Unpredictability The Goal For New Lions Defense

DETROIT, MI - DECEMBER 16: Strong safety Glover Quin #27 of the Detroit Lions tackles tight end Ed Dickson #84 of the Baltimore Ravens during the first half at Ford Field on December 16, 2013 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Glover Quin; Ed Dickson

Strong safety Glover Quin #27 of the Detroit Lions tackles tight end Ed Dickson #84 of the Baltimore Ravens during the first half at Ford Field on December 16, 2013 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

ALLEN PARK (CBS DETROIT) – With new coordinator Teryl Austin giving the Detroit Lions defense a makeover, safety Glover Quin gave a quick rundown of the changes fans can expect to notice when they first observe the 2014 team.

“Probably the speed that we’re playing at right now and the movement pre-snap that they’re going to see,” Quin said Tuesday at the Lions practice facility. “Probably more blitzing stuff that they’re going to see – well, at least they may think it’s a blitz, when it may not even be a blitz but it may look like a blitz. I think they’re going to see a fast, physical, relentless attacking defense.”

Austin said he wants a key characteristic of the defense to be unpredictability. Instead of reacting to what opposing offenses do, the Lions want to dictate the action.

“We’re going to try to give the offenses as many looks as we can,” Austin said. “Bring people from different angles, try to make them adjust to us instead of us always adjusting to them, so that’s kind of what we’ve been working on. It’s not always clean. Today, I thought we were a little sloppy in some things, but that’s kind of the price you pay to try to get it right.”

Austin said the group will not be married to any particular formation but instead go with what the staff deems to be the best match for each given opponent. Quin said the new defensive system is fun but demanding on those charged with executing it.

“It forces guys to study more and learn what’s going on because to be able to dictate to the offense what they’re going to do, then we have to know exactly what we’re going to do,” Quin said. “Being married and having a house, I kind of feel like a man that, you know if you’ve got a whole bunch of tools, you kind of walk around looking for stuff to fix, because you just want to use your tools. When you don’t have a bunch of tools, you’re just kind of like, ‘Ah, I can get it tomorrow.’

“So going into games, having a whole lot of different stuff, a whole bunch of different tools that we can use, we’re going to look for those opportunities to figure out which one works best and use it,” Quin continued. “Hopefully that’ll equate to more turnovers and a dominant defense.”