As margin of error dwindles, Detroit Lions seeking to rediscover gritty, underdog mindset
Allen Park — Urgent, not panicked. That’s the crux of the messaging this week at Detroit Lions headquarters.
In a hole of their own making, panic only serves to drive them deeper into the Earth, and the pit is already bordering on inescapable. Panic comes with a loss of control, clouded focus and rash decisions. In football, it can show up as overcompensation, a tendency to get out of the parameters of the scheme while trying to be a hero, often causing the structure of the play’s design to collapse and bringing the opposite of the desired impact.
Urgency is clear-headed focus, a honing in on the details and fundamentals that have often failed the Lions in a series of narrow losses that have them drifting further outside the NFC playoff picture with five games to go.