World’s Best Preview: Inside the Lions

Free agency doesn't always work, an introduction to David Blough and a potentially strong backfield

DETROIT – Here’s our weekly look inside the opponent. This week, it’s the regular-season finale against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.

BIG-MONEY DEFENSE: The Packers opened the vault in free agency to fix their defense. Outside linebackers Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith and safety Adrian Amos have been worth every penny of investment.

The same can’t be said for Detroit’s offseason shopping spree. The Lions signed defensive end Trey Flowers away from New England with a five-year, $90 million contract and cornerback Justin Coleman away from Seattle with a four-year, $36 million contract. They also pounced on Daniels after the Packers released him, handing the former Pro Bowler a one-year deal worth $8.1 million. Combined, that’s $134.1 million, a figure that included $81.7 million guaranteed. For comparison, Green Bay’s big defensive signings cost $154 million with just $48 million guaranteed.

“We were 3-for-3 on those signings. Sometimes, you’ll obviously see free agents, it’s just like the draft, it’s hit or miss,” Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine said when asked about his free agents. It was a response that fit the results in Detroit.

It’s not as if Flowers and Coleman have been bad. Flowers has seven sacks and 19 quarterback hits and Coleman has broken up 13 passes. Flowers’ quarterback hits and Coleman’s PBUs rank just inside the top 20 in the league. Daniels was hurt during his final season with Green Bay and has missed most of his season with the Lions.

Last year, the Lions finished No. 16 with 22.5 points per game and were No. 10 in total defense and No. 4 in sack percentage. This year, the Lions are No. 26 with 26.7 points per game, No. 29 in total defense and No. 30 in sack percentage. Clearly, the injury report is a big reason why the defense has struggled but it’s yet another sign of buyer beware in free agency.

Video: Pettine on physicality of cornerbacks

RELATED: INJURIES TAKE FANGS OUT OF LIONS.

BLOUGH NOT TO THE RESCUE: In four seasons at Purdue, David Blough threw for more than 9,700 yards with 69 touchdowns, 43 interceptions and 61.0 percent accuracy. Quarterbacks who throw interceptions in college tend to throw interceptions in the NFL, so he went undrafted despite the big-time yardage numbers and wealth of experience.

Blough signed with Cleveland after the draft. On Aug. 29, in a preseason game against the Lions, he completed 11-of-17 passes for 115 yards and two interceptions. A day later, the Lions acquired Blough in a trade. No way did they expect Blough would wind up starting a big chunk of the season, but a back injury ended Matthew Stafford’s season after eight games and backup Jeff Driskel lasted just three games.

In four starts, Blough has completed 56.6 percent of his passes with four touchdowns, five interceptions and a 68.8 rating. The Lions have lost all four games, failing to score more than 20 points in any of those games. After throwing two interceptions in back-to-back games against Minnesota and Tampa Bay, he didn’t throw any last week at Denver but completed 50.0 percent of his passes and averaged 4.88 yards per attempt – both marks being the worst of his brief career.

Patricia used 86 words to talk about Blough. None of them were overly complementary in terms of skill-set and development.

“He’s a kid, as soon as we got him, he’s a tough guy, he works hard, he’s very competitive,” Patricia said in a conference call. “I think he’s got a great confidence about himself for the quarterback position. I think he goes out and tries to do everything he can to give us a chance each week. I think he prepares really hard. He’s a guy who understands how difficult the games can be and he’s going to be put in some tough spots but he certainly gives us everything he has.”

From a scheme perspective, the Lions focused on Driskell’s athleticism (151 rushing yards in his three starts). With Blough, the offense is similar to what the Lions ran with Stafford in Week 6.

“Not a ton,” Pettine said of what he knows about Blough. “We have four-plus games, though. He’s an NFL quarterback. That’s something we’ve been preaching so far this week. Matt (LaFleur) talked about it. We don’t take anybody lightly.”

IRON BOWL BACKFIELD: Injured have wrecked the Lions’ season. If there’s a silver lining, though, it’s they perhaps have found their backfield of the future.

With Kerryon Johnson missing eight games following knee surgery, Detroit signed Bo Scarbrough. After a productive career at Alabama, he was drafted in the seventh round by Dallas in 2018. He split his rookie season with the Cowboys, Jaguars and Seahawks. He failed to make Seattle’s roster in training camp this summer and joined the Lions’ practice squad on Nov. 6. Ten days later, he was promoted to the active roster.

In five games, he’s rushed for 335 yards (4.2 average). Johnson, who returned last week, leads the team with 350 rushing yards (3.4 average). If Johnson can stay healthy – a second-round pick out of Auburn in 2018, he’s missed 14 of a possible 31 games – the Lions might have their future backfield.

“I think we'll be dominant," Scarbrough said last week. “Kerryon has his style of running, and I have my style of running, and when you get two guys with different styles, but somewhat similar, I think it's harder for the defense because you don't actually switch out linebackers and safeties.

“You can switch out running backs. And I just think if you just keep pounding the ball and pounding and pounding, then, by the beginning of the fourth quarter, the defense starts to wear out.”

Given Blough’s troubles, the Lions figure to feature the powerful Scarbrough and the shifty Johnson extensively on Sunday.

“He’s a big back, downhill, tough to tackle,” Packers linebacker Blake Martinez said of Scarbrough. “I think he’s averaging 3 yards after contact, so you have to be ready for those types of plays and try to make sure he doesn’t get going. Obviously, Kerryon Johnson, he’s a great back. He’s had some up-and-down moments with injuries but he’s playing and he wants to play. He’s an all-around back.”