Pride of Detroit
It’s another primetime game for the Detroit Lions in Week 7, as they settle into the comfy confines of Ford Field, welcome in 65,000 fans, and host the NFC-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If the Lions want to enter their bye week with some positive momentum, they’ll need to follow the offensive keys to victory laid out in this week’s Honolulu Blueprint.
For a detailed look at the opposing scheme, make sure you check out our complementary breakdown piece: Lions Week 7 Preview: Breaking down Bucs’ offensive and defensive schemes.
This week’s Honolulu Blueprint has six keys to victory, two on the defensive side of the ball and another four on offense. We previously discussed the Lions’ two defensive keys to victory, and this piece acts as a complementary article to complete the full picture.
Buccaneers nose tackle Vita Vea is a problem. He’s big (6-foot-4, 347 pounds), quick, strong, and lines up as close to the football as he can. In the past, the Lions have tasked All-Pro Frank Ragnow with blocking him, but with the Lions’ former center now retired, they’ll need a new game plan.
“He’s a good player. Look, the size is one thing, but his quickness to get off the ball, he’s got explosiveness, and he’s got really good feet,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said of Vea earlier this week. “When you’re a man that big and you can move like he moves, then (as an offensive lineman) you’ve got to do everything right. You’ve got to play with leverage, you’ve got to have the get-off of your life. We have double teams; we’ve got to be able to fit the double teams together. [..] We’ve got to be locked in on every stinking play and we’ve got to work together.”
As Campbell said, double-teaming Vea is the most logical strategy, and the Lions should refer back to how they dealt with Ravens’ Travis Jones as a guide. Against Baltimore, the Lions deployed varying types of double teams against Jones in order to cause him problems both in pass protection and with their rushing attack.
In pass protection, the Lions need to prioritize solidifying the interior and work their way out in this matchup. The strength of the Lions’ offensive line lies with their offensive tackles, so doubling up inside and leaving Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker (who is trending towards playing) in one-on-ones gives the Lions the best chance for success.
In the run game, the Lions deploy an outside zone blocking scheme around 58% of the time, followed by Duo 31%, and Gap concepts just 11% of the time. Against the Ravens’ defensive line, the Lions leaned heavily on Duo, and Detroit should take a similar approach against the Bucs and Vea. This strategy will allow the Lions to continue their double-Vea approach, while also taking advantage of the Bucs’ tendencies to give up rushing...
