Getty Dan Campbell on the field coaching the Lions in 2022.
The Detroit Lions come into their early-season bye week a miserable 1-4 on the season, and that frustration over what’s been a terrible start to the year has been compounding.
At the very least, there’s good news on the horizon given the fact the Lions have a bye week to rest up and rejuvenate in addition to self-scout. There’s no lack of that which must be going on this week, and the team needs to be learning key lessons to help in a turnaround.
So what do the Lions need to be studying? Here’s a look at some of their biggest problems to fix along with potential solutions for the team in the future.
Lions’ Defense Lacking Sacks, Pocket Pressure
Solution: Find some health
This offseason, much fanfare was made about how Detroit’s pass rush problem would be solved with some of their additions. So far, that hasn’t been the case consistently enough for the team.
A year after collecting just 30 sacks as a team, the Lions have seven through the first five weeks of the season. That’s not going to cut it at all, and the new attacking scheme that was hyped during the offseason has done little to pay off with actual pressure.
The Lions need to see some of their key players get healthy, whether it be rookie Josh Paschal, role playing end John Cominsky or veteran edge rusher Romeo Okwara. The team hasn’t seen Aidan Hutchinson carry the load himself, and as a rookie, he shouldn’t be asked to do that in his first season in the league no matter where he was drafted.
Depth will have to shine through in the second half of the year if the Lions want to solve their major pass rush issue. Injured players have to find a way back on the field, and other role players like Charles Harris, Julian Okwara and Austin Bryant who succeeded in 2021 have to find a way to be more effective.
Lions’ Defense Not Generating Turnovers
Solution: Attack the ball, tackle better
Detroit’s secondary has been far too passive so far this season, and hasn’t done a great job to make big plays in the second-level. The Lions have just two interceptions, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries this season.
Does this mean the Detroit defense isn’t good at generating such plays? Not exactly, it simply means the players on the field aren’t doing enough to locate the ball and are scrambling around far too much. It also means they are a poor tackling team.
Finding a way to make players more ball aggressive and remind them to hone their tackling fundamentals should be a big focus of the staff in the bye. Detroit isn’t playing with confidence in the second-level, and it shows seeing as they are not in attack mode nor making sudden-change plays happen. That must change.
Lions’ Kickers Struggling With Field Goals
Solution: Stick with a kicker
Confidence has been hard to come by this season for Detroit’s special teams, and kicker is a spot that has been ravaged by inconsistency. The Lions have blown through three kickers since the end of the 2021-22 season, and with Michael Badgley and Sam Ficken now around the team, that number only seems destined to grow.
Detroit has to make a choice at kicker and stick with it until a change is needed. They must try to get their kicker some sorely needed confidence on the field which has been hard to come by. Only by getting their kicker in a groove can they reap the rewards of his confidence. The Lions need to handle special teams way better in the second-half.
Dan Campbell’s Over-Aggressive on 4th Down
Solution: Find a more targeted aggression
Getting Dan Campbell to back down on going for most fourth downs seems like a fool’s errand. The coach loves to show off by constantly putting his team in position to make conversions on the field. While this is understandable much of the time, Campbell also needs to find a way to be just a bit more conservative and concede his calls have been wrong on more than a few occasions.
The Lions should at least try field goals around the 45-55 yard mark to attempt and get their kicker some confidence and net the offense some points. If they’re not confident, they should punt instead of putting their defense at a disadvantage.
Week 5 showed how decisions like this can backfire in a big way, and Campbell needs to remember the dangers of not understanding time and space in a game.
D’Andre Swift’s Looked Injury-Prone Again
Solution: Spell Swift in a better way
A major problem so far within the team’s elite offense has been the fact that running back D’Andre Swift is again looking injury-prone after having an ankle and shoulder ailment in the first few weeks of the year. The Lions need a healthy Swift to make their offense more diverse, so the focus should be on how to make his touches count.
Jamaal Williams is looking more than capable of carrying the load on the ground with 332 yards and six touchdowns, and Craig Reynolds offers the team a solid change-of-pace along with Justin Jackson. The team doesn’t need Swift to dominate the carries, and instead, they should look to maximize the return they can get from him when he is targeted with both the run and pass.
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