One year later, the Detroit Lions secondary should be the real deal
By Robert Jones
Last season the Detroit Lions secondary was expected to be the strength of the defense, now one year later it could actually happen.
Last season was a year of transition for the Detroit Lions. They were moving forward to the Matt Patricia era and the excitement was palpable.
The hope was that the Lions would be able to add a productive ground game to go with what had been a very potent passing attack from the previous season. Then, of course, was the anticipation to see the Lions playing Matt Patricia’s defense.
But Jim Bob Cooter’s offense got stuck in neutral. While the ground game did improve with the arrival of exciting young running back Kerryon Johnson and was fairly consistent, if unspectacular, even after he went down to injury. The passing game took a major step backward.
And let’s just clear up the fact that it was struggling even before general manager Bob Quinn traded Golden Tate away and Marvin Jones was sidelined with an injury.
In large part, it was due to Cooter’s offense being predictable and the offensive line pass blocking, or not pass blocking like they bore some sort of major grudge against Matthew Stafford.
In the end, the stars aligned against Lions. Between their overly predictable offense and the porous line play, they had little to show for the passing game except for Stafford suffering several savage beatings and getting a broken back. Which we should take a minute to think about that very fact. Stafford had a subpar year, for him, but the truth of the matter is that his stats were better than many other quarterbacks posted. All while playing roughly half the season with a broken back.
Whether you want to blame Stafford or not, no one can dispute his toughness. The only thing that can be debated is whether the Lions should have allowed him to play in that condition. Suffice it to say the offense didn’t work and now it’s Darrell Bevell’s chance to raise it up from the ashes and make it competitive. Something we’re all hoping to see.