The Detroit Lions defense has been bad. There’s no way around it. The numbers are ugly, the Lions can’t get off the field, and after what happened against the Carolina Panthers, everybody is asking the same question. What exactly is Detroit going to do about it?

On Monday, Lions coach Dan Campbell gave us some answers. It sounds like changes are coming. They may not be the wholesale changes Lions fans have been talking about, or the kind we wrote about earlier Monday morning. Nobody appears to be losing a job, and nobody appears to be losing play-calling duties, at least not for Week 5 against the Arizona Cardinals. Still, changes are coming.

Campbell said the Lions haven’t tried everything on defense yet. He specifically mentioned different coverage schemes, new ideas on third down, moving players around, and even looking at the practice squad for guys who can help.

That’s a big deal. This isn’t Campbell saying the team just has to execute better and leaving it there. I know fans are tired of hearing that. Execution is part of it, and Campbell talked about that too. He wants guys to be dependable, do their jobs, and play smarter. But he also acknowledged Detroit can change what it asks these players to do.

The pressure isn’t the problem. The quick throws are.

After going back through some of the third downs from the Carolina game (I’ll have a full film study out Tuesday), I think we have a good idea of where the Lions can start. The problem wasn’t always that they couldn’t create pressure. The problem was that Carolina made the pressure almost irrelevant.

On third down this week, the Lions were sixth in the league in time to throw and 22nd in time to pressure. What does that mean? The ball was coming out so fast that Detroit’s rush barely had a chance to get there. Campbell acknowledged as much Monday. He said the Lions were applying some pressure, but the ball was coming out quickly.

At some point, you have to adjust. If an offense tells you it will get the ball out immediately every time you bring pressure, sending extra guys isn’t going to help. You’re pulling defenders out of coverage to chase a quarterback who has no intention of holding the ball.

We saw that on plays like third-and-9 and fourth-and-4, when the Panthers simply converted. They didn’t need some brilliant protection plan. Panthers quarterback Bryce Young didn’t need four seconds in the pocket. The Lions gave him answers underneath, and Carolina took them.

Make quarterbacks hold the ball

So here’s one change I want to see. Make quarterbacks hold the ball.

That doesn’t mean you stop pressuring. It means you stop making the pressure so easy to beat. Rush four sometimes and put the extra defender in coverage. Show pressure and drop out of it. Bring pressure from somewhere the quarterback isn’t expecting. Use simulated pressure to create confusion up front without losing numbers on the back end.

Maybe most importantly, change the picture after the snap. Right now, quarterbacks get the answer to the test way too quickly. If I know exactly where my quick throw is going before the snap on third-and-9, you’re making my life easy. You have to make that guy hesitate, even for half a second. That half a second is where edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson or whoever else is rushing gets a chance to affect the play.

The second thing is defending the situation. Third-and-9 is not first-and-10. You know where the sticks are. If an offense wants to throw a 3-yard pass on third-and-9, let it. Come up and make the tackle. What you can’t do is hand over an easy throw that puts the receiver right at the marker.

That’s where the coverage philosophy has to change. Be tighter around the sticks. Make them throw outside. Make them throw down the field. Make Young, or whoever the quarterback is, beat you with a difficult ball.

Counterpunches and a big name on the way back

This doesn’t look like something that requires Detroit to find five new defensive starters. The personnel can be better, and the Lions need help at corner. We’ve talked about that a ton. But you can help the players you have by putting them in situations they can win.

To me, the biggest thing missing right now is counterpunches. The Panthers found something they liked, and Detroit never made them get away from it. Maybe the answer isn’t blitzing better. Maybe it’s playing different coverages behind the pressure, rushing four and flooding throwing lanes, or changing who’s on the field. Campbell basically said all of that is on the table.

There’s also help coming eventually in Brian Branch. Campbell said the team was waiting on final confirmation from team doctors, but it looks good that Branch will practice this week. He doesn’t fix everything, but you can put him in the slot, in the box, and all over the field while disguising where he’s coming from and where he’s dropping. Unfortunately, the Lions almost certainly won’t have him against the Cardinals, though he could be back against the Packers coming out of the bye.

So when Detroit takes on Arizona, I don’t think we should expect the same exact defense we’ve watched for the first month of the season. You have to hope we don’t. And if you think the Cardinals aren’t good, watch how they’ve played. Offensively, they can beat you up, and they’ll come looking to do it.

Let’s see what the Lions show.

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