Detroit Lions: Romeo, Romeo! Where forth art thou Romeo?
By Robert Jones
The Detroit Lions dreams of a playoff chase will ultimately come down to finding someone to step up on the pass-rush.
The Detroit Lions brass of general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia are expecting to make a run at the playoffs. Ownership is also expecting a highly competitive season or else.
The mandate to play ‘meaningful games in December’ has hung over everything that Quinn and Patricia have done this offseason. From free agency to the draft to training camp finally getting underway.
Last season the Lions were a contradiction. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The offense was pretty good when Matthew Stafford was on the field. The Lions averaged 25.5 points a game with him at the helm and only 17.1 points per contest without him. However, the ground game was more productive after Matthew was out of the lineup.
Meanwhile, the Lions defense spent all season squandering leads and finished as the 31st ranked unit in the NFL. It wasn’t fun to watch and was ultimately the biggest reason for the year going so horribly wrong.
As we stare down the new season that is only two and a half weeks away, there is hope in the form of an offense that will have the return of a healthy Matthew Stafford and the additional weapons that Bob Quinn has provided for him.
Offensive optimism is in the air. However, there is still the matter of how improved the defense will be from last year. There are certainly additions on that side of the ball that should give fans some hope.
The secondary will showcase the inexperience of rookie cornerback Jeff Okudah, but overall appears to be the strength of the defense. The linebackers are a work in progress, but the addition of Jamie Collins, who of course played in this defense with New England, is a huge plus.
The biggest question that needs to be answered will be the play of the defensive line. They will need to be much better at controlling the line of scrimmage against enemy ball-carriers, but the biggest question will be; can this group actually pressure and get to, opposing quarterbacks?