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ALLEN PARK — The Detroit Lions found ways to manufacture pressure in their first game without Aidan Hutchinson manning the defensive edges, and that will have to continue as the team weighs its options.
After six games, the Lions rank fourth in the NFL with a 32.8% defensive blitz rate per dropback. And it’s easy to imagine that number growing without Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport and Derrick Barnes available on the front seven.
The Lions blitzed Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold on 14 of his 27 dropbacks but only generated only two pressures on those looks in Minnesota. And despite the aggression and attempts to generate disruption, the defense generated only 15 pressures against the Vikings. They sacked Darnold four times, but three of those came from the linebackers, with Josh Paschal getting home for the lone one from the defensive line and edge rushers.
To put that into perspective, Aidan Hutchinson posted 15 pressures himself in the last full game he played, so there is quite a drop in production there.
Those results have the outside world wondering when, not if, the Lions will make a move for an outside pass rusher. Earlier this week, Dan Campbell said general manager Brad Holmes was “grinding” through potential trade options. But the Lions head coach said he doesn’t feel rushed to make a move despite what he saw in Minnesota.
Campbell admitted after the game that they needed more from the pass rush, and that there were far too many instances of their coverage getting left out there for too long.
“No, because look, what we’ll do is — we’ve still got — there’s still two guys here, there’s really three, that we haven’t really rolled out there on Sunday and see what they look like,” Campbell said. “So, we’re going to give them a shot. We’re going to give Isaiah Thomas a shot, we’re going to give (Al-Quadin) Muhammad another shot, he’s played in this league, done a lot. We’ll give (James) Houston another shot so in combination with all those guys that we’ve got. Let’s give it a go, let’s give it a look, that’s what they’re here for.”
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On the bright side, the interior pass rush has been a strength this season, with Alim McNeill hitting form and Levi Onwuzurike lending his hand all over the line. The Lions have also seen promising results in a small sample size from Trevor Nowaske as part of the SAM linebacker rotation. Nowaske has two sacks and six pressures on only 31 pass-rushing reps across three games.
Brian Branch has also shown an ability to make noise, with the rising star defender saying he’s always ready to add more when it comes to blitzing.
Campbell said defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn will continue working with the pieces and developing a plan. The head coach gave Glenn credit for “maximizing everything we have” and that he has faith in that continuing.
Alex Anzalone has seen more looks from the SAM linebacker spot, too. He plays a near-every-down role for the Lions and has shown an ability to bring more to some of those aggressive blitz looks.
Anzalone has three pressures on 22 pass-rush reps across the last three games. The team-voted captain is also fresh off a career-best 30 pressures created last season when the Lions were blitzing with the best of them on the quest to manufacture pressure.
When asked if the linebackers were excited about the chances to blitz more and make more noise. Anzalone said the linebackers are already doing a touch of everything from the pass rush to the nickel to more traditional duties, and adding more to their plate in the form of a pass rush is nothing new.
“If we have to manufacture a pass rush, I feel like we — our room really does it all,” Anzalone said.
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