Every week during the regular season Tim Twentyman will answer questions from his X account @ttwentyman for a Lions Mailbag.
Twentyman: I think all three must shoulder part of the blame, but I lean more toward personnel at the current juncture. I've talked to coaches and players and the thing that keeps coming up is players being out of position and having to cover for others who are out of position. That has a cascading effect on a defense, and in my opinion, has been the biggest factor in the defensive numbers looking like they do after four games.
Twentyman: What makes Brian Branch so good is how instinctive a player he is. He has a nose for the football, and the Lions could use a lot more of that in the back end of their defense.
Branch's return is not just about upgrading the safety position; it's about making everyone around him better. As I mentioned above, players are currently in the wrong place at the wrong time too often. That creates a lack of trust.
Some of Detroit's lapses in zone defense are due to slow reaction and undisciplined eyes among the safety group. Branch's instincts and knowledge of the scheme could be a solution to some of those problems. That should help Jack Campbell and the linebackers play better and have a ripple effect across the entire back seven on defense.
I also should mention it's unfair to expect Branch to be 100 percent back to his old self right away, even though defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said Thursday he looked great in Wednesday's practice. That's encouraging, but Branch is coming off a major injury and took his first live reps in 10 months on Wednesday. He'll need some time to kick off the rust, but even if we get 75 or 80 percent of Branch, it's an upgrade that should help this defense.
Twentyman: Jahmyr Gibbs is too good of a running back, and this offensive line has too many good run blockers on it, to be ranked 20th in rushing at 102.0 yards per game.
Some of it has been trailing by double digits in their two losses. That doesn't help. In Detroit's two wins, they've rushed for 165 and 131 yards. In the losses: 66 and 45 yards.
I asked quarterback Jared Goff this week because I was curious what he's seen with the run game from his perspective. He said the film has showed them exactly what the issues are and they come down to execution. He was confident it could be fixed.
There have been a couple technique issues here and there that have popped up in the run game early against Buffalo and Carolina. I think Gibbs has missed a couple lanes available to him too. Overall, I think it's something that can be fixed and I'm not too worried about it four games into the season.
Twentyman: Both Cade Mays and Juice Scruggs have played guard in the NFL. The Lions made a three-year commitment in free agency for Mays to be the anchor in the middle at center, and were happy with how he played there in training camp before the injury.
Now if Mays comes back and doesn't play to the level Scruggs has played at to begin the year, they could certainly pivot and that's the nice thing about having good depth upfront.
Twentyman: I thought Whiteside started off training camp well, but faded late and was passed up by a couple players. Campbell talked this week about some personnel changes, and I believe one might be rookie Keith Abney II. Sheppard said he's the smartest rookie he's ever had and they are giving him a run at safety. Him playing more there frees up Christian Izien to play some more nickel. We'll see if that's where they go.
Twentyman: The defensive line and creating pressure is not the problem right now. This might be the deepest and most talented defensive front Campbell's had. The early stats and analytics support that. Hassanein is just caught in a numbers game at edge.
Twentyman: I'd be very surprised by that. Sam LaPorta is a Top 5 tight end in this league coming off his best game in Carolina. He's on pace to surpass his dynamic rookie numbers this season. I think the contract stuff eventually gets worked out.
LaPorta has become a security blanket player for Goff, much like wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, and with how valuable the tight end position is to this offense both in the pass and run games, I'd be surprised if that's a conversation.
