Are the Detroit Lions Actually Legit?
Photo Credit: Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Starting off the season with a huge road win over the defending Super Bowl champs was the best-case scenario for a Lions team coming into the season with a tremendous amount of hype.
Getting placed on the season opener on Thursday night got a lot of new eyes on this new look Detroit Lions team. It’s needless to say they showed up.
The biggest performer of the night was defensive end Aidan Hutchinson who was getting pressure nearly every play and consistently defeating double teams all night.
The Chiefs were down tight end Travis Kelce their biggest playmaker, and the consistent drops by wide receivers and poor ball placement from quarterback Patrick Mahomes made the Chiefs not look like their usual selves.
It is too soon to start making the claims that this team is legit with a lot of glaring issues arising during the game especially in the first half.
I do not agree with Mike Tirico’s comment on the Thursday Night Football broadcast after the game about the game having an “asterisk” due to no Kelce or Chris Jones.
To become consistent and be seen as legit, the Lions need to do these two things to fill up the issues they faced on Thursday night.
1. Stick to a Man-Heavy Coverage Scheme and Defense
The Lions have been a primarily man-heavy defense since the time of Jim Schwartz and even in the time during the disastrous Matt Patricia era that we all want to forget.
In the first half, the Lions ran a majority of zone defense which did not end well as you saw a lot of plays where guys did not know their assignments or where they should be on the field.
Once they switched to man defense in the second half, they were much better in coverage and got better results with a pick six from rookie safety Brian Branch and holding the Chiefs to just six points in the second half.
2. Give Jahmyr Gibbs the BALL!
Taking a running back not named Bijan Robinson in the first round was a head scratching move back in April for many Lions fans. On Thursday, we saw why he was taken so high with him making a play every time he touched the ball.
The problem was that Montgomery got triple the touches that Gibbs got even on passing plays where Gibbs would excel much better at.
Dan Campbell did comment after the game that Thursday was a test run as Gibbs did not see many high snap count games in college and that now is time to “unleash him.”
Gibbs should get double the touches against the Seattle Seahawks that he got against the Chiefs in Week 1 and may become one of the best fantasy players at the position this year.
