Dan Campbell explains why the Lions' defense is ahead of the offense at this time and what the offense needs to do to catch up

If there's one thing that has been pretty noticeable for the Detroit Lions this summer, it's that Kelvin Sheppard and the defense have been looking very good all summer long. Everything you want to see from this group, you've seen. They're getting pressure on the quarterback, they're getting sacks, causing turnovers, the coverage looks good, balls are getting batted down, and more. This unit looks better than the defense we saw last summer, and that defense wound up being pretty good.

"...Our defense is, we're playing pretty good right now. We're practicing well, we're running pretty efficient, you know, Sheps doing a nice job over there." Lions head coach Dan Campbell said on Wednesday. "We're pretty versatile in coverage and pressure. You know, we got the front to handle the run right now. We're pretty sticky on the back end. That's a good combination. You know, we can crush the pocket that's versus our offense. "

The flip side to that is the Lions' offense has been struggling to keep up. This should not have you running into the streets ready to freak out that the sky is going to fall on you, but it is something that is pretty noticeable, and the Lions have to work on it.

It's also something that everyone should have expected to a degree. The Lions' defense didn't have a lot of changes. Sheppard has been here, and the players know him and are comfortable with him. He's making some changes to what Aaron Glenn was doing, but not enough to really upset the apple cart. John Morton is brand new here, and while he's not making any crazy changes either, we knew there would be a time in which everyone would have to gel. Campbell says it's just some little stuff that needs to get cleaned up and gelled together.

"...Certainly we want to be clicking a little bit better, but, but I also know we're like this far away, like every practice you come out. And it was even the other day, it's like, man, we hold up a half second longer and this is a 30-yard touchdown. You know, bad footwork on one play, Gibby spits out of there. Instead of five, we were about to get 60 for a touchdown, you know? So we're literally that close, and it's just how it works with offense, especially early. It's one guy here, one guy here, one guy here, and it's just a little minute details, and they're all correctable. That's what's awesome. So we're growing, we're getting better. I love the fact that we're being challenged on both sides."

It's also notable that the first team is out there with almost a completely brand-new offensive line. Taylor Decker is back at practice, but he's not really a full go yet, so it's been Dan Skipper at left tackle. Then the interior is new with Tate Ratledge and Christian Mahogany. The latter looked good when he played last year, but he's still a young player who is growing. Of course, Graham Glasgow has played center before here and there, but now he's full-on the center of this team, and that is a big difference.

So there are some growing pains, but it was expected, and it doesn't sound like Campbell is at all worried about it. It actually sounds like he's a bit excited about it.