Bob Quinn creates a great divide among both the media and fans
By Robert Jones
The decision to move on from Jim Caldwell and tie the Lions hopes to Matt Patricia was purely Bob Quinn’s decision. One that he will have to sink or swim with.
As a rookie head coach on any level, Matt Patricia has made some mistakes. This was a point that Quinn made during his press conference without actually calling out his coach. He also said he believes that Patricia has taken any ‘constructive criticism’ Quinn gave him well and believes it will make Patricia a better coach.
This will be the key, because despite Quinn’s first two drafts that he has been criticized for while supplying Caldwell with the players he wanted, this past draft has been very successful.
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Left guard Frank Ragnow appears to be the real deal, Running back Kerryon Johnson looks like a star in the making, safety Tracy Walker seems to be the heir apparent to Glover Quin and Da’Shawn Hand is a play-maker on the rise.
If we are criticizing Quinn for the players he selected for Caldwell, we need to give him credit for the players he has acquired for Matt Patricia.
One of the reasons for moving on from Jim Caldwell was his in game management. Going back to Chuck Modiano, he pointed out that Lions won ‘near 60%’ of their close games under Caldwell. I still maintain it was due to the effort his players gave him combined with their game plan working.
Caldwell’s in game adjustments were basically non-existent. He believed in his game plan and stubbornly stuck to it. One of the points that attracted the Lions fans to Patricia was how well the Patriots made in game adjustments. Especially on defense (See Super Bowl LI).
In his first season at the helm Patricia didn’t do much better than his predecessor. It seemed that much like Caldwell, if the game plan they worked on all week was successful, they won. When the game plan didn’t work, they lost.
So as Bob Quinn’s hand-picked head coach, Matt Patricia needs to step up his game. Patricia’s ability to learn from his rookie mistakes while staying true to his own philosophy will be critical not only to the Lions success moving forward, but it will also determine whether Martha Firestone Ford allows this regime to stay in place.