Detroit Lions

Heart of a Lion

The Detroit Lions are hanging a lot of hope on new Head Coach Matt Patricia. Patricia comes to the team after a 14 season stint with the New England Patriots, where he won three Super Bowls, two of them while serving as Defensive Coordinator.

Patricia's takeover will make Detroit Lions betting an interesting affair this year. Patricia is a strict coach that brought results on the field in New England. If his methods work the same in Detroit, the Lions could be in for a good season.

However, if Patricia's hard-line methods don't go over well with his new players, the Lions could be in for a rough ride this year.

Defensive Posture

Patricia will of course look to install a Patriots-style defense in Detroit. To do that, he will need a commitment from players to buy into his complicated systems.

The key player in Patrica's defensive equation will be defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson. A Consensus All-American in 2015 at the University of Alabama, Robinson was drafted 46th overall in 2016 and lead all defensive tackles in the NFL in pass deflections with 7.

Overall, however, Robinson has not lived up to the hype that he generated when he first joined the team. The 6'4, 320lb giant has only managed 2.5 sacks so far in his career as a Lion. One of Patricia's goals for 2018 should be getting more out of Robinson.

To help him do that, Patricia has employed former Alabama Defensive line coach Bo Davis, who was brought in for 2018 along with 2018 fourth round draft pick Da'Shawn Hand, also out of Alabama. Robinson's familiarity with these two should go a long way in building a solid defensive corps for 2018.

Wide Load of Receivers

Another area where the Lions look to be successful is passing. They have a trio of wide receivers who are among the best in the league: Golden Tate, Marvin Jones and Kenny Golladay.

In 2017, Tate and Jones both compiled over 1,000 yards each, making them one of the best wide receiving duos in the NFL.

Golladay meanwhile is coming off a promising rookie season where he collected 447 yards despite missing 5 games. At 6'4, he is a huge threat to and defense and a great third option in an offense that relies heavily on passing.

Breakout season?

If there is a team in the NFL which is due for some success, it is the Detroit Lions. With the addition of Patricia at the helm, and a load of good young players at his disposal, the Lions are looking to give their fan base some concrete results this year.

While the Lions' betting odds still have them in the lower rungs of the NFC north on our NFL Sportsbook, this is a team with a recent history of being on the brink of success, and the new pieces that have been brought in could push them over.

Three of their last 4 season have yielded winning records, but the Lions have bowed out in the wild card playoffs in each of those seasons.

If Patricia is able to have the same kind of success with the Lions that he did with the Patriots, he could vault this team to the kind of success it has long waited for.