Is the Relationship Between Lions' Players and Coaches Strained?

How does the constant losing impact members of the Detroit Lions roster? Read more

The grind of a regular NFL season impacts members of a roster in several different ways. 

Now, factor in the pressure of having to tightly monitor outside activities because of the global pandemic. 

For members of the Detroit Lions roster, having to endure losing streaks and putting in ridiculously long hours of work in preparation, only to leave the football field most Sundays on the losing end of games must take its toll. 

Even though publicly each member of the roster that speaks to the media points blame at themselves and reiterates the "Do your job" mantra that is synonymous with the "Patriot way" philosophy, there are some minor indications the relationship between players and coaches is strained. 

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In a recent MLive mailbag article, what frustrates the players the most was explored. 

As MLive described: 

"All that work and all those meetings and all those butt-chewings didn’t produce enough wins in 2018, and didn’t produce enough wins in 2019, and now they’re not winning enough in 2020 either. Everything is negative right now, and it puts a lot of strain on players, coaches, and the relationships between players and coaches. That’s what frustrates these guys the most."

Last season, defensive end Trey Flowers was asked if the manner in which Patricia coached the team rubbed players the wrong way. 

"I know where he (Patricia) came from, and I understand his style," Flowers commented. "It's kind of one of those deals ... it could be considered tough love. Somebody taught me to pay attention to the message and not how it's delivered."

Flowers added, "Everybody's different in how they express themselves. For me, I understand his passion, the type of attitude that he has, his expectations and his standards. That standard of excellence ... that is him all the way. How much he puts into it. How much sacrifice he has put into it. For me, I understand that."

Others may not react in the manner that is desired and it may be impacting the play out on the football field. 

Many NFL players describe the importance of being "loose" in order to be able to react quickly out on the field. 

It may be worth observing the rest of the season if players on Detroit's roster are uptight on Sundays to avoid mistakes and being chewed out by the coaching staff. 

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