What position do the Lions still need to address?

[TrustMeIamRight]

I understand that you want a solid guy there. That doesn't take away that it is the tenth and twelve most important positions in the defense. Nickelback beats out the second OLB. You could make an argument that third DT or DE could because they'll probably get more snaps than your starting OLB.

Quacker,

Out of curiousity -- Who do you think is responsible for filling the gaps on the edge left in the Wide 9 by the DE?

 

[Quackerjacked]

I know how defense works. He fills the gap. usually one on one with the running back. If he's decent, it's a pretty cut and dried play. If there is a lead blocker either pulling up into the hole or the full back he takes on the blocker. Then it is up to Tully or a safety. It still stands that OLB is the least important of the starting spots. Last year one of those LB spots was a LB less time than the nickel back. Part of my argument is that Durant was so bad that it won't matter who we plug in. I understand that having a bad player there will open up plays, but guess what, we had a really bad one there last year.

Our OLB do not need to be great players. They are not asked to blitz often. They are not asked to shed and tackle. They aren't even asked to do much cover wise because we prefer to rely on either tully or a safety on the TE. So what do you call a guy that just has to be able to scrape, take on a block at the right angle, make an open 1 on 1 tackle, and be adequate in coverage? I definitely wouldn't call him an impact player. 4-3 outside linebackers are the lowest paid starting defenders for a reason, they are the least important piece of the puzzle.

 

[Quackerjacked]

I would add a caveat that he is not filling the gaps left on the edge. The defensive end is setting the edge. Depending on the formation that leaves the OLB filling the B or C depending on the offensive set.

This is assuming it's not a sweep, because then bets are off on basic gap assignments as the DE then has to not be reached by blocker on the line and engage the first puller. I don't know the specifics of the wide 9 to know if he's squeezing or spilling that blocker. Normally he'd squeeze back in an attempt to make the running back have to cut back into pursuit. He may spill while the OLB and safety come over top. In the either scenario the OLB then has the edge and will have a one on one or a second puller to engage. At this point I'm guessing that he is spilling to the safety to make the tackle.

He would have the edge if the DE is reached, but that should never really happen in the wide 9 formation.

He is the guy that should be making the tackle in the infamous "wham" play as well. This again doesn't require a great player though. It is a one on one with the running back in the hole.

 

[rd27]

If the draft was tomorrow, I'd like the Lions to pick up another safety. Someone who wouldn't mind playing 3rd fiddle until either Delmas or Quin decide to leave. That, and I wouldn't mind another big WR. Walterfootball has us picking Marquise Lee from USC in his current mock.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

I know how defense works. He fills the gap. usually one on one with the running back. If he's decent, it's a pretty cut and dried play.

Only 5 teams gave up more YPC last year than the Lions. So is it the LBs or the DL that isn't any good? From reading on this board -- Detroit has the best defensive tackle tandem in the NFL, so that leaves who responsible for how poorly Detroit was against the run?

The problem for the Lions -- Neither Levy or Durant were 'decent' OLBs last year. Now Durant is being replaced by his backup, so I'm guessing we aren't going to see a spike in plays made by his replacement.

 

[tpaulus_2]

I think you're not grasping how bad Durant was. He wanted to come back, said it many times, but we had zero interest in him for a reason. Basically whomever we replace him with can't be any worse... it's addition by subtraction in his case.

 

[tpaulus_2]

And I think a big part of what Falcon is saying is that we don't need his replacement to be a playmaker, just an assignment sound guy who doesn't miss a lot of tackles. He needs to hit the right gap and either make the tackle, or control the blocker. He's only on the field roughly half of the snaps, so we're not talking about the key piece to our defense or anything. And it wasn't just that way last year, either- the proliferation of the spread offense has rendered the 3rd LB in a 4-3 as a part-time "starter".

Every time you see 3 WRs (or more) lined up against us that basically means that the 3rd LB is off the field. The extra DB (nickel back, generally) has logged greater than 50% of the snaps in 4-3 defenses league-wide for several years running now. That's just how it is against today's offenses in the NFL. Two TEs, or a FB usually equals 3 LBs from the defense. 3 or especially 4 WRs usually equals an extra DB, it's just that simple, but we have "4-3" fixed in our football vernacular, so we think "3 LBs". That's true in the base defense, but the "base" defense is no longer the primary defense used as far as the snap percentages go.

I'd make the argument that given his more frequent usage, and much tougher job, that we should all be more concerned about who the nickel CB will be...

 

[jdwills126]

The OLB is a hole but not one that is any worse than it was last year. If the Lions ran a 3-4 it would be way more worrisome!

But with two aggressive safeties to help with run support I think the Lions will be ok. My only concern is if the Lions can't get pressure on the QB from the DE position. Trying to rotate Willie Young and Jones makes the most sense right now. I am not sure it is a long term solution but going into camp it's better than KVB IMO.

Ansah's inexperience is my other concern here. As much upside as he has he still will be getting tested by teams. I see a lot of over run plays and taking himself out of position by his aggressiveness. Much like what teams did to Suh.

 

[Quackerjacked]

Thank you TP that is what I'm saying. We don't need a playmaker, it is the least important starting position. We are replacing trash, so it can't get much worse. The safety play was horrible last year too. That hurt the YPC. Also I think at least half of our games were against top 10 running teams.

 

[Quackerjacked]

Not to mention that our base scheme is a stop the pass to force the run scheme.

 

[Quackerjacked]

Also throw in that both KVB and Avril had a ton of issues setting the edge as well.