Detroit Lions finally ready to solve their TE problem on defense?
Detroit Lions GM Bob Quinn has been busy assembling a hard-nosed, New England Patriots-like defense, and he’s already added a pair of Foxboro cast-offs in linebacker Jon Bostic and safety Tavon Wilson.
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Most of the talk surrounding the 2015 Detroit Lions focused on Calvin Johnson‘s future, Matthew Stafford‘s play and paycheck, the offensive line, and running back Ameer Abdullah‘s failure to match the preseason hype.
What went somewhat unnoticed is that this 7-9 team was 18th in scoring offense and 23rd in scoring the defense. The Lions were 21st in yards per pass attempt allowed and 20th in yards per carry allowed, so while the likes of Ziggy Ansah and Darius Slay shined, the defense as a whole was not strong.
Quinn has done his best to make some upgrades, and, to his credit, he did make three significant draft additions to the side of the ball in hard-hitting safety Miles Killebrew, beefy run defender A’Shawn Robinson, and blue-collar defensive lineman Anthony Zettel.
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The Lions had a few warts in pass defense, and they allowed triple the amount of touchdowns through the air as they had interceptions, surrendering 27 TDs to just nine picks.
When it comes to holes in their coverage, no hole was bigger than their coverage of the tight end position. According to Football Outsiders, the Lions were 29th in DVOA against TEs last season, allowing 56.6 yards per game to them.
Richard Rodgers‘s Hail Mary catch accounts for plenty of that, but he did have a perfect 13 catches on 13 targets against Detroit for 194 yards, so that one play doesn’t account for all of his production. Ladarius Green and Vance McDonald also had success against Detroit’s defense. Furthermore, the Lions allowed a grotesque 10.0 yards per pass attempt on throws over the middle of the field, as per Pro-Football Reference, and only the battered Chicago Bears were worse in that department.
This offseason, the Lions have added Rafael Bush, Wilson, Bostic, and Killebrew to the linebacker and safety positions. However, their most important addition when it comes to stifling TEs and other pass-catchers over the middle of the field is the return of star linebacker DeAndre Levy, who is one of the best coverage ‘backers in the game.
Levy once had six interceptions and 15 passes defended in a season, and that wasn’t even his best year when looking at his overall body of work in coverage. A fearsome, rangy speedster with seven years of experience under his belt, Levy’s return alone could be enough. In 2014, the Lions were 8th in Football Outsider’s DVOA vs. tight ends.
Both Bush and Wilson have plenty of promise, and getting regular snaps could be enough for one of them to be entrenched as the starter across from star Glover Quin Jr. When it comes to impact in coverage against tight ends, my money would be on Wilson, who played the “money” linebacker role as an under-appreciated rookie in the 2012 season.
All three of the other NFC North quarterbacks completed over 70% of their passes with QB Ratings over 110 when targeting the Lions defense over the middle of the field. They combined for six touchdowns with just one interception to offset that.
This will be a big key for the Lions next season, and judging by some of the moves they’ve made, having a tougher defense over the middle is what they are banking. Chances are that one of either Wilson or Bush provides them important coverage ability, and their ability to secure the middle of the field shouldn’t be underrated.
Remember, the Buffalo Bills had one of the league’s best CB duos last season in Stephon Gilmore and Ronald Darby, but they were only a middle-of-the-road pass defense in terms of points per game and yards per attempt allowed due to their holes at LB and safety. Granted, the Lions have Levy and Quin, but while Slay is excellent and there are other promising CBs (such as Quandre Diggs, who looks like a borderline-elite slot defender) on the roster, they don’t quite have that Gilmore-Darby dynamic going for them.
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With a stronger run defense provided by Robinson teaming up with Haloti Ngata with Levy back behind them, the Lions defense should be able to make strides in Quinn’s first season. After all, they have Teryl Austin as their defensive coordinator and had a top-three defense when they made the playoffs in 2014. If a few players, including new additions, step their games up, then we could witness a nice push from the Lions.