The topic of the hour was once again stopping the run when Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia spoke to the media Monday afternoon. When asked about Trey Flowers’ comments prior to the bye week about how Detroit’s poor run defense is impacting their ability to rush the passer, Patricia concurred.
“In situations against us, teams have been able to run the ball with a lot of success, which has obviously decreased the amount of passes that they’re having to throw in those situations [...] When we’re trying to get the run game under control and we can’t get them into more of a one-dimensional game then it just becomes more difficult for those guys up front,” he said.
So the goal is to be more successful in stopping the run and force them to pass more. That’s fair. But if you watched this week’s Rowe Report, you’d know that when they do pass, the Lions pass rush is also an issue.
Detroit’s pass-rush-win rate is at the very bottom of the league. The metric measures how often a pass-rusher is able to beat his block within 2.5 seconds. The Lions rank dead last at 21 percent — a full 8 percent lower than the Dallas Cowboys at No. 31. For comparison, the Pittsburgh Steelers are leading the league, winning about 60 percent of the time.
But heading back to the run defense situation, when asked what the fix is: “We gotta do a better job in the run game, we gotta settle some things down there that have hurt us and play with better fundamentals and technique, and just be consistent,” Patricia said.
And onto the rest of your Notes:
- Carlos Monarrez for the Detroit Free Press with a self-explanatory piece based on this headline: “I’m sorry for drinking Detroit Lions Kool-Aid, but here’s why I’m not giving up hope on 2020”
- Neat photo piece from The Detroit News on the Lions head coaches since their last title in 1957.
- Detroitlions.com’s Mike O’Hara breaks down the Lions’ remaining games.
- Haaaaaappy Birttthdaaaaay!
Happy birthday, @chris_spielman❗️ pic.twitter.com/y3UfYTFE5Q
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 11, 2020
- From Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press — a feature on how former Lions executive Larry Lee is helping to make the NFL more inclusive.
- With eight rookies on the active roster, Detroitlions.com’s Tim Twentyman takes a look at how they’ve done through the first four games.
- More Lions + voting: