Coaches
Underrated: Matt Patricia
**Disclaimer–I’m not saying this because I believe Matt Patricia is a great head coach.
Far from it, in fact. I think Patricia has roughly the first half of this season to present a compelling argument (to fans at the very least, if not Bob Quinn yet) that he’s not another Rod Marinelli. However, I do believe that Patricia at least has the potential to be a much better head coach than his current national reputation suggests.
Patricia is ranked at or near the bottom of every head coach power ranking list I’ve seen. Boston sports talk radio was just skewering the guy after the joint practices and exhibition with the Patriots a few weeks back.
Athlon sports ranks him as the worst returning head coach in the league, as does NJ.com out on the east coast (newcomers are automatically placed at the bottom). He’s 24th out of the 26 returners on NFL.com’s version of the list.
Do I believe (as Matt Patricia seems to believe) that he’s the next Belichick? Not at all. Do I think he’s the worst coach in the NFL? No. That’s not a stamp of approval or a ringing endorsement, but Patricia at the moment is underrated.
Mystery Box: Darrell Bevell
The latest run game experiment begins, and it’s anyone’s guess how this one will turn out. It’s been twenty years since the Lions ranked even in the top half of the league in rushing yards. With Kerryon Johnson, C.J. Anderson, and Bevell’s run first philosophy, that streak is ripe to finally end; but at what cost?
At first glance, diminishing the impact that Matthew Stafford can have with his arm seems to make as much sense as having Miguel Cabrera bunt on a third of his at bats. Maybe a low risk run-oriented approach will take enough pressure off Stafford so he can stay healthy and shine at the biggest moments; maybe it will be like using a power drill to rake the leaves.