For a long time, Dan Campbell and the Lions didn't have to think twice about their offensive line. It was a well-oiled machine. With some new parts being installed this year, the operation was clunky in Detroit's 27-13 loss in Green Bay in Week 1.
Especially on the interior, where Tate Ratledge and Christian Mahogany are stepping in at guard and Graham Glasgow is shifting to center, the Lions had trouble playing as one in a loud environment. Miscommunications led to missed assignments which led to busted plays -- lots of them. As Ratledge admitted himself, "I did not have my best game mentally."
When Campbell was asked Tuesday to name the No. 1 correction for the Lions entering Week 2, he said, "Communication, communication, communication. It’s that simple."
"No. 2 is fundamentals, man," Campbell said on 97.1 The Ticket. "Get back to the basics of what you do: your freaking stance, your alignments, your first step, your hands, all of it, your hips. It really is the simple, 101, basic football stuff. We do those two things and we’re going to be immensely better."
Campbell wasn't speaking specifically about the offensive line, but it sure sounded like he was. What he did say about the unit is that it needs time to form its own chemistry after the offseason departures of Frank Ragnow and Kevin Zeitler. Cohesion is key. When each member of the line is on the same wavelength to where the pre-snap communication is clear and concise, or hardly even necessary, "that’s when you’re running at a high level," Campbell said.
"That’s what we’ve had around here. We’ve been fortunate. When we had Frank and all those guys here, (Taylor) Decker and (Penei) Sewell, they played together long enough that they understand (each other). And look, that just takes time. It takes live reps, real bullets, on the road, can’t hear, all of that, to where, man, you’re working in unison together and you’re starting to figure each other out in real football games. It will take a little bit, but we’re going to get there, man," said Campbell. "These guys will grow."
The Lions relied heavy on training camp to prepare Ratledge and Mahogany for NFL action. Ratledge played in just one preseason game, logging 24 snaps against the Falcons, while Mahogany didn't play in any. Mahogany did make two starts last year, but they both looked overwhelmed enough against the Packers to wonder if Campbell should have given them some more run in the preseason.
"Those two guys, yeah, we could have played them a little bit more," said Campbell. "But there again, you’re not playing against their starters. That’s why I like the joint practices. Now, just to get in the flow of the game, yeah, probably. It’s not like more reps is going to hurt 'em, it’s going to help 'em. So, yeah, certainly we could have played them a little bit more."
Ratledge and Mahogany did get valuable reps against starting defensive linemen in three joint practices with the Dolphins and Texans. But nothing could have properly prepared them for the challenge of running a silent-count offense in the hostile confines of Lambeau Field against the dynamic defense of the Packers. That's the reality of turning to two newcomers up front. There's no way around the growing pains.
The Lions just hope the former will soon exceed the latter.
"As bad as it hurts, they're only going to grow from this. There’s nowhere to go but up," said Campbell. "These guys are going to get better, there’s going to be banked reps here now. We just gotta find a way to win and develop and grow at the same time. That’s the important thing, and then clean it up and get a little bit better as we move along."