Lions 2015 Preview: Complete Detroit Guide for Preseason, Season
The sweet sounds of guttural "huts" are bouncing off the bleachers at Allen Park as the Detroit Lions have begun their final preparations for the 2015 NFL season.
Sure, there won't be any games that matter in terms of standings for another five weeks, but we can start to spot trends now. And there are a few questions to be answered and new faces to recognize that will keep time flying.
It's getting late in the summer. Don't be caught unaware. Click through to find out what you need to know about this upcoming season.
New Faces to Know
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Luckily for Detroit, there wasn't much turnover outside of the defensive tackles. That also means there wasn't a large influx of new talent, but here are four names to remember who weren't in Allen Park last August.
DT Haloti Ngata
Tyrunn Walker told Chris Burke of SI.com the best way to replace Ndamukong Suh: "Just replace a Hall of Famer with a Hall of Famer." And he made a fair point.
Ngata has made either the first or second All-Pro team five times in his career. He may be 31, but last year saw him put up five more quarterback pressures than the season prior, per Pro Football Focus, despite missing four games because of a suspension (performance-enhancing drugs). His motivational focus will change this year, however, since it's likely his last chance to sign one more large contract.
OG Laken Tomlinson and RB Ameer Abdullah
Detroit invested its first two picks of the 2015 NFL draft in a running game that did little to earn those 11 wins last season. Injuries played a role, but so did some of the aging personnel.
That's why Tomlinson and Abdullah will be embraced quickly. The former has the bulk and technique to clear the road, while the later will combine his dangerous agility and burst with strong vision to be a home run threat every series.
CB Quandre Diggs
If James Ihedigbo isn't careful, he'll lose his nickname to the young cornerback from Texas who has been all over receivers and conversations. He's strong, quick and testy, giving hope that he can pair with Nevin Lawson to give Detroit two talented slot cornerbacks. Now Detroit just needs both to prove themselves when it matters.
Philosophical Differences
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Power-Based Running Game
After spending his offensive coordinator debut season by driving Lions fans up a wall, Joe Lombardi has decided to do away with the insanity.
Detroit is switching gears from the stretch plays of last season to a power-based scheme that asks its linemen to attack instead of move and react. Larry Warford couldn't seem to hide his enthusiasm for the change from Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press:
"We have to be more aggressive. We can't be as technical as we (tried to be last year). The biggest thing is we tried to break everything down, we tried to focus on a bunch of stuff at once, down to the smallest detail. With offensive line play, that's cool but at the end of the day you have to whoop somebody's (butt) and we weren't necessarily being the players that we were trained to be from the start.
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Only four teams rushed for fewer yards than Detroit in 2014, and some of the blame rested with the scheme. Now that Lombardi has paired his play-calling with his linemen's strengths, the hope is he can turn this statistic on its head.
More Extravagant Blitzes?
Things will have to change on the other side of the ball as well. While the Lions are replacing a top-tier defensive tackle with another one at least near that category, there are still some issues to address.
First off, Detroit picked up two thirds of its sacks in four-man fronts, per Pro Football Focus. Even if Ngata is a good pass-rusher, he can't equal the effect Ndamukong Suh had on passing downs.
But defensive coordinator Teryl Austin can still find ways to create pressure. He'll just have to be more creative, like when he stacked a defensive tackle and defensive end on the middle to outside of an offensive tackle (play ended in a sack).
Actually, offenses might have been better off last year. At least they knew their enemy then.
Biggest Questions Facing Detroit
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Will the Young Defensive Tackles Develop?
We've touched on Suh's replacement, but we haven't discussed the next three pieces of the rotation.
Tyrunn Walker had solid success in New Orleans despite limited playing time, logging 18 quarterback pressures in 306 total snaps. And that's the extent of this group's track record.
Caraun Reid couldn't get off the bench last season but arrived in Allen Park with a new look because of hanging with Ndamukong Suh. Gabe Wright is a fourth-round pick with a quick first step whose production dropped his senior year.
Each player has potential in some matter. Yet it's too early to predict which ones are worthy of some preseason hype and which might need some more time to grow into their roles.
Can the Offensive Line Protect Matthew Stafford?
The new running scheme should help alleviate some of the concerns here. However, any time a quarterback gets sacked 45 times, as Stafford did in 2014, there's a lot to improve.
Twists and stunts were particularly effective against Detroit last season. The younger, more athletic front line should be able to handle those situations better, provided the players recognize them quickly and communicate well.
Can Stafford Shine?
The biggest questions are always saved for the quarterbacks.
Stafford has taken heat for not winning any playoff games in his career. While he's played well in those two outings, they also displayed his occasional fights with inconsistency and turnovers.
Now Stafford has a team that was built to win on both sides of the ball. If the other talents on the team develop, the former first-rounder must step up to take this team to new heights.
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Complete Schedule and Notable Games
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Of course, every divisional game is notable. But let's have some fun and highlight three outside matchups that carry a different significance.
Week 1: at San Diego Chargers
There would be no better way to kick off Matthew Stafford's season than by beating a better quarterback on the road. Stafford has never beaten a team with a winning record in its stadium. The Chargers offer that chance considering their talent level.
Week 4: at Seattle Seahawks
The Lions have a tough start to the season. Head coach Jim Caldwell acknowledged that his team earned that schedule, and if Detroit is to prove to be an elite team, it has to win the big games. They don't come much bigger than a visit to Seattle.
Week 5: Arizona Cardinals
Detroit has flown out to the desert the last three years and returned with a loss each time. This game not only reverses the team's roles but could play a deciding factor in the wild-card race.
Schedule
Week 1: at San Diego Chargers
Week 2: at Minnesota Vikings
Week 3: Denver Broncos
Week 4: at Seattle Seahawks
Week 5: Arizona Cardinals
Week 6: Chicago Bears
Week 7: Minnesota Vikings
Week 8: at Kansas City Chiefs (in London)
Week 10: at Green Bay Packers
Week 11: Oakland Raiders
Week 12: Philadelphia Eagles
Week 13: Green Bay Packers
Week 14: at St. Louis Rams
Week 15: at New Orleans Saints
Week 16: San Francisco 49ers
Week 17: at Chicago Bears
Division Outlook and Season Prediction
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The NFC North will be tough. The Green Bay Packers are still one of the best teams in the league with the game's best player at the helm. If Aaron Rodgers is healthy, there's no question Green Bay is the team to beat.
And the Minnesota Vikings were frisky last year with a rookie quarterback. Presuming Teddy Bridgewater develops a bit more and takes advantage of Adrian Peterson, the Vikings' strong defense will help form a scary team.
The Chicago Bears aren't likely to join the fight this season. Age and erratic quarterbacking has turned the cream of the crop a decade ago into a punch-drunk boxer who's seen one too many fights.
So where does this leave the Lions heading into the 2015 season? Somewhere in the middle again.
The key will be defending the den and keeping the Vikings at bay. The potential improvement across the board makes Detroit a better, more balanced team, which should mean the Lions will be more consistent.
The division crown may be out of reach, but a return to the postseason and a win or two are there for the taking.
All advanced stats, grades and positional rankings are courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
Brandon Alisoglu is a Detroit Lions Featured Columnist who has written about the Lions on multiple sites. He also co-hosts a Lions-centric podcast, Lions Central Radio. Yell at him on Twitter about how wrong he is @BrandonAlisoglu.
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