After two games, this much we know: The Lions’ talent-starved defense will make a lot of opposing quarterbacks look great, and not just the ones named Aaron Rodgers. Or Jimmy Garoppolo. Or Lamar Jackson, who must be drooling over the Ravens’ visit to Detroit this week.
This much we think we might, possibly, know: The Lions offense could be above average, and their offensive line could be way above average.
Baby steps, people, baby steps. Dan Campbell doesn’t want to hear it and doesn’t want to say it, and he shouldn’t. Undermanned NFL teams do win games, although not very many. The Lions play hard under Campbell and will beat a couple teams (including themselves) and should be moderately entertaining in the process.
Beyond that, no major revelations yet, just a few teases. The offense looks slightly better than anticipated, the defense looks worse. If you were expecting more provocative superlatives or expletives, what’s the point? We can shriek and demand all we want after the Lions were battered again, 35-17 by Green Bay on Monday night. They don’t get a free pass to play as horribly as they did in the second half after grabbing a 17-14 lead, but we don’t get to ignore reality, either.
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Campbell pinned the blame on his offense, and I understand why. It’s like the teacher admonishing the promising student instead of piling on the struggling kid. At the current injury pace, the Lions will be starting an Amazon driver at cornerback before long. Jeff Okudah is out for the year and rookie Ifeatu Melifonwu, who was playing well, is out at least a couple weeks with a leg injury.
The defense has obvious limitations, lacking playmakers everywhere. Linebacker Jamie Collins had a rough night and you can bet rookie Derrick Barnes will be on the field more regularly. The offense is limited without a deep passing threat but not overly limited anywhere else, which is encouraging. That also makes the second-half shutout discouraging.
“Knowing where it was going, it was back and forth offensively and I just felt like, look man, when you get into that type of game, your offense has to score more points than they do,” Campbell said Tuesday. “That’s where it was going. I don’t think it’ll always be that way, but that’s where we’re at. I got a lot of faith in our offensive line and our backs and the play caller, so that’s just how I think.”
There’s plenty worth developing on the offense, especially on the line, which was terrific in the first half. First-round pick Penei Sewell looks like a fixture at left tackle, practically dominant at the age of 20. Yes, it’ll be hard to displace him when Taylor Decker returns in a few weeks.
The running attack with D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams has been effective, topping 100 yards as a team each game and averaging 5.2 per carry. But it’s rendered moot when opponents get so far ahead, Jared Goff has to throw. So far, Goff has been half-good and half-not-so-good, and on a bad team, that almost always equals a loss. His good was excellent — 13-for-16 for 137 yards and perfect TD strikes to Quintez Cephus and T.J. Hockenson in the first half. His bad was the feared bad, a fumbled snap in the rain, an interception and a poorly executed pass on fourth-and-1. That was a head-scratcher by offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, who otherwise called a solid game.
As for Campbell’s decision to go for it at the Green Bay 25, trailing 21-17 with 5:57 left in the third quarter? No problem with the gamble. But if you love your offensive line, dang it, go ahead and mash away, man. (Speaking Campbell-ese for effect).
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Campbell did run it the previous week on fourth down against the 49ers and Williams slipped short of the line. This time, Goff looked for Hockenson in the flat, saw he was covered and threw toward Cephus.
“We were trying to get it in the hands of our playmaker and they took that away,” Campbell said. “And somebody else has to win and it didn’t work out.”
In the midst of a long-term fix, a team is required to make short-term fixes, and the Lions have a whole bunch to make. They committed way too many mistakes, including nine penalties for 78 yards and the two Goff turnovers. He did find Cephus on a 46-yard pass, and if you’re being honest, you’re fine with how Goff has played so far. He’s completed 68.8% percent of his passes for 584 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions in two games.
No matter how often he’s asked, Goff isn’t adopting the broken, bitter persona that was suggested when the Rams stunned him with the trade to the Lions. He had so much time to throw Monday night, he was sacked only once, and that was on his fumbled snap. Standing with all that room in the pocket, he didn’t look like a Lions quarterback, and not just because they were dressed in all white for the first time in 70 years. (For the record, I kind of like the all-whites. Oddly, I’m also a fan of Flo from Progressive).
Goff was mad at himself for the fumble, but otherwise positive about the progress.
“I think we’ve got guys with ability on the outside and we can pass block and run block with anyone in the league,” Goff said. “And I like to think I can make throws with anyone in the league. It’s all there for us. And we’ve shown flashes of it … it just needs to happen more often and that’s with everybody, myself included. We have the players. We have the plays.”
They have some players and plays on offense, virtually nothing on defense. Not surprisingly, the Lions have allowed at least 30 points in eight straight games dating to last season. They’re in yet another massive rebuild, a function of horrific decision-making by the previous regime.
When the season began, they had the second-youngest roster in the league, behind only Carolina. Campbell’s aggressiveness and forthrightness are appreciated, but he won’t turn it around easily, no matter how powerful his personality. And there’s no guarantee he and GM Brad Holmes will turn it around at all.
But if you’re discouraged by the 0-2 start, you haven’t been paying attention. If you’re encouraged, you’ve committed no major crime against football logic. If you remain entrenched in wait-and-see mode, you’re a well-trained Lions fan.
Bob.wojnowski@detroitnews.com
Twitter: bobwojnowski