2) The lions come from 15-2 season and back-back NFC North Championships and replace both managers who went to the head coach. Dan Campbell knew he could trust Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn to draw the right play and build a reliable game week in and week out. Now he has to build the same confidence with the new striker John Morton and the defense officer Kelvin Sheppard. Sheppard worked under Glenn since he became NFL coach in 2021 and was a natural choice to step into the DC role. However, he is green as a player and there will be questions about how he handles adaptation in the game. Glenn kept a defense that was taken down due to a fleet injury last season until the finals. How would Sheppard go if similar destruction occurs? Likewise, Morton comes in with big shoes to fill. Lions violation was a two -way nightmare for defense and Johnson was a champion in setting up defense to fail. Will Morton, who does not have tons of experience in play, continue with a fund of offensive weapons, or could we see a step back from Detroit’s offense? Morton’s knowledge of GOFF is a benefit, but there are still questions about how it will optimize the system – as possibly split Breid Jahmyr Gibbs more often. It is hard to imagine that the lions get better management from their supervisors than they had done a year ago. Every step back could be harmful in a difficult division. Training camps will give us our first real taste of how the new managers intend to change things – or not – in 2025.
3) Aidan Hutchinson has been cleaned by devastating injuries last year. Given the timeline, it comes as no surprise that the passing is devastating to go, but it will be good to see him live in the camp. How he attacks these first days of practice and recovering from those-things give a good indication of whether he can return to the defense player of the year he was in the prelude or whether we should reduce our expectations. Hutchinson’s health is not the only one that follows in Detroit. Alim McNeill is expected to miss the first half of the season, but how much is left. How does Marcus Davenport look after another injury shorter period? There are questions from Edge Rusher in Detroit, so the health of four fronts is particularly noteworthy at this early stage.