Detroit Lions benefitted from schematic and personnel changes on defense.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Prior to the game against the Denver Broncos, the Detroit Lions made many defensive changes.
00:05 Here today to analyze those moves is SIO Lions' John Macrin.
00:08 John, give me your thoughts on these defensive changes by the Detroit Lions and how it impacted
00:13 them in their win over Denver.
00:15 Yeah, Cam, real interesting.
00:16 Aaron Glenn obviously took a look at the defense and saw some areas of weakness that could
00:21 be improved.
00:22 Most notably, you moved on from Jerry Jacobs in regards to his playing time.
00:27 I thought that the mix of having Khalil Dorsey and Kendall Vildor come in and have an opportunity
00:32 really helped out the Detroit Lions.
00:35 Unfortunately for Jerry Jacobs, it's been a tough go as of late, being picked on by
00:40 the opponents.
00:41 And you recognize, look, Jerry Jacobs is a tough physical corner, but at times is struggling
00:47 in regards to coverage and recognizing the needs that Aaron Glenn has, especially for
00:53 the tough position that he plays in regards to defensive back.
00:56 And you look at Vildor, a veteran that played with the Bears.
00:59 You look at Khalil Dorsey getting his opportunity.
01:01 I thought that the Lions defense definitely stepped it up and limited the explosive plays
01:06 from the Broncos.
01:07 But most notably, Cam, the substitution or the difference maker that has now emerged
01:13 and potentially has now earned a starting role for the foreseeable future is Ifatou
01:18 Melifanwu.
01:19 And you look at Tracy Walker filled in admirably for the injured CJ Gardner-Johnson.
01:24 But unfortunately, you look at the Detroit Lions are always constantly looking at competition,
01:29 looking to upgrade.
01:30 Boy, when you saw the film, when you turned on the tape to see what happened on defense,
01:35 you saw Ifatou Melifanwu flying everywhere, forced a turnover, got in and was able to
01:41 force a fumble, which was then recovered by Isaiah Buggs.
01:44 You look at Ifatou Melifanwu, a tall, physical defensive back that has been asked to play
01:50 multiple different spots.
01:51 And he's now been healthy, and I think he's starting to emerge as a player that can play
01:56 alongside Kirby Joseph.
01:59 And it's an added benefit when you look at the return, potentially now in the foreseeable
02:03 future of CJ Gardner-Johnson.
02:05 The Lions have a lot of good options at the safety position.
02:09 So it definitely bodes well for Aaron Glenn to have more options in terms of his defense,
02:14 which allowed for a great performance.
02:15 Lots of blitzing, lots of good coverage.
02:18 And you recognize it was a much better defensive performance.
02:21 Anytime you secure a fumble recovery, it's a good day for your defense.
02:25 John, as they say, defense wins championships.
02:28 Thanks for all the time.