Five games that will define the Detroit Lions season
By Ash Thompson
Every season is defined by a few key games. Here are the five games that will define the Detroit Lions 2018 season.
The factors that define the Detroit Lions right now are easy to list. There is a new coaching staff. With that new staff comes a very different defensive scheme than Lions fans are used to. The Lions will have a linebacker whose main job is to pressure the backfield. That has not been the case in recent memory. As for the rest of the pieces within the Lions weekly gameplans, we expect to have no idea what they entail. There are so many solid players in the secondary that we don’t really know where any of them will line up from week to week. Unpredictability is the only predictable aspect of the Lions defensive game.
General manager Bob Quinn invested heavily in the running game. He added offensive linemen, running backs, and revamped the tight end group completely to improve the number 32 rushing attack in the NFL. Last year’s lead back is the fourth back in the rotation. He has fallen behind a productive veteran and a second-round draft pick. Quinn completed his three-season overhaul of the entire O-line by drafting the fifth piece in the first round.
That is how we define the Lions 2018 season right now, but it is unlikely to remain our definitive view. I have heard that the actual games do matter. Few free-agent additions come to define the team, no matter how much time we spend dissecting them. The results on the field are what we will be talking about in January 2019.