Winning starts for the Detroit Lions with victory in the trenches

Time to turn the tables

Today the Detroit Lions will host the Minnesota Vikings. A team which, ironically enough, has dominated the trenches against the Lions for years. Just look at how often Matthew Stafford has been sacked by the Vikings or how often Detroit hasn’t been able to run the ball against their rivals from the Twin Cities.

On the flip side of things, the Vikings have had success running the ball against the Lions and they have protected their passer with at least reasonable results.

Now before we start lamenting that the Vikings have had runners like Adrian Peterson or Dalvin Cook in their backfield, even outstanding runners need some sort of opening to run to.

Lions general manager Bob Quinn came to Detroit emphasizing the importance of controlling the line of scrimmage. He has invested high draft picks, free agency and trades to the improvement of both the offensive and defensive lines.

And both lines are better than what the Lions had when he arrived. Kerryon Johnson is a talented, patient runner with the ability to make plays. There is no reason this whole run game thing shouldn’t start being at least reasonably productive.

Meanwhile, despite injuries, the defensive line is deeper than it has been for years. If they can do their job and control the line of scrimmage, with the help of the linebackers, then making other teams become one-dimensional would only play into the Lions’ hands.

Consider this; against both Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers, the game plan wasn’t to so much to rush the passer, but bottle him up in the pocket and squeeze it in on him. This gave both of these premiere passers time to throw, but they had difficulty finding an open target, because the secondary, even though they weren’t at full strength for either game, was doing their job covering enemy receivers.

The answer is simple, Matt Patricia and his staff need to find a way to control the line of scrimmage. If or once they do, then these Lions will be contenders. Not only because of the obvious benefits, but It will also make the passing game better for the offense and easier to get stops for the defense.

Sooner or later, to become a true contender, it will come down to controlling that small bit of turf. It is the exact formula of what Matt Patricia wants his Lions to be. If he can just find the right mix of his ingredients to make it happen, perhaps the Lions will finally roar like champions once more.