For decades, NFL teams have built their roster by investing substantial capital in players closest to the ball, and in turn placing a diminished value on players further away from it. This ideology at the time fitted in with the scheme concepts, where the execution of a bruise was criminal in the passing pass.
At the moment, the NFL is a very passing league, but only recently have we seen franchise businesses that have made conscious efforts to move away from old strategies in team building and developed into a more modern approach.
Earlier this week Chris Spielman appeared on local radio station 97.1 The Ticket to discuss various topics from the Detroit Lions, including how impressed he was with Shelia Ford Hamp’s involvement in team meetings and his philosophy on roster building. His approach moves the Lions to adapt to this growing trend in the NFL.
“I’ll have to ask Brad (Holmes) or Dan (Campbell) this theory, but I have a theory you’ve always been when I played … you built from the inside out,” Spielman told the Free Press . . “Well, the league of today, I think you build from the outside.”
The concept of building from the outside places the emphasis on getting the ball into the hands of your game maker quickly. In defense, coverage takes precedence over stopping the run.
“You can always create a pass-rush with pressure,” an NFL coach told the Chicago Tribune. ‘But it’s hard to create pass coverage – the ability to cover one-on-one. If you have a man you know can wipe out one side of the field, it’s pretty damn valuable. I would love to have both, but if I have to pick one, I take a corner. ‘
Pro Football Focus conducted a data study on pass-rush coverage and their findings also support this idea, pointing out that both are valuable in their own way. However, the ability to cover is more important when measuring the value of a particular player.
This concept has led teams to change their recent draft strategies, as defensive players who can cover – linebackers Devin White and Devin Bush, as well as cornerback Jeff Okudah – have been set higher than previous trends.
Spielman’s comments may also indicate that the Lions can prioritize forwards and defenders who can cover this off-season. This would be in line with expectations that the Lions will model part of their defense based on the 2020 rams, which will put their defense from the secondary in.
Moving their defenses to one influenced by the Rams makes sense on many levels. The Lions do not have to make major adjustments in player staff, the Rams defense was the best in the NFL in 2020, and Holmes has managed their colleagues’ reconnaissance division for the past eight years, giving him a unique understanding of how to to perform this transition. .
The Lions have a young secondary base to build on with the corners Okudah and Amani Oruwariye are developing their vessels, as well as Tracy Walker and Will Harris, who both want to improve a tough 2020 season. Defense coordinator Aaron Glenn even encouraged it during his press conference earlier this month to show how these players remind him of the group he had when he first took over in New Orleans.
But the Lions’ back seven is by no means a complete unit. Desmond Trufant and Justin Coleman are potential victims of the hood and the safety of the start Duron Harmon is a free agent who may or may not fit in with the schematic change. Apart from Jamie Collins, the Lions have a lack of linebackers who can strike.
That means the Lions may have to find the priority of getting a starting safety, a nickel option and a quick coverage in free agency or the NFL draft. Watch John Johnson (safety of Rams) and Marcus Williams (safety of Saints) as potential game-changing additions in free agencies, as well as Penn State full-back Micah Parsons in the first round of the draft.
Offensive is much simpler: look for as many wide recipients as possible.
The Lions will be able to rely on runway D’Andre Swift and TJ Hockenson, a forward for offensive production, but Quintez Cephus is the only broad receiver for 2021 who contributed in 2020.
This lack of recipients is the reason why so many believe that Kenny Golladay is a strong candidate for the franchise label or to receive an extension of the contract in the near future – although the debate over the re-signing, tagging or release is still still being discussed locally.
Whatever happens to Golladay, based on the outside in the philosophy, the Lions will likely be looking for more receivers in the free agency and / or the draft – and yes, that includes using the overall number 7 on a pass mark. offensive weapons, such as Ja’Marr Chase (LSU), DeVonta Smith (Alabama), Jaylen Waddle (Alabama) and Kyle Pitts (Florida).
Based on the depth of talent in the free agency and the concept, if the Lions do indeed adapt the outside in the grid building philosophy, they expect to invest significant capital – both conceptually and financially – in attacking / defensive players that will help them fit to control game.