Interesting SI article - Lions coaching staff says OSU doesn't coach DBs well
August 24th, 2021 at 12:07 PM ^
They need more analysts!
August 24th, 2021 at 12:11 PM ^
I don't know, man. I think Okudah might be a bust but...
Marshon Lattimore was a Pro Bowler last year. Arnette and Okudah were first rounders last year. Denzel Ward was a top 10 pick in 2018, made Pro Bowl. I guess you could argue they're such good players that they overcome bad coaching??
August 24th, 2021 at 12:34 PM ^
It's not bad coaching. It's smart coaching. You recruit 5* talent who will be on the team for three years tops, maybe only two. You have a limited amount of time allocated to actually coaching 19 year olds so KEEP IT SIMPLE! The idea is to win with superior talent and to get that superior talent into the League with as high a pick as possible. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Get to the playoffs. Kill Michigan.
That model works, don't it?
August 24th, 2021 at 1:09 PM ^
FWIW Denzel Ward is a fantastic player and had a positive impact on the Browns from the day he arrived here. The only knock on his coaching came from our DC coordinator at the time Greg Williams who complained that the reason Ward kept getting injured was because he didnt know how to tackle low.
But i dont know if that problem was coaching as much as it was Ward wanting to play physically with a body more suited to coverage than hitting.
August 24th, 2021 at 2:20 PM ^
Anyone consider that maybe the Lions haven't coached Okudah well? Seems more likely. Just sayin'.
August 24th, 2021 at 3:04 PM ^
Let's be honest, those guys were very fortunate to play in the B1G when the best QB's played on their teams. They were never really tested in conference play. You saw what happened in the playoff games. They didn't look so good. Not only that, the opposing QB's that were decent had to worry about the Bosa's and Chase Young, so they couldn't just sit back there and pick apart OSU's DB's.
August 24th, 2021 at 4:32 PM ^
Marshon Lattimore was coached by the same guy who is now the Lions Defensive Coordinator. Not sure what that means for sake of an argument but it has to be pointed out.
August 24th, 2021 at 12:15 PM ^
OSU coaches them just fine, as evidenced by their multiple elite CBs they have in the NFL right now and the amount of CBs they have pumped into the next level alone.
Okudah just hasn’t done anything unfortunately. I’m not gonna say they have issues coaching DBs because Okudah hasn’t panned out. Plus, he’s extremely young in his career
Now, their NFL QBs on the other hand… ?
August 24th, 2021 at 12:23 PM ^
The hell you say...LOL
August 26th, 2021 at 12:36 AM ^
That hit was pretty wicked.
August 24th, 2021 at 12:32 PM ^
They're just on another level talent wise in college until they face Alabama. Don't need much coaching to whip up on the BIG offenses/wr's.
August 24th, 2021 at 2:50 PM ^
This is the truth. Put them in the SEC year in and year out and then we can compare.
August 24th, 2021 at 2:53 PM ^
Fun fact: not a single SEC pass defense ranked in the top 50 last year.
August 24th, 2021 at 12:15 PM ^
As a general rule, I tend to not use anyone associated with the Detroit Lions management or coaching as an authority on football matters...won't get fooled again.
August 24th, 2021 at 2:36 PM ^
Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.
August 24th, 2021 at 10:54 PM ^
Hey c'mon, they have to be experts at poor coaching.
August 26th, 2021 at 8:46 PM ^
Great one Mooseman!
August 24th, 2021 at 12:16 PM ^
So their raw, 5* talent is still lightyears ahead of our 3* with coaching? That's scary.
But recruiting doesn't matter
/s
August 24th, 2021 at 12:17 PM ^
Maybe this is why OSU can re-load so quickly, they take the latest 5-star DB recruit and tell him to eliminate one guy on the field without worrying about anything else. Plug and play. A simple system is better than a complicated one especially when you have a talent advantage.
August 24th, 2021 at 12:17 PM ^
Playing less complicated cover schemes
=/=
Not coaching
August 24th, 2021 at 12:21 PM ^
If people employed by the Lions could evaluate/coach talent then they wouldn't work for the Lions.
August 24th, 2021 at 12:21 PM ^
So how badly would we lose if they had good coaching?
August 24th, 2021 at 4:16 PM ^
Mercy rule would be in effect.
August 24th, 2021 at 12:21 PM ^
What do they say about how Michigan coaches their DB's?
August 24th, 2021 at 9:50 PM ^
The lions’ coaches must love the nd coaching. Have you noticed how many domers are on the training camp roster?
August 24th, 2021 at 12:22 PM ^
Uhhh...ya think?!? They recruit uber-talented, high 5* DB talent, coach them poorly, then see them drafted highly off talent and improve greatly in the pros.
Kerry Coombs is widely known to be an excellent recruiter, but a terrible on-field coach.
