How Michigan Football is similar to the Detroit Lions
Overall outlook
With everything mentioned, it does not even include the staff overhaul for both teams. The Lions got rid of practically every staff member from last year’s atrocious team (on both sides of the ball) and brought in a new GM with a new head coach who made his own staff.
With Michigan football, their head coach got a significant pay reduction, and it got rid of the defensive coordinator and a lot of their defensive assistants. The Wolverines added some NFL flavor to their coaching staff, and have tried to get younger to better relate to the players they are coaching.
Overall, while there aren’t a ton of similarities between the two teams, there are some, and they are significant.
Both teams underperformed to what their talent levels on paper were. Obviously, one team plays professional football, and the other plays college football, which is a huge factor, but the two teams had some of the same patterns and tendencies.
Both teams had stubborn defensive coordinators and/or head coaches which made it extremely hard on the defense to be successful as a whole.
The Lions and the Wolverines both struggled to consistently get off the field on third down. Again, this coincided with the lack of a pass-rush as well. This led to long, sustained drives by the opposing team which wore down both defenses over time.
Both teams struggled to generate game-changing plays. Whether it be an interception, forced fumbles, or sacks, both struggled mightily, and it only got worse as time went on.
It wasn’t that the teams didn’t try. For the most part, the effort was there on these plays. It just always seemed like both squads would barely miss on the opportunities to secure these game-wrecking plays.
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The hope is for both of these teams to get better and not repeat the same mistakes as in the past. As a Michigan football fan, if there’s one team I don’t want to be similar in some ways to, it’s the Detroit Lions. Here’s to hoping that both teams are dominant in the 2021 season.