20man: I mentioned the offensive line above, so let’s pivot to the defensive front. After watching the unit all through training camp, I thought they’d be more disruptive Week 1. They recorded zero sacks, had just two quarterback hits, and had no player with more than one hurry.
EDGE Aidan Hutchinson was asked this week how many true one-on-one rushes he thought he had without a double team, chip, or nudge. He thought about it for a minute and said just a few. He said when he does get those rare one-on-one looks, he has to win them. He took ownership of that.
When teams are going to focus their attention on Hutchinson, it’s imperative for other players upfront to win their one-on-ones. That didn’t happen last week. This is a copycat league and until other players step up and create more havoc, Hutchinson is going to continue to get the star treatment and be the focus of more attention.
The Lions face a Bears’ offense that allowed 23 quarterback pressures against Minnesota Monday night. It’s not as good of a unit as Green Bay, who I thought had a good plan against Detroit’s defense last week. It will be a loud environment at Ford Field and the Bears will operate under silent counts, so I’d expect the defensive front to create more havoc in that environment.