3 things we learned in the Detroit Lions’ loss to the Chicago Bears

The Lions lost again and it was ugly. Here are a few things we learned.

The Lions will always try to “establish the run” no matter the game situation

The Detroit Lions were almost instantly in a hole to start this game, but offensive coordinator and play caller Jim Bob Cooter did not seem to notice. It is rare that a team who had been trailing by up to 26 points for portions of this game leads in time of possession. Detroit dominated possession for much of this game, though, and it was mainly because of their reluctance to play aggressive.

Detroit had more rushing attempts then passing attempts for much of this game. For a team that was down by two possessions from the first quarter on, that is unacceptable. Handing the ball off on a majority of first downs just does not make sense. Giving the ball to LeGarrette Blount in non-goal line situations at any point in the game is a terrible idea, especially when losing by multiple possessions.

The Lions play calling totally ignored the game script. They failed to make any adjustments to their game plan and that is the fault of both Cooter and head coach Matt Patricia.

This game was a mess. While the players bear a lot of fault of their own, the coaching staff failed to give the Lions their best chance to succeed.

Tracy Walker should be a starter on defense

This secondary is awful, especially when Darius Slay is out of the game. While the cornerbacks were bad in Week 10, the safeties were no better. Glover Quin has lost a step and his body does not look like its in shape to play in the NFL. Both Quandre Diggs and Tavon Wilson are constant liabilities in coverage that have repeatedly made costly mistakes this season.

Rookie third-round pick Tracy Walker has not played much this season. He had only played over a third of the teams defensive snaps once heading into Sunday’s game, but there is not much reason to keep him out of the game it seems. He has his flaws, but he has the size Diggs does not have and the speed Quin does not have. There is not much evidence that he will absolutely be better, but getting your raw safety who may be the future of the defense meaningful playing time cannot hurt in what looks like a lost season.

this team makes me sad

:(