Detroit Lions general manager Martin Mayhew said he still sees “a place for the wide nine in our system,” and new Lions coach Jim Caldwell said it’s “necessary” to use the defensive alignment, which requires defensive ends to set up outside the tight end in order to get better angles in the pass rush. “If you’ve taken a look at us, when we were in Indy, did you see (Dwight) Freeney and (Robert) Mathis?” said Caldwell, the Indianapolis Colts’ head coach in 2009-11. “What’d they line up in? There we go.”
Lions | Likely to stick with same defense