aidan hutchinson – Page 19

Lions: Oruwariye’s benching sent a message to the team

ALLEN PARK — When Lions cornerback Amani Oruwariye was benched for the game at New England, it sent a message to the team. Basically, compete or sit.

Oruwariye had started three of the first four games, missing the contest against the Commanders with a back injury.

Detroit’s passing defense allows 261.0 yards per game, that’s 26th in the NFL. Of course, that’s not all on Oruwariye but part of it is. Hence the decision was made to sit him.

“I think it’s important that you do that as far as a team because now it sends a message to everybody on offense and defense,’’ defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said. “This game is about competing at the highest level every time you have to earn your keep in this league, there are no free passes.’’

In Week 3, Oruwariye was whistled for six penalties against the Vikings, but cleaned that up in the Week 4 loss to the Seahawks.

“This game is hard, especially at that position. When you look at it, over the course of the season you hear people say setback. I just think he’s had a hard time,’’ Glenn said. “I think Amani is still Amani. I just think some of the situations he’s been in and some of the flags that he’s had has made people look at him in a different way.’’

Glenn said it’s important that the coaches help him so he can get back on the field.

“I’m not going to rag on Amani. I still have high hopes for that player, I still think that player has a chance to be a top corner in this league, we’re going to work our (butts) off to make sure of that,’’ Glenn said.

Last season, Oruwariye started 14 games and finished with a career-high six interceptions. He’s still looking for his first pick this season.

The coordinator said they’re going to put his feet to the fire.

“That’s who we are as far as a defense, everyone has to compete, everybody has to go out there and pull their weight and he wasn’t at that time,’’ Glenn said. “With coach Dan (Campbell) and the staff we made the change and he’s going to compete and get his job back again.’’

Glenn is pleased with Oruwariye’s response to the benching.

“With Dan being confident to make that decision, I think it really sent the message, I really do. It kind of reminds me of my days with coach (Bill) Parcells – he wasn’t afraid to do that. It taught me a lesson also that you can’t be afraid to make a decision, you live with it and move on even if you have outsiders say what you should do and what you shouldn’t do you be confident in your decision you move on and do what’s best for the team and that’s what Coach Campbell did.’’

Lions’ defense faces personnel, scheme changes; Aaron Glenn safe

ALLEN PARK — After a disastrous defensive showing in the loss to the Seahawks, coach Dan Campbell said he will make changes in personnel and scheme.

Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn’s job is safe.

“I’m not afraid to make a hard decision, if I really believed that was the cause of it and I don’t believe it is. I believe Aaron Glenn is the man for the job and he gives us our best hope, our best option to run this defense,’’ Campbell said at his Monday presser.

At the end of last season, Campbell made the tough decision to fire offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn.

The Lions defense gave up 555 yards in the 48-45 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday. It wasn’t just a bad day. The defense was ranked the worst in the NFL after the first three games. It’s an ongoing situation that was magnified on Sunday because the injury-depleted offense rose to the occasion.

Campbell wouldn’t offer specifics on the changes, saying he was still in conversations with Glenn.

“I think you’re looking at the totality of it, our FBI (football intelligence). We’ve got to get some players we feel like we can rely on, we can trust to get out there. Because once they’re trustworthy then their teammates will trust them,’’ Campbell said. “When you really watch it, the thing and I told these guys this, the thing that shows up over and over is a snowball effect.

“We have a guy who doesn’t do the right thing and the guy who knows what to do is trying to overcompensate for it and that’s costing him a step behind his job and then this guy is trying to cover for him and the next play they don’t trust that the teammate is going to be there and we’re in this vicious cycle right now,’’ Campbell added. “We have to pull things way, way back and get our confidence back and gain some trust among teammates. That comes with scheme, that comes with personnel, we’re going to work through it.’’

The problem is not just with the players or the coaches, they all share in the woes. Campbell admits his fingerprints are on the failures too.

The defense is playing without starting safety Tracy Walker who is out for the season after tearing his Achilles tendon. No excuse, though. The offense was playing Sunday without its top two playmakers in D’Andre Swift and Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Campbell did not talk name names, but was asked about rookie Aidan Hutchinson, the second overall pick, who had three sacks in the first half in the win against the Washington Commanders. He hasn’t had one since.

