NFL preseason games have become a less important part of the puzzle over the years, with the reduction in games from four to three being the clearest indicator of that. The Detroit Lions are one of the franchises that have seemingly bought into this approach.
Head coach Dan Campbell's latest comments regarding two of the younger starters along Detroit's offensive line and the plan the coaching staff had for them during the preseason show that the blanket approach to these exhibition games doesn't always translate to success once the stakes are raised.
Both Tate Ratledge and Christian Mahogany had their fair share of struggles in the Lions' 27-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers after not seeing much action throughout the exhibition campaign. Despite acknowledging their subpar play in Week 1, Campbell doesn't regret the path Detroit took with these young linemen.
Lions HC Dan Campbell Admits Tate Ratledge, Christian Mahogany Could've Played More in Preseason
"With those two guys, yeah, we could have played them a little bit more, but you're not playing against starters," Campbell stated, via Woodward Sports Network. "That's why we like the joint practices."
Despite all the negative data regarding the duo's performance in the season opener, Campbell will continue standing by his decision.
While they aren't the be-all-end-all when it comes to meaningful statistics, one can learn a lot about an individual player's performance from their Pro Football Focus grades and, to put it bluntly, both Ratledge and Mahogany graded out rather poorly in the team's season-opening loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Mahogany graded out at 54.4 overall, which was one of the five worst performances of any offensive player to take the field during that game. Unfortunately, Ratledge wasn't much better. His poor performance in pass coverage impacted his overall grade of 57.5, as he checked in well below average with a grade of 39.2.
This is an understandably tough spot for Campbell to be in. Additional reps are always a good thing, especially when they come against an unfamiliar opponent. The risk of injury during the preseason simply outweighs the reward those additional reps would provide, though. Because of this, fans have seen more of a shift toward Campbell's approach to playing regulars during the preseason.
With another NFC North matchup on deck for Week 2, Campbell and Lions fans have to hope that the growing pains Mahogany and Ratledge faced during their loss to the Packers are worked out of their systems by Sunday. One thing is for certain: Ben Johnson will have his Chicago Bears ready to play, so Detroit must bring its best effort to come away with the win.