As Matt Patricia takes the Detroit Lions’ reins for his first NFL head coaching gig, his roster is in good shape. Detroit has posted winning seasons in three of the past four years.
However, the defensive-minded coach faces at least one personnel dilemma: The Lions are hard up for pass-rushing help.
Ezekiel Ansah has shown flashes of dominance over five seasons, and he piled up a dozen sacks a year ago. But both durability and consistency have been issues during his career—he’s missed time in three of five seasons, and nine of those 12 sacks in 2017 came in three games.
After Ansah, things get cloudy. Kerry Hyder broke out with eight sacks two years ago, but a torn Achilles wiped out his 2017 season. Newcomer Devon Kennard has just 9.5 career sacks in four years, although four of those came last season with the New York Giants.
We’ve yet to see exactly what defensive alignment Patricia has in mind, but if his time in New England is any indication we’ll see a little of everything.
It may take that creativity for the Lions to generate pressure on the quarterback. If they can’t, it could be a long year for them in an NFC North that contains Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins.
As Matt Patricia takes the Detroit Lions’ reins for his first NFL head coaching gig, his roster is in good shape. Detroit has posted winning seasons in three of the past four years.
However, the defensive-minded coach faces at least one personnel dilemma: The Lions are hard up for pass-rushing help.
Ezekiel Ansah has shown flashes of dominance over five seasons, and he piled up a dozen sacks a year ago. But both durability and consistency have been issues during his career—he’s missed time in three of five seasons, and nine of those 12 sacks in 2017 came in three games.buy nike nfl jerseys cheap
After Ansah, things get cloudy. Kerry Hyder broke out with eight sacks two years ago, but a torn Achilles wiped out his 2017 season. Newcomer Devon Kennard has just 9.5 career sacks in four years, although four of those came last season with the New York Giants.
We’ve yet to see exactly what defensive alignment Patricia has in mind, but if his time in New England is any indication we’ll see a little of everything.
It may take that creativity for the Lions to generate pressure on the quarterback. If they can’t, it could be a long year for them in an NFC North that contains Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins.
By most estimations, the Green Bay Packers had a very good 2018 draft. The Packers added a pair of potential starters at cornerback (Jaire Alexander and Joshua Jackson), help at inside linebacker and a trio of Day 3 wide receivers to help offset the loss of Jordy Nelson.cheap nfl nike jerseys china
However, Green Bay’s biggest need entering the offseason remains virtually unchanged.
The Packers were a middle-of-the-pack (see what I did there?) team in sacks last year, ranking 17th in the league with 37. Clay Matthews led the team with 7.5, but Matthews will be 32 when the season starts and hasn’t hit double digits since 2014. Batterymate Nick Perry missed four games and saw his sack total drop by more than 35 percent relative to 2016.nfl nike jersey cheap
If free-agent signee Muhammad Wilkerson can recapture his 2015 Pro Bowl form, that would be a godsend for the Packers. But if Wilkerson’s production hadn’t plummeted the past two seasons, the Jets never would have released him in the first place.cheap nike nfl jersey
If Green Bay can’t up the pressure on opposing quarterbacks in 2018, that pressure’s going to transfer to the young Packers secondary.
It won’t hold up forever.
