Following New England’s blueprint, the Lions have quietly built a team devoid of
weaknesses (beyond questions at guard). This year they will win more of their close games.88
× THE “DETROIT PATRIOTS” LABEL TAKES
ON NEW LEGITIMACY. The defense of coach
Matt Patricia, in his second season after
coming from New England, takes shape
in pure Patriots mold: big, interchange-
able linemen, thumping linebackers and
versatile man-to-man DBs.
On offense, the Lions’ add
more presnap shifting and
motions, and clustered
receivers stress defenses
with crisscrossing release
angles. First-round rookie
tight end T.J. Hockenson
plays the Rob Gronkowski
role. Unfortunately, with re-
ceiving back Theo Riddick’s
release there is no one to be
their James White, so the
wide receivers— Marvin
Jones, former Patriot Danny
Amendola and even lanky star Kenny
Golladay—play a bigger role, showing
enough flexibility to align anywhere. The
offense controls games through scheme.
× HOCKENSON BOOSTS DETROIT’S LONG-
SUFFERING GROUND GAME. A noted run
blocker at Iowa, the 6' 5", 247-pound
Hockenson fits the man-to-man blocking
designs that best suit second-year tailbackKerryon Johnson. Detroit’s ground
game, which hasn’t been right
since Barry Sanders retired two
decades ago, improves. Its otherwise
stalwart line is weak at guard, which hin-
ders the pull-blocking on staple power and
counter runs. But at least those rushes help
establish a more potent play-action game.
× MAT THEW STAFFORD SHOWS HIS
BONA FIDES. Cast in a system predicated
on presnap strategy under new offensive
coordinator Darrell Bevell, Stafford builds
on the maturity and discipline that he
began to show in 2016. The strong-armed
11th-year pro is not Tom Brady, but he
reminds people that he is a
true franchise quarterback.
× JARRAD DAVIS BECOMES
A TOP FIVE LINEBACKER.
The ability of Davis to
diagnose a play can run
hot and cold, but he com-
pensates with scintillating
explosiveness. His run de-
fense gets a boost from the
talent in front of him. The
Lions signed end Trey Flow-
ers (five years, $90 million)
from New England, and
they also feature tackles
Da’Shawn Hand and Damon Harrison,
whose midseason acquisition from the
Giants last year made Detroit nearly im-
possible to run against.
× THE THIRD-DOWN DEFENSE IMPROVES.
This happens not through blitzing (which
the Lions do sparingly) but because of a
strong array of man coverages from their
deep, versatile secondary.SI’S 2019
PREDICTION
9 – 7
2018 RECORD 6Ð 10
SEP T. 8
@ ARI
SEP T. 15
VS. LAC
SEP T. 22
@ PHI
SEP T. 2 9
VS. KC
OC T. 6
BYE
OC T. 14
@ GB
OC T. 2 0
VS. MIN
OC T. 2 7
VS. NYG
NOV. 3
@ OAK
NOV. 10
@ CHI
NOV. 17
VS. DAL
NOV. 24
@ WAS
NOV. 28
VS. CHI
DEC. 8
@ MIN
DEC. 15
VS. TB
DEC. 22
VS. DEN
DEC. 29
VS. GB
Stre
ngth QB
10RB
20
WR/TE
10
OL
22
FRONT 7
13
DB
18
GRE
GO
RY
SHA
MU
S/G
ETT
Y (^) IM
AG
ES
(DA
VIS
); (^) A
LLA
N (^) D
RA
NBE
RG/
ICO
N (^) S
PO
RTS
WIR
E/G
ET
TY
IMA
GES