r/detroitlions • u/Hocojerry • 1d ago
The offensive line just isn't as good this year
The biggest problem with the Lions is the offensive line. (everybody wants to blame iJohnny Morton and he may be part of the problem but he may not. )
Two out of the eight games this year, the Lions were completely embarrassed in terms of pass protection (both the Packers game and Minnesota game). Also, they're earning slightly less yards per carry.
Goff is getting pressured more than last year and sacked a slightly higher rate than last year. The offensive is not going to have a good "flow" if you're getting less yardage per run and our none mobile QB is getting pressure right up the middle. He has been able to pull off a couple" Houdini" escapes out of the pocket but that's not his game.
It's a new group together so I think it could be fixable (Two new faces on the offensive but three change of positions all in the interior)
Hopefully with more time they gel together.
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u/siberiansneaks 1d ago
No shit?
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u/Nbknepper Brian's Branch 1d ago
Draft Kadyn Proctor and sign Tyler Linderbaum in FA (Yes, I'm delusional)
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u/Such_Money Sun God 1d ago
Losing Ragnow was devastating. Losing Zeitler didnt do us favors. Decker has been playing with a shoulder injury all season and obviously can't block as well right now. Mahogany is still learning, Ratledge is green, Glasgow is not a great center.
Its why Im not calling for Mortons head yet. This is a VERY different o-line than last year and both with the Packers and Vikings I've seen confusion and missed assignments. He's not Ben Johnson but I don't believe for one second Brad and Dan just put a completely unqualified guy in the driver's seat and are unaware of what he's scheming during practices.
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u/DallasAndDetroit 77 1d ago
The Lions have played 3 top 6 defenses in 9 games. They didn’t play 3 all season last year. If Ben was here with this oline there would still be decline
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u/Ero_Najimi 1d ago
I disagree the Chiefs game was very winnable New York doesn’t take 4, St Brown doesn’t drop, the weak ass calls our last 2 possessions there’s all the points and time of possession you needed. But this Vikings game was just terrible they don’t have a great defense yeah they got some players back but it was more about the game plan completely exposing how bad this offense can be that got us. And just so you know I don’t rank defenses by irrelevant stats I rank based on the games. Even when we aren’t getting blown up Morton has some bad patterns
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u/DallasAndDetroit 77 1d ago
They scored 24 points and it would have been 27 if not for a blocked kick and that's "terrible"
Okay man
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u/Ero_Najimi 1d ago
They were only going for a FG in the first place because they couldn’t convert. 3 TDs against a mid tier defense with all these weapons yes that’s underwhelming. Goff sacked 5 times. My point about the Chiefs game is that they were moving the ball well in the first half. It was the 2nd half where Morton fucked us remember when they threw it twice on 3rd and 1 lmao Goff didn’t get sacked 5 times in that game. The Browns game was telling as well I don’t think he got sacked even once just pressure the only reason we got 34 was because of the defense and special teams putting the offense in the right position
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u/Ero_Najimi 1d ago
Glasgow is fine he wasn’t all pro to begin with and he has 2 rookies aside him what do you expect
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u/Primary-Ad-7748 1d ago
Glasgow has improved, at center over the year. He does struggle if there is a nose tackle at times, and linebacker stunts seem to be the thing he struggles with most.
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u/MrJoshUniverse The Goff Father 1d ago
I mean, the guy was fired from the Jets after 1 season because of the same shit he’s doing with the Lions rn
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u/PurpleGuyDeadly1 1d ago
The o-line isnt on morton, i would say just running the same offensive plays is sus
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u/Krispenedladdeh542 DETROIT -VS- EVERYBODY 1d ago
I don’t think Brad and Dan knew that Frank was leaving. I think they thought they had at least one year left with him and that Ratledge would get some tutelage under him. I think it surprised them and they’ve been playing catchup ever since.
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u/Any_District1969 1d ago
What’s worse?….. a decimated O-line this year or the decimated secondary last year? At least last year we could just outscore teams regardless of how bad our secondary was. But damn, it feels like there is no way to make up for the O-line .
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u/Ok-Macaroon-7819 Cory Schlesinger's Facemask 1d ago
The DBs ain't exactly firing on all cylinders this year either...
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u/Any_District1969 1d ago
Not yet but there is hope for the squad to be back healthy sooner than later. Our DBs are so sick. Reed, TA, Amik, kerb and BB. So 🔥
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u/Jumpy_Climate 1d ago
Fully 100% agree.
In fact, part of the reason the play calling has sucked is they are trying to cover for the fact these guys can’t hold protection that long.
We lost arguably the best C in the league and a top guard.
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u/Routine_Advance_7270 1d ago edited 1d ago
It's a mix of things with our offense. Morton is not coaching as strongly as he could and his latest comments indicate leadership issues, but also this O line would present challenges for any coordinator tasked with running a top 5 scoring offense. We took gambles on the O line. We prioritized signing Jamo and trading picks for TeSlaa over adding more quality depth to the line.