August 24th, 2021 at 12:31 PM ^
Agreed. Not sure if it was scheme or what, but the Titans DBs underperformed expectations under his watch
Him having Kevin Byard, Logan Ryan, Adoree Jackson, and Malcolm Butler as your starters in 2018-19 should have led to a borderline shutdown secondary…instead, it was pedestrian at best most games.
August 24th, 2021 at 12:23 PM ^
What do the Lions know?
August 24th, 2021 at 12:30 PM ^
And yet I thought it was the greatness of OSU cornerbacks that caused Michigan quarterbacks to miss their targets all the time. ?♂️
August 24th, 2021 at 12:31 PM ^
OSU is a cornerback factory, I don't believe this shit for one second.
Okudah looked absolutely lost as a rookie. We'll see this season if Lions can fix his transition to the NFL. They've ruined many of CB's before we'll see this year if he is another Lions first round failures.
August 24th, 2021 at 12:46 PM ^
They may be a cornerback factory, but they were also 87th last year in pass defense efficiency. High draft picks combined with poor team pass defense is a pretty strong indication of bad coaching.
August 24th, 2021 at 2:58 PM ^
They're a cornerback factory because they recruit elite 5* cornerbacks out of high school. These recruits would be first round picks whether they went to OSU or Michigan or Ball State or anywhere else.
Seth harps on this often, and I believe he's right. OSU/Coombs recruit elite DBs out of high school, don't coach them (relying on their elite athleticism and raw ability), and then boast about all their high draft picks to attract the next round of elite recruits. Rinse. Repeat. It has nothing to do with their coaching/development at OSU.
Obviously, the strategy works for them, but OSU's DBs have consistently under-performed for years under Coombs compared to their lofty rankings out of high school. Shaun Wade is the latest example. A 5* recruit who showed promise before Coombs came back to OSU and then regressed this last season. His draft stock plummeted from a 1st round lock after his junior season to being selected in the 5th round.
August 24th, 2021 at 3:18 PM ^
I don't think Ward or Arnette were super highly regarded recruits. I also think Lattimore was a WR in HS but I'm not positive on that one.
August 24th, 2021 at 12:31 PM ^
Lion's coaching staff........
weren't they like last in the nfl in team defense?
August 24th, 2021 at 3:45 PM ^
None of the current Lions coaches worked for them last season so 2020 stats are a bit moot.
August 24th, 2021 at 3:46 PM ^
as was their defense
August 24th, 2021 at 12:31 PM ^
Post in error. Nothing to see here. Move along...
August 24th, 2021 at 12:44 PM ^
Sigh....this is correct.
August 26th, 2021 at 12:39 AM ^
Penix and Mac Jones both TORCHED Ohio Sts DBs.
August 24th, 2021 at 12:32 PM ^
You don't say.
August 24th, 2021 at 12:37 PM ^
#Glasshouses
August 24th, 2021 at 3:04 PM ^
How so? Michigan's DB development has been very strong. Recruiting has been awful, but Zordich turned 3* and 4* DBs into draft picks.
Michigan certainly has its share of issues, but has a strong recent history of producing NFL draft picks, especially on the defensive side.
August 24th, 2021 at 7:36 PM ^
I could be wrong, but I think he’s talking about the Lions and not Michigan…
August 24th, 2021 at 12:37 PM ^
Straw grasping?
August 24th, 2021 at 12:38 PM ^
When you're bigger faster and stronger than almost everyone you play against it's not hard to not use technique. Same thing happens to offensive and defensive linemen, when you're bigger and stronger than everyone who needs technique? It's why there's not a lot of elite freshmen corners or OL/DL
August 24th, 2021 at 12:41 PM ^
hear that trolls?! You're deficient.
August 24th, 2021 at 12:42 PM ^
LOL. The reality is, neither do the Lions, but any OSU shade is good shade.
August 24th, 2021 at 12:44 PM ^
It’s possible to have one off players who just, for one reason or another, don’t pan out. One great thing about the NFL is that it really doesn’t matter what school you come from. You could have a perennial all pro and Hall of Farmer come from Hobart and William Smith College, and then a top-five pick from Alabama become an all-time bust and lame out in the league within three years, and none of it would be surprising.
That being said, OSU, unfortunately, has a lot of great corners and safeties in the league. Marshon Lattimore is easily top 10, maybe top 5 at his position.
It’s also possible, in the situation, that the easiest explanation is probably the right one. And that explanation is that the Lions have sucked for years and wasted God knows how much talent all across-the-board, and Jeffrey Okudah is just another victim in a long, long list of victims who’s careers have been completely derailed by the Detroit Lions. Had he gone somewhere else, he may very well be a success.
August 24th, 2021 at 12:47 PM ^
Sigh....this is also true!