The Detroit Lions lost another inexplicable game on Sunday, dropping a 27-23 decision to their division rival Chicago Bears after having entered the 4th quarter with a 23-6 lead.
And while there’s plenty of blame to go around for the collapse, don’t expect OT to lay it at the feet of the team’s offensive line.
In fact, the newly signed Decker had nothing but good things to say about the OL, which surrendered only a single sack on QB Matthew Stafford during Sunday’s setback.
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“Yeah, so we just watched the film today, and there was definitely plenty of positives to take away from the offensive line play,” Decker said during media availability today. “I mean, obviously, at the end of the day what matters is wins and losses, but I do think we’ve laid a good foundation throughout camp and throughout the all the Zoom OTA meetings, to try and maximize what we could do in that time to be able to lay a foundation for a good run game.”
Newcomer Adrian Peterson, signed last week after being released from Washington, looked like his old self as he racked up 93 yards on 14 carries in his first game wearing the Honolulu Blue.
“Adrian did an awesome job, especially coming in on short notice, I guess, to get into the offense and learn the playbook,” Decker said. “I think you saw it with him, and you can see it with our other backs — if we can get them to the second level, they can make guys miss and make explosive plays.
“That’s huge for us as an O-line and it fires us up to want to block for a guy like that,” Decker continued. “Because when we execute our job, we know we’re going to get big plays. Just wearing on defenses and making them defend the run opens up the rest of the game for us, so Adrian, along with all our other backs, we know they have the ability to make guys miss at the second level and get to the third level. That’s exciting to see. Like I said, watching the tape, it’s a good thing to build on moving forward.”
The Lions will look to rebound as they face another divisional test on Sunday – the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
– – Quotes via Justin Rogers of The Detroit News Link – –
