The Detroit Lions Then and Now: Defensive Line

Then and Now is a SideLion Report mini-series in which we look at each position group from the 0-16 season of 2008 and compare it to the current roster. The defensive line was supposed to be the Lions best asset under head coach Rod Marinelli. As a former defensive line coach (the highest position he ever held prior to becoming a head coach in Detroit), Marinelli liked to spend extra time with the defensive line to do some of the position coaching himself. Perhaps his divided attention was his downfall, although he seemed like a man in over his head anyway. Whether doomed to fail or not, his defensive line play didn’t match the hype. Here are the defensive tackle and defensive end stats from the 2008 season: Def Int Fumbles Tackles No. G Sk Int Yds FF FR TD Tkl Ast 99 Dewayne White 12 6.5 1 -4 3 1 0 28 10 78 Cory Redding 13 3.0 31 7 75 Shaun Cody 16 0 0 25 11 91 Chartric Darby 15 1.5 0 1 0 23 9 95 Jared DeVries 10 2.0 0 0 0...