Given the success he has led the team to in recent years, it is almost surprising to see any member of the Detroit Lions' roster question the decisions made by head coach Dan Campbell.
That is just what fans witnessed on Wednesday as starting left guard Christian Mahogany suggested that the preseason plan for himself and other members of the offensive line could have been more thought out.
While he prefaced his comments with the qualifier that he agrees with whatever decisions Campbell elects to make, Kory Woods of MLive.com received an interesting response when asked about the struggles from Detroit's Week 1 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Christian Mahogany Questions Lions' Preseason Plan for Offensive Line
After receiving limited reps throughout the preseason, Mahogany made it clear that the Week 1 struggles, which led to Jared Goff being sacked four times and hit nine times, could have been something that was cleaned up during the exhibition campaign rather than allowing what happened at Lambeau Field to transpire.
“Coach Campbell is a great, smart coach. Whatever he thinks, I would’ve agreed with,” Mahogany said, via Woods. “Do I think I probably needed a little more reps? Yeah, absolutely. And I take full accountability for everything that happened on Sunday. So yeah, whatever he said, I totally agree with.”
In the 67 offensive snaps he played this past weekend, Mahogany allowed a pair of sacks. Those struggles were reflected in his PFF grades for Week 1 as the 24-year-old only managed to register an overall grade of 54.4 in the loss. While his run blocking grade of 58.1 was right at the league average, Mahogany only recorded a pass blocking grade of 43.9, landing him among the bottom 15 of all offensive guards.
The second-year offensive lineman out of Boston College is doing the right thing here by showing his head coach the respect he has earned since taking over in Detroit. With that being said, there is some sound logic behind his argument.
The preseason is supposed to be the time when these issues get worked out. By limiting the reps that Mahogany and rookie right guard Tate Ratledge had during the preseason, Campbell willingly put his offense in this spot, knowing they would face a highly motivated division rival right out of the gate in Week 1.
With another divisional matchup on tap this Sunday against the Chicago Bears, Mahogany will need to bring a better effort if this offense is going to begin firing on all cylinders.