5 reasons to be optimistic for the Lions ahead of training camp

The Detroit Lions are finally all together and ready to square off in their first padded practice this Monday. Tomorrow, the Lions will get their first look at all the players and coaches in their natural state and see what they have to work with.

There will be plenty of questions, but there are a few reasons to be optimistic about the Lions heading into training. So let us take a seat, sip on some that delicious Honolulu Blue Kool-Aid together and see why we should be excited for the Lions ahead of training camp.

The Darrell Bevell effect

It would be hard to argue that anyone had a more significant effect on the Lions last year than offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. Bevell was able to tap into every aspect of the Lions offense and bring out a high octane, well-balanced offense that they have been missing for quite some time. I believe if it wasn’t for losing a few key players to injury, last season would’ve been a different story — considering how well they were hitting their stride when Matthew Stafford went down.

Bevell opened up a downfield attack that the Lions sorely needed. All the receivers benefited greatly, but we will get to that later. Even though the Lions went through more running backs than one team should have last year, Bevell was able to showcase their talents in different ways. The quarterback carousel didn’t help matters either, but Bevell was able to cater to Jeff Driskel and David Blough’s strengths.

Even though this offseason has been a weird one, expect Bevell to continue to create new ways to showcase the talent on offense.

John Matthew Stafford

Stafford is the heart and soul not only for the Lions but for the Detroit community as well. It is hard to find a more liked player, but somehow he is consistently underrated around the league. Unfortunately, it likely has a lot to do with the fact that he plays for the Lions. Thankfully, this doesn’t bother him one bit as the gunslinger continues to shred defenses. Between the tight window throws and the deeps bombs, it is hard to find a pass Stafford can’t make.

The Stafford Bevell was a match made in offensive heaven. Bevell’s heavily focused vertical attack and play-action approach played into Stafford’s strengths. Before an injury prematurely ended his season, Stafford was on the brink of an MVP season as he ranked top five in touchdowns, passing yards, and QB rating through the first eight games. Stafford has made it a career of making the players him better, and you can bet that trend will continue this season. Despite two straight seasons dealing with a back injury, it looks like Stafford is ready to go this season and continue his dominance.

Receiver continuity

Due to the COVID-19 situation and no preseason to work out any potential problems, having some continuity on the field will be a blessing. Fortunately for Detroit, they will be returning their top four receivers from last year: Golladay, Jones, Amendola, and Hall. The Golladay, Jones, and Amendola trio all recorded at 60 catches and 675 yards, the only team to accomplish that feat in the NFL last year. Considering they were able to do that with quarterback rotation, makes this is even more impressive.

Golladay went on to the lead the NFL in touchdowns with 11, Amendola was 11 receiving yards away of topping his career-high, Jones had the best catch percentage (68.1-percent) of his career, and cast-off Marvin Hall saw a career rejuvenation by posting a ridiculous 37.3 yards per reception.

Stafford already has chemistry with these receivers, and I wouldn’t put it past any of them to pick up from where they left off from last year. Marvin Jones showed his enthusiasm saying, “You look to the left, you look to the right and we have ballers. That’s something that’s very exciting”.

The Detroit Patriots

The Lions received a lot of grief with the way they approached free agency this year, almost exclusively targeting former Patriots. While some may say it lacks creative nature in the front office, I believe this was a smart move from general manager Bob Quinn and coach Matt Patricia.

With the COVID situation putting everything in chaos, teams don’t have as much time to teach their scheme to new players creating a giant learning curve. By bringing in former Patriots, the team knows these players can execute the system in Detroit with minimal issues.

Danny Shelton, Jamie Collins, and Duron Harmon will all play a significant role in this defense. Shelton is a better fit at nose tackle in the Lions scheme than what they have had in the past. The Lions pulled an unexpected move and brought in Collins, who will look to line up all over the field and will likely bring a better pass-rushing presence than the departed Devon Kennard. Probably the most underrated move the Lions made this year was the trade for Harmon. It will free up Tracy Walker to do what he does best in the box as a JOKER safety, while Harmon takes care of the single high safety role.

With little time to learn this year, the Lions will benefit from these new additions already having an idea of what is expected for the Lions’ scheme and culture.

Revamped secondary

The one position group that has seen the most turnover heading into the season is the secondary.

There will new faces at every corner (no pun indented) and in the safety group. After trading away Darius Slay and Quandre Diggs, the Lions had to find a way to replace their production. From all accounts and purposes, that is exactly what they did this offseason acquiring three new starters in Desmond Trufant, Jeff Okudah, and Harmon. They will join starters Walker and Justin Coleman, and will look to create a formidable secondary that could potentially make offenses stall in their tracks.

Even though the COVID -19 situation may have hindered in creating chemistry, all of these players are highly intelligent and should be able to master this scheme. Harmon played with the Patriots last year and knows what is expected. Trufant has been a consistent playmaker with the Atlanta Falcons, and he will thrive in the Lions’ heavy man-cover scheme. Okudah was selected third overall in this past draft and will have a lot of eyes on him, but teammate Trufant has already been impressed with him saying “he has what it takes”. On paper, the Lions have the right players in place to create a secondary that could be feared around the NFL.

Without any preseason games to get the player’s feet under them, and only a handful of padded practices, it will be interesting to see what the Lions have this coming year. Many analysts are riding the Lions hype train heading into the season, and if the consistency on offense and new tools on defense find their stride, I don’t see a reason why the Lions couldn’t turn this make-or-break season into a successful one.