Why Dan Orlovsky Gives Rams Edge in NFC Race

Former Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky said this week he doesn’t expect Detroit to overcome Sean McVay and the Rams in the NFC arms race.

The key factors in the race to dethrone Super Bowl champion Philadelphia atop the NFC, the ESPN analyst believes, are Detroit’s decimated coaching staff, the sudden retirement of a critical offensive starter, and the uncertainty regarding Aidan Hutchinson.

“This is what I want to say about Detroit,” Orlovsky said on Monday’s edition of First Take. “It was the most detailed coaching staff in the NFL last year. Many of those coaches are all gone. I'm not just pretending that doesn't matter. It's not just Ben Johnson. And it's not just Aaron Glenn. There's been a significant depletion.

“While Dan Campbell is awesome, that matters. We've played on teams that had not great coaching staffs. It matters. You feel that.”

Jared Goff and the Lions – scheduled to visit the Rams Dec. 14 at SoFi Stadium, in Week 15 -- also will feel the loss of Frank Ragnow, who announced his retirement on June 2. That decision caught most in the NFL off guard, including the Lions. A four-time Pro Bowler, Ragnow played just seven seasons – all in Detroit as the Lions’ starting center – including the last three years (2018-20) of Matthew Stafford’s Motor City tenure.

“The second thing,” Orlovsky said, “no one's talking about Frank Ragnow. Him retiring is huge. He was the best center in football. And so, when you take 20 percent of the best offensive line, that's a big deal. And so, that gives me a little bit of a reservation on Detroit as a whole.”

Whole is where Aidan Hutchinson has returned, following the freak Week 6 broken leg that ended his season in Dallas last year. Leading the NFL in sacks at the time of his injury, Hutchinson post-injury production is also a factor in whether Detroit can overcome the Rams. The fourth-year edge rusher also is eligible for a contract extension.

“I hope Hutchinson is a monster coming off the leg injury and gets every dollar that has earned and deserves,” Orlovsky added. “I don't know what it'll be like. I have no clue. Will he be the same dominant player that he was before?”

Regardless, when they meet later this season, the Rams and Lions are expected to play the same close game they’ve had each of the prior two seasons. The played bookend Ford Field matchups in the 2023 wild-card playoffs (a 24-23 Lions win) and the 2024 regular-season opener (a 26-20 Lions victory in overtime). And don’t be surprised to see them meet again in the NFC playoffs. 

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