Last year, Detroit ran 32% man and 63% zone. This year, Kelvin Sheppard has gone almost all-in on zone. The results haven't followed. We broke down the man, zone, and combined coverage numbers for every Lions defender. Full video; youtu.be/CAD8P6yvNog

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler says the Lions should still make a move at cornerback after missing out on Joey Porter Jr., whom Pittsburgh traded to Dallas. Fowler says Detroit's secondary is "swimming right now." Brian Branch is close to returning and Kerby Joseph should eventually be back, but he says the Lions don't have enough corner help to run the coverages they want. Names he floated:
 🔹 Kristian Fulton (Chiefs): in and out of KC's lineup. $5M of his $9.75M base salary is guaranteed, and Fowler suggests the two teams could split the cost.
 🔹 Jalen Ramsey (Steelers): Fowler isn't sure he's available, but says Detroit's defense looks far from settled. #OnePride

I think this would mean, Play Rodrigo More. Great stat from @FootballGuy_Al #OnePride

Four games in, the Lions defense has a clear identity: Cover 3. Here's what the numbers say; 🔹 Cover 3 is the base. Detroit has played it on 42.1% of all defensive snaps, 6th-most in the NFL. That's a single-high look: one safety deep in the middle, three defenders splitting the deep field, and four underneath in zone. 🔹 They'll send the house. Cover 0 (all-out man, no deep safety, almost always a blitz) shows up on 5.8% of snaps, 6th in the league. On obvious passing downs it rises to 7.1% (7th). 🔹 Quarters isn't the foundation. Cover 4 (23rd) and Cover 6 (T-19th) both rank in the bottom third of the league. Two-high, split-safety shells are a change-up here, not the plan. 🔹 The script flips on passing downs. In expected pass situations, Cover 3 drops from 42.1% to 30.4% (14th) and man coverage takes over. Cover 1 jumps from 10.5% to 16.1%. Total man coverage (Cover 0, Cover 1, Cover 2 Man) climbs from about 18% of snaps to 25%. 🔻 The catch is the results. Opponents are averaging +0.29 EPA per dropback against Detroit, 30th in the NFL. In plain terms: when teams drop back to throw, they've been moving the ball efficiently. The scheme is clear: single-high, aggressive, and more man when the offense has to pass. The production in coverage hasn't matched it yet. Scheme or personnel? Drop your take below

On Laine — “The Detroit Red Wings are another team that has had talks with the Laine camp” On Perron — “I wouldn’t rule out the Red Wings as a potential reunion fit, but again, Detroit has a few things going on right now.” #LGRW

The Detroit Lions are allowing 109.3 net passing yards per game after they pressure the quarterback. Not when the quarterback has all day. When they get to him. The next-worst team in the NFL is Atlanta at 65. Per Next Gen Stats, Detroit's number is the fifth-worst by any team through four weeks since 2016. The Lions are not just last. They are lapping the field. Splash plays, no stops Detroit's havoc rate (sacks, quarterback hits, tackles for loss, interceptions, forced fumbles) sits around 16 to 17 percent of snaps, above league average. The problem is the other side of the ledger. League average for keeping an offense well short of the sticks is around 52 percent. Detroit is around 45. The explosive plays tell the rest. An explosive play is a run of 10-plus yards or a pass of 20-plus. Detroit allows one on 9.2 percent of snaps, 32nd in the league. Against the run it is 15.5 percent, 31st, which means roughly one of every six or seven runs goes for double digits. Against the pass it is 5.6 percent, 21st. Opposing quarterbacks are averaging 0.29 EPA per dropback, 30th. Only Arizona and Dallas are worse. The coverage problem Kelvin Sheppard is calling Cover 0 (everybody in man, nobody deep, send the house) at the sixth-highest rate in the NFL, and the seventh-highest in expected passing situations at 7.1 percent. The safe four-deep looks barely show up: Cover 4 ranks 23rd in usage and Cover 6 ties for 19th. That is a lot of coin flips for a secondary that was my lowest-graded position group coming into the season, and one playing without Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph. Branch returned to practice this week. What Dan Campbell said "I want our guys to be where they're supposed to be, you know, when they're supposed to be there," Campbell said. "When one guy makes an error, man, we've got three more trying to cover for him instead of just doing your job. So, you know, we've got a little bit of a trust issue right now." That matches the tape. I watched the defense twice, and more often than not it was players overcompensating for each other. My verdict: fixable The hardest part is already done. You cannot coach a pass rush into existence, and Detroit gets more pressure without blitzing than any team in the league. Gap integrity and tackling are coachable. Calling less Cover 0 is a choice. Four games is also a small sample, and two or three blown coverages can swing these rankings by Week 8. But it does not fix itself. Sunday against an Arizona offense that ranks last in explosive plays, watch three things: how many explosive plays Detroit allows, how often Sheppard sends Cover 0, and whether pressure finally turns into stops. Is this defense fixable or broken? Drop it in the comments, and catch the full breakdown on the Detroit Lions News Podcast. Link; youtu.be/pytRcJOUNXQ?is=5-Hz…