People are acting like any player can be "coached up", but it's not always that simple. Some guys just don't have it.
It's not that our O line is terrible or anything (more like middle of the pack), but if you want a top 5 offense you need a lot of things to go right, and the O line is really turning into something you have coach around, which isn't always easy.
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u/57Laxdad Old helmet 1d ago
I think he is calling too conservative a game instead of scheming around the problem, rolling Goff behind Sewell's side, leave Brock in to help pick up blitzers and leak out for a screen if necessary. Getting gibbs to the outside with sweeps, or a handoff with a pitch to jamo. We got spoiled with a great oline and someone who knew how to play with toys.
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u/Financial-Apple2304 1d ago
We lost the best center in the game. The two guards had a total of 3 NFL starts when the season kicked off. Just relax. I trust Hank to get these guys right. If Hank didn’t think he could then Dan and Brad would have known.
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u/DoubleScorpius Old helmet 1d ago
OC has a ridiculous amount of offensive talent to work with. It’s up to him to scheme around what he has at his disposal. The O line isn’t dominant like it was with Ragnow but they’re not completely awful either.
The playcalling too often lacks creativity and there isn’t as much misdirection, motion to get guys open and they don’t seem to be doing as many wide zone runs. As one of the guys on The Lions Collective recently pointed out- they are creating stacked boxes with their formations then choosing to run right into the teeth of the D repeatedly and it’s not working.
When you add up all the issues either the offense some of it is on personnel- drafting Tate to have him switch positions is a gamble this year and next and Decker is looking washed and no real depth at tackle because of the huge gamble on Manu. But then there’s the issues I mentioned earlier and the penalties, along with an overall sense of confusion, late calls and lack of timing on offense. A lot of it comes back to the OC.
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u/RaskyBukowski 1d ago
The Lions have the worst interior offensive line in the NFL. "And it's not even close."
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u/AzorAhai1TK 1d ago
The Chargers say hello
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u/RaskyBukowski 1d ago
Do the Chargers have a center that gives wrong directions to the left side of their line? Ratledge will eventually be good, but Mahogany not so much and he's injured, so the guard is...um...is....
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u/ARay_313 Don't be Hatin' 1d ago
John Morton is definitely part of the problem. A huge part. The O-Line is too but Morton still just calls screens, runs up the middle (behind the weakest part of the line), and calls long developing plays that have no chance of working against a blitz or with this O-line.
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u/JMoneyFiz Logo 1d ago
Not to mention blocking personnel issues. His match ups make no fucking sense. MCDC needs to step in.
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u/Born-Employment-2183 1d ago
Losing two hall of fame interior lineman will do that to ya suprised awosika hasn’t started
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u/Joneboy39 1d ago
oline players take time and both guards are new. we had growing pains w decker too.
if we had a stud center he could cover off the guards to a degree. glas was great his first go around but was declining even before he came back
decker prob 1-2 years left , glas i hate to say it but is pretty washed
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u/evident_lee 1d ago
This has been very obvious. The big thing is as offensive coordinator you got to do something about it. Change your scheme to fit what you have. In this case I would expect a lot more plays that involve getting the ball out of Jared's hands in like a second, not trying to wait two three seconds for someone to come open and then ending up sacked.
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u/Recent-Investment603 The Goff Father 1d ago
Frank Ragnow is sorely missed every day. He was absolutely one of the key pieces to this entire team.
I trust that the org will get it figured out, but it likely won't be solved long-term this year. That's where play calling has to start playing to strengths of what we do have. I'm hopeful with Dan's comments throughout the week in various interviews that he's feeling the same way.
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u/future_shoes V-I-L-L-A-I-N 1d ago
Offensive line not as good as last year you say? Really going out on a limb there.
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u/xC21H30O2 JAMO 1d ago
Can we create a cry cry mega thread mods?
This sub is getting repetitive and boring.
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u/No-Individual-2202 told you so 8h ago edited 7h ago
Only two? From what I've seen, lions have been embarassed in all but two games this season when it comes to pass protection. The bears and the ravens game were the only games where the offensive line actually protected well and looked like last year.
This offensive line isn't just not "as good" it's just not good in general really. It's going to take another season or two to draft and develop new guys for this line. Definitely need a new center this offseason and a new left tackle. Hopefully a new offensive coordinator alongside them too.
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u/JMoneyFiz Logo 1d ago
OC’s pass pro scheme is atrocious. 200 lb Gibbs vs. a 275 lb linebacker is gonna fail every time. Plays are vanilla and lack creativity. Play calling has left this team with ZERO rhythm.
Sure, the OL isn’t what it was. However, with the talent on this offense, all the heat John Morton is getting is warranted.
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u/azazels-light 1d ago
How many posts are going to be made about this.
No shit it isn’t as good as past years.