Yet, Suh is still defined more by his mental errors and personal fouls than anything else. Even Fairley, at 25, is an impact player. 2 defensive tackle in all of football this season (subscription required). It isn't that Suh hasn't been good in 2013. Suh needs a coach who can take his raw, physical potential and turn it into something even more. No, Schwartz knows the better way.a higher knowledge of football 'strategery.' It's a false bravado-perhaps borne from his academic prowess or simply inherited from Belichick-that believes what everyone else knows as fact as false. Then, over the years, the penalties continued and the intended positives never really showed up. Unnecessary roughness was OK because players should always play 'to the echo of the whistle.' Stafford's interceptions were acceptable because of the high percentage of high-risk throws.

Once upon a time, it was the excuse that encroachment and offsides penalties were necessary evils in Schwartz' wide-nine scheme. Key Talent Has Not Improved or Been Put in Positions to Succeed

That is why this change needs to be made. With losses to the Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals, it's clear that it isn't just the top teams the 7-8 Lions have trouble beating. The results have not.ĭetroit had a lock on the divisional title and a spot in the playoffs this season, but lost three straight and five of their last six. Since 2009, the talent on the roster has steadily improved. Washburn and defensive line coach Kris Kocurek may be highly regarded, yet it's easy to wonder if they don't have some of the easiest jobs in football. Suh and Fairley are singular talents at what they do and top draft picks. Jim Washburn was brought in as an assistant defensive line coach/pass-rush specialist, but his presence hasn't seemed to have any substantive effect. In reality, that may be true, but the defensive line hasn't actually found its stride against the pass, ranking 23rd in the NFL against the pass coming into Week 16. On defense, the Lions are build around Schwartz' philosophy that a solid defensive front can mask deficiencies in the defensive backfield. Even when the bare yardage was there, it's turning the ball over, or settling for field goals instead of touchdowns that often put Detroit behind the proverbial eight ball. Linehan seemed unable to produce anything without every single one of the weapons in his offensive arsenal. Schwartz has run out.Īny time Johnson or Bush were even the tiniest bit less than 100 percent, the offense stagnated. In 2013-a year that saw both Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler go down for extended periods of time, there are simply no more excuses. Throw in a second tier of guys like running back Reggie Bush, safety Glover Quin, linebackers DeAndre Levy and Stephen Tulloch, and all of a sudden, it's difficult to understand how the Lions aren't a playoff team. Stafford, still only 25, is one of the best young quarterbacks. Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley are probably the best interior defensive line tandem in the entire league.

Schwartz assembled his staff-offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham-giving him an all-star duo with plenty of experience to lean on. They assisted the new front office with bringing in their types of players as guys like defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch and wide receiver Nate Burleson quickly became Lions stalwarts.Ī cursory look at the Lions roster reveals a number of players at or near the top of the NFL at their respective positions. It was a menagerie of poor fits in numerous schemes as the coaching turnover and front office lack of scouting ability had brought plenty of simply useless people to a roster that needed a total overhaul. The talent (using that term with its loosest possible definition) on the team was atrocious. 0-16 isn't just bad, it was historically so. Millen and his rogues gallery of coaches had run this team into the ground further than any other team in history.

He hung out with Detroit royalty like Kid Rock and tweeted out his workout playlist. Then, within moments of being announced as head coach, it became known that Schwartz was a genuine guy who enjoyed heavy metal music and didn't enjoy the normal coach-speak that so many others in the NFL seemed to have coming out of their pores. So, he's going to be smart, right? He's going to make good decisions! He was an economics major at Georgetown and had spoken with Aaron Schatz and Football Outsiders about statistical analysis. Schwartz even had his cheering gallery in the media as he was known as a brainiac and numbers guy. At the time, it certainly seemed that way to everyone else as well.

Jason schwartz espn