The Detroit Lions named linebacker DeAndre Levy their defensive captain for Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals and he will make his season debut.
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With Levy out and Stephen Tulloch shaking off the rust in his own return from injury (a torn ACL suffered early last season), the Lions relied heavily on Travis Lewis, Josh Bynes and Tahir Whitehead through the first four games. Although the defense has been playing better each week, there’s no doubt Levy’s presence will improve the defense, especially in the short passing game where the Lions have been brutalized this year.
Levy hasn’t played at all since the first preseason game, and returned to practice for the first time since late August last week, before the Monday night matchup with the Seahawks. “I’m not saying other guys can’t do it, but he’s just a fantastic player”. So hes been a lot of help in that regard, Caldwell said.
“Well, obviously, any time you have a guy that has the kind of experience that he’s had and the fine play that he’s had through the years, that certainly makes a huge difference”, Caldwell said. “Every year’s different, but he adds a boost to us”.
Last season, Levy had his best year with 151 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 2 1/2 sacks. We all know he is a Pro Bowl caliber player, Im happy for him to be back, defensive end Ziggy Ansah said.
With Levy coming back, it could be the lift that the Lions need to get even close to being a dominant defense again.
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The Lions are 0-4 entering Sunday, the last winless team in the league, and struggled covering the middle of the field the first two weeks of the season against San Diego and Minnesota.
