Defensive Trends Lions Must Keep against Saints
In its Week 3 victory against the Arizona Cardinals, the Detroit Lions' defense finally made some plays.
It may not have all been pretty, but after picking off Kyler Murray three times -- and almost a fourth -- it got the job done.
Going into Week 3, the Lions were one of only two teams in the NFL without a turnover.
Now, it did take all the way into the fourth quarter to force a Cardinals punt.
Yet, there were signs of improvement and thinking that was a bit outside of the box.
From a personnel standpoint, the Lions relegated linebacker Jarrad Davis and safety Will Harris to more reserve roles.
Both players have struggled, and Detroit head coach Matt Patricia seemed adamant about getting them playing time -- until this past Sunday.
In regard to the scheme, Patricia broke another norm, after he went away from running as much man defense as he had in the first couple of outings.
The Lions had utilized man-to-man coverage more than 80 percent of the time in the first two weeks.
Despite leading the league for the highest percentage of man coverage, that number dropped significantly to 56 percent against the Cardinals.
However, that’s not to say that more zone defense is here to stay.
Anytime an opponent has a quarterback with some serious scrambling ability, it is often wise to let the defensive backs keep their eyes in front of them.
If not, once they turn their backs to the ball while covering wideouts, they are more susceptible to big chunk plays from quarterback scrambles.
Oftentimes, there will need to be a QB-spy while in man coverage, which can limit the number of pass rushers a defensive coordinator can bring.
Next week, the Lions will square off with the high-powered New Orleans Saints offense.
It’s unclear at this time if superstar receiver Michael Thomas will be able to suit up.
Obviously, his presence creates a whole other dynamic for the Drew Brees-led offense.
The Lions will also look to get back a key piece of their secondary, as well, with starting cornerback Desmond Trufant recovering from a hamstring strain.
Who knows, the Lions very well could go back to their old, man-heavy ways against a pocket quarterback.
At the very least, Patricia demonstrated an ability to adjust and to game plan for a specific offense last week.
Hopefully, he and the Lions can continue to be a little less predictable and keep the turnover train rolling.
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