Lions mailbag: Predicting the changes coming to Detroit’s defense

The Detroit Lions defense is in trouble, and coach Dan Campbell is ready to do something about it. On Monday, Campbell promised that some changes were coming. The Lions are prepared to shuffle the lineup and simplify some things schematically, because what’s currently happening is clearly not working.

In a way, Campbell’s promises sound a lot like what he was saying at last year’s bye week, when the offense had gone seven games in a row without scoring at least 20 points. The Lions would turn things around shortly after the bye, as the offense averaged 25.2 points per game in the final six contests.

But a lot of the changes made on the offensive side of the ball are not possible to replicate on the defense. Campbell has already insisted he will not demote or fire defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn like he did with last year’s offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn. Likewise, while there are some defensive players who are waiting to come off the injury list, none are likely to have the impact that Taylor Decker’s return had. And it’s highly doubtful an impactful player like Josh Reynolds falls into their lap.

So what can the Lions do?

That’s one of the main topics on this week’s Mid-Week Mailbag podcast, hosted by myself (Jeremy Reisman) and Pride of Detroit’s managing editor Erik Schlitt.

Other topics include:

• What could the returns of Josh Paschal and Jerry Jacobs means for the defense?
• Can Jameson Williams somehow take this offense to another level?
• At what point do the Lions have to replace Amani Oruwariye in the starting lineup?
• Do the Lions match up favorably against the Patriots?

You can catch this podcast—along with our entire catalogue of audio content—but subscribing to the PODcast on any of the following platforms: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or iHeartRadio. Follow Pride Of Detroit on Twitch to get notified when we record the PODcast live and chat with us. Video replays are available on Twitch and highlights can be founded on YouTube.