The NFL preseason is over. Hallelujah!
The Detroit Lions finished off the exhibition season with a winless record. Matt Patricia’s battalion of reserves fell in the Great Lakes Classic in Cleveland on Thursday night, 20-16, to finish 0-4 in the games that do not count.
After watching every snap of all four games — nearly all of them more than once — here are my top four takeaways from the entire preseason.
Offensive line depth is atrocious
The starting five played pretty well, particularly tackles Taylor Decker and Rick Wagner. After a terrible first series in the opener, Kenny Wiggins looked acceptable at left guard. Prior to the injury scare, Frank Ragnow looked great at center and Graham Glasgow appears just fine at right guard.
But if any of them miss even one snap in the regular season, chaos will ensue.
The reserves beyond Joe Dahl, who alternated with Wiggins at left guard, are simply not NFL-caliber players. Not one of them.
I carried optimism into the preseason on veteran journeyman Oday Aboushi. He stomped on my rose-colored glasses. Andrew Donnal should have ample time to enjoy deer hunting season this year, because he shouldn’t be on the Lions after a miserable preseason. Leo Koloamatangi was better in his two prior preseason attempts to make the team. Beau Benzschawel didn’t even look like he belonged on the practice squad against the Browns…and he was better than Tyrell Crosby in the finale. Crosby was completely lost the entire preseason, a very bad sign for the projected No. 3 tackle.
It would be nice to say GM Bob Quinn can find better options after roster cutdowns, but about 28 other Wire sites are writing this same basic theme. There is an obvious and acute shortage of quality offensive linemen in the NFL, and the Lions are clearly no exception beyond the above-average starting five.
Surprises in the secondary
I had some worries about the Lions secondary, specifically at cornerback, entering the preseason. I feel a lot better about the depth and overall level of talent on the unit after studying the four games.
Darius Slay played more than expected in Week 3 of the exhibition schedule, and he dominated. That’s what stars are supposed to do, and Slay did it. Any concerns over his contractual dissatisfaction should be ameliorated.
Justin Coleman and Rashaan Melvin asserted themselves as the starters opposite Slay. Melvin was consistently sticky in man coverage on the outside and allowed just one completion on four targets. He anticipates routes well and reacts smartly. Coleman gave up some receptions but quickly terminated the plays, including one with a forced fumble. He’s not a blanket, but Coleman is still an upgrade in the slot and got better each week.
Reserves Mike Ford and Amani Oruwariye both were active and played the ball well. Ford was the best Lion on the field in Cleveland and might have played his way onto the roster for a second season. Oruwariye continues to show promise as a rookie, though he’s still not ready for regular-season action just yet.
At safety, third-round rookie Will Harris was a very pleasant surprise. He looked abysmal in training camp early on, an easy win for any receiver or tight end in every rep. Harris flipped that script during the preseason, notably against Houston but also thriving against Cleveland. He and Tracy Walker (inconsistently impressive) give the Lions an intriguing young tandem to match with Pro Bowler Quandre Diggs. C.J. Moore even showed some promise in coverage and was the Lions’ best special teams player throughout.
Matt Patricia truly does not care about the preseason
I wrote about this after the first week, and nothing I saw in the ensuing three games changed my opinion. Patricia had no interest in competing to win these games.
Patricia has repeatedly stated in various ways that he is constantly evaluating players and hoping to grow the team in the preseason. Yet the scheming and the creativity we consistently saw on both sides of the ball in practices and training camp were starkly absent in the games.
One of Patricia’s early hallmarks as a coach is to devise an opponent-specific gameplan, especially for his defense. There was zero evidence of any sort of that throughout the preseason. That is true despite him knowing two of the coaching foes, New England’s Bill Belichick and Houston’s Bill O’Brien, very well. Patricia focused on other things.
That is his prerogative. If the Lions look sharp and prepared in the first couple of weeks of the regular season, nobody will remember or care about the apathetically vanilla preseason. Let’s hope that is the case.
Players who made strong impressions in the preseason
Without going into great detail or specific breakdowns, here are some Lions who made strong impressions — both positive and negative — on me in the entirety of the preseason. It doesn’t mean they should (or should not) make the 53-man roster; these are presented merely as observations.
Because I’m an optimist at heart, we’ll save the best for last…
Negatives
- QB Josh Johnson other than his running
- TE Jerome Cunningham
- OT Tyrell Crosby
- CB Jamal Agnew, both in coverage and on returns
- TE Isaac Nauta (3 drops)
- EDGE Eric Lee until a great game vs. Cleveland
- P/K Ryan Santoso
- OG Beau Benzschawel
- LB Garrett Dooley
- OT Andrew Donnal
- CB Dee Virgin
Positives
- DT Kevin Strong despite an unimpressive finale
- OT Taylor Decker
- RB Mark Thompson, the team’s biggest preseason winner for my money
- LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin
- DE Romeo Okwara
- TE T.J. Hockenson
- DL Mitchell Loewen
