The Detroit Lions were among the worst in the league in terms of run defense after seven weeks – and then they got a boost.
A very big boost.
The Lions traded a fifth round pick for 6-3, 353 pound defensive tackle Damon “Snacks” Harrison after Week 7, and while they still rank 28th in the league in terms of rushing yards allowed, they’ve only allowed an average of 91 in the past two games since “Snacks” entered the fold – that would be good enough for sixth in the NFL.
“Damon’s really done a great job of coming in kind of midway through the year obviously and trying to learn our system and understand the techniques and the things that we’re asking him to do from the inside defensive tackle position,” Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia said this week ahead of the Lions matchup with the Panthers, who rank third in the league as they average more than 138 yards rushing per game. “From a professional standpoint, I mean…there is nobody better. This guy comes to work every single day, prepares hard, he takes great pride in what he does.”
“He’s [been] an unbelievable resource for me from the standpoint of knowledge, to be able to kind of have conversations back and forth between techniques, and blocks and scheme and how to defend them.”
While Harrison, who was named an All-Pro in 2016, joined the team midseason, it’s not as hard on a defensive lineman, especially an interior one, to make an impact immediately – the first game “Snacks” played in a Lions uniform, he produced seven tackles – two of them for a loss – and a sack; that was the first time a lineman in Lions history had produced those numbers.
And that was in his first game.
“As long as you know what gap you’ve got, then football is football at the end of the day,” Panthers defensive end Bryan Cox, Jr explained. “I mean, it’s defense. On offense, you’ve got plays and scheme and it’s way more scheme-based, but defense – it’s football.”
“You just gotta go.”
The @Lions defensive line is home to 2 of the highest graded run defenders in the league. The dynamic duo of Damon “Snacks” Harrison (@snacks) and A’Shawn Robinson (@AshawnRobinson) have been wreaking havoc inside#OnePride pic.twitter.com/LdSC3JVVzS
— PFF DET Lions (@PFF_Lions) November 15, 2018
The Panthers are in the unenviable position of having to face Harrison twice this season, once when he was with the New York Giants in Week 4, when he had four tackles, including one for a loss, and now again in a different uniform. But they’re not necessarily concerned with having to play him twice – according to left tackle Chris Clark, it might actually be an advantage for the Panthers – they know about Harrison’s flaws and they know about his strengths.
One of those strengths is getting to the ball – Harrison leads all defensive tackles in both run stuffs (7.5) and tackles (51) – the 29-year old nose tackle also one of only three players and the only defensive tackle with at least 50 tackles, eight tackles for loss, one sack and one forced fumble this season.
“He’s very big, very strong – he’s quick, he’s athletic and he shows up on tape a lot making plays. I don’t know how many tackles he has, but I think he’s way up there,” said left guard Greg Van Roten, who will likely be matched up with Harrison on Sunday – although hopefully not one-on-one.
“Someone like him, you know where he is just because he’s so big – he stands out. You want to make sure that if he’s one-on-one, you’re going to maybe give them some help if you’re free. He’s someone you’ve got to watch out for.”
While the Panthers gave up five sacks against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, the Steelers defense offered different challenges for an offensive line – they’re talented and fast up front and play a 3-4 defense versus the hybrid style that Patricia has enacted with the help of defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni. But don’t expect the issues that plagued the Panthers in pass protection to carry over into this week against the Lions – they’ll bring with them their own set of challenges.
“My experience is when team try to adopt or emulate another team, it’s a struggle for them,” Norv Turner explained. “So I expect Detroit to do the things they’ve done, they’re a very good front – they’ve played good against the run, I don’t expect them to change a great deal.”
Although Harrison, along with fellow elite defensive lineman “Ziggy” Ansah, were limited in practice on Thursday, both are expected to play on Sunday.
Oh, and the nickname?
“Supposedly he had Rice Krispies Treats in his socks during walk-through with [former Jets head coach] Rex [Ryan],” former teammate Sheldon Richardson said last month. “And they’ve been calling him ‘Snacks’ ever since.”
