Lions' 2020 Midseason Grades
The Lions have hit the midway point in their season, with a 3-5 mark.
There have been problems on both sides of the ball, with the defense featuring the worst of them.
Here are my midseason grades for the offense and defense, as well as the team's special teams unit and coaching staff.
Quarterbacks: C-
Matthew Stafford has had a disappointing start to his 2020 campaign.
The 12th-year quarterback has thrown for 14 touchdowns, seven interceptions and 2,127 yards, to go along with a 92.4 passer rating, through eight games.
This comes a season after he looked like an MVP-caliber passer through eight games.
He failed to play in a full campaign a year ago due to a bad back. But, at the midway point (he didn't play another snap after Week 9), his numbers were mightily impressive.
In fact, in 2019 (in just eight total games), he threw for 19 touchdowns, five interceptions and 2,499 yards, good for a career-high passer rating of 106.0.
He was the type of quarterback last year that could win the Lions a game in spite of their porous defense.
Sure, the Lions had just three wins through Week 9 a year ago, too.
But, the hugely glaring difference this year has been that Stafford hasn't been the quarterback that's been able to lead Detroit to a victory -- outside of Week 7 against the Atlanta Falcons -- in spite of the team's below average defense.
He's become a quarterback that is costing his team games, especially the past two weeks with his four combined second-half turnovers (including three interceptions).
And when the Lions have gotten down in games, he's rather frequently started to press, trying to fit the ball into windows that aren't there and at times, taking unnecessary sacks.
Now, there's no doubt that the 32-year-old still has the great arm talent that has helped make him the most productive quarterback in Lions franchise history.
But, still it's worth mentioning that more often than not, he hasn't been good enough to help the Lions win games in 2020.
As for Chase Daniel, he came in relief of Stafford in Week 9 against the Minnesota Vikings, and for all intents and purposes, looked like a career backup.
He looked decent on a couple possessions, but also threw a pick.
Looking at the play of Stafford and Daniel -- albeit it's been a small sample size for the former Bears quarterback -- through the first nine weeks of the season should have Detroit's front office, led by Bob Quinn, clamoring for a young franchise passer.
And guess what, the Lions could've already had one in place, if they would've done the right thing and taken Tua Tagovailoa at No. 3 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft instead of cornerback Jeff Okudah.
Running backs: C
The running game hasn't had a hugely productive season, but it's had a few positive moments.
Veteran running back Adrian Peterson's Lions debut in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears was one of the highlights. He produced 14 rushes for a game-high 93 yards.
And the best moment by far was rookie D'Andre Swift's coming out party in Week 6 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He rushed for a career-high 116 yards and two scores on 14 carries.
With his performance, Swift became the first Lions rookie back to amass 100-plus yards on the ground and to rush for two scores since Pro Football Hall of Famer Barry Sanders did so in 1989 against the Bears (26 carries for 120 yards and two TDs).
While Peterson and Swift have taken all the headlines, Kerryon Johnson has mostly been relegated into a blocking back role, and has excelled in it for the most part.
Overall wise, it's been an uneven year from Detroit's backfield, however. And it's the reason for the grade above.
Wide receivers/tight ends: B-
This position group has been without Kenny Golladay, its best performer, for three games this season. And Golladay exited another contest prematurely, in Week 8 against the Indianapolis Colts.
To no surprise, when he has suited up, he's been hugely productive.
The fourth-year wideout has produced two 100-plus-yard games, and they came in back-to-back weeks -- in Weeks 6 and 7 against the Jaguars and Falcons, respectively.
After Golladay, the other real consistently productive performer among Detroit's pass-catchers has been tight end T.J. Hockenson.
The second-year pro has grown into a reliable red-zone target for Stafford, and has accounted for five touchdowns in eight games, including four in his last five games.
He's also seven yards away from exceeding his reception yards total from a year ago.
He's already accumulated 360 yards, after producing 367 in 12 games last season.
Marvin Jones Jr., after a slow start to his 2020 campaign, has also gotten hot the last two weeks, with three total touchdowns.
Now, there definitely have been instances where the communication hasn't been good enough between Stafford and his receivers, and that's a problem which the pass-catchers deserve equal blame for.
However, overall wise, this group of players hasn't been the reason for the team's struggles this year.
Offensive line: B
The offensive line has been the most consistently productive position group on both sides of the ball for the Lions thus far this season.
Frank Ragnow has grown into one of the best centers in the game, while Taylor Decker is rapidly becoming one of the best left tackles that the game has to offer today.
Then, there's guard Jonah Jackson, who's arguably been Detroit's most productive rookie performer and is easily one of the best first-year linemen in the league.
Heck, even Tyrell Crosby's been productive in recent weeks at right tackle, although in a reserve role.
The only big negative on the O-line this season has been offseason acquisition Halapoulivaati Vaitai.
Time and time again, he's proven that he's not an NFL-caliber starting offensive lineman.
Yet, the Lions keep trotting him out there, even as he continuously gets burnt by opposing defensive linemen.
