For as bad as the Detroit Lions' season has felt so far, it can always be worse.
They remain buoyed by their offense, as well as their pass rush win rate, but they have some major questions left to be answered about their secondary. And, quite frankly, that's an area of the roster that'll likely be left unanswered until this year is over.
Still, it's hard to bet against the Lions with how potent their offense can be, and with so many weapons along their defensive line. However, it's going to take some extra finagling from defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard to find more creative means of masking their secondary's deficiences.
Their current DVOA, as written about by Aaron Schatz over at FTN, is at -1.0%. That puts them at 16th in the entire NFL, and two spots lower than they were after Week 3. However, their offensive DVOA is 12.3% (8th). Their defensive DVOA, to probably no one's surprise, is 16.2% (30th).
Lions' DVOA should give fans slight optimism in teams' outlook
The teams' offensive DVOA being so high without a true stretch of breakout games from that side of the football is encouraging. They remain one of the worse run-blocking teams in the NFL with a success rate of only 72% (22nd in the league), but are getting it done behind Jared Goff's arm and the Lions' plethora of weapons around him.
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Additionally, Gibbs is still at 353 rushing yards on the year despite those run blocking issues. His high-volume of carries is probably a big reason for that, but you could imagine how much greater his production would be if the offensive line could catch up to run blocking at as high of a clip as they are with their pass blocking.
Is there any solution to Lions' defensive woes?
As mentioned, they are 30th in DVOA with no real solution in sight. The team, both on the coaching side and players side, seem to believe the issue is as simple as players not following their assignment. That's quite concerning to hear, especially through four weeks of play at the same, abysmal level.
However, if it's as simple as a lack of cohesiveness in the secondary and with individual players, that does feel somewhat fixable.
Let's say for arguments sake that the Lions do try to shake things up defensively - perhaps they try to go with more of a man coverage in Week 5 as opposed to the zone they keep trying and failing to implement. But, they might not have the personnel for that - many of their cornerback options are built for Sheppard's system, and not necessarily an older, Aaron Glenn-type system.
Still, it's worth a shot - and it's worth trying with newer faces in the secondary. Either via trade or with a lot more faith in the hands of Ennis Rakestraw Jr., the Lions need to try and procure some additional depth in their secondary beyond just waiting on Brian Branch's return.
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