Five Reasons Detroit Lions Will Contend
By Joe Chapp
Aug 13, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA;New York Jets running back Bilal Powell (29) runs the ball during the second quarter against the Detroit Lions in a preseason NFL football game at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Suh Gone, Lions Defense Is Now Mediocre?
Oh don’t you love when people overlook the obvious talent, because of elite player? Ndamukong Suh is an unbelievable talent he does a lot of unnoticed work, but to say that’s the reason for the Lions being a top 10 defense is laughable.
Did anyone blame Suh when the defense ranked 30th in the NFL? No, it’s ludicrous it’s the same concept. Of course Suh played an exponential role in the Lions defense, and no logical human being with an educated mind would deny that. However, when the talent around Suh got better, so did the defense.
Ndamukong Suh is a talent, but by no means I wouldn’t have signed him either.
Suh’s pay would drastically kill the Lions chances of contending, and instead of writing how I think the Lions will contend, I’d be writing an obituary for the 2015 Detroit Lions.
The Lions had no choice of committing big money to three big salaries, It’d likely result in losing some key pieces down the line for a player who’s one of the best at his position, and it might’ve been the best decision not to sign Suh.
The Lions defense now, is tremendously talented names like: Deandre Levy, Glover Quin, James Ihedigbo, Ziggy Ansah, Stephen Tulloch, Darius Slay and Tahir Whitehead are all talented players, the added additions of Haloti Ngata and Tyrunn Walker give Detroit a chance not to regress.
Walker who came out of New Orleans was a talent. Saints writers, fans and people in the organization, were not happy with the loss of Walker, but with the Saints cap they couldn’t afford to keep him. Walker was a great pass rusher, and in limited time became one of the Saints best defensive lineman. The addition of Walker eases the Lions loss of DT Nick Fairley who bolted to St.Louis.
Haloti Ngata who spent his time in Baltimore was another player who came to Detroit because of financial issues regarding the cap, Baltimore had enough depth to ease the loss of Haloti Ngata, but didn’t want to cut him and let him join an AFC team, instead they traded the all pro.
Ngata comes off a solid year, but in that year Ngata was suspended for performance enhancing substances. Ngata admitted to taking Adderall.
Adderall’s uses is for treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Which is a banned substance in the NFL.
“I made a mistake, and I own this,” Ngata said in a statement. “I took Adderall and take full responsibility for doing this. I am deeply sorry and broken up over this. I let down my family, my teammates, Ravens fans and myself. My hope is that the Ravens make the playoffs, and I believe they can do this. And, then I can come back and help us win.”
Aside from the PED suspension, Ngata ranked pretty high up with most of the elite defensive tackles finishing 3rd in double teams, and having similar numbers to former Lions DT Ndamukong Suh.
Not saying, Ngata is Suh or vise versa; however the addition of Ngata is the best case the Lions could’ve had while losing a dominant player in Ndamukong Suh.
I expect the Lions defense to be top 10, even with the loss of Ndamukong Suh there’s enough talent to say so and for the first time in years the Lions actually have depth in the secondary.
Next: Lions Have Depth