Lions Legend Defends Tenure of Matt Patricia, Bob Quinn

Getty Chris Spielman during a 1992 game.

There aren’t many folks who have a ton of faith in the Detroit Lions’ duo of Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn right now, but Chris Spielman can be counted as one such person.

After watching the wheels fall off of the Lions thus far this season on the field, Spielman took to Twitter to provide some of his takes on where he sees things going. As he said, he thinks that the duo of Quinn and Patricia will get things right, there is a plan and it will come together.

Typically, as expected, Lions fans brushed back at Spielman for his commentary wondering how and why he could have any faith in the duo, but the former linebacker said that he simply thinks that more time will be needed to get things in the right direction for Detroit.

The dialogue continued with Spielman fielding a ton of questions about why he believes in Patricia and Quinn, but the former linebacker didn’t waver in his support for the duo.

This week, many have been putting the pressure on Patricia and Quinn with rumors swirling about their future. Spielman, however, agrees with Patricia that patience is needed most of all.

Bob Quinn’s Lions Tenure

Quinn came to Detroit after Martha Ford stunningly blew out Detroit’s front office following a debacle in the 2015 season. Quinn entered from New England and elected to observe Caldwell for two full seasons before making a move. Though Caldwell would finish with a winning record, Quinn eventually sacked him at the end of the season in 2017.

All the while, Quinn has been the one crafting the roster, and there have been some major hits as well as some obvious misses for the general manager. In 2016, Quinn’s first draft involved the selection of Taylor Decker along the offensive front. Decker has been solid, but far from elite. The 2016 draft also saw the Lions pick up Graham Glasgow who’s been a starter, as well as a solid piece.

From there, Quinn has managed to find a few difference makers every draft season. 2017 brought Jarrad Davis, who has been alright as well as Kenny Golladay, who has arguably been Quinn’s best pick. In subsequent drafts, players like Glasgow, Jamal Agnew, Frank Ragnow, Da’Shawn Hand, Tracy Walker, Kerryon Johnson and Tyrell Crosby have been solid contributors and shown glimpses.

In free agency, Quinn’s work has been more hit or miss. He has picked up names like Marvin Jones, Justin Coleman, Trey Flowers and Devon Kennard but has surprised by adding names like Jesse James, Christian Jones and Rashaan Melvin, all of whom have struggled to fit in. Quinn has also made some failed signings at running back.

As a whole, it’s perhaps a bit more on Quinn that Detroit has struggled so badly this season. His roster has not had the advantage of key depth that so many teams in the NFL feature.

Matt Patricia’s Lions Tenure

Patricia came to the Lions fresh off success in New England in 2018, and struggled out of the gate to capture the attention of the locker room. A bumpy start paved the way to a more solid finish in 2018 with the team only winning six games, but defeating squads like the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, which offered hope.

Patricia has helped the Lions stay in games for the most part in 2019, something which the team struggled with in 2018, but has not gotten them over the hump at closing. That’s perhaps his biggest wart so far as a boss, combined with a lousy defense that has not picked up the program whatsoever. Patricia might get more of a pass considering the absurd amount of injuries he’s dealt with, but it’s hard to ignore that in his tenure as coach, the Lions have had the same discipline problems plague them that always have through the years.

The bet is that both Patricia and Quinn get a mulligan on 2019 considering the rash of injuries that have set the team back, while also living with the understanding that 2020 is likely the make or break year for this group.

Ask Spielman and he would be likely to agree on this fact after what he said today.

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