Scouting Report: Powered by Stafford and Tate, Detroit passing game will test Patriots' defense

FOXBOROUGH — The Lions have struggled out of the gate with back-to-back losses as Matt Patricia has tried to put his stamp on the franchise.

"I think it’s always going to have some challenges when you go to a new place and you’re trying to do the best you can to coach it the way that you want it coached and do things the right way," Patricia said Wednesday. "There’s always challenges, and there’s always actually rewards. There’s other aspects of it that come into play, like the players and unique guys that when I got here, (that) have different ways to do things and different opinions -- which is great because I think that helps you grow as a coach and kind of helps the program develop its own way."

On the field, there are some signs of hope, as Detroit has shown a lot when it comes to the passing game, as well as some aspects of what it can do defensively. The Lions' have some injuries that will certainly bear watching over the course of the week, but here’s a look at what to expect from Detroit roster come Sunday night.

OFFENSE

Scheme


Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter loves to throw the ball, and has the guy in Matthew Stafford to help coordinate that attack. (Only Drew Brees has attempted more passes than Stafford since the start of the 2013 season, and since entering the NFL in 2009, he's one of seven QBs with 35,000-plus passing yards.) Stafford remains one of the strongest-armed quarterbacks in the league -- Belichick said Wednesday he was "as good as there is in football" when it comes to downfield throwers -- and while the Lions have had issues to start the year, the passing game has been pretty good over the first two contests. Overall, the Detroit offense is 11th in the league in yardage (383 per game), sixth in passing (314.5), 30th in rushing (68.5) and tied for 18th in points per game (22.0). The feeling here? The Patriots play a lot of nickel on Sunday night.

Quarterbacks

Stafford (61-for-99, 633 passing yards, 4 TDs, 4 INTs): Detroit’s passing game tends to be more vertical than horizontal, and while there have been impressive moments, Stafford has struggled with the deep ball to start the season. He missed on five deep passes last Sunday against the Niners, but given the state of New England’s secondary at the moment, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him continue to try and attack downfield against the Patriots.

Bill Belichick on Stafford as a downfield passer: "As good as there is in football. He’s got great weapons. He does an excellent job of seeing down the field in all situations. No matter how much pressure he’s under, he seems to find guys down there. Sometimes it appears that they’re covered, but he can put the ball where (Marvin) Jones in particular, but also (Kenny) Golladay, can go up and make plays on the ball. He’s very accurate and he’s got a strong arm. He can stand in there and make those throws, with or without a rush, in or out of the pocket, stationary or on the run. He’s extremely dangerous – one of the very best in the league for sure."

Offensive Line

LT Taylor Decker (6-7, 311): Took two holding penalties last week against the Niners, and has been a little inconsistent through the first two games.

LG Frank Ragnow (6-5, 309): First-round pick out of Arkansas has started out of the gate and been very solid in run and pass protection. The Lions have thought about moving him to right guard if T.J. Lang’s back injury persists, but for now, we’ll slot him here on the left side.

C Graham Glasgow (6-6, 310): Dependable presence in the middle for Detroit.

RG T.J. Lang (6-4, 318): Didn’t play last week because of a back injury, and has had health issues for much of the summer. Ragnow and backup Kenny Wiggins would be the options here if he can’t go.

RT Rick Wagner (6-6, 310): When healthy — he’s also had health issues — the former Raven has been a good addition to help round out the offensive line.

Running Backs

LeGarrette Blount (6-0, 250): New Englanders know what they’re getting with Blount, who is the primary between-the-tackles option for the Lions at the ripe old age of 32. Slow out of the gate this year (12 carries, 35 yards) for a few reasons, including the fact Detroit hasn’t had much of a lead so there’s been little reason to grind the clock. Ejected from last week’s game against the Niners after he was part of a sideline scuffle.

Theo Riddick (5-9, 201): Injured his ankle last week against the Niners, which means he’ll have to be monitored all week. When he’s healthy, he’s the primary option as the third-down back, with 14 catches on 62 yards in two games. Also has four carries for 20 yards.

Receivers

WR Golden Tate (5-10, 197): Wonder if Belichick can sneak him on the Patriots’ bus at the end of the game? One of the more underrated receivers in recent history, he’s a really good catch-and-run receiver — check out his 67-yarder last week against the Niners as an example of how he’s still getting it done. Stafford’s first and best option in the passing game. This year, he’s tied with Riddick for the team lead in catches (14), and is second in receiving yards (188 yards) to Kenny Golladay.

WR Marvin Jones (6-2, 198): The resident deep threat (he’s averaged more than 17 yards a catch since the start of the 2016 season), he and Stafford have looked out-of-sync at times over the first two games — they missed on three deep ball attempts against the Niners. Eight catches for 108 yards and a touchdown.

WR Kenny Golladay (6-4, 213): Has evolved into one of Stafford’s more dependable options in the passing game. Makes good use of his size, and isn’t afraid to be physical. Six catches for 89 yards and a touchdown against the Niners, and 13 catches for 203 yards and a touchdown on the season.

TE Luke Willson (6-5, 251): The primary pass-catching tight end on the roster, this former Seahawk has put up pretty respectable numbers over the course of his career. He’s not Gronkowski, but he’s a reliable option when he’s been called upon. One catch for 13 yards this year.

