When it comes to the Detroit Lions‘ roster since Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell came to town, there is no question about it that there are quite a few weaknesses.
Though the roster is certainly better now than it was following the Bob Quinn/Matt Patricia clown show, there is certainly plenty of work to be done.
What did a Detroit Lions coach defend?
One position that the Detroit Lions have failed miserably at is the kicker.
Over the past couple of seasons, the Lions have had a whopping 10 different kickers on their roster at one time or another, and they still do not have one they can count on.
That being said, Lions special teams coach Dave Fipp believes (or at least he claims to believe) that the team “has made the exact right call the whole way” when it comes to finding a kicker.
“It’s not been ideal, but I think we’re on the right track and we’ll keep working through it,” Fipp said. “I mean, people aren’t throwing out good players. And there’s a bunch of people looking for them right now. The later you get in the season, the harder it gets to find somebody and come in and play at a high level. The earlier it happens, the more choices you have.
“But I think overall from our decision-making process, all that, I don’t regret or second guess any of the moves we’ve made up to this point. In hindsight you’d do some things differently maybe, but we obviously don’t have the benefit of all the information.”
Via Dave Birkett – Detroit Free Press
Wait, what?!?! How in the world can Fipp truly believe the words that came out of his mouth on Thursday?!?!
What did Dave Fipp say about not re-signing Matt Prater?
When Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell took over prior to the 2021 season, they made the decision that they would not re-sign veteran kicker, Matt Prater, who is one of the best kickers in NFL history.
When asked about the decision to not re-sign Prater, Fipp said “a lot of different things went into that decision” and he added that it was not his decision.
“That wasn’t my decision,” he said. “Ultimately that’s Brad and Dan and those guys and I trust them, and they’re trying to rebuild a roster so you’ve got to make a lot of hard decisions. But yeah, it’s easy to second-guess everything after the fact but I don’t second guess anything with that.”
The bottom line is that the Lions have played in a lot of close games since Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes came to town. Having a solid kicker (such as Matt Prater) can definitely help in those situations.
In my opinion, the Lions are going to have to spend a draft pick on a kicker in 2023 and it may cost a 5th-round pick or so to get a good one.
Nation, do you agree with Detroit Lions special teams coach Dave Fipp, or do you think different decisions should have been made when it comes to the kicker position?
