Detroit Lions defense goes missing, puts season at risk

The Detroit Lions have been on a two-game skid but have a chance to make some changes. The real question is, “Is it too late?”

When the first four games were over the Detroit Lions had two victories, a tie, and one loss- all of which were close to being victories. After their bye week, the Detroit Lions have had two divisional contests and come up short in both games. The big question to discuss is, “With a losing record and being three-plus games behind the Green Bay Packers, can the Lions possibly make a run to get back into the playoff picture?”

The Lions have ten games to prove people wrong but they face a serious uphill battle. Kick In The Crotch Weekly was so named because of games like the last two. One week they’re the victim of NFL favoritism and the next week, instead of coming out and proving the NFL wrong, they lay an egg and look exactly like the kind of team people always say that they are.

The Detroit Lions defense has been in a free fall for several weeks and now sits ranked thirty-first in yards per game and twenty-sixth in points per game allowed according to the NFL’s website. While the defense has been poor, the offense has failed to hit the four yards per rush average that would indicate a healthy run game, too.

The passing game, aka quarterback Matthew Stafford, has been spreading the ball around and is currently the only thing that seems to be making progress. If we know anything about winning formulas, though, we know that teams don’t win with one-dimensional offenses and defenses that can’t stop opponents, especially on the ground. The Lions pass rush and run defense were both horrible in a game where Vikings quarterback, Kirk Cousins, hardly got touched and running back Dalvin Cook notched 142 yards and two scores.

To say that the Lions need a win might be the understatement of the year. The New York football Giants come to Ford Field this coming weekend and a loss there might lock up an early draft pick in the next draft.

Detroit Lions injury situation

The Detroit Lions have a couple of injury situations to consider that are very consequential to the final record of the team, cornerback Darius Slay and running back Kerryon Johnson. Throw in the facts that defensive linemen Damon Harrison, Da’Shawn Hand, and Mike Daniels are all battling injuries and it isn’t that much of a surprise that the defensive front is struggling.

Johnson has officially been put on injured-reserve, (IR), for the next few weeks but Lions officials assure us that he will be able to reappear at a later date this season. Will the Lions general manager, Bob Quinn, foot the bill for a player like Melvin Gordon, Le’Veon Bell, or Kenyan Drake, or will they re-sign Zach Zenner or C.J. Anderson? The initial move is to promote Paul Perkins to the active roster from the practice squad.

Detroit Lions roster move

The biggest news of the week has been the move trading defensive back, Quandre Diggs, to Seattle along with an exchange of two picks. There are a few points to emphasize, one the Detroit Lions receive a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft for a player at a position with good depth. Will Harris, a 2019 third-round selection, has looked good while Diggs has been nursing an injury.

Kick In The Crotch Weekly was one column that didn’t see the selection of Harris as a necessity but it now seems like they were planning a move like this prior to the draft. Diggs’ salary was going to escalate after signing a three-year free agent deal last year for $18.6 million dollars, according to Spotrac. That frees cap space up going forward and gives the Detroit Lions more draft capital in this coming draft.

The Lions core of players needs help now; if they don’t support quarterback Matthew Stafford by protecting him, allowing the offense to run the ball, and playing good defense they could squander his career and considerable talent, among other veteran players. The Lions did give up a pick, a seventh-rounder, to the Seahawks in the 2021 Draft as part of the deal, as well.

While the move doesn’t help much this season, it does move a pick up to this coming selection meeting and still saves money to target a different free agent next year.

If you were an odds-maker, what kind of chances would you give the Detroit Lions to come back and make the playoffs after this last two-game skid? Comment below.