There was a lot of talk about Kelvin Sheppard this offseason. He was deemed a rising star in the coaching ranks, with analysts claiming the Detroit Lions should prepare to lose him to a head coaching position after this year.
It's still early, but those keeping an eye on his work might reconsider that stance after the first two weeks of the season. The Lions' defense can't get stops, especially in the backfield, and it looks like Dan Campbell's patience is running thin.
Following the 41-31 road loss to the Buffalo Bills, Campbell pointed to the miscommunications in the secondary as the team's primary defensive weakness, and we've heard this tone before.
Dan Campbell shouldn't hesitate to show Kelvin Sheppard the door
"We've got to clean up a lot of things on defense right now, particularly in the back end," the coach said (h/t Jeremy Reisman).
Coach Campbell doesn't hesitate to pull the plug on a failed experiment if things aren't working out. It didn't take long before he stripped John Morton off play-calling duties last season, and Sheppard might not get many more opportunities to turn things around if this goes on.
The Lions have already given up three 40+yard completions, with opponents completing 63.2 percent of their passes. If you consider that they went against Tyler Shough in Week 1, those numbers are much more worrisome.
Rock Ya-Sin has been a liability in the first two games, and while injuries to their safety tandem have clearly taken a big toll on their chances, this is just unacceptable. There's no excuse for botched coverage, players being late to their assignment, and countless mental miscues in the secondary; that's just bad coaching.
Also, while the secondary may get most of the blame, it's not like they've been much better on the ground. Thus far, Lions have given up a whopping 4.8 yards per carry and four rushing touchdowns. They've also been on the wrong end of three 20+ yard carries, and they've given up a rushing first down on 36.1 percent of attempts.
Dan Campbell trusts his guys, but he's a relentless competitor. It's one thing to lose, but he won't tolerate being blown out and watching his team fail to make a single adjustment. Something's gotta give, or Sheppard will have to update his LinkedIn profile pretty soon.
To be fair, it's not like there's much more to do with the hand he's been given. To add insult to (more) injury, the Lions also lost Avonte Maddox early in Week 2, and it feels like they're just dropping like flies at this point.
Sheppard and everyone but Aidan Hutchinson must do better, but the Lions also need to find outside help before it's too late. As bad as the defense has been, their record shows 1-1, so there's still plenty of time to get back on track.
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