Pull a random defensive statistic out of a hat, and there is a solid chance the Detroit Lions rank dead last in the NFL in that metric. Through Week 4, no team surrendered more points or yards than the Lions. This is now the second consecutive year in which Detroit's defense has been a liability, yet coach Dan Campbell is hesitant to make any significant changes to the unit's structure or leadership.
Following the 32-26 loss to the Carolina Panthers on "Sunday Night Football," Campbell admitted that the defense is a glaring issue. But instead of firing second-year coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, shaking up the play-calling duties or doing anything else to reconstruct the defense's framework, Campbell said he wants to "exhaust everything" with the players and coaches he has by his side. "I'm not talking about all that," Campbell said after the game of a potential leadership change.
"I'm talking about getting better right now with what we've got. That's what we're going to do. We're going to find a way to get better with what we've got.
There are other things that we can do. We've tweaked a little bit every week here. There's still some things that we can try that we haven't yet to try to settle some things down and see if we can help.
It's a work in progress." None of the adjustments Campbell and his staff have made on the fly over the last year have produced the desired results. Sunday night was just the latest example. Carolina quarterback Bryce Young entered the game as the NFL's leading passer and only padded his advantage over the rest of the league's signal-callers with a 329-yard outing.
Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan enjoyed a career night with 14 catches, 192 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, Chuba Hubbard racked up 122 yards and a pair of scores. With each passing week, Detroit shows that no matter how excellent its offense may be, it is always in grave danger of losing.
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