The Detroit Lions haven’t had the success they expected with Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia, but to say this franchise can’t find better replacements is wrong.
The Detroit Lions have finished yet another disappointing campaign but will be keeping the band together so they can get it right next year. At least that’s what they’re feeding us.
After last offseason’s mass purging of players that didn’t buy into Matt Patricia’s system, the influx of free agents that brought a heavy ‘pro-Patricia’ attitude with them, and the addition of young draft picks, it was expected that the Detroit Lions would be pretty good this year.
Most national pundits didn’t agree, but to be honest, the national media doesn’t tend to do too much research about the Lions because they can hang their hats on the idea that this franchise will implode like they do every other year.
It’s lazy, but when the Lions refuse to actually evolve into winners, it allows the national pundits to be right until proven wrong. Which makes it hard to fault their nay-saying attitude about the Lions.
But locally, even those who didn’t believe in general manager Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia thought there was some merit to this team. The belief started with a defense that finished the 2018 season strong as the 10th best overall unit in the NFL.
On paper, the defensive line looked like it would be imposing and coupled with additions to the linebackers and secondary the hope was the defense would continue on the course it finished last season on. Instead, opening day told the narrative of the whole season. The offense carried the defense as long as it could.
Even with Matthew Stafford injured and out of the lineup for half of the season, the Lions still held leads in every game they played except two. An average defense would have found a way to finish off their opponents in half of those games they choked away. But Matt Patricia’s defense, his brain-child, was beyond abysmal. It was putrid.