The eight things we learned Friday night about the Detroit Lions
By Ash Thompson
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1028114248205983745
What we saw from the defense
The base defense was a three-man line with a linebacker on or very near the line of scrimmage. The Lions played a lot of nickel defense and alternated whether it was the linebacker on the ball or one of the off the ball linebackers who came off. In dime situations, the team often rushed only three linemen, playing a 3-2-6 defense.
The most interesting thing we saw on defense was Anthony Zettel getting a big pile of snaps at defensive tackle in passing situations. On third and long, or during the Raiders two minute drill to finish the first half, Zettel was lined up inside almost every time.
It looked like the Lions strategy to get interior pass rush was to put Zettel and two other defensive ends on the field and use a lot of stunts to generate pressure with a three-man line. The results were not great, the Lions struggled to pressure the quarterback in the first half in any and all situations. Devon Kennard looked pretty good in his role rushing the passer, but he was manhandled by a tight end on Marshawn Lynch’s called back touchdown run.
https://twitter.com/Raiders/status/1028120390566961153
Jalen Reeves-Maybin looked every bit as confused as last season. He was moving like he had been shot from a cannon, but the Raiders first touchdown is a prime example of what I am referring to. A million miles per hour in a completely ineffective direction is how I would describe his effort.
Next. The Lions safety depth chart is meaningless. dark
This looked and felt like the first preseason game. The Lions lost, but winning was not really the goal. The team gave the coaching staff a very good look at a whole bunch of things they need to work on. That’s all this game was ever about.