Tag: Lions secondary

Lions secondary ranks high among the most mistake-prone in coverage

The Detroit Lions secondary ranks high among the most mistake-prone in coverage in a study from Pro Football Focus

Anyone who has watched the Detroit Lions play defense recently knows the story all too well. Breakdowns in coverage and communication gaffes abound with the cornerbacks and safeties, allowing the opposing passing offense to find unusual and frustrating levels of success.

Pro Football Focus and analyst Haley English have found a way to quantify the mistakes made by the defensive players in coverage, as well as how much it impacts the positive outcome for the offense. And the Lions–as expected–rank near the top in mistakes from both cornerbacks and safeties.

Detroit’s cornerbacks are second in percentage of errors, while the safeties rank fifth. The study goes back over the last three seasons, a time in which the Lions have ranked 30th, 32nd and 27th in QB Rating allowed. The mistakes and breakdowns in coverage on the back end help explain why those figures are so bad.

As English notes, there is ample room for improvement,

The Detroit Lions’ secondary has struggled in recent years, and their safeties and cornerbacks were in the bottom five in terms of messing up in coverage and getting beat by receivers. Their 2020 first-round pick Jeff Okudah, who currently messes up in coverage 20% of the time, can potentially help out this weaker secondary if he steps up and stays healthy.

A better pass rush would help mitigate some of the mistakes, no doubt. And the Lions have added help at safety with veteran DeShon Elliott and third-round rookie Kerby Joseph in hopes of upgrading the coverage at that spot. But DBs coach Aubrey Pleasant still has his work cut out for him to move his unit out of the bottom of the league.

Lions pass defense has dramatically improved over the last 3 weeks

The Lions QB Rating allowed has jumped from 32nd in Weeks 1-2 to 11th in Weeks 3-5

Looking for a silver lining in the winless clouds hanging over the Detroit Lions? Take a look at the young secondary and the steps the pass defense has taken over the last three games.

Despite losing top CB Jeff Okudah in Week 1 and his replacement, Ifeatu Melifownu in Week 2, the Lions pass defense has performed much better in Weeks 3-5 than it did in the opening two games. Some of that credit must go to youngsters like Jerry Jacobs, AJ Parker and Bobby Price, who have made some plays while taking their lumps as they learn how to play in the NFL on the fly.

The Lions still sit 30th overall for the season in QB Rating allowed to opposing passers. The 110.9 cumulative rating is ahead of only the Colts (124.9) and Jaguars (115.5) through five games. But Detroit’s awful ranking is weighted heavily by the dreadful first two weeks.

Over the last three weeks, the Lions have allowed a QB Rating of 87.0 to the Ravens, Bears and Vikings. That’s the 11th-best QB Rating allowed in that timeframe and well below the league average of 99.7 in those three weeks.

Detroit’s patchwork set of young cornerbacks has allowed just two touchdown passes in those three games, all losses. They held MVP candidate Lamar Jackson to just 16-of-31 passing, for 287 yards, one TD and one INT in Week 3. Chicago’s Justin Fields completed 11-for-17 but also threw an interception against no TDs, while Kirk Cousins threw for 275 yards, one TD and one INT. That’s not bad defense against a guy who had a QB Rating over 112 and a 9/1 TD/INT ratio entering the Week 5 game.

A good pass rush has helped. The Lions are sixth overall on the season in sack percentage and seventh in the last three weeks. Inserting speedier Jalen Reeves-Maybin into the lineup at LB has worked well, and safety Tracy Walker’s strong performance in coverage certainly helps too.

They will be challenged by Joe Burrow and the visiting Cincinnati Bengals in Week 6. Burrow is fifth in yards per pass (8.8) and seventh in QB Rating (106.4) through five games and has the NFL’s leader in receiving touchdowns in dynamic rookie WR Ja’Marr Chase.

If the Lions can get through this one without losing ground in their improvement, it’s a testimony to coordinator Aaron Glenn, DBs coach Aubrey Pleasant and the players themselves for quickly turning around their fortunes,

All stats are from Team Rankings. 

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Daryl Worley in line for much bigger role in the Lions secondary

Worley saw his first Lions action at safety in Week 4 but could play all over the secondary

One week ago, Daryl Worley was still on the Detroit Lions practice squad. Now the veteran defensive back could be in a starting role as the most experienced player in the secondary.

Worley saw his first Lions action in the Week 4 matchup in Chicago, playing 20 snaps on defense. While he’s been a cornerback for his entire six-year NFL career, Worley’s reps came at safety against the Bears.

And that could continue, even with the Lions’ rampant injuries and glaring inexperience at cornerback. Coach Dan Campbell liked what he saw from Worley and values his versatility.

“We like Worley,” Campbell said after Sunday’s loss. “We brought him in. He did a couple things in practice for us. So we wanted to get some eyes on him, see where he was at. He’s a smart guy. He’s got a little versatility, corner, safety, nickel. And so, yeah, I mean, we’re just — we’re trying to find the best guys we can here that can help us. And also develop some of these young pups.”

The Lions currently start Amani Oruwariye and Bobby Price at outside cornerback AJ Parker in the slot role. Price left Sunday’s game with an injury, which brought in Jerry Jacobs. Tracy Walker and Will Harris are the starting safeties, though veteran Dean Marlowe has seen his role as the third safety increase in the last two weeks. Worley’s ability to play at safety or any CB spot makes him a very valuable asset for the Detroit secondary, which is searching for answers after a largely terrible first four games.

Worley’s experience can’t hurt. He has started 54 career games since being a third-round pick by the Cardinals in 2016. The 26-year-old bounced around three NFL teams in 2020 after two seasons as a full-time starter at outside CB for the Raiders.

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