Prior to the start of the 2022 season, one writer from Detroit Sports Nation predicted that Detroit Lions CB Amani Oruwariye would have a Pro Bowl-type season. (Oh, that writer was me!)
Now, this was not as bold a prediction as you may think as Oruwariye, according to Pro Football Focus, allowed a passer rating of just 57.5, which placed him ninth out of 130 qualified cornerbacks.
| Coverage | Coverage snaps | Passer rating (rank) | INTs | Coverage grade |
| Overall | 533 | 57.7 (ninth) | 6 (third) | 60.3 |
| Cover-3 | 107 | 64.9 (17th) | 3 (first) | 79.4 |
| Cover-2 | 101 | 105.4 (54th) | 0 | 61.3 |
| Cover-1 | 94 | 44.7 (sixth) | 2 (third) | 44.8 |
| Cover-6 | 60 | 65 (25th) | 0 | 77.8 |
| Quarters | 48 | 118.8 (87th) | 0 | 53.8 |
| Cover-0 | 30 | 69.6 (12th) | 1 | 47.7 |
*Stats through Week 15 of 2021 season since Oruwariye did not play in the final two weeks due to injury.
What did Amani Oruwariye say about being benched?
If you have been paying attention to the Lions this season, you already know that Oruwariye has been awful. In fact, he has been so bad that Dan Campbell benched him in Week 5.
On Wednesday, Oruwariye spoke to reporters about being benched in Week 5, saying it is just a “bump in the road.”
“This isn’t the end for me at all,” Oruwariye said Wednesday. “Just a bump in the road, just adversity, just testing me, making me remind myself you can’t take any day for granted and that was good. I needed that reflection.”
Oruwariye said he was “frustrated” when he found out he was going to be a healthy scratch against the Patriots, but he understands that he has to make plays.
“I wouldn’t say (things have) not clicked,” Oruwariye said. “I just would say that maybe (I was) put in a lot more critical situations and didn’t − not coming up with the plays. Like for example, the (Rashaad) Penny run (on third-and-14 in a Week 4 loss to the Seattle Seahawks), just open-field tackle. Whatever happened, I got to get him down. That’s just the end all, be all of it so it’s just making the plays when they come to me.”
Via Dave Birkett – Detroit Free Press
Is Amani Oruwariye upset at Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions coaching staff?
Though Amani Oruwariye was certainly frustrated with Campbell’s decision to bench him, he knows the NFL is a business, and he has to get over it and get back to work.
“I mean, I have particular relationships with every one of my coaches, Dan, (secondary coach Aubrey) Pleasant, (defensive coordinator Aaron) Glenn,” Oruwariye said. “So I’ve had many conversations with them. They’ve said their peace, I’ve said my peace and like I said, at the end of the day, I got to understand that’s the business side of it and I can’t control all that, so me worrying about all that isn’t gong to do anything for my growth as a player. So as much as maybe I might be frustrated or whatever in the beginning, that’s got to go away as quick as possible and just get back to work.”
Via Dave Birkett – Detroit Free Press
On to Dallas
This coming Sunday, the Detroit Lions will be back at it when they travel to Texas to take on the Dallas Cowboys.
Will Amani Oruwariye be back on the field with his teammates? Time will tell, but Oruwariye is focused on controlling what he can control, and preparing for the Cowboys.
“I think everyone always has some kind of reflection in their career and I think this has been mine up to this point, at least in the NFL,” Oruwariye said. “I’m just trying to control what I can control and right now, that’s just preparing for Dallas.”
Via Dave Birkett – Detroit Free Press
Nation, do you think Oruwariye will be active for this coming Sunday’s game against the Cowboys?
