There were a lot of surprises, both across the NFL and within the Lions, in Week 1. What’s your biggest overreaction?
The Detroit Lions found a way to win against the Los Angeles Rams on “Sunday Night Football” in a way completely asymmetrical to how they won against the Rams in the Wild Card round back in January. Some things remain the same—the Lions have a strong running game, their linebacking corps anchors the defense, and their safeties are ballhawks. Others are different—the Lions found interior pass rush, Amon-Ra St. Brown was invisible, and David Montgomery was RB1.
Across the league, there were some surprises as well. The Jets looked flat on offense despite the return of Aaron Rodgers, meanwhile the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t miss a step following the departure of OC Dave Canales to fill the Panthers’ head coaching vacancy. Meanwhile, Mike Zimmer has the Dallas Cowboys defense humming.
But going back to Detroit, let’s propose our Question of the Day:
What’s your biggest Week 1 overreaction for the Lions?
My answer: For me, it’s that Amon-Ra St. Brown is WR2. At least until they establish an X receiver that’s a real downfield threat.
Man, it feels silly to say that out loud. But until the Lions have a stronger outside receiver presence, defenses can play underneath and not have to defend more than 10-15 yards down the field. Right now, Jamo is the lone deep threat, but the Lions are committed to using him for more than just his linear speed, as they should. Jamo can use that speed to get open underneath, too, as we saw Sunday night.
However, without having to really worry about the offense all the way to the sidelines, opposing defenses can condense both vertically and horizontally against the Lions. We saw how that translated on Sunday night, with both Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta struggling to find their usual windows of separation and posting very underwhelming stat lines to finish the night.
I’m still a believer that once Tim Patrick gets acquainted with this offense, things will look different. However, until that time comes, the Lions will have to get creative with how they find separation for everyone not named Jamo.
What’s your biggest Week 1 overreaction? Let’s hear it.