C.J. Gardner-Johnson might be the Lions biggest game changer in 2023
The Detroit Lions did so much this offseason. It almost feels lie a year has gone by since the Lions ended their 2022 season with a big win over the Packer at Lambeau. Since then they've managed to keep some key players around, keep Ben Johnson around, have a fun free agency and a fun […]
The Detroit Lions did so much this offseason. It almost feels lie a year has gone by since the Lions ended their 2022 season with a big win over the Packer at Lambeau.
Since then they've managed to keep some key players around, keep Ben Johnson around, have a fun free agency and a fun draft followed by a smooth training camp and preseason that allowed the Lions to enter the 2023 season at a pretty healthy rate.
The one thing that really stands out the most to me is that the Lions defense that was so bad in 2022, suddenly looks liek a unit that could cause some problems for opposing offenses. This group has found it's own identity and I think that newly added safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson is to thank for that.
Gardner-Johnson brings in an old school flare with his personality and his play. The best thing that I can compare it to is the Pistons Bad Boys teams of the 80's or Razor Ramon from the 90's WWE. Gardner-Johnson is going to let you know every step of the way that he is there and he's going to bore his way into your brain until you make a mistake. Gardner-Johnson is the bad guy and he knows it. Everyone loves the villain.
You can see that the rest of the Lions defense is feeding off Gardner-Johnson. There's a swagger to this Lions defense that you just haven't seen here before. They're going to get into your heads and they're going to eat away at you.
Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell talked during Hard Knocks about the team needing to be a team that could drag their opponents into the abyss.
"You just got to get a hold of them, though. If you can just get a hold of them, and you start dragging their ass out to the deep, dark abyss, you can drown ‘em. And that’s what we got to be. That’s who we have to be. Because that’s our domain. That is our domain. Because we’ll tread water as long as it takes to fucking bury you."
That all starts by getting into the heads of your opponent and nobody does that better than Gardner-Johnson. I mean this is a guy that was talking trash in a preseason game that he wasn't even playing in. He's so good that he can get in your head on the sideline in gym shorts.
This isn't just me saying this. Lions Defensive Backs Coach Brian Duker said on Monday that Gardner-Johnson is the battery for the whole Lions defense because of the energy he brings.
Gardner-Johnson is just on a one year deal at this point, but the Lions may very well have to start looking into extensions before long. Especially if the Lions defense starts to drastically outplay it's 2022 counterpart and Gardner-Johnson puts up the big year that the leagues interception leader in 2022 could very well put up.
This man may be the heart and soul of this team. That's a big deal since the Lions lost the man that was preciously thought to be their heart and soul when Jamaal Williams went to the Saints.
We'll see very soon just how much of an impact this battery or heart and soul of a player can bring.
Lions will be benching Isaiah Buggs against the Chiefs
It's been quite a couple days for Detroit Lions fans. On Saturday veteran defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs was absent from Allen Park during practice. On Sunday he put out a cryptic tweet that had everyone wondering hat was going on. He returned to practice on Monday and spoke with media afterwards. It turns out that […]
Featured image by Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