TE Levine Toilolo (6-8, 268): Backup tight end who is more of a blocker than pass catcher.

DEFENSE

Scheme

The Lions run a straight 4-3, with elements of New England’s system in that the defensive linemen are expected to be pluggers, freeing things up for the linebackers to be able to make plays. Overall, they’ve done well against the pass, but really struggled when it comes to run defense. Detroit is 16th in the league in yardage allowed (347.5 per game), fourth against the pass (168), but last against the run (179.5) and tied for last in points allowed (39 points per game). Against the Jets, the Lions gave up 169 yards rushing, which included a 62-yard touchdown from Isaiah Crowell. Last week, the Lions gave up 190 yards rushing, including a 66-yard touchdown to Matt Breida. Look for New England to lean on its backs on Sunday night — the guess here is this could be Sony Michel’s breakout game.

Belichick on the Detroit pass rush, which has generated eight sacks in the first two games: "They have very good coverage players, they have good pass rushers and they have multiple variations in their scheme that make it hard for quarterbacks to find open receivers. They do a good job disguising and mixing up their coverages and the looks and the leverage that they play on different patterns and receivers. So, all those lead to problems in the passing game."

Defensive line

DT Ricky-Jean Francois (6-2, 309): Veteran run-stuffer who should be familiar to New England fans. As the Patriots’ saw last year, some of the tread has come off his tires, but he can still be stout when used as part of a rotation.

DT Sylvester Williams (6-2, 313): Part of the Denver defensive line that harassed Tom Brady in the 2013 AFC title game, he’s a veteran plugger.

DE Da’Shawn Hand (6-4, 298): Rookie out of Alabama is trending in the right direction with a nice game last week against the Niners — five tackles, including one for a loss. Plays with good technique and leverage for a youngster.

DE Ziggy Ansah (6-6, 270): Bad shoulder left him sidelined last week against San Francisco. When he’s healthy, the 29-year-old remains Detroit’s best pass rusher. Has 45 career sacks, including 12 last year.

DE Kerry Hyder (6-2, 280): Trying to bounce back from a torn Achilles that cost him all 2017.

DE Romeo Okwara (6-4, 258): Claimed off waivers earlier this month, he’s part of a front seven rotation for Detroit.

Linebackers

OLB Devon Kennard (6-4, 256): Probably Detroit’s most consistent pass rusher over the first two games. Had a pair of sacks last Sunday against the Niners, and has three on the season. Good start to the season for the former Giant — if there’s one guy on this team who isn’t complaining about Patricia, it’s probably him.

MLB Jarrad Davis (6-1, 238): Had a couple of bad missed tackles last week against the Niners, but for the most part, he’s a good sideline-to-sideline defender who leads the team in tackles after two games. (He led them in tackles last season.) He’s also an occasional blitzes, and has a pair of sacks on the season. He’s prone to some rookie mistakes, particularly in coverage, but has done relatively well.

OLB Christian Jones (6-3, 244): Edge presence who started 11 games last season for Chicago, he’s an underrated pass rusher who had a career-high 11 sacks last year. After working in a part-time role in the opener, saw a major uptick in snaps last week against San Francisco.

ILB Marquis Flowers (6-3, 245): The former Patriot is doing pretty much what he was in New England, working as a special teamer/rotational linebacker — probably more of the former than the latter.

Secondary

CB Darius Slay (6-0, 190): Suffered a concussion in Sunday’s game, the second straight contest where he took a hard hit to the head. His status will bear watching all week. If he’s healthy, he’s their No. 1 corner. Fourteen career interceptions, but none so far this year.

CB Teez Tabor (6-0, 201): Benched in his first career start last Sunday against the Niners after having some serious issues. If he starts, look for him to have a target on his back come Sunday night.

FS Glover Quin (6-0, 209): The oldest defensive starter on the roster, Quin has been one of the most indispensable defenders in Detroit’s system the last few years — he’s started 134 straight regular-season games, the most at his position in the league. But he and Patricia don’t appear to be on the same page.

SS Quandre Diggs (5-9, 198): Bad penalty last week against the Niners wiped out what might have been a game-changing pick from teammate Tracy Walker. Eight tackles and one interception this season — he was the guy with the pick-six on Sam Darnold to open the season. Good ball skills for a safety.

S Tracy Walker: The rookie had a nice interception of Jimmy Garoppolo last Sunday, but it was wiped out because of a holding call on Diggs.

SPECIAL TEAMS

P Sam Martin: Veteran won offseason punting battle. Respectable 45.4 average, but an awful 26.5 net (worst in the league among starters, which might speak more toward the Detroit punt coverage unit than anything.

K Matt Prater: Just 3-for-5 on field goal attempts, the 34-year-old has been a little shaky to start the year. (He’s 1-for-3 from 40-plus.)

KR/PR Jamal Agnew: Described as explosive on Wednesday by Bill Belichick, he’s fifth in the league in terms of kick return average (28.8 in five chances, including a 45-yarder). Agnew has also handled the bulk of the punt return work, and is averaging 2.8 yards per return on four chances.