ORCHARD PARK, NY – The Detroit Lions don't have enough healthy talent on the back end of their defense. Everyone knew that before the season started.
Except Brad Holmes.
Or maybe the Detroit Lions general manager did know it, but refused to admit it when he told reporters earlier this month: "We like the guys we have. We like what we've done, and we feel good about what's in the room right now."
In fairness, he was talking about only the cornerbacks, and the loss of Terrion Arnold (to a release following multiple criminal charges in Florida) and why he hadn't done enough to compensate for the departure – anticipated or not – of the 2024 first-round pick. The consensus of a shorthanded secondary was an opinion with which he disagreed.
Detroit Lions loss vs Buffalo easy to see coming, painful to watch
Maybe he was right that his cornerback room would do the job, eventually; they haven't been awful on the whole.
But he was wrong about his safeties. They haven't, and that has kneecapped his defense.
So have run fits, surprisingly enough, as evidenced by a 41-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday, Sept. 17, in which the defending AFC East champs ran all over the Lions. Too many times, Lions linebackers – All-Pro Jack Campbell in particular – were out of position.
This wasn't Buffalo fooling them. This was a breakdown between teaching the game plan and executing said gameplan – and that's on the coaching staff, as much as the players.
In fact, that's mostly on the coaches, as their boss, Dan Campbell, agreed. Those hiccups in communication, from the film room to the practice field to the game, are why the Lions don't look as sharp as they did, say, two or three seasons ago.
And why they don't look as prepared.
This is an existential problem, and one the top boss vowed to fix late Thursday night after the Bills walloped the Lions.
"Not coaching good enough," Campbell said, "that falls on me."
The Lions get three days before they start working on the plan for the New York Jets, who come to Detroit on Sept. 27. Campbell plans on using those rare weekend days to self-scout.
A fragile team, in setup, if not physically
The coach promised to deep-dive the roster, to take the tape and the operational system and to figure out who can do what, who should be what, and where everyone can get better, and he promised to figure out what's working among the coaches and what's not.
He could start with defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard. Again, he's working with the talent he has, especially with safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph in the limbo of injured reserve, but calling games matters, as does making adjustments – and making sure his guys on the field are in their correct spots.
The Lions may not be as talented as they were, but that's mostly a conversation for the offseason. Yeah, there's weeks before the trade deadline, and Holmes could add a piece or two before then. Maybe he will.
But for now – for better and for worse – this is the team the Lions have: talented but flawed, and fragile. Not physically, but structurally – they're built quite specifically.
Just rewind Thursday's game, and you'll see the wider margin for error the Bills enjoy. It's not like they have a lockdown defense, either. But they do have the ultimate cover for that, or at least the one most popular in the modern NFL.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen can make up for the loss of a starting tackle and center more consistently than the Lions' Jared Goff can, primarily because of his movement. And while the talk will center on the Lions' defense and the secondary – and that ain't wrong, after giving up 41 points – as the Lions exist, they've got to score.
They've also got to control the ball.
Maybe Thursday ends differently if the Lions don't spot Buffalo 21 points in the first half. Yes, the defense got worked. So did the offense. Mostly because it worked itself.
Penalties and whiffs from the offensive line – admittedly, missing two starters – ruined the first couple of drives. And though Goff played well Thursday and threw seeds throughout, a balky line is too much for his relative lack of mobility.
If he gets time, he dots the field as well as anyone – maybe better than almost everyone. The Lions are built to take advantage of that, and when they're right (and healthy), they do. This offense only needs a reasonable defense – a few stops, really – to be Super Bowl-contending good.
But when injuries on the line hit, and the mental mistakes pile up, and the run game slows, the offense sputters and the Lions have no chance to stay with a team like the Bills.
Despite everything Thursday, it's helpful to remind yourself it's Week 2, and that a path to the light exists. The Lions just need their offensive line healthy, Branch also healthy ... and maybe a trade for a safety or cornerback at some point this season.
Do that and they'll give themselves a chance at a deep playoff run.
Well, as long as they improve their coaching, as Campbell noted. It doesn't matter how talented a defender is if he's not in the right position.
That can't keep happening. If it does, the season will be over quickly, regardless of what Holmes does.
Contact Shawn Windsor: swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: It's not health issues for Lions, it's coaching – ask Dan Campbell