“I think he’s come a long way, I think every week he’s getting a little bit better. He’s one of the players we need to look long and hard about. Do we need to move him in different spots to give him the opportunity to have more success?’’ Campbell said. “He did a lot of good things in the running game yesterday. I think he’s where our defense is right now — we’ve just got to improve and get a little better. I think we can all help each other. I’m certainly not disappointed in him.’’

One key is to not allow finger pointing which can tear apart a team.

Wide receiver Josh Reynolds was in this situation the first few years he was with the Los Angeles Rams and the offense was putting up points while the defense struggled.

“As the year goes on — we’ve got a long season — as the year goes on the defense starts finding their groove and figuring out how to play together,’’ Reynolds said. “That’s big for the defense you’ve got to trust the guy next to you.we’ve got to give them some time, let them figure it out, especially losing Tracy. They’ll figure it out and we’ll be clicking.’’

(Next up: Lions at New England Patriots, 1 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 9.)

Dan Campbell regrets decision late in game as Lions lose to Vikings

Dan Campbell’s aggressiveness seems like a breath of fresh air after watching the Lions’ mostly conservative play calling for so long.

The coach and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson called a solid game on Sunday, but a few questionable calls cost them the win. The Lions couldn’t finish and much of the blame falls on the shoulders of the coaches.

Campbell went for it on fourth down six times in the 28-24 loss at the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. The Lions converted four of those but it was one miss that stands out.

With 1:14 left – and holding onto a 24-21 lead – the Lions’ call on fourth-and-4 from the Vikings’ 38 was for a 54-yard field goal which would have been a career high for Austin Seibert. It sailed wide right.

“For me, I regret my decision there at the end,’’ Campbell said. “I should have gone for it on fourth down. Told the team that.’’

The Vikings (2-1) then needed just three plays to cover 56 yards and score a touchdown to take the 28-24 lead, their first lead of the game with less than a minute on the clock.

The Lions (1-2) were up by 10 with 8 minutes left in a tough road game, but couldn’t hold on. Campbell told his players not to get frazzled by the loss.

“I told them it should sting, it shouldn’t taste good because we had it. I just told them we’ve got to learn from it, we’ve got to learn from the plays that bit us in the (butt),’’ the coach said. “As you know, you guys have a job to do, there’ll be a lot of criticism placed on a number of guys myself and including the players, which is natural. They all know it. You can’t go on the downs and ups. Just stay true to what it is and learn from our mistakes.’’

Another questionable call came early in the fourth quarter, the Lions had a third-and-1 at their own 27. Instead of handing the ball off to Jamaal Williams or D’Andre Swift (who was playing hurt), Jared Goff’s pass to Josh Reynolds was incomplete. That forced a punt and on that next series the Vikings’ running back Alexander Mattison scored a touchdown on a 6-yard scamper that closed the gap to a 24-21 lead for Detroit.

The Lions struggled on third downs — going 3 of 16 — which led to so many fourth-down attempts.

Even after the loss, Campbell said this result won’t affect his aggressiveness in general

“I’ll always evaluate, I go back and watch (film) and really think about was this the right thing to do, was it not the right thing to do. I do know if you’re going to go in and feel you need to be aggressive early in the game, you can’t second guess when it doesn’t work out for you early in the game,’’ Campbell told the media. “It’s not going to affect me. I’m going to always do what I feel is best to help us win.”

The defense put pressure on quarterback Kirk Cousins early but had trouble stopping the run. Dalvin Cook had 96 yards on 17 carries before he was injured late in the game. After three sacks in the win a week ago, rookie Aidan Hutchinson didn’t have a sack or a tackle. Alex Anzalone had the Lions’ lone sack and led the defense with 10 tackles.

Goff was 25-of-41 for 277 yards with one touchdown, one interception and a 79.0 rating.

Swift, who has been dealing with an ankle injury, played but was limited. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (six catches for 73 yards) limped off the field late in the first half. He played in the second half, but wasn’t 100 percent.

Running back Jamaal Williams stepped up, finishing with 87 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns.

Safety Tracy Walker left the game in the second half and did not return. Campbell said they will know more on Monday, but it could be an Achilles or an ankle. An Achilles injury could possibly end his season.

(Next up: Seattle Seahawks at Lions, 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 2, at Ford Field.)