Evaluating struggles of Detroit Lions defense the previous three games of 2023 NFL season.
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00:00 John, let's take a deep dive now into the Lions struggles defensively in recent memory.
00:04 What do you make of the Lions on defense and what specifically they need to improve upon
00:08 as the season does progress?
00:09 Yeah, Vito, it's real interesting.
00:12 Obviously, I think a lot of supporters of the Lions are looking at this defense and
00:17 really wondering, okay, can this defense, can their performance translate into positive
00:23 play in the postseason?
00:24 Look, I think that when you look at this defense, there's a lot to look at and it starts with
00:29 the defensive line.
00:30 And unfortunately, now the team suffered a major injury with Ali McNeil missing at least
00:35 the next four games.
00:36 It starts with not enough pressure.
00:38 Yes, the team is adding veterans like a Bruce Ervin to try and up the pressure, but he only
00:43 played 11 snaps against the Saints.
00:45 He did make his impact known, obviously with the sack of Derek Carr and forcing him out
00:51 of the game.
00:52 But you need more pressure from the interior.
00:55 You need, obviously Aiden Hutchinson has, you know, obviously not taken a significant
01:00 leap forward.
01:01 Yes, he's pressuring the quarterback, but also I think the coaching staff really wants
01:05 him to finish just a little bit more.
01:07 And the defensive line, obviously now is going to be shuffled.
01:11 You're going to need to find pressure in any way, shape or form.
01:15 And you look at the secondary, and I just think that overall the past month hasn't been
01:20 a situation in which you've seen that unit kind of progress.
01:23 You see Cam Sutton, and he really is a number two cornerback, but he's playing one in this
01:29 defense.
01:30 Jerry Jacobs is getting picked on a little bit.
01:32 You saw Chris Olave have a little bit of success against him.
01:35 And obviously I think that he's a player that's still developing, but at times, obviously
01:39 teams opponents are finding avenues of success targeting Jerry Jacobs.
01:44 Kirby Joseph at times struggles with tackling and sometimes out of position.
01:49 You recognize this is a defense that really is missing Emmanuel Mosley and CJ Gardner-Johnson.
01:55 But there are some good things to speak on as well.
01:57 Jack Campbell, I thought, played his best game of the season playing the Mike Linebacker
02:01 spot.
02:02 I thought that late in the game when the Lions needed to make plays, they started to make
02:08 those plays.
02:09 And obviously the emphasis this week was on turnovers.
02:12 Brian Branch got an early turnover that put the Lions in a good position.
02:16 But collectively, Vito, you see situations in which the Lions are giving up far too many
02:21 yards, far too many times on third down the Lions are not getting off of the field.
02:27 And specifically, the defensive performance in the third quarter is an outlier.
02:33 It's drastically different than the rest of games.
02:36 For whatever reason, coming out of halftime, opponents are able to make better adjustments
02:40 and execute better than the Lions defense.
02:43 But at the same time, we do have to be fair and balanced and look at the fact that when
02:48 the Lions do need plays at times, this defense can be opportunistic.
02:53 So it's a football team clearly that's counting on its offense to carry this football team,
02:59 and they're counting on the defense to make plays when needed.
03:02 But over the last stretch of games, there's a lot of things that this defense really showcases
03:07 that's been a struggle, especially in man coverage.
03:10 A little bit concerning, Aaron Glenn, being a former defensive back, has cornerbacks at
03:15 times that struggle in man coverage and missed assignments and mistakes and errors in critical
03:20 situations.
03:21 So it's a football team that luckily is still 9-3, but has a long way to go until they can
03:28 be an elite defense.
03:29 And recall, Vito, Aaron Glenn spoke to reporters and said he wants to be judged harshly.
03:35 He wants to be criticized.
03:36 He wants a team that is, even if it's 9-8, is being talked about where the coaching staff
03:42 could be fired.
03:43 And that's the level of standard that he's putting out there.
03:46 So based on his elite standards, the Lions defense is falling way, way short this season.
03:52 The team has to make better adjustments out of halftime.
03:54 No doubt about it, too.
03:55 John, thanks for all the time.