It's not a good look for the organization, and he's quickly becoming one of the biggest free-agent signing busts of Quinn's tenure in Motown.
All in all, though, it's been a productive year from the protectors of Stafford.
Defensive line: D-
Simply, the pass rush from Detroit's D-line has been MIA all season long.
It's been the Achilles' heel of the franchise ever since Matt Patricia took over as the organization's head man in 2018.
Through eight games this year, the most productive player among Detroit's defensive linemen has been 25-year-old defensive end Romeo Okwara, who leads the team with five sacks and 11 quarterback hits.
The closest player to Okwara in terms of sacks is fellow defensive end Trey Flowers, who has two in seven games.
Flowers has been decent when he's played, but he's also now set to miss at least the next two weeks due to having been placed on injured reserve with a wrist injury prior to Detroit's Week 9 tilt with Minnesota.
He also clearly hasn't lived up to the rich contract he inked an offseason ago (a five-year, $90 million deal).
The Lions have also been horrible all season long when it comes to stopping the run.
Just look at what Vikings running back Dalvin Cook did against them this past Sunday (22 carries for 206 yards and two TDs).
And the production among Detroit's D-linemen dips significantly after Flowers.
The only other member of the line that has recorded a sack is nose tackle Danny Shelton, who has one to his name.
Shelton, a free-agent acquisition of the organization this past offseason, was signed to replace Damon "Snacks" Harrison as a run-stuffer along the line.
He's been far from that in his first eight games with the Lions, however.
The defensive line has easily been one of Detroit's most disappointing position groups so far in 2020.
© Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Linebackers: F
Another rough patch on Detroit thus far this year has been its linebackers.
Not only has this group of players been ineffective in pass coverage, but it's also been subpar when it comes to stopping the run.
The only semi-consistently productive performer of the bunch has been veteran linebacker Jamie Collins.
And Collins has produced his fair share of lowlights, as well, including in Week 9 against the Vikings while trying to tackle Cook in the open field.
The worst player of the group has arguably been the team's 2019 second-round pick Jahlani Tavai.
The second-year pro can't cover anyone, and hasn't proven to be sufficient enough in wrapping up the opposition in the open field, either.
The selection of Tavai looked like a reach at the time by Quinn & Co., and definitely looks like a reach now.
If he doesn't pick up his level of play in the near future, he will start being labeled as a draft bust by more and more pundits and fans.
This has been a horrendous position group for Detroit the last couple of years, and it's definitely one that needs to be upgraded in the offseason.
Secondary: F
Detroit's defense doesn't get much better when you move on to the secondary.
Second-year pro Amani Oruwariye and rookie Jeff Okudah have struggled far too often in man coverage, and have ultimately become liabilities in pass coverage.
Meanwhile, veterans Justin Coleman and Desmond Trufant have struggled to stay healthy -- both have only played in three games.
This group of players has come up short way too often in crucial situations, and it's the reason for its failing grade.
© Junfu Han via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Special teams: A-
This has been the only true "special" area of the Lions in 2020.
Detroit special teams coordinator Brayden Coombs has the feel of a future NFL head coach, and he has his unit performing at a high level at the midway point.
The Lions lead the league in blocked punts with three, after accumulating three blocked punts over the last two weeks.
The organization seems to have also found a diamond in the rough in the form of 24-year-old punter Jack Fox.
Fox leads the NFL in average yards per punt, with 52.8 yards a boot.
The only lowlight has been veteran kicker Matt Prater, who has already missed six field goals this season (14-of-20).
The last time he missed as many field goals in a single season came in 2012 when he was a member of the Denver Broncos (26-of-32).
His kicking woes are the reason the Lions don't receive an "A" for this unit.
Coaching: F
Subpar coaching ... a tradition unlike any other during the Patricia regime.
The offense has lacked creativity all season long with Darrell Bevell calling the plays. Too many predictable run plays in short-yardage situations, and not enough of airing it deep with Stafford.
Bevell, for whatever reason, has largely gotten away from that in his second year as Detroit offensive coordinator.
Meanwhile, the defense has just flat out stunk with Cory Undlin calling the shots as defensive coordinator.
And the defense has also committed far too many mental lapses under his watch, including having only 10 men on the field on a play for two straight weeks.
That's completely unacceptable. And as much as it's on the players to realize there's not enough players, the majority of the blame falls upon the shoulders of the individual calling the plays, which, in this instance, is Undlin.
And where has the development been on the defensive side of the ball?
Has Okudah gotten better? No.
Have players like Oruwariye or Tavai gotten better? No.
If anything, they've regressed in their second years in the league.
And as much as all of this pertains to Undlin, remember, he's not the head coach, and he's not the so-called "defensive wizard."
Instead, it's Patricia. The "buck" should stop with him.
His coaching hasn't improved nearly enough since his first days on the job in 2018.
And for that, at season's end, there should be a major shake-up, with both him and Quinn losing their jobs.
© Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
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