Detroit Lions’ Defense Putting The ‘D’ Back In Detroit

By Travis Newville @travisto989 on October 1, 2014

Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

The Detroit Lions have put the defense back into Detroit. Teryl Austin has had great success with the talent that the Lions have given him, and he has proven that Detroit can even compete through tough injuries. The Lions’ defense ranks first in total defense, second defending the pass and sixth defending the run. These are not the same old Lions.

The leader of the Lions’ defense is DeAndre Levy. Levy is an absolute wrecking ball, and he is okay with flying under the radar. Levy is not the pass rusher that Von Miller may be, but he absolutely is one of the most complete outside linebackers in the NFL. He can do it all.

So far in 2014, Levy has 38 combined tackles, an interception and has even recorded a safety. With an average of 9.5 tackles per game thus far, Levy could easily trump his career high of 119 combined tackles, which he recorded in 2013. By the look of things, Levy has only begun to unleash his inner lion.

Levy has not turned the Lions’ defense into one of the best in the NFL all by himself. He has some very good help in Detroit’s secondary, and that is something that the Lions have not been able to say often throughout the years.

Rashean Mathis, Darius Slay and Glover Quin are leading a battered secondary and leading it well. Now that safety James Ihedigbo is back starting in the Lions’ secondary, this group of talented defenders will be even better.

The biggest question on the Lions’ defense could be the Ndamukong Suh contract fiasco, but that has not shown on the field. The attitude toward Suh’s contract around Detroit is indifferent. Nobody really cares about the Suh contract talks anymore. The only thing that matters to the Lions is getting another win, and that is something their fanbase can respect.

Hats off to Austin and the Lions’ defense. They started as one of the biggest question marks in the NFC North, and now they are the league leaders in total defense.

Travis Newville is a Detroit Lions writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @travisto989. Connect with Travis on Facebook here, or add him to your network in Google.