What does success look like for the Detroit Lions in 2019?
Other measures of success
Another way to judge the success of the team is through the performance of the players; lots of players could have a statistically superior season without the record changing much. It would not be difficult to imagine a season where quarterback Matthew Stafford had a big year and the wins didn’t materialize, for example.
Speaking of Matthew Stafford, he really must have a better year for the Detroit Lions to be successful. His touchdown production dropped to twenty-one passing scores and while that combined with eleven interceptions and a 66.1 completion percentage is far from the worst season ever for a quarterback, Stafford has to be bigger in big, team moments. He cannot give away any games nor be the main reason for any losses.
Stafford failed to reach the 4,000 yards passing milestone for the first time in the last eight years. Only the Atlanta Hawks’ Matt Ryan and the New Orleans Saints’ Drew Brees have similar streaks going. Stafford was still sacked a total of forty times, which ranks tenth most in the NFL by the quarterback.
Running back Kerryon Johnson must stay on the field for more games and spearhead a much better run game. First-year Lions coordinator Darrell Bevell is known for a smashmouth brand of running the football and will be expected to utilize Johnson and free agent acquisition C.J. Anderson to generate a top ten run game. Johnson needs to have a 1,000 yards plus rushing type of year and Anderson needs to generate a good amount of yards as a top reserve for fans to feel like the run game is improving.
A lot of the onus for the offense is on the top players to do well but the offense really needs better consistency from the offensive line for the Detroit Lions offense to flourish and improve on their twenty-fourth ranking, stats via NFL. The line has been a source of frustration for many years but the 2019 line must find ways to overcome the loss of guard T.J. Lang who was the heartbeat of the Lions front while in Detroit.
Another area where improvement would be easy to spot is sacks and pressures by the defense. Last year’s defense ranked 29th in pressure rate out of the NFL’s 32 teams, while ranking tied for eleventh in sacks at forty-three.
Next. The Detroit Lions best draft picks by round since 2009. dark
Would anything besides a winning record and a playoff berth make you feel good about 2019? If so, what else could the team do that would make you feel like they are headed in the correct direction? If Matthew Stafford doesn’t have a great year is it time for the Lions to move on from him as soon as possible? Your thoughts below.