Detroit Lions: 8 Adjustments Key for Making the Playoffs

The Detroit Lions have established themselves through eight games of their 2011 season as contenders in the NFC playoff hunt. With their 6-2 record, they’re in great position entering the second half.

But in roaring to that terrific record, the Lions have shown some glaring flaws that will need to be addressed going into November if they want to live up to the hype.

Here are eight things the Lions can and should fix to better cement themselves for their first playoff berth since 1999. 

Consistently Better Play from the Offensive Line

The Lions biggest weaknesses have stemmed from mediocre offensive line play. As the Lions move into the second half, their schedule ramps up in difficulty and continuing to win will require the offensive line play much more consistently.

The offensive line is the key to the Lions offense, from enabling better quarterback play and opening up lanes for the running backs—both weaknesses exposed in the Lions’ losses at home to San Francisco and Atlanta.

While left tackle Jeff Backus has gotten a lot of the blame, the right tackle position, with Gosder Cherilus and Corey Hilliard, has been in just as much trouble. The ends of the line are getting beaten way too often, as evidenced by an inordinate number of holding penalties negating offensive plays. 

Keep Matthew Stafford on His Feet

This is, at once, an extension of point one and a point all its own. Matthew Stafford is a skilled athlete and probably the best quarterback the Lions have had in a generation, if not longer, but his talent at the position just demonstrates how vital he is to the offense.

Certainly backups Shaun Hill and Drew Stanton had time to prove themselves competent during the 2010 campaign, but the Lions will go nowhere without Stafford. But this isn’t just on the offensive line. Stafford has been holding onto the ball too long, desperate to make something happen on every play. It’s a good trait to have, but only to an extent. He needs to know when to give up on a play, get out of the pocket, and throw it out of bounds.

Taking the hit when necessary is fine, and he’s shown he can handle that wear and tear this season, but knowing when to reset is a vital skill for a quarterback, especially in upcoming games when a misplay could be the biggest play of the week.

Get the Running Attack Going

Running back Jahvid Best—who may or may not be back from his concussion for Week 10 at Chicago—has home run ability, as we saw the last time the Lions played Chicago. But he’s shown little evasiveness up the gut and indeed has been outplayed by his backups Maurice Morris and Keiland Williams since he’s been out.

Part of this has been the offensive line failing to open up lanes for him on the ground, but it may be just the kind of runner Best is.

The Lions might want to consider moving to a bit of a tandem system as they were planning with Mikel Leshoure before his injury during training camp, only with Morris and Williams. Best may be better suited to running screens and off-guard routes to the outside that better suit his explosive ability.

Stop Committing Stupid Penalties

Shortly after a huge play by the offense, you hear a whistle, see a yellow flag in the backfield. The ref turns on his mic.

"Holding, Offense. 10-yard penalty. Repeat first down."

Few things are more deflating than a big play being negated by a stupid penalty, be it a sack taken away because of a late hit or a big gain through the air brought back because the offensive lineman got beat.

The Lions are near the bottom of the league in drawing penalties and it's been almost a specialty of the Lions, both this year and in the past. It's one of their biggest problems and it needs to be fixed.

Hopefully Ndamukong Suh's visit to the league office is the start of them turning that around.

Start Defending Punts Better

One thing that’s been a surprisingly little note about the Lions has been how generally flat their special teams play has been. Of course, kicker Jason Hanson has been as lights out as ever during the season, but defending punt returns has been a problem all season for the Lions.

Punter Ryan Donahue has been generally fine in terms of distance, but for whatever reason defenders are not getting down the field fast enough to stop the return. That’s partly because Donahue’s punts haven’t been getting enough hang time, but even more so it’s a result of some spotty coverages that opposing special teams have been exploiting.

Donahue’s minor issues aren’t enough to explain the consistently good returns opponents are getting, creating a field position mismatch the other two units have paid for. Those problems will only get larger in the coming weeks if they’re not addressed.

Read the Opposing Offense Better

The Lions pass rush has been spectacular most weeks, but, almost inexplicably, the run defense has been spotty despite Detroit having one of the best defensive lines in the game. The Lions are near the bottom of the league in running defense and that’s simply not going to cut it if they want a playoff spot, much less to do anything with it.

Part of the issue comes with the aggressive nature of the defense. They rush the quarterback on nearly every play, and this is what offenses are taking advantage of. Draw plays have been incredibly effective against the Lions because of this aggression, in turn leading to teams being able to pull off play-action passes with ease.

It’s hard to ask the Lions to rein it in a little when their take-no-prisoners style is so much a part of their identity, but that’s what’s created the issues in defending the run. They need to be better at identifying the type of play that’s being run, which will lead to the Lions biting less often on fakes.

Limit the Big Play

Speaking of biting less often on fakes, the Lions’ aggressive nature has allowed opposing offenses to get the Detroit defense out of position. The next thing you know, the opposing running back has blasted 60 yards into the Lions red zone. Or a wide receiver just turned a five-yard gain into a 20-yard play. Or a punt returned 40 yards into Lions territory.

These kinds of momentum-swinging plays have deflated the Lions in their two losses and the best way to avoid them is similar to the way to solve the prior concern: ease up a little on defense. Play for the tip instead of always going for the pick. Be okay with a two-yard gain rather than always trying to stop the play in the backfield.

Big plays on defense are awesome and the Lions have been good at generating them, but that can’t be a team’s bread and butter, because the best teams can take advantage of that aggression and make a big play of their own.

Have More Confidence Against the Best

The Lions have their best team in over 10 years. They have every reason to think they can make the playoffs with this squad. They have every reason to hope for an upset of the Green Bay Packers and an NFC North title. But those thoughts and hopes can come to a crashing halt if the Lions play Green Bay or New Orleans with the type of play that typified their efforts against San Francisco and Atlanta.

The Lions were tentative. They played with a lack of urgency. They didn’t show a lot of confidence. And the Packers, Saints, and the other great teams in the NFL will eat that kind of hesitance for lunch right along with the Lions. Detroit has issues, but those issues are correctable. These Lions are a young, hungry squad that can definitely play with the best of them. But the first step to actually doing so is playing with confidence, no matter who is lining up against them.

If they can do that, they’re a force to be feared in the NFL in 2011 and beyond.