All Lions: 9-7 Is "Not Nearly Good Enough"
Man, a lot has changed since Jim Caldwell roamed the sidelines at Ford Field.
He was dismissed as Lions head man after two straight 9-7 campaigns.
As Detroit general manager Bob Quinn then put it, nine wins is "not nearly good enough for what we want.”
Yet, the man he hired to replace Caldwell -- former New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia -- has won just nine games in two years, and was allowed to return for a third season in Motown.
If you reside in my camp on Patricia, you also think that he wasn't deserving of getting a third year on the job.
Yahoo Sports' Frank Schwab touches upon this double standard of Quinn's in his season outlook for the Lions.
He has them ranked No. 27 in his ranking of all 32 NFL franchises heading into the 2020 season.
As he puts it,
"Detroit’s biggest issue (last year) was defense, and in particular the pass defense. Patricia got the job because he was supposed to be a great defensive coach, but the Lions ranked near the bottom in most key defensive categories. They allowed a passer rating of 99.6, ranking 27th in the NFL. Then they traded top cornerback Darius Slay to the Philadelphia Eagles after he and Patricia didn’t get along.
If the coaching is questionable then the roster better be good, and the Lions aren’t exactly overflowing with stars."
Schwab is spot-on with his analysis that Detroit's roster isn't exactly overloaded with high-impact players.
He, like many NFL prognosticators, doesn't have Detroit ranked very high going into 2020. And with Detroit's apparent weaknesses yet again on defense, I can't say that I blame him.
Let's take a look now at some more trending Lions stories from around the web on Tuesday, June 30:
- Sports Illustrated fantasy expert Shawn Childs provides his outlook for the Lions from a fantasy perspective headed into the 2020 campaign.
- Pride of Detroit's Jeremy Reisman takes a stab at identifying Detroit's biggest non-divisional rival.
- USA Today Lions Wire's Erik Schlitt writes that ex-Lions quarterback and current ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky will be a part of the regular rotation of analysts for ESPN's "NFL Live" when it returns in August.
- DetroitLions.com senior writer Tim Twentyman dives into how Detroit offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell hopes the Lions' new-look offensive line will help bring the team a more balanced offensive attack this upcoming season.
Related
2020 Projections: Lions’ Starting Interior Defensive Linemen
2020 Preview: Projecting Kerryon Johnson's Stats
2021 Mock Draft: Detroit Lions Solidify the Defensive Line
NFL Analyst is Comfortable "Buying Stock" in Matthew Stafford
