseason and should have a brighter future than their present. However, no one wants to throw away today and just wait for tomorrow.
Lions fans have been doing that for several decades already. It’s time to make the most out of today while we wait for tomorrow to arrive.
One of the things that has got to be in Matt Patricia’s favor would be that when he was the defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots, they did have some seasons they started slow on defense only to pick up steam and be playing like champions come playoff time.
Now while that may be too much to ask of this current Lions defense, it shouldn’t be too much for them to show improvement as the season progresses. If by seasons end they are even around the ballpark of being 20th in run defense, that would be a big step forward for this franchise and combined with this offense could possibly be good enough to sneak into postseason play.
Another thing we should all appreciate and certainly will help in the long run is how the players that general manager Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia did bring in for this defense have played.
Fourth-round draft pick Da’Shawn Hand is developing into a true defensive force quickly. While Romeo Okwara has fit like a glove and Devon Kennard and Eli Harold have given the Lions pass-rush a boost it desperately needed.
Identifying the right players for this defense can turn it around rather quickly, but that still means a period of at least another year before this team has the minimum amount of players in their front seven to start making life difficult for opposing running backs as well as quarterbacks.
The true cure for this ailing defense will come over time in the form of offseason acquisitions. Yet for the present, there is some hope. There is the possibility that the light goes on and this unit starts to play Matt Patricia’s system intelligently and with discipline.
That doesn’t mean they would be able to overcome some of their personnel deficiencies, but it does mean they could at least be respectable against the run.
Every little bit helps and this defense just playing competently against the run would be a tremendous boost.
Last week the Lions saved their season by getting a big win no one expected. Yet it will have been in vain if the Lions return to the field in Miami next week and lay another egg. It’s time to start improving against the run or watch the season run away from them.
Just like we’ve all seen too often before.