Detroit Lions' deficient defense exhausting for everyone, including offense and columnists

Can I tell you a secret?

At this point in the Detroit Lions’ season, it’s a chore to keep discussing the repetitive narratives that continually arise, even though they deserve discussion.

This was my predicament Wednesday. It was Dec. 13 but it felt like Feb. 2 — Groundhog Day — as Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn stepped onto the podium in Allen Park and I felt myself searching for the enthusiasm to ask the same question I’ve been asking for weeks: Why is your defense so bad?

And folks, when even I barely have the heart to ask about a team's struggles, there’s a problem. And there’s definitely a problem with the Lions’ defense.

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So I gave Glenn a chance to cast his defense in the best light with this variation on the theme: What gives you the most the most encouragement about your unit?

“All the little things that people really don’t talk about,” he said. “For example — and I talked to our guys about it —like the sudden changes that happen.

“That’s a real thing in this league and I think we’re one of the better teams in that situation. And we do everything we can to get the ball back to our offense.”

Sorry, but I have no idea what that means. All the little things no one talks about? A real thing? Maybe. Or maybe they’re so little there’s no way to prove they exist, like Rod Marinelli’s belief in the invisible.

“The second thing is our run defense,” Glenn said. “Our run defense is still going at a high level. Our ability to not allow touchdowns at a high rate from outside of our red zone.

“The thing is, I try to make sure I point those things out to our players. The thing we want to do is make sure we look at those things; the things that we’re not good at, man, we continue to try to improve on those things.”

OK, it’s a little weird Glenn chose to lean on the run defense, which does rank ninth in yards allowed ... but just gave up 142 rushing yards in a 28-13 loss to the Bears — the Lions' second-worst performance this season — and have surrendered at least 100 rushing yards in four straight games.

He also pointed to the improved red-zone play after the Lions held the Bears to 2-for-5 inside 20 yards. Better? Absolutely. But the Lions’ defense came in allowing their previous six opponents to convert 17 of 20 red-zone chances — a whopping 85%.

“And that’s one of the issues that we’ve had all year,” he admitted of the red-zone struggles. “And if we continue to improve the way that we improved last week, I think we’ll be all good.”

All good? I seriously doubt that, because this late in the season it should be pretty clear to everyone — including Glenn — that he’s a lot closer to losing his current job than he is to getting a new job as a head coach.

I’m not trying to beat up on Glenn.

Again, I barely have the energy.

But why am I writing about the defense the week after the Lions’ offense stalled and sputtered its way to 13 points?

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A lot of it is the fault of the defense, because it’s pretty obvious that Ben Johnson’s offense is carrying Glenn’s defense. If you don’t agree, give Dan Campbell all the credit.

Of all the qualities everyone lauds Detroit’s favorite coach for, he has never gotten his due for being a bit of a huckster and pitchman — a pigskin P.T. Barnum selling the unaware on the fun idea of grit and aggression, which has given rise to the “Gamblin’ Dan” persona.

Yep, the Lions gambled all right on Sunday. They went for it on fourth down five times … and were stopped four times. The reason they went for it? It’s not because Campbell just thinks it’s fun and gritty. It’s because he can’t trust his defense to get a stop. The Lions have gone for it on fourth down 32 times this season; their opponents just 20 times.

If the Lions had a great defense, I guarantee you Campbell wouldn’t go for it on fourth down nearly as often. Case in point: The 49ers have allowed the fewest points in the league — and have gone for it on fourth down just eight times. The Ravens are No. 2 in points allowed and have gone for it on fourth down only 10 times.

On and on it goes — there’s a clear correlation between how often a team’s offense has to gamble and how bad its defense is. Meanwhile, the Lions have the NFL’s seventh-worst scoring defense … and that’s before they face the Dallas Cowboys’ meat-grinding offense to finish December.

If you want to home in on the Lions’ offense sputtering in its two losses in three games, you should expand your view a bit. Consider the past five games: All three wins in that span were shootouts, and to have won all five of those games by merely one point, the Lions would have had to average 30.8 points — which would rank as the NFL’s third-best offense.

Asking an offense to make up that many points, well, it's just kind of exhausting.

Almost as exhausting as thinking of all the ways to define how bad this Lions defense has truly been. But let’s just keep that between us.

Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions' defense is exhausting everyone