As the NFL offseason
is in full swing, it’s a perfect opportunity to evaluate where each team was in
2017, and where they plan to go in the New Year. Let’s begin the review of
the Detroit Lions.
2017 Season Recap:
The buzz surrounding the 2017 offseason was how the Lions would handle
their franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford as he was approaching an expiring
contract. Knowing he would fetch a boat load of money on the open market, and
not wanting the contract negotiations to cloud the season, the Lions ownership
stepped up to the plate an gave Stafford the highest paid contract in NFL
history. Now that the formality of what could’ve been a nasty contract dispute
has been resolved, the Lions could focus on achieving heights in the regular
season that would allow them to see postseason football on a regular basis.
Entering the season, Head Coach Jim Caldwell was squarely on the hot seat
knowing his future was in doubt if goals weren’t met with success. Becoming the
Lions coach back in 2014, Caldwell led the team to an overall record of 36-28
in four years with two playoff appearances not going past the wildcard round.
As the season began, higher than normal expectations laid on the Lions
shoulders to produce a winner now with their quarterback locked in to huge
money. Starting week one the Lions hosted the Cardinals and performed
brilliantly winning the contest on the strength of Stafford’s 4 touchdown
passes. Following up their victory, the Lions made easy work of the Giants in
New York. Week three had a fantastic test on the docket as Detroit hosted the
Falcons. This game literally came down to the final seconds as a Golden Tate
touchdown went under official review which reversed the score. With referees following
the rule book, an automatic ten second clock run off was enforced, ending the
contest to the dismay of the Detroit faithful. Entering week four, the Lions
entertained another difficult mathcup, this time against division foe – the
Minnesota Vikings. Winning that contest by a touchdown had Detroit in a
favorable position through the first four games. Dropping their next game to
the Panthers had another close contest end in a three point loss. Now at 3-2
the Lions had one of the more exciting games on the NFL slate for week six. A
showdown with Drew Brees and the Saints projected to show a multitude of points
scored with high entertainment value. Both teams didn’t disappoint putting up a
whopping 90 points on the scoreboard. Unfortunately for the Lions, Matt
Stafford threw a couple costly interceptions in the latter stages of the
contest allowing New Orleans to come away victorious. Post week six, Detroit
housed a record of 3-3 going into the bye week as the pressure was building
further.
Coming off their bye the Lions dropped their third straight contest this
time at the hands of the Steelers to the frustrations of Coach Caldwell. At
3-4, the Lions knew this point of the schedule was offering them favorable
matchups to get them back on track. Disposing of the Aaron Rodger-less Packers,
the lowly Cleveland Browns, and narrowly beating division rival the Bears,
Detroit found themselves back in the driver seat with a record of 6-4. Dropping
their next two games to the Vikings who were beginning to take shape, and
losing in disappointing fashion to the Ravens in Baltimore, again put the Lions
of playoff life support. With four games remaining on the schedule knowing that
a true run of the table still might not get them into the postseason at 10-6 in
a very competitive NFC. With another tight victory, this time against the
Buccaneers, Detroit found a way to win by three. Taking advantage of the Bears
once again, the Lions enjoyed a two game winning streak as they could begin
tasting a playoff berth. Alas, much like previous Detroit Lions teams under Jim
Caldwell, in extremely disappointing style, they dropped their week 16 contest
to a Bengals team that had been eliminated from contention and played spoiler
to perfection. The Lions would finish the year with a 9-7 record missing the
postseason once again and ultimately firing Coach Jim Caldwell in the process. While
Caldwell gave a valiant effort to bring great success to Detroit, he was
somewhat hamstrung as general manager Bob Quinn didn’t provide enough talent in
places this team is desperately in need.
2018 Offseason
Workbook:
Offseason Review:
Once the season
evaporated for the Lions, the start of finding a replacement for Jim Caldwell
went public quickly as Detroit was rumored to be enamoured with Patriots
defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. Though the Lions could only hold
interviews until the Patriots finished their playoff run, it was clear that an
agreement was set in principle for Patricia to succeed Caldwell to become the
new bench boss. As the Super Bowl concluded, the Detroit Lions made all
speculation reality, formally hiring Patricia to become the Lions new Head
Coach. Wasting no time to assemble his staff, a slew of moves took place to
create the 2018 edition of the Lions brain trust. Keeping current offensive
coordinator Jim Bob Cooter seemed to be a popular move to the fan base, as the Lions
offense was productive in 2017. As the Lions agreed to part ways with long time
defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, Patricia went in the direction to hire
former Boston College defensive line coach (Paul Pasqualoni) to man the
position of defensive coordinator. Pasqualoni has a long history of previous
coaching positions in the NFL as well as the College ranks, which should bode
well in working with Patricia in support of his defense. While some specialty
coaches were retained, Patricia did hire numerous new staff members to begin
the build of a team that is in desperate need of a consistent winner.
