Aaron Glenn has never waivered in the type of defensive coordinator he wants to be.
“I think you guys have known me for the past year,” Glenn said last month. “I like to go after people, and that’s just who I am. And I don’t know if that’s changing anytime soon.”
The Detroit Lions rank third in the NFL in blitz rate through four weeks, according to Pro Football Reference, sending extra rushers on 38.2% of opposing dropbacks. Glenn must be creative with his pressure packages to make up for a defensive line that struggles to win one-on-one, but his reliance on the blitz was one of several components that contributed to the Lions’ defensive issue in last week’s 48-45 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
The Lions allowed a season-high 555 yards of offense in that game and gave up eight plays of more than 20 yards. Those plays accounted for nearly half of Seattle’s yards (270, including a penalty tacked onto the end of one 21-yard catch) and set up or led directly to every Seahawk scoring drive in the second half.
As Glenn and Lions coach Dan Campbell do a deep dive into what’s gone wrong with their defense and how they can fix it, this week’s film review puts a lens on the four biggest of Seattle’s big plays.
Second quarter: DK Metcalf 54-yard catch
ESPN analyst and former Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky made a damning comment in a simple breakdown of this play he posted Monday morning on Twitter, saying, “I feel like I’m watching Matt Patricia(‘s defense) again.”
Metcalf beat top Lions cornerback Jeff Okudah cleanly in one-on-one coverage on this play. Starting outside the numbers as the second of two receivers to the left of scrimmage, Metcalf gained inside leverage with a great hand swipe, gave Smith a clean target with his big body and ran for 35 yards after the catch.
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The Lions used a simple zone blitz on the play, dropping right defensive end Aidan Hutchinson into coverage and sending linebacker Alex Anzalone after Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith. But as Orlovsky noted, Glenn took an unnecessary risk by playing a single-high safety (DeShon Elliott) with press man coverage on the zone-drop side of the field despite the Seahawks already being behind the chains on second-and-14 from their 44-yard line.
Elliott was shaded toward Metcalf’s side of the field on the snap, but Seattle ran tight end Noah Fant on an over route through the middle, leaving Elliott with too much ground to cover to make a play on the ball.
The Seahawks scored on the next play to take a 24-9 lead.
“DK’s a special player,” Smith said after the game. “He got some one-on-ones today and some opportunities. It was fun to see him really make a lot of plays. I think he could’ve had a few more had we given it a shot. But for the most part, he played a great game and I think that’s going to continue.”
Third quarter: Rashaad Penny 36-yard touchdown run
Lions fans will remember this play as the “do-over,” but ultimately it was one of two blitz-beaters the Seahawks gutted the Lions with in the second half.
On third-and-16 from the Lions’ 36-yard line, the Seahawks initially lined up with three receivers split left, Fant to the right of scrimmage and Penny set left of Smith in the shotgun. Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron initially called for a quick pass to the left against a Lions defense that rushed seven defenders but kept two safeties in the deep middle of the field.
When officials blew the play dead to fix the game clock, Waldron re-deployed his personnel with Metcalf the lone receiver split right, Fant attached to the left side of the line and Penny offset left in the backfield.
Glenn added another blitzer to his pressure package with eight players essentially across the line (Elliott was shifting sides at the snap) and no deep safety in the middle of the field. Smith handed the ball to Penny, who followed pulling left guard Damien Lewis through a big hole on the line — right tackle Abraham Lucas walled off Hutchinson on the play, and right guard Gabe Jackson eliminated blitzing linebacker Chris Board — and ran nearly untouched to the end zone.
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Amani Oruwariye, the lone Lions defensive back who had a shot at stopping Penny, was pre-occupied by Metcalf running a take-off route down the right sideline and left in limbo when Penny, with a full head of steam, juked right then cut back left around the 25-yard line.
Campbell said the Seahawks had not shown a third-and-long run tendency on film and outschemed the Lions based on their own blitz propensity.
“They got us, but that’s the first time we’ve been exposed in those two fronts third-and-long,” he said. “One was third-and-medium, one was third-and-long, and they did. So now, all right, now they got us and so it’s on tape and it’s certainly something to be aware of, but that’s the first time we’ve been exposed on the run in those fronts that we’ve given. Those have been a lot of pressure fronts for us. So yeah. At this point, yeah, here we go. It’s on tape now.”
Fourth quarter: Rashaad Penny 41-yard touchdown run
Penny and the Seahawks gashed the Lions for a second touchdown run on third down to seal the game with 2:14 left in the fourth quarter.
The Seahawks lined up in shotgun formation with Penny to the left of Smith and Fant attached right, while the Lions showed a heavy blitz pre-snap with seven players bunched at the line, three cornerbacks in press man coverage and rookie safety Kerby Joseph 16 yards from scrimmage in the middle of the field.
Smith handed off to Penny, who followed two pulling blockers, Lewis and left tackle Charles Cross, around right tackle. Board, the Lions’ edge defender on that side of the field, misplayed the ball, crashing inside, which allowed Lewis to get just enough of a block to give Penny a clear path to the numbers, where he outraced Elliott to the end zone.
Joseph also failed to recognize run immediately. He pedaled 4 yards back and to the far hash off the snap, as Seattle’s slot receiver ran a hard decoy route in his direction, then took a bad angle on Penny across the field.
“They got us in a couple of third downs there late, third-and-longs that we have not been exposed to yet,” Campbell said after the game. “And they gutted us. They got us good. And it was good designs by them, good play designs. And in critical moments, they — it was good. It was real good by them.”
Fourth quarter: Tyler Lockett 34-yard catch
The Seahawks beat the Lions for a third big play against the blitz earlier in the fourth quarter, on second-and-10 from the Detroit 48-yard line to set up Jason Myers’ 25-yard field goal.
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The Lions, trailing 38-31 at the time, sent a six-man pressure with two late rushers, Anzalone from his linebacker spot (when running back Kenneth Walker III stayed in to block) and Elliott from his deep safety position.
That left cornerbacks Oruwariye and Okudah and safety Joseph — slot cornerback Mike Hughes also blitzed on the play — in single coverage against Seattle’s three receivers. Lockett, matched one-on-one against Oruwariye on the near side of the field, ran a deep post and gained 5 yards of cushion at the top of his route when he turned Oruwariye the wrong way.
Hutchinson broke through the left side of Seattle’s line when both Walker and tight end Will Dissly went to block Hughes, but Smith stayed in the pocket and delivered a perfect pass just as Hutchinson hit him in the backfield.
“Another zero pressure,” Smith. “They’re bringing everybody, bringing the kitchen sink. I’ve just got to buy enough time for him to get into his route and then just put it into a spot. He did a great job of going to get it.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.