The Detroit Lions are undoubtedly one of the most consistent teams in the NFL. For several weeks, they’ve shown impressive play, leading to an 11-1 record. However, Dan Campbell‘s team still has some weaknesses in one area, and Bill Belichick made his stance on the matter clear.
The team led by Jared Goff managed to recover from the serious injury suffered by DE Aidan Hutchinson, which forced him to miss the entire season. Regarding this situation, the former Patriots coach stated that the Lions are still not solid enough at the pass rusher position, especially when facing quarterbacks with greater mobility.
In a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Belichick made it clear where he stands on what he considers a weak point in the Lions’ performance: “I think that the Lions, whether that’s coach Campbell, (general manager) Brad Holmes, whoever it is, has certainly tried to address the pass rush situation. I think that needs to be addressed. They don’t get very much pressure on the quarterback.“
The coach, who has won multiple Super Bowl rings, also added: “A lot of the sacks that they do get are because the quarterback holds the ball for an extended period of time, and they’ve got a lot of sacks in the fourth quarter when they’ve been ahead in obvious passing situations. In spite of the fact that they’re, statistically, a very good third-down team, I think that that’s going to be an issue for them against the better teams that they play like it was in the first half of the Houston game where they were down by whatever it was, two touchdowns just at halftime,
"The Lions need to address their pass rush situation because I think that's gonna be an issue for them against better teams.. They got into a lot of trouble against Houston and I worry about them against mobile Quarterbacks" Bill Belichick #PMSLive
“So I think those are the issues they’re looking at defensively — pass rush and how much man to man coverage they can actually play,” Bill Belichick finally concluded.
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Bill Belichick praised the work of the secondary
While Belichick made it clear, according to his perspective, where Dan Campbell should tighten things up in the defense, he also praised the work of the Lions’ secondary, specifically mentioning young safety Brian Branch.
“I think Branch has had a fantastic year. He’s been responsible, it looks to me, for a majority of their pass breakups, interceptions. He’s even caused some interceptions by taking away, or caused sacks, by taking away a route and forcing the quarterback to hold the ball,” Belichick stated.
“I think he’s had a great year for them. I think the rest of the secondary, and the rest of the pass rush, can certainly be improved and they’re trying to do it. That’s what they should do, either schematically or with the acquisition of a player, try to get more of an edge rush to work with (Alim) McNeill inside or use some linebacker pressures to try to beef up the pass rush.”
Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch (32) celebrates making an Iinterception during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions on October 13, 2024 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Belichick also spoke about what’s next for the Lions
The Lions have a tough stretch ahead, including games against the Packers and Bills, among others. Regarding this, Belichick shared his thoughts.
“I wouldn’t say it’s gonna be tough. I think they need to do better than they’ve been doing. I think they’ve gotten away with some things and it looks good now, I just don’t know if it’s gonna last against really good passing teams or quarterbacks that can extend plays a little bit,” Belichick said.
“Like I said, they got into a lot of trouble against Houston. I know they ended up winning that game, but still it wasn’t all about the interceptions. It was about, defensively, some of the things that they gave up. I’m just worried that when they get up against a good offensive team, if Love has a good day, if Darnold has a good day, which I didn’t really think either one of them did, what that would look like.”
