ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions offensive line surrendered 19 pressures, four sacks and nine quarterback hits, with their ball-carriers hit in the backfield on 16 out of 22 rush attempts in Week 1.
But they insist that was a one-game blip on the radar, with communication issues galore while working two new starting guards into the equation. It was also Graham Glasgow’s return to center, as the veteran takes over for the retired Frank Ragnow.
MLive’s Dungeon of Doom podcast opened the mailbag for this week’s episode, and there were plenty of questions about the offensive line.
“The issues are fixable. Yeah, like, the issues are fixable,” host Ben Raven emphasized on the latest Dungeon of Doom podcast. “So much of it seems like it was just communication-based. I mean, we’ve heard Dan Campbell say, ‘Maybe I put too much on their plate.’ We just heard John Morton literally talk to us five minutes ago and say, maybe I take some stuff off their plate, let them play a little faster.
“The running game, the craziest stat, and I’ll say it again, 16 of 22 rush attempts got hit behind the line of scrimmage. I ... I, there’s no excusing that, but that is fixable. Like, that is fixable.”
The reason for the optimism lies in the fact that this was a new operation, and it seems that most of the issues came via missed assignments due to communication issues.
Campbell said it’s about getting louder at the line and making sure everyone is on the same page. Lions quarterback Jared Goff echoed his coach, saying it’s all about making sure everyone knows what play they are running out of the huddle.
Taylor Decker, the team’s longest-tenured player, said it’s all about getting used to each other and getting some games together under their belt. Decker said he believes it’s as simple as practicing communication, finding what works and what doesn’t.
Decker has missed two practices this week with a shoulder injury. But he hopes to play, and the Lions are operating with the belief he’ll be out there in Week 2 against the Chicago Bears.
For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, this isn’t what anybody wants to hear out of the gates. But it’s a reason that the interior offensive line was pointed to as a potential weakness this year.
Second-round rookie Tate Ratledge made his first career start in Green Bay. And Christian Mahogany was making just his third-career start, with Glasgow moving back to a full-time center role.
“One thing that I’ve also seen from this team under Campbell is that when they have the type of performance that they had against the Packers, they don’t have those performances two weeks in a row,” co-host Kory Woods said on the podcast.
To listen to the full Dungeon of Doom podcast, see below. We’ll be back with another game after Sunday’s game against the Bears:
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