Let me be clear: I was never upset with Dylan Larkin for asking out of Detroit. When the news broke in June that Larkin was requesting a trade, first reported by Elliotte Friedman, I was upset, but not at him. I was upset at the franchise. I was upset at Steve Yzerman, his terrible moves in free agency and his refusal to be aggressive. Larkin publicly criticized management for standing still at the 2025 trade deadline instead of adding help for a playoff push. He was right then, and he's right now. Now that we know what we know about Chris Ilitch and the way this organization operates, I'm even more on Larkin's side. If Larkin never asks for a trade, we never see the full scope of what's happening inside the Red Wings. Look at where things stand. Yzerman resigned as GM in mid-July and moved into a senior advisor role under Ilitch. Shawn Horcoff is running things on an interim basis, and Larkin was stripped of the captaincy in September. Then there's Simon Edvinsson. The Red Wings reportedly want a bridge-style contract, while Edvinsson and his camp want a longer-term deal. Instead of suiting up for Detroit, he went back to Sweden to train with Frolunda. That's with a team sitting on nearly $17 million in cap space. That's shortchanging one of your best young players. That's cheap. Without Larkin's request blowing the lid off, most fans would never have looked this closely. That's why I think the trade request was the best thing to happen to this franchise in years. The Red Wings needed a kick in the ass. They weren't a good team. Their playoff drought is now 10 seasons, the longest in franchise history. That alone is embarrassing. The Detroit Red Wings brand is bigger than any player, any general manager and any owner. When the two people at the top, the owner and the GM, are tanking the value of the franchise instead of making it better, that's a total joke. So I'm glad Larkin asked out, and I'm glad it became public. If it had stayed quiet, we'd still be in the dark about how this team is being run. Larkin didn't break the Red Wings. He made everyone look at what was already broken. #LGRW

What I’ve been saying since June 3rd, but all the dumb emotional Wings fans who are in their feelings told me no. Wah. 😭

Emotional Grind Time has spoken

It happened because he played for @WMUHockey where @patfersch and his staff develop guys the right way to succeed at the next level.

Let’s act like a REAL franchise.

Give Dylan Larkin credit. He turned boos into cheers with a goal. Now he has a Gordie Howe hat trick (almost) -- a goal, an assist and a roughing penalty, sticking up for a teammate after a hit.

It’s not a coincidence whatsoever that the Wings best period of this young season took place with Larkin in the lineup. If you’re too emotional to see that, I can’t help you. #LGRW

Hockey Boob Elite

All day my thought has been 71 saying his intention was for his trade request to never get out. That would have had me REAL pumped about him getting back tonight while he was strong-arming the team in the background to GTFO this entire time. #LGRW

Red Wings fans booing Larkin smh

Can Lions Defense be fixed? Why Pressure Isn't Working youtu.be/pytRcJOUNXQ?si=5vZX…

Woof. That’s bad look for Howie Roseman

Thank you @Dylanlarkin39 for exposing the franchise from Yzerman short changing, Edvinsson in negotiations to start to everything in between. You’ve unearthed so much about this organization by your three team trade list that would never be possible 😂

RT @TheZackMarsh: