NFL Football Revealed on Squib Kick

Rod Marinelli feels the Detroit Lions are oh so close

by James on October 8th, 2006

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Rod Marinelli is the new head coach of the Lions, but like a lot of boss’s, he can’t take his hands off the details of his old job. So, you found Rod working the Defensive Line this week. Marinelli believes the pressure of the Defensive Line should force the hand of the other team and he thinks this line is close to pulling that off.

Now Rod and Donnie Henderson, the defensive coordinator, have been somewhat at odds. Donnie is more of a gambler and wants to pressure with various blitz packages. For now, it will be the Marinelli way. Maybe later, when the defensive rush improves there will be more blitzes.

Odd that this Lions team is winless, 0 and 4, and yet showing so much hope, so much production in crucial areas. Kitna is heating up in the Mike Martz offense. Kevin Jones is off to the races at running back showing more power and moves than ever before. Roy Williams is absolutely unstoppable at times at wide receiver. Eddie Drummond and the special teams are getting long kick returns for good field position. (Squibster full disclosure - Williams and Jones are starting for my Fantasy Team, Kitna is on my bench for future games)

But if you analyze all that, it is on the offensive side of the ball or on special teams. What about the Defense?

The two Shaun’s, Rogers and Cody, have plugged the middle. Nobody can run up the middle on the Lions or they are made to pay! Rogers in particular has been dominant, heading for an All Pro season.

Anything else on D? No. No rush. No sacking. No Interceptions. No stopping the pass. Nothing. Yet except for the Chicago game that got out of hand early, the games have been very close and Marinelli has your intrepid author believing that there are fixes for some of the defensive problems that will lead to victories.

You realize that you don’t have to fix them all. There are no perfect teams. Chicago dominates with defense; Indy dominates with offense; and so on. But let’s just say the rush does suddenly appear forcing the quarterback to rush a few throws leading to a few picks or bad throws or even sacks. What a difference it could make. Let me remind you these games have been close. Often it takes only the change in outcome of one play to change the outcome of a game.

The Tampa 2 relies on stopping the run (the two Shaun’s), then on third and long drop back two safety’s and the middle linebacker and turn your defensive line loose. It is great to watch when it is working. It does not rely on corners being as good as Dre Bly, but it does rely on a speedy middle linebacker and an intense rush.

So Marinelli works and tries to convince not only your gallivanting writer, but also his players and coaches that they can get it done.

NFL Football Fan Question Will the Lions be able to get the rush going against the Vikings?

As always, all comments related to NFL Football are welcome.

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POSTED IN: Detroit Lions, Opinion