Breaking down the
offense and what could easily be viewed as the bright spot for this Lions team,
there’s much to like and much to improve. First, the great play of Matthew
Stafford would ultimately improve if GM Bob Quinn would address the Lions
desperate need for offensive line assistance. Stafford was sacked an
astonishing 47 times last season as he ran for his life on more than one
occasion. With that said, all the blame shouldn’t be placed on the line as
Detroit continuously refuses to give Stafford a viable and credible running
attack that could successfully create play action, providing much needed
support to their franchise pivot. With a very much improved receiving core the
Lions were able to move the ball with regularity obtaining good numbers for the
season. Detroit finished the year ranking 7th in points scored (25.6
PPG), 13th in total yards (337.8 YPG), a healthy 6th in
total passing yards (261.4 YPG), but to have it all dragged down with a
terrible running attack that no one feared. The Lions finished dead last in
total rush yards with 76.3 yards per contest. While the offensive line couldn’t
create much room for Ameer Abdullah and Theo Riddick to gallop through, when
they did, both backs were unable to generate positive yardage. Both Abdullah
and Riddick are extremely capable receiving options, but it’s clear neither of
them can fit the bill as the primary rusher on this team. Detroit continued to flash
skill with big plays to both Golden Tate and Marvin Jones as both receivers
finished the season with over 1000 yards. Rounding out the core, Kenny Golladay
displayed high end potential, but seemed to falter in adjusting to the pro
game. Also with honorable mention, Eric Ebron showed signs of improvement in
the pass game but still lacked the overall consistency that is expected of him.
If general manager Bob Quinn can continue to build properly, addressing the
running back and offensive line situation would go a long way in Detroit.
Under Jim Caldwell,
the Lions defense was never anything to fear, although he successfully created
a group that was very opportunistic in generating turnovers at will. In his
sixth NFL season, Darius Slay seemed to have it figured out in becoming a true
shutdown corner that would make opponents pay if they tested his side of the
field. Slay enjoyed a career year pocketing eight interceptions which tied him
for the league lead in that category. Teamed up with Golver Quin and Quandre
Diggs, this secondary is a force but tends to give up huge chunk plays in their
opportunistic nature. As the season progressed, Detroit began to let down
defensively inflating their statistics in the wrong direction. Ranking 21st
in points allowed (23.5 PPG) was a clear indication they had trouble stopping teams,
especially as the games wore on. Ranking 27th in total yards allowed
(355.8 YPG), 27th in pass yards allowed (243.2 YPG), and 18th
in rush yards allowed (112.5 YPG); it’s no wonder the Lions ownership chose to
bring in a defensive mind like Patricia to right the ship. Understanding the
weaknesses of this Lions team, it’s easy to see aside from Ezekiel Ansah, the
pass rush definitely requires a talent infusion. Detroit got to opposing
quarterbacks a slim 35 times in 2017, placing a lot of strain on the secondary.
Line backer is another area that is a must focus for GM Bob Quinn, as
production was clearly hit and miss from this unit. Last year’s rookie MLB -
Jarrad Davis, definitely had his growing pains in understanding placement in
coverage. Coming in second in tackles for the team, we fully expect an uptick
in progression for the young talent. Providing adequate support for Davis, along
with an improved pass rush, Detroit could have a unit on the rise.
Rostered Free Agents:
Hot off the presses,
the Detroit Lions recently placed the franchise tag on their star pass rusher
Ezekiel Ansah, fully guaranteeing his contract for 2018 at 17.52 million
dollars. It’s a smart move in the sense that Detroit has decent cap room and
this affords them time to possibly negotiate a long term deal before the
deadline hits. Even with Ansah tagged, the Lions still enjoy a healthy amount
of cap space with just over 30 million dollars at their disposal. With money in
hand, Detroit does have a decent list of free agents they may entertain
bringing back to the fold. Potential top priority could be run stuffer Haloti
Ngata if he agreed to a team friendly deal. At the age of 34, his best days are
clearly behind him while still occupying a lot of space on that line making
himself invaluable. Line backer Tahir Whitehead could find his way to a new
contract with the Lions provided his market value hasn’t priced himself out of
Detroit. Coming off a nice season, his value has spiked to levels of 8.5
million dollars average annually, might be too rich for the Lions. The final
potential resign of note could be starting Center Travis Swanson. Though the
Lions would like to upgrade the offensive line, Swanson has progressed nicely
every year making his a nice piece to keep on the roster.
Finding ways to
generate cap space is always on the table, especially when teams end the season
removed from the postseason. First player with ginormous appeal to be released,
is uneven performer Eric Ebron. He currently holds a cap number of 8.25 million
with no dead money applied to his contract. Releasing Ebron would be all money
in the bank. An unpopular move but defiantly feasible to review, is the
potential to cut bait with slot receiver Golden Tate. Sending Tate packing
would instantly create 7 million dollars in savings, but would leave a huge
hole in their slot production. Other than those moves to generate big money, a
surplus of depth talent with team friendly dead money deals do exist and could
be executed.
NFL Draft:
With only six picks to
speak of in the upcoming draft, the Lions should again be in tough to stack
talent on a roster in desperate need. Holding their top selections, Detroit has
three picks in the top 82. It might be important for Matt Patricia to impress
upon his general manager to trade down collecting more picks to help round this
team with more talent. Luckily enough for the Lions, the 2018 draft has an
abundance of talent at the running back position which could be obtained as low
as the fourth round. Aside from potentially adding offensive line help, and
shoring up the running back position, Detroit’s entire draft class should focus
on retooling the defensive side of the ball. Currently with limited draft
capital, it’s quite possible we see the Lions a little more active in the free
agent market.
Overall for 2018:
The Detroit Lions are
a team that truly possess good building blocks but require further talent to
push them over the top. Imagine placing a true three down running back like
Elliott or Gurley on this offense, the production could be absolutely fantastic.
Patricia will bring his New England ways of doing business to the city of
Detroit, but fans should temper the expectations in year one as transitional
periods take time to form. It’s said of many teams these days, but the Lions
built correctly could find themselves a consistent playoff caliber squad under
the current coaching staff. ADF is extremely excited to see how the Lions take
shape.
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