Allen Park — As the Detroit Lions attempt to fix the team’s broken defense on the fly, coach Dan Campbell has kept coming back to a particular word when talking about the search for solutions: Trust.
“We’ve got to get some players that we feel like we can rely on, we can trust to get out there,” Campbell said on Monday, a day after the defense gave up 41 points in a 48-45 loss to Seattle. “…When you really watch it, the theme that shows up over and over is that it’s a snowball effect.”
Campbell explained that one player’s mistake will cause a teammate to compensate to cover for them. But that action isn’t contained to a single play. The mistake subconsciously resides in the mind of the teammate and he anticipates he’ll need to continue to compensate. And that action acts as a domino effect, drawing the next guy then the next guy out of position, leaving holes for opponents to exploit.
“We’ve got to pull things way, way back, and just get our confidence back and gain some trust among teammates,” Campbell said.
It’s too late in the process to add meaningful new pieces to the puzzle, leaving the Lions to find guys they can trust already in the building. Reading between those lines while scanning the roster, one lesser-used defender jumps off the page — Will Harris.
“Yeah, look he’s a guy we do have a lot of trust in and I could see him playing this weekend,” Campbell said.
While Campbell is trying to avoid tipping his hand heading into Sunday’s matchup against the Patriots, finding more snaps for Harris makes sense. A starting safety last year, he showcased some previously unknown versatility late in the season when he started games at both nickel back and outside cornerback. And he performed well enough in those emergency situations that the Lions switched his position this offseason, moving him permanently to corner.
Harris ultimately lost a camp competition to Jeff Okudah, losing a starting job in the process, but when Amani Oruwariye missed the Week 2 game against Washington because of a back injury, the team didn’t hesitate to start Harris. And he ended up Detroit’s highest-graded defender in the victory, according to Pro Football Focus.
Last season, Oruwariye called Harris, “Mr. Do-It-All.” He’s developed a reputation among his teammates and coaching staff for not only knowing his assignment within the defense, but the roles of all 11 players on every snap. That’s helped earn him trust to be called upon to play multiple positions and will likely see him logging more snaps this Sunday than the 12 he’s averaged in the team’s three other games where he wasn’t serving as an injury replacement.
“I’ve very excited,” Harris said. “It means a lot to me. I went to school in Boston, so going back there, it’s going to mean a lot to me, for sure. But at the same time, trying to take it as any other game. That’s the best way to prepare myself. I don’t really get into the outside narratives. Players, formations and tendencies and go from there. If you cloud your mind with all the extracurricular things, a lot of guys will get so caught up feeding themselves with that stuff that it will distract you.”
Less distractions, less mistakes, more production, that’s what the Lions need. If Harris gets the call on Sunday, that’s what they’re hoping he can help provide.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers