Before anybody takes this the wrong way, I love Brad as much as the next man & I think he’s truly sped up our rebuild & has hit on some home run picks (almost exclusively on offense) But he really has gave AG the short end of the stick.
In AG’s entire tenure here so far Brad has only given him 1 serviceable CB in Branch. The rest of the CB’s AG is fielding out there this year & last year definitely shouldn’t be starting in the NFL. Between Sutton, Jacobs, Okudah & Harris they are clearly depth pieces at best & getting thrown to the fire by starting week in week out but what choice does AG have?
On the DL it’s no secret that Hutch isn’t what we all hoped & thought he would be at this point in his career, he’s still young with plenty of time to turn things around but as of now he’s nothing more then a good run defender and average at best pass rusher. Levi & Paschal both look like Whiffs & the other edge position has been neglected even with James Houston healthy. The Lions have 2 players on the DL that are capable of starting in the NFL, the rest are depth pieces again being forced into a starting role.
The LB position: i criticised the Anzalone contract but boy was I wrong. He’s become the heart & sole of the defense & is by far the best player on the defense. Great acquisition by Brad. Jack Campbell while it’s still incredibly early into his career definitely looks like he shouldn’t be starting in the NFL yet but the tale of this story continues again with him & Barnes both clearly not being good enough to start in the NFL yet but thrown to the fire. AG’s fault again too?
TL:DR the lions have 3 maybe 4 at most players on defense that are capable of starting. The rest don’t belong on the field but AG has coached up an average defense out of what he’s been given.
Do ya’ll somehow believe a new DC will magically teach the corners to stop getting burned by bums or teach the pass rushers to generate sacks & turnovers? AG is a perfectly fine DC, but what he isn’t is a miracle worker.
He tried to add secondary help. He brought in Moseley who unfortunately tore his other Acl. That’s not something you expect to happen. Maybe he lose some speed but acl aren’t as big of a issue now days.
He brought CJGJ in.
Kerby has developed well for a 3rd round pick.
Tracy has been relatively solid all year.
Cam Sutton was arguably the second best corner available and lions went and got him.
He didn’t over pay for talent either.
The dline has two guys who flash talent and you expect to be more consistent. Hutch has been good ( though people are acting like he’s been shit for some reason). He reminds me of a early Max Crosby who was great for the run game and got a ton a pressures but was unable to finish. He’s developing fine.
Alim has been great for the run game, and he’s developed alot as a pass rusher, though he inconsistent there. it sucks but Harris and romeo both regressed. Paschal hasn’t been able to take that next step and we lost Houston, who I believe is our best pairing for hutch.
Anzalone has had a break out year and been pretty well rounded. Not elite but he’s a good starter.
Barnes has been fairly solid mostly in the run game.
Campbell has been one of the best lb in the run game around the league but has coverage issue which I will get into late.
Lions don’t have alot of top end talent out side of hutch, alim and CGJ. The former two are inconsistent at times which is a issue and the other is injured.
What I’m trying to get at is that this isn’t a elite talent defense. But it’s not a bottom barrel group either.
It good enough to be a top 20 group, and that enough with a top 3 offense.
AG for some reason is trying to force Houston and Campbell to both be this outside lb pass rusher.
It’s stunting both players growth. Go watch the film early in the season, Campbell was actually better and more decisive in coverage early on, it after make the transition to the olb spot that he’s started being a slow processor in coverage. Same with Houston to an extent. Lions love dropping him into coverage rather than just letting him be a situational pass rusher and letting him develope fully there. He’s consistently been better when allowed to pin his ears back and go.
Kerby has had clear communication issues and guys are in the wrong spot. That’s generally a sign of coaching issue. His technique isn’t terrible but guys constantly look confused at times like people aren’t sure what the exact play is. Coaching issue.
Lions blitz are super telegraphed. It almost always obvious who’s blitzing and when. That bad scheme.
I’m not saying lions don’t have a Talent issue.
But the talent issue should be why the team is a bottom 20 defense. Not a bottom 30.