One year later, the Detroit Lions secondary should be the real deal

The point is, the secondary is decidedly deeper and has options. You might notice I didn’t even mention Teez Tabor or Miles Killebrew while discussing depth. The reason? Simply put, this illustrates the depth the secondary now has and the reason why Tabor will have to be much improved to see any playing time, much less make the Lions roster.

Now when we move our attention back to the defensive line and the development we expect from it, as well as the linebackers, we start to see just how the improved secondary is being set up to have opportunities to make plays.

The defense was not very good at causing turnovers last season. With better play at the line of scrimmage and more consistent pressure from the defensive line and linebackers, the secondary will have every chance under the sun to get their hands on the ball.

Defense is always a team effort. A solid system with players that are able to execute it and work in conjunction with each other is the key to wreaking havoc on opposing offenses.

The defense should certainly be deeper and improved on all levels. But the secondary, if healthy and completely present, should pose a worthy threat to even a great signal-caller like the Packers Aaron Rodgers.

Games aren’t won on paper. They are won on the sweat of talented athletes who work hard to improve during the offseason then execute at a high level on the playing field.

Matt Patricia deserves kudos for his improvement of the defense last season, but with more horses to work with this year, the expectations should be higher, and the results should be reflected on the field.

Will the Lions make the jump to the top defense in the NFL? That is yet to be seen, but led by a vastly improved and deeper secondary, they should at least be effective and opportunistic enough to cause plenty of fireworks that will have the Honolulu Blue and Silver faithful taking notice.