Getty Aaron Glenn coaching for the Lions in a 2021 preseason game.
The Detroit Lions came into Week 4 with a chance to build some momentum ahead of their looming bye week, but instead of doing that, they fell apart in usual fashion.
While the team’s offense continued to get busy with 45 points given a lack of playmakers, the team’s defense was pushed around worse than ever before on the field of play. Fans are feeling more than fed up.
Featuring an offense that was 28th in the league, the Seahawks came in and rolled up 48 points. They didn’t put on the day, and 555 yards of offense later, the Seahawks strutted out of town with a big win and a 2-2 record.
With even an average defensive performance, the Lions would have cruised to a likely double-digit win. Instead, the team couldn’t get off the field on fourth down, and allowed play action pass completions routinely. The same mistakes kept happening.
The team had several miscommunications on the back end and was gashed for several big runs. The absurdity of the plays was shown on Twitter, and were the kind of mistakes that the team simply cannot make.
Hutchinson goes inside, Chris Board loses outside contain.
Just dumb all around from the coaching staff to the players
Aaron Glenn, the team’s defensive coordinator, has to start feeling the heat for his poor group. It will be important for the Lions to show some improvement on the field over the next few weeks and months, but he should also be on the hot seat starting now given the problems the team has endured.
Dan Campbell didn’t want to go there after the game.
“AG’s a damn good coach. Worst thing we can do is start pointing fingers at one another. We can’t let anyone pull us apart,” Campbell would say after the game.
Perhaps it’s time for folks to talk less about Glenn’s abilities as a future head coach. He has a long way to go before getting things right as a Detroit defensive coordinator first.
What else was learned from another disappointing hunt for the Lions? Here’s a look
Clay Martin Struggles as a Referee
Never has there been a game where more plays were seemingly up for debate than this affair. Clay Martin’s crew seemed to lack control of the game from the get-go, and was very indecisive on flags multiple times.
Martin failed to reset the clock in time, costing a Lions third-down stop. A play later, Seattle cruised into the end zone. It may have been bad luck, but it was also incompetence from the referee crew.
Campbell didn’t want to blame the referees for the loss, but once again, it felt as if an ill-prepared referee crew doomed the Lions in this game.
Detroit’s Training Staff Needs Help
There should be some sort of investigation by the team into the way injuries plague the Lions. Entering the game, Detroit hardly had enough players on the field to have a competent team.
At a certain point, it’s fair to wonder why this keeps happening. Campbell promised to look into things this week, and this is something else the staff should think about. It’s crazy to see the number of injuries that are playing out to the team, and someone needs to take a closer look as it relates to why this is happening.
The Lions Need a New Kicker Badly
Dominik Eberle made a 49 yard field goal and made one extra point when he was called upon, but also bricked a pair of extra points that would have made the game even closer in the end.
Austin Seibert hasn’t been the answer for the team, and neither is Eberle. Time for the Lions to go back to the drawing board this week and hold another tryout. Perhaps the team should give Rodrigo Blankenship a look. He couldn’t be any more inconsistent than what has been going on lately.
Lions’ MVP: T.J. Hockenson, Tight End
It was a breakout performance for T.J. Hockenson, who scored twice and put up a gaudy stat line with 179 total yards. He also scored on a two point conversion for the Lions in the game.
Here’s a look at Hockenson’s score, which was important for the team in the second half of the game.
Two TDs for @TheeHOCK8 too!
#SEAvsDET | 📺 FOX
Hockenson seemed to take many steps forward in this game with a big output. Perhaps this is the day that gets him going the rest of the way, especially with the injuries the team has piled up in recent weeks.
Lions’ Stat to Note: 9
That’s the number of third down conversions the Seahawks picked up on the day. The Lions never got off the field, and that was a big problem for the team. Defensively, the team has to find a way to get off the field. They’ve done a poor job with that thus far this season.
Lions’ Quote to Note
“We’re all in this same boat together and we got to clean it up.” -Dan Campbell
After the game, Campbell refused to point fingers, even as multiple mistakes were made. He emphasized the team’s need to stay together in spite of the close defeat, and said that the team has to pull together to clean things up and stick together. It’s not a bad thought, and it will be a test to see if the team can get